Based on the great results I have seen some of my friends achieve with recent weight lose (Americans in general are fat #noexaggeration #realfact), I, my friend Diana and her son , Winton have decided to join a local physician monitored bariatric program for weight loss, The Tuscaloosa Bariatric and Wellness Center. We will go there once a week to be weighed and counsel about weight loss. I am glad my friends are doing this the same time I am so we can keep ech other in check! If "bariatric" is a new word for you, read my previous blog posting for a definition. I have already signed up and had my initial physical exam and orientation meeting to the program.
I am almost a week into the process, one that will be about six months, and I think I am doing fine. Compared to last Saturday's scale reading, I have lost almost 8 lbs. This is to be expected the first week or two, but once I settle into a rhythm I should lose 3 to 5 pounds a week.
OK, so here is the deal. This weight loss program involves eating a minimal amount of calories a day and drinking a shit-ton of water (96 oz) a day and NOT really exercising, at least not the first few weeks until your body is used to the reduced caloric intake. The reduced calories per day are managed by eating food prepared by the bariatrics program - read "buying their food."
The food consists of packets of everything from cereal and soups to protein bars and dehydrated hot entrees you cook on the stove or in the microwave. So far, I have found the taste to be quite acceptable, and they are filling. I am glad nothing tastes like those old diet bars my mom used to get - chocolate covered saw dust... yuck!
The shear variety of the food choices is astounding and of course there are "real" food freebies you can have on a daily basis besides the "supplements" you must eat. You can have two pickle spears, a small 60 calorie fat-free yogurt or 1/2 cup skim milk, 2-3 sugar-free, fat-free Jelloes, 60 calories of fat-free Saltines (about 4 or 5), and chicken or beef boullion . And you can have one or all of these freebies a day. I have only enjoyed the jello, pickle spears and yogurt so far. I will leave the boullion to the French.
If you would like to get a view of the shear magnitude of the food chices available to me, go look at this online bariatric food site www.bariatricchoice.com I will be ordering my food from them at discount prices instead of buying from the Tuscaloosa Bariatric Wellness Center. I need to eat six (6) supplements a day, drink 96 ounces of water, take a multivitamin and a potassium pill and that's it. Women under 60 eat only 5 supplements a day.
OK, now let's talk about what this is costing me. There was an initial fee for joining and getting a checkup and lab work done of $175. This amount also covered the orientation meeting, doctor consult (Dr. Evans is a hoot!) and a bag of samples which was enough for a week and a half of supplements. I will pay $26 weekly for "weigh in" and consultation plus whatever food I buy. The food boxes have anywhere from 3 servings (the big entrees) to 7 servings (the bars and everything else) and range in price at the bariatric center from $12 to $15 a box. If I bought six $15 dollar boxes with 7 supplements each, I would spend $90 a week or $360 a month in fo0d at the Wellness Center. That with the "weigh in" fee and $10 for potassium pills is about $475 a month. I checked my quicken files and last month I spent $430 on food which was grocery store and dining-out receipts which does not incluse anything I bought with cash or as part of a gasoline purchase or such other "snack" opportunities. The bariatric food site I mentioned above has its boxes of supplements priced from $8 to $12 for the same items and after you order a certain amount shipping is free and you begin to get bigger discounts. I figure if I order all my food online, I may actually come out spending less every month for the whole program than I spent on just food previously. We shall see.
Well, there it is in a nutshell - so far so good. I have not felt hungry. I have not felt dizzy or had leg cramps. If I was moody or short tempered the first few days, nobody said anything about it (much) the first couple days. I have set up six alerts on my iPhone to tell me when it is time to eat. When ever I actually feel a need to eat it is usually within 15 minutes of the time I have set to eat. As my friends, Susan Goode, pointed out, "It is always almost time to eat!"
More to come...
