My Change, My Pace, My Life

So if you're reading this then you obviously care about my well being and what's going on in my life. I decided to start a blog about my life and the dieting world that I am now living in. If we're close, then you know more than most people do about me. There are plenty of things going on and people ask me about stuff all the time so instead of answering the same questions over and over, I'm going to lay it out all in here. I'll share information, diet stuff, recipes, how I've been feeling, and anything else on my journey to the Sleeve Gastrectomy surgery (gastric bypass).

Now onto the surgery. I started well over a year ago in talks with my surgeon Dr. Kopelan. We built a time table, and it just wasn't met. I dealt with some health complications in which are better for the most part now. The thing is, I didn't think I was physically or mentally ready for the surgery. I'm still not. The thing is all the people around me were so curious about me getting the surgery that no one ever stopped to think about how I felt. Everyone figured it was a simple thing to just go in and get it and it's over with. That's far from the truth. I felt kind of rushed honestly. I always bull shitted some time table to someone cause I knew the question was going to come up. Yes, chances are I've lied to you. So as of right now, surgery's not even part of my thought process. It's a definite thing eventually, but right now I have other things going on for me.

1st: I have a new primary doctor. His name is Dr. Levine. This guy is really amazing. He was a contestant on Season 2 of the Biggest Loser. One thing I needed was a doctor who cared about my health. My doctors prior to him didn't give a shit about me. Numerous times I'd call them for things and no one called me back. I was completely ignored and shut down from that place. Dr. Levine has taken the Arty torch and is already carrying it to great lengths. This guy calls my cell phone every now and then to ask how I am. He's on the ball with everything. He's gotten me a nutritionist, and a psychologist to work with me with things.

2nd: I've been seeing a nutritionist for about a month and a half or so. She's awesome even though I don't remember her name right now. She's put me on an awesome diet. A diet in which I'm eating more than what I was before. That's right, my big ass wasn't eating enough. I'll admit that before the nutritionist I had taken control of my eating habits. She just added some flavor to it. I have 4 meals a day at about 300-400 calories per meal. I only drink zero calorie drinks so I can fill up on more healthy foods. I don't eat fried foods, creamy foods, or anything with butter. It's a high fiber diet, and it's full of complex foods. It was hard adapting to this diet, but I'm getting used to it daily.

3rd: I'm seeing a psychologist to help me put things into perspective. Her name is Vivienne and she's been a real help. She's helping me set little goals here and there to eventually knock out bigger goals in the future.

4th: Eventually I will be getting a physical therapist. Right now the place that was going to take me had moved to a different area and they weren't taking new patients at the time. This doesn't mean that I've been sitting around waiting for someone to come pick me up and tell me to start walking.

This past month with all the changes has been without a doubt awesome. Some of you know certain things I'm dealing with right now and to feel the way that I do is great. Talked with Dr. Levine today and he's proud of the progress I've been making. I've kept a food log of all my meals and numbers for things and he was just stoked to see that I kept with it since our last meeting. Even my nutritionist was shocked to see I was writing stuff down. It's the little things that make a big difference to me. The support of a good doctor is without a doubt a good feeling. It's awesome because he is/was a big guy himself so he knows what I'm going through and has a lot of helpful tips.

Now if you've gotten this far and still thinking about the surgery then I ask you please to stop. Don't bring it up anywhere and don't bring it up to me. It's something I absolutely plan on doing. As of right now, I'm working towards something that's going to make my life healthier before the surgery. It's my change, it's my pace, it's my life. If my doctor thinks this is a good strategy and will work for me, then anyone else who's not a doctor can fuck off. I'm sorry, but that's how things go. I don't care what you've read, watched, heard or anything. The surgery is in the future. I'm working on one goal at a time. If that bothers you or disagree, then I don't need your fucking support. I'm just tired of hearing the questions about surgery's and expected dates. It seems like that's the only thing people want to talk to me about anymore. Hopefully you read this and maybe offer to hangout one day and walk around the park or something. I plan on getting a basketball hoop in my driveway this spring, so why don't you come over and play some HORSE or Around the World haha. How about tossing the first ball around or baseball? I plan to be a lot more active... and I will be. I'm more dedicated to this than anyone can ever imagine. There's no surgery date planned so don't ask until I say something in the future. Thanks.

So recently I've been hiding some weird, awesome, strange, definitely weird weird, but awesomely strange and cool news from you guys. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it cause I didn't know how big of a deal it could be. The other night I got a call from my doctor. He talked to me a bit about how my diets been going and all. He then talked to me about a possible meeting with the producers of the Biggest Loser. Apparently they had asked him about any patients he had that would be good for the show. I was the only that he mentioned to them. So soon (hoping this week) I'll have a phone and then possible NY studios meeting with the Producers for the Biggest Loser. Does this mean I'll be on the show? Not yet. It's very possible I could be on there next season. Again this is big news, but nothings set in stone. Once I talk to the people I'll definitely update the news here first. This could be really awesome.

Lastly, I just want to thank the people who do support me in my numerous goals leading up to the big one. It's a life long journey but I believe I'm going to get there. I'm doing this at my pace and like I said before, if you don't agree with how I'm doing this then I don't need you. This is my life, and the people who support me are the ones who matter to me only. I thank you guys.

-Arty-