Doctor, psychologist, dietitian

So I had my first post op appointment with my surgeon, Dr Craig Taylor, at the OClinic yesterday which was very brief. Basically he got me to flash my belly and show him the healing scars and was satisfied I was going ok with 6kg weight loss so far. I, on the other hand, am not overly pleased with only 6kg loss as I thought I would have lost heaps more considering my food consumption has gone down majorly in quantity and up in quality.

When I think about it though, 6 kegs isn't that bad. If I was only on WW or Jenny I probably would have lost half that and I'd have a 99% chance of putting those 6kg back on in the not too distant future. At least I know those 6 kilos of flab are gone for good.

After I saw the surgeon I had an appointment with the Clinic's psychologist and then their dietitian. The psych was really lovely but she asked me the "how did you come to choosing a lap band" question. I had to tell my whole story all over again. I can't tell you how many times I've had to go through my mental health history over the last three years. I'm getting better at it every time though and the more I tell it the more it seems like someone else's story and therefore it is slowly losing its power over me. But when I tell the story (see my previous post for some detail) to other people they gasp and grimace and sigh as they hear the dramatic (and sometimes tragic) twists and turns (and lows) my life has taken. Its was a hard process but at the end she understood my whys and my hopes and fears and was very supportive. I also told her all about my blog and about the blogging community and how amazing this support network is, as well as about all the support and encouragement I have from family and friends and she was convinced I would be ok to get through it.

After the psych the dietitian took me through a typical day on solids with the band. Whoa, 1000 calories does not make for much food! Especially as Dr Taylor also said that as the swelling goes down, by the time I am due for my first fill which is booked in for 18 October, I will be eating as I was before the surgery and shouldn't expect much weightloss now until after the fill. I'm dreading feeling hungry all the time again. It was so liberating in those first two weeks post op not to feel that constant gnawing of hunger pangs but I really am starting to notice my rumbling tummy more now. Today I ate quite a large lunch too - probably 1.5 cups worth. I made a 2 egg omlette with a tblsp of canned tuna, a roma tomato, 1/4 cup avo, half a cheese slice. Its was absolutely delicious and I did eat it slowly but it was probably more than I should have had. I only ate a small bowl of soup for dinner though. Needless to say, I'm pretty damned hungry now though.

I am disappointed that there is such a delay between the surgery and the first fill as I really want to continue to lose weight and not plateau now as the doctor suggested I might. I'm committed to staying on track to get to 80kg by the time we go away down the south coast for Christmas and New Year. Christmas is only 12 weeks away so I need to be averaging at least a 1kg a week to make my goal. I've done that before on conventional diets but maybe now I'm older it won't be so easy. I need to get back to the gym as soon as the first six weeks are up and get that metabolism moving. 

Gees, I've just looked at the time and its nearly half past 11 so I must fly. Can't believe its Friday again tomorrow. Hope you all have a fab day/evening wherever you are.

V.