A new beginning...

Once I realized what I wanted to do about my weight loss, I set out to do something about it...

I looked up a doctor's office that I knew of very well & made an appointment to see a surgeon about bariatric surgery. There are three different types: Lap Band, Vertical Banded Gastroplasty (VBG) & Gastric Bypass. My interest was in the lap band when I first went there because I was unaware of the VBG procedure & didn't want to go too extreme with a gastric bypass. So after doing my own research & learning about the VBG procedure through my surgeon, also known as the sleeve gastrectomy, I decided to go with it.  

I would go through a 6 month process in which I would meet with a nutritionist monthly & have changes made to my eating habits. It was amazing how, just by changing what I ate, the amount of weight I started to lose. I started to feel better & have more energy. So I started to incorporate exercising into my routine & the pounds really started to come off. I went from a size 22 to a size 16 & lost 27 pounds. Not only did I start to feel good physically, but mentally as well because I started feeling a lot better about myself. 

Part of the process also included seeing a psychiatrist to make sure that I was prepared to deal with having the surgery. I had made a lifestyle change & they needed to make sure I was prepared to continue doing the right things to achieve a healthy weight loss. The next step was meeting with my primary care physician & having the necessary testing done to be cleared for surgery. Lastly; meeting with my surgeon & getting the green light from him. Which I got because I had proven I could lose the weight, eat right & exercise. Once I had gone through all of that, all that was left was approval from the health insurance company...

APPROVED!

I had my two pre-op appointments yesterday & I have to begin a liquid diet. This has to begin two weeks prior to surgery when having the sleeve gastrectomy done. The reason for this is because, in the two weeks only liquid is being consumed, it helps to shrink the organs & allows the surgeon room to complete the procedure.

I received everything needed for this yesterday & today was day one for me. Let's just say, this is going to be the longest two weeks of my life.... *sigh*

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