Still kickin'

I thought I should come in and say hello to everyone. I'm still here, just being boring. I'm a bit stuck, not in a slimey sort of way (although that happens a bit) but in the plateau sort of way. I have to admit, it's really my own fault. I know I need to step up/change the exercise a bit, and that my food intake is FAR from good at the moment (yes, better than before, but not conducive to weight loss), so I have no-one to blame but myself. I keep hovering around the 100kg mark, I've been under a few times by a little and same for over.

BUT... my clothes are changing. I'm in size 18 jeans which is amazing for me, really super exciting. Tops are still 20's, will take a while to come down as my belly is still big (as are my boobs), and will stay still big, for a while. Lots of work to be done there.

I've also had a fair bit of stress going on, lots of changes in our life (starting our own business with me taking the office/business reins, so my emotional eating has got the better of me a few times.

But I'll get there. 7 months out and I've lost 27kg and dropped from a size 26 to an 18-20. Can't complain about that!!

Here is a photo update - I'll show some oldies to show you the difference. :)

January

April

June

September

I'm wearing the same top today that I was wearing in the June photo, and I can see the difference in the way it fits now, definitely. And the jeans I was wearing in that one are too big now.

Oh a tip for everyone else - my hair has MUCH improved, and mostly stopped falling out, since I started taking the Blackmores Hair Skin & Nails tablets. USE THEM!!!

Weigh in & NSV's

Well I might put it in tiny writing this week as I'm really not happy that I gained this week. I'm up to 105.2kg which is up 400gm on last week! Pfft.

BUT...

I had some NSV's which in all reality should counteract the crappy weigh in.

1. I kept a pair of my size 26 pants (cargo pants) from pre-surgery to do the whole "before and after" shot when I get to goal. Now they were never super tight on me, but they did fit me. I found them yesterday and tried them on and OH MY GOODNESS THEY'RE HUGE!!! They're like clown pants on me!! I hadn't really had a visual of how much weight I've lost until I got in them!! THAT was a great NSV, something to keep me going.

2. On Sunday I went to the gym and while previously my longest time of continual jogging had been 4 minutes before I thought I might die and had to go back to walking, this time I (wait for it) did 10 minutes straight!! I did 20 minutes total, with one 10 minute stint of jogging, one 3 and one 1 minute. I'm super proud of that effort!  

3.  Today I went to the gym and did a reasonable workout and then I came home and did some more (28 minutes to be exact) on the Wii Fit, which I haven't used in ages (it's so rude how it remembers when you were there last!!). I did so much better than before, and I'm happy I did more instead of just sitting here at the computer.

I'm taking multivitamins and iron tablets now, as my doctor thinks I could be a bit malnutritioned. We know my iron is too low, and my hair falling out when brushed/washed is a bit (just mildly) concerning. So hopefully I can get the old energy levels and health levels back up to scratch.

Anyway it's time for a shower and off to school to help out with a program for my daughter. Thanks for staying around reading!! Please remember to link me on your blog, I'd love new readers! 

A fill, a book, someone named TOM and a quote

Today was surgeon visit day. I went in and not surprisingly didn't have the best weigh in ever. I was 107.6kg. Still down from my last visit to him but up a kg from my weight earlier on. Probably (hopefully) because TOM arrived (damn him, he's such an annoying visitor!), so even they noted I could have excess fluid on board.

We talked about how I'd been going, if I was able to eat "everything". I told her the only thing I'd had a little trouble with (besides when I ate too quickly and didn't chew properly) was steak, that it went down but I certainly felt it. She said I clearly have restriction but not quite enough. So I have a fill of 0.25ml which puts me up to 5.75ml in a 10 ml band. Lets hope this takes me to the sweet spot! No more visits for 6 weeks this time, so they must be fairly happy still.

I bought this book there (they bought them in bulk so I got it heaps cheaper).

What's great about it for me is that it's written for us Aussies, and has our products in it. Basically it has a lot of dietary advice specifically for bandits and sleevits (do people with sleeves have a name?), with LOTS of pictures. The pictures are good because you can see what they're talking about clearer when they talk of portions etc.

I haven't read it properly yet, just flicked through. I'll blog fascinating things I find.

And it had a great quote in it:

"Reaching your destination is not the end of your 'journey'. Finding a way to comfortably live in this new place determines whether you stay."

There is a lot of truth to that. I am well on my way on the journey, but as I go I find different things that I need to learn to STAY on the journey. I'm learning the difference between stomach hunger and mental/emotional hunger. I'm learning which foods fill me up longest, I'm learning which foods just make me want to eat more and more of them (damn you Salt & Vinegar chips!!), I'm learning eating is an addiction, I'm learning that exercise can be fun, and I'm learning that the band helps, it does not do it all for you.

There is lots more to learn. I have to create a whole new lifestyle if I want to stop this struggle I've had for so many years. Weight is the symptom. When the weight comes off, you still have the same issues if you don't deal with them and heal. No matter how hard this journey is though, I'm glad I'm on it.

I hate food

I hate thinking about food, I hate wondering if this food is good for me, how many calories it has, is it low GI, will it get stuck or be a slider, should I be eating it or not, am I really hungry or is it just a habit, an addiction...

I hate food.

I love food. :(

Today's menu

So what did I "eat" today?

Breakfast was 1/2 cup of white tea (Physcial no-fat milk) with 2 x Hermestas Gold (I do miss my sugar).

Mid morning I had a Berocca Performance (need some vitamins)  in half glass water.

Lunch I had 1/2 cup of chicken broth.

In the afternoon I decided to try one of those yummy Latte sachets - I got halfway through and OH MY GOODNESS I was so full!!! I had to tip the rest out.

For tea I had 1/2 cup chicken broth.

I'm now having a peppermint tea.

That's it. That's pretty standard for the last few days. Oh I have some water too, during the day. And I think I had 2 tic tacs to freshen my mouth.

I did get a little hungry at one stage, but what I drank fixed that.

No wonder we lose weight with a Lap Band!

I'm looking forward to being able to exercise, maybe some walking on the treadmill soon.

Vitamin B or iron?

I had some toast with vegemite on it (and a slice of low fat cheese, sandwiched together). I have to say, besides the guilt, and the voices in my head (bugger off voices!!!) telling me to give up on it all, I felt SO MUCH better. I think I really needed something in there, quite possibly the vitamin B and/or the iron. My guess is the iron to be honest.

It tasted wonderful, and I ate very slowly and chewed heaps and felt really full afterwards (only 2 pieces of toast), which was good.

I'm not off the wagon, I just stopped for a moment. I plan on doing this and doing it well, but not at the expense of my sanity. My body cried out, I listened. Now it's quiet. And it will keep quiet! LOL!