Diet & Exercise

So, let me start off with the exercise part. And by start, I mean... I haven't been doing any. The only exercise I've been getting really is going up the three flights of stairs to my apartment. I bought a groupon for some fitness classes at Silhouettes in Rosedale, MD, but have only gone for one class. (They also have equipment I can do a circuit on, but I haven't gone back for that either.) I bought a dvd called Burlesque Beat that just arrived in the mail yesterday, so I am hoping I will try that out this evening or sometime this weekend. (I love burlesque shows and have always been very interested in doing burlesque, but definitely don't have the body and/or moves to do it. Even with plus-size burlesquers, I am still too big. Meh.) I need to get on track with that - that is the hardest part for me, of all of this.

As for diet - that's actually much better news. I have been taking a good amount of vitamins and supplements: I received some I had ordered as well yesterday. So currently I am taking a Centrum Multivitamin (chewable), VitaFusion Fiber Well fiber gummies, Viactiv calcium supplements (chocolate chews! They smell awful in the container, but taste pretty decent). I also ordered Biotin, so I will probably start taking that as soon as I find out a surgery date.

In addition, I have more than halved my consumption of soda, caffeine, and chocolate! Before, I used to have quite a high intake of soda - I could polish off a 2-liter in the course of a day with nary a blink of an eye. Now, I have 1-2 glasses in the evening with dinner, caffeine-free diet cola. For caffeine, I have 1-2 cups of Earl Grey Tea in the morning. I have Earl Grey green at home that I hope I can start drinking and placebo-effect myself into feeling caffeinated. However, I have a lot of sleeping problems (feeling sleepy throughout the day, falling asleep while driving, etc), so I think kicking caffeine completely will be an incredible challenge. Lastly, chocolate/sweets. I am hoping with the Viactiv calcium supplements, I will get a small amount that way. I may take them in the evening when I take my other evening medication, so that way it can be my requisite "after-dinner sweet". However, I am still having some chocolate and sweets after dinner. After lunch, I have been chewing gum (mint), to kind of cleanse my palate. I always complained of wanting something sweet to balance out the savory of a meal, and the gum helps a lot to curb that craving.

Two days ago, the juicer I bought arrived in the mail, so that's the new exciting thing. Dave is going to be going along with me on this, at least partially. We are going to start out juicing one meal a day, most likely breakfast (since it will be the easiest to get through). Though I know juicing is not recommended after the gastric sleeve procedure, since the calories just go through without making you full, I think if I do it in moderation, it will be a good way to bulk up on those vitamins and minerals to keep me strong even if I'm half-starving my body. I am hoping to hit up the cheap produce market tomorrow (if it's open) to pick up some stuff, so we'll see how that goes! Exciting things all the time I guess.