huffstuff
Getting Started
May 08, 2012
Hello everyone. This morning's biggest problem is trying to figure out how to use this site. Now that I figured out just how much one has to compress photos, I realize why everyone, including me, looks a LOT worse than we do in real life. These grainy, out of focus pix remind me of mug shots from the police :-) And I haven't figured out how to make comments to the group, nor who/how to 'friend' people because I don't know your names yet! All in good time.Anyhow, last nite I attended my first group meeting in Kingston...and what a good thing that was. It seems like a lot of you are lot more familiar with lingo and stages in the process than am I, so sometimes I was pretty confused, but I got excellent answers to my questions and felt like this will be a great network of support. I particularly appreciated the woman who showed me the 'scars' about 5 mos. post surgery (nice to have practical information - thank you!), the balance of 'good' stories and 'challenging' ones - reality check, and most of all, the laughter about the realities of obesity...i.e. not fitting in those damn restaurant booths. And to my great surprise, I met someone who is having surgery the same day as me, with the same surgeon. Now that is cool. And thank you Muriel and Lois for reassuring me that out there in the future, I WILL be able to eat fresh Ontario veggies again, like asparagus, corn on the cob, etc, in moderation!
So, I am just a little over two weeks from my surgery date. This is something I have considered, and stepped back from, for over 4 years. But now I am ready, and very happy that my surgeon is someone who has operated on me in past, with great success...and he knows exactly what he is in for because he keeps such meticulous records. He tells me there is a 50:50 chance that he will have to do a 'sleeve' instead of the full gastric bypass, because of previous adhesions. And either way I am happy, because I know he will make the choice based on my best health outcome.
Last fall my husband and I read an important book called Wheat Belly, which I recommend to everyone. It will give you something to think about re: how the food industry has introduced wheat into more and more food products since the 1950's, and how, due to the modification of wheat, it has become a problem food for many of us to digest, and most of all, has qualities that are 'addictive'. I have always known at some level that the whole bread family is what I love most, and the more I eat it, the more I want. So now that I understand that this addiction was actually 'created' to some extent by food scientists, I feel like knowing this makes it easier to pass it by. The more you can do the shopping on the outside perimeter of the grocery store (where fresh and chilled foods are), the more you can avoid the empty and addictive calories.
So now I am hoping that the surgery will help me to work on modifying my 58 years of bad habits (eating too fast, eating too much) in a way that will allow me to have more mobility some day. I dream of getting on a bicycle or into a kayak or canoe before I am 60. Here's hoping!
