Losing again - getting close to goal

I've made a concerted effort this week to eat what I need rather than what I want -you know, use the band rather than try to eat around it. Starting with stopping my post-dinner every night chocolate treats - that's the way to plateau, isn't it! So I'm down 400 grams on my lowest, but more importantly 1.5kg down on the bounceback from that low nearly a month ago. Only 3.7 kg to goal now - and I will weigh what I did when I was 17. It's a year on Monday since I started my pre-op diet and I do not ever want to drink another Optifast again in my life - I was sooo hungry at the beginning of that diet - thank goodness it was only for a couple of weeks. And it was all worth it to read my operation notes which said I had a "nicely floppy" liver - a strange compliment but I'll take it!! I have my one year follow up with my surgeon on Friday - a week early. Had blood taken yesterday. I don't expect too many surprises as I was surprisingly healthy even at my highest weight - never had any problems with blood pressure or cholesterol or diabetes but I think all of that was in the post if I'd continued on the way I was. Anyhow, life is good - our girls went to a birthday party this morning so the darling husband I got to go to brunch together, which was great, just like the old days. I had half a serve of scrambled eggs and a piece of bacon - yum.

Hope everyone is well out in blogland.

New photo

We've just been visiting Mum and Dad and Jenny & family during the school holidays so we took the chance for a progress photo session. Our new profile photo was taken yesterday and shows an amazing change - here is our original profile photo:

What a difference a year makes. I can't get over how much healthier and happier (not to mention slimmer!) we both look.

New dress

Disclaimer: photo taken by 7 year old and sorry, no toe pointing!!

Here I am this evening in the new dress I bought today. Please excuse the whiter than white legs - it's the end of winter here and I haven't yet started the fake tan regime! Also it's been 12 hours, a couple of meetings and taking the girls to swimming since makeup application so please excuse my less than pristine condition. The collar looks weird because one side is open and one sort of closed - that's not how I'll wear it! I'm happy with the dress which has a really cute belt (not something I would have worn before!). And even better it was 25% off today only although it's new stock. One of the best things about this weight loss is shopping!!! I bought another dress and a top as well - will model those ones another day.

Fill dramas and an Un-fill needed!

I have been reading Gen's "Emergency Un-fill?" blog at http://ihearttheband.blogspot.com/ and I totally sympathise with her - I have just had a very unpleasant week myself following a fill. It's been almost 3 months since my last fill and I had lost very little weight and could eat almost anything, as well as feeling more hungry so it was time for a fill. Like Gen I live about 5 hours drive away from my surgeon's rooms so I usually try to work in a visit when I fly there for work. In case you don't know, I have already had one over fill episode at Easter this year when I had 0.5ml put in only to have to take 0.3 of it out again 5 days later after not being able to eat or drink (or even have any chocolate) over the Easter break. Since then I have only had 0.1ml put in at a time which has been fine.
You would have to wonder then, why the nurse and I agreed that she would put more in this time!! We must be mad! It was Thursday morning when I was at the clinic. When I described how hungry I was and what I had been eating she suggested a 0.2ml fill. I also asked her to check the total I had in there already (6.9ml) and also check for air as I had had some serious tightness and shoulder pain when flying due to air expanding at high altitude. She did find some air and because of that she suggested I have 0.3ml put in this time. Go for it I said - I couldn't wait to not be hungry all the time again. The water test was fine so I headed off. In fact all was well for the next 30 hours or so - definitely tighter but no problems drinking or eating small amounts - I even had dinner out with Maree which was great.
BUT by the next night (Friday night) things were starting to tighten up... I had to slow the drinking down but still able to get it down. Saturday was worse again... I could only sip drinks and any more than a couple of sips and it would start to back up... I did some lovely "decorating" and "watering" of a few gardens I was walking past during the day! I guess I should have tried to get an un-fill right then and there... before I flew home. But I figured I had been fine for a day and a half and perhaps I was just a bit inflamed/swollen and if I was careful I could just ride it out (and lose some weight in the process). WRONG!!!! What followed was 6 days of over-filled hell! It was taking me all day to get down a glass of water or a protein shake or a bit of soup. I felt full and nauseated all day and the gurgling noises I was making all the time were seriously embarrassing. My drain hole was well and truly blocked!

After seriously contemplating my own attempt to unfill my band with the syringe and needle I have for emergencies – I flew back to the clinic for an un-fill on Friday. Make that 2 un-fills actually. She took 0.2ml out at first but a couple of hours later I went back for the other 0.1ml to be taken out as well. She even suggested she should take out a bit more as I was probably inflamed… but I was not keen to be looser than I had been before this all started.

I have to say that first glass of water after the unfill was the best drink I have had in a long time. I was pretty dry by then obviously. The 4 kilos (8.5 lbs) I lost during the week was a bit artificial but I have managed to keep off 2 of them in the last 4 days since my unfill. My main problem now that all has settled down is that I am back to where I started before the fill… feeling hungry. What a drama! I think I’ll wait a couple of weeks now and then go back for a 0.1ml fill. I will NEVER get more than that at a time – EVER AGAIN! It just doesn’t work for me.

A loss at long last

Yay! After a month of a plateau I've lost a kilo in the last week. Jenny and I have been keeping each other on the straight and narrow eating-wise and it's taken nearly 3 weeks but it's working. I'm now at my lowest weight as an adult (last time I weighed this I was 19! - which is when mobile phones were bricks and shoulder pads were very large). I'm feeling good. It's Friday night and I'm relaxing with a vino (okay, it's my second). Need to get the kids into bed - if I wait long enough will they just go on their own? Hmmm, I think not. Anyway, I've been a bad blogger but I have been reading your blogs. Very jealous of everyone who's going to Chicago next week but an 18 hour flight is just a little bit ambitious!

What's for lunch?

I'm getting bored with my work day lunch choices. I've been having tuna and cottage cheese most days - bored, bored, bored. I have a fridge and microwave at work. What does everyone else eat for work lunch? I would love some inspiration!

Back to Basics

I know - it's been a month since I wrote last... I've had nothing to report.... same old same old. I guess the main thing to tell you now is that I have made a conscious decision to go back to the basics this week as far as my eating goes. I know that the "invisible barrier" I wrote about last time is actually very visible if I line it up on the kitchen bench and it's made of crackers and cheese, cashews, corn chips, the odd bowl of ice cream, piece of cheesecake or bar of chocolate etc etc etc which I have been "snacking on" over the last couple of months. Nothing really drastic as far as quantities go but enough to keep me at the same weight for quite a while now. So it's time to get myself under control if I want to get nearer to my goal. Back to Basics - 3 sensible band sized meals each day and no treats for a bit. And so far - 2 days in - it's going OK but I do feel a bit cheated that I am having to restrict myself.

I did expect that my days of dieting were over when I got the band.... and so it's a bit of a shock that these 2 days have felt like a diet of old. But in some ways perhaps it is what I needed to get back into losing mode. I know I can maintain my weight while still allowing some treats and eating pretty much what I enjoy. And I know I can control my eating now and not gain back all the weight I have lost in the last 10 months but this journey is not over yet so I need to exercise a bit of self restraint.

I'm hoping this sounds familiar to those of you out there who more seasoned bandsters and that you will reassure me that you've been here as well. I'm also very hopeful I will be able to report a new low on my weight loss ticker very soon. Fingers crossed - and more importantly - mouth closed!!