Baaaaaad Experience with an egg sandwich!

So I was just about to hit the gym last night when I unwrapped my curried egg sandwich (left over from lunch). I was fairly hungry, so I took big bites. I swallowed, and it was then that I felt like the mouthful was stuck. I kept swallowing, but it was still there. It felt like I wanted to do a really big burp, or hiccup or something. I thought that I'd better have some water, so I took a gulp but I physically couldn't swallow it. So I was holding water in my mouth as a wave of nausea came over me. I thought, here we go, I'm going to throw up... *eek*. I just kept breathing and forced myself to swallow that water I had in my mouth. When I finally did, I still felt really sick... so I held out the plastic bag that I had my sandwich in... then I felt it: The relief of the food getting unstuck... It felt soooooooooo good! Obviously the water had really helped!!! The funniest thing about this was that I was in my car, in the car park when it happened, so I must have looked a right mess!!!

Moral of the story - Curried Egg sandwiches should be avoided!

LBG xx

First Fill Soon!!

I am so hanging out for my first fill. While I'm not eating nearly the same sized portions as I used to, I'm kinda feeling a little frustrated with how much I can eat at the moment. I must admit, I am definitely feeling a different kind of fullness, it's like I can feel food piling up if I get too full.

I've realised that this is definitely a mental challenge for me also. I went to a buffet dinner on the weekend, piled my plate with food, and ate only a quarter of it. I REALLY wanted to eat more, and as much as I tried, I got to the stage where one more mouthful would have been enough to make me feel sick and possibly throw up, yet in my mind I was sooooo disappointed that I couldn't eat anymore!! Strange eh? I'm also not chewing my food as well as I should, and really should get into that habit before I get my first (and subsequent) fills if I don't want to get anything stuck. It's almost like I don't have a band in at all!!!

I am back to my level of fitness before having the surgery, which I am really pleased about. last night I did a spin class and an aqua aerobics class back to back and felt great. Tonight I'm off to do a cardio session at the gym, Thursday I'm going to do a step class and Saturday will be another spin class.

I have a dietitian's appointment on Thursday, for more information on Soft food and transition eating (whatever that is!!). I'm not looking forward to jumping on the scales, as I don't think I would have lost anything since last visit. I know they say that the point of the first few weeks is for healing, but when you go to such an extreme to lose weight (like having surgery) you expect a bit more from yourself. By the end of march I would of had 3 fills... so hopefully I'll be losing weight steadily by then.

Happy losing everyone!!!

LBG xx

P.S A big hello to Veronica who stumbled across my blog and left a comment. Good luck for your first appointment next month!!! Keep in touch and let me know how you do!! :)

3 weeks Banded! Back to normal!

3 weeks ago I was lying in a hospital bed feeling sorry for myself. Now, I'm practically back to normal now. My scars are healing really nicely. You can hardly notice the small ones on my tummy. The large one near my bra line is the most noticeable, but its a nice pink colour and not an angry red colour anymore. I definitely know where my port is, and I find that I'm still having trouble sleeping on my tummy. I can feel it pulling and it really does hurt alot when I twist my body in bed to turn around. I understand that once the scar tissue builds up around the port area then it will not hurt as much, but at the moment that is the only thing that is still reminding me that I have a band wrapped around my stomach!!!

I'm not losing weight at the moment, which is a bit of a bummer. I'm looking forward to when i get my first (and subsequent fills) cos then the real restriction begins. I remember in the first few days after only being able to eat really small amounts and feeling ever so full afterwards, and that's the feeling I want again. I can't wait!!!

Ok, that's enough from me. Happy losing everyone!

LBG xx

P.S. Congratulations to KYLIE who has hit DOUBLE DIGITS. Well done!!! She started at 111.0kg and is now a svelt 99.0kg! Yay Kylie!

Puree Stage

So I started on the Puree'd diet stage of my diet and I have to say that this has been one of the most difficult stages. I do believe that I am fully healed and I have no more swelling. I also believe that I am one of these people who have been able to eat the same amount since before the lap band as I am constantly hungry on the portions that I have been told to have. I am pretty much eating normally now, and I do feel a tiny bit of restriction after a larger meal, but I definitely can handle more than half a cup of puree at each meal. I'm still worried that my band may have slipped and that's the reason why I can eat more at this stage. Only time will tell.

I have my second Dietitian appointment next week and then the first fill on Monday 5th March.

LBG xx

2 weeks Banded - How time flies!

My goodness, I can hardly believe that I had my operation two weeks ago. Time really does fly. I really hope the next couple of weeks fly as I'm not liking the puree'd stage very much. Always, so hungry... nothing seems to get me full!!!

I had my first dietitian appointment yesterday. She spoke about the transition from Fluids to Puree. How I should be having half cups of puree every 2 hours or so, 6 times a day. I am looking forward to having my first fill as I'm tired of feeling hungry! (as I thought the point of the band was to make me feel fuller quicker for longer!!)

Ok, so maybe it's lack of sustanence that's making me a bit cranky.. *lol* I really do love my band.

Just a quick shout out to Lizzie, Reney and Laura who seem to stop in at my blog for a read! Glad to hear that I'm "inspiring" and helping you guys with your own weight loss surgery. Hard to believe that me *Miss Fatso 2006* is inspiring people! Yay me! Thanks for reading my story!!

LBG xx

First Dietitian Appointment Today!

2pm I have my first dietitian appointment which I am really looking forward to. I have started having more solid foods, which is really norti, but I can't stick to liquids as I am getting far far too hungry. I have also increased my level of exercise and find that I need MORE food to keep my energy levels up. So I'm hoping to get a bit of advice from the dietitian today.

Food Diary
BF: 1 weet bix, 2 tsp bran and skim milk
MT: 1 small coffee & a small tub of yoghurt
L: Soup (quite thick) or a very small serve of pasta with lots of sauce and pureed meat sauce
AT: Yo-go or custard
D: small serve of soft pasta, sauce and pureed meat or soup

Definitely less than what I have been eating before the operation, but I'm feeling a little anxious that I'm able to eat this food so soon after the op. I mean, I'm still meant to be on fluids at the moment!! What if the band has slipped out of position because of the food I've been eating??

Take Care!

LBG xx

Back to Work

After a good 10 days of being a lazy sloth, it is now time for me to get back to working. I definitely had a good break, but I was itching to get back into it, as I was getting very bored at home!!! Still, it wasn't nice to return to 300+ e-mails and have a million things to deal with.

Because I'm sitting at a computer, the slouching isn't helping and my tummy is a little sore. Also, my wound sites, even though they are healing nicely, are getting really itchy!!!

I'm also finding that I'm not getting full at all on the diet I am on and am constantly hungry!! Only a few days left and I'll be on Puree'd foods.. *YAY*

LBG xx

Week 2 Post op

Today I am 8 days post op. I'm pretty much feeling 100% better, just a little more tired than before and my wound sites are a little sore. But other than that, I'm doing pretty good.

I had a chat with a few lap banders, some have had their lap band for a while, and my mind was put at ease about the whole slippage thing. Basically, I'll know if my band has slipped and it would be only because if I vomited or ate too much too quickly, which I haven't been doing, so all is good.

Next week I am back at work, so looking forward to getting my mind onto something else instead of food. Even though I've had a good week off, my mind has been occupied with food (for obvious reasons) and it's starting to drive me a little nuts!!!

Thanks to Kylie and Monika who left a comment on my blog yesterday. Great Advice!!

LBG xx

1 week Banded!

Can't believe it's already been a week since my operation. This time last week I was lying in recovery wondering where the hell I was. Ah, Happy times.

I've got to stop weighing myself every day *smacks hand* I got a bit down today because I put on 200g. But in total I've lost 2.9kg this week, so freakin YAY! I'm going to start weighing myself every Saturday morning and NOT during the week cos I'm starting to get obsessive.

I'm a little paranoid that my band may have slipped. It's not that I've "felt" anything, had any pain, but I was reading my post op instructions and it was saying that if I had anything solid or lots of liquid at the one time that the stitches could rupture leading to slippage! I'm now able to have a good 250mL over 5-10mins with no problems and I am able to have small amounts of mushy puree foods. My instructions are to have thin liquids ONLY for 2 weeks. I'm starting to stress about it.

Question: Has anyone with a lapband experienced good recovery within the first week so that they were able to move on to mushies??
Question: Why do doctors have different instructions for their post op food intake? Dr Roy says liquids for 2 weeks, mushies for 2 weeks.. yet Dr Hughes allows his patients to go straight onto mushies... ???

Any advice would be great. Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

LBG xx

Day 6 Post Op

Feeling great today! I have just got back from the gym, after doing 30 mins non stop on the bike. I was even able to lie on my tummy last night (al biet for a little while), it felt so good to lie in another position other than my tummy.

I think my stomach is getting close to being completely back to normal as I'm finding that I am needing bigger portions to fill me up now. In saying that, I've now lost a total of -3.1kg since the operation. Yay!!!

I have my first dietitians appointment on 15th February at 2pm. I'm looking forward to getting some advice on food and the band. I'm sure I'll come away with loads of interesting information. I have started eating more pureed thicker foods though. I know I'm only supposed to be on liquids for the first 2 weeks, but I feel ready to move on to thicker foods. I'm taking things very slowly, only having the smallest mouthfulls and chewing very very well before swallowing.

I'm a bit paranoid that my band has slipped already, but I think that's just me being stupid *lol*

Take care!

LBG xx