Happy Band-day

So the 11th of August marked the anniversary of my banding. And to celebrate the occasion, I thought it would be awesome to lay on an operating table with the same surgeon, the same anaesthetist, at the same hospital.

Ok, so that wasn't how I was planning on celebrating the day. I planned on going to work and spending it like any other day, however I will do anything for a day off work, including having a slipped band and hiatus hernia. But enough on that, all was fixed and I am on the mend again.

So I thought we might take a trip down memory lane. This photo was when I went to see P!nk in concert in May 2009.

Ok, it's not the best photo, but you get the idea. Basically in this photo I weighed close to 120kg, was  a size 22, and incredibly uncomfortable in my own skin.

And here I am in June 2010 at the husbands graduation, weighing close to 80kg (it was the closest photo I could find to August), wearing a size 12-14 dress, feeling somewhat comfortable in my own skin. Granted I think the dress sizing was pretty screwy, as I have only just started wearing size 14 jeans.

I still have a little way to go, I want to lose another 10 to 15kgs, to get me into what my doctor considers a healthy weight range (I personally want to lose another 10kg just because that was always my goal, to lose 50kg).

Despite having been sick recently, and having to have my band removed due to my hernia, I don't regret my choice for a moment. The band has changed my life in so many ways. I never imagined I would have lost 40kg in a year, I thought I would maybe lose 15kg, 20 if I was super dooper lucky. I never knew that losing weight would rid my body of the lactose and oil intolerance's that I had. I never ever thought I would wear skirts and knee high boots in public, especially to work. The confidence boost I received from losing weight is huge!

And just so we are clear, I made it clear to my surgeon that I will not be repeating this tradition for my second anniversary next year. It was a one time only event!
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Weight Loss Update - May

Another kind of me...the MVM kind!

Woot, finally I can see a difference in the MVM model! I have been able to see a difference in myself for a while now, but I like the justification of the cartoon!

Weight wise I am down 39.9kg, giving me a mere 10.1kg to go! I am currently wearing size 16 Levi's, however they are getting a little big, and I will soon have to investigate buying a smaller size. It is a pain that they don't make Levi's in a 15, as when I tried on the 14's there wasn't a great deal of room for breathing (or eatting). Tops I will be in a 16 for some time, damn you massive breasts! You make life too hard somedays. I have found that I can wear 14's in some brands, currently I am sitting here in a size 14 jumper which is comfortable, and size 14 trackies (Adidas) which are a bit baggy. Nothing 10 minutes in the dryer can't fix though. I have also found I can fit into the few clothes I have kept from my skinny days.

Food wise I am battling on. Since getting sick in March, I have had .6ml removed, taking me back to 4.6ml. I still struggle to eat some foods, but least I can keep enough down to get me by. I have found I have to eat frequent small meals, rather than 3 larger meals a day. I have given up on eating bread all together, same with most pastas. I can eat really skinny pasta if it is broken up enough, and I chew chew chew! With my weight loss, it seems I have lost some of my sweet tooth too. In the past I couldn't keep chocolate in our pantry for longer than a week, whereas there is currently a whole heap of the stuff (my step-sister gave me a chocolate hamper for christmas) in there that has barely been touched.

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Weight Loss Update

Time for a little update.

I am finally starting to see a change in myself. One that I like.

It all started when I started going to a fitness class after work on a Wednesday. Something I had been promising to do for some time, but never got around to doing.  And, much to my suprise, I liked it. I had fun, and was actually disappointed when I had to miss last weeks class. And I am looking forward to this weeks class, I even re-scheduled an appointment so I can go to it.

And I brought a top from Country Road. I know I have talked about the joy of walking into the normal section of Myer, but last week I bypassed the Plus Size section completely. It didn't even get a look in. I walked out of there with a new Country Road top. I couldn't keep the smile from my face. Small achievements keep me going.

Final thing, is that people really notice my weight loss. Several people have commented on it at work. Apparently it has become really noticeable, as has my mood change. Seems I am happier now than I was 6 months ago. Which I suppose isn't a bad thing.

So there you go, 27kg down, more than half way.
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Mamma has a new hat

I can't beleive I live in Australia, in the middle of summer, and didn't own a hat. Bad April, Bad! It is now known as the Train Driver hat.



Check out my chins. Seems my extra 4 chins have merged and become 1 extra chin! Pin It

Weight Update

It has been a while since I have done an update on the weight situation. Last one was in November. Well since then I have lost another 4 kg. I am averaging a kilo a week (2.2 pound for you imperial people), which is very reasonable according to my doctor. He prefers that I would only lose .5kg (1.1pound), but I don't think he wants to argue with me about it.

I went through a terrible patch in the middle of December where I couldn't lose anything, not a kilo. I stayed the same weight for a month, and was terribly disappointed. Nothing I did mattered, I ate better, and I exercised (something I don't do much of). A tiny fill kick started it all again, and I have been a happy camper since.

Christmas was a struggle, I am finding that there are more things I can't eat. Pudding being the main killer on Christmas Day. Oh well, I am sure I will live without it :) Bread is also a killer. I just have to look at it and I am running for the bathroom. Hot chips are fast heading in that direction too. And the worst one of all, is I can't eat pumpkin! I looooooove pumpkin, but unless its mashed in with potato, I can't do it! I am shattered!

With this last 4 kilo's being gone, it saw me leave the Plus Sized section of Myer, and walk into the normal women's section. Ok, so things are still incredibly tight, but give it a few weeks, and it will all be good. It also saw me make $700 on ebay by selling majority of my clothes. I now do not own any black work pants, nor blue pants. I think the only pants I own, besides jeans, are a pair of grey pants I brought off ebay a week before Christmas, just in case. It is such an amazing feeling though, I haven't been in the normal section of a clothing store for a long time! I look forward to the day I can walking into ANY shop and buy something.

It has also got to the point where people comment on my weight loss. I have had several colleagues (none of which know about my operation) comment on how I have lost weight. Which I have to admit, makes me feel good. For so long I have felt down about how I look, but now I am starting to like how I look.

So that is where we are at. Almost half way to my ideal weight. Wow!
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Two Fifths

Check out the ticker from the bottom of my blog


I am two fifths of the way!!! To celebrate I am wearing a dress to work thatI brought for our engagement party that was too small by the time I got to wear it. I feel great, and I can't weight (lol) to lose even more weight in the next few months!

Oh, and incase you want to check on me, it's at the bottom of my blog, and i do try to update it every week.
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Best Friends Sharing the Love

This weekend I was special enough to attend one of my closest friends wedding. It was a magical day, and I wish her, and her new husband a lifetime of happiness and love.

It was funny to sit down and talk to her, as she said that in the last 2 weeks the amount of times the words "Ring April, she will know" has been said in her household was uncountable. I laughed, as I fully remember what those two final weeks were like.

Oh yeah, that is me now, 20kg lighter. I have a fair way to go (man I hate my double chin with a passion). Pin It

Lapbanding: The shit part

Remember when I said I would tell the truth about the good and the bad about lapbanding. Well here comes the bad.

The other morning someone at work mentioned a chicken parma they had for dinner the previous night. That made me want a parma BAD! and not just a shitty little one, made on a crappy snitzle of mass produced fake chicken. Oh no, I wanted the full chicken breast one. Much like this one:

So I went home, brought some chicken, some tomato paste, and some cheese (stupid reno's mean we have little food left in our house). I made it, it looked delicious, I salivated at the thought of the first bite

It went in the mouth. I chewed.

And chewed.

And chewed

And god help me, I chewed so much my jaw hurt.

And then it went down. In a lump. A very sore lump. A lump that had to be removed or go down.

Eventually it went down, but god damn it ruined my hunger for a parma!
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Weight Loss - 2 months on

Well it has been 2 months since my surgery, and I have lost close to 20kg now. I have had two fills now, with a total of 4.5mL in my band now. I am slowly getting there. I generally lose a kilo a week, so it's small steps, but good steps.

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The Food

Someone asked me a while back about what I eat after having my band done.

So far *touching wood* I can eat most things that I could before. The key is to eat less of them. Steak is a hard one, I found that I have started to struggle with it this week after my second fill. Bread is a funny one, somedays I can do it, otherdays I just have to look at it and I start gagging.

So a typical day goes like this:

Breakfast: somedays nothing, somedays a cup of cold milo when I get to work.

Lunch: 3/4 of a toasted sandwich (I can do toasted sandwiches reasonably ok, might be because our toaster at work makes them paper thin).

Dinner: chicken or red meat that is about the size of my three year old niece's hand, two serving spoons of veggies

Snacks: a biscuit at morning tea time, a tub of pears (helps keep me regular seeing as though I dont get much fiber), and maybe some sort of dessert (surprisingly ice-cream goes down really well :S)

So there you go, thats what I eat in a day. It needs improvement, same with my exercise regime, but it's getting there.

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The First Fill

I have been meaning to write this post for a few days, and I keep forgetting, and when I do remember, I am busy with work.

So today, when I am sitting on the couch with a cold and asthma, I have all the time in the world.

Now, I had a bit of a mishap with my appointment. I turned up to the surgery at 7.45am the week before last, only to be told that "no, Mr J is not here today, he was here yesterday though".

Harmph, I asked for a Friday appointment. Oh well, I just got up before the sun, and travelled an hour and a half for nothing, but hey, all good :D

So I made an appointment to see my surgeon the following week. It wasn't to be, my surgeon's wife was being induced that day to give birth to their third child (the first boy). But I was offered an appointment with his partner, which was good enough for me.

So Friday came, I went down to Melbourne's outter west (read: boganville), to see some man I have never met. I jump on the scales (my slackness for the last week has seen me not loose any more weight this week (bad april, bad april)), and then I laid on the bed. They position a pillow under my lower rib cage, and I am told to relax. A short jab later, the needle is in, out comes the air from the band, and in goes 2.5ml of saline goes in.

I have noticed a huge difference after this fill. I thought I had to chew food before, well that was nothing. I can't eat much, and I now take even longer to eat a meal, much to the husbands disgust.

But it has been good, before I was feeling like I was eating too much compared to what I thought I should be eating. I am feeling better within myself, especially when I have to throw out work pants because they are too big on me!

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Weight Loss

It is hard to believe that 4 weeks ago I was about to go into surgery. I had no idea how it would change my life, which was incredibly frightening for me, as I am a little bit of a control freak.

Things that have changed in 4 weeks:
*I eat A LOT less. To put it into real terms, 5 weeks ago I would have eaten a large dinnerbox of rice and chinese for dinner, and been looking for something else as well. Tonight I ate half a small dinnerbox, and am full
*My chest bone has reappeared. I also have more defined hips, and my face is looking skinnier.
*My wedding band now fits on my finger (it previously didn't, and I was too proud to go and have it resized for the second time)
*My other favourite ring is too big! I need to have it made smaller, but I am going to wait for a bit to do that
*I sleep better. I no longer wake up feeling tired
*My work suit now falls off me, which is rather embarrassing when you don't wear a belt! I walked around for half a day holding my pants up :O

Now, because I know the picture is hard to get a grip on, I have officially lost 14.1kg since starting my pre-op diet. I am the same weight I was on my wedding day! And I am one fifth of the way to my goal!!!


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Surgery: Updated

Image from Flickr

Yesterday I had to make the three hour journey down to see my surgeon in the very beautiful Williamstown. I love going to Williamstown, as there are some beautiful shops, and heaps of lovely little cafes to have lunch on the waterfront.

Unfortuantly, the husband came with me, which limited the shopping and dining experiences to a complete zero.

But my surgeon was esatic at my recovery, I am doing well. The only concern is that I have a minor infection in one of my sites, but it should be cleared up with a course of antibiotics. He is happy for me to move up to mushy food as I please, and has booked me in for my first fill for mid September. YAY!

Now I need to find my gym membership card and get thy bum to the gym. Oh the joy.

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Liquid Diet

Image from Flickr

Aunty Em mentioned that she wasnt jealous of my liquid diet. I have to admit, I was terrified at the thought of it. Just so you realise, I have to be on a liquid diet for around 2 weeks, and then move to mushies for another 2 weeks, and then start to move to normal foods.

As I said, I was terrified of the liquid food stage, what the hell was i going to drink? All i could think of was water and soft drink (which was obviously ruled out very quickly). So far, 3 days in, it hasnt been too bad.

My food intake goes like this:
Breakfast: half a glass of orange juice
Lunch: half a cup of soup (pumpkin, chicken and sweet corn, veggie - anything really, just as long as it can be sucked through a straw)
Dinner: half a cup of soup or some custard, depending on how i feel.

Yesterday i could only manage a few teaspoons of food at each sitting, so it took me 4 hours to get through my half cup of soup, which meant by dinner time i wasnt overly hungry, and just had 50mls custard.

It is amazing to think that just last week I would have drowned that entire 400ml tin of soup in one sitting with a bread roll or something. We had 'dinner' at my father in-laws house last night, and he made the comment that he likes cooking for me, as i eat so little, and I bring my own food :D

Suppose he has a point now.

Oh, and as an added bonus of the liquid diet, I have lost 8kg since last Friday
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A new begining

I am starting a new life, a new beginning in my world.

For many years I have struggled with my weight, nothing would ever help me lose the weight i needed to lose. I ideally need to lose around 40kg, but I could never get past 10. So, we made the decision to look into lapbanding. I looked at other options, stomach sleeving, gastric bypass, but decided lapbanding was the best option. So i did my research, up'ed our health insurance, and waited for the year to pass. I saw a dietician, talked to as many people as possible about the surgery, the pro's the con's and everything in between.

Tuesday came, and off to hospital we went. Apart from the nerves, I help up pretty well, and the surgery was a breeze. According to my specialist, I have beautiful anatomy on the insides! That made me giggle and cheered me up.

So, here I am, two days after surgery, feeling rather fragile. I debated for a long time about telling people, and I am cautious on who I tell on the outside world. But i figure that this is a journey that is much bigger than our renovations, and I am not ashamed of having to have the surgery.

So, this is me on Tuesday (well a stimulation of me, I'm not too keen on posting my real self on the internetz)


So, lets raise our juice glass (because all i can eat for 2 weeks is liquid food) to a new beginning!

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Weight Loss

[Wednesday 29th January]
[Mood: ready to kill the next person who says "it's hot out there]

Victoria is in the middle of a heat wave. You would have to be a moron to not know this, if you live in Victoria. So why must every friecken person who comes past my desk say "Jeez, its hot out there". No shit moron! We are sitting in a dark office with the air-con flat out and have gone through 2 drums of water today alone! Honestly, the next person who says the above comment to me is going to get a snappy comeback. Something along the lines of "Really? so i wont need my ski jacket to go outside?"

But that is not todays topic.

It's no secret that i need to loose weight. Somehow in the previous 6 years i have managed to go from slim to round. My curse is food. I like food. I judge events by the food they serve me. It doesnt need to be unhealthy food, i am a fan of fruit platters and i looooove veggies. I just like a lot of it.

So this morning when i got up it was 32 degrees...at 6.30am! After wasting an hour on facebook I was running late for work, and quickly threw on some clothes, makeup and was out the door. I forgot to eat breakfast. So i survived to morning tea time, but the grumbles were starting to be heard by others in the office. So i spent 10 minuts debating on what to have to eat: egg and bacon sandwich from the corner store, or museli that i didnt eat last week.

Pro's for egg and bacon sanga: includes a walk, can buy a bottle of juice whilst there, and allows me to get out of the office for 10 minutes. Cons: hardly healthy, though eggs are a source of protein, bread contains fiber, and juice is a fruit. Major con: involves walking outside in the 40 degree heat.

Museli won.

But the misson still stands: I need to loose weight. Keep me on track people, i need to be skinnier by christmas. I NEED to stick to this goal Pin It