I had my consult with Dr. Srikanth today and overall it went as I expected. No, actually, it went exactly as I expected. He definitely recommends the DS as the best surgery for my situation. I don't have to jump through a bunch of hoops with my insurance company, meaning no 6 month supervised diet (as of yet). I just have to get my Psych evaluation done and provide proof of past, failed weight-loss attempts. I've got logs from SparkPeople, Weight Watchers and doctor's records that should suffice. I do have to lose 10% prior to surgery, which at this point is going to be somewhere in the range of 35lbs. To do that, Dr. Srikanth has me following his 'sandwich diet' - which looks o-so-fun!

Starting next week I get to eat high protein, low carb for a week. Breakfast is protein and more protein, lunch is protein plus some veggies if I'm still hungry and dinner is a salad with added protein. That doesn't worry me too much - it's a lot like the Whole30 I did last year prior to getting pregnant and I loved how I felt on it.

The week after, however - not such a fan! For the next 2 weeks (yes, 2 weeks) I get to do a clear liquid diet that consists of 80oz of water/liquids, clear broths and 3 protein shakes per day. I can have all of the sugar-free jello and popsicles I want - well I could if I could stomach the taste. I can't stand fake sugar, so unless I get really desperate I'm going to be skipping those. I know that'll be challenging when it comes to the protein shake, but I'm going to do my best to find one that doesn't taste like total crap thanks to the nasty sucralose. Yes - I can taste the difference.

After that, I get to go back to Week 1 and rinse and repeat until I've lost enough weight for him to schedule me for surgery. My goal is to have my surgery by the beginning of September, so I've got my work cut out for me but I also have a lot of motivation to stick to the rules.

I also have to find a way to fit in 90min of exercise every day and, I have to be honest, I'm stuck on that one. I work from home and take care of my kids, so it's not like I can just go for a quick jaunt on my lunch break and then again before I get home at night. It's going to take some creative scheduling - okay, a lot of creative scheduling considering my schedule. Don't get me wrong, I know I need to make exercise a part of my daily life, even after surgery, it's just hard to figure out where it'll fit in and still allow me time to eat, sleep and spend time with my husband.

There's also a long list of tests and appointments I have to schedule. I already have my EGD and Nutritionist appointments scheduled for the end of this month. I still have to get a bunch of blood work, an electrocardiogram, a psych evaluation, a consultation with a cardiologist, a pulmonary function test, an EKG and I think 1 or two other tests. My head is spinning just thinking about it all.

I decided to use the weekend to take a breath, get my food in order and then start scheduling everything on Monday.

Here we go again! Here's hoping I can make it to the end this time.