When I started all this I tried to ask all the right questions. That said not all of the answers given were completly true.
Frustration Number One - Eight eight hundred callories a day. Not a problem most days it's hard to get that much down. However if I eat anything less than 1000 callories I don't loose weight. However I have noticed if I eat 1000 for 2 days and then drop down to 8 for 2 days I loose weight. My body is on a weird loop and it's driving me crasy.
Frustration Number Two - Eight 80 Grams of Protien a Day. 2 months ago not a problem today, huge problem. I can not stand most shakes the idea of them makes me want to wretch. EAS shakes are bareable once daily, but thats all I can stand not mention holy cow they are expensive.
So heres what I am doing;
Breakfasts at this time are first thing EQIS Strawberry Shake. One of my favorites. They are nice they come in a box, I keep them in the fridge they are best cold. like really cold. They are 17 grams of protien and only 2 grams of carbs and are 110 callories. Best part they count as twenty percent of your daily calcium requirement for one of them and they keep me running for a couple of hours. I then two hours latter have two boiled eggs, soft boiled, they go nice and easy. This is another 140 callories, and 8 grams of protien. Putting me in at 25 grams in the morning. Adding the eggs was essential for me.
I am carnavore by nature so I have started encorperating soft turkey meat, lunch meat style and pickles. Four small slices of turkey meat or equal to 3 ounces and one pickle cut into fourths and thats my lunch. Thats 135 callories....pickles have none. With a whooping 24 grams of protien. Often ill have about half ounce of cottage cheese, sneeking in some much needed calcium and another ten grams protien putting me at the end of my lunch cycle at 59 grams of protien.
Dinner, i've noticed chicken breast works great for me in the evenings. 4 ounce of chicken breast, not I throw tabasco, or red hot on mine. One helps me slow down my eatting process and two I like hot food. Gives me my final 359 callories for the day. Putting me in at 859 for the day.
Often ill use my last bit of callories in drinks like a flavored tea. A small serving of v8 or something.
Another frustration for me is I was told I could get my first fill although im doing amazing at this time was two weeks and could be filled at any fill location. Wrong! I got banded in Mexico which means there is one and only one company that will fill my 10cc band one! Which is fill centers USA, which the closest one to me is Albequerqe, NM four almost five hours from me. We I havent been there and so getting to finally go will be a bonus. However, thats a lot farther than the one that is here. The cost for my first fill is 359 dollars and each additional fill is 165 which does not enclude travel costs. As this location is so far away I do not want to get a fill and head home, all to have a problem that night. So we will have to grab a hotel, and spent the night meaning doggie and kid sitters again! Worst part no fill in two weeks! No fill in 4 weeks, they will only do a fill after your post op for 6 weeks! Okay, this is not what I was expecting. I am doing well, and continueing to lose weight, however if it were not going better than expected then I would PISSED! My first fill date is actually set for May 4 which is 37 days away which will actually put me and 7 weeks post op. I will survive and lets hope I continue to lose weight in the mean time.
Going to work on a different menu for this week but so far so good. All and all not bad. Not going to update my weight here for a few weeks. Working on a bit of shock value...you will be amazed!
Things I should have bopught for myself prior to surgery; scale, blender, dishes, food scale, hobby ...
Let me explaine the reasons why. First the scale the thousand resons why here. I have been using my wii fit which would drastically change through out the day and have me at the brink of tears. And yes I should only be weighing in the morning but lets be honest most people pre op that I have taked to weight often through the day to see the changes in their body weight I like to see the changes in myself good or bad.
Second is the blendar, omg protein shakes are gross if you dont have a blender. And right now Thomas can not live on chicken broth alone. Getting your protein is vital post op, so for those of you don't go into surgery without a kick ass blender!
Third dishes, nothing sucks more than popping four ounces of liquid into a giant glass. I don't care how full your stomach is thats not going to make your mind happy. And lets face it we fixed the stomach here but not the mind. Something I am discovering since I lost the interest in food. Is some how retraining the brain mine has been going on and on only at meals like, "Really, this is it?" Although I am not hungrey my brain at meals works on overdrive to some how sabatoge me. Of course then something kicks in that says I really don't need this and then I can barely eat anything.
Fourth food scale, everyone measures things differently, and you want to track your callories without losing your mind the food scale is the way to go here. Nothing is easier than poping your plate or bowl on a food scale, zeroing it out, slidding it ounces and adding 4 oz which is your meal is.
I never expected I'd be so bored... find something you can do on your ass period.
So as of totay my total weight loss 17 lbs in 7 days, and feeling great.
So here I am six days post op and I am down 15 pounds.
No complaining there, I now weigh 297 pounds and yes I feel great about it.
Sure it helps that Scotts mom game over this morning and was like, "Oh wow Tom your really looking great!"
Thanks mom, just what I needed to hear this morning.
I can't believe that in the last year I have lost 46 pounds. But most surprisingly I made my one month pre op goal in six days! This morning I noticed an even bigger change, the loss of communication with my gut. And more so with my body when it comes to signals like, "Hey Thomas...need some fuel down here!" Fact is I got up at six am, on my own by the way just popped up like wow it's really going to be a beautiful day today. I started and went about my day, even cooked waffels for the kids. Never once did I feel any temptation to eat it, no desire at all and let me tell you I LOVE WAFFELS! By 11am it dawned on me, when I was yelling at my boys that they needed to drink some water that I in fact had not. Not even one sip.... what the heck?
I like the way my friend Barbie put it, "Imagine for a moment living life where your hunger no longer controls every waking moment of your day?' Suddenly I see all the stuff I have been missing out on while stuffing my face. All the time I waisted for what? Now I am making my kids and husband nuts; i've gotten back into cycling again, doing it twice a day. I'm taking my kids to the park, going for walks with them, playing wii fit, board games, shooting hoops, and holy shit I thought I was cleaning fool before well look at me now.
Life is good really, although I am worried about the loss of communication with my body. This is what I signed up for and as of today 15lbs less in 6 days I only see my life getting better.
Oh and don't worry I have had 16 ounces of water now and will catch up with where I like to have myself at by this hour in maybe 30 minutes.
Can't believe it's only been five days and I am twelve pounds lighter!
The next pound I loose I will ve under 300 pounds, and I havent been under 300 lbs in at least ten years.
I am thinking that I need to reavaluate my weight loss goals for the first month. I had originally planned to lose fifteen for the month. As I have already lost 12 pounds in 5 days. At this rate I will reach my weightloss goal of the month in a week. Now I am not complaining one little but, it's just I am shocked on how much weight has come off so fast! I would like to hear more about peoples first months of weight loss to get a better idea of realistic weight loss goals.
Right now I am just cycling twice a day, and walking but am considering th 25k in 9 weeks program....any thoughts.
So I am alive and well, over all I feel pretty damn good for a guy who went to mexico to get lap band surgery. My incesions are happily healing well, the skin around them is brused, a funky yellow color. The sturry strip have fallen off now, I helped a little bit I admit it. But everything looks amazing thus far. Weighed in 2lbs less, starting weight prior to surgery 312, now 310. Not a lot to post today other than I am happy happy happy to be two lbs less.
Pre Op Day One
by Thomas Moore on Tuesday, March 15, 2011 at 5:34pmMy surgery day came yesterday, our transport arrived at the porta vista hotel at 8:15 am. We arrived to the border and waived straight in. A few Minutes later we were at hospital Angles. Immediatly registered, there was zero wait times. We sat down in the lobby them immediatly shown to a special waiting lobby, within maybe three minutes I was in the lab getting my blood drawn. Which only took about ten minutes...I am a hard stick. Back to the waiting area for maybe a minute then off to be xrayed to be certain I have followed my orders not to eat or drink after six pm. When I arrived back in the lobby my papers were signed, I had to remit immediate payment. Then we were ushered up to my room. The whole process maybe an hour tops. In the next hour a nurse who spoke no english came in the room stripped me of all street clothing, dressed me in a gown and some socks that came to my pelvis, thrombosis hose is what they are called. My EKG was done next. Then a doctor came in went over my labs, I had fallowed all of their guide lines and although my blood sugars were high he felt no concern in having my operation. We had to wait for a long while then to meet my surgeon, then for a few hours for surgery. I am not sure when I actually went to surgery as I took a good hour and a half nap.
When it was time for my sugery I got on the gourney and waived goodbye to my Scott. I was rolled down a long hallway, a left turn then onto some elivators, down another halway where I had to switch gourneys again, down another hallway to the pre op nurses station to swap gourneys again, into the operating room when I was moved to the operationg table, where I was strapped down a net was put on my head and the doctor came and told me he was giving me a seditive prior to the anathesia....
I woke up several hours later... they were taking the tubes out of my throat...I hate that part of surgery.....
When I woke up again I was in my room, Scott was there, and the sun was setting. My troat hurt so bad at that point. I brought gum minty gum which soothed my throat. I jumped out of bed, rangled me some boxers, life was good again. As I was not allowed to drink anything that night all. I rested off and on, checked my face book and talked with Scotty. Later that evening they gave me a pill that goes under the tounge and desolved and ten I was asleep again until this morning.
At six thirty this morning they game in and took me be down to get an x ray where I had to drink some nasty stuff, but I got to finally see this thing that had already drastically changed my life. I got wheeled back to my room a very very happy man. Several hours later I was allowed my first meal, herbal tea, apple juice and orange jello. Luquis are fairly easy still very gassy but getting better as time goes on. Met with dietican, and psycologist, had another simular lunch and at 3Pm was taken back over the border to our beautiful hotel room at the Porta Vista Hotel.
Getting ready to walk to the water...uploaded some incision pics check them out.
Making the choice to do the lap band is something I have agonized over for years. After finally making this choice I can say it's an educated one. I have fought with obesity since I could walk. And I am so ready for this it is not even funny.
On December 31, 2010 I paid the 500.00 deposite for lab band surgery. This was commiting to the surgery, the other 4,500 will be paid on the surgery day. This after noon, Sue the travel leason called me to discuss my travel plans. My husband Scott, our 1 year old son by then Miles and My self will be flying to San Diego, California from El Paso, Texas on March 13, 2011. We have not choosen a hotel to stay at that night so that is still to be arranged. Something Scott and I will choose here very shortly. But yay for getting to make the travel plans, and of course actually scheduled for surgery.
