First encounter with my Nutritionist

So someone tell me why I haven't been to see this doctor before? My first session lasted 4 - yes four - hours! She is so thorough and informative. Spent so much time listening to me to understand how I got here. And most importantly, assured me that a) she and her team will be with me throughout to ensure I am successful and b) I can do this!.

She's given me a basic eating plan for sugar and starch intolerance and said eventually she'll be cutting back on the already non-existent carbs. I'm back to see her in two weeks, but have instructions to call her with any questions or concerns in the interim. At that meeting she'll also set me up with my personal trainer, but in the meantime, I'm to continue my walking and take it from sporadic to regular and she'd also like me to start swimming to take strain off.

a funny thing -- when she measured and took my weight, I'd lost 2.5 pounds from Friday's weigh in - but I'm thinking that was just the effects of a different scale. I'd also lost half a foot in height. i'd always thought I was 5'6", but she says nope, I'm 5'5 1/2". Makes my weight and bmi numbers even worse!!!

Good news is, I told her that Sam (patient advocate) told me they'd want me to lose 10% body weight pre-op..... well Dr Symonette laughed and said "That's what.... 26lbs.... I think we can do better than that!". This led to a chat about why if I can lose weight following her eating plan, would I need the surgery. Has to do with long term success and maintenance.

Left her office ravenous and all hopes of a 'last supper' erased when she ceremoniously wrote the date on day one of the food journal she gave me. Of course after 4 hours i had to dash back to work so it wasn't until 4 when I was able to get to the foodstore salad bar that i had anything to eat! Grabbed a rotisserie chicken as well for dinner - I know that's not the ideal choice, but not much 'relatively healthy' foods to grab in a pinch around here.

I also left her office with another 4 supplements to take. I need to dash out this morning to the pharmacy to get either a bigger or another pill box. As I told Dr Symonette yesterday, I need to get healthy fast because only old folk carry these damned pill boxes around!

Woke up this morning and had two of the pills that need to be taken an hour before breakfast... then made a smoothie out of vanilla greek yogurt and frozen strawberries. I figure it is good for me to start working some liquid meals in because I'm such a texture person that I think the liquids n mushies are going to be rough!

Ok.... Time to take the seven pills I have left for the morning before lunchtime hits and i have another round to take. Ugh!