I didn’t walk today. Although the psychological goal of walking around the block without having any pain is very much real for me, yesterdays walk taught me that if I want to get some aerobic, muscle tearing, calorie burning exercise, I need to come up with a different plan. With that in mind, I have decided to replace the daily 10 minute walks that I planned for myself this week with 10 minutes on the elliptical.
Today I did 1.2 miles in 10 minutes. I rose my heart rate, broke a sweat and can feel it in my legs that I worked some muscles. Without question a far superior workout than the one I had yesterday walking.
Today I got a brand new scale. My wife Delia bought it for me. We have a bathroom scale, but it has a 330 lb. limit and I am way above that. How much you ask? I present you with my first official Weigh In:
2nd Day of pre-bariatric bypass surgery liquid diet
392.6 lbs.
Today is proving to be much better than yesterday. I really haven’t felt too hungy today at all. I’ve been very conscientious about drinking plenty of water. I stayed busy at work today. To be honest, getting through the work day was a breeze.
And then I came home…
You see, my wife makes the most incredible tasting and aromatic pico de gallo salsa that there ever was. The minute I opened the door, my nostrils filled with the smell of ripe tomatoes, freshly sliced onions, garlic, jalepeno and, best of all, cilantro. Immediately visions of crisp tortilla chips with huge mounds of pico de gallo danced through my head. I complimented Delia on the wonderful smell she had created. She was so apologetic. She genuinely felt bad, I think. The last thing I want is for her to think that she cannot cook all of her wonderful food any more. She still has to feed herself and the kid!
It really wasn’t nearly as bad as I make it sound…but it did smell pretty amazing. Delia was on her way out the door to some kind of recipe sharing party. She took our daughter Soledad. Now it’s just me and the dogs. At least she took the pico de gallo with her.
I should go do something positive. I guess it’s time for my walk…
One of the commitments that I made to myself this week (I am trying to focus on short term goals) is to walk at least 10 minutes per day every day. Last night, I took a walk with my wife and daughter. Once around the block (we have pretty big blocks here in Texas…).
It was an utterly humiliating experience. I had to stop about two-thirds of the way through to sit down and take a two minute break. Endurance-wise, it wasn’t that bad at all…sure I was huffing and puffing, but I could have kept going. My problem is the pain. By the time I reached the first corner on our short trek around the block my back was hurting badly. My shins were sore, my knees and ankles hurt…and my feet were absolutely killing me. I don’t think I was wearing the best shoes for walking (I was wearing Crocs…yeah, those goofy rubber shoes with holes in them). I need to buy some new shoes. I desperately hope this will help. It’s so hard for me to shop for shoes. Not only do I have long, very wide feet, I also have terrible edema in my feet, ankles and calves (one of the many complications of morbid obesity). I tend to avoid shopping for new shoes as it’s always such a frustrating and embarrassing experience. I absolutely must get some kind of walking shoes that are comfortable and provide better support.
I know that if I continue walking every day, the pain will quickly start to go away. I just have to keep it up…
This morning I am enjoying a cup of hot tea…and I mean really enjoying it! It’s Earl Gray, hot - just like Captain Picard drinks on Star Trek the Next Generation. Only into the second day of my first week on the liquid diet, I am beginning to realize how addicted to eating I really am. This has been tough so far…really, really tough. However, when you remove 99% of the options from your diet, a thing as simple as a cup of hot tea becomes special. As I drink it, I savor the flavor and armoa. The experience of it. The house is cool this morning and the tea is warming and comforting.
Last night I had numerous nightmares about eating. I kept dreaming that I was cheating on my diet. In my dreams I was on this liquid only diet. They all seemed to have a theme of “accidentally”, or subconsciously, eating something and then realizing what I had done and going into a panic becuase I had cheated on my diet and ruined all of my hard work. For example, in one dream, I entered the kitchen to get a glass of water. As I stood there drinking, I looked down to see a plate of Ritz Crackers. Without even thinking, I reach down and grab a few of them and start munching away. A few crackers later, I remember that I am on my pre-surgery liquid only diet and start to panic. What have I done!? So many things start racing through my head…am I going to have to reschedule my surgery? If I do have to reschedule, are they going to charge me some outrageous fee? Surely they will! Oh my goodness, Delia will be so frustrated and disappointed with me. Gasp! What about work? It’s taken me weeks to coordinate my work on the two high profile projects I’m on so that I can take off two weeks without being bothered by work. One project actually scheduled a major deadline around my PTO (personal time off…that’s what they call vacation at the company I am employed by…I guess they couldn’t come up with an acronym for ‘vacation’). I awaken; I have to go pee. I still feel tremendous anxiety from the nightmare. Did I eat something last night? I sigh with relief. No, I didn’t…it was just a bad dream.
This went on throughout the night. I have been drinking so much water that I had to get up several times throughout the night to use the restroom. Each time I awoke from a similar nightmare. Needless to say it was a long, restless night.
This morning, however, as I sit here typing away, sipping on my now warm tea (it’s definitely better hot), I feel calm, relaxed. I did make it through the first 24 hours…and no, I didn’t eat anything. I don’t feel hungry this morning at all. I am ready for Day Two!
