ONE YEAR AGO TODAY ... (Mmmm)

I made a decision that changed my life. I decided to get weight loss surgery at the OCC. The decision was not made lightly. I researched Dr. Ortiz and surgeries in Mexico first I suppose out of curiosity. The lower price certainly led to that curiosity. I suppose somewhere in the fore front of my mind I had no intention of going to Mexico for surgery. (not because of the ignorant stories...) I just wanted to see what people said about the experience. And in the back of my mind, I knew my feelings about surgery in Mexico were just the same as my feelings about surgery in England. It made me uncomfortable to think of surgery in any other country but the US. And then I thought it through. Did I personally think Dr.s were better or worse depending on their country of origin? No. Then what were my concerns? That I have a good Dr. who knows what they are doing and operates in a top notch facility with staff who imbibe that high standard. Certainly I have had my share of uncaring burnt out Dr.'s with sincere medical limitations, alongside burnt out nurses who make big mistakes here, as has my Mom. And I have had good care here as well. So I just concentrated on the Dr., what the Dr. was like, what their facility was like, and what the staff were like and then I made comparisons to others in that field and that country and this one. And standing here, one year out, I am so amazed by Dr. Ortiz. THANK YOU DR. ORTIZ, bless your Mama for making you By the state of the art OCC facility, By the caring nursing staff (Thank you for comforting me), and by not only the amazing plication operation that they performed but also by the unique technique Dr. Ortiz has developed that creates this positive result. I love when I can look back on a decision that I have made one year out and smile with the satisfaction of knowing I done good.

It has been an amazing ride. Worth saying twice. And for those of you new to this forum/blog who want to know what the journey has been like I have been blogging the entire year about it. This last week I have come away from my previous three month weight fluctuation (163-167) by returning to the simple clarity of tracking my calories and journaling about my relationship to food each day. And I learned that I was just taking in more than I needed to be. This having been said and altered has resulted in my return to weight loss. This morning I weighed in at 161. But it's not just the number. I feel really trim. My clothes fit fantastically. I am just 12 lbs away from my goal weight. I began Zumba 4 days ago and I have embarked upon a new journey to cook healthy gourmet foods, gourmet being the operative word. One of my dinners this past week consisted of a potato vegetable pancake with a slice of smoky flavored salmon with fresh rosemary and garlic. The entire meal was better than restaurant and under 300 calories. Post eating, I felt entirely satisfied and did not want anything else to eat. That is my goal. To eat that meaningfully all the time. To realize that taking a break from healthy eating is silly because it means eating junk. Why would I want to do that? And I realize that the key to all of this is gourmet. To do this in a way that I am eating more flavor packed sensuous foods than I have ever done before. To eat really well.

I feel like this coming year I will be blogging here about my health journey through gourmet cooking, juicing, and dehydrated raw foods. Because I feel like my first year was about becoming healthy in measure to pounds which was necessary. Now, this next year will be about becoming healthy in relation to how I nourish my body, deliver it amazing flavors, and keep it active. I look foward to every post.

To Year Two! :) :)