I went to my initial appointment with the nutritionist this week and it was much different than I imagined. More emotional, as she asked me questions beyond "what do you eat?" Questions like "how does that make you feel?" and "why?" I cried, but she assured me that it was normal. 

I love checking things off lists, so I'm thrilled with this process so far. 

I've had my blood work done. 

Scheduled my psychological evaluation.

Scheduled my in-home sleep study.

Will be attending the required intro class tomorrow.

And, given a list of goals to begin working on.

My first goal is working on giving up coffee. Specifically, Starbucks every morning. Not just regular Starbucks, but sugar and calorie packed lattes. The goal for the month is to only get Starbucks on Fridays. The rest of the week, I will make my own coffee or tea at home before work. I'm also to exercise for a minimum of 10 minutes per day. And, finally read my binder of information. I've already devoured the information in the binder and will reference often between now and surgery in 6 months. 

I can tell this process isn't the "easy way out" as many people seem to think. I knew it would take work, but now I know concretely what that work is and how I will be able to explain it to those curious with my decision to have surgery. 

Something I was surprised by was a clause I had to sign stating that I would not gain over my initial weigh-in. I was surprised, because I thought that was a given. I'm going to be program compliant because I want to be shown the way. I want to make a lifetime change and realize there is no magical fix. I think the 6 month program will set me up for great success and I look forward to my next meeting where I turn in my goals and start on new ones.