July 6

Well, I did it. I drank the olive oil. Let me just tell you, it was the grossest thing EVER!!!! 1/2 a cup of olive oil doesn't sound so bad at first, but when you look at it in the glass, all thick and green and oily, it suddenly becomes all too disgusting. The first few sips were so painful and took me probably half an hour to consume... which didn't even amount to half of it. Eventually, I got it all down, all the while convincing myself not to throw it right back up, as I was inclined to do. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. So what happened? Well, I don't know. I mean, I won't go into graphic details because the result was fairly unpleasant as well, but whether or not it helped me to eliminate the stones, I am not yet sure. I will go in on Wednesday to get another ultrasound done to see if gallstones are still present. If there are still a lot of them, then we'll go to surgery. If there are none, then WAHOO! We win! If there are still some but not nearly as many, then I may do the olive oil thing again in a couple of months. Let's just hope that door number 2 holds the prize! Now I know that some of you are thinking that I was sort of pressured into this by my chiropractor husband who did not hide his dissaproval of the surgery; but the reality is that I always agreed with his feelings about it and shared his desire to get rid of the stones naturally if possible. His concern has always been for my overall long-term health, though there were times that the presentation of his opinions was admittedly not quite as mildly put as they could have been. I have always been hopeful that a natural remedy would fix the problem, which is my reason for going to this extreme. If it wasn't effective, then we both agree that surgery is the next option. Why not try the mildest route first, right? I mean, drinking olive oil wasn't all that easy, but it's better than removing an organ! So there you have it. That's where things are today with the gallblader situation. I'll let ya know on Wednesday what we discover. Think happy, stone-free thoughts everyone! :)
And with this little procedure behind me, I'm back in the mode today... well, mostly anyway. My stomach was pretty uneasy all day and my body was tired, but I managed to push a 20-minute run out of me and then I went to the yard for an afternoon of pulling weeds. In an hour and a half (including the 20-minute run), I burned 837 calories. Who knew?! I wouldn't normally consider pulling weeds to be my workout, but today, it was the best I could do. As for calories consumed, I dunno. I ate mostly well, until dinner when we ate out with friends. Chips, black bean dip, sour cream enchiladas.... mmmmm... I ate as if I had no gallstones tonight and it was tasty! But because my body will back to normal tomorrow, so will everything else. My hope is to get to 155 by the end of the month so I have to hit it pretty hard to undo the damage of last week and to keep moving forward. So check back tomorrow for an overview of my day, including of my workout for Courtey and anyone else who cares. As for tonight, time for Bachelorette! What's up with Weesley Wes tonight???