First Fill

I had my first fill two hours ago. It took the doc 4 tries with the needle to find the port but it didn’t hurt. The most pain came from him poking around trying to find the port with his fingers. There were already 3 cc in it from surgery and he added another cc so I hope it will give me some help to lose a few pounds in the next couple of weeks. I drank some water, burped and off I went.

An hour ago I drank a cup of tomato soup with no problem. I just finished eating some small crackers with a bit of chicken salad. I’m also listening to everyone to chew, chew, chew and have patience and take my time. So far so good but I can feel a bit of pressure already. Happy to be moving forward.

I just had to add this link. A glass of wine may keep women from gaining weight, study says . I knew it! I am so happy and may pop open a bottle!

Ho Hum Back at Work

First day back at work. I think I want to do something crazy like run down the hall naked or maybe make funny faces at my boss. Just thinking of ways to have them send me on stress leave! Only had 150 e-mails to delete and file when I got back after 4 weeks away. Not even any juicy gossip to excite the day except for the cute pictures and jokes sent my way. These cats made me laugh because there is always one in the crowd (I'm the one sneaking into the picture at the bottom left. The other one is like all the people I work with, although he does look a bit stoned). Can't wait for the end of the day. I have a dentist appointment at 1:00 to fix an abscessed tooth and then have to be back at work for a meeting. Can this day get any more exciting. OMG, it's time for lunch!

Back to the grind lunch. I have pulled beef in BBQ sauce, a whole wheat bun and coleslaw. We'll see how things go down. It went down totally smooth last night for dinner along with a couple of glasses of wine and some cupcakes. Dinner out on Saturday at a Thai restaurant also went down smooth except I didn't eat as much as normal, so a small victory. I am hungry and I am eating. Tomorrow should be more exciting: My first fill. Will I start to lose some weight or will I continue to be able to eat practically everything. Not looking for miracles here but I so want to move my ticker down.

Sunshine Awards

 

A whole bouquet of flowers to you! Thanks to Jess, Gilly and Band Goupie for my Sunshine Award. I am passing along this award to very deserving and fantabulous bloggers—Oldies, Newbies and Wannabies! It is very hard to reduce the number from the 74 blogs I follow, so I hope no one is offended that you didn’t get included in my list. And I know I went over the number but I never follow rules. So take your award and post it! The Sunshine Award is awarded to bloggers whose positivity and creativity inspire others in the blogging world. Once you receive one, then you:

1. Post the logo on your blog.

2. Pass the award on to 12 fellow bloggers.

3. Link the nominees
4. Let nominees know they have won this award by commenting on their blog.
5. Share the love and link to the person you received this award from.

These are the blogs that are getting me through this journey (also see links above):

Oldies that have been working the band for months:
Cara: http://carasquest.blogspot.com/
Girl Bandit: http://myspats.blogspot.com/
Gen: http://ihearttheband.blogspot.com/
Amanda: http://roadfromfattohealthy.blogspot.com/
Jen: http://jenslapbandjourney.blogspot.com/
Jenny: http://jennyr1222.blogspot.com/
Fitness Bandit: http://banditfitness.blogspot.com/

Newbies to band land (in the last few months):
Yana: http://girlmeetsband.blogspot.com/
Athena’s Melting: http://athenasmelting.blogspot.com/
Banderific Beauty: http://banderificbeauty.blogspot.com/
Justine: http://adventuresinbandland.blogspot.com/
Carmen: http://mywittyblogtitle.blogspot.com/
Amanda: http://amandakiska.blogspot.com/
Andrew: http://harveylah.blogspot.com/
Epiphany: http://gastriclapbandjourney.blogspot.com/
Bianca J: http://myselfimposedexile.blogspot.com/
Workinprogress: http://shesaworkinprogress-workinprogress.blogspot.com/

Wannabie Bandsters:
Unknown Bander: http://unknownbandster2020.blogspot.com/
Ashli: http://ashli82.blogspot.com/
Jacquie: http://jax0120.blogspot.com/
Camille: http://livinglargeincc.blogspot.com/

I hope you all have a fantastic Sunday. I'm lazing around enjoying the last day of my medical leave before going back to work tomorrow (YUCK!).

Buds, Birds and Confessions

Spring is in the air in this northern city of snow and I finally got off my butt and went for a walk outside. Here in Ottawa it is sunny and the sidewalks are clear. It is still nippy but above freezing (going to a high of 10C/51F today) and I must say it is so nice to get outside again. This is my third day walking and it is amazing to watch nature wakeup from it’s hibernation. The other day, I saw geese flying north and today, the buds are on the trees. A bit early but with our mild temperatures, I guess they decided to wake up. I am so looking forward to green again. I remember driving down to Florida at Christmas one year and marvelling at the green trees at a rest stop in Georgia. I think we forget that feeling of new life.

I am back to work on Monday but not looking forward to it. I know some of you only took a few days for the lapband surgery, but I milked 4 weeks medical leave out of it. No one at work knows why I was taking leave although most thought it was stress leave! I told a few I was having a hiatus hernia repair (true) but will never tell anyone at work about the band—most of the people I work with are male techie morons. I’m glad I took the extra time as I only started feeling energetic this last week. I guess with age it takes longer to bounce back. I have been sleeping for 8-10 hours every night—a wonder since I used to sleep poorly from gastric reflux, all but gone. Now it's back to waking up at 6:00 am. At least I have another week before we “spring forward” to Daylight Savings Time and lose the extra hour we got last November. And soon it will be my birthday (15th) and then the Spring Equinox (20th). Can you feel the excitement of someone who suffers from S.A.D. and needs the sun! Last year on this exact day we were leaving Sydney, Australia after our 3 week trip downunder. I wonder—do you guys in N.Z. and Oz think of coming to North America as taking a trip downunder too?

Now to eating and confessions of a bad Friday. I think it is cool that Jen suggested we do a Weekday Dish and record what we ate for one day in our blogs. One of the blogs (that will remain nameless) mentioned eating a small York Peppermint Patty. I guess this became imbedded in my brain as I strolled through Walmart because I thought “why not buy a bag and eat one or two when I really want some chocolate”. WARNING: do not buy a bag of anything chocolate or sweet even if they are wrapped separately. I can’t tell you how many were in the bag (maybe 20?) but each was 50 calories. There are three (3) left. I was all alone yesterday so ok, it is out in the open—I ate almost the entire bag. By the way, peppermint patties melt and flow right through the band. The sugar high brought on cravings so I had to eat dinner early, then later ham & cheese on a hamburger bun with no restriction whatsoever. Now after 3 ½ weeks post surgery I can eat almost anything. I now know the definition of Bandster Hell. Buddy (my band) is taking it easy right now. I envision him lounging around waiting to work his magic, probably on March break right now with a glass of bubbly in his hand. I’m not sure why my band is a he—maybe it’s because I will have to motivate him, like DH, to get him to start working. Thank god, I have my first fill on Tuesday. Maybe then I will see some results.

Thanks to Jess, Gilly and Band Goupie  for my Sunshine Award. I will work on Passing it Forward to my other blogger friends in an awards ceremony tomorrow. The Sunshine Award is a good name—I now have a bouquet of flowers blooming until my own pop up in a few weeks.

PS-the last three peppermint patties are now gone—Me bad!

Scary Moment

First of all my 24 year old son is ok. This morning I received a call asking if I was Andrew’s mom to which I replied yes. He then said my son was ok, but… he has carbon monoxide poisoning!

OMG, that sinking feeling and that scary moment when you hear that something has happened to your child. My son works for Air Canada ground crew and he was doing a security sweep of a plane which had sat overnight. They run gas powered heaters all night to keep the water lines from freezing. The exhaust wasn’t properly positioned so the airplane filled with carbon monoxide but since it has no odour you don’t know it is there. He had been in the plane for about 20 minutes when he started to feel dizzy and had a headache. When he saw that the CO detector was in the danger range, he finally opened the doors to vent and got out. They had him lie down and the firemen from the airport started him on oxygen. That was when I got the call. When that happens, it doesn’t matter if they are babies or toddlers or adults, the OMG moment hits with the same terrifying impact.

The paramedics arrived and again hooked him up to oxygen and took him to the hospital which is where I headed when I got the call. He was finally cleared to leave after 4 hours and a second blood test showed his CO levels were at zero. Something had happened to the first blood sample as the lab asked if the patient was still alive. Repeat blood test. He was sitting up, looking perfectly fine. And making jokes about all the nifty stuff in the ambulance. He figured he must be ok because they didn't use the siren or flashing lights on the way to the hospital.

So all is well again. I have eaten only a few bites of food and really don’t feel hungry. Worry can do that! He is home for the night so I can watch him. He is 24. He is an adult. But he will always be my baby. And I will always worry. If you have kids go give them a hug right now.

Oil Painting & Donuts

On Tuesday nights I take an oil painting class where I am painting a cute picture of my daughter when she was 6 years old (she’s 26 now). I’ve been working on this since last September but only paint during class—the rocks in the background have taken weeks and still aren’t finished and I need to add her shoes and some leaves. My teacher is really good but still helps us out a lot and I will give almost full credit to her for making the hair look real. I still have a few weeks to finish this off (I only paint during class—can’t find the time at home) and will have to sign up for the third series of classes in April/May. I am hoping my next project to be a door—either a garden gate or door to my house. And Debi from Hawaii Bound Bandster, I love your paintings and maybe one day I’ll be as good as you are (and faster—LOL).

Now to the donut reference in the title. As I drove home around 9:30 from class, I pass a donut shop. In the past I have been know to buy 6 donuts, eat two on the way home, another two when I got home, then hide the last two for later and dispose of the box. Just so my family would not see that I actually came home with 6 (or twelve) sometimes.

Now that I can eat regular food again, I wondered. And thought. And finally stopped and bought an apple fritter. It sat patiently beside me on the short ride home. I put all my stuff away, pulled out a plate, knife and fork. Cut the donut into small pieces and then ate the WHOLE THING. I didn’t feel any restriction at all. All I could think about is how good it would have been to have a glass of milk with it (skim of course). Guess it is time for a fill. I must say I didn’t feel like eating another one though.

I know. I know. Donuts are not on the list of good stuff to eat but they are still there in real life. I just wondered what would happen and now I know. I can eat just one and not my normal 4 (with the sugar rush). In a way this is an NSV for me. Control is what I’m looking for. Another small NSV is my jeans are falling off my bum. I had to buy a belt to hold them up. I am soooo close to losing 20 pounds (0.6 pound to go), I can almost taste it. Guess I should have passed up the donut last night. But my daughter is looking so cute!

Big Girl Food

Tomorrow, I start on real food. No more “soft/mushies”. I’m over the pureed baby food and mushy toddler phase and pass into big girl food. You know the stuff that actually looks like a chicken breast or carrot or chunk of cheese, without having to finely chop, purée or shred. I have some restriction and still feel a pressure in my left shoulder when I have eaten enough.

My short trip was wonderful. I picked up some healthy snack food for the big Gold Medal Hockey Game party at my brothers house. Things like salsa, hummus, paté and some soft crackers, so food wise, I didn’t overdo it like normal except for a few glasses of red wine. OK, I have to add what a thrill for Canada to win Gold. Woo Hoo!

My best friend and I talked a lot about food and losing weight. We are working on eating real food instead of the processed crap—you know the Lean Cuisine, Weight Watchers and similar lines of products, all those quick packages, bars, drinks and fast food. Camille mentioned the Fiber One bars her nutritionist recommended. You will need to read her post to get her take on this advice. I too have to add that nutritionists should not be recommending these highly processed foods. Yes they are good occasionally when you can’t get any other food, but give me a break, why are we replacing real food with these things. I was getting too dependent on protein bars and snacks over the last couple of years. I didn’t really need them but figured everyone was recommending them so they must be good. I think the food companies are brainwashing us again. Dr. Oz mentioned on one of his shows that the longer the shelf life of a processed food, the poorer it is for you healthwise. Why have I been so stupid? I know better than to be influenced by those commercials showing me the easy way to get healthy.

When my kids were younger, I always cooked simple dinners for them. When my daughter left home and my son was away working most of the time, I got hooked on the convenience of pulling a frozen entré out for work or dinner or picking up the chicken meal at the grocery store (complete with potato wedges and that greasy coleslaw) or making a stop at the fast food drive-thru. I think I knew in the back of my mind that they were oversized, over salted and making me sick. So now that I am going to be able to eat big girl food, I wanted to make food the same as when my kids were little.

On my way home I bought a bunch of stuff to make some prepared lunches for work in Band friendly portions. I also bought some 1 cup containers—Take-Alongs by Rubbermaid. One cup seems so small. The picture shows them beside the 1 cup (250 ml) measure. No wonder I didn’t lose any weight in the past. Most of my containers were 2-3 times that size. Portion estimating is something I will be working on. I’ll be pulling out my scale and measuring cups to double check my food portions for the next little while. I have an appointment for my first fill on March 9th so hope it will help me get over this plateau and I will start losing some weight. I think my mind was convinced that I would wake up from surgery and magically 50 pounds would be gone. Only dreaming. Patience isn’t one of my strong suits.