Bottoms Up (Part 2)

It ended up being a whole lot more difficult than I expected to drink that stuff. It has a salty taste that is not masked in any way by the lemony flavor mentioned on the bottle. Several times in the process, I had to hold back the gag reflex so I didn't throw it all up. There was pretty much zero chance I was going to have to restart that.

I got a lot of advice from various people about this stage. I heard from so many people that it was terrible and you can't leave the house...things like that. The bowel prep is designed to clean out your intestines for surgery prep, and the same bottle can also be used for constipation. Needless to say, the stuff did exactly what it was supposed to, although it was actually not nearly as bad as people made it out to be. Perhaps I was an exception to the rule. The surgeon told me that I could have done this step on Saturday or on Sunday and I chose to start mine sooner so I could better enjoy my last day with my kids before surgery day. Along with the prep stage also comes Phase I of the diet. I'll post more on that tomorrow.

Bottoms Up (Part 1)

Last Supper

The last supper felt like an important event in my mind. I'm not sure if other people going through weight loss surgery feel the same way, but it seemed that the last "normal" meal I would eat should be something special. I'm having surgery November 1, so I figured I'd head over to Cheyenne on Halloween and eat at Texas Roadhouse because it is my favorite place to eat. Then when I went to my Lap Band class and was told that I'd need to do a bowel prep two days before surgery. This really changed things because it threw off how we'd planned out the weekend for the kids. There were so many Halloween events scheduled for Friday night, even though sunday is the actual holiday. Then on top of that, we found out some good friends Tony and Raul were going to perform at a coffee shop in Greeley.

We finally came up with a good plan and drove over to Cheyenne last night to Texas Roadhouse. Sandra's parents, my mom and Sandra's sister and her husband joined us for the last meal. I had planned on getting ribs, and to be totally honest, it wasn't the best meal I've ever had. The ribs were really dry so I didn't end up finishing them. What can you do though? Afterwards, the kids went to stay with Sandra's parents for the night and we drove to Greeley to see Tony and Raul. I am SO glad that we did. It was incredible to hear them again and hear some great music...and Raul does some pretty incredible stuff with a looping pedal now. It was totally worth it!

This morning, we drove back to Laramie to take
the kids to the downtown Trick or Treat stuff. The kids looked so cute in their costumes and got lots of candy that they don't really need. I'm sure Sandra will make sure they don't eat too much. :-) Then we decided to grab some dollar menu items from McDonald's and I saw they had the McRib back...so I decided to make that the last meal since I hadn't done the bowel prep yet. The picture above is me eating my last bite of solid food for the next 4-6 weeks. At least I got to finish out with a rib-like food. Here in a few minutes, I am going start the bowel prep, and will post about that tomorrow. I hope you are enjoying the awesome weather we're having at the end of October in Laramie. It's totally not normal.

Protein & Paperwork

I find it pretty interesting the paperwork you have to sign before you can have surgery. I'm fully aware that there are plenty of possible complications and that I might die as a result of the procedure. There's just something different about signing your name to a piece of paper that spells that out. Of course I signed though because I don't get to have surgery unless I sign. We did a little talking about what to expect at the hospital and it turns out I'm the only one having bariatric surgery Monday. I'm ok with being the focus though.

The biggest focus of today was protein. Protein is super important after a weight loss procedure because if you don't get adequate protein, you will lose muscle mass and sometimes your hair falls out. There are other issues, but those are the only ones I'm concerned with . To prevent this, I now have to start investing in protein drinks. In theory, once I'm able to start eating regular food, I don't need the supplements, but for people I've talked to who had the Lap Band or the Bypass, they all still use them. Just another small thing I have to learn to focus on. Today I bought two different kinds. The first is called Any Whey and it is supposed to be a tasteless protein so I can add it to hot or cold drinks, and it can even be baked into food. I'm thinking that in a couple months, I might really want so

me pancakes or something with the kids. Pop a little of this powder into it and use sugar free syrup and I'm rolling!

The other one I bought was called Nectar and the flavor is Fuzzy Navel.

I bought this for the obvious reasons...I like fuzzy navels. They told me that it actually tastes like Tang which is totally cool in my book. I loved to drink Tang when I was a kid and if it's good enough for an astronaut, it's good enough for me.

I plan to post a couple profile pictures of myself on the blog...probably this weekend so you can see the starting point. My plan is to take a daily picture of myself after surgery but I doubt I'll post them every single day. I might make them available if someone wants to see them at some point. For now, the daily stuff is going to be mine alone.

Banded Goggles

If you don't know me, my name is Jon Kelly and I'd like to welcome you to my new blog! In case you do know me, I want to welcome you also, but let you know that my original blog is still up an running and you can find it here. This new blog has a more focused topic.

Next Monday, November 1, 2010, I am having a Lap Band placed around my stomach. I've gone through a fairly lengthy process to be at the point of finally having surgery, but I was frustrated with how little information I could find online from people who went through it. I know there are support groups, but often, they are not convenient to attend. I searched a bit and couldn't find a lot of useful information. Finally, I made the decision with my wife that I would document my journey as much as possible. My world is going to look tremendously different after surgery. I want this blog to include regular photo updates, stories about changes happening in my life post-surgery, how my family was impacted, how I struggled, how I triumphed. Basically, I want to show you what my world looks like through Banded Goggles.

I'd love to have you join me in this journey. Support is a key component in success with any type of weight loss surgery. I am so thankful to my friends and family who have encouraged me through all this, and will continue to help me in the coming months. Please don't hesitate to ask me any questions or leave comments. You can simply comment on the blog, or you can use the email link near the top. Thanks for stopping by!