Ugh, my body is ready for a change. I am feeling so tired and my body is starting to get sore, like knees/back/etc. I went to the seminar on the 8th and now I am waiting for them to call me for my consult. I hope it's soon. I don't want to start losing weight until after my consult as my insurance will use my consult weight for approval purposes. Then I can start my 6 month medically supervised diet and lose as much as I can. During that 6 months I also plan on starting the couch to 5k program, get off diet soda (specifically coke zero), and get my water intake up. I am hoping that making these changes ahead of time will help me not feel too overwhelmed trying to make all these changes at once.

On the topic of diet soda addiction...on man do I drink a lot of Coke Zero. It's so good and I am addicted to it. I know carbonation and caffeine are no-no's after the lap band, so I am going to wean myself off of it. I really think that all the caffeine and chemicals are making me feel sluggish and tired all the time. I work night shift, so I have used caffeine to stay awake and then a sleeping pill to go to sleep. I have been taking ambien for sleep for about 3 and 1/2 years. I started taking it after my daughter was born and I had anxiety and postpartum depression. I have continued taking it because I am on 12 hour nights at work and I have to flip my schedule around a couple of times a week. I will be awake for 24 hours and then sleep in the day, work again for 12 hours and sleep the next day. Then I will have the next night off and will have to take ambien to sleep at night again so I can switch to a normal schedule. I am sure that this cycle is not good for my health. Working nights has also contributed to bad food choices. When I am awake for 24 hours, I crave bad foods and eat to stay awake.

Any suggestions on kicking the soda habit would be appreciated. Thanks!

P.S. Is anyone reading this blog? I have no idea...but I guess if not, that's ok as it is good for myself to be documenting things on my journey.