Got my surgery date!

Today was a big day- I got my surgery date!  It is June 30, which is exactly 8 weeks from today.  I have a few final preparatory steps I need to complete between now and then: blood work to see if my vitamin levels are back up to normal (I was very low in vitamin D, B-12, and iron so I've been taking lots of supplements), a follow up appointment with the pulmonary doc to find out the results of my sleep study, attendance at the monthly bariatric surgery support group, and a full day of pre-surgical tests and information sessions two weeks before surgery. The main thing I'm nervous about at this moment is the requirement that I don't gain any weight or they will cancel my surgery.  It's a standard rule- I think they figure that if you are non-compliant before surgery, you are more likely to be so after surgery, which can lead to complications.  It makes sense, but preparing for weight loss surgery brings up a lot of feelings and not stuffing them down with food is challenging.  It's easy to tell yourself that this will be your last opportunity to eat freely and so you should indulge now while you can. If I do that, I will gain weight! The idea that I'm giving up certain foods forever is not actually true because most sleeve patients can actually eat almost anything once they are fully healed but just not in large quantities.  So I'm trying to follow the pre-surgery eating guidelines they gave me: wean off caffeine, eat little to no sugar, practice eating slowly, and always eat protein first (to fill you up.)  They also recommend starting to exercise.  This morning I took a short walk before work, which was actually a really nice way to start the day.  I also ate several cookies that someone brought to work- not terrible but also not as disciplined as would be ideal.  Tomorrow is a new day.