Tonight We Dine in La Mirada, Spartans

Tonight is the proverbial last meal. I plan to gather my troops and gorge on the blood of vanquished enemies. The enemy? The food, the alcohol, the hunger, the clean plate, and whatever else motivates the beast. Tomorrow I must fully face my demons. Tomorrow I begin a new way of life. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday. That is the day I begin my prep for lap band surgery. My surgery is scheduled for April 21, 2010. But I know they don't want patients to show up for surgery having stuffed themselves the night before on prime rib and roast duck so they insist on a pre-op weight loss regimen. All bariatric surgery patients are required to shed pounds just prior to the surgery, ostensibly as a means of shrinking their fatty liver much like the Grinch's heart. I think the real reason is to move those inevitable last meals out a couple of weeks prior to the surgery. So tonight is that last meal. Tomorrow begins my journey.

I intend to use this forum as a means of tracking this journey over the next days, weeks and months as I face the many challenges and obstacles that come with every attempt at losing weight. I hope that I am successful in this attempt. It is very important to me for so many reasons. My motivations are many.

Of course, every journey begins with the proverbial first step and in this case the first one is a doozy; I am required to go on a liquid diet for the 17 days leading up to my surgery. That equates to 5 boxes of chocolate milk each day and little else. This is one of many tests that each of us must pass before we can have our surgery. One must pass a series of tests in order to prove that he or she has the right stuff and is not just fooling around. In these pages I will describe in detail, the whole process one must go through, from the bringing up of the subject of bariatric surgery with ones doctor to the inevitable saline fills the one must seek out as the team keeps attempting to adjust the band to the point where it helps keep one full and eating very small meals. And so tomorrow morning, instead of poached eggs and corned beef hash, I shall slowly sip 11 ounces of low-fat low-carb high protein chocolate dietary supplement.

And so tonight, tonight my fellow spartans, tonight we dine in La Mirada, which is not exactly hell, but it is a great quote anyway. Dinner is at Mr. Vs. A nice enough steak house with good portions and an okay wine list. I'm sure it will do nicely for a last meal as a send off on a rather long and arduous journey. Hopefully one that will lead us to victory.