Day Four - One, Two,Three....Look at Me!

Today will be a moment in history, my history....today I made a purchase one I have never ever bought in my life!  Something I would never have imagined buying ....I bought a scale! A scale has always been on the bad word list in my world....you know, like snow when it's mid July and beautiful weather!  I guess I figured that if I didn't have one, I didn't have to get on one and not getting on one ment I didn't have to deal with reality.  No one ever wants to deal with the reality of weight gain!  I mean really it means lots of questions to answer, what am I doing wrong, why am I gaining weight, what should I be doing differently....oh that's the big one.....what needs to be done differently.  Well, as I sit an sip my measured amounts of fluids I finally get it.  It isn't just the calories and the portion sizes but it is the timing of eating and type of foods.  The timing is a huge part of this new learning process for me....day zero to 13 is clear fluids...1/4 cup of broth, 1/8 cup of sugar free jello, 1/4 cup of juice diluted with the same amount of water is my meal.  Now this meal is to be spread out over the time period of an hour to and hour and a half.  Now I haven't finished a meal yet as I am way to full but the paper work talks about sipping from tsps to know your limits or when food is reintroduced eating off a baby fork or spoon to force you to slow down.  Putting your fork or spoon down between each and every mouthful and chewing at least 25 times per mouthful.  All these tips along with following a routine, breakfast, am snack, lunch, pm snack, supper and evening snack are essential to kick starting your new metabolism in the right direction.  Eating your food in the correct order is also a big deal.  Eating your proteins first, then vegetable and fruits, then eat your grains, pastas, rices, potatoes last.  Usually you won't make it all the way through this stage.  I am learning a whole new way of eating and enjoying my food.  Funny never thought I would call a sip of broth and jello food but I am enjoying it and the time it takes to enjoy it.  One of the other things I didn't ever do is look in a mirror or own a full length mirror.  I will now take the time to stop and look at myself....it's not a vanity thing it is a "I want to see the changes" thing.  Never ever wanted to look in a mirror and see changes as I always knew they weren't good and I was getting bigger.  Reversing this cycle feels great! I am really looking forward to a few weeks from now when the surgeon can give me the "ok" to go back to the gym.  Coupling the exercise with the weight reduction will be amazing.  Notice I said weight reduction.  A lovely lady I know made a comment to me that her sister never calls it weight loss and loss indicates that it is something you may find again and I definitely do not want to find it ever again.  I have never been a person to have pictures taken, of people gawk at me even when I was younger and smaller.....just always figured the longer people look at you the more time they have to find flaws.  As I was putting my piercings back in this morning I realized that with my weight reducing quickly I will have many people looking at me and well, I wasn't sure about it for a minutes but then I thought why not.  I should be proud of what I have done so far and what I am doing now....so One, two, three....look at me!
Steph