Calories Eaten Today
grams  cals %total Total:   1329    Fat: 35  316  24%   Sat: 14  127  10%   Poly: 6  53  4%   Mono: 11  97  7% Carbs: 112  382  29%   Fiber: 16  0  0% Protein: 152  607  47% Alcohol: 0  0  0%	Fat  Carbs  Protein  Alcohol

Today's Foods
	Food Name	Servings	Serving Size	Cals	Fat	Carb	Prot
	Banana, raw		cup, NFS cup, mashed cup, sliced oz yields slice small (6" to 6-7/8" long) extra small (less than 6" long) medium (7" to 7-7/8" long) extra large (9" or longer) large (8" to 8-7/8" long) linear inch Quantity not specified	109	1	28	1
	Cheese, cottage, lowfat (1-2% fat)		cup Quantity not specified	164	2	6	28
	Strawberries, frozen, unsweetened		cup, thawed berry Quantity not specified	77	0	20	1
	Strawberry Whey Protien		serving	110	2	4	28
	Chicken, breast, with or without bone, broiled, skin not eaten		cup, cooked, diced oz, boneless, cooked (yield after sk... oz, boneless, cooked, skinless oz, boneless, raw (yield after cooki... oz, boneless, raw, without skin (yie... oz, with bone, cooked (yield after b... oz, with bone, cooked, without skin ... oz, with bone, raw (yield after cook... oz, with bone, raw, without skin (yi... cubic inch, boneless, cooked, skin r... medium slice (approx 2" x 1-1/2" x 1/4") thick slice (approx 2" x 1-1/2" x 3/8") thin slice (approx 2" x 1-1/2" x 1/8") large breast (yield after cooking, b... medium breast (yield after cooking, ... small breast (yield after cooking, b... Quantity not specified	221	5	0	42
	Squash, winter, spaghetti, cooked, boiled, drained, or baked, without salt		cup	84	1	20	2
	Lettuce, raw		cup, shredded or chopped oz, raw, yields large head large leaf medium head (6" dia) medium leaf small head small leaf Quantity not specified	7	0	1	1
	Cheese, Brick		cup, diced cup, shredded cubic inch slice (1 oz) Quantity not specified	105	8	1	7
	Tortilla, flour (wheat)		surface inch large tortilla (approx 10" dia) medium tortilla (approx 8" dia) small tortilla (approx 6" dia) tortilla (approx 12" dia) tortilla (approx 3" dia) tortilla (approx 4" dia) tortilla (approx 5" dia) tortilla (approx 7" dia) tortilla (approx 9" dia) tortilla (approx 11" dia) Quantity not specified	140	3	24	4
	Salsa, NFS		cup tablespoon packet Quantity not specified	35	0	8	2
	Turkey, NFS		cup, diced, cooked oz, boneless, cooked oz, boneless, raw (yield after cooking) cubic inch, boneless, cooked medium slice (approx 3" x 2" x 1/4") thick slice (approx 3" x 2" x 3/8") thin slice (approx 3" x 2" x 1/8") Quantity not specified	278	13	0	38
Totals				1329	35	112	152

My day has been pretty good today. I am doing well. I have not been using fitday - everyday. But it's nice to check once and awhile to see how I'm doing.

Breakfast is no problem - Supper is easy - lunch gets a bit hard tho!!! I need lunch ideas and some snack ideas.

I hope to loose 10 lbs by Surgery - that's a lb a week, which I think is totally doable.

We are staying at the Drury instead. So many OH friends will be there. I am excited!!!


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So after a few posts on the Ontario Board - Catnip told me about the Candlewood Suites by the Hospital. Well, it's PERFECT!

I booked it for 19 nights at $75 a night - that saves me $800 !
Plus it is closer to everything. The mall we like is there!! It has carpet and will be great for walking! It has a KITCHEN - we will save so much money on FOOD alone (yes we are bringing the Cap machine) There is a gym for Dave, free internet, and laundry available. WOW NICE!

As much as I love the Drury and the thought of meeting other DSer's there, I need to save some cash!

The count Down begins!!!!

Well today started out pretty shitty! I went to go and book my G2 test, and they told me I had to do the waiting period again. I was not pleased! I went this long without driving on my own, what's another 10 months? I get lots of practice then!! I be sure to ACE that test! lol

Julie called me yesterday to tell me about the power outage etc and that she was so backed up with work (she's so SWEET!) She told me that she was very sorry and that she promised I would have a date that day or the next. I could tell she was a bit stressed. I told her not to worry, that I was just anxious and I needed to find a temp for my job while I was gone. She kept apologizing, and I said don't be sorry, you don't control the weather! Poor girl!

So she called me today at around 4:00 to give me my date!! August 28, 2008 at 7:30 am :) I have to go in for my pre op apt on the 25th - that's the only time he could get me in. I don't mind...that give me some more time to enjoy Michigan (since Dave and I like it so much there) We booked a suite for the 19 Days. NUTS - I could have rented an apartment for the price of the hotel...but that does include breakkie and internet and the gynm, pool, and hot tub for Dave :) We need the two rooms, Dave is a night owl and would drive me nuts if we didn't have some space.

Dave and I are getting our room downstairs ready for Ange. We are renting to her. It will be fun!

Back on the weight loss wagon!!! Now with a date in sight, things will be easier!!!

I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I feel PRETTY GOOD!!!! Loosing the weight!! Down 8.5 (I'm going with 5.5 from my scale not his)

I don't have a date yet. Hopefully I hear soon!! FINGERS CROSSED.

I've been pretty busy at home and work. Picking up a part time job. Hopefully I will hear today when I can start. WOOT!!

Going to do my road test for my G2 on the 17!

Boy things are SURE going to be different soon - almost like a NEW LIFE!!

WELL! Day 2 was MUCH easier! I bumped up the calories a bit - spread the food out all day and didn't get a headache. I went onto FitDay to track my stuff. I had  55% Protein and 25% Carbs. It's a cool site.

www.fitday.com and FREE!!

So cool! I didn't get everything entered in, but today I am going to try to get it all in.

Breakfast
Latte with 1% milk
Raspberry/Water/Strawberry Whey Protein Powder smoothie

Snack
Carrots
Herbal Tea

Lunch
Cottage Cheese (2 single servings 1%)
Chicken
Salsa

Snack
Banana

Supper
1 grilled chicken breast
Green/Yellow Beans
Carrots
potato

WATER WATER WATER

Calories Eaten Today
grams  cals %total Total:   1351    Fat: 27  241  19%   Sat: 10  92  7%   Poly: 4  34  3%   Mono: 9  80  6% Carbs: 109  309  25%   Fiber: 31  0  0% Protein: 171  686  55% Alcohol: 0  0  0%	Fat  Carbs  Protein  Alcohol

WOW - what a hard day it was. I ended the day in bed at 8:30 with a migraine. I still have a bit of one today. But much better then last night.
I do not think I ate enough throughout the day.

Breakfast

2 hard boiled eggs
Latte with low fat milk

Lunch
Cottage Cheese
Salsa
Grilled Chicken breast

Snack
Carrots

Supper
Pork tenderloin
carrots, brocoli, baby corn
Baked Potato with sour cream

WATER!!!

Trial and error!!!  My scale this morning says 291.5, so I am going with that at home to loose my 10-15 lbs. I do have a digital scale, but I find it hard to believe that I lost weight already. If I did BONUS!!!

I met with Dr. L on Friday. When I walked into his office, it was nothing like I had imagined. It was very plain and simple. Not extravagant at all. Julie and Elizabeth were there. They were just super!

Elizabeth took some info, took my temp and blood pressure (which was on the lower side), my weight (294.5, which is my heaviest ever), and took my picture, then I went back and waited in the waiting room for D.L.

When we walked into his office I was completely at ease. I felt SAFE, and very welcomed. He has a big warm smile. We sat and chatted about the regular procedure stuff. He made sure I had lots of support behind me with both my family and my GP. He explained the DS (Dave learned a lot) He asked me what I thought I should weight. I smiled and said with excitement “under 200!” he smiled and said we can do that no problem! I then said for my height, I should weigh 135, and he said that we could work toward that. He said he wanted me to lose between 10-15 lbs and if I did that then he would do the surgery. I smiled and said “I can most definitely do that!”

He went over the diet he wants me to be on to lose the weight. No sweetener, sugar, fats, sauces, etc. To have protein and veggies for every meal, only drink water, no snacking in between meals, unless it is veggies, and not to eat 3 hours before bed. I said do you have this written down somewhere? He laughed and said NO, just follow exactly what I said nothing else and you will lose the weight! LOL

He asked if I had any questions about the surgery, and I said only one (I explained that I knew of a lot of people who had the surgery with him, a handful from my city, one coworker, and all the DSers on OH) that I didn’t have any major questions – the only one I had was, what the chances were of me not losing any weight? He said to me ZERO. Sigh of relief. I said great, and that I had always failed at weight loss and did not want to fail this time.

When we went for the exam, he was so great. I have never felt that comfortable in my unders in front of a doctor before. His hands were warm! That was a shock in itself. He was gentle and kind. He told Elizabeth that I wanted to have surgery in August (he seemed pretty confident that I would be booked in August) told her to order just the regular test, and for me to lose 10-15 lbs before surgery. I asked him if it was ok if I lost more than that, because when I go at it, I do well – it just never stays off – they laughed, smiled and said of course its fine, that it would be easier on all of us.   When we were done he said “ok my friend” with a big smile, “We will see you soon”. Julie gave me my package and said I would hear next week with my surgery date.

We hit the road back to Canada. We were actually sad to be leaving – we really enjoyed Michigan. We got to the boarder (after an hour wait), and our luck we got a tight ass boarder officer. He asked us the regular questions, did you buy anything, etc. We said we bought liquor from the Duty Free Shop yesterday when we crossed. Handed him the receipt and then he said “How often do you come to the states?” We said “First time” He then said “Well, I’m giving you a freebie today” Puzzled we said “OK? Is something wrong?” He proceeded to tell us that it would have cost us $70 in duties for the liquor because we had 3 bottles…blah blah blah Thank you boarder man for not taking my money. So, next time we better know what we are doing if we are going to bring back tons of cheap booze.

When we got back into Canada and on the road, we heading to London to check into our hotel and met with Clem for Supper. We went to the Keg with Clem, then took a short tour of London, got some star bucks, and headed back to the hotel for drinks. I was in bed at 11:30! LOL we got up the next day and went for breakfast. Since I didn’t get to go to IHOP in Troy, we went to the Golden Griddle and had pancakes. They were my last pancakes for a LONG time. (I regret not taking a picture) lol . We took Clem home and headed to Ikea in Vaughan. Got the girls their table and some cups and plates (we were not even in there for an hour, amazing for me) we headed out to moms in Barrie. We stopped and took some pictures of some work horses in a field and had a burger at the chips stand across the road from the horses. After the burger we went to moms, got ready and headed to Red Lobster to met Mark and his wife for dinner.

Mark and Tracy showed up and we ate good food and had great conversation. We have a unanimous vote to get DQ for dessert and go back to my mom’s for a bonfire. Dave and I went with Mark and Tracy to their place (we met their 3 beautiful girls) got some sweaters and headed out to the back country *insert banjo music here* We had drinks, conversation, fire, and 4 wheeling. FUN! It was so much fun to finally met Mark. I have gotten so much great information from him and have learned so much. I am lucky I picked such a great angel! You rock mark! *Devil horns*

This morning I hung out with mom and then Dave and I got some Starbucks and headed home. It is a much faster trip when you do it in 3 short ones then 8 full hours. We saw a dead moose on the highway then about 100 yards up, saw a BIG ALIVE one standing on the road. We stopped and Dave took some pictures.

We got back to North Bay at 3:00 pm, and Grams brought all 4 kids home. I missed them all so much. We cuddled for about an hour, Rhy is crashed out on the couch and Cameron is watching Cars. It’s nice to be home.

I am having my last meal tonight ( my most favorite meal ever, spaghetti and garlic bread with cheese) Tomorrow starts my Pre – Opt diet.

I can’t wait to get the call with my date! 

We left North Bay at 8:30 am. We made pretty good time. I can't believe they let Dave into the US. LOL the poor Yanks! lol We stopped at the duty free and bought $40 buck worth of booze. Dave got a 60 of Whiskey and a 60 of vodka for 10$ a bottle. I got a 40 of Ameretto for $22. WOW!

We took tons of stupid pictures :) When we crossed the bridge our breath was taken away from the view of Lake Huron. It is BEAUTIFUL. We stopped and took some pictures. Will post those after.

So we drive into the US and what's the speed limit? max 70 - hello 120 km! They drive fast and have shitty roads. lol

When we got into Troy - what's this - no 4 way stop lights? WTF I have never seen so many U Turns EVER! Nuts. It's so much harder to get somewhere.

Well we got into the hotel room at 5:30. The Drury is nice - exactly as I pictured it. It's weird to think I am going to spend 10 days here. All I know is I have to have the room with the hot tub, or Dave will go NUTS!

We went to TGI Friday's for supper. What great service. It was so fast, I do have to say that when we walked in there was a funny smell and then the hostess asked us smoking or non smoking? OMG!

After supper we went to the Somerset Collection - WOW ..that's all I got..Valet Parking at a Mall? We could not afford even a pair of socks in that mall..but it was fun to see how the rich folk live ;) We have too much fun on the sky walk.

So now, we are going to have a hot tub and probably hit the sack early. We will get up have breakkie here and head to Dr. L's office for 11:00.

I want to go to IHOP and Torrid on our way out :)

I will say that I do hate American money (cause I have a hard time telling a 20 apart from a 10)  and their ice tea (it's just COLD TEA, not sweetened) Let's see if anything else that is really weird stands out. LOL

Well we are leaving for Michigan tomorrow morning. Hope to be on the road at 7 am. The kids and dogs are all packed and ready to go to grama's house for the 4 days. I am going to miss them so much, but will enjoy some me and Dave time. It's just what we need.

A wonderful coworker came up to the store for business, then asked me if I had a minute to talk to her, I said of course, she said I have something for you...I said joking..For me? I hope it's something good! lol she said it is, She handed my a card and said I ordered you something, but it's not in yet. I started crying right away - she had a beautiful card for me for support on making my first step to being the person I am . She then said she ordered the book I was looking for one day with her about WLS. She is so wonderful. She has been so supportive threw this so far. Her husband has WLS almost a year ago, and is going fantastic. I am so lucky to have such great people in my life :) Andrea, if you ever read this...you are the best xoxoxox

So I am going to get some sunggles in with the girls before they leave to go to grams for the night.

Watch out Michigan..here come the Bonany's!! lol

I hate this feeling. The feeling of NOT knowing what is going to happen. I don't know about you, but I am a huge planner! I tend to be able to see at least 5 years into my future. Where I want to be and how I am going to get there.

Right now, I can't see anything passed surgery date. It's like black after I picture myself being wheeled into the OR. What does this mean? Death? The unknown? Mystery? Rebirth?

My Cousin is getting married - she asked me to be in the wedding party with my girls - she is getting married in 3 years - OMG who am I going to be in 3 years? It's scary! I know I am not going to be the person I am RIGHT NOW.

I did say I wanted to do a documentary about this journey. So far, I have been posting frequently. Starting May 22 - it's mostly going to be video. I want to have something special to look back on, or just "incase" for my kids. ♥