11 months

Last September is when my doctor and I started seriously talking about weight loss surgery. I had to do a lot of thinking and researching, and also had to take care of a lot of medical issues to make sure it would be covered by insurance. A chest CT scan to make sure I didn't have any cardiac risk factors wasn't too bad. Getting caught up on mammogram & "female" stuff is always lovely. Passing an Upper GI to eliminate risk of leaks or obstructions was disgusting and awful.

By November I was ready to learn more, so attended an introductory session at MGH weight center on November 19. Maybe I will count that as my one year anniversary to starting this journey? Here I learned that my options were bypass or sleeve -- basically no one does the lap band anymore. I remember that the most amazing thing to me was how the surgeon who was presenting, as well as all of the other staff, approached this all as a medical issue to be treated, just like diabetes or MS or anything else. There was no talk of willpower or guilt or shame. They talked a lot about genetic factors being just as important, if not more important, than how we eat. It is such a different mindset from all of the other weight loss programs I've tried in 40+ years. Even the name -- weight center -- focuses on weight, not weight loss.

They sure know what they are doing! Before surgery, I saw a psychologist twice, a nutritionist twice, had 3 nutrition group meetings, and two meetings with the surgeon. I think they really want to make sure people are up for the challenge, and I imagine people must drop out at every stage along the way.

Since surgery I have seen the surgeon once, my PCP once, and the nutritionist once. I started the Lifestyle Group this week. We meet every other week for 4 weeks, and I guess the goal is to set people up to maintain their weight loss. I learned that there are receptors that line the stomach that send a message to the brain telling it when you are full. For some reason (I'm not sure), it only takes a little bit of food to activate those receptors now, which is partly why I can't eat that much. The stomach doesn't stretch back out, but eventually, it takes more food to activate the receptors, which is why I will eventually eat a whole plate of food. Interesting.  The trick is to get used to eating more fruits and veggies now, so that when I do have a full plate, I don't eat crap.

 Last night I had dinner with an old boss who I love. I had 1/2 glass of wine and a Caesar salad with tuna shashimi on it, and brought 1/2 home. Much better decision than last weekend's tuna debacle. Though I did enjoy a few of her French fries!