catching up

The thing with blogs, diaries, notebooks is that you have to use them. If you put them to the side and forget about them for a while you end up in the situation like I am today. I had a bunch of stuff to write and a bunch of stuff that I should have written. So this little blog is going backwards starting with the most recent and working towards the stuff that I should have filled in.

What's on my mind most lately is a discussion I have been having with some people about eating styles. As a bariatric patient I must be careful about my carb intake but that also gets in conflict with my spirit of rebellion. I have long time been a rebel without a clue. Why else would I do some of the amazingly dumb things that I have done in my past. But each time was a learning experience and I am a better person for it.

One of the comments the person made to me was no longer should I have implicit trust in the professionals (physicians, surgeons, nutritionists, and trainers) because they haven't gone through the full bariatric experience. In a way they are right. Sometimes talking to skinny Dr. Amson about weight loss challenges is the same as going to a priest for sexual relationship advice. They have the knowledge but not the experience. On the otherhand they also have the training and experience with a wider subject group to know what they are talking about.

My part of the deal is to treat my body as it should be treated after surgery and following the advice and guidance of those who have been there before.

There is a bit of a challenge here because as I was discussing with another friend it is clear that there are two kinds of surgeries happening - a new school and old school. I have come to the belief that five years ago surgery and the way people reacted to their operation is very different that the recent batch of patients who have gone through the process. We are pretty much all done laparoscopic and did not have to face the major skin and muscle healing that open patients did. Combined with that was the improvements in techniques that the surgeons have done over the years made our healing and coping time better and faster than before.

As a result the new school of patients heal faster and adjust better than their counterparts did. I think the changes in surgery and healing times add to some differing opinions within our community. This would also explain the great difference of opinions that people have about the treatment of our new pouch. My surgeon told me to 'test out the pouch' very early in my recovery and other experienced patients could not belief this advice.

It is very confusing when the experts say one thing and the experienced say another. I think like with everything both are right in their own way. Now it is simply a matter of choosing what is right for me.

My last free day

Well it has finally come. After 87 days of being away from the office I am returning to work tomorrow morning. So to celebrate my last free day Precious and I went for a walk, cleaned up all the balls in the backyard (Precious is good at chasing balls and not so got at bringing them back) and then Marla and I went out for lunch. So there I was looking at the menu at John's Place. Marla likes it because they have these awesomely decedent Belgian waffles with a great cream cheese sauce stuff. I tried it a long time ago and went into immediate diabetic shock. But she likes it and it doesn't hurt her.

So there I was looking over the menu for John's Place special breakfasts. http://www.johnsplace.ca/breakfast/ There really is nothing there for me to eat. Lots of sweet stuff, lots of food that normal people who like eating enough for three other people would really enjoy. My favourite John's Place meal was Huevos Rancheros but I couldn't finish eating it when I was big. Their meatloaf is great. But I scroll down to the bottom and find this cheap little omlette "The Good, The Bad and Simple Western." Only $5.95 and it is down to a choice between that and one lonely egg. This was my first shot at trying an omlette since the surgery. So here I gave it a go and it was fine. I couldn't eat much of it but for that little price I didn't mind.

I no longer get the value of meals out anymore. For the most part I only have a few spoons and am full, so that $15 entree is kind of a waste. We share meals out when we eat out but we have done that for ages. Although the tables have been turned and Marla gets the largest portion of the meal. Good thing we like the same stuff most of the time.

So tomorrow I go back to my office work. I am looking forward to it but I really did enjoy my time off. So back I go and hopefully get back into the swing of things quickly. My first big test will come on Wednesday when I return to the Interurban Cafeteria. That is one of my favourite food places. Really the goal is skip the food places and go to exercise.

I think I have to retrain my head to say "Go Exercise" when it is saying "Go Eat."

Happy New Year 2012

Okay so 2011 is over and now we ready to face 2012. The Mayan calendar ends this year but I don't think it is the end of the world. My feeling is that when the calendar ends we simply start over. That is what 2012 means to me. It is a time to start over.

My RNY surgery was October 19, 2011. It changed my life and after 55 years I find myself starting over. The nice thing about starting over is that you have all this experience from what you did in the past that didn't work. My past has taught me that the easy way is not always the best way. To achieve I need to focus. Finally I need to learn from my past and not repeat it.

So I was happy to finish my year by working. We did the set up for the Victoria Symphony down at the Royal Theater. This was the first time I got back to work in the theater since the surgery. I had a great time. I am 30 pounds lighter and it is so much easier to move about. I is nice to work in the beautiful old theater.

Marla and I brought in the new years with barbeque ribs and a lovely quiet evening. It was just an excellent night. We watched old tv shows and relaxed the night away. We really didn't make any new year's resolutions but I think my new year's resolution is really what I wish for everyone as well as myself throughout the year - heath and happiness.