Am I Doing The Right Thing?

   One thing that has been stuck in the back of my mind since I started going thru this process is "Am I doing the right thing?" Am I going to be able to do the diet and more so am I going to miss the foods I will no longer be able to eat? Face it, food and I have had a lifelong love affair as can be clearly demonstrated by the fact that I look like I have not missed any dinner bells at all. As the date grows near I am tempted to go and eat one of everything that I will never have again. The brochure from the Heartland Gastric Clinic warns against this kind of action saying that just because our surgery date is set and out presurgery diet has a defined start date, we should avoid going on a restaurant victory tour. It sure is tempting though.

   The scariest part for me about this process is the presurgery diet that starts two weeks before the actual surgery. A full liquid diet is required to allow the surgeon access into the abdominal cavity. This scares the "you know what" out of me. It will be a very difficult challenge for me especially with the way I travel for my work and live in hotels. Melody is being my cheerleader already and I love her for it. She tells me, just think about what your goal is and set your mind forward to that point. She will help me a lot thru this part of the most difficult period before the surgery. Lots of people have been encouraging me already. I really appreciate the words of encouragement and hope they will continue to be with me.

   On the subject of the fear of missing the foods I love, I was sitting in a restaurant in Ohio shortly after going thru the introductory information meeting that everyone must attend and I was reading the docket of information they gave us at the meeting. The waitress noticed what I was reading and asked if I was going to have the surgery. I told her at that point it was under strong consideration and she mentioned one of her customers that was a regular there had it done a while back wished I could talk with her. She had some fantastic results. A short time later an attractive woman about my age walked up to the table and introduced herself and told me she had gone thru the procedure four years ago. This lady looked fantastic and we visited about her experience. In her words, it had changed her life. She was about 5' 4" or so and looked to weigh around 140lbs. and had a very healthy look and seemed full of excitement. She told me that before the surgery, she had weighed around 300lbs. I was shocked. I would never had thought that woman could have ever been that large. She was so friendly and outgoing and full of information. I asked her about missing the foods she loved. She informed me she never had a problem with missing the food or being hungry. Her husband in fact has to remind her to eat. She definetly raised my motivational level and really should be a spokesperson for the  American Society for Bariatric Surgery. She left me with her email address and told me to contact her if I needed any information and to drop her a line and let me know how it turns out for me. Her actions had a very positive effect on me and really helped with the decision to continue forth.

   So, am I doing the right thing? I believe I am. I am getting very excited as the presurgery date draws near.