First … I survived day one of my full liquid diet and protein for pre-op!!!  Yeah!

Second … when I re-read the diet guidelines from Dr. Wasser I noticed that cream and broth based soups are a-ok!!  The only day I need 100% clear liquid is the day before surgery!

Lastly … I am now going to turn my focus onto homemade creamy soups, discovering the BEST canned soups out there, AND exploring some soupy shortcuts for those 'one the run' days.

Case and point …

I made myself a cup of broth yesterday … gross!  Too salty! TJ figured he would try his hand at heating up some for me, too … he worked his own spice-adding magic, but again … total fail.  A few moments later my mom surprised us with a visit.  She offered to get me some wonton-free wonton soup … broth only!  It felt like a bad episode of Goldilocks and the 3 bears!

Needless to say, the wonton broth was a total success. My first soupy shortcut has been found! An hour later is when I realized I could have had a creamy soup.  This opens up a whole new world.

Today for brunch I am sipping on a cup of creamy, butternut squash soup.  I sprinkled a touch of nutmeg into the soup while heating it on the stove … yum!!  For an early breakfast I had a protein shake and I will take one with me to work in an hour … I took the morning off to see Dr. Chao.  That's another story, for another time.

I don't know about dinner yet, but I am feeling some creative culinary moments coming on … avocado soup … cream carrot … sweet potato …. etc..!

Thank goodness for the new blender/food processor … I have a feeling we're going to become very close in the days and weeks ahead.

Two days post-Turkey Day … leftovers calling my name … little did I know it would be my 'last supper'.

TJ and I piled our plates high with green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, turkey, sweet potatoes, stuffing, and corn at about 9:30 last night.  Within 20 minutes I felt like a stuffed tick.

    Disgusting.

         Painful.

              Swollen.

                   Guilty.

"That's it", I told him.

For whatever reason, in that moment I decided I was done.  No more waiting until Monday. No more procrastination and rationalizations.

This morning I held to my word, and as I sit here now I am accompanied by a protein drink, a cup of broth, and a large glass of water.

Brief battles ensue within my thoughts …

"Today was your last day of eating whatever you want … don't you want those pancakes!?!"

"You don't have to start this today … you said Monday … don't make this harder on yourself!"

"Dr. Wasser said to start this on 12/4 … that's more than a week from now!"

"You and TJ had plans of going to Robin's Nest tonight for dinner … you're going to break your date night for this!?!"

Faaahhhhhhh!!!!

Will-power prevails … I've put this off long enough.

Anything else I do right now would be hypocritical.

Besides … I know I have a couple days coming up that will not be following pre-op guidelines 100% … 2 days in AC for a conference and the night of the 11th when I have a dinner to attend.  I won't be going overboard, but I will be realistic. Keeping with non-chunky soups and high protein/low-fat options like fish … chewing them into mush.  I'll bring some protein shakes with me to the hotel in AC, too … that will take some of the guess work out, but for the most part TJ and I have a good handle on what to do and where to go for dinner.

Sounds great in theory … this time next week we'll see how well I pass the first test.