Torture!

Well, it's been two days since I started my pre-operative regime and I'm not sure I'm going to survive. This mindful eating and exercise is for the birds-no wonder I'm fat. I am trying to be good so I have created an eating log and am managing to stay within my 1200 calories, but it's not easy. Some of the rules of gastric bypass include 3 meals a day-no other eating, no snacking, no grazing, nothing! I really had no idea how often I popped a bite of food into my mouth. You also are required to eat your protein first at all meals as it sates you better than carbs or fat, whereas I'm used to eating in any order I want. Besides all the food you have to give up, there is a list of supplements you have to start taking so you are in optimum health for surgery. The nutritionist talked about how the vast majority of obese people were undernourished-the result of eating all the wrong things so now I am making a concerted effort to eat/supplement those things needed to be healthy. This really is a lot of work and from all that I've read, it always will be! It does seem to be paying off though, by drinking my gallons of water daily (just kidding, but at least 64 oz of H2O) and eating well prepared food, the end of the day feet swelling I suffered from seems to be going away. One of the emotional aspects of surgery and dieting appears to be the loss of your best friend-food, so apparently a period of grieving is to be expected. I think I can relate to that and that is why I have been going through the ARP program for the past year, to let go of this friend. Maybe I can make a new friend-shopping for smaller clothes!