Pre-op class #11, weekly weigh-in & the dental hygienist from hell

Among the things that I had scheduled today was an appointment at my dentist's office to get a cleaning.  I also somehow have a chipped tooth, so I knew I was going to be there for awhile today.  I'm not one of those people that hates going to the dentist.  I like the feeling of having a really clean mouth and, except for one time, all of my experiences have been good.

Make that two times ...

My dentist has a thriving practice and she is awesome.  The hygienist that was working on me today, however, was new, at least to me.  I was sort of looking forward to my regular person because he's always been very chatty and is gentle on my mouth.  This one was like evil Nurse Ratched.  She had me laying down on the chair and every time she went to grab a dental instrument, she would hold it in the air, inspect it, turning the blade or hook this way and that and then lower it into my unsuspecting mouth.  Mind you, I'm watching all of this from where I'm trapped.  Then she would scrape and scrape and scrape some more.  It was if she was taking a chisel and chipping away at imaginary icicles in my mouth.  Several times I had to raise my hand to ask her to be a bit more gentle.  She sang while she worked, yet I had no idea what it was - something incoherent and evil I think.  Oh, and the absolute worst, she would let too much fluid build up in my mouth before she sucked it out with that straw thingy.  Ewwww!

Bleh.  On to my class and weigh-in.  For this week, I lost a pound.  I was disappointed with it.  Two is a low number to me, so one was almost as if I gained.  I have to keep remembering that this is no race to the finish line and I'm doing everything I am supposed to be doing in terms of what I'm eating.  I do need to kick up my exercise though.  I just don't think I'm getting enough in.  I asked my friend if we could start walking again at lunch starting tomorrow.  We were both excited about that until we found it it's going to rain tomorrow and Wednesday.  Boo.  I do have a gym membership so there's nothing that's preventing me from staying away from a workout indoors.

This week's class was about assessing my new relationship with food since starting the bariatric pre-op classes 11 weeks ago.  Some of the questions I need to ponder this week include:

• What factors in my current lifestyle contribute most to my obesity?
• What do I need to do to commit to lifestyle changes that support my health?
• What weight do I think is my optimal healthy weight?  Have I ever maintained a weight as an adult that was comfortable and felt good to me?  What felt good about that weight and will I be satisfied to be that weight again?
• What style of eating will fit me best?

There were more questions, but those are the ones that jumped out at me the most.  One of the things that amazes me about these classes is that we're not just skimming over surface-level topics.  We are really diving in to the heart of what has brought us to seek bariatric surgery in the first place.  I appreciate that because I want to go deep with all of this, even when it's difficult to face the answers to the questions.

In a discussion with our facilitator, we addressed a concern I had, which was, "What if I don't lose the 10% weight loss that Kaiser wants prior to having the surgery?"  Our facilitator assured me, and my classmates, that people who do not meet the 10% loss will need to see the doctor in charge of the program at Kaiser to review where we're at.  Essentially, all patients move forward to the bariatric center that will be performing the surgery, but the surgeons at that center may request additional weight loss before surgery can occur if they deem it necessary.  The best I can do is try my hardest to reach my goal of losing 37 pounds before finishing this part of the program.  I'm almost halfway there already, so that feels good.  Once we're done with the classes, we will then go for a fitness test and lab work before everything is forwarded to the Pacific Bariatric center.  Then, they will contact us to schedule three appointments on the same day - meeting with a psychologist, internist and then with the surgeon.  During the meeting with the surgeon, we'll then book the surgery date.  The end of the classes is several months away, but we're almost halfway done and I know the time will go even faster as we get closer to summer.

This week I'm going to work on the questions I mentioned above and then I think I'll post them on here.  That keeps me honest.

Water Challenge Day 68:  Drank 179 of 179 ounces