I stopped eating sugar over 3 months ago. I finally acknowledged that I am a sugar addict. If you read this blog regularly you already know that several weeks into my abstinence from sugar I was surprised by the dramatic change in my attitude towards food. My cravings stopped completely. I no longer wanted to eat all the time. Quitting sugar was transformative.
On Christmas Eve I said, "Screw it! It's Christmas. It is not going to kill me to have cookies and hot chocolate." So I did. I ate chocolate chip cookies. I drank homemade hot chocolate. I ate more cookies. I dunked them in homemade whipped cream. I ate a piece of chocolate. I ate biscuits and gravy.
The experience was eye opening to say the very least.
First of all, for the 24 hours that I allowed myself to eat sweets, that is all I wanted to do. I thought about it almost every second of the day. "Ooh, I want another cookie. Ooh, it would taste really good with some of that left over whipped cream on it. Ooh, OK. Why not? It's Christmas." It was constant. I ate a lot of cookies.
At noon on Christmas I said, "Enough is enough! Stop it!"
For the next three days my food cravings were intense. I wanted to eat constantly. And I don't mean I was just having sugar cravings, I was having food cravings constantly. I wanted to eat all day long. On the 26th, I pretty much did eat all day long. I just grazed throughout the day. All the food I ate was on program, it just wasn't on schedule. I ate way too much.
On the 27th I woke up with similar food cravings and two pounds heavier than I was on the 24th. I cannot abide gaining any weight. I won't do it. On the morning of the 27th I ate an on program breakfast and 10 minutes later I was looking for something else to eat. I just wanted to put more food in my mouth. So I put myself on a schedule. Lunch will be at noon. Dinner will be at 4:00. No snacks. I watched the clock all damn day. 10:00, 10:30, 11:15!!! Will noon every get here? Finally, it was twelve o'clock. I get to eat!!! Yeah!!! I had lunch. At 12:30 I wanted to eat again. Again the clock watching started. It took forever for 4:00 to roll around. It finally did, and I ate dinner. Then I waited for breakfast time on the 28th to roll around. This lasted for 3 days. Finally, yesterday, the cravings subsided. Today, I feel like I am back to my sugar-free normal.
I can't think of anything that is more definitive than this experience when it comes to proving to myself that I am, indeed, an addict.
I am not sorry I slipped. Maybe I needed this last bit of proof. Well, I guess there is no maybe about it. If I didn't need this last bit of proof, I wouldn't have done what I did. I am a sugar addict. Sugar is bad for me. I will never eat it again. And that, my friends, is that.
Have a beautiful day!!
Thursday, December 31, 2015
12/31/15: Grateful for everyone's support
I agonized over the decision regarding whether or not to get a tummy tuck for years. I hated my stomach, but I kept telling myself that elective surgeries were an unreasonable risk. Also, I had a hard time justifying the expense of the surgery. I wondered if vanity was driving my desire for a flat stomach. The real problem was, no matter how thin I got or how much I exercised or how good I felt about my physical fitness, I looked in the mirror and all I saw was that flabby stomach hanging over my C-section scar. It drove me nuts.
I didn't seriously consider getting a breast lift until I started researching tummy tucks on-line. That is when I discovered there was a procedure that was called a mommy makeover. The mommy makeover is a combination breast lift (often it includes a breast augmentation, but not in my case) and tummy tuck and often includes liposuction, here and there. When I learned of the mommy makeover, I really started dreaming about having this procedure done. I could fix my stomach and my breasts? How exciting would that be?
So I started to do a lot more research. I talked to Jack about it seriously. I wanted to know how he really felt about me taking the risk, as well as spending the money. All in, this procedure cost a little over $16,000. That is a lot of money. Jack said he wanted me to do what I thought was right for me. He didn't want me to have the surgery because it made him nervous, but he wanted me to be happy with my body. He knows how hard I have worked to lose weight and be fit and he knew how much I was tormented by the loose skin and sagging breasts. He supported my decision 100%.
At first, I didn't think I was going to tell the world about this. I thought this was a private decision and I didn't want to be judged for my decision. I guess I felt a little selfish and that bothered me. I told my family first, first my siblings and then my dad. I was surprised by how supportive they were. They all thought I "deserved" this. They were glad that I was doing this for myself. Then, slowly, I began telling friends and people at work. Everyone was so supportive. I began telling people simply because I couldn't figure out any other reason why I would miss 3 weeks of work. I could say that I was having some other type of surgery, but I didn't want to lie and I certainly didn't want people to think I was sick when I wasn't. So I said to myself, "What the hell, if you are going to do something, you might as well own up to it." So I started being very open about the fact that I was having the surgery done. I expected some backlash or some negative feedback from some people. In following other women's stories I came across several women that experienced negative comments from friends and co-workers. That never happened to me. Everyone I told had a similar response, they congratulated me and said, "Good for you!"
I would have done this surgery even if there had been naysayers, but the fact that everyone has been so supportive has made this so much easier. As I have healed and recouped I've received numerous calls of support and encouragement. My family and friends have been incredibly supportive. It makes me feel so good to have have this support. It makes me realize that the people that really know me know exactly how hard I have worked over the years to get healthy and fit. They also understand how frustrating it has been to work so hard and not be able to see the real results.
So, to everyone out there, thank you for your support. It has made a real difference. I have never felt so accepted and so loved for who I am. I know I didn't have to do this. It was a choice. You have not condemned me for making a selfish, vain decision. You've congratulated me for working hard and getting to a point where this surgery was the last step in a major transformation of my body and health. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Have a beautiful day!
I didn't seriously consider getting a breast lift until I started researching tummy tucks on-line. That is when I discovered there was a procedure that was called a mommy makeover. The mommy makeover is a combination breast lift (often it includes a breast augmentation, but not in my case) and tummy tuck and often includes liposuction, here and there. When I learned of the mommy makeover, I really started dreaming about having this procedure done. I could fix my stomach and my breasts? How exciting would that be?
So I started to do a lot more research. I talked to Jack about it seriously. I wanted to know how he really felt about me taking the risk, as well as spending the money. All in, this procedure cost a little over $16,000. That is a lot of money. Jack said he wanted me to do what I thought was right for me. He didn't want me to have the surgery because it made him nervous, but he wanted me to be happy with my body. He knows how hard I have worked to lose weight and be fit and he knew how much I was tormented by the loose skin and sagging breasts. He supported my decision 100%.
At first, I didn't think I was going to tell the world about this. I thought this was a private decision and I didn't want to be judged for my decision. I guess I felt a little selfish and that bothered me. I told my family first, first my siblings and then my dad. I was surprised by how supportive they were. They all thought I "deserved" this. They were glad that I was doing this for myself. Then, slowly, I began telling friends and people at work. Everyone was so supportive. I began telling people simply because I couldn't figure out any other reason why I would miss 3 weeks of work. I could say that I was having some other type of surgery, but I didn't want to lie and I certainly didn't want people to think I was sick when I wasn't. So I said to myself, "What the hell, if you are going to do something, you might as well own up to it." So I started being very open about the fact that I was having the surgery done. I expected some backlash or some negative feedback from some people. In following other women's stories I came across several women that experienced negative comments from friends and co-workers. That never happened to me. Everyone I told had a similar response, they congratulated me and said, "Good for you!"
I would have done this surgery even if there had been naysayers, but the fact that everyone has been so supportive has made this so much easier. As I have healed and recouped I've received numerous calls of support and encouragement. My family and friends have been incredibly supportive. It makes me feel so good to have have this support. It makes me realize that the people that really know me know exactly how hard I have worked over the years to get healthy and fit. They also understand how frustrating it has been to work so hard and not be able to see the real results.
So, to everyone out there, thank you for your support. It has made a real difference. I have never felt so accepted and so loved for who I am. I know I didn't have to do this. It was a choice. You have not condemned me for making a selfish, vain decision. You've congratulated me for working hard and getting to a point where this surgery was the last step in a major transformation of my body and health. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!
Have a beautiful day!
Saturday, December 26, 2015
12/26/2015: Day 13 - Recovery is slow and steady
It's been almost 2 weeks since I had my surgery and recovery is going according to plan. There is no amazing news, good or bad. It's just a slow and steady process.
Everything itches. That's a sign of healing, I know, but every incision is itching like crazy, and there are a lot of incisions. I am putting neosporin on the incisions and using moisturizer on the rest of me and still, everything itches. It's not a big deal, it's just a deal.
The surgical tape is slowly pealing off, soon there will be none left. With the surgical tape pealing off the scars are more pronounced. I will begin scar treatment therapy after my next visit to the doctor's office which is on January 4th. That is one of the big questions, how pronounced will the scars be, once they have healed? I won't have an answer to that question for quite a while.
My stomach is still quite tender. As I mentioned in a previous post, the surgeon did do diastasis repair (he sewed together the right and left side of my abdominal muscles). This is the most painful part of the recovery and this is what makes it difficult to get out of bed, get out of the car, bend over, etc. It hurts like hell if I sneeze or cough. Jack and I almost went on an outing the other day, but it started to rain and I asked him to go home. The last thing I wanted to do is get wet or cold, because then I would sneeze, and I knew that would hurt. The flip side of this is the fact that the diastasis repair had a huge impact on my body's profile. I look slim. It's bizarre. I notice it more with clothes on than I do without clothes on. Clothes look good on me. It's crazy.
My breasts are tender (and they itch - see above). My breasts never hurt, surprisingly enough, but they are tender. I need to be careful about lifting my arms above my head or lying on my side. But, in general, the breast lift was a relatively pain free portion of this whole surgery. I would say, if you are planning on having a tummy tuck you might as well do the breast lift while you're at it. Your tummy will hurt so much, you're breast lift will feel like it was thrown in for free, from a pain and recovery perspective.
My thighs hurt the most. That is probably the most surprising thing about all of the procedures. You would think that the lipo suction was the least invasive of all the procedures, yet it hurts more than anything else. It is still very painful to lie on my side because my thighs hurt so much. Yet, I'm not sorry I decided to have it done. Those saddle bags drove me crazy. They are gone. It really does make a difference.
I will have to wear a compression garment for another week, then I will get to switch to spanx for the next 3 weeks after that. The compression garment, which is basically a very tight girdle that goes from just above my knees to just below my breast bone, is uncomfortable, but it's not unbearable. Sometimes, by the end of the day, it starts to feel too tight, so I undo the top snaps. Other than that, I am wearing it 24/7 except for when it goes in the laundry. I am going to be glad when I can get out of this thing.
The most fun I have had since surgery is trying on the new clothes that Jack gave me for Christmas. I got a new dress and two new tops, all size medium. I could have fit into these clothes before my surgery, but I would have looked lumpy and they wouldn't have fit right. It's hard to describe exactly, but they would have stretched tightly across my chest and would have clung to the rolls around my middle. When I put these clothes on yesterday they fit perfectly. They draped and hung on me the way they drape and hang on the models in the catalog. I'm not as tall or as thin as the models, of course, but the clothes fit like they are designed to fit. My breasts are no longer a size bigger than the rest of me. My stomach is flat, my waist is narrow. It is truly remarkable how different I look in clothes. And that was all without my compression garment (or a bra) on. And I am still swollen from surgery. And I have not been to the gym in weeks.
The gym. I cannot tell you how much I am looking forward to going to the gym and getting in the best shape of my life. I don't need to rush there tomorrow, it will be another 4 weeks before I am allowed to exercise, but I am excited to go to the gym because the results are going to be so much better, visually. I've always felt great when I exercised, and enjoyed the fact that I look better when I am fit, but hated the fact that I still looked so out of shape. There was nothing I could do about the fact that my tummy was flabby, my breasts were saggy, and I had lumps on my thighs. Those things are fixed now. Now, when I go to the gym and get in really good shape, I will look like I am in really good shape. How exciting is that? Pretty damn exciting, I'd say!!!
All in all, I am thrilled with the results. Prior to the surgery I would have said that the tummy tuck was more important to me than the breast lift. I now would say the opposite. The tummy tuck makes a big difference in my body's shape, but the breast lift is the most dramatic change. I love, I mean I really love, the way my breasts look. It is hard to believe they are mine.
I am looking forward to being healed to the point that I no longer hurt and no longer tire easily. I am looking forward to being fully functional and being able to work out and jog and do whatever I want to do. I want to feel whole again. Until then, I will continue to rest, eat right, and enjoy my downtime as much as possible.
Have a beautiful day!
Wednesday, December 23, 2015
12/23/2015: Showered by myself today!
Progress in baby steps! I was able to undress myself and shower without any help today. Jack was close by, working on his computer and didn't have any music or anything on so he could hear me if I needed help. It felt good to accomplish this task by myself. I needed help zipping up one side of my compression garment, but other than that, I was able to get myself in and out of the shower by myself. I even washed my hair and shaved my legs (just up to my knees, I only shave my calves). A little neosporin on my scars, lotion all over everywhere else, and I feel half way human. We go to the doctor's soon to have the last drain removed. Yeah!!
Jack and I baked cookies yesterday. For Jackie, it is not Christmas without cookies. He was quite pleased. I did not eat any, nor did I lick my fingers while making the dough. It really has been about three months since I have eaten any sugar at all. Pretty amazing, really. I'm so glad. I know that not eating sugar will help me maintain my weight at around 150 forever. This has been a huge change.
With regard to the surgery, I am happier with the breast lift than I am with the tummy tuck, which surprises me. I thought it would be the other way around. My breasts look better than I ever could have imagined. I still have a slight bulge above the incision site for tummy tuck. It will be interesting to see how that improves over the months. I know there is swelling that needs to go down and that it will improve with massage and scar treatment. Also, the doctor said all along that it is not unusual to need a touch up on minor areas after the healing is done. Those sorts of things are done after about 6 months or a year and they are done in the office at no additional cost. We'll have to wait and see what everything looks like once the healing is complete.
Carla will be home this afternoon. It will be great to have her home for a week or so. We haven't seen our little girl in quite a while.
I guess that's it for now. I need to get ready to go to the doctor's office.
Have a beautiful day!
Jack and I baked cookies yesterday. For Jackie, it is not Christmas without cookies. He was quite pleased. I did not eat any, nor did I lick my fingers while making the dough. It really has been about three months since I have eaten any sugar at all. Pretty amazing, really. I'm so glad. I know that not eating sugar will help me maintain my weight at around 150 forever. This has been a huge change.
With regard to the surgery, I am happier with the breast lift than I am with the tummy tuck, which surprises me. I thought it would be the other way around. My breasts look better than I ever could have imagined. I still have a slight bulge above the incision site for tummy tuck. It will be interesting to see how that improves over the months. I know there is swelling that needs to go down and that it will improve with massage and scar treatment. Also, the doctor said all along that it is not unusual to need a touch up on minor areas after the healing is done. Those sorts of things are done after about 6 months or a year and they are done in the office at no additional cost. We'll have to wait and see what everything looks like once the healing is complete.
Carla will be home this afternoon. It will be great to have her home for a week or so. We haven't seen our little girl in quite a while.
I guess that's it for now. I need to get ready to go to the doctor's office.
Have a beautiful day!
Tuesday, December 22, 2015
12/22/2015: Highs and Lows
Yesterday, after having a drain removed, I felt a little better. I though I felt pretty good, actually. Then around 4:00 in the afternoon it all came crashing down around my ears. All of a sudden, I felt terrible. Nothing helped. Not drinking water, not taking a pain pill, not laying down, not sitting up, not walking around, nothing I could think of helped. So I laid there and felt miserable and sorry for myself for the rest of the evening. Pretty pathetic.
I made it through the night only waking up once, so that was my best night's sleep so far. That was a blessing. I woke up this morning still feeling pretty crappy. One of the things making me feel crappy is pain in my left shoulder. I think the pain is coming from sitting and standing in strange positions to keep my drain from poking me and hurting. Also, I haven't been able to stand totally straight since my surgery, so I think it is all adding up to stress on my upper back. Jack gave me a nice shoulder massage this morning and that helped a lot. I hope to get a few more of those, today. Part of the problem may be that we put the binder on too tightly yesterday. We took it off for a few hours last night, which helped the discomfort a little.
The last drain comes out tomorrow. That is definitely a good thing, though it does hurt really bad when the drain is removed. That is temporary though, compared to the relief of having it out of me. After that I hope to experience pretty rapid progress.
We should get instructions tomorrow with regard to scar therapy and tissue massage to minimize scarring and reduce swelling and soften up the tissue damaged by the surgery. The short periods of time that Jack massages me and rubs lotion over me are the highlights of my day. Never, ever underestimate the power of touch. It is so therapeutic.
I fantasized for a moment that I may be able to join Jack for the annual Christmas Eve gathering with his family, but after yesterday's regression I realize that is silly. I'm definitely staying home and relaxing. More than anything, I just want to recover and get strong.
I have stuck with my food program 100% through this whole thing, so far. I have to admit, there are times that I think about eating sweets. I think it is because I feel crappy and I make believe that it will make me feel better. When I start thinking about eating sweets (ice cream or dark chocolate) I think about the chain reaction it will start in my body. The elevation of my blood sugar, the release of insulin, my hormones getting whacked out, the resulting inflammation, and I talk myself out of it fairly quickly. The fact is, the swelling I am experiencing is minimal compared to that of other women that have had the same procedure. Some gain 15 or more pounds and don't lose it for weeks. I am exactly the same weight I was going into the procedure, which means that whatever the doctor cut off I have gained in swelling, but that's it. I attribute my rapid healing and my minimal swelling to my diet. I'm not going to blow it, or my 3 months of abstinence from sugar by succumbing to a craving because I feel sorry for myself.
All is well. This, too, shall pass.
Have a beautiful day!
I made it through the night only waking up once, so that was my best night's sleep so far. That was a blessing. I woke up this morning still feeling pretty crappy. One of the things making me feel crappy is pain in my left shoulder. I think the pain is coming from sitting and standing in strange positions to keep my drain from poking me and hurting. Also, I haven't been able to stand totally straight since my surgery, so I think it is all adding up to stress on my upper back. Jack gave me a nice shoulder massage this morning and that helped a lot. I hope to get a few more of those, today. Part of the problem may be that we put the binder on too tightly yesterday. We took it off for a few hours last night, which helped the discomfort a little.
The last drain comes out tomorrow. That is definitely a good thing, though it does hurt really bad when the drain is removed. That is temporary though, compared to the relief of having it out of me. After that I hope to experience pretty rapid progress.
We should get instructions tomorrow with regard to scar therapy and tissue massage to minimize scarring and reduce swelling and soften up the tissue damaged by the surgery. The short periods of time that Jack massages me and rubs lotion over me are the highlights of my day. Never, ever underestimate the power of touch. It is so therapeutic.
I fantasized for a moment that I may be able to join Jack for the annual Christmas Eve gathering with his family, but after yesterday's regression I realize that is silly. I'm definitely staying home and relaxing. More than anything, I just want to recover and get strong.
I have stuck with my food program 100% through this whole thing, so far. I have to admit, there are times that I think about eating sweets. I think it is because I feel crappy and I make believe that it will make me feel better. When I start thinking about eating sweets (ice cream or dark chocolate) I think about the chain reaction it will start in my body. The elevation of my blood sugar, the release of insulin, my hormones getting whacked out, the resulting inflammation, and I talk myself out of it fairly quickly. The fact is, the swelling I am experiencing is minimal compared to that of other women that have had the same procedure. Some gain 15 or more pounds and don't lose it for weeks. I am exactly the same weight I was going into the procedure, which means that whatever the doctor cut off I have gained in swelling, but that's it. I attribute my rapid healing and my minimal swelling to my diet. I'm not going to blow it, or my 3 months of abstinence from sugar by succumbing to a craving because I feel sorry for myself.
All is well. This, too, shall pass.
Have a beautiful day!
Monday, December 21, 2015
12/21/2015: Post op - one week
We just got back from my one week post-op doctor's visit and everything is on track for a speedy recovery.
The big news is drain number # 3 came out, so there is only one left. That drain should come out on Wednesday. Of the two remaining drains, this one was bothering me the most, so I am glad to have it gone. I am noticeably more comfortable, even though there is still one left. It did hurt, a lot, to have the drain removed, in spite of the fact that I took a pain pill before we left for the doctor's office. I'm taking two before we head over there on Wednesday!
The surgical tape is off of my belly scar and that incision looks so much better than I thought it would. It is a very thin scar. Much less noticeable than the C-Section scar that used to be there.
I'm now in a girdle-like compression garment so that I will have compression on my thighs. It cuts me off at the mid-section pretty badly, so I can't zip it all the way up. The nurse wants me to switch between this and my other compression garment. That will be good, to go back and forth. It gets old wearing one type of garment day in and day out.
All-in-all, no complaints other than generally being uncomfortable. I think things will get much better once the last drain comes out.
Have a beautiful day!
The big news is drain number # 3 came out, so there is only one left. That drain should come out on Wednesday. Of the two remaining drains, this one was bothering me the most, so I am glad to have it gone. I am noticeably more comfortable, even though there is still one left. It did hurt, a lot, to have the drain removed, in spite of the fact that I took a pain pill before we left for the doctor's office. I'm taking two before we head over there on Wednesday!
The surgical tape is off of my belly scar and that incision looks so much better than I thought it would. It is a very thin scar. Much less noticeable than the C-Section scar that used to be there.
I'm now in a girdle-like compression garment so that I will have compression on my thighs. It cuts me off at the mid-section pretty badly, so I can't zip it all the way up. The nurse wants me to switch between this and my other compression garment. That will be good, to go back and forth. It gets old wearing one type of garment day in and day out.
All-in-all, no complaints other than generally being uncomfortable. I think things will get much better once the last drain comes out.
Have a beautiful day!
Saturday, December 19, 2015
12/19/15: No Blood Clots
I got a clean bill of health from the sonogram on my legs. I have no blood clots. The doctor's office called me almost immediately after they received the message from the technician. After I heard the relief in my nurse's voice I understood how truly concerned plastic surgeons must be about DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis). DVT is an uncommon yet dangerous potential side effect of any surgery. DVT occurs when blood clot forms in one of your primary veins or arteries. The real risk is that the blood clot will break loose and go to a lung. That would be very bad.
I didn't have any symptoms of DVT other than leg pain, but it turns out that as soon as a plastic surgeon hears the words "leg" and "pain" in the same sentence after surgery, they immediately want it checked out. So I got it checked out. No clots. Lots of relief from the doctor's office.
My biggest complaints are that I am uncomfortable and I am bored. There is nothing to be done about either of these things, I am afraid. I'll be more comfortable once the drains come out. The first one is scheduled to come out on Monday, the second on Thursday. I'm moving about the house a bit, doing simple chores like cleaning off the top of my dresser and night stand. I'm watching movies, reading, watching TV, talking on the phone. Fun times.
I'm grateful for my good health and the progress I'm making with healing. It's all good.
Have a beautiful day!
I didn't have any symptoms of DVT other than leg pain, but it turns out that as soon as a plastic surgeon hears the words "leg" and "pain" in the same sentence after surgery, they immediately want it checked out. So I got it checked out. No clots. Lots of relief from the doctor's office.
My biggest complaints are that I am uncomfortable and I am bored. There is nothing to be done about either of these things, I am afraid. I'll be more comfortable once the drains come out. The first one is scheduled to come out on Monday, the second on Thursday. I'm moving about the house a bit, doing simple chores like cleaning off the top of my dresser and night stand. I'm watching movies, reading, watching TV, talking on the phone. Fun times.
I'm grateful for my good health and the progress I'm making with healing. It's all good.
Have a beautiful day!
Friday, December 18, 2015
12/18/2015: Post Surgery - Day 4
We made an unscheduled trip to the doctor's office today because I was having shooting pains in the backs of my legs. The biggest concern with leg pain after surgery is blood clots. I don't have symptoms that indicate blood clots; no aches, no swelling, no unusual bruising, no shortness of breath, but out of an abundance of caution, we are going to a radiology clinic this afternoon to get my legs scanned.
Probably the pain is either nerve related (from sleeping in the recliner) or muscle/skeletal related from lack of movement. Either way, this is not a common symptom and the doctor wanted assurances that there are no blood clots. I have stopped sleeping in the recliner and I am moving about more today. This seems to have helped. I did not have pain in my legs the last time I got up.
Other than the pain in my legs, the doctor's appointment was reassuring. The nurse checked all the sutures, drains, bruising, swelling, etc. and everything looked as it should. An A+ checkup for healing.
Boredom will likely be my biggest challenge. What am I going to do for two more weeks?
We'll need to start going to the movies, soon.
Have a beautiful day.
Probably the pain is either nerve related (from sleeping in the recliner) or muscle/skeletal related from lack of movement. Either way, this is not a common symptom and the doctor wanted assurances that there are no blood clots. I have stopped sleeping in the recliner and I am moving about more today. This seems to have helped. I did not have pain in my legs the last time I got up.
Other than the pain in my legs, the doctor's appointment was reassuring. The nurse checked all the sutures, drains, bruising, swelling, etc. and everything looked as it should. An A+ checkup for healing.
Boredom will likely be my biggest challenge. What am I going to do for two more weeks?
We'll need to start going to the movies, soon.
Have a beautiful day.
Wednesday, December 16, 2015
12/16/2015: Day two of recovery
Recovery is going well. I took a shower today, which felt good, even if i was freezing cold when I got out of the shower. Jack and I struggled a little bit getting the compression garment on just right, but we eventually got it. I am wearing a compression garment around my abs and a jogging bra over my breasts.
I am not in a lot of pain, but I am experiencing a lot of discomfort. I guess I expected it to be worse, so that's good that it is not. I am planning on taking it very easy for three whole weeks. I want this recovery to start off well. I go back to the surgeon on Monday to get at least one, if not both drains out.
Everything looks pretty good, but I am fairly swollen, so it's a little hard to tell what the end results will look like. So far, I like what I see.
Food has been easy. I'm eating my normal diet, just less of it, which seems reasonable considering how little I am moving. I'm not nauseous, but after I eat a little bit I just don't feel like eating anymore. I am taking my pain meds, one every four hours That helps a lot.
All is well. There is a lot of recovering left to do!
I am not in a lot of pain, but I am experiencing a lot of discomfort. I guess I expected it to be worse, so that's good that it is not. I am planning on taking it very easy for three whole weeks. I want this recovery to start off well. I go back to the surgeon on Monday to get at least one, if not both drains out.
Everything looks pretty good, but I am fairly swollen, so it's a little hard to tell what the end results will look like. So far, I like what I see.
Food has been easy. I'm eating my normal diet, just less of it, which seems reasonable considering how little I am moving. I'm not nauseous, but after I eat a little bit I just don't feel like eating anymore. I am taking my pain meds, one every four hours That helps a lot.
All is well. There is a lot of recovering left to do!
Tuesday, December 15, 2015
12/15/2015: Surgery is Complete
I'm sitting in my recliner all comfy and cozy, typing on my laptop under the influence of pain medications, so don't expect too much from this post.
Surgery went very well. It lasted every bit of 6 hours and the surgeon did have to do some diastasis repair (stitching together my abdominal muscles), so the recovery will be a little longer than I was hoping, but the end result will be worth it!
I had my first post-op appointment today and got to see my new body for the first time. Oh my goodness! I love it! My tummy is perfectly flat and my breasts are small and firm - perky even. Dr. Hodge did an amazing job! He was even impressed with his own handiwork.
The worst of the pain was in my thighs where he did some lipo on my saddlebags, but that only lasted last night. They don't hurt anymore. As for the rest of it, I am uncomfortable but not in a tremendous amount of pain, as long as I take it easy. And i plan on taking it easy!!
I get to take a shower tomorrow, so that will be awesome. I'm looking forward to getting clean, but I am also looking forward to standing in front of the mirror. The transformation really is remarkable. Even Jack is impressed!
It'll be 6 weeks before I can start exercising again. I'm looking forward to that. It'll be a lot more fun to get toned up, now.
It was kind of funny. When I woke up after surgery the nurse wanted to give me something to eat before taking my pain meds. The first thing she offered me as sweet, and I told her no, I don't eat sugar. Then she offered a cracker and I said, no, I don't eat grains. She said how about applesauce and I said OK. So I guess the no sugar thing is totally ingrained. Fuzzy from surgery and pain, I still refused to eat sweets. I think that's a good sign!!
All in all, the doc and the nurses were happy with my progress. Yes, all is well.
Have a beautiful day!
Surgery went very well. It lasted every bit of 6 hours and the surgeon did have to do some diastasis repair (stitching together my abdominal muscles), so the recovery will be a little longer than I was hoping, but the end result will be worth it!
I had my first post-op appointment today and got to see my new body for the first time. Oh my goodness! I love it! My tummy is perfectly flat and my breasts are small and firm - perky even. Dr. Hodge did an amazing job! He was even impressed with his own handiwork.
The worst of the pain was in my thighs where he did some lipo on my saddlebags, but that only lasted last night. They don't hurt anymore. As for the rest of it, I am uncomfortable but not in a tremendous amount of pain, as long as I take it easy. And i plan on taking it easy!!
I get to take a shower tomorrow, so that will be awesome. I'm looking forward to getting clean, but I am also looking forward to standing in front of the mirror. The transformation really is remarkable. Even Jack is impressed!
It'll be 6 weeks before I can start exercising again. I'm looking forward to that. It'll be a lot more fun to get toned up, now.
It was kind of funny. When I woke up after surgery the nurse wanted to give me something to eat before taking my pain meds. The first thing she offered me as sweet, and I told her no, I don't eat sugar. Then she offered a cracker and I said, no, I don't eat grains. She said how about applesauce and I said OK. So I guess the no sugar thing is totally ingrained. Fuzzy from surgery and pain, I still refused to eat sweets. I think that's a good sign!!
All in all, the doc and the nurses were happy with my progress. Yes, all is well.
Have a beautiful day!
Sunday, December 13, 2015
12/13/15: Tomorrow is the Big Day
Days of abstinence: 82
Days until surgery: 19.5 hours
Weight: 155.4 pounds
Wow, I can’t believe it’s been a week since I
put up a blog post. I think I’ve gone
this long between posts for two reasons.
First, I’ve been way too busy working 12+ hour days and when I’m not
working I'm getting ready for Christmas. I have
to have all of my Christmas shopping and wrapping done before I go into surgery
tomorrow. I just haven’t had time to do
anything but the essentials, lately.
Second, I haven’t had much to say.
My eating program is stable, I am not having any problems staying on
program and I haven’t had any new insights with regard to my diet. My weight has stabilized right around 155
pounds, give or take a few tenths of a pound on any given day. I feel good.
I just don’t have much to say.
With regard to my surgery, I don’t have much
else to say other than that I am anxious, which I am certain is a very common
emotion for someone getting ready to go into something like this.
Today, I just wanted to touch base and say that
the surgery is scheduled for 9:30AM tomorrow and should be done by 3:30. I’ll try to put up a blog post by the end of
the week and let you know how it went.
Other than that, all is well.
Have a beautiful day!
Sunday, December 6, 2015
12/6/15: The Good and the Bad
Days of abstinence: 75
Exercise: None –
Unless cooking, wrapping presents, and shopping all day counts (and I know it
doesn’t)
Days until surgery: 8
Weight: 155.4 pounds
First – what I am not pleased with: I am having trouble staying really committed
to exercise. I know exactly why. Partly, I am way too busy and I am having
trouble getting enough time to sleep.
I’m getting up at 4:00 and going to work, instead of exercising. I am going to be off for three weeks and
there is so much for me to get done before I leave. This is not a normal time at work. We are in the middle of a massive
restructuring/”right sizing” and I need to have all of my ducks in a row so Mike
can manage the cash side of things relatively easily in my absence. But a bigger factor is the knowledge that I
will not be able to exercise for 6 weeks, so I know I am going to be starting
over, anyway. It’s stupid. I know that.
I know it makes more sense to be as fit as possible on the day of
surgery, but when I do exercise all I can think about is how weak I am going to
be in 7 weeks and how I am going to have to start from square one. I have a plan for that, I have no doubt that
I’ll do it, but it makes getting really into exercise now, difficult for
me. It’s all emotional and irrational
and I know that. But it is what is
making it difficult to prioritize exercise ahead of sleep or work.
Second – what I am pleased with: I weighed 155.4 pounds this
morning!!!!!! I am so close to my goal
weight range of 150 – 155 pounds prior to surgery!! I am so excited!! My body is so predictable. Lose a couple of pounds in a day or two. Fight to keep it off for 7 – 10 days. Then lose a couple of more pounds. Weird.
I wish I understood why it works that way, but I never will. With a lot of hard work, persistence,
commitment and a little luck, I’ll never have to find out again. I am not gaining this weight back. I am getting the skin removed, I am getting my
breasts lifted, and I am getting the saddle bags sucked away. After that, my clean, sugar free diet and
regular exercise is going to keep me within 5 pounds of 150 for the rest of my
life. Yes, I am incredibly excited about
this!!!!
This surgery has changed my whole frame of mind
about my body. Being healthy is my first
priority and everything about the foods we eat and exercising regularly is about
being healthy. Going to bed early,
getting at least 7 hours of sleep, drinking lots of water, flossing my teeth;
these are all things I do to try to stay healthy. But all this loose skin has always irritated me. Now that I have decided to spend the
money, take the risk, and endure the pain of getting it cut off, my mind set is
firmly entrenched in, “I will never again gain this weight back.” Also, I will get much more dramatic results
from conditioning, now that I will actually have a flat tummy and the saddle
bags will be gone. Wow!!
I’ve been sugar free for two and a half
months. No regrets there. It is so much easier to stay On Program than it has ever been before. No “cheat”
days. No sneaking food. No cravings.
Just eating like a “normal” person.
Food no longer rules me. What a
relief.
I’ve got more packages to wrap, so I gotta
run. Also, Carla is coming home for
Christmas, now, so I need to go shopping and get her some stocking stuffers
before I get cut on next Monday. So much
to do. Only 7 days left to do it!!
Have a beautiful day!
Friday, December 4, 2015
12/4/15: Too Busy
Days of abstinence: 73
Exercise: Cardio
weight lifting
Days until surgery: 10
Weight: 157.2 pounds
It’s a good thing Jack and I decided to downplay
Christmas this year. I am just too
busy. The deal at work that was on again
then off again then on again is now off again.
Whether that is for better or for worse, we’ll never know, it just
is. The whole process was time consuming
and exhausting and all of the work seems to be for naught. But, then again, there is that silver
lining. The due diligence process that
we went through was enlightening and it made very clear some of the very
basic changes that we needed to make to be successful. They are difficult changes and the last few
weeks have been exhausting, physically and emotionally; but they are changes
that should “right size” our monthly expenses to our current revenue
levels. They are also changes that
should result in an increase in revenues.
I am glad we are going through this process, but I don’t want to do much except work and sleep.
It’s hard to believe that I only have 6 days of
work left before this surgery. There is
so much to do. There is so little
time! Yikes. I guess the world will keep turning, even
when I am laid up in my recliner.
I’m anxious, nervous, excited. I’m glad this is going to be over, soon. I’m ready to start the process of
recovering. I want to get through that
first week. I know it will be pretty
dreadful until I get the drains out, so I want to just get that part done and
over with, already. I’m preparing myself
for the worst of it.
Food.
What can I say about food that I have not said already? Not much.
Other than I have decided that alcohol is out, forever. It’s a sugar, plain and simple, and I don’t
do sugar. Not much else to say about
that. I don’t know why it was such a tough decision, but there you go.
After surgery, my focus will be on maintaining
my weight and my physical fitness. I may
hire a trainer again, once I can start exercising. It helps me stay on track. I won’t want to lose any more weight, but I
will want to be strong and fit. I am
looking forward to that next stage. Surgery
and recovery will be stage 3. Once I can
start exercising again, I’ll be in stage 4, strength and fitness for life.
Stage 1:
2012/2013 – Weight Loss
Stage 2:
2013/2015 – Weight Maintenance/Stabilize Habits
Stage 3:
2015/2016 – Surgery and Recovery
Stage 4:
2016/Rest of Life – Wellness, Weight Maintenance, Strength and Fitness
Have a beautiful day!
Tuesday, December 1, 2015
12/1/15: Surgery is Less Than Two Weeks Away
Days of abstinence: 69
Exercise: Cardio weight
lifting
Days until surgery: 13!!!!
Weight: 157.2 pounds
We’ve had intermittent internet service which
explains my on-again-off-again blog posts.
It is a little frustrating when I can’t maintain my routines because of
the lack of internet service. TWC is
coming to the house this afternoon.
Maybe we will get a better understanding of why they have so much
difficulty keeping our service up and running.
Yesterday I turned off my alarm and went back to
sleep. I never, ever do that. I guess I got used to sleeping in a little
bit over the Thanksgiving holiday. I
made it to work on time, but I did not get my workout in. Today I got up at 4:00 and did a cardio
weight lifting routine. It felt great,
even if I was a little sore from my workouts this weekend.
I have to go to Denver for a quick business trip
next week. We’ll fly out Tuesday morning
and fly home Tuesday night. I had to
call the surgeon’s nurse and make sure it was OK to fly that close to
surgery. She said it was not a problem
since it is such a short flight. It
makes this very real, knowing I am checking with my surgeon before flying and
making arrangements at work to be gone for three weeks. I really am doing this thing. It is so hard to believe it is actually
happening. I have dreamt about this for
years, ever since I was a much younger woman.
It’s hard to imagine not having all this extra skin anymore. It’s been there a long time!
My food program remains solid. I have not had any problems with cravings or
over consumption since the first week or so of making the decision to abstain
from sugar for life. My attitude about
food has changed considerably. It’s not
that I don’t enjoy food anymore, because I do.
But I don’t crave food all the time.
Work is hard to get excited about these
days. I need an attitude
adjustment. Maybe once we get through
this next week and get a plan established I’ll feel better. Right now it just seems like such a
grind. Ugh. Perhaps today will be a better day.
For the past couple of decades I have
experienced a period of depression between Thanksgiving and Christmas. I’m hoping that it has been at least
partially food related and that by not eating sweets I will avoid the worst
part of the depression. I feel like I am
in a slump right now, though. I’ll have
to try to snap myself out of this!!
Perhaps it’s just the onset of winter.
I really dislike winter. But, I’m
getting my tummy and my breasts fixed.
That is something to look forward to!
It’s all going to work out just fine.
Have a beautiful day!
Saturday, November 28, 2015
11/28/15: Getting Caught Up On a Long Weekend
Days of abstinence: 66
Exercise: Cardio
weight lifting
Days until surgery: 16!!!!
Weight: 157.0 pounds
I can’t believe it is only Saturday and we have
already had 2 days off from work. It
seems crazy that we are off 4 days in a row.
Pretty soon I won’t know what to do with myself.
What I did do today is exercise, in spite of
forces conspiring against me. Freezing
rain outside, intermittent internet (so no Daily Burn website access)
inside. So I put together my own Black
Fire-ish routine and worked hard for 40 minutes. It was an effective workout.
Jack and I have started our Christmas
shopping. It needs to be done before
surgery, so we have plans to shop a little every day and evening through next
weekend. With the cost of the two family
reunions this year and my surgery, we really are going to try to keep things light
this year. I finally got our finances
caught back up from the huge home renovation project from a year ago. Two steps forward, one step back, it seems
like. It’s my own doing of course. I don’t have to do this surgery. It is something I really want to do!
I guess I don’t have much else to add and I can
hear Jack banging around in the bedroom, so I am going to sign off and get
breakfast started.
Have a beautiful day!
Friday, November 27, 2015
11/27/15: Surgery – It’s What I Think About All Day, Now
Days of abstinence: 65
Days until surgery: 17!!!!
Weight: 157.0 pounds
It sure is fun to get up in the morning and see
a drop in the scale!! I weighed 157
pounds this morning!! Yeah!! In my 65 days of abstinence I have lost 12.8
pounds. It hasn’t been a rapid weight
loss, by any measurement, but it has been steady. I am getting close enough to my goal weight
that I am content with my progress. I’d
be comfortable going into surgery today, at this weight. I’ll probably lose another pound or two,
though, which would be great, but I feel pretty good about my weight, today. My boobs are getting to the stage where they
don’t feel very heavy when I lift them and they don’t ache when I take off my
bra at the end of the day. I think when
the breast lift is done they will be a nice size. I can’t tell you how much I am looking
forward to having smaller breasts. I can’t
decide what I am looking forward to more, a flat tummy or firm, smaller
breasts. The prospect of both is so
exciting. I guess that is why I am having
both procedures done, instead of only one or the other.
The closer the surgery date gets, the more I am
thinking about it. I am nervous, who
wouldn’t be? I’m excited. Who wouldn’t be? Jack is very supportive. His biggest concern, other than for my health
and well-being, is he’s worried about being a good care-giver after the
surgery. He’s also worried that I am
going to go stir crazy when I am home recuperating for 3 weeks. Actually, I’m not sure which he is more
worried about, the risks of the actual surgery or the risk of me being bored
out of my mind. He keeps saying, “I don’t
know how we are going to keep you entertained for 3 weeks. There is only so much TV, puzzles, reading,
etc., you can do before you’ll go nuts.”
I tell him I’m going to be drugged up for part of that time and not to worry
so much about my boredom, but he may have a point. My mind does start racing when I’m
bored. There’s no telling what schemes I
will think up during my convalescence. I
guess he has reason to be worried, now that I think about it. I don’t do bored very well. In general, I sit still only when I am
tired. I probably will get ants in my
pants about half way through my 3 weeks off.
When it comes to sitting still, I have come to
the conclusion that following doctor’s orders about the exact right amount of
movement after surgery is critically important.
I’ve been following several women that have had this surgery and those
that feel great afterwards and try to do too much are the ones that have their
drains in the longest and have the most difficulties after about 2 weeks. The ones that are in a lot of pain afterwards
and therefore limit their movement to going to the rest room and taking a short
walk around the house, get their drains out the fastest and have the least
complications at 2 weeks. Being careful
about movement will impact how quickly my skin re-adheres to my abdominal
muscles and how quickly and neatly my incisions heal. You can count on the fact that I will follow
doctor’s orders to the letter. I am
lucky that I don’t have any kids at homes.
A lot of women are doing this surgery with little ones at home. That would be rough. I don’t have to take care of anyone but Jack,
and for three weeks, he is going to be taking care of me.
I’m starting to get excited about buying some
new clothes. When I look at outfits that
I think are cute I no longer judge whether or not they will hide my breasts or
bulges in my tummy sufficiently. I know
my “look” will change after surgery. I
have always been drawn to clothes that are a little more playful or colorful
rather than run-of-the-mill, but I’ve been limited as to where I can shop and
what I can wear because I’ve been so over-weight and since my weight loss I’ve
had so many bulges in all the wrong places.
I am looking forward to letting my creative side out with my
wardrobe. The older I get, the more
liberties I feel I can take with my wardrobe.
I mean, who cares what a 53 year old grandmamma wears, anyway? No one.
I can feel my playful side getting ready to come out, when it comes to
clothes. This is going to be fun!
If you are an astute follower of this blog, you’ll
have made the observation that I haven’t been exercising regularly enough. This is because of the ridiculous, whacked
out schedule that I have been living.
First it was way too much work, then the kids were here, then I was
getting up at 4:00AM to get caught up on all of the things I have
neglected. Finally, everything feels
normal again. I will exercise every
single day from now until surgery. After
surgery, I won’t be able to do anything for 6 weeks. That is going to be rough. I will add exercise to my daily heading in
order to keep myself accountable.
I guess that’s it for now. Thanks for listening.
Have a beautiful day!
Thursday, November 26, 2015
11/26/15: I Paid the Surgeon Yesterday
Days of abstinence: 64
Days until surgery: 18!!!
Weight: 158.6 pounds
Wow! I
can’t believe surgery is only two and a half weeks away! Jack and I went to my pre-op appointment
yesterday and paid the surgeon. We still
need to pay the surgical center and the anesthesiologist in the next few
days. This is really happening! I am nervous and anxious about the surgery
and the recovery period after the surgery, but I am really looking forward to
all of this extra skin being gone. It’s
so hard to believe that after all of these years I will no longer have folds of
skin hanging below my C-section scar or large, loose hanging breasts. Wow.
It’s hard to believe this is really happening. In addition to the full tummy tuck and breast
lift, I am also getting lipo suction on my outer thighs to remove the saddle
bags that will not budge with any amount of diet or exercise.
It sounds like I am really lucky that my
abdominal muscles are strong and where they belong. It sounds like the most painful part of a
tummy tuck recovery is the suturing of the muscles to repair separation of
abdominal muscles. The doctor doesn’t
think I will need that. If I need a
small repair, he’ll do it, but he doesn’t think he’ll need to do anything major
with my muscles.
I’m getting close to my goal range of 150 – 155 before
surgery. Perhaps I will get to 155,
perhaps I won’t. I am not too worried
about it. I am glad to be in the
150s. My guess is I will lose another
couple of pounds before surgery, but that’s it.
I’m fine with that. My biggest
motivation for wanting to lose a little more weight was so that my breasts would
be smaller and lighter going into surgery so that they would end up being a
smaller size after the breast lift. I
feel pretty good about that, now. It’s
amazing how much difference a few pounds can make.
I haven’t had any sugar in 64 days!! The amazing part about that is I don’t want
any sugar. I’m not even tempted. It sure makes it easier to lose weight. The biggest difference in my eating, between
not losing weight and losing weight, is how much I eat for dinner. If I have “three squares a day,” three nice,
hearty meals, I maintain my weight. If I
have a hearty breakfast and lunch and eat about a half portion for dinner, I
lose a little weight. Most of the time I
keep my dinner light, but if I’m eating late and am pretty hungry, sometimes
that is hard to do. The hardest moment
is when I am putting the food on my plate.
If I am really hungry, I tend to take more food. If I put the food on my plate, I eat it. It also helps to eat dinner early in the
evening.
I continue to have discussions with family and
friends about alcohol and coffee. I am
very, very close to deciding that alcohol is gone from my life forever. As I told Carla yesterday, I don’t really
need to make this decision until February 1, which will be about when most of
my recovery is complete. I know I won’t
go off program at all until then, anyway.
But it is something I am thinking about.
Never drinking a glass of wine again is not that big of a deal, so I
wonder a little bit about why I am giving this so much thought. I think it has something to do with the way
drinking a glass of wine with a nice dinner for a special occasion sort of
slows down the moment and seems to make it more of an event. I don’t know.
Anyway, the bottom line is alcohol, for all practical purposes, is a
sugar. I don’t eat sugar. Therefore, alcohol should probably be a
banned substance, too. I honestly don’t
know why I am grappling with this at all.
It seems like an easy decision, doesn’t it? I’m probably almost there.
With regard to coffee, even though it is an
addictive substance and, yes, it is mood altering, I see no reason to stop
drinking it. It is something I really
enjoy. My two-cup-a-day habit causes me
to pause and enjoy life for a minute.
The time I spend drinking my coffee is the part of the day when I settle
down and relax. Usually, I am the only
one in the house that is awake. It’s my
quiet, me time. There is no evidence
that drinking coffee is bad for me.
Sugar and alcohol hurt my body.
That is an established fact.
There is no evidence that coffee hurts my body. I am hard pressed to come up with a good argument
to give up something that I really enjoy that does not hurt me.
There is an argument that maybe coffee should be
eliminated because it is addictive and mood altering. The transformation that I experienced when I
stopped eating sugar was profound. The
most startling change was how much happier and content I am. As I mentioned in a previous post, sugar
seemed to take the edge off my highs and lows, so my moods were less intense
when I was using sugar. Now, I seem to be
experiencing emotions more fully and, somehow, resetting to a
higher-happiness-plateau more quickly after an intense emotion. This is a remarkable and unexpected benefit
that has resulted from giving up the sugar drug. Would I experience a similar benefit from
giving up the caffeine drug? I have no
idea.
My gut response to that question is no. I think there are a lot of reasons that I am
happier without sugar in my life. Part
of it is definitely the physiological impact that sugar had on my
hormones. But part of it is the
psychological hold that sugar had on my behavior. Sugar owned me in a way that coffee never has
and never will. Sugar called the shots,
I didn’t. Coffee is not that way. I enjoy my coffee, but I don’t want more than
a couple cups a day. I have a hard and
fast rule, no coffee after noon. If I
drink coffee after noon, I have trouble falling asleep. I don’t see a cup of coffee at 1:00 in the
afternoon and wish I could drink it.
Sometimes, if it is really cold out, I want a cup of coffee to warm
myself up, but a cup of herbal tea fills in that void, nicely. Also, coffee has no calories. Consuming coffee does not make me fat.
I find the idea that giving up caffeine may have
a positive impact on my emotional well-being intriguing. I’m thinking about it. Maybe being free of all addictions would be a
good thing. Maybe it is unimportant. Who knows?
Oh, and by the way, it is Thanksgiving. For a lot of us that means too much food,
including desserts and wine. For us,
today, that means no such thing. Jackie
and I are treating it like any other day.
We had a big family dinner with the kids when they were here. We are content to enjoy this four days off
with no celebrations or commitments, other than to get caught up around the
house and get some planning done. I’m
glad. I can hardly believe I have four
days off with nothing to do. What a
relief. It’s been a while since I really
felt like I could relax and recuperate.
And on that note, I will sign off.
Have a beautiful Thanksgiving day!
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
11/25/15: Donuts Stink
Days of abstinence: 63
Days until surgery: 19!!
Weight: 158.8 pounds
Have you ever noticed that donuts smell bad? Somebody brought donuts to work and left the box on the counter. Out of curiosity I opened the box to see what was in it. Obviously it was baked goods and something that I would not eat, but I am a baker and am often curious about what others bring in. When I open the box the odor of the donuts hit me in the face. I couldn't believe how overwhelming the smell was. I never thought donuts smelled bad before, but I couldn't get the lid back on the box fast enough. Donuts really do stink. My, how things have changed. It was not all that smelling a donut would have triggered all kinds of cravings. Not anymore. I just want to get away from them as fast as I can. This is definitely a change for the better.
I have my pre-op appointment today. Yikes!! Jack is coming with me so that we can both here all of the pre-op and after care instructions. I am getting anxious. I can't really believe I am doing this.
Have a beautiful day!!
Have you ever noticed that donuts smell bad? Somebody brought donuts to work and left the box on the counter. Out of curiosity I opened the box to see what was in it. Obviously it was baked goods and something that I would not eat, but I am a baker and am often curious about what others bring in. When I open the box the odor of the donuts hit me in the face. I couldn't believe how overwhelming the smell was. I never thought donuts smelled bad before, but I couldn't get the lid back on the box fast enough. Donuts really do stink. My, how things have changed. It was not all that smelling a donut would have triggered all kinds of cravings. Not anymore. I just want to get away from them as fast as I can. This is definitely a change for the better.
I have my pre-op appointment today. Yikes!! Jack is coming with me so that we can both here all of the pre-op and after care instructions. I am getting anxious. I can't really believe I am doing this.
Have a beautiful day!!
Tuesday, November 24, 2015
11/24/15: Quick Visit
Days of abstinence: 62
Days until surgery: 20
Weight: 158.8 pounds
I flew to Michigan on Sunday to see my sister
Ruth. What should have been a quick
flight with a layover in Chicago turned into an all day ordeal that ended up
with me in Detroit 14 hours after I left the house and a bag still in
Chicago. It was not the smoothest of
travel days. I was prepared though, and
had packed enough food to get me through the day. So in spite of spending 12 hours in planes
and airports, I did not eat off program at all.
The only slightly off program food that I ate was on Monday at the
Detroit airport. We didn’t have time to
eat dinner before I got to the airport so I ate a grilled chicken breast with a
sides of broccoli and green beans. The
chicken breast had a sauce made with whole butter and balsamic vinegar. At home, I clarify my butter to remove milk
solids. I scraped off as much as the
sauce as possible, but I still have a little bit of a cranky gut this morning. My body really doesn’t like milk.
The best news of all is that I had a crazy, two
day quick trip to Michigan, and I lost two-tenths of a pound. In the past, a trip like this would have been
a perfect excuse to eat sweet treats like muffins, cookies, and ice cream. I didn’t even think about eating those things
on this trip. Yeah!!!
Sunday, November 22, 2015
11/22/15: Stuck on a runway in KC
I'm taking a quick trip to Michigan to see my sister and we're stuck on the runway in KC waiting for a gate in Chicago. Fun times. I've packed my lunch. I wasn't planning on eating it on the plane, but maybe I will.
All is well. Food program is strong.
I am considering the impact of other addictive substances that I use. There are two: coffee and alcohol.
Coffee: I currently consume about 2 cups of strong, black coffee a day. I drink it in the morning with my breakfast. I don't believe there are any health reasons to quit drinking coffee. In fact, the most recent study released shows increased life spans for coffee drinkers that drink moderate amounts of coffee. It may not be the coffee, mind you. The study said it may be the fact that coffee drinkers take the time in the morning to relax and drink their coffee. This rings true to me. My morning routine includes about a half hour of just sitting and reading and drinking coffee. Anyway, I've read study after study after study about coffee consumption and there seems to be no negative health impact on moderate coffee consumption. Therefore, I don't need to give it up to be healthier.
Should I give it up just because I'm addicted to it? I won't deny that caffeine is an addictive substance. If I don't drink coffee in the morning I will get a headache mid-afternoon and I may get a bit cranky. That lasts about 3 days, then the headache and crankiness are gone. This indicates a physical addiction. That said, I have no desire to drink more coffee. It is very easy to limit myself to two cups. In fact, I often don't finish the second cup. Unlike sugar, one cup does not lead to overconsumption. Coffee does not have a grip on my life. Bottom line: I don't think coffee harms me in anyway and I don't think it is a dangerous substance for me. I see no reason to stop enjoying it.
Alcohol: I have not had any alcohol for 2 months. I don't plan on having any alcohol until I am fully recovered from surgery. What I am seriously contemplating is deciding that alcohol should be on my banned substance list, not because I am addicted to it, but because it is basically a sugar.
I have overconsumed alcohol in the past, but I can and I do enjoy having one or two glasses of wine. In the past I've opened a bottle of wine to enjoy a glass or two and ended up tossing the rest of the bottle out a week later because I never finished it. I don't have an addiction to alcohol and I am not afraid of developing one. What I am afraid of, what I am terrified of, is that a glass of wine will trigger my sugar addiction. I enjoy wine, but not enough to risk losing my freedom. My guess is that alcohol is going to become a never again thing for me, but I don't need to make that decision yet.
I'm quickly using up my phone battery and I'm going to need it for my trip, so I better sign off.
Have a beautiful day!!
All is well. Food program is strong.
I am considering the impact of other addictive substances that I use. There are two: coffee and alcohol.
Coffee: I currently consume about 2 cups of strong, black coffee a day. I drink it in the morning with my breakfast. I don't believe there are any health reasons to quit drinking coffee. In fact, the most recent study released shows increased life spans for coffee drinkers that drink moderate amounts of coffee. It may not be the coffee, mind you. The study said it may be the fact that coffee drinkers take the time in the morning to relax and drink their coffee. This rings true to me. My morning routine includes about a half hour of just sitting and reading and drinking coffee. Anyway, I've read study after study after study about coffee consumption and there seems to be no negative health impact on moderate coffee consumption. Therefore, I don't need to give it up to be healthier.
Should I give it up just because I'm addicted to it? I won't deny that caffeine is an addictive substance. If I don't drink coffee in the morning I will get a headache mid-afternoon and I may get a bit cranky. That lasts about 3 days, then the headache and crankiness are gone. This indicates a physical addiction. That said, I have no desire to drink more coffee. It is very easy to limit myself to two cups. In fact, I often don't finish the second cup. Unlike sugar, one cup does not lead to overconsumption. Coffee does not have a grip on my life. Bottom line: I don't think coffee harms me in anyway and I don't think it is a dangerous substance for me. I see no reason to stop enjoying it.
Alcohol: I have not had any alcohol for 2 months. I don't plan on having any alcohol until I am fully recovered from surgery. What I am seriously contemplating is deciding that alcohol should be on my banned substance list, not because I am addicted to it, but because it is basically a sugar.
I have overconsumed alcohol in the past, but I can and I do enjoy having one or two glasses of wine. In the past I've opened a bottle of wine to enjoy a glass or two and ended up tossing the rest of the bottle out a week later because I never finished it. I don't have an addiction to alcohol and I am not afraid of developing one. What I am afraid of, what I am terrified of, is that a glass of wine will trigger my sugar addiction. I enjoy wine, but not enough to risk losing my freedom. My guess is that alcohol is going to become a never again thing for me, but I don't need to make that decision yet.
I'm quickly using up my phone battery and I'm going to need it for my trip, so I better sign off.
Have a beautiful day!!
Saturday, November 21, 2015
11/21/15: WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!!!!
Days of abstinence: 59
Days until surgery: 23
Weight: 159.0 pounds
It’s been a whirlwind of a month! At work:
The deal is on! We are closing in
a few days! The deal is delayed. We don’t know when we are closing. The deal is on! We’re closing at the end of the week. The deal is delayed. Are we going to close? The deal is on – but different. Ugh!!!
Hurry up!! Stop!!!!!!!!!! Go!! Wait a second! Oh yeah, regular work stuff has to happen. What??
Really? Oh, and apparently I need
to make more sacrifices. Say what? To say I am frustrated right now would be the
understatement of the century. I’ll do
what I can do, but guess what. In 23
days I will be out of the office for 3 weeks.
That’ll be interesting. I already
postponed this surgery once. I am not
going to postpone it again. Life will go
on at work, with or without me.
Are you tired of hearing about my sugar-free
life yet? I do have a problem. Everyone is tired of hearing about it. I wonder if all addicts go through this. I’ve struggled all of my life with food. From sneaking sweets out of the pantry when I
was a kid to not being able to control portions and sneaking ice cream out of the freezer as
a middle-aged woman. I’ve dieted, I’ve
done the Whole30 and every other diet known to woman. I’ve lost weight. I’ve gained weight. I managed to maintain my weight for longish
periods of time. My weight has snuck
back up. I’ve lost weight again. Through all of this I was always making
hundreds of micro-decisions a day. Eat
this, don’t eat that, it’s ok to have a little bit, Whoa! I said a little bit. OK – I’m binging. I’m stressed, had a bad day, it’s a party,
who cares, anyway? I care! Crap.
Stop eating so much. Shit,
Roberta! Stop it!! OK, I’m back in control. And on and on and on. That has been my life when it comes to
food. It has been a constant, negative
undercurrent of my life. This addiction
has impacted every day of my life, in a negative way, until 59 days ago.
Then, and I know I am repeating myself – but this
is MY blog and I get to do whatever I want – then Ruth texts me after reading
my blog post in which I talk about sneaking food and says, “Have you thought
about getting therapy for your food addiction?”
Double crap.
Triple crap!! Really?!?! Do I need to go there? That text hit home.
So I did it.
I called my therapist from over a decade ago, made an appointment and
spent an hour and $100 talking to Stan.
It was the best $100 I have ever spent. During that session I came to terms with the
fact that I am an addict and my addiction is sugar. It took me a few more days to truly convince myself
that I could never eat sugar again.
During those few days I felt sorry for myself. I really did.
I thought it was sad, that I could never eat sugar again. I thought I would miss it. But I had to acknowledge that sugar is
something that I cannot manage. A little
sugar today means more tomorrow and more the next day. But it’s more than that. A little sugar today makes managing my
consumption of all food so much more difficult.
If I eat a little bit of sugar then all of a sudden I want to eat all of
the time and it takes a great deal of will power to moderate my consumption to
a reasonable amount.
I was lucky, I guess. By the time I went to see Stan I had already
been sugar free for a week, because I had restarted my Whole30 plan on
September 23, 2015. That was my first
day of abstinence, by the way. My
session with Stan was on October 1, 2015.
So by the time I decided I was an addict and needed to never eat sugar
again I was already sugar free for several days and had already gotten past the
withdrawal symptoms. That was helpful,
because then all I had to deal with was the emotions that were swirling around about making this decision. You know, feeling
sorry for myself, and all.
I am here to say, that there is nothing more
ridiculous than me feeling sorry for myself because, “I can’t eat sugar.” Now that all of that is behind me and I have
been sugar free for almost 60 days, I can honestly say that there is nothing
special about eating sugar. Nothing.
I am astonished by how much my life has changed
in 59 days. I am dumbfounded by how much
happier I am than I have ever been before.
Yes, I’ve gotten angry in the last couple of months. I mean, shit happens. I am an emotional person. I get angry.
But I get over it. Without
sugar. I’ve gotten sad, I’ve been frustrated,
I’ve been tired, I’ve been worried, I’ve been anxious. All of that.
In fact, it’s probably fair to say that my emotions have been fairly
intense over the last couple of months.
I am an emotional person and I am sure sugar helped me take the peaks
and valleys off of those emotions. The
interesting thing about the last couple of months, though, is that in spite of
the stress and all of the emotions, my re-set to happy and content is a lot
quicker after an emotional moment. It’s
as if I fully experience whatever it is I need to experience at the moment and
then I get over it, emotionally. I still
may need to take action to fix something that was going wrong that caused me to
get angry, frustrated, etc., but my emotions re-set quickly. It’s almost as if by medicating myself with
sugar I was dulling my emotions and dragging everything out. It’s weird.
I can’t explain it.
I am so much better off without sugar in my life
that there is no doubt in my mind: I will never eat it again. Quite frankly, I am almost afraid of it. This substance impacted me in ways that I
never, ever imagined. I kind of knew
that it caused me to have food cravings.
I never knew it had such a grip on every aspect of my life. It’s just sugar. It wasn’t heroin or cocaine or opium or
alcohol. It was just sugar. And it owned me.
I feel like I am living my life, now. This is my life. THIS IS MY LIFE!! WOW WOW WOW WOW!!! There are not enough capital letters or
exclamation marks or words in this world to describe how transformative this decision
has been. Among other things, I am no
longer angry at myself. I don’t berate
myself constantly. Oh my god, this is
liberating. Yes, life is good. It is so much better.
Over the last 59 days I’ve had plenty of
opportunities to eat sweet treats. I’ve
baked. I’ve gone to events. I’ve taken a road trip. You know what? I am not even tempted. I have no interest in sugar. It’s not that I have to resist it or tell
myself, “No.” I just don’t want it.
What’s really, really strange is I can’t even
figure out why I would want to eat it.
Because it tastes good? So
what? So does chicken cacciatore and
beef stew. So do scrambled eggs and home
fries. So does roasted pork with cabbage
and pears. So do lots of things.
People say, “But sugar is in everything.” Well, you know what? No it’s not.
There is a huge difference between added sugar and sugar that occurs
naturally in an apple; they are two different things. I have no problem
with fruit. It’s the sugar that you add
to the apple pie that I have a problem with.
There is no added sugar in a cow, pig, chicken, salmon, trout, carrot, Brussel
sprout, coconut, cashew, or potato.
Nope. None. Sugar can be added in the cooking process,
but it does not have to be added. You do
not need to add sugar, stevia, honey, maple syrup, or agave nectar to anything
to make it taste good. Good food tastes
good without added sweeteners. That’s a
fact. Who needs it? Not me.
Not ever again.
I know this won’t be the last time I talk about how much my life has changed since I decided to never eat sugar ever again. And that word never is an incredibly important part of the previous sentence. I've given up sugar for a period of time before. When I did that, managing food was easier, but it did not change my life like this. When I knew I was going to eat sugar again, some day, I didn't feel this freedom. It is the decision to never eat sugar again that was so transformative. I can’t help but talk about
it. My life has changed forever. I am astonished. My guess is that all recovering addicts come
to this moment at some point in their recovery and they probably want to talk
about it, too. How can you not? I’ll tell you what, I’ll be willing to listen
to any recovering addict that wants to talk about it. I get it.
You want to get on top of the tallest building and shout to the world
how wonderful it is to be free. Being
an addict sucks. Until you stop
using. After that, it’s not so bad. I don’t mind that I’m an addict. It’s fine.
Just like it’s fine that I have brown hair, greenish blue eyes, and
moles on my face. So what? Those things don’t define me and my addiction
does not define me. Not anymore. Thank goodness!! Thanks Ruth!!
Thanks Jackie!! Thanks to all of
my friends and family that have supported me and loved me. WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW!! Yes, this has been an amazing two
months. I couldn’t be happier.
Have a beautiful day!!
Thursday, November 19, 2015
11/19/15: Getting Things Back to Normal
Days of abstinence: 57
Days until surgery: 25
Weight: 159.4 pounds
The kids left on Monday and you would think that
would bring calm. But, no, it’s a busy
week, again.
I am the VP of our bowling league, and as such I
am the chair of the audit committee and the prize fund committee. I have delayed getting our first meetings
called because of how busy I have been with work. With my surgery quickly approaching, I knew I
needed to get it done, so I scheduled the Audit Committee meeting for Tuesday
evening and the Prize Fund Committee meeting for this evening. I picked the league books up from the
secretary last Wednesday and finally had time to start working on them after
the kids left Monday evening. So I spent
a late night Monday, and early morning Tuesday, a late night Tuesday and
another early morning Wednesday setting up a spreadsheet to track the ins and
outs of the league account and combing through the books. The good news is we have $23 too much! Our secretary is very meticulous and tracks
everything three different ways. I do
believe we have over collected in two instances so I gave the secretary my
findings yesterday and will submit an audit report to the league next
week. It’s kind of nice to have a tidy
little project like that to do!
This weekend I am taking a whirlwind trip up to
Michigan to see my sister. It will be nice to see Ruth, who, by the way,
was just elected Mayor Protem of East Lansing.
I think that is so cool! She said
she is not interested in being Mayor permanently (or for a full term) because
she doesn’t have time to be mayor. Just the
same, East Lansing is lucky to have such
a smart and dedicated citizen as a city councilmember and Mayor Protem!
Food.
What do I have to say about food?
Not much, really. After my slight
transgression last weekend with a couple of ounces of cheese and a tiny bit of
flour, which caused me two days of gut cramps and very loose stools, I am back
to 100% Whole30 program foods. That was
enough to remind me that I really am sensitive to milk products and I should
just stay away from them. I don’t miss
them at all, it was just easy to eat the snack that I had prepared for everyone
else. It’s good to have the reminder now
and then, I guess.
Food continues to regulate itself, now that I no
longer eat sugar. Breakfast, lunch and
dinner. That’s it. No snacks.
Sometimes I think about eating between meals, usually it is when I am
bored or frustrated with something. I’ll
think about eating something, look at the clock, see it is not time to eat,
take a big drink of water, take a short walk through the office to fill my
water glass and use the restroom, and then get back to work. In those moments I am not hungry, nor am I
having a craving. I just think about
eating to take my mind off of whatever is aggravating me at the moment. The thought of food passes quickly and before
I know it it’s time to eat my next meal.
I still feel like making the decision to quit sugar
has been the single most important and impactful dietary decision I have ever
made in my life. I’m 57 days sugar free
and I have never struggled less with food decisions. In fact, I don’t struggle with food decisions at all anymore. This is pretty awesome.
I guess I better get going. There is work to do today.
Have a beautiful day.
Monday, November 16, 2015
11/16/15: No Cookies (or Cake or Brownies)!
Days of abstinence: 54
Days until surgery: 28
Weight: 159.8 pounds
I baked sea salt chocolate chip cookies before
all of the kids arrived. I did not eat
any of them. Two of my grandchildren asked me if I would bake with them and I
told them I would after dinner on Sunday.
So last night I baked cocoa buttermilk cupcakes with Sharlynne and I
baked brownies with Taren. I did not eat
any of them, either. I didn’t even lick
the spoon! It feels a little odd to bake
something and not taste it before I serve it to others, but I was assured that
both were delicious. In fact, Sharlynne
said the cupcakes were marvelous! I see
it as a real victory to get through these five days with a lot of visitors,
cooking a lot every day, and even baking treats, and not eating any sugar at
all! Yeah!
I did go very slightly off of the Whole30
program and I am paying for it today in the form of stomach cramps and loose
stools. I ate two things off program in
the last couple of days. The first is
cheese on the potato skins (I ate a couple on Saturday and a couple on Sunday)
and the second is a little bit of flour in the gravy that I made for the mashed
potatoes. Oh, and there was whole butter
and milk in the mashed potatoes. I am
not sure if the culprit causing the gut issues is wheat or dairy, but I am
eliminating both today. I guess considering the fact that I’ve been
making pancakes, waffles, and baked goods, along with everything else for three
meals a day for a large family, these minor deviations from the Whole30 aren’t
bad. It’ll feel good to be 100% on
program again, though.
I can’t believe my surgery is only 28 days
away. Yikes!! I might just freak out.
The kids will be up shortly and I need to make
breakfast for them one last time before they hit the road, so I’m going to run.
Have a beautiful day.
Sunday, November 15, 2015
11/15/15: It’s Been Busy Around Here!
Days of abstinence: 53
Days until surgery: 29
Weight: ??? pounds
Everyone except Aaron arrived on Wednesday and
Aaron arrived on Thursday. Since then it
has been non-stop action! With 8
grandchildren and 6 adult children (including our daughter and son-in-law) visiting we
have had a house full! We’ve kept busy
and have had a great time, including going to the park yesterday and playing
kickball for a while.
I’ve been busy in the kitchen making breakfast
for almost everyone every morning and dinner for everyone every night. We did have one BBQ night from Joe's Kansas City, which was a big
hit! Yesterday was a relatively easy
cooking day since we ate leftovers for lunch and dinner. I overestimated how much everyone would
eat so there was something leftover from every meal. It’s hard to judge how much to cook
for a crowd when you don’t do it very often.
Also, the kids are a little unpredictable. They’ll sit down to one meal and eat as if
there is no tomorrow and the next day they’ll eat very little. It has all worked out great though. We made it through a lot of the leftovers
yesterday and I froze several servings so that Jack and I can eat them
later. This afternoon will be the last
big meal that I cook for the crew.
I’ve done well with sticking to plan. I have not had any sugar, in spite of the
cookies and ice cream and European chocolates that have been around the
house. I’ve stuck to my Whole30 plan
with the exception of eating a few potato skins yesterday. The only thing on them that is not part of my
Whole30 plan is cheese. All in all, my
food program is solid.
I have not weighed myself since Thursday, but
that’s because I have been pulling myself out of bed as the kids wake up and heading straight to the kitchen to start making breakfast. I usually weigh myself prior to my shower and
breakfast, but I am not getting my shower in until after everyone, including myself, is fed. I’ll start weighing myself again on
Tuesday. I think I am eating a little
more than normal, just because so much of my day is centered around food right
now. It is a lot of work to keep 14 people
fed (I don’t have to feed the two babies.
J ).
I can’t believe it is only 29 days until my
surgery date!! Yikes!! It is quickly approaching!
Have a beautiful day!
Thursday, November 12, 2015
11/12/15: They’re Here!
Days of abstinence: 50
Days until surgery: 32
Weight: 159.8 pounds
Yes. They are here!! All eight of our grandchildren! We bowl on Wednesdays so I needed to leave
the house just as some of the kids were showing up. They pulled into the driveway as I was
pulling out. Jack didn’t bowl last night
since he was picking people up from the airport and getting them settled
in. I missed the arrival of Andrew,
Rebecca and their family. But just as
the third game was starting everyone showed up at the bowling alley. It was super fun getting to show off all the
grandbabies, from the youngest (Jordon, 6 weeks old) to the eldest (Annika, 11
years old). I’ve never had the
opportunity to introduce my grandchildren to my friends before. It made my night.
All is well.
Blog posts will be short while the family is in town. I’m sticking to program!
Have a beautiful day!
Wednesday, November 11, 2015
11/11/15: Into the One-Fifties!
Days of abstinence: 49
Days until surgery: 33
Weight: 159.6 pounds
I have very little time to blog this morning,
but I wanted to put up a quick post to say that I weighed 159.6 pounds this
morning! Yeah! It is awesome to be back in the 150s! Actually, awesome is sort of an
overstatement. I was pleased to see the
progress on the scale, but as I mentioned in yesterday’s blog post, I am much
less focused on my weight these days.
I’ll weigh every day, probably forever.
I want to get to 150 and I will get to 150, but this just isn’t a
struggle anymore. I was talking to a
friend at work yesterday about how much my attitude about food has changed
since I stopped eating all forms of sugar.
She also struggles with her weight and with food. She asked me this question, “Of all the
things you’ve done, books you’ve read, diets you’ve gone on, would you say
completely giving up sugar has had the biggest impact on how you deal with
food?” My answer to her was an emphatic,
“Yes!” I have done many, many programs
and diets. I have successfully lost
weight on all of them. I’ve gained
weight back after most of them. But
giving up sugar completely, for life, has had the most dramatic impact on the
way I think about and feel about food. I
think there are two very important components to that statement. I gave up sugar completely, in all forms, in
all things, natural and artificial. I am
going to clarify that a little, I gave up added sugar. I still eat fruit and other foods that have
naturally occurring sugar in them. The
other really important part of the statement is that I have given up sugar for
life. Forever. And ever.
That very definitive part of the statement is the part that was the game
changer. This is not just until I get to
my goal weight. It’s forever. That statement has allowed me to shut that
door tightly, lock it, and never think about opening it again. It’s for real.
I’ve been cooking all morning (Hey, it’s only
6:34AM, so I guess there is still plenty of morning left), but I officially
have everything done that I wanted done before the kids get here! Now I am headed to work for a few hours.
Have a beautiful day!
Tuesday, November 10, 2015
11/10/15: My Scale is Such a Tease
Days of abstinence: 48
Days until surgery: 34
Weight: 160.0 pounds
After dropping from 162 to 160 overnight several
days ago, my weight has fluttered around just above 160. It’s not a big deal, I know one of these days
I’ll see another drop in the scale to those coveted 150s as long as I am
committed to my program, but it is a little annoying. It feels like my scale is teasing me. The really good news is plateaus on the scale
no longer impact my commitment or resolve when it comes to my food plan. My weight is still important to me and I
still want to get to 150ish by my surgery date, but in reality my weight has
much less impact on how I feel about myself than my diet does. I feel 100% solid about my food program and I
feel 100% solid about my commitment to never eat sugar again. That’s what is important. My weight is slowly but surely taking care of
itself. I’ll get there. I know I will. There are just a few things left in my closet
that are still a little snug. They will
fit, soon.
I got through the cookie baking without eating a
chocolate chip, licking a spoon, or eating a cookie. I didn’t end up making oatmeal cookies with
banana instead of eggs. Our
daughter-in-law said that our grandson with the egg allergy seems to be OK with
eggs that are baked in cookies. She
suggested that if he does have a negative reaction to them, I can bake the
oatmeal cookies with some of the older kids later in the week. That seemed like a great plan! It saved me some work last night, and I am
running out of time. Tonight we pick up
the 15 passenger van that we rented (to make it easier to get the group around
town) and tomorrow we check into the house at 2:00pm. I have a little more prep work that I want to
do in the kitchen, but we’re just about ready!
We can’t wait to see everyone.
Dr. Hodge’s nurse called me yesterday with the
quote for the surgeon fees and Overland Park Surgery center. It was more expensive than the quotes I have
had from other doctors. When I balked a
little bit at the price, she said she would talk to the doctor and see if the
fee could be reduced a little. I feel
weird asking a surgeon to lower his fee.
It doesn’t seem like I should bargain shop for plastic surgery. But she made it seem like it wasn’t a big
deal to ask, so we’ll see what she says, today.
Either way, I know that he is the one that I will schedule my procedure with. Being comfortable with my surgeon is the most
important thing. I can’t believe that
the surgery is barely over a month away!
Yikes!!
Have a beautiful day!
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