Life... That one simple word holds so many different meanings. For me it has two. First and foremost, a chance to live better and healthier. To spend the rest of my life enjoying things that I honestly cannot physically do now. Ride a plane...and only pay for one ticket. Go to an amusement park and ride the rides. Walk without sputtering like an old diesel engine. It also means that I am sentencing myself to a life of less than fantastic food. Confined like a death row inmate, I will not be allowed to freely enjoy all the junk food I want. I know that's why I'm in the shape I'm in, but hey I can, and need to, change. I have asked my friends and family for all the support they can offer,
and one of them suggested a blog (insert name drop here) so I don't
overload Facebook servers with my constant updates. So lets get started.
I have decided to undergo Gastric Sleeve surgery to assist me in losing an almost epic amount of weight. To this end I have started a pre-op diet to lose 5% of my weight and shrink my liver. I am allowed 1200 (ish) calories a day. I cannot drink anything that has calories (i.e. soda, sweet tea, sports drinks). I am allowed to drink water, Crystal Light, unsweetened tea, or sugar free Kool-Aid. I am to have 5 protein shakes or bars daily and one real food meal consisting of lean meats, vegetables, and good fats (see oxymoron). I have chosen a few different brands of protein bars because there were so many different options. I am using Pure Protein (sorry Angel) Vanilla protein shake mix. the meal breakdown goes as follows:
Breakfast - 0930 hrs - 8oz Protein shake
Protein bar
Lunch - 1230 hrs - 8oz Protein shake
Protein bar
Snack - 1530 hrs - Protein bar
Dinner - 1900 hrs - FOOOOD!!
Today I tried 3 different protein bars to try and decide which I would continue purchasing and which could go directly to sawdust hell. ZONE Blueberry - Pomegranate Yogurt bar, not awful. It looks like a granola bar and is the least cardboard tasting of the options tried today. Lunch was brought to you by Power Bars' Peanut butter - Chocolate bar. Very chewy, but in a I-need-to-work-this-around-to-be-able-to-swallow-it way. Flavor wise, I didn't hate it and it could be looked at as a "treat", if I use the definition of "treat" loosely. Snack was provided by Balances' Chocolate Peanut Butter bar. OK, this is where it takes a turn for the ugly. Unwrapping this disappointment was just shy of a miracle (I'm looking at you Vatican). Once I was able to get to the bar, I was greeted by what can only be described as a fudgey turd. I was waiting for it to start talking and singing Christmas carols. Upon biting into the bar I was astonished to find that it truly was a turd and immediately spat it out and discarded it properly. Dinner was uneventful, but was met by excitement. Skinless chicken thighs (2), a cup of raw carrots, and a cup of steamed broccoli.
Didn't really have any cravings for sweet or fatty foods and while not full, I was satisfied. All in all, not a horrible day, but then again this is only day one and I have Life to go.
Awesome man, nice blog!
ReplyDeleteYou should give the soda water from a sodastream a trial run - Water's too boring to motivate me to drink it, but ever since my Mom got me a sodastream for Xmas I've been guzzling down fizzy water (or as Erika & I call it, Fuzzy Water) like there's no tomorrow. Sometimes I'll add syrup of some sort to it such as Torani or the actual sodastream branded stuff.
Keep up the good fight, and don't forget the imperial favor :)
Mike, you can totally do this. My best friend JUST had this done and she went through the exact same feelings you're expressing above my friend, and it was all worth it. You are not alone!! We're here for you!
ReplyDeleteCheers to you for taking on such a big life change! It's a big damn deal and I think you have what it takes to make this work.
ReplyDeleteI 2nd the recommendation of fizzy water to replace soda - it is what helped me give up soda while working at a place with unlimited free soda. There is a plethora of naturally flavored 0 calorie seltzers or other fizzy waters out there that I found really work to satisfy my soda craving.
Also, start playing with herbs and spices if you haven't already. Dried or especially fresh, herbs are a great way to get a ton of flavor without adding all sorts of calories. It will also help make the same basic ingredients taste different each time.
Good luck to you sir. I need to get back on the wagon. I went South Beach and until there were a series of unfortunate events that made me stop giving a shit, I was down 100 lbs from where I am today. I need to get back into the game myself. It's hard but it's all about redeterminging priorities.
ReplyDelete