S minus 14 days and counting

It's two weeks before my gastric bypass surgery. Today I begin my low-calorie, all-liquid diet that will shrink my liver to enable easier access to my innards in the laparoscopic procedure. I can't say that I'm looking forward to this part of the process - it was pretty miserable for Lynn, and she was able to eat small salads and carrots, which I won't be doing. But I know that it'll be worth it all in the end. Two weeks will be a good amount of time going towards breaking bad habits, not to mention the weight loss. Lynn lost 20 pounds just during that part. I've already broken one bad habit: soda pop. It's been around a month now that I gave it up and replaced it with Crystal Light sugar free flavor packs, and the generic equivalents thereof. Honestly, it wasn't even hard. I'm really enjoying the variety of flavors and the lack of carbonation. I'm glad I did it then, too, so that I don't have to do it along with everything else I'll be giving up. I got my Bi-PAP machine yesterday, too. It's like a CPAP, but more powerful and sophisticated. From what I gather, the difference is that the Bi-PAP actually has to detect when you breathe out and reduce the pressure, since the pressure they have me on is too hard to exhale against. It's a nice unit, doesn't look like a big ugly medical machine. Last night was my first night sleeping with it. At the moment, it feels like I did get a better night's sleep. My eyes are still a little tired, but let's face it - when's the last time I did get a good night's sleep? I have no idea. So it may take a few days to completely catch up. But I notice some big changes already:

• Almost no stiffness in any of my joints (part of that might be because I was back in my own, wonderful bed, but I don't think that's all it.)
• A general clearness of my thoughts so far.
• I don't feel like sitting down and napping already.

The bigger test will be the drive to work, if I feel sleepy during that. But again, I'm not expecting huge results already - it may take a few days. Also, Lynn pointed out that at some point, I did snore - which may mean my body started breathing out of my mouth rather than my nose, thereby bypassing the machine. She also said it sounded like the mask lost the seal around my nose and was making a loud sound, which drove her out to the couch. I told her that in the future, she can feel free to reseat the mask on my face - I'm probably not going to feel it. This is where the rubber starts hitting the road. Everything up to this point has been tests and theory. Now it's action. It's a weird but good feeling. In 2 weeks, my life will change forever, for the better! It's a bit like contemplating winning the lottery. I remember talking with people about winning the lottery and we'd go on and on about all the things we'd do with that much money. And you get really into it and then you have to come back to reality and realize that you didn't win. I've spent a lot of time thinking about the things I'll be able to do after surgery - riding a rollercoaster, shopping off the rack at Old Navy, standing on a stepladder with a 250-pound limit, using a scale with a 330 pound limit, riding in an airplane without a seat belt extension... scores and scores of things that thin, healthy people take for granted. Only this time, I don't have to come back to reality. It's really going to happen! The transformation begins now!!