024 Prepping for the 2 Week Pre-Op Liquid Diet

TODAY IS THE DAY!!! Jimmy starts his two week pre-op liquid diet today. We will be giving you updates on how he is doing along the way.

Yesterday, Jimmy and I really started cracking down and getting ready for today's kick-off. As many of you who follow Jimmy on Facebook know he celebrated his "Last Day" yesterday. I am going to post the pics of two of his "last meals" here so that you can see some of the things Jimmy is really going to miss. Then make sure to check out the video of Jimmy cleaning out the kitchen in preparation for his liquid diet.

It's all right here on Jimmy Goes Gastric!

018 Portion Size Matters

Another of the appointments we had during our doctor appointment blitz was with a Nutritionist named Krystal Staggs. Let me tell you right now that Krystal is A-MAZ-ING! I know that she has really helped Jimmy A LOT! So much so that we have even set up additional monthly meetings with her so that Jimmy can talk about ways he can prepare himself for healthier living and what he can be doing now to gradually ease into the new way of eating he will have after the surgery.

The biggest realization that we have come to is that PORTION SIZE MATTERS. I would guess that about 90% of people are regularly overeating and they don't even realize it. It's not because they are "pigging out" necessarily but it is because of an ignorance of portion size. I about cried laughing when Krystal pulled out the little rubber piece of beef that was an ounce portion. It was minuscule compared to what is normally on my plate. When she held it out to us she said, "This is how much Jimmy's stomach will be able to hold right after surgery." Let me tell you that my jaw about dropped to the floor. I mean--come on--I knew that he wouldn't be able to eat a lot but this easily fit into the palm of my hand!

It was in that moment that I truly realized just how much I was overeating without even giving it a second thought. I know that Jimmy must have been thinking the same thing from the look on his face. So in addition, to setting some other realistic goals for ourselves--like not keeping chips or sweets in the house--we also decided to make a conscious effort to actually pay attention to the amount of food and the number of portions we were putting into our mouths.

Because PORTIONS DO MATTER!

008 Our Journey Begins with a Fitness Pal

Our Weight Loss Surgery (WLS) begins...again...in December 2011. We actually visited and got established with Dr. Weiderholt in October but we missed the month of November so we basically had to start our consecutive six months over again in December. So for all practical purposes our WLS Adventure began in December.

Nothing much exciting happened right away. We were just getting established and setting the foundation for the insurance approval. Dr. Weiderholt wanted to know diet history, what our eating and lifestyle habits are like now (we established that pizza is Jimmy’s only recreational drug--the nurses thought it was funny!), and we set some goals for diet and exercise.

One of Dr. Weiderholt’s goals for Jimmy is to log all of the food he consumes using the app My Fitness Pal. Now I really have to sing the praises of this app for a second because I think it has really helped Jimmy to stick with it and get a more accurate picture of the amount and types of food he is eating.

My Fitness Pal has kept Jimmy using it because it is interactive and SUPER easy to use. Yes! We love that you can log foods by simply scanning the barcode on the packaging. I know it sounds lame but it makes entering foods easy and scanning the barcodes is fun. The other bonus is that they are making changes to the app to make it better all the time. So props to whoever invented and programmed the My Fitness Pal app. Keep up the great work!

The doctor also set the guideline that “If you bite it--write it.” Meaning that he should track every single thing that he put into his mouth no matter how big or small we make think it is. It was surprising how quickly all those little bites started to add up. No wonder we consume more calories than we realize!

By using this principle and the My Fitness Pal app, Jimmy is visibly able to see the calories he was consuming. It continues to help him get a grasp on the difference between good food choices and bad food choices that waste calories and leave you feeling empty. Knowing the difference has helped both of to start making healthier lifestyle choices when it comes to food.

If you are serious about being healthy and losing weight I URGE you to start logging your food. It may shock you to realize how many calories you are really consuming everyday. Plus you need to get a grasp on the amount of fuel you are putting into your body so you know how much you need to burn. I’m not trying to sell My Fitness Pal--because it’s FREE!--but honestly it can really help you have an easy and mobile way to track your diet and exercise.

Until next time...

Use MyFitness Pal for free by visiting www.myfitnesspal.com or download the free app.