Five down, One to go

Yesterday I met with the dietitian for class number 5. I can't believe I'm this close. I'm starting to get butterfly's. Last October when I went to the information meeting, it seemed like the day of my surgery would never get here. Now I have 1 class and I'm only 2 months out.

When I met with the dietitian we went over my daily food log which I completed for a week. I made some mistakes along the way, and skipped some meals (which is a huge no-no), fell short on my H2O intake a few times, and struggled with my 3 milk products daily. Other than those areas, Amanda said I did well. She answered a lot of questions I had, such as...

• Does the 10 day prep diet and first month post surgery really stink as much as everyone say it does?
• How do I get enough protein when I'll only be able to eat 2 ounces at a time post surgery (in the beginning anyway)?
• Is fiber still as important following surgery? I had heard conflicting information about this and I really needed clarification.
• With your pouch being so small, how on earth do you take all the vitamins required in the beginning?
• How do you get all the H2O you're supposed to drink? Again, there's not much space.
• Is dumping completely avoidable?
• Which sugar replacements are best to use? And why don't they cause dumping the same way sugar does?

There were more questions, but you get the idea. There's so much to think about and prepare for. This is an enormous change to lifestyle and behavior. I was given a packet of information about each stage of eating during recovery. It included what to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, and sample menu's. One entire page was dedicated to what should be avoided for the first 4-6 months, and several pages were focused on life-time success: eating guidelines and drinking guidelines. Finally there was a section on vitamin/mineral supplement requirements. There are several different options... none of which are cheap. I just have to figure out which option is most cost effective and easy to use.

SO, there you have it. Another class, another topic, more information to *digest* on my way to the new and improved me. Next month will be a class with the bariatric nurse about exactly what will happen in the hospital from arrival to discharge. Then she'll send all the information over to Dr. M. who will forward everything to the insurance company for approval. Once I have that (in approx 4 weeks) I will have the final meeting with the nurse to go over the 10 day prep diet and pick up the protein meal replacement powder for the prep. It's coming down to the wire and I couldn't be happier.