Surgery this FRIDAY!!!

I know it may seem as though I am a little coo coo for coco puffs for being excited to go under the knife, but I am so ready to get the next part of my life started.  Thank you everyone who posts in this forum.  I have found so much useful information from all of you.  I am packing my bag tonight and wanted to get your advice on anything I may be missing.  Here is my list:

1. Lip Balm

2. My own pillow

3. PJ's

4. Deodorant, tooth brush, hair brush, body wash, shampoo/conditioner

5. Slippers

Am I missing anything? 

Surgery this Friday!!!  I am taking a phone and some cash but the hospital has lockers for this stuff.

Congratulations on your new beginning!  I took my phone, tablet and charger, if you are addicted like I am you will need them!  Otherwise you are good to go!

I brought some reading materials and crossword puzzles, but truthfully, I didn't do anything but sleep, sip and walk.  I'm glad I brought my own PJ's and slippers, but the rest I just carried in and carried out.

Best of luck with your surgery.  You'll do great, and you'll love the results.  I lost 225 pounds and went from a BMI of 60 to 24 in about 18 months.  Its truly amazing.

Carol

I've been stalking your journey lol!  You are such an inspiration.  I see a lot of different results for people.  Is there anything you feel you have done differently vs. some of the people here who start at a high BMI and aren't very successful? 

Thank you for your kind thoughts.  I'll share a story that may give insight into my journey.

I had a friend-of-a-friend who had weight loss surgery about 5 years before I did, and she was so enthusiastic about the surgery and so committed to the process.  I knew she had lost a lot of weight the first year after surgery, but I hadn't seen her in a few years.  She encouraged me to have WLS and I wasn't ready to do anything that drastic, so I resisted her efforts to get me into the program.  So when I finally decided to do it, I gave her a call, thinking she would be a great support for me.  I was surprised to hear that she had gained back most of the weight she lost.  I asked what happened, and she told me that after about a year or 18 months, she stopped following the rules.  She'd drink liquids with her meals, she stopped eating dense protein first, she ate slider foods.  She had great stress at work so she started stress-eating and grazing.  She said she was able to do all this and maintain for the first few months, and thought she was home free, but then she started gaining and never got it under control again.

I was stunned.  Her story seriously scared me. If she could have been so committed to the WL process and blow it so badly, so could I.  So when I started the process, I was immediately aware that I had to take the process seriously, or failure was a very real option.  I decided if I was going to do something as drastic as removing most of my stomach, I darn-well was going to be complaint with the rules. 

So I exercise every day because I know that if I give myself an out, I'll take it more and more often.  I eat dense protein first.  I don't drink water before or with my meals.  I limit carbs, even now that I'm in maintenance.  I avoid alcohol except for special occasions.  I still weigh and measure some foods, and watch my portion control.  I don't graze. 

Today I was in the bakery at my local food store, looking at the chocolate croissants, and I was telling myself "Its been over two an 1/2 years.  You deserve it."  But I know that if I start having sweet treats regularly, it will be all over.  So I walked away.  I will save those sweet treats for special occasions. 

I think part of it is that I was lucky.  WLS was the perfect treatment for my obesity.  But another part is a healthy respect for the disease of obesity.  Its not gone.  Its just under control. 

I also find that I need to make interesting foods.  I actually spend a lot more time planning and cooking my tiny meals now than I ever did before surgery.  I find that I need to have foods I like to help keep me resist the temptations.  So I can tell myself, "I won't have that pizza or that lasagne, but I can have buffalo chicken, or that pulled pork, or that chicken in spicy peanut sauce."  I need to have meals I enjoy to help me resist the dangerous choices. 

best of luck on your weight loss journey.

Carol