Doing this MY way!

May 27, 2009


Added December 2008 I keep on being asked for tips on how to succeed. So I will list them here. Please note, these worked for me; many others would tell you that these are not the right way to go! But it is my way!

1. Don't count, measure or weigh food. Make what you know to be the healthy choice and the band (once you are restricted) will control the quantities for you. Counting makes you think of food all the time. (BUT this only works if you have restriction and know what constitutes healthy food, so you may have to ignore this tip  at first)

2. Don't set short term goals with deadlines. You may well miss the deadline and you will then feel a failure. Goals are fine! Juts not with deadlines. Also, you will think about food and weight all the time!

3. Weigh as often as you like but don't worry if you stall or even gain. Look at the monthly picture not the daily or weekly one.

4. Don't compare yourself to others. We are all different and in any case, no-one can guarantee that everything you read on a message board is true!!

5. Don't be unrealistic. It is going to take a long time to lose all that weight. Enjoy feeling better all the time and stop spending all your time fantasising about what has not yet happened.

6. Don't get hungry. Just makes you think of food all the time. Don't get hung up on the number of meals and snacks. Hunger is the enemy not food. So if you need an extra meal or snack, if it still keeps you in a reasonable daily intake, go for it.

7. Don't deprive yourself - only sets up an obsession for what you can't have - you can have it, just not much and not often.

8. Don't feel guilt when (not if, when) you make poor food choices. No point in being depraved (and depraved is so much more fun than deprived) if it doesn't give you pleasure! Just think, that was good, that is over, that is the past - and move on.

To me there are two enemies - and neither is food! I like food! My enemies are hunger and obsession. So I don't let myself do either! If I am genuinely hungry (and sorry, we have to learn to live with head hunger), I eat. And I keep food in its place, a wonderful substance, designed to keep me healthy and give me pleasure WHEN I WANT IT.

OK so I get it wrong sometimes; well, quite often, actually!  But most of the time, this is my philosophy.

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My story

Jul 01, 2008

If anyone wants to hear about my journey, please feel free to PM me.

I am currently in the range of 145-150, US dress sizes 8 -10.  Lost all my excess weight (109lbs) just over 15 months post op - mid 2007. With a blip in 2010 (since reversed!), I have maintained my loss since then.


My Journey.

LAPBAND FITTED 23RD MAY 2006


248 15th May 2006 BMI 42.6 One week pre-op
242 23rd May 2006 Day of surgery
239 27th May
236 31st May
232 5th June
233 12th June
231 19th June
227 26th June BMI 38.8 (no longer morbidly obese!)
226 3rd July
224 10th July
224 17th July
220 23rd July
218 31st July BMI 37.4
212 28th August (despite 3 week holiday!)
207 15th Sept
203 2nd Oct
Goal of 165   April 2007
139   mid 2007
145 Sept 2007 (deliberate regain, 139 was too low for me)


Have decided to keep a log of my experiences because there are differences between UK and US and I felt it might help someone from the UK to see what happens here. So am going to write in English English! Any US readers, one stone = 14lbs and 1 ml is a 1000th of a litre and is, I think, actually about the same as 1 cc.. 64 oz is about 1.8 litres.

I have been a yo-yo dieter for about 30 years. I was slim as a teenager and as a young adult but then just allowed myself to drift into obesity. Four pregnancies didn't help but cannot be used as an excuse. I have lost phenomenal amounts of weight (6 stone once, 5 stone once, lots of 3 stone losses) but always put it back on. I am now 3 stones less than my heaviest which was 20 1/2 stone and have wobbled between 16 and 19 for the last 4 years.

I decided on lapband after a lot of research on the internet, both from official medical sites and anecdotal evidence from this forum.

My journey:-

Once I had identified a fairly local independent hospital which i am not naming as I do not wish people who know me to identify me, I was referred by my very supportive GP. The cost will be £5,250 (all hospital and operation costs, 3 consultations with the dietican, 2 fills at which time I will have post-op consulations with Mr  XXXXX). The initial consultation with Mr XXXXX  was £100 but this is being paid for me by the Benenden Trust which is a sort of insurance scheme for public employees. Extra fills are £75 each.

I was given a consultation appointment two weeks later (29/04/2006). At this appointment, I spent an hour and a half talking it all through with Mr XXXXX. He is a gastro-enterologist, specialising in the upper gastro-intestinal tract. He spent a year in Australia working under one of the pioneers of this type of surgery, assisted on many operations and has now performed about 30 here in the UK. That does not sound like a lot compared to many of the US surgeons we read about on OH but we quite simply do not do as much elective surgery here as they do there and any surgeon doing only band would find it hard to support himself (except perhaps in London). I felt happy with him, his information giving and his experience.

I then saw the dietician who spent just under an hour with me, measured my fat/muscle/hydration levels (all not at all what they should be) and gave me advice on pre and post-op diet. I do not have to do any fancy diet - just low cal up to the operation. I will write about post-op when I get there.

i was supposed to see the anasethetist but he was called away to an emergency. I was given a surgery date of 22nd May. I went for a pre-admissions check up on the 15th May. The nurse reported back to the anaesthetist who was happy to go ahead although he will obviously see me again to check for himself when I am admitted.

I have to fast from 11 am on the 22nd, be at the hospital by 3 pm. operation at 6 pm, home 11 am following day.

23rd May
Hiccough at hospital - I was last operation on the list and the previous one ran on very much over time and they asked me to wait until this morning.

Surgery at 8:30; aware of where I was at 10:30, 11:30 wanted loo, they offered bedpan and I refused it so I walked to loo. No problems at all. Have not needed any painkillers at all, only slight discomfort is if I lean forward or pull myself up. Nurse put electric compression pads on my legs (in addition to the stockings I put on before surgery) to improve circulation, asssume this is routine as no problems. Sipping water without problem, not hungry (yet!!), swallowed blood pressure tablet with no difficulty. Staff nurse told me to keep moving around room so I did as no problem and then she told me off because she hadn't meant me do it that much!!!

Surgeon phoned to check I was OK for discharge (had already seen registrar and specialist nurse) and I said, no problem, no pain, up and walking without problem and he asked if I was serious!!!

Really, really easy!!!!

24th May
Had good night's sleep. I had been sent home with 3 different types of painkillers and I took the one which warned you it made you drowsy, not especially because I was in pain but because turning in bed was uncomfortable and I thought it would help me sleep better. Something did! Slightly more sore this morning but not really a problem - certainly don't need painkillers. More of a bruised feeling.

Weird feeling of hunger. I am not actually hungry as such but have that feeling you get in your stomach when it is completely empty and which usually means that you are ready for food and are really going to enjoy it when you get it! Poor stomach is in for a shock if that is what it is expecting! Am going to have the great treat of 50 mls of beef consomme later on!

Couldn't resist weighing this morning! 2lbs heavier than pre-op which is what I expected! All that fluid!

Actually went to a pub quiz with friends! left early - not because unwell, just felt wanted to be at home! But enjoyed myself.

My regime:-
only water yesterday (50mls a time), today (Wednesday) water consistency fluids (incl. consommes), Thursday - same but up to 100 mls and thicker soup (consistency of tinned tomato soup and thin yoghourt), Friday- same but with thin porridge type breakfast cereal and smooth soup, yoghourt. Saturday, liquidised thicker soup with pulses, pureed fruit to be eaten half an hour after soup. Sunday on to pureed normal food. All to be the consistency of thick pouring custard. I have actually bought a few jars of Stage One baby food in case I don't feel like preparing food. Don't really expect to use savouries but have tried pureed fruits and they are quite nice!!

Start multivitamin (one dose per day) on Thursday.

Beginning to think I may have problems with diet before first fill as already feel I could eat! May be different when I actually try to though! Certainly hope so or going to have very difficult 5 weeks. Not losing weight for 5 weeks is not an option if I am to fit into that sleeping bag in August! ( Doing three week camping and trekking in the Namib and Kalahari Deserts in south west Africa.)  So if the band can't help it has to be good old fashioned will power!

Friday 26th May
Take that back, now Friday morning and not hungry at all. Feeling light headed simply through lack of food but plan to have a bit of a Slimfast Smoothie later.

Only pain now is through wind! But (good job I am on my own!!) it is coming out quite nicely!!! Sorry - too much information there. Glad I had read OH messageboard as would have thought I was having a heart atttack when i got wind pain in my left shoulder last night. But half an hour with a hot water bottle got rid of that.

Warning - if your post-op diet mentions thin porridge or liquidised cereal which mine does - I do not recommend liquidised Oatso - unless you like wallpaper paste!

27th May Day 5 post-op,
I have just eaten my first sort of real food ( totally liquidised soup with pulses). It went down so easily but I felt aware that something was there in my chest, so I stopped eating after less than 1/2 a mug. Can't describe the feeling! I now feel FULL. Really, really FULL. And it is now about three quarters of an hour later. I was supposed, on today's menu, to have a small amount of pureed fruit half an hour after the soup, but I can't! It will just have to wait. Realise I have no fill so am probably just still swollen from the op, but if this is a sign of things to come post-fill -WOW!! And this was very mushy and so should have slipped straight through.

Ate my fruit (small jar Heinz Stage One apple and apricot puree - very nice and very convenient!!). Enjoyed it, could have eaten more if there had been more but 5 minutes later, feel full. Keep on forgetting about drinking before and not with or just after food. Automatically make myself a drink and then realise should have had it earlier. Must work on this one!

Read post from someone who had surgery day before me and has already lost 11 lbs. Know this is NOT going to happen to me but can't help wishing it would!! I do know not to compare with others and I do know that pre-fill loss is a bonus not a given!

28th May
Purees! Had cereal and milk (dissolved to a mush!) for breakfast, soup and pulses for lunch with jar pureed fruit (Heinz baby food!) half an hour afterwards. Half Muller Lite Yoghourt (vanilla, totally smooth) mid morning and other half mid afternoon. Pureed cauliflower cheese (made very healthily!) and then fruit puree in the evening. This is NOT enough calories or protein. Will try harder tomorrow. Not hungry at all!

Spent three hours walking round Country Show, glad to come home but not over-tired. Feel fit and well! Got home to discover enormous and very expensive bouquet from the hospital as an apology for making me wait 10 hours for my op.!

2nd June
Now 10 days post-op. Still very slight bruised feelng round main port incision. Actual bruising looks impressively black and yellow but doesn't feel at all sore. Eating well - basically variety of very thick soups with pulses liquidised into them. Lots of pureed fruit and some yoghourt. Weetabix with skimmed milk for breakfast. There is nothing that feels in any way different about my digestive system except that I don't need to eat!!! Fine by me - actually working quite hard to up intake. Some people seem to be on protein shakes for ages after op but my dietician is very against that - says there is no medical need and that it doesn't get us started on healthy habits. She believes that people who do just shakes will lose faster intitially but will feel hungrier before the first fill and, because their body has become used to such a low intake, they will find it hard to keep on losing on solids. Don't know but will take her advice. Sounds logical!!

14th June Stopped losing, in fact have gained 1lb! Just read a few posts from people saying things like " I am one month post op and have only lost 30lbs" !!! Are we the same species, on the same planet? Am being totally compliant with all doctor's instructions and so am getting in about 1000 calories a day and taking liquid whey protein to boost protein intake to about 60gms. But at the moment am losing more slowly than on a normal diet!!! But the intention all along was that the band would help me stop re-gaining weight- I have always been able to lose it, just not keep it off.

27th June - I have now lost 1/4 of the weight I want to lose!! Well I had yesterday (22lbs) but this morning I was back to 21lbs!

First fill scheduled for July 7th but to be honest I am not sure if I need it. I am sticking to guidelines with no problem, but I think it is determination and mind set not the band keeping me on track. I will take Mr. Byrne's advice.

8th July - Mr Byrne put 2mls in my band, gave me water to drink - no problem. Gave me a Mullerlite yoghourt, had 4 teaspoons and felt uncomfortable. So he said I had too mcuh fill and replaced it by 1.8. Yoghourt went down no problem this time.

10th July - keep on forgetting to eat slowly enough and so get the dreaded golfball! But am finding that 1100 calories a day is easy to keep to. Seem unable to eat raspberries!!! Even though very soft and even if I still chew them, they give me the golfball! Peculiar!

29th August Have just returned from almost 3 weeks camping in very remote part of South Western Africa. Was able to eat all food without anyone realising what I was doing; fit into a mummy sleeping bag, airline seats roomy and seat belt plenty of spare, did strenuous treks into desert over soft sand.... NSV after NSV after NSV!!! AND I lost 3lbs while on holiday AND I dropped nearly 2 dress sizes just over those 3 weeks! Love this band!

I am deleting all photos because of the Facebook linking by OH.
September 2006 3 1/2 months post op.



May 2006 at time of op


 
 



May 2009




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Oct 15, 2006

 


About Me
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04/23/2006
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Apr 13, 2006
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