30th June 2013 Changes occurring

This week I am 128 Kgs (281.6 lb). I did not lose as much weight this week but I did not do as many walks either. It is a good indicator that the amount of exercise you do helps the amount of weight you lose. It was never as obvious before. The VLCD of Optifast shows it easier as the amount of calories is 800 all up and exercise will burn off weight.

I am noticing differences though. I am not so sore after a long walk. Even 6 weeks ago by the time we had done the circuit of Botany Downs mall I would be in agony. I would have to take Panadol to be able to move for the rest of the day. If I didn't I would have back spasms that would halt me in the middle of standing up, my hips and left knee would be painful and my back would be twisted slightly. The last two walks have been much less painful, if at all. I have been able to move around normally after getting home. Bonus.

I can notice that some of my clothes are getting baggy or longer as my body shrinks. Some clothes will very soon be in the Donate bag as they will be too loose. Yay. Op shops are always happy to get big size clothing as it is something they don't get much of. A lot of the poorer people who use op shops for their clothing are large as the diet is usually High Carb because that is the cheapest food to buy. I could kill(not really) the person who decided the food choice chart that has carbs being the biggest part of your diet.

A conspiracy theorist would say it was designed that way so that people would grow fatter and then you could use the media to reinforce that slim was good. The people would spend all their time worrying about weight, diets and exercise not about what their government was doing. The industrialists would snap up the farms, sow genetically modified foods (so they could patent seeds and make lots of money) that has little nutritional value and may actively harm us, and push processed foods full of wheat and sugar. Sorry about that segue into CT, My daughter would tease me about that.

 

This shows the difference in how my pants fit. My waist today was 113 cms, down from 118 cms. the legs are baggy and another 5-10 kgs will see them on the reject pile as they will slip off my hips onto the floor.

 

I will make a mark on the floor that I will photograph from so that it is easier to see any differences. This photo was taken closer to the mirror so it does not show the slightly smaller figure the same. My aim is to be able to toss this top into the Donate bag as being too big also.

 Aims for next week:

• Walk or use our gym daily
• Get the house very clean before op (more exercise)
• keep up the Optifast diet
• Try out my new blender that I used FlyBuy points to get (was $99 got it for free) to see if it will puree foods that I need for the initial post op diet

I hope next Sunday I will report a higher weight loss again. This week was also about the first week's weight loss possibly being enhanced by water weight loss going well. From now on it will be more about fat weight loss and that is harder to accomplish but I will do so. TWO WEEKS to go. This time in two weeks I shall probably be a bit panicky as the enormity of what I am about to do hits me. I probably need to get a photo out of what I used to look like as a 21 yr old and put it beside one of me now. My aim being to get much closer to the 21 yr old weight, 63- 68 kgs.

I think I should initially be aiming for each 10 kg loss though. I am under 140 and 130 kgs which I did before I started this list of aims.

First aim : 120kgs
Second aim: 110 kgs
Third aim: 100kgs
Fourth Aim: 90 kgs (Yay, back into double digits.)
Fifth aim: 80 kgs
Sixth aim: 70 kgs
Seventh aim: stabilize at 63-65 kgs. Any lower than this would be too much.

I will let you know as I reach each goal with great gusto.

 



 



26th June 2013 Visit to the Nutritionist

Today I had an appointment with the nutritionist, Nicola Page, to go over my blood results and also the diet I will be eating after the laparoscopic gastric sleeve operation. She also wanted to know how I was coping on the Optifast diet. With my starting weight I am having the Optifast for just over 4 weeks. I think others have a lesser time as she seemed a little surprised about the length of time. I am coping most of the time because the amount of fluid 2+ltrs is very filling in your stomach. You know the location of every toilet in your area when out shopping especially when the days are cool.

 Our days are quite cold at the moment as it is just past the winter solstice. The saying is: as the days go longer the cold gets stronger. Our snowfields in the South Island have had some of the highest bases of snow this early in the season for decades.

The first thing Nicola checked was that I knew what I could and couldn't have on the Optifast diet.



Pre-op Optifast Diet

 

 

I am enjoying the delightful taste of my vegetables. I eat them as my mother has her tea so she feels as though she is not eating in front of me as I drink down a sachet of liquid diet. I have also started to put the liquid into a glass mug instead of drinking it straight out of the shaker. I feel it makes it more of an occasion to my mind (half the battle).

 

The most important part she dealt with though was the post-op phases and what you can have at each stage.  She did make the Important Point of saying each person is different and the time taken in each stage varies depending on how the person tolerates the food.

 

The Stages:

• 1st Stage - fluids only, sips of water or chips of ice on day of op, 30 mls of water every 15 minutes to a total of 1000ml
• 2nd Stage - Pureed food. This can start on the second evening if you tolerate the water and normally lasts 2-3 weeks.
• 3rd Stage - Soft food that can be cut with the side of a fork
• 4th Stage - Progression to normal food when you tolerate a variety of soft foods.

1st and 2nd Stage 

 

3rd Stage 

    4th stage                                                                  100 Calorie snacks

 

 

The booklet also gives some possible recipes that are useful. It is good to have as you can have a good read beforehand and refer to it later. Many years down the line it can still be useful.

 

 

They also did some pre-op bloods to check on vitamin levels, cholesterol levels etc. Nicola went through each result and had some suggestions about areas to keep an eye on and possible supplements needed to keep them at good levels. As a LGS leaves you with a stomach (though greatly reduced size) your body will still absorb vitamins and minerals. The need for supplements is because of the reduced food quantity. I also have another consultation with her at the 3 month post- op time to see how I am managing. It will be good to catch up with her then. The booklet contains her email address so I can contact her if I have any food concerns I need help with. These consultations are included in the total cost of the Operation. ($NZ18,900).

 

 

I will repost these pages as I reach each stage as well.

 



 

I hate changes

Early this morning I got a call from our Telecom company for a change that is happening to our account. A positive one as it gives me 30Gb of data monthly instead of 2Gb. You think that would be a good thing but trying to get to my Facebook page (done it) and my Pinterest page (not yet accomplished, try again tomorrow) has been very frustrating.

I think the changes they have done have upset some settings so it is a matter of going through all my different social media and resetting. Not a job I particularly like doing often as it can be frustrating especially remembering current passwords. I have other things to do like walking outside in the sunshine. I had visitors earlier in the day so that ended up not happening. I should get up early and try the gym before I get my mother going for the day. Had her chair dancing to the music yesterday with music she liked (she has mobility problems).

Most of us have shrunk somewhat since this wedding last June 30th. My mother is sitting down with the bride , I have my hand resting on her shoulder, my brothers at each end and the groom standing beside my mother.

Already my face is thinning and I have lost 24 cms on my waistline. Clothes are loosening. I had to put thick socks on today so I would not walk out of my slip-on slippers. I had stepped out of them coming up the front steps after putting out recycling in our outdoors bin. I had to retreat a step and insert my foot again.

Not only will I have to buy new clothes later it looks like I'll have to get new shoes.

Sunday 23rd June 2013 How I am feeling

I did not go for a 2nd walk on Friday but yesterday I went for a much longer walk to keep the momentum of weight loss going. I took a long walk to Kmart to buy wool for blankets I am knitting for my brother and also his flatmate. They have both been very helpful since we returned to New Zealand and I like to knit (or crochet) blankets for friends and family over winter. It helps keep my hands are occupied (so I can't hold food) and I have to concentrate on completing a task (so am not thinking I'm bored, must eat food). Cross stitch is even better. Needlepointing a large canvas of tigers as I am also doing is very absorbing too.

To get back to the walk. I was away for 1 1/2 hrs and spent most of that time walking. I was on the last set of lights when a shower of rain started. Luckily I was inside Kmart when the full force of the rain began. By the time I had brought wool, scrapbooking items for a project I want to do for my youngest daughter and her children, looked at books (my love) and got my mother her favourite chocolate sweets the rain had ceased.

I walked out into a sparkling,freshly washed world. The wind was not as cold and gusty as it was no longer pre-frontal. The air felt clean even though I was walking beside busy roads. The large plastic bag, with my purchases in, kept twisting up around my hand till I thought to rest a couple of fingers at the very top of the bag. The other bag only held my purse and 2 letters I had to post. The essential one was the pre-op one to the hospital (Ormiston Hospital) where I am having the surgery. They need to receive it 10 days pre-op so that is done.

Things still to be done:

• see nutritionist (26 June)
• get Blood Group blood test done on the Friday or Saturday before the op (11/12 July)
• keep strictly to the Optifast diet to lose as much as possible beforehand for ease of Operation

I have told my GP what is happening. He said another point of taking Optifast is that it gets you used to the amount of calories that you will be eating for the rest of your life. It is a form of starvation diet. Pre-op it also helps you lose weight quickly. This lessens the amount of abdominal fat and apparently takes fat out of you liver making it smaller. With your stomach being partially behind your liver it is easier to get to if the liver is smaller. He said he has a large number of patients that have had the operation with positive health responses. Only two have had problems. One had a small amount of gastric fluid leakage and the other's spleen had been nicked slightly during the operation. Both were soon fixed.

My Optifast diet consists of 3 Optifast sachets a day(shaken up with 200mls of water), 2 Cups of vegetables and 2 ltrs of low carb drink (I have filtered water usually). I am not sure why but the vegetables are tasting much better than usual. Sometimes I have a salad, sometimes I have cooked vegetables. The 1tsp of fat/daily comes in handy here especially as I usually do a quick stir-fry in a non-stick pan. 

As with any operation there is always risks. You can only try and eliminate as many possible problems as you can and hope for the best. In NZ if there is a problem we have ACC to help. We don't have suing options here and I feel it is better all round for doctors and their patients. There is still a good process for stopping doctors if they are consistently creating problems for their patients but the constant threat of malpractice suits is not there.

Saturday, third day of Optifast

I am on my third day of the Optifast diet. I don't feel physically hungry but my brain wants to nibble on something. I really enjoy the two cups of vegetables and teaspoon of oil that you are allowed. I did have to have a green kiwifruit though to stay regular. My initial waist measurement when I started on the Duromine was 138 cms. It came down to 128cm then 125cms and today it is 123cms. It is still a long way from the 82cms I should be. It is a good start as it is trending downwards.

I have been walking more though as part of this weight loss journey is to become more active and fitter. On Friday I took my friend, Nanar, over to Botany Downs shopping mall which is just across the road. As her CP makes it difficult for her to walk long distances I used my mother's wheelchair for her. We got birthday presents she wanted for a friend, dropped books at the library, scored her meal for that night (butter chicken and rice) . We eventually wandered to the New World supermarket for the weekly grocery shop as my mother still has to eat even if I am on a liquid diet. Nanar did become my 3rd BFF though as she got a cheese and garlic naan bread for her lunch. I was teasing her that she was my 3rd BFF even though I did not have a 2nd BFF. Made her laugh.

 She wasn't laughing quite so hard when shopping was hanging off the wheelchair and squashing her lap on the way back to my place. Luckily that wasn't too far away. When her friend came to give her a lift home it was a lady who had the operation 5 years ago. She told me that you still have to remain vigilant in what you eat as she had gained some weight by eating to the stage of pain in her stomach. When she fully realized what she was doing she dropped back in her consumption of food and has lost another 25 kgs. She is finally seeing her thighs slimming down. It is good to talk to some-one who is further along in their journey.

Today I was off to the library to attend a writing course I do every 3rd weekend. It was very informative. It was good to talk with and catch up on what was happening in the lives of others in the group. I hope after the operation that I will take some quiet time for myself and complete the YA novel I am writing at the moment. After that ended I paid some bills, caught up with my brother and his friend at a café (drank some more of my 2 litres of water daily), brought some lollies my mother wanted and headed home.

This means I have had a good walk each day over and above doing housework. I must keep that going and try to get myself to the gym here on a more frequent basis to tighten up my muscles. As I have been so busy I have not taken the photos I wanted to. I would like to see what others see when looking at me because if you look in the mirror you mind can twist the image to make you feel bigger or smaller.

 It is funny though as some people think you are taller and skinner than what you are when you are bigger. A person who I once worked with thought I was the same height and weight as him : six foot tall and 12 stone but I was 5ft 6in and  14 1/2 stone. It made me chuckle and say I wish I was.

Tuesday 18th June waist slimming down

My waist measurement has gone from 138cms to 124 cms. I am still far off the 82 cms that women are supposed to be but I am on the way down.

Lost 5.3kgs in one week

I brought a new digital scale yesterday and when I weighed myself this morning I was down to 130.5kgs (287 lbs) from 136.8 kgs (300.6 lbs) last week. That was done using the Optifast Intensive Phase diet. You have to have 3 sachets of the Optifast, 2 cups of low carb vegetables and 2 Litre of low carb drinks.

I have a water sipper bottle that I refill as emptied. It flushes things through well but also keeps your mouth and breath better. The Optifast diet is formed in such a way that it is low carb but fills all vitamin and protein needs. This sends your body into a state of ketosis as you are semi fasting. The total calorie intake is <800 calories.

The only days I have not had a walk in the last week were Sunday and Wednesday. I did an extra long walk on Thursday and may yet go for a second walk today as I have to post off some pre-op paper work.

I have an appointment at 12 midday on the 26th June to talk to the nutritionist. She will discuss my nutritional needs post-op and how I have to eat as well. You start on puree foods, then start soft foods and then back to ordinary foods. The amount you are able to eat is very small though so I will need some guidance about what foods, what size and how they should be cooked.

My family are noticing that I am trimming down a bit and giving me positive feedback. My brother, Geoff, is actually paying for the operation. It will take me 20 years to pay him back but as he says I should be alive for those 20 years because of the operation. I am already feeling better because in May I weighed 141.3kgs so losing 10+ kgs is making it easier for me to exercise. I also have a longer time before I have to remove my bra due to back pain. Size G is no fun to carry around in front.

These are 2 photos I took today and each week I shall put new ones up dressed in the same clothes to make it easier to judge how well it is going.

First week of the Journey

13th June 2013

For the last month I have been taking Duromine, an appetite suppressant, as prior to that I was always feeling hungry. It has enabled me to overcome that. I was 141.2kgs  (310.64 lb) at the start of the month and today I am 136.8kgs(300.96 lb). It is a start.

My brothers has friends who have had Laparoscopic Gastric Sleeve surgery done with excellent health results. I don't have major problems like heart trouble or diabetes but my blood levels are slowly worsening. My joints (knees, hips and back) are letting me know, with pain, that they are unhappy. My asthma is not as well-controlled. At night, as I try to sleep, it feels like my breasts were trying to smother me. I have to sleep on my side so I will not wake myself up with my snores. To turn over I have to wake up so my nights are not as restful as they could be. If I have a fall, and I do so more easily because my breast size 24G means my top half overbalances my bottom half, I break a bone due to my weight going through a small point.

My brother, Geoff, offered to cover the cost of having the operation done privately after I had been turned down by the public health system. They have an age limit around 50 years old and if you have heart or diabetes problems they are more likely to do it. He contacted Dr S Ulmer who had done his friend's operation and I saw her on the 4th June. She agreed to do the operation. The cost is $NZ18,900. I received an operation date of the 15th July at a local private hospital.

Yesterday I received the pre-op pack. Today I went for blood tests: taken to do the usual blood checks and also to see what my vitamin levels are today. These levels are an important part of making sure I am as well as possible and stay that way after the operation. I went to the Chemist to pick up the Optifast Diet sachets that will be my food for the next 4 weeks. I am also allowed 2 Cups of low carb vegetables, 1 teaspoon of oil and 2 Litres of fluid per day. Using Optifast VLCD allows the liver to shrink a bit and take some of the intra-abdominal fat away making it easier to work laparoscopically. I am lucky as they are on sale today for $69.99 per pack of 21 sachets; a saving of $10/box. I have had my lunch one -vanilla- and continue to drink my water. I have an old 1 litre Pump bottle that I am sipping from regularly as it is right in front of the eyes.

I need to complete the rest of the pre-op paperwork and send it back. After my blood results have come back I will have a consultation with a nutritionist. This will help me understand what I have to do post-op with the initial diet -puree then soft then back to ordinary foods- and also how I will have to eat for the rest of my life plus what vitamin supplements I shall have to take. Apparently there is a post-op visit to cover any emotional problems I might have too.

I have a Pinterest a/c  that has pictures and a link to a Youtube video of how it is done on it.pinterest.com/lighthausgirl/ will get you there.

These photos were taken on1st January 2013 when once again I resolved to lose weight and keep it off. I have been saying this for more years than I want to admit to and have gone from 82 kgs to 145 kgs then back to today's 136.8 kgs. On my next post I will wear a set of clothes that I will photograph myself in weekly to show the difference this is all making.

Kia ora Mate.