One More Bits the Dust

One more kilo gone, now down to 75.6kgs. Yesterday it was 6 months exactly since my operation and I have lost over 32kgs. I have lost over 40 if you count the 10kgs I lost prior to the surgery.


I have been to a couple of Christmas functions this last week and am pleased to report that I am not overly tempted by the foods that I would normally have pigged out on.


I try and eat mainly the turkey, a little ham, a couple of prawns and a baked potato. Ham does not always sit nicely in my stomach, I think it is the salt content that makes my stomach bubble and gurgle. The dietitian did tell me early on, that pork is one of the hardest meats to digest and that I should stay away from it if possible.


This week I am one of the guest speakers at my surgeons seminar for people interested in having one of the 3 surgical options. There will be a gental man that has had the banding, a lady that had the gastric sleave and myself representing the gastric bypass.


This will be my last blog until the new year. I do wish you all a Happy, Healthy Holiday Season.


Don't over do it. Remember 'You eat to live, NOT live to eat'.

Eat to Live NOT Live to Eat

I am utterly amazed that I have lost another couple of kilos'. My weight this morning was 76.8. My goal weight range is 65 - 69 kgs, so not far to go till I reach the upper goal range. It is very exciting and all this since 13th June 09.

Before I went away the loss had slowed down to a trickle. Must have been the little bits of spicy food I ate in Bali that has tripped me along again on the road to my goal weight.

So far I have not regretted for one minute having had the surgery. I have not experienced any of the severe "Dumping" that I was warned of prior to surgery. I think this is because I have been very diligent in watching what I eat, always high quality food, high in protein. This is not to say that I have not had the occasional sweet, biscuit or an ice cream, but I have been careful not to over indulge, as I didn't want the "Dumping" to happen. On the one occassion that I had two squares of chocolate, I did get a minor case of the runs.

Food: I find that I am eating a lot of Chicken, mostly I stir fry a little chicken with some veggies and mushrooms, serving it in a little Chinese bowl makes me feel like eating is special. Steak has to be very tender for me not to feel uncomfortable after eating a little of it. Stews are OK as the meat is normally really tender.

A normal day for me is to have Uncle Toby's Oats (about 3 tablespoons) with Skim Milk; Yogurt for morning tea; Oriental Crepe with sweet chili sauce (only eat about a 1/4 of it at lunch, one lasts me two days); rice crackers for afternoon snack or a few grapes; Stir Fried Chicken and Veggies with Oyster Sauce sprinkled over it; after dinner I will occasionally have a yogurt ice block.

I do try to make sure that I drink my 1.5 litres of water, some of this can be made up of tea, coffee or diet soft drinks.

70's are Great ...

Hi I am just back from two weeks in Bali. Had a fantastic time, the shopping and sight seeing were really great.

On my last visit to Bali, 12 years ago, the stall holders would yell out to me that they had Elephant size clothes. Not once did I hear any such remark and clothes that are "one size fits all" really do fit me.

My aim was to be 80kgs by the time I went on holiday and I reached it just in time. When I weighted myself this morning I am now 78.3kgs, only 9 to go to reach my upper goal of 69.

Feeling fantastic and my energy levels are through the roof. The grandchildren think it is great that I am able to play with them now not just sit and watch.

Bali here I come

1 week to go before I take off for Bali. New swimmers are packed and ready. Looking forward to this holiday in my new body.

Now 80.3kgs. I cannot believe the amount of weight that I have lost in 5 months, now 28kgs. If you take into account the weight loss from when I was at my heaviest,118kgs, I have now lost 37.7kgs or 82lbs or 5 stone.

Back at work today after having a week off, my father passed away last week at the ripe old age of 86. He had been unwell for the last 12 months.

Weighed myself this morning and I am now down to 81.2 kgs. This is now a weight loss of nearly 27kgs.

Some of my new clothes are now size 12. Feeling really good within myself.

Bought a new pair of swimmers ready for my holiday in Bali, will post photo when I get back.

Visit to Surgeon

I had my second post surgery follow up visit to my surgeon today. He is extremely happy with my progress. He has even asked me to talk at their pre-surgery seminars.

Blood tests show that I am absorbing sufficient nutrients. Apparently this can be a problem after having the bypass. I will need to keep having regular blood tests to monitor that this is still the case over the next 12 months. (I have regular test to monitor my thyroid function anyway.)

I had an Undercover Wear party last week and I was able to fit into a pair of size 12 stretchy pants. (might be a biggish make but never the less it has size 12 on the label). Haven't been any were near a size 12 since 1977. I know this because it was my size when I was married and I had been to Weight Watchers for 8 months to loose 36kgs (or 5 stone in old terms). All came back on over 5 years and 3 babies later.

LOWEST WEIGHT IN 30 YEARS

Over the last couple of weeks the weight loss has been very slow. I was astonished this morning to see that I have dropped to 82.7kgs. This has to be the lowest weight I have had in over 30 years.

I have now lost 25.8kgs in only 15 weeks. Only 14kgs to go and I will be at the top end of my goal weight range, 65 - 69kgs.

Feeling the best I have in years.

Off to see my GP next week, to hopefully be off blood pressure medication for ever.

Rewarding Myself

Weight this morning is 84.5kgs. After two weeks of yo yoing in the 85's it was good to see that I am now under 85kgs.

Even though the scales hadn't moved, my clothes were telling me that I had lost weight around the bottom area. The rowing machine & bike at the gym must be doing some good.

Most of my pants are now 14's and shirts 16's.

As a Reward for myself I have booked a holiday to Bali with several friends. Last time I was there in 1997, I was so large the store holders, that had bigger sizes, would call out to me saying they had XXXXL sizes, it was very embarrassing.

Decided to see about getting a new pair of swimmers in preparation for the holiday. Didn't buy any yet as the shop I went to had really nice tops that fitted great, but they only had bikini style bottoms and as I am not yet ready to wear them (maybe after I have a tummy tuck in the future). Will try another shop next weekend.

Plateauing

Over the last two weeks I have not lost much weight. Today I weighed in at 85.6kg. My weight went down to 85.2kgs then back up to 85.9 and now to 65.6kg. Not sure what is happening but thought that it might be that over the last 3 weeks I have been hitting the gym, 2 or 3 times a week . Muscel weighs more than fat, so they say.

Fitted into a pair of size 14 capri pants last Saturday, I was exstatic. Haven't been a 14 since 1978 and that was just after I got married and had been to Weight Watchers for 6 months. Fell pregnant just after that and then my weight gain started again and has not really looked back. I do think this is when my Thyroid started to not function.

Medications: I have now reduced my blood pressure tables to a 1/3 of what I was on and my Thyroid medication is now down by half. Didn't realise that my weight related to my thyroid medications but obviously it does.

Food: Visited the Dietitian last Wednesday, she is really happy at my weight loss. After discussing my food diary she reminded me that I need to eat protein foods at each meal, that included morning & afternoon tea, so instead of fruit for morning tea I now have an egg or yoghurt. She recommended frozen yoghurt as a bit of variety to normal yoghurt.

Here's hoping the weight drops down a little bit faster this week.

Oh Oh Chocolate Effect

I had my first experience with adverse effects of eating the wrong foods.

Late yesterday afternoon, I ate 2 squares of chocolate (first time since operation) and paid the price.

On my way to pickup my grand daughter from childcare I felt the need to visit the bathroom, hung on until I had picked her up. Only just made it home to the comfort of my own bathroom.

I do think that there was an accumulation effect, as I had had a glass of Apple juice earlier in the day and the added sugar of the chocolate had the adverse effect. I have also found that if I drink more than one cup of coffee a day I have the same effect.

Weight today: 86.3kg

Gym Junkie

Feeling really good this morning, weighed in at 87.3kgs.

Hit the gym for the first time today since the operation, it felt really good. I need to take it easy to start with, as I still have the pinched nerve in my spine and this makes my left leg not function properly.

Hopefully with Linedancing and going to the gym I will be able to tone up.

Love the good comments that my friends and family are giving me. Thank you all.

Attended 2 birthday lunches and 1 birthday breakfast over the weekend. Managed very well with what I could eat, I don't feel deprived at all. I have learnt to ask if I can have a small serve 'as I cannot eat much due to an operation', most places are very understanding, I always offer to pay full price but so far every where I have been to have reduced the price and the size of the meal.

What I managed to eat at the celebrations:
Breakfast - I had a ham & cheese omelet - I ate about a 1/3 of it and a Skim milk Latte
Lunch 1 (Sat) - 1 Lamb Shank with boiled potatoes in a garlic sauce
Lunch 2 (Sun) - Entree size Seared Sea Scollops (3) on a bed of mashed sweet potato with Balsamic Vinegar and lime sauce sprinkled around the perimiter of the plate, Baby Squash, Beans & zuccini and to finish off, a Skim milk Latte.

Happy Birthday SS, Mary & Helen

Feeling Great

Weighed in at 87.9kgs this morning. Not bad for 10 weeks since the operation. Total loss is now over 20kgs.

Feeling great. Had to do a bit of shopping on the weekend to replace the big girls clothes with more 'normal' size clothing. I am currently somewhere between a 14, 16 & 18, depending on the make, some tops are 18's as the bust size had not dropped as much as the waist.

Low, Low, Lower

Feeling really good about myself. New Record Low - 89.1kgs today.

More clothes have been sent to the Vinnies charity. I only have 1 pair of jeans ( size 16), 1 pair of black pants (for work) and 3 tops to wear. I have kept a couple of sets of bigger clothes to slop around in at home, but do not feel comfortable wearing them out in public.

My shoe size has also dropped down by a half size.

Went to Sydney on the weekend to visit my elderly parents, for the first time since my operation, and was really proud that they couldn't get over how good I looked.

As part of my operation the doctors fixed a 5cm hiatus hernia, this was causing severe reflux at night. Even medication was not holding the reflux at bay. Since the operation, I have not had any problems with reflux and no longer need the medication.

I have also been able to cut my blood pressure tables in half, and I am currently having blood tests to see if I can cut my Thyroid medication down. Just think of the money I am saving not only on food but on medications as well.

Cracked the 90kgs

Well today I weighed myself and I am now 89.5kgs. It is 9 weeks since my operation.

FOOD: 3 tablespoons of Rolled Oats for breadfast, small cup of Fruit puree for morning tea, 1/2 a Weight Watchers meal for lunch, 5 water crackers & French Onion Dip for afternoon tea, Small potato in its jacket with Spagg Bol mince for dinner.

Feels really good to be able to buy clothes from any shop and not having to go just to the big ladies shop.

My Friend the Scales

My scales have finally become my friend - today I weighed myself and I am now down to the lowest weight I have been in about 20 years, 90.9kgs, not bad for just under 8 weeks since the operation.

I have donated 10 bags of larger ladies clothes to St.Vinnies, with hopefully more to go soon.

FOOD - I am still only able to eat about a 1/2 a cup of food at a time but try and have 4 or 5 meals a day. The dietitan wants me to gently increase this to 3/4 of cup over the next 4 weeks.

I have only had to purge a few of times when food gets stuck. This is mostly caused by eating either too fast and/or not chewing the food sufficently. No "Dumping" yet, not game enough to eat sugary food yet.

Size 16

Very excited to announce that I bought a pair of size 16 jeans on Saturday. I have not fitted into 16's for about 30 years. Top half is still a size 18 not bad when I started out at a 22 to 24.

Weight today is 91.6kgs - loss of around 17kgs.

DINNING OUT: Chinese and Mexican Nacho's goes down very nicely, mind you at a very reduced amount and at a very slow rate (must chew all food really well before swollowing), most places will give me a dogy bag to take home the left overs. Both reheat well.

Week 7 - Downsizing

Well is it now 7 weeks since my Gastric Bypass and I am now down to 92kgs and into a size 18 top and pants.

Considering my previous dress size was a 22 to 24 dependent on the make, not bad.

I have not had any "dumping" as yet but have had to purge a little when food gets stuck. I think it mainly gets stuck when I eat too fast without chewing the regulation 20 times.

Returned to work last Monday after 6 weeks off. Did not make it through the whole work day as my energy levels are still not up to normal.

My food intake is gradually increasing to the 8 tablespoons my dietitian wants me to get up too, I think I am up to a 6 tablespoons per meal. I can mostly eat what I want but it needs to be really soft moist meats etc.

No regrets to date of having had this operation.

Post Op Update

This is the first chance I have had to update my blog since the operation.

I am now 93.1 kgs - a loss of nearly 16kgs, this includes the 4kgs I lost on the Optifast prior to surgery.

The journey to date has been great, I was only in hospital for 4 days, very little pain from the laproscopic entries.

FOOD: I couldn't wait to go from the broth/soup stage in the first couple of weeks, to some food that actually had a taste. I can now eat nearly normal food. I usually choose food that has a high water content ie stews, gravy's, stir fry etc.

Thanks Sarah advice and for the suggested Spagg Bol, it purees great and had flavour.

CLOTHES: I am now into a size 18 in both pants and tops. Not bad considering I was verging on a size 24.

Pre-Op Nerves

June 13 is the date for my Gastric Bypass operation. The nerves kicked in last week at the last visit to my specialist. Once I had paid my money the nerves settled a bit, as there is no going back now.

My weight is 106kgs.

Doing it tough on the Optifast, just want to have some steak or a pie.