Monday, March 4, 2013

April 4th, my big date with 'Less is more.'


Yes, I finally have my surgery date for my ‘sleeve.’ No, it’s not a new shirt but I will be able to wear smaller ones pretty soon. Tonight I shall have my last normal sized dinner and if the Optifast is delivered as promised, I shall be living on a VLC (very low calorie) diet. For once I shall willingly use the word diet because this time it is an essential part of the lead-up process. I must reduce the size of my liver and get into a good food regime so that when I recover from the April 4th operation, I shall adjust more quickly to my new world of entre sized meals and that is only after I have gone through the various stages associated with bariatric surgery.

I am allowing myself a last ‘blast’ but not an over-the-top bash with all the trimmings. I shall be quite satisfied with a reasonably healthy Asian option from one of the many restaurants that are scattered along Dominion Rd in Auckland. Indeed there is a move to declare this long road as New Zealand’s ‘culinary capital.’ That’s a bit stupid in my view because there is not the ethnic spread that such a title would demand.

Once my Optifast is delivered I shall transition onto a very strict regime, consisting of shakes, soups and protein bars, with the addition of one small piece of fruit a day and two small cups of vegetables. Next time I blog my progress, no doubt I will be missing my normal ‘intake,’ but I will be a lot healthier as the kilos melt away. If I become a pain in the butt for my friends, family and colleagues, well they have been warned, but for the most part I have received nothing but support.

Adios, my friends. Oops---that reminds me of the form I signed today that allows the surgeon to ‘do things’ if necessary, like fix up a hernia if there is one. I think I would have known by now if I had that. Onwards and downwards, my nasty fat cells!

Dishonest and very annoying sales people--who needs them!

Door to door sales people have been the butt of jokes for decades and no doubt various forms of ‘selling to the unwilling’ have been around since time began. We all know about the more modern versions, both on the telephone and through the internet. We are regularly besieged by these unscrupulous sales people and we need to seek out ways to discourage them.
Today, the Herald reported a new twist (0r is it?) whereby water purification sales people are targeting certain suburbs because they think that the people in these areas will be less informed and therefore be more likely to succumb to the pressure put on them to buy what they can hardly afford.
These sales people are using ‘fear tactics,’ claiming that tap water can cause all manner of disease including Leukaemia amongst others. This is dishonest and fraudulent and it must stop. Hopefully court action will put a stop on such practices.
We all have the power to ‘kneecap’ these people and their like, both in the door knocking form and the cold calls at dinnertime at night. Unless you enjoy having these people on, (yes I have a great deal of fun with them) then you have the power to shut the door, say NO, or put the receiver down. You can even get yourself put on a ‘List’ if you bother to take the time. The bottom line---DON’T encourage them by giving them the time of day. If you are so polite that you don’t like to offend, just think--- they are taking your time, trying to get your money and they are on your territory. If you are frightened by their approach have something worked out with a friendly neighbour who can warn you they are coming. The phone one is the easiest---just hang up and be rude!
I do have a little bit of sympathy for the workers in these companies, as all people need to make a living. If they are an unwilling participant in such schemes then perhaps they need to look at a career change. Still, there are also people out there who thrive on such subterfuge and I have no sympathy for them!