I started my pre-op clear liquid diet today. I have a short list of items that are okay to take in. So far today, however, my meals have consisted of a small glass of Diet Ocean Spray Blueberry Pomegranate juice (pretty yummy), a cup of warmed chicken broth (do not let sit cold - ew), two cups of sugar free Jell-O, and water. What is more, this will be my diet for the first week after surgery – what I can take down anyway.
Now, the thought of an all liquid diet seems crazy to most people – even those in fine shape. I am happy to say that it does not bother me in the least. Thanks to a program called Medifast, I am very familiar with a liquid diet. I suppose that is a story in need of its own post. As such I will not go into more details. I am however, going to do fine with this liquid diet – and the best thing about it – the weight loss actually starts today…
Moving on, I have been thinking about a few things that will help keep me motivated while I adjust to my new way of life. Some of those superficial inspirations I mentioned earlier. They do work. For instance, before I started Medifast (sorry, I’ll get to that story, I promise) I wore my pants below my belly. The worst part about this is that under my belly no one could see my sweet belt buckles. I love belt buckles. So, when I started the said diet program I set a goal to be able to comfortably wear my pants over my belly. End results? I now have growing, kickass belt buckle collection – and yes, you can see them.
So, strangely, one of the first things that came to mind: lowrider bicycle. Heh… for those who have known me a long time, you may recall that I went through a period as a young teen where I was obsessed with lowrider car culture. Along with that I loved lowrider bicycles. I always wanted one. But, you see, a classic lowrider bike is based on a classic Schwinn frame dropped low. Needless to say, I was always too big for one.Matter of fact when I was six or seven years old, my Dad fixed up his old Schwinn bike for me – so for a period I had an actual old school frame I wanted to convert into a lowrider bike. I’ll tell you, when I was six or seven years old I hated that bike (I’m sorry Dad). All of my friends had BMX and Mongoose bikes, so that is what I wanted (think 1985 – radical). Dad, I did come to realize what I had. I sure do wish I still had it.
Anyway… so a goal I am setting for myself is to be thin enough to feel comfortable riding a lowrider bike. I will then purchase one to ride around at work.
Finally I would like to talk a little bit about my guitars. Playing the guitar is something I have only been doing for two years but I love it! I own two Fender Stratocasters – the best guitars made hands down. And yes, there are a couple of issues related to my weight that make me feel inadequate when playing my guitars. First of all, when standing and playing I just plain feel like I dwarf the guitar and it looks funny. I feel like I’m strumming a ukulele, honestly. Secondly, when sitting and playing a guitar one is supposed to rest the body on their thigh with the guitar tucked close to their body (especially with a Stratocaster and its beautiful body frame contours). Well, because of the extra roundness of my thigh and the way my larger belly sets when I am sitting, I cannot fully rest the guitar on my thigh. I have had occasions where the thing almost slipped out of my lap. Beside that I have to reach around my belly to fret the damn thing. It just makes playing the guitar (which is difficult in and of itself) that much harder.
So, another goal I am setting for myself is to be more comfortable playing my guitars in general. And this goal will go hand-in-hand with managing my stress during these life changing times, as playing my guitar is one of my most relaxing escapes. Oh how much nicer it will be…
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