Day 1 Down

Well, it's official. The liquid diet SUCKS.

I got up this morning cranky, defeated and sad. I hadn't even started yet!

I went to the kitchen to find my son making "hobo hash" for himself and his sibs. It's scrambled eggs with cheese, bacon and potatoes. I walked back out of the kitchen without even bothering with my protein shake. Finally around noon, I decided I was hungry enough to pull the "Bullet" (blender) out of it's box and start assembling it. I didn't get far. My frustration level was so high and my patience was non-existent. About 45 minutes later I proceeded to re-enter the kitchen yet again to hand wash all of the parts to the "Bullet" as well as to wash the shaker cups my husband and I will use for drinks at times. I was irritated at every single aspect of the preparation, but eventually I got ready for the ingredients.

I went to the fridge and got the skim milk (ewwwww) and grabbed some ice too. I threw those into the "Bullet" and then opened the trusty can of powdered protein drink mix. It's only 100 calories and gives me 18g of protein per shake! Very much what the surgeon ordered. I have been reading lots of people's stories about how horrible these shakes are. Some gag, vomit and despise these. I was a little worried - not gonna lie. I mixed it up briefly in the "Bullet" and then went to release the cup from the machine. It was stuck! I tried and tried to get it off, but it wouldn't budge. "Great!" I yelled. I finally got the courage up to make a shake and then I couldn't drink the damn thing because it was stuck on the machine. I was ready to cry, and I mean  for real. I asked my 13 year old son to try to get it off and with much grunting and work, he still hadn't been able to release the demon cup from the machine. I was ready to give up and go sulk when I gave it one more try and VOILA! It finally released and the shake was in my hand.

"Yuck" my daughter said as she looked at the grog. I shot her an evil stare and said, "This is the only food I can eat for the next 2 weeks. Don't knock it!"

The shake really was pretty good and I got it down without issue. I actually felt full .... for about 20 minutes. I have been drinking all day. Three shakes total, one glass of tomato juice and 2 mugs of chicken broth. I AM STARVING. I am not going to sugar coat this - the liquid diet is hell. People from the message board I frequent swear that it gets much better in the next 2 days, but right now all I can think about is how hungry I am. My stomach is burning and growling and I am exhausted. No energy. I was sneaky earlier and stole two Macadamia nuts from my husband's Atkins stash. It was like heaven. I was almost shaky as I lifted the little bites of heaven to my mouth.

It's overwhelming to think of doing this for 13 more days and that's only *before* the surgery!! After surgery there will be another 2-3 weeks of liquids only before moving slowly to pureed (baby food consistency) foods. All totalled - FIVE WEEKS at a minimum of liquids only. If anyone tells me that having this surgery is "the easy way out" to lose weight, I am without a doubt going to deck them! I see red just thinking about someone saying that to me or around me. WLS (weight loss surgery) is NOT for the faint of heart and it is a sacrifice of major proportions. My focus for the next 13 days - SKINNY ME or even just reasonably sized me!! I can do this... RIGHT?