The Date is Set

Time to add a blog update.  It's been on my mind lately but the past two weeks have been nuts at work.   I've had extra meetings, a wrap-up for student teacher placements, and midterm grades were due this week.  I procrastinated a bit with some classes but got the grading taken care of so I could send out the handful of midterms.   I've been sleeping a lot better this semester so it did feel draining to stay up later the last couple nights.   I had to take a nap today which is something I really haven't been doing much lately.

The big news is that my surgery is officially scheduled for November 22nd.   I do not know the time until the day before but I'm supposedly the first on the list.  I have to go to an appointment on November 10 to get a scope of my esophagus and stomach to make sure there aren't anomalies with my anatomy.   On November 8 I have a pre-op meeting/class that reinforces what I have to do the weeks before the surgery.   I start a liquid based diet on that day too and can only eat certain foods prior to the surgery.   My usual protein shakes are on the list, soups, yogurt, etc.   Thankfully oatmeal and hot cereals are on the list.   It basically clears out my system and should make me lose more weight prior to the surgery.   They want a person's liver to shrink too so the stomach can easily be reached.   So I guess this is my way of saying that I am going through with surgery and taking that route.    I also need to schedule an appointment with my usual physician for approval to be under anesthesia.

On a related note, I'm sticking to my 1000-1400 calorie a day fairly well.   I've been surprised by how dedicated I've been to it.   I have a meeting with a dietician on October 19 and I really wanted to prove that I could stick to her recommendations since the previous visit was disappointing.   I am currently the lightest I've been since 2012 if not earlier.   I do have some days where it is super tempting to grab food from past places like Culver's or Taco John's.   I stop and think about how one meal at those places could be all my calories for one day if not more.    I will admit there has been some self-talk in regards to my current success with weight loss.   I do ask myself "why not just keep doing what I'm doing with activity and calorie intake and lose weight this way?"   I then come back to reality and remember that most of my attempts do start this way with mondo success but then something in life kicks in again whether it's my stress level, complacency, laziness, or cravings just overtaking my willpower.  I need to do something that helps my changes become permanent so I do the best I can with health in the remaining years of my 30s.  

The name for my new vehicle is Elvira.  I was motivated by the black color of the SUV.    It's been a nice change with the new vehicle.   No scary loud noises being emitted from under the hood.   No leaking oil.   Temperature controls that work well.  The gas mileage aspects are different which is a slight bummer.   It can actually take E-15 gas so that's supposed to help with efficiency.    Today was the first time I put that kind of gas into it because it's not the easiest to find but Kum & Go does have it.   It cannot take E-85 since it's a newer FlexFuel SUV.    They really promoted the fact that I get a free trial of Sirius Radio.   At first I wasn't super impressed but there is a Pearl Jam station that absolutely rocks.   If I'm not happy with my FM stations, I'm usually moving to that station.   I significantly doubt I'll keep the subscription when the free trial is over but for now it's a nice treat.

Last but not least...I'm super proud of my latest Halloween/fall decoration.  I'm a sucker for fall decorations.