White bread = PB

Morning my fellow and soon-to-be fellow bandits reading my blog!

This weekend was an interesting one... I went out on Saturday night and had 1 small bite of a fresh white bread roll and immediately went to PB it up... that was it for me and food for the rest of the night. I realised that I hadn't eaten white bread since before the operation, so it looks as though White bread is a no go food for me from now on. Funny, because I managed a slice of Cape Seed Bakers Delight bread with no problems earlier that day. That bread is delish toasted and makes me soooooooooooo full! I've got a piece of that bread with a small tin of baked beans for lunch today. *yum*

And on scale related news, I dropped down to 103.8kg this weighin, the lightest I've been since the banding. 200g off 5kg lost. I really had hoped that I'd have lost enough this week to make that goal, but it wasn't meant to be... so I'm aiming for it for this weekend. At least the scale gods have blessed me this weigh in. It's funny how your whole mood relys on a tiny (or in my case, not-so-tiny) number on those scales...

Much love,

LBG xx

Feeling skinny today!

Jumped on the scales to see it flash at 104.1kg and I am coming up to TTOM which is normally the time I would gain a little weight because of fluid retention. I am planning to skip TTOM next week cos I've got a few things on and I so couldn't be bothered dealing with the crimson tide next week... so it will be interesting to see if my weight drops anymore without having TTOM.

Diet was great yesterday, managed to stay in some sort of routine - the public holiday was not going to give me license to eat whatever I liked. I even baked some chocolate chip muffins (99% fat free) and enjoyed one for afternoon tea. Must admit, it was tough to eat and took me around 30 mins with a cup of tea to get it down. Sticky perhaps?? Still delicious and made me real full. Actually I ate heaps yesterday - BF: Optifast and herbal tea, MT: dolmades and cupasoup, L: Lean Cuisine Lasagne, AT: Muffin with tea and Dinner was two pieces of pizza (1/4 of a 12" pizza) at 250kcal and I chopped up some carrot and cucumber to add some veges into the mix. Was real full after that. I even resisted a magnum just before bedtime!!! Go me!

Have a great day everyone! Thanks for the comment Reney!

LBG xx

Scales going back down?

Jumped on the scales for my mid week weigh in (I know, norti... ) but I was dying to see how I was going, cos I feel a little skinnier, and I'm happy to report that the scales are down to 104.3kg and I'm coming up to TTOM next week. Normally I stay around the same weight for 2-3 weeks and then drop a large amount just after TTOM. Sooooooo if my body keeps doing what it's supposed to be doing, then next weekend (5th May) I should receive a good result on the scales. I guess it's just so frustrating when you don't see a drop every week..

Anyhoo, enough rambling. BIG thanks to Veronica who made me feel soooooooo much better from her comment she left. THANK YOU!

I overate last night. I had 1/2 a piece of garlic bread, 1 few chips (which reaaaaaaally seem to fill me up) and a plate of pasta. I really should have just had the pasta and no chips/bread.. but it was so long between entree and main I really couldn't wait... felt the need to PB a couple of times, but managed to keep it down.. but was in a bit of pain some of the time... I'm still learning to not eat as much, but as they keep saying, my brain hasn't been banded. It will take some time... but I am learning.. slowly.

Happy ANZAC day everyone.

Lest we forget

LBG xx

Nothing to Report

Been a bit AWOL this past week, but I've got nothing new to report. I managed to gain some weight so back up to 105kg, which is really disappointing, and I can also swallow tablets whole again, which means that I'm due for another fill. I'm going to give it my best shot with a low cal diet and increase my exercise until I see my doctor on 21st May. If I'm not under 100kg by then, I'm going to get another fill. My fill level is actually really good at the moment. I feel full after only a small plate of food, but I don't PB. In fact, I haven't PB'd in over a week! But I'm still eating too much crap, which fits through the band way too easily! That's why I've decided to track exactly what I'm eating and consume 1500kcal/day or less. To lose weight I'm supposed to consume 1800kcal/day and exercise for at least 30 mins.

Wish me luck!

Erika xx

Nearly back to the 103's!

Jumped on the scales this morning to be at 104.0kg exactly. Couldn't make myself do a number 2, which I normally do before stepping on the scales, so essentially I really COULD be back in the 103s again! *lol* OK, was that way too much information??

Think that I'm getting my band under control now. I haven't PB'd in 5 days now and every time I feel like I could be going down that road, I pull right back, wait and it goes down OK. I'm working out things I can and cannot eat. I'm also incorporating more veges into my diet, which are going down and keeping me full quite nicely.

I worked out today that I am losing on average 400g a week. I am totally happy with that! My diet is going well this week - although I did have some popcorn this afternoon (which went down way too easily - unfortunately!) I thought the pop corn would fill me up quite quickly, but it didn't - Infact, I feel more restriction with potato chips than with popcorn.. strange!

Take care,

LBG

Shaking things up...

So I gained this week - 400g, pushing me above the 104s (but not by much).

So time to shake things up again, I'm sick of my weight loss being so bloody slow! Ok, yeah.. I know it's a lifetime thing... but c'mon... I should be losing more weight that this!!!

So, this is what I'm doing different:
1. Optifast every morning
2. Salad/protein for lunch
3. Increased Exercise
4. Optifast with salad/veg for dinner every night.
5. Nuts or an egg as a snack

I'm going to do this for the 5 working days this week. My next weigh in is on Saturday.

And on a different note, I had half a bran muffin for breakky yesterday and was FULL until 3pm! But then I went and had some potato chips.... oops!

LBG xx

Restriction has lessened, but that's OK!

I've been reading on the Lap Banding Yahoo Message Boards that some people feel the restriction go about 2 weeks after a fill. Well, that's exactly what has happened to me. Good thing is, is that I'm still feeling the restriction there, but it's not in my face after every single mouthful. I think that this is where my restriction is meant to me. For lunch today I had a sushi role and was feeling every now and then the restriction. I also had a small pasta salad and was full. Yesterday I had half a pumpkin and fetta wrap - took 20mins to eat it, had a tiny bit of rocket and sundried tomato salad and was full as well. Last night I had 1 small piece of fish, 1/2 a cup of steamed veges and 2 small chat potatos and I was full. So I think for now, I'm going ok with my portion sizes. I am noticing though, that before, an up&go drink would fill me up for breakky, now i'm getting hungry about 1/2 an hour after I have it - which means I probably need to progress on to solids for breakky.

I'm thinking that instead of a carb rich breakky, like weetbix or cereal that I start having an egg in the morning, maybe some baked beans and some "veges" like tomato/avocado/cucumber. I'm still having my berocca every morning which is good because I know I'm at least getting SOME of my nutrients for the day! :) I've also started eating fruit. I was a bit scared about starting with fruit, because it was so fibrous - but I had an apple yesterday and even though it took me twice as long to get through, I didn't finish it and was full.

I'm also having gall bladder *pangs* which are quite painful on almost a daily basis. The Dr said that there was a chance that this could happen after the surgery, so I'm monitoring it to see how it goes. Seems to happen in the afternoon, around 3-5pm - so perhaps because I'm digesting my lunch at that time?? I will talk to my Doctor about it when I see him on 21st May.

And on crappy news, I've gained the kg I lost - must have been that easter weekend... I knew that chocolate would catch up with me - I'm now up to 104.6kg *argh*. I caught a glimpse of life in the 103's... I'm going to do my best to get down there (... and beyond...) again!! BUT - even though I've gained that weight back, I thinkI've said goodbye to the 105's forever... which is what I was sitting on for the longest time. And I figure that if the band does it's job and I lose between 50% - 75% of my excess weight (my excess weight being 40kg) within the first year then I'm well on my way to losing 20kg (50%)... this isn't a race anymore, this is life!

Happy lap banding!

LBG xx

Happy Easter!!

Hello Everyone!

Hope you all had a great easter. Living with the band this easter was really no big deal. I had some chocolate, not alot actually and ate my small meals each day. Seafood didn't agree with me on Saturday and I ended up PB'ing infront of my girlfriend (who knows about the band) only to have her almost throw up just at the sight of it all. Oh my goodness, it was totally embarrassing. Thank god she loves me regardless, we had a good laugh about it afterwards. I am still cringing at the thought of it. Mental Note: Do NOT order seafood (you know, the kind that you get from take away chinese) when out for lunch. I KNEW I should have stuck to a potato with cheese, so much easier to eat!!! Put me right off my food for the rest of the day. Today and yesterday were fine though, although I must admit, I am having a few problems with paying for a meal that I'm going to eat 3 mouthfuls of... very very Frustrating!!!

On a more positive note, I've cracked the 103's!, ok, 103.9kg... but that's still the 103's!! Yay me. I am FINALLY starting to see the weight drop off the scales. I've lost 1.5kg in just under 2 weeks, which is a total miracle for me because I've not lost alot of weight since I had the band put in. I'm finally figuring out that it is only NOW, once the band is filled, that I will start to see some results. Really frustrating when you go through having major surgery just to watch the scales move 4kg in 2 months... On my doctor's scales, I'd be 102.9kg... even closer to the elusive double digits! :)

Have a good one!

LBG xx

Another 600g - GONE!

Stepped on the scales this morning to note another 600g gone. WooHoo! No problems with the band today, haven't PB'd all week, so I think my band restriction has settled and I've got really good restriction now. Chocolate goes down way too easily so I'm going to have to work on that... but after easter. I've got a follow-up appointment with my doctor on 21st May, and my aim is to be at double digits by then... if not before.

Much Love,

LBG xx

All is well in the land of the band!

My band has fully settled down and I'm now back to eating normally, albiet much much smaller portions. I'm having approx 1 cup of food at a time and taking about 20 minutes to eat it. I get the "stuck" feeling which normally happens after I take a big bite of something, so I'm re learning how to eat slowly but surely. I'm enjoying my food much much more now that I'm not so scared of it. Hopefully this will be the start of some regular weight loss.

Have a happy easter!!! don't eat too much chocolate!

LBG xx

I think they've found my sweet spot

Over the past day or so my band restriction has calmed down alot, thank god, and I'm finding that I'm not struggling with my food anymore. I'm still getting the full full full feeling, but not the urge to vomit that was coming with every mouthful. I'm finding that my band is tighter in the morning, so I'm having a liquid breakfast (up&go and a coffee) which is going down well and keeping me full. It's almost like I'm learning how to eat again... I'm having to sample small amounts of everything to see what works and what doesn't!! On Sunday night, I tried some bread.. which didn't work at all. So I think bread is out. Yesterday I had some potato and rice.. and that went down fine (but eaten very very slowly!). I've got a small pasta meal for lunch today, and I will be trying that one. Just thinking of what to make for dinner tonight - I might boil an egg and mash it with some mayo and cook some veges to go with it. I'm also easing myself back into solids again - I am craving salads at the moment, but just not that game to try it out yet... maybe towards the end of the week! :)

So this is what I ate yesterday:
BF: Berocca Performance, Coffee, Up&Go Breakfast drink
MT: 4 rice crackers
L: 1/4 cup rice, 1/3 cup potato and gravy
AT: 25g salt and vinegar chips (surprisingly, they go down reaaaaaaaaally easily! Doh!)
D: 1/2 schnitzel, 3 potato gems, 1 tbsp veg
S: 1 fun sized chocolate bar

On the plus side, I've lost weight since my last post. Now at 105.1kg!! I've got another dietitians visit this afternoon, so it's weigh in time - I'm hoping I lost weight this week on their scales!! :)

Sorry for scaring everyone before with my crazy post about vomiting and stuff. It's really not that bad, I just think I pushed it a bit too much and really should have stuck to liquids for a day or so longer.

LBG xx

Overfilled?

I have had the most terrible weekend with my band. I'm not sure why there was a delayed reaction but I didn't feel overfilled until Friday, nearly 2 days since I'd had the band filled to 8.5mL.

It all started on Friday morning. I was out and about early heading off to the airport for a weekend get away. I bought myself a hungry jacks mcmuffin and hashbrown. Ate 1 bite and that was it, I had the urge to PB, which I did... several times. I started to panic because I was due to get on a flight within the hour. I spent most of the time in the bathroom, and when I was sure that I was feeling a little better, I ventured out to catch my flight. The whole flight I was PB'ing into a water bottle. Luckily I was at a window seat, so I could turn my head and no-one would see me. It hurt to swallow my own saliva. At this point I was getting worried, because if this continued there was a good chance I could end up in Emergency in a different place! Walking around helped, so when i got off the plane I walked around as much as I could before I collected my bags. The cab ride was long, because I was feeling ill.. thank goodness the Cab driver didn't want to chat! I was in no mood. I checked in to my room and went up and lay down for a good 3 hours. I think that helped also, because it took some pressure off the stoma hole. I felt alot better after I woke up and tried drinking a little then. It was painful, but at least I wasn't PB'ing.. which was a start! At least I wouldn't get dehydrated to the point where I had to be hospitalised. I figured if I could at least get down my liquids I'd be ok! Dinner was interesting. we went out for a meal - I chose the soup. Had 3 teaspoons full over the space of an hour and that was it! People were commenting on why I wasn't eating my dinner, with everyone else tucking into delicious salads, fish, chicken etc... I told them that I'd had a big lunch and wasn't very hungry!
Saturday I managed to get down a whole glass of berocca for breakfast which relieved me a bit cos at least I could get down liquids now, for lunch I had a scoop of icecream which took me absolutely ages to eat. Saturday night was a buffet dinner. I paid $40 to have half a plate of food and some soup, but at least I could eat again!!!

Sunday I stuck with an up and go for breakfast, was safe with that and could get it down with not much difficulty. I had a piece of sushi that didn't find it's way to the toilet bowl and at 3pm I had another piece of sushi. Dinner was a few maccas chips and some McChicken pattie - no bread!

Today I'm doing heaps better. My sweet friend Kat came round to work and bought me band-friendly mashed potato and rice for lunch and my liquids are going down alot easier now. So I think I'm doing heaps better than before. I can't do bread, but I can do potato and rice... tiny tiny amounts though. not sure about pasta - might give that a go tomorrow for lunch.

But do you want to know what topped off my weekend? I got on the scales thinking that I'd lost a couple of kilos for sure, and I was exactly the same as what I was on Friday... What the..? *argh* What is it going to take for me to lose this friggen weight??? :)

All the best,

LBG xx

P.S. A big Hooray to Cate who has finally joined the Lapband Club! Well done matey, glad to hear you're doing ok! :)