Thursday, December 28, 2006

Christmas - Outta Town - Too Tight

I track everything in a spreadsheet since being banded. It has allowed me to figure out a lot of things about my band. For one thing: before my period I am tight!!! So much so that I have to stay on liquids and can only eat a soft meal in the evening. This usually only lasts 4 days max (varies from 2-4) and an unfill is not an option. (I only have about 1.4cc in my band and would be too loose the rest of the time.)

I was out of town for Christmas and got really tight. I didn't have my spreadsheet and like a doofus swore it had not been enough time since my last period. So, I was freaking out!!! Yes, it still happens even a year out. I thought something was wrong with my band. What an idiot!!! Sure enough, 3 days later there is my friend. No band issue - whew!!!

The really tough thing though is no one in my family knows about my band. So, I had to lie and say that I wasn't feeling well --- some sort of stomach bug - ha! I certainly didn't gain any weight from Christmas as a result as one of the days I was on liquids was Christmas. Yep, I missed out on all the good food and it sucked! But oh well. Nothing I can do about it. I have learned the hard way NOT to fight my band. It always wins. At least I lost a pound :D

Official weigh in stats:
Starting weight: 234lbs
Current weight: 167lbs
Overall loss: 67lbs
Lbs to goal: 18lbs

Sunday, December 17, 2006

I'll Take It!

I weigh in on Wednesday - this is the weigh in from last week. I was too busy with work, etc. to post it. My goal until the beginning of the year is to maintain. Isn't it funny though that sometimes that works in your best interest? No pressure, expectations, etc. and I lost 1/2 lb. Not much, but I'll take it! 19 pounds to go. Yah - I will probably be counting them down because I am getting so close, so please bear with me!

Official weigh in stats:
Starting weight: 234lbs
Current weight: 168lbs
Overall loss: 66lbs
Lbs to goal: 19lbs

Wednesday, December 06, 2006

Doctor Visit

The doctor visit wasn't in regard to my band, but female stuff. The reason I'm posting about it is because I had to weigh in on their scale in my clothes. For my official weigh ins, on my scale, I am always naked (Yikes!). Drum roll please...I weighed in on the doctor's scale at 169.5!!! That is my last official weigh in on my scale with no clothes at the doctor's office! That is cool---I consider my self to be firmly in the 160's and not going to be visiting any of the higher numbers again!

Today was also my weigh in day - the scale showed 168.5. So, I am down 1/2 pound since I last weighed in. This is fine by me. My goal for the holiday season (Thanksgiving - New Year's) is to maintain. So far, I continue to lose. I made a deal that if I lost weight that the new weight became my new 'maintain' weight. This does make it a bit more challenging, but I am up for it. I have had all the holiday treats so far, but even though I could eat more (for me treats easily go around the band) I am making good choices and only having some.

I've been catching up on some of the blogs, but haven't had time to post any comments. There are some very impressive results! Keep it up!

Sunday, December 03, 2006

A year later...

Well, on November 16 it was my band-iversary. My stats are:

Official weigh in stats:
Starting weight: 234lbs
Current weight: 169lbs
Overall loss: 65lbs
Lbs to goal: 20lbs

I thought I'd try and think of some questions that people might have. If anyone wants to know anything, please feel free to ask in the comments. No question is off limits as I hope people get some value out of this.

How many fills have you had? Two. 1st fill – 1.2cc – 12/21
2nd fill – 1.8cc – 1/25. I stuck with the second fill for quite some time, but honestly it was too tight. I had an unfill and think that right now I am at about 1.4cc. I have remained at this point and plan to. For the most part, I consider it to be my sweet spot. Except during my period when I get really tight and some days have to stay with liquids and soft foods. Lesson: track your body. That way you can find the trends. If I had not been doing that, I would not have figured out that the tightness was corresponding to my period.

Are you upset you aren't at your goal weight? Nope. Because it was my choice. I was not exercising as much as I should/could have been and not always eating the right thing. But this works for me. Why? Because how I am living is reality. Not always eating right and not exercising all the time. I will get to my goal weight. It will just take longer. My current weightloss is at a pace of 1.llbs per week. That is really good for any weightloss plan. The best thing - I KNOW I will keep the weight off as I know it can easily be maintained. With the effort I have been putting in, I have been continuing to lose weight.

What are you going to do next? I am going to keep going as I have been. I plan though to join the weightloss hysteria in January. I find that when everyone around you is dieting it makes it easier. So, what the heck? Gonna join in on the madness and look to lose the 20 remaining pounds.

What size clothes are you wearing? Generally, a 12. Clothes are so inconsistent it depends on the clothes. I think I'll be an 8 when the last weight is gone as I fit in a 10 now, it is just tighter than I like. This might sound big to people reading this, so I'll stress that I'm 5'8". I will definitely be considered thin at an 8 and might think I'm too thin smaller than that. In college I was a 6 and looking back at pics - looked too thin. So that's the scoop. Shirt wise - totally depends on the shirt as my boobs remain to be on the bigger size. (That is also fine with me - ha!). Generally I'm a medium.

What do you eat in a typical day? I always start with a venti non-fat latte from Starbucks that I sweeten with equal for breakfast. It helps loosen me up, I get protein, and a good calcium fix. For lunch, pretty much whatever. If I'm tight - which you can tell over time - I'll have something soft. For dinner, I'm loosest then and eat pretty much anything. I pretty much stay away from pasta and bread. I can eat it, but honestly it isn't something I have to have in my diet and have pretty much gotten used to not having it. When I do, it might be a bit of pasta or crackers. Dry meat has to have sauce. Chicken breast is tricky.

Do you drink soda? Nope, not supposed to and totally got used to it. So I don't. I paid $20K (self-pay) and it isn't worth the risk even though there are a lot of mixed reviews on does it or doesn't it pose risk to the band.

Was it worth it? Yes, it was. I stress though that I would only recommend it as a last resort. I felt I was there. I could get the weight off, but just couldn't keep it out without exercising and watching what I ate ALL the time. Now, I live a life of moderation on everything and the weight stays off. I have consistently remained the same or lost weight.

Have you had any problems? Yes. You'll see in the beginning of my blog that shortly after my surgery I swore my stitches in my port popped. Everybody told me no way and not to worry about it. When I went in for my fill, it had. So it is on it's side. Right now I do not plan to get it fixed, but think that it might be necessary. When I am at my goal weight I think it might be noticeable.

Have you pb'd? Yep. When I was too tight, a lot. Now, I pretty much know how and what to eat depending on the tightness of my band. When/if I have problems, it is around my period. I have learned sometimes it is best not to fight it and let it happen. This seems to work for me and then does not lead to repeated pb's or irritiation. (BTW - What is a pb? Simply put - throwing up. It seems to be a nice way of saying it for bandsters.)

What rules do you follow? Eat slowly. Take small bites. Don't eat first thing in the morning. When I feel full - stop. Don't drink with meals. No soda. That pretty much sums it up. There aren't a lot of them.

I really can't think of anything else. Please let me know if you are wondering about anything.