A teeny tiny fill

Went for an appointment today and ended up with the teeniest fill ever - .1 ml! I feel like I'm getting close to the green zone and have another appointment in two weeks so let's see how this goes. I was down 1.1kg in two weeks - slower than I'd like but still a loss.

Recent photo

We've been a bit slack about photos and the one on our profile is fairly unflattering! But here is a photo from 10 days ago which isn't my best shot but when I saw it I thought "I don't look too bad" - definitely slimmer than my own image of myself. Will try to post some more photos some time soon!

Conspicuous non-consumption

The scene: lunch at a Malaysian restaurant with 3 workmates (we're friends but I haven't told them about the band). My food arrived first (chicken with peanut sauce, rice and salad). I started and was STILL eating when they had all finished their meals - plates wiped clean. My plate still had 99% of the rice (I'd moved it around a bit but not eaten it), almost all the salad and a little bit of the chicken..noone said anything but it was kind of obvious that I wasn't eating "as normal". These girls have known me for 10 years and I doubt I've left anything on my plate in that time!! Now two lunches in a row I've been last to finish and not eaten everything. Do they think I've got an eating disorder? Do they not care and I'm the only one who notices? I wonder how long it'll be before someone says something...

To fill or not to fill...

I have an appointment to see the nurse on Friday for a possible fill - not sure if I need a fill or not - I've lost a kilo in 10 days since my last fill and I feel fairly restricted sometimes, but at others I could keep eating (like now!). Hmmmm - not too sure whether to go for a small amount (.2 mls?) or wait another week or so...I live and work really close (5 minutes walk) so it's no big deal to get there. I don't want to be too full but I want to keep losing....ah, the dilemma!

And finally the scale moves.....

Yes - after me moaning last time I wrote that I was really frustrated at being on same weight for nearly 3 weeks, all of a sudden the scale dropped 1.2kgs - overnight - well over 2 nights actually. Hallelujah! But it really does illustrate that it is not all about what you eat one day or how much exercise you do that day either - it is a cumulative effect and eventually the scales will catch up! I know we all know that is true but we are still surprised when it happens to us.

So of course the NSV's are even more important... and I have finally had some comments lately from people I am seeing that I am "looking great" and one yesterday who said "where has the rest of you gone?" That put a big smile on my face!

And they all ask - what are you doing? My standard response is "not eating much" - which is true of course but not the whole truth but some people just don't need to know and won't understand. However, I have told a few of my friends who are also in a constant (losing) battle with their weight about The Band. I think they deserve to know that there is no other way to do it.... no matter how hard you try to "diet and exercise" - it is not about having willpower. And I have encouraged them to do some research themselves. I know I am preaching to the converted but this band is fantastic!

I'm looking forward to my weekend.... I will be off to see my 21 year old son on stage in "Grease", soaking up some sunshine hopefully and will enjoy some bubbly to celebrate 22 years of wedded bliss to my husband and best friend, Greg. And it's time to get back out on the road on my bike after a couple of weeks off... can't wait!

Me and my band

It's nearly a week since I had my last fill and it's taking me a while to get used to this new volume. This week I've been hungry at lunchtime and in the afternoon and then tight at night - tonight I ate about a 1/4 cup of chicken and 1/4 of a potato. Not sure what is going on as I can eat at lunchtime - anyway I'm not hungry but I have had an after dinner treat (frozen yoghurt last night, some chocolate tonight) and that is a bad habit - I can justify it on the basis that I hardly ate any dinner - but I know that way lies weight gain (or a plateau at least!). So here I am on record to say I am going to cut out the after dinner empty calories...you heard it here.

Non scale victory!

A NSV today - went to Max (one of my favourite clothing stores) and tried on a pair of size 16 trousers (they only go to a 16 and I wouldn't normally go near their trousers) - and they fitted perfectly! Here's the pair:



That is not my bottom half, however!! I didn't end up buying them but I was very happy! One of the best things about losing weight is being able to buy more clothes as the "normal" ranges are cheaper than the fat ladies' shops (apologies if the name offends anyone but Jenny and I have always told it like it is!!.

Evil corn

Second PB tonight - last week I ate corn on the cob - delicious late summer treat. After my .3ml fill on Friday I ate corn again tonight - about 1/8 of a cob plus one chicken kebab stick and OUCH - sliming and PBing (without much to show for it) for half an hour - nasty, evil corn! I know it's one of the fibrous foods I was warned about but as I hadn't had a problem last week I didn't anticipate one tonight - oh so wrong! Still, at least I know the fill did something!

I need a fill..... NOW!

I am in desperate need of a fill I think... I am hungry and stuck on the same weight (or going up a bit) for almost 3 weeks! Yikes - I am having to use willpower and as we all know that is hard for "people like us"! I have only had 2 fills since surgery almost 14 weeks ago with the last one being on 15th January and I can't wait til next Friday when I see the "fill angel" here in my home town. We had our surgery in the "big smoke" which is a 5 hour drive from my home but as I travel regularly for my work I can get to follow-up and fill appointments when I visit the city for work. This has worked fine but next week the nurse is visiting my part of the country for a fill clinic so I am seeing her then. I know when I look at the overall stats - 17.4kgs in 16 weeks since I started the pre-op diet I know I am doing well - but I'm an impatient kind of girl and I just want the scales to get moving again!
Anyway, welcome to all our followers - as Maree says it's great to know that you are all out there! I'm loving reading your stories as well - Go Girls!

New followers!

We have 17 followers - that is fantastic - and even better you're not all family and friends. Welcome! And I will look at your blogs as well - haven't had a chance as we were away in the weekend and then I was at work today. Also went out tonight as Jenny was in town for work. We congratulated ourselves on how fabulous we are (!!) and ate very little! It is weird going out to dinner and ordering a small plate of food and being satisfied. Anyway, just wanted to say a quick hi - must go to bed, I'm VERY tired and it's only Monday...

Friday, Friday

I love Fridays - and I love fill Fridays even more - had a small (.3 ml) fill this morning for a total of 6.3mls - all very smooth. I'd lost 1.5kg since my last fill two weeks ago which is okay - had been more but I bounced up a little when I got hungry again this week and moved out of the green zone...have eaten very little today but did have a small chocolate bar (for medicinal purposes only LOL - well my period is due!!) which I savoured and really enjoyed - first chocolate since Christmas - yum.

Just getting organised for any early flight tomorrow morning - we're only away for one night so I'm trying to pack as little as possible.

On a bad note, and taking the "sisters together" thing a little too far, I had my first PB this week - on the same day as Jenny - spooky!!! I got over confident and ate some crusty baguette (tasted so good - the first time anyway!) - then had that awful pain followed by a PB, which was horrible but a relief. That was a lesson learned!

Beware the Conference Lunch

I am an idiot! I had a very nasty experience today while sharing conference lunch with a whole room full of clients we had been trying to impress all morning. Let me set the scene - it is almost 4 weeks since my last fill and for the last week or so I have been able to eat pretty much anything, have not lost any weight and have been hungry as well, so perhaps in my head I thought I could eat as I had in my pre-band life. The conference lunch menu was bread rolls, french bread with ham, tortellini or stir fry chicken and noodles. I decided to avoid the bread but had a couple of mouthfuls of tortellini and dished some stir fry as well. I thought I had chewed the tortellini well but I now know that it still ends up in a gluey plug blocking the band. 3 mouthfuls in, I had a nasty stuck pain and could not even swallow my saliva. To make matters worse, while eating I was cornered by the course facilitator who was giving me an animated speech on something - no idea what as I could not concentrate! I was desperately trying to get away while wondering if I was going to make it to the bathroom. I was waiting for a break in his speech but eventually just had to blurt out that I had to go... and made a run for it. Just in time I got to the Ladies - my first PB (Productive Burp) - a horrible experience and one I hope doesn't happen again anytime soon - especially not in a hotel toilet cubicle with other people listening to my retching! The stuck pain was a bit better after that but still lasted another half hour or so and I felt very uncomfortable.

So to all you new bandsters out there.. think very carefully about what passes those lips even if you think you are not very restricted. Fresh white bread and fresh pasta ALWAYS turn into a gloopy lump which just does not want to go through the band. I was warned about this, and I already knew this from a minor stuck episode in the early weeks with some white bread but I still thought I would be OK. What an idiot! I have learned my lesson... and hopefully I will be more sensible from now on.

Fill #4 due in 2 days

I'm booked to see the nurse about another fill on Friday. At first I didn't think I'd need it but the last few days I've definitely moved from the green to the yellow zone, thinking about food soon after meals and eating bigger meals. My weight loss has not only stopped but turned into a gain (small but still not happy). So I think I'll see about a small fill on Friday and see how that goes. I'm also premenstrual this week (sorry if that's TMI!) - and that always makes me hungrier. Anyway, I'm reminding myself that this is a long term game.

I did have a NSV this week, after complaining that noone had noticed my weight loss. Met a (thin!) friend for coffee. She said "something is different about you" - I suggested I'd had my haircut, "you've lost weight, you look great!" - it was good to have the loss noticed, even if it did take 14 kg!!

Stuck! Really, painfully stuck!

Ouch! Ate a small piece of fish last night then remembered I hadn't drunk the water my doc says we should have before a meal to move any mucus plug in the band (nice thought). Gulped half a glass of water, forgetting the band, and OH MY GOD - such pain, I thought I was going to pass out, had to keep walking around, trying to burp, to do something to move whatever was STUCK. Took about a minute and some delightful sliming and the fish (which I guess got moved into the band with the water) moved - the relief!! But I never want to experience that again. The darling husband tried to see if I was okay, and I could just croak out, "leave me alone" before I struggled out to the garden. Didn't want the kids to see me in pain. Anyhoo, that taught me a lesson.

The good news is that I've lost 2 kg since my fill 8 days ago - hoorah!!!

Is this thing on?

I have more restriction after the last fill (5 days ago) - but it's hard to know if I'm starting to get hungry or just think I'm hungry...this is a learning curve. I've been eating slowly and taking small bites and haven't had another stuck episode since Sunday (phew!). I'm still losing (slowly but surely with a few plateaus and some bounces up and down) - but still haven't had many comments, which I find strange as I've not only lost nearly 14kg but also 13cm off my hips and the same off my waist - is it because I'm still wearing the same clothes (although they're getting loose?).

Jenny mentioned the issue of whether to tell people or not about the lap band. So far I've only told family and a couple of friends. I think my reluctance to disclose is not because I think there's anything to be ashamed of in weight loss surgery but a combination of fear of public failure ("she had surgery and she's still fat") and denial (if I don't tell people maybe they won't notice I was overweight - LOL). I'm definitely more comfortable telling people who could be interested in lap band themselves, always-skinny people just can't understand what it takes to get to the stage where surgery is the best option - or am I just prejudiced against skinny people?! - probably LOL.

What a Ride!!!

Yeeehaaa! What a buzz..! I did it - the bike ride was so much fun and I am so pleased I set myself the goal and achieved it. I definitely have the bug now...looking for my next adventure on 2 wheels. My friend Carolyn and I rode the 50km in 2 hours and 03 minutes - which was faster than we expected. It was 30 degrees plus and the heat coming off the road was fierce but we had plenty of water to drink and with our husbands and family as support crew cheering us on from various stops on the course it was a fantastic experience... And I'm sure it was made easier that I had 17 kilos less to carry around than 3 months ago!

As promised - here is a photo of me just before we started our part of the ride... (Please note this outfit is only for riding - not my normal Saturday outfit!)

I am on the left, and Carolyn on the right. She is one of the people I have told about my band already and she has been so enthusiastic and she says also a little jealous. More on telling people - or not - some other time. Right now I am still on a high.