Chattanooga: Day One

We decided to fly to Chattanooga for the long weekend yesterday. It has been a while since we have flown in our plane all together and Geoff found that it would only take 2- 1/2 hours to get here. Chattanooga has a really great aquarium and a childrens museum, so here we are to see the city! This is my first real trip without access to a kitchen since the surgery, and I was nervous. It meant that I would have to find something on the menu to eat wherever we went. I have eaten out a couple times since surgery, but always had an idea of what the restaurant served and what I could eat before we went, this weekend I am kind of just flying blind. I did bring a few protein drinks and some protein bars just in case.

Last night when we got here and got checked into the hotel we were all pretty hungry, so we headed out to find something to eat. We ended up at a place called Big River, which was just basically a brew house type restaurant. I ordered the grilled chicken sandwich with rice pilaf off the children's menu. I only ate about 1/3 of it. It was pretty good, but boy Mary's chicken tenders and french fries looked a whole lot better!

This morning we woke up and Geoff and the girls went down to the breakfast buffet while I showered. They brought me some eggs and yogurt back to the room, so breakfast was fine. Then we headed out to the aquarium, and for snack I had a protein bar. I brought Mary back to the hotel room for a nap, and when she woke up we went back to the aquarium to their snack bar for lunch. I had another grilled chicken sandwich, but that one wasn't as good. The corny dog and french fries that the humongous lady next to us was eating sure looked good though, but that is why I'm doing this right,so I'm not big anymore.



For snack this afternoon I had some milk, and at the same time I took some Tylenol for a headache. The only problem with that was that I had to take children's strength, because I can't swallow pills yet. I had to take 4 tsps of the kids stuff, and it is so sweet and thick that it was hard to get down. For dinner tonight we went to a Mexican restaurant. It was very hard not to eat the chips, but I made it through. I had a chicken enchilada with cheese sauce. During dinner I started to get the sweats and my stomach started really hurting. It eventually stopped, but for a little bit even after dinner I thought I was going to be sick. I don't know if it was the medicine, the milk, or the enchilada, or maybe the combination of all three. Luckily though I never did get sick.



After dinner we went to see an IMAX movie about surfing in Tahiti. Abby loved it, of course, but she told me she was never going there to surf because the waves are too big! They were selling popcorn and candy in the lobby just like at a regular theater, and it smelled sooooo good! This is the first movie I have been to post-surgery. In the past movies were all about eating for me, but not tonight - tonight I sat there and drank a bottle of water.

So far so good on this trip with my eating. We are having a good time, and I'm glad my eating hasn't been an issue!

The Beginning of This Journey

There are 15 days until my life will change forever!  On July 18th, 2011, I am having gastric bypass surgery. 

My goal with this blog is to document this journey for myself, my kids, and the rest of my family and friends who are interested.  I can't promise that my english and grammar will always be perfect (sorry mom!), and I can't promise that it will always be happy and upbeat, but I do promise to be truthful and completely honest about what I am going through. 

I started my 2 weeks of Optifast today.  That means that I can only consume 800 calories a day until surgery.  The purpose of this "fast" is to shrink my liver as much as possible and to lose as much belly fat as possible, so that the surgery is easier for the doctors.  Optifast has shake mixes, soups, and bars that will act as my meals and snacks for the next 2 weeks.  I can also drink as much water and any other sugar-free, non-carbonated liquid I would like, and if I'm feeling really weak, or light-headed I am allowed to have a bouillon cube in some boiling water.  Sounds fun, huh? 

It is 7:11 pm and I have had a chocolate shake, berry crunch bar, strawberry shake, chocolate/peanut butter crunch bar and 3 different 8 oz cups of water with chicken bouillon cubes.  Oh, yes, and I have had what feels like 2 gallons of Crystal Light lemonade.  I am still allowed one more meal shake or bar, but am trying to hold off as long as possible.  Geoff is downstairs cooking hot dogs and french fries for the girls and himself, and I just couldn't stay down there, which he completely understands.  So, I thought I would take this opportunity to post my first blog entry. 

I don't know that I will post every day, but I will try at least once a week.  After the surgery, I would like to post new pictures for every 20 lbs I lose.  I will post the first one the night before the surgery and let you know how much I weigh. 

Until the next time.........