Dr. L.

I had my first consult with Dr L today. He strikes me as an extremely competent professional. He shared with my husband and I the procedure, asked lots of questions about me and the support network that I would have in place post surgery and then asked me when I wanted to have the surgery. Yes - he took me on as a patient and we are shooting for the end of November for surgery.

I am very excited - I should have an exact date within the next couple of weeks. They just need to get the final go ahead from OHIP.

I had a laugh during the consult - they set my ideal weight as 149lbs. 149lbs???? Who are they kidding? I haven't been that weight since I was an early teen. I told him that I would be happy at 160-165lbs. That gets my BMI to the top of the healthy range. I would have been happy with 180 but I didn't want to tell him that.

So I guess my journey has taken a new turn.

Before surgery I need to lose 10 - 15lbs. The directions are simple. No pop of any sort. It is poison. No artificial sweetners. Poison. Eat three meals a day, end of day meal the smallest. Eat protein first, then vegetables. Rice is ok. No dressing on salads (yuk) to eliminate fat. I can have fruit.

Oh yeah, and exercise. This will be the hardest for me cause I don't like it. The other normal excuses are true too - I'm too tired, I don't have enough time etc etc. But the base line is I don't like it. I will do it though - the more I can set a routine in the next month, the better my chances of a quick and healthy recovery. The better my chances of successful weight loss.

So I guess it's time to put one foot in front of the other and get myself moving and eating like I mean it. The surgery is but a tool - I still need to do the hard work.

And I'm looking forward to a new me...physically and mentally. Don't kid yourself - the fat is just a tiny part of the problem.