sonjajade | I'm here to lose weight and chew bubblegum, and I'm all out of bubblegum! (Reply)

Intake appointment at the bariatric surgeon's office went really well. I was disappointed to find out that I would have a 4 month dieting period, but it's probably for the best that I didn't jump into having surgery anyway, seeing as I really do need to retrain myself on how to eat. Blood work was really good, cholesterol is a little off, but nothing diet and exercise won't fix. It's just a couple of points I need to readjust. A1C was like .1% over the limit, but my fasting blood sugars were 120. Every time I do fasting labs my sugar is high. Don't have any idea why. My iron levels were low, which may explain some of the fatigue and lightheadedness I had going into that appointment, but otherwise I'm in really good shape to be almost 400 pounds. My starting weight was 378. I just weighed myself before getting in the shower and I'm down 3 pounds in a week!

I've been eating low carb high protein, and there are RULES.

YOU MUST EAT IN ORDER. What I mean is your plate need to be sectioned into 3 parts- proteins, fiber full vegetables, carbs and fats. Proteins should be the biggest part of the meal and should be eaten first. Veggies next, and carbs last, if you're even still hungry. The idea is to save the carbs for last so you have less room to overeat on them.
NO DRINKING 30 MINUTES BEFORE YOU EAT AND 30 MINUTES AFTER. Drinking so soon before, during or after meals washes away the contents of the stomach, leading you to overeat, or feel hungry earlier when you eat the right size portions.
EAT SLOWLY. People often don't have a lot of time on lunch breaks at work, so they wolf everything down. By the time they stop eating, they're feeling stuffed because they've gorged and don't realize it. By eating slower, you will recognize when you feel full. Now my nutritionist said to stop when I felt full and throw what I didn't eat away if it couldn't be saved. I am not that extreme, especially if it's just 2 or 3 bites.
BUDGET CALORIES FOR FUN STUFF. A diet won't last if it's not livable. By eating a salad for lunch and a salad for dinner, I can have cake and ice cream and not be any worse for the wear.

And that's it! Right now, I haven't been exercising much. I can't seem to get a routine together and I'm always so drained when I come home from work. I suck at time management... But I'm hoping to get that under control soon so I can start really coming down in weight. I'm really excited and can't wait for my first non scale victory- which I hope is my stomach backing off the steering wheel when I drive.