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.

Noo's day out

What a great day we've had! Noo and I hung out all day, starting at playgroup in Annandale to catch up with girlfriends and their kids. Noo loves that playgroup - there are so many cars and toys and a sandpit and lots and lots of kids. I love that playgroup because everything is really safe and geared toward the under 5s which means I can be fairly relaxed rather than being on high alert in helicopter parent mode as I am at most parks, etc.

After a good two hours of play we left to go hangout at our local shopping centre so Noo could get a haircut. I got him a number 2 all over and it looks great! He's usually really hard to keep still while getting a cut but this time I think he quite enjoyed the vibration of the clippers going over his scalp. The poor bub has bad eczema which I keep under control with a mild cortisone cream and lots of moisturiser after every bath. His skin flares up though if he overheats. It doesn't matter if its winter or summer he still has it. In winter grandparents and kindy teachers can't help themselves but overdress him, like other kids get all rugged up. Noo is so hot blooded though he doesn't need the same amount of layers and so the eczema rears its ugly red and itchy head. Summer, well you got to keep him as cool as possible, hence the trip to the hairdressers today. The poor Mr Man had a breakout on his forehead yesterday because the weather has really started to warm up and his fringe was quite thick so the hair had to go. 

Both he and I love it but his grandparents aren't so sure. They'll get used to it!

Buzz cut for Noo Noo

On the band front, I have really noticed a change in restriction these last couple of days. I seem to be able to eat more and more solid foods and more of it. Today I started well with half a banana and a couple of tablespoons of low fat yogurt. I had lunch at the shopping centre while Noo slept and my choices for mushie/soft type food was limited. I ended up getting a ham and cheese crepe as I thought that would be soft and able to go down. I managed about a fifth of it over about an hour. It was delicious but I was really conscious of the calories. I also had it with a Lipton Ice Tea which is chock full of sugar. Naughty as, but I hate paying for water!

After lunch we headed home and by about an hour or so later Noo was gagging to get out again. I'd brought home the leftover crepe so I gave him most of that for an early dinner, which he loved. We then went for a big walk into town, Noo sporting his cool new do and me holding on to him with the teddy bear toddler reins. Anyone who thinks toddler reins should be left for dogs and not children, mustn't live in a highly populated area with busy streets. My boy is a bolter. He's very active and loves to walk about but I'd never let him walk into the CBD of Sydney without being attached to me somehow. The alternative would be to strap him in the stroller but then he wouldn't get the exercise.

As a result of the walk he was a dream baby to get to sleep tonight. Half an hour of cuddles and then off like a light. Brilliant! Which leaves me here, writing and feeling a bit stuffed. Just had some mash, tiny bits of peas/corn/carrots and my Moroccan mince I made on the weekend, but without putting it through the blender. I was quite hungry before I started the meal but now, after about 3/4 cup of food, I'm chockers and I have that tight feeling across my chest. Don't know if I ate too much or if the food was too chunky.

I'm quite tired tonight, so I think I'll have an early night. They'll be more Noo Noo adventures in the morning!

V.

Mountain mushies

I haven't been online for a couple of days, so my blog reading and blog posting is behind. Noo and I came up to my parents place in the Blue Mountains. Its beautiful up here at the moment as Spring has definitely started with daffodils blooming everywhere. Though it is freezing at night still, during the day the weather is lovely and warm sitting out in the sun overlooking the Wollemi Valley.

It has been a very interesting couple of days bandwise. Thursday night we had a dinner with the family for my Dad's birthday. I love our family dinners in our apartment. My brother and sister in law and my sister came over for a big feast of cheese souffle, prawns and oysters with salad with a cheese platter and chocolates for dessert. I, on the other hand, had half a small avocado with salt and pepper and a couple of mouthfuls of the souffle for dinner. This is interesting on two points; 1. I'm on mushies (yay!) and 2. I sat through watching my family eat all that delicious food and was quite cool with it. When the choccies came out it was really, really hard not to just pop one in my gob and suck it but I used all the restraint I had to say no.

I am so stoked to be on mushie food. I know I was suppose to wait til 14 days had passed but by Thursday I wasn't feeling satisfied any more with just liquids. I really felt that they were passing through much easier than they had and that I needed something thicker to fill my new mini stomach - the pouch.

Friday night, our first night up the Mountains, mum made this delicious looking pork roast with lots of roast vegies and apples and crackling. Roast pork is definitely my favourite baked dinner. I got by with sharing a small avocado with a vinaigrette with Noo. He had about 2/3 and I finished the rest. (Crikey! My son has never been a good eater, but now he eats more than me!) I was ok to settle with that until dad brought Noo some chopped up roast potato and pumpkin. He wasn't interested in it so I mashed it up and had a couple of mouthfuls. I knew I shouldn't because the band was definitely telling me I was done. But those roast vegies looked so bloody good! 

So I had the two mouthfuls and at first I felt fine. Minutes passed, all was good until all of a sudden I started to feel way too full. Stuffed. Uncomfortably stuffed. It was my first experience of getting food stuck and I am only just under two weeks post op. I felt terrible! I walked around the house moaning and groaning and my parents couldn't believe I was so chockers after having such a tiny amount to eat. I couldn't stand it so I went to bed with Noo really early and thankfully when I woke up I felt back to normal.

I have been eating much more carefully since. Saturday night I cooked up some lean beef mince with Moroccan spices, onion, garlic, tomatoes, raisins and pine nuts. It looked delicious but too chunky so I put it in the blender and pureed it like baby food. It didn't look so good any more, but tasted divine! Especially for someone who hadn't eaten any meat in nearly two weeks. 

Today my parents, Noo and I went to the local workmen's club in Lithgow for dad's birthday. Mum and dad had steaks and I ordered a plate of vegies and mash. Noo shared off everyone's plates. They served just a scoop of mash which I added tomato sauce to, mashing in some of the roast pumpkin and corn and peas that were also served. I only managed a small bit but it was good. Good that it didn't fit through a straw kind of good. My parents loved their steaks and Noo had a great day all round. He's such a chatterbox! Can't say many words yet, but gees he likes to talk. Its cute really. Here's some action shots of Noo in full conversational mode...

Chatterbox Noo

Tomorrow is my two week weigh in. I'm nervous and excited at the same time. Nervous because I've really set myself up to think I'm going to get massive drops in these early weeks post op and I'll be devastated if I don't, but pretty excited because I do think I've dropped another couple of kegs.

I'm off to catch up on blogs.

Good night all. 

V.