24 Days Until Surgery. How It Works.

A lot of people have been asking me simply how it works.  

There are a few aspects to this.  

First.  Your stomach is just smaller, so the amount of food you can consume is smaller.  80% of your stomach is removed.  This means many small meals per day need to be eaten in order to remain healthy.

Second.  There is a hormone that is created in your stomach called Ghrelin which sends hunger signals to your brain.  With 80% of your stomach gone, 80% of the Ghrelin produced is also gone.  This reduces cravings.

Earlier I had mentioned that this is not the easy way out and this is why:  I think there is no easy way out.  Losing weight with this surgery or without will have it's challenges.  With surgery, the challenges are forced.

The hardest part of this journey (for me) will be:

1.  Emotional Eating.  If I am fighting with emotions, eating will just not be an option anymore, so I will need to find a different way to deal with emotions.

2.  Pre/Post Op Diet.  I will be consuming only liquids and pureed food for up to 10 weeks while my stomach heals.

The surgery itself is not very painful.  Mostly discomfort.  However, overeating after the surgery is EXTREMELY painful!  So this is definitely something I need to keep at the forefront of my mind!  

I also need to have a game plan for those times I feel like eating emotionally!!

(A game plan is in place!  Post to come!)