Has it really been 180 days....

I think that is the exact amount of days we spend in classes during a school year... and according to my mathematical calculations... that's the exact amount of days since my July 30th surgery to today's date. So what wisdom have I gained?  What lessons learned?
Here is the big reveal: 99.9% of this journey has little or nothing to do with what's in my mouth and everything to do with what goes on within my two ears.  It's all mental - or maybe the lack of food makes me mental... I'm still hashing out those details.  I re-read my pre-surgery post and remember back to the pain of the liquid diet... the need to beat myself up because I had a teaspoon of peanut butter or an olive. Oh,  and the water... the river of water I drank to fill myself up. I can also remember post surgery and the pain of just a sip of water.  And with all that water under the bridge, and that one hundred and eighty days later I can walk around 80 pounds lighter, I still fight with me and my head... I know I'm losing, but I still can't part with my favorite fat jeans.... I hear friends and family tell me I've lost [and I'm just learning to listen], but I still see fat Kathy in the mirror.  I haven't hit my goal yet, and I'm still working in that direction.

The countdown begins

File this under - too much information - but if you want to share in my journey please stop by and read my rants and rages as I prepare for bariatric surgery.  I find writing a great way to refocus my energy and share my journey.  Who knows, you may be inspired... or bored, your choice.
I'm on day three of my pre-surgery liquid diet, and I'm not going to lie; I'm hungry!  But more than that I'm happy that I've gotten through three days of Optifast drinks and bars - yay me.  Me, with the Starbucks Gold Card.  Me, who considers french fries a vegetable.  Me, fan of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. I need to work on my timing and making sure I do eat at regular times so my blood sugar doesn't dip and I don't feel a wave of fatigue like I did today after swimming at the Y. 

I wanted to do a video blog - but unfortunately, I didn't have a lot of space on my iPhone to record a longer message. Actually, I recorded a longer message on my computer, but in the middle of the message I was distracted by a pimple on my face - and no one is going to be inspired by that. So look for that post on my bloopers blog.

I will say this journey has been almost a year long... my initial visit was back in September 2013; right after completing a Black Girls Run 5k.  After 6-months on insurance required diet and the battle of the thyroid and well, just life - I am back on track.  The countdown begins and we are 11 days away, but rest assured, I plan to post up to and after my vertical sleeve surgery, so please feel free to comment.