The 3 main types of Operations and their differences

I had a Laparoscopic Gastric Sleeve done July 2013. At one stage this was the first step a super obese patient would take so their weight would go down far enough for the surgeon to do a bypass operation that would allow the patient to get back to the "normal" weight/height ratio. After a number of years they decided that it could be a standard weight loss surgery in its own right with no further operation needed.

The 3 main WLS surgeries are:

1. Roux-en-Y Gastric bypass
2. Lap-Band
3. Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy.

Comparison Chart

These operations all work. They vary in the amount of weight lost afterwards, possible complications,  how the food you eat is absorbed and how much supplementation of vitamins and minerals you may need. The majority of weight loss will occur rapidly after the operations as you can only tolerate limited amounts of food and drink. The weight loss by the end of two years usually slows down and you head into a more maintenance phase. In New Zealand the Gastric Sleeve is more frequently done. 

It is a combination of the surgeon's ideas on the weight loss surgery they think is best for your problems and what your life is like/how it will be affected. It can depend on the amount of weight needing to be lost and the health problems caused by your excess weight. We all know that diabetes, heart problems, breathing problems, fertility problems, mobility problems and even some cancers can be affected by excess weight. The chances of dying earlier rise. The majority of people who try diet and exercise to lose large amounts of weight find it very hard to keep the weight off. Often they find they end up gain more than they lost. Mentally they feel a failure and get depressed. Your own body seems to work against you. Having WLS surgery gives a greater weight loss and if you do regain later on it is never as much as you lost. You can see the effects of the changes in diet and exercise you may make much more rapidly too.

Gastric sleeve

So, Laparoscopic Gastric Sleeve:

Between 60-80 percent of the stomach is removed. It is stapled and cut laparoscopically then removed through a large port site. This is the one that gives you some discomfort for a short while after the operation as there is often an internal dissolving stitch. The large area of the stomach that is removed means that you feel full very quickly. The fact you still have the rest of the structure means that the absorption of food is more normal. Some supplements are still needed as you can't eat enough food to get all the vitamins and minerals your body needs. Drinking alcohol will show up very quickly in how you feel. No more bingeing as even 1 drink will feel like 4 to you.

It cause changes to the levels of hormones made within your gut, you feel full for longer and it aids in the controlling of blood sugar. There is nothing foreign in your body. You can lose up to 50% of your excess weight and keep at least 50 % of that off. My own surgeon said that the minimum weight loss for her patients was usually 35kg (77 lb) and after that it was up to you and your actions. This is a major incentive as that much weight off can get you back out there allowing you to walk, swim, cycle or whatever exercise you enjoy. With the operation being done by laparoscopy the incisions are small and you can soon return to your normal life. If you don't want people to know they don't have too.

Lap Band

Next, Lap Band:

This is done laparoscopically as well. An adjustable band is place around the top area of the stomach. It is connected to an access port placed lower in the abdomen that is used to insert or extract saline to create a small pouch for your food. This limits severely how much you can eat and what sort of food will go through more easily. There is often a delay between insertion of the Lap Band and port to allow healing and insertion of the saline to create the pouch. The amount of saline can go up or down depending on weight loss needed or too much nausea and vomiting of the food you are eating. It is done by the doctor as needed. This means until the band has the saline put in you won't have weight loss occurring from the operation.

Gastric bypass pre- and post-op

Last, Roux-en-Y Gastric bypass:

This operation creates a small pouch of your stomach (by stapling) and then directly connects it to your small intestine. This often means that your weight loss is more and quicker as a large part of the digestion is no longer in use. Some loss of nutrition occurs needing supplements. You are more likely to get dumping syndrome with carbohydrates and high sugar foods.This is often used for people with the larger amounts of weight to lose. This can be done laparoscopically but may need to be done with open surgery (open meaning cutting a large site on your abdomen rather than 4-7 small slits for the laparoscope gear).

In my next post I will talk about the average weight loss from these operations and probably possible complication vs benefits. On the Internet there is a lot of information available about these operations and even Youtube has videos and animations that show you what happens.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RQzqUQ2QtU shows a gatric sleeve being done. Don't worry you are fully asleep while they are doing this. If you are squeamish don't bother but if you want to know what they have done within your body this will show you. Have fun researching the other.

When you go to see your surgeon have a written list of questions you may want to ask him/her. Take another person with you as they will remember things you don't. Don't be afraid to ask as they are happy when you understand what is ahead. Get through this and your life will open up for you. It is up to you as to whether you tell people or not. Some are supportive some are not. It may surprise you who is and who isn't. It is your life though. Who doesn't want to live longer than they might have? I want to live as long as I can and feel good while doing so. That is the main aim of weight loss surgery. To live a long healthy life filled with the things you enjoy doing and with the people you love.

Tell me about your operation and how it went, please.

What would be your incentive to start and continue this weight loss journey?

Everyone has a different reason for wanting to lose weight. These are a number of them:

• To fit that fabulous wedding dress/tuxedo
• To fit in clothes that are fashionable and not on the Plus rack
• To fit smaller, nicer shoes (yes you do lose shoe sizes as you lose weight)
• Because you have had a joint replacement done (hip or knee)
• To lessen the risk of injury from a fall
• Because you are nowhere near the societal norm and you are tired of being harassed about it
• You look in the mirror and cringe (or avoid looking in mirrors altogether)
• You have a young child (or children) that can outrun you - risky at times
• You want to fall pregnant
• Your cholesterol and other lab results are scaring your doctor and you
• Your blood pressure is too high and is causing kidney and heart problems
• You are diabetic (type 2) or pre-diabetic
• No-one of the opposite sex is interested in you and you want to change that
• You take stock of where you are in life and want change,weight loss may be a starting place

There are so many reasons why you start this journey. Often there are so many reasons why you don't continue or if you ease up too much the weight may come back on. Even with weight loss surgery weight can be regained. That is where I got to. I gained back weight when I was not doing much exercise other than long steady walks. It probably would have helped if I had kept my food under better control and ate right. I didn't. I gained. Inches came back on my measurements. I got a good deal on a gym membership through a friend telling me about it. I went and signed up that day. The least I have done is 2 days in a week. the most days was 5 days in a week. This week I am aiming for 7 days out of 7. 3 down so far. This is some pictures of my journey.

137 kgs approximately I am standing at the back

60th birthday closer to 110kgs

Back up to 107 kgs from 99.2kgs but heading down from there now

In a size 18, previously up to size 26-28

I am not small yet and will never be tiny but I aim to fit size 14 clothes, at least, by the time I lose the weight I would like to. Wearing nicer clothes is part of it but it is not the major part. I feel happier and healthier as I go down in weight. I move more freely and there is a vast reduction in joint pain (sometimes there is none). I don't get verbally hassled by passing idiots in cars. Hey, I am out there walking, you are not. I have gone down a shoe size from a size 11 to 10 so back in the normal range. Don't always have to get a man shoe.When my grandchildren came to visit over Christmas I could walk with them freely and for as long as they wanted. No more having to know where all the seats were to sit and rest on.

What is your incentive?

Think about what your incentive to change would be. Make a vision board for your wall or computer screen that you look at daily as a reminder. Put down the smaller steps to reach that goal and put a time frame to help you reach it sooner. Research if you need to find out what steps you may need to follow. Ask people as well; friends, doctors, nutritionists, exercise specialists, anyone you think will help you reach your goal. It could be a surgeon. They will help you get the initial weight loss start but it is still up to you to keep going. Being lighter in weight will make it easier for you to do the on-going exercise needed for long term weight maintenance. Whatever works for you is what you use. Others will tell you what they did but one size does not fit you all. Explore and engage your mind, body and soul in making your life better. You are worth it and let no-one tell you otherwise. You are unique. The world needs unique people to shake it up. Let me know how you did.

Me, I lost 2 inches on my hips and thighs in 7 days. I hope by next week it will be even more. Good luck and good management to everyone.

Distraction - Why? To get your mind on something other than food - FUN.

Even with WLS there comes a time that food is on your mind more than you want it to be. By that time you need to have some behaviours in place that will keep you away from the fridge and pantry. If you don't then your weight may creep up again. That is not something you want happening after you have gone through major surgical changes to your body.

Fitness Distractions
Some of these distractions can be orientated to the weight loss experience. Friends are using Fitbit Challenges to encourage themselves and others on the same journey. They do steps challenges, cycling challenges, gym time challenges. They decide together what the challenge will be, try to reach it and encourage each other if things slow down. Fitbits can track activity, exercise, food, weight and sleep depending on the one you buy (or are given).

MyFitnessPal is useful to keep an eye on your food and exercise balance. You can blog there and also join the community forums. They have their own blog that gives a lot of information that is useful in a weightloss journey. Check it out to see if it is useful for you. Some like to keep a close eye on things as that helps them lose weight because it makes them feel more accountable. If something has to be written down, food wise, you may not want to write down a 200gm chocolate bar so you will think first and hopefully step away. Writing down your exercise is positive reinforcement that you are reaching goals. The charts help you see the changes you are making in your body and life. Other people encourage or commiserate with you. They may give you ideas for change because of something that has helped them. Recipes may give you changes in your diets that are beneficial.

These are just a few of the options available to help you in your weightloss journey. Go on the Internet and find one that works for you.

The gym is a good distraction that helps you become fit and tightens up your muscles making you look thinner at the same time. The pool when used as a place of exercise, then fun, will do the same thing. As you get down in weight use the swings or slide at the local park to remember when you were much younger and carefree. Who cares if your kids laugh at you. Nothing beats the sensation of flying free on a swing. Hang your head back and look from a different viewpoint. Remember the joy you felt as a child and recapture it. Kick the ball around, throw a frisbee, play chase; just move. Move with the kids or grandkids. A dog will do at a pinch as they never run out of energy. You might help in their weightloss journey too.

Hobbies

New ones mean that you have to concentrate on something that you have never done before and maybe always wanted to give it a try. They can be crafty ideas: knitting, crochet, cross stitch needlepoint, painting, jewelry making, photography. The list goes on. Your friends can teach you. You can attend courses. You can go on YouTube and find videos of how to do almost anything.

The more cerebral ones are writing your own blog, or memoir. Write your family history after you have done the genealogy research and gathered up some of the stories. Some will be almost unbelieveable. Start (then complete) that novel, or other book, you have always said was inside you. Put it down on paper or in a Word document today and for however long it takes you to finish. It may end up being good enough to publish and make you some money.

Something hands on could be gardening; especially if you end up growing some of your own food or the Best In Show Flowers or vegetables that garner a ribbon for you at the local show. You could renovate your house, build a new one, make structures for your garden, learn how to make a drystone wall, paint inside or outside your house. The ladder climbing will be manageable. You will be moving more freely.

 

You do what speaks to you. You do what enchants and involves you. You do things that you may never have been able to do. You do things that scared you. It is your life and you are changing you life with your weightloss journey. GO FOR IT.

What are you going to do that you love? Mine are:

Cerebral

• A book using my writing mindmaps; written then published
• Hold a workshop around the book
• Have it at the library where the librarians have been so encouraging for the last 2-3 years
• Be 75 kgs when this workshop occurs
• Aim for December 2016 to make me work harder

Hands on

• Knit my daughter a eternity scarf on 20mm needles within the next fortnight as it will grow fast
• Finish the cornish village needle point by June 30 as there is not much left to do
• Do a page of colouring in to relax my mind

Health and exercise

• Gym 4-5 times a week for 60-90 minutes and walk for the same length of time on the other days
• Eat more protein, less carbs - that is an ongoing battle but I will change my desires one day at a time
• Use MyFitnessPal to track food and exercise and size/weight changes, blog there as well.

Encouragement for your journey of weight loss

I have been writing about my journey of weight loss but it has been me, me, me. I also want to be a part of your weight loss journey by talking about the total day by day journey. We all have different reasons why we gained weight so we have to work individually to overcome them. Saying that, there are common threads running through our lives and maybe we can talk about that together. We have started our weight loss journey (maybe many times over) so today I want to talk about encouragement.

By starting this journey you are starting to show some self love. It is not hating that large body in the mirror that you really don't want to look at any more. It is looking at your body and thanking it for what it has given you so far and loving it enough to say I WANT TO BE HEALTHY.  I need to be a lower weight and I need to be fit. The things in life that matter; yourself and your family - close and extended - should have you for as long as possible. We need to be active so we can join them in sports, walks, trips and yes, even dining out. We need to be up and out of this chair. We need to eat healthily. We need to do some form of exercise every day. If we make that exercise something we enjoy we will want to do it regularly. Pick a number of forms of exercise to mix it up. If you mix it up your body is never quite sure what muscles are going to be used and it won't get into a set routine.

Forms of exercise:

• Swimming - non-weight bearing but against water resistance
• Aqua-jogging - as above
• Water walking in a number of different ways - as above
• Gym work - this can be cardio or weight training. Cardio improves heart/lungs, weight training strengthens bones and shapes the body
• Cycling - cardio and lower body strength
• Walking - cardio and lower body/ upper body if you swing your arms more vigorously
• Running/jogging - as above
• Dog walking - helps the dog get healthy too
• Cat walking - I'd like to see how far you'd get with that with most cats, though some don't mind going into a walking harness and going with you
• Dancing - so many different sorts that there is a form of dancing for most people. Dancing With the Stars contestants say that they lost up to 25 kgs during their time. I would like to try belly dancing as I loved doing it with a friend from a long while ago. Being bigger shows it off better too and it tightens your abdominal muscles as well as looking very sexy.
• Skiing of all sorts.
• Snowboarding
• Skating of all sorts
• Racquet sports - tennis, badminton, squash, ping pong - hand/eye co-ordination and the speed of running to the next ball
• You find something you like and do it daily for at least an hour. Break that time up if you need too. I like my 90 minutes at the gym but I also like to go for a walk that lasts from an hour upwards.

Set yourself a goal and a time frame to accomplish it in. Reward yourself for reaching that goal. I reward myself with glass items I love, not food. If you slip off the wagon, step right back on. Reset that goal. You have so many ways to help you reach your goals nowadays. The latest electronic way is using a Fitbit and linking in with your friends nearby electronically if you haven't been able to meet up physically. Set reminders on your phone, computer or in your diary. Have friends that are on the same journey so you see can talk about your progress or any problems you may be having that are slowing your progress. These friends may be the people you have known for a while or they may be digital friends. Both sorts help you on your journey.

My Goals at the moment:

•  Up my gym times to daily with the days that I have other things on being only for an hour, 90 minutes on the between days.
• Walking into/back and around town for shopping or visits to the library 3+/week
• Eating better and less
• Reaching 100 kgs in 6 weeks or less
• Measuring myself monthly to show that they are decreasing even if the weight is not going down as fast as I want
• Daily Facebook with WLS friends
• Blogging weekly to reach out to others on this journey 

I find if I exercise at the gym for 90 minutes that I get the positive endorphins showing up. It took a couple of times of it happening before I realised it was. The same with my walking into town etc. If I go by myself and walk at the speed I like for the same amount of time I get it then as well. I am trying to be more present in my walks and that has been interesting. I have been gifted with a number of lovely bird feathers. Metaphysically it is supposed to show you that your guardian angel is near you and protecting you. My daughter says it is molting season. I enjoy the differences and the beauty in each and every feather. I am going to make and frame a picture using them soon. I notice the weather, the trees, the birdsong, the nice cars going past, the light in so many different forms that I can also use in my writing

I endorse the picture above. I exercise now because I feel better after doing so. I am happier. Today as I got out of bed I rested my hands on my legs. I could feel the muscles underneath with only a small amount of fat overlaying them. It used to be the opposite way round. It was positive reinforcement to me that I am on the right path for me. We need to stop punishing ourselves for past behaviour and make the changes we want and need now. We only have the present. We can't change the past and we don't need to worry about the future as we never get there.Now I eat well, exercise well and live life well. I can do the things I need to make my life better. We can all do this every day. 

Honour yourself by starting the journey for you. Decide what your life needs to be like. Each day do something that will help you get that life. We will walk hand in hand to get there together - to our new life. The life we want and love.

I'm a gym bunny - words I never thought I would say

Scary title, huh? When we shifted midway through last year I lost the use of the small on-site gym room where we were. The stress of packing, shifting, unpacking and settling in lead to a weight gain because I was feeding my emotions. Walking wasn't cutting it weight loss wise. Recently a friend said he had joined the gym just down the road (5 minutes walk) for $29 and a weekly amount. I dashed down there the next morning and scored the same deal. I actually got a lower weekly rate as my brother had joined earlier than me. I got a family weekly rate of $10.95 instead of $12.95. Score.

They have an incentive to get you into the habit of using it by saying if you use the gym at least 3 times a week for 12 weeks you get a month fee free. I have been going at least 3 times a week and sometimes up to 5 times if nothing gets in the way. I am enjoying it. I find when I get back home to get Mum up and do the housework that I get through things quicker. My clothes are getting looser again, my muscles are tightening up and my back is slower straightening again. The times I take to do various distances on the bike or treadmill are getting less so I must be going faster. I can increase the weights by one kilo and still do the repetitions well. I am happier emotionally as I spend about 90 minutes there most mornings and that is long enough for the endorphins to kick in.

It is a Jetts' gym so you are able to use it 24/7 as you enter with a swipe card. During the day there is staff available. You get a 1/2 hour free consult on exercise at the start and they are available as personal trainers as well. Most people are there to do their gym work but a number will speak to you. There is a good mix of ages and capabilities so no-one sneers at you which is very good.

I can see there is a difference in these 2 photos;There is still a way to go in my abdomen etc, but the legs are slimming down and shaping up. Early on this gym journey I lost 1.2 kgs in the first week then went up 2 kgs over the next few weeks. The first week I did nibble too much but I pulled myself up and went back to listing food eaten. There was and is a slow decrease happening again. I am putting that initial gain down to muscles growing bigger and therefore heavier than fat. I'd rather have the muscles. I will continue to go to the gym at least 3 times or more each week and hopefully I will return to below 100 kgs in weight soon. I am working on eating less and better each day. I don't always finish what I put on my plate but now I get up and put it on the kitchen bench. If I leave it near me I will nibble at what is left when my stomach empties out a bit. I am putting less on my plate and aiming to see more of the pattern of the lovely plate my food is on.

In a closed Facebook for WLS NZ people we had a lovely discussion on how to reward yourself for reaching goals you have been working towards. I am firmly on the side of buying something permanent from an interest you have had within your life. My first 20 kgs were celebrated with buying 2 blown glass heart shaped paperweights that I chose because they were a lovely shade of blue with patterns internally that I like. I love coloured glass. A Murano chandelier would be my fantasy Christmas gift that I would be delighted to get. The glass candle holder was for the next 10 kgs. I am working towards the next glass item so will start looking now as an incentive to get there faster. Whatever you do to reward yourself do not let it be food or alcohol. They are the things that got us to the stage of being morbidly obese and needing an operation to help us lose our weight.  

Clothes can be a good incentive. On the Biggest Loser they get them to chose the item of clothing they have always wanted to be able to wear. They showcase it in a glass case and by then end of the program the person is parading down a runway wearing it. I know the joy I felt when I finally got out of the 26, 24, 22, 20 range and into the 16-18 size range. I wish my breasts would reduce even further so I can get back to at least the DD range as there aren't many pretty bras in the larger sizes still. It would also be easier on my shoulders and back. If I find when I get right down to a normal weight and I still retain the size I would seriously think about breast reduction.I like being larger in some ways but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. 

Give yourself permission to buy a few clothes items in your new size and dispose of the clothes you no longer fit. A charity shop will be happy to receive them as it is a size they don't have many of and they are needed. Don't keep Fat or Thin clothes in your cupboards. Keep only what you fit. Get a ftting for your bra size (if female) as your size will change. Shoe sizes will go down as you lose weight too which is something they don't tell you about. I was a size 9 in my 20's and slowly crept up to a size 11 as my weight increased. I have lost one shoe size so far and expect to return to that size 9 when I get my weight right down.

I am reading Deepak Chopra's book called "What are you hungry for - The Chopra solution to permanent weight loss, well being and Lightness of soul". I think this is a good book for me at the moment  as I feel what I need to work on more is the mental part of weight gain so that I can balance myself out and work through what is needed. I don't want to self medicate with food anymore. I am finding it very interesting and it is answering my questions, making me think, and encouraging me to balance out my life. He says this leads to balance in your weight  and from some changes I have made recently I can see what he is saying will work on my mind and eating habits. Balance and awareness are essential to change. It is worth reading. Mine is a library copy but I may buy a copy so I can go back to it regularly.

My Intentions for the rest of May:

1. Gym 4-5 times a week
2. Eat smaller, more protein, less carbs
3. Walk 2-3 times a week
4. Do a chapter in my MG book at least every 2 days to finish the first draft finally
5. Knit beanies and scarves for the City Mission so homeless people have something to keep them warm over winter (done 1 scarf, 1 beanie so far)
6. Mow the lawn fortnightly (done once)
7. Do this blog weekly

MY WEIGHT this week back to 105.9 kgs

From 106.8 to 105.6 kgs in one week

I started at Jetts Gym last week and it is showing up already. By Saturday I had gone down 0.9 kgs and today all up I have lost 1.2 kgs. That is something that I find, since the LGS, is that you get an almost instant response when you change the amount of exercise or the food that you eat. Before I could eat too much and it wouldn't show up for ages or if I exercised regularly my measurements might change but my weight wouldn't. It would be very discouraging. Now it shows almost in 24 hours.

I was getting discouraged because I had gained weight but by using a closed Facebook page for people who have had or about to have WLS I am talking (on the page) with others in the same position. It is helping. The other thing that made me a little happier was looking at a picture from May 2013 and a recent one. There is a massive change in how I looked then and now.

I am second from the right and in my mind now  I feel I was the size of a bear

I am not small in this photo but am definitely much smaller than in the photo above by a minimum of 30+ kilos.

I still have a way to go but now I am back on course with cardio and weight training at the gym I think it will go back to a steady decrease. Weight loss surgery isn't the easy option it is the helpful option. In giving you at least 30-35kgs weight loss at the start, because you become very limited in what your body can tolerate, it often gets you to a weight that you can exercise again without injuring

 your legs or back. As the weight goes off and you become more pain free you actually want to get out there again. I no longer get remarks (offensive) from strangers going past me in cars. Hey, at least I am out there exercising while they sit on their butts, in a car, to go a short distance.

As you lose weight you become more confident again. You may not accept treatment from others that was always unacceptable (but you put up with it because of your weight and confidence issues) and this can change how you react to them now. I am not in a relationship and haven't been for a long time. You become invisible to most men over a certain weight. My thought is that the person inside that weight is the same as the person without that extra weight. I remain intelligent, strong, creative and I enjoy a sense of humour in others/myself. There are those that will only acknowledge you when you are a normal weight. Saying that, others who only know you as the fat person seem to become threatened if you become the much smaller (and more usual) weight. Crazy, isn't it? Damned if you do and damned if you don't.

I am still working through the mental part of losing weight and I feel that will be ongoing. I like that I have got this far and I have got back the desire to continue this journey. I think that after 2 years you become a little more lax in what you do in your life. You can eat more than you could at the start and unless you figure out why you want to eat at any particular time you can slip back into the habits that put the weight on the first time. So, yes, I do enjoy tasty food. Solution: tiny tastes and only very occasionally will stop weight going back on especially if you are hitting that gym or footpath. Trigger foods such as bread and biscuits. Solution: don't have them in your house. If you have them for your children put them into tins and out of your eye line. You may be able to catch yourself in time if you have to search for them.

As my mother is diagnosed coeliac we changed our food habits to gluten free for the household and it improved our health. There is so much gluten (wheat, rye, barley and some oats) and sugar in processed foods nowadays. We bake and cook from scratch with gluten free products as needed. We also grow foods, for our table, in containers. It is not all our food but enough to have really tasty food on our plates each day. Try it and notice the difference. Fresh picked beans, tomatoes, silver beet, strawberries, and soon bok choy, beetroots and spinach we put in recently. It helps to keep your food spending down too. I have had people stare into my trolley and ask how can I have so much for so little. Most of what I buy is what they call outside aisle spending. This has minimal processing; meat, vegetables, fruit, milk, butter, GF flour etc. These are always cheaper and unless you eat ginormous amounts you can either lose or maintain a good weight. These next images were Googled to show what I mean by outside aisle spending.

 This week's Intentions:

• Use the gym daily for the rest of the week
• Journal what is happening mentally to me in this weightloss journey I am on
• Listen to my body, check if I am hungry or bored when I want to eat
• Give myself joyful times to show I love myself where I am today
• Celebrate good changes in my life, look at not so good parts and change them for the better.
• Get back to Camp Nanowrimo writing today and every day. I have 17 days left and 18500 words to go to reach 25,000 wds for the month of April
• Enjoy my writing groups and attend Saturday's one. 

What are the reasons you overeat or under exercise? What solutions can you put in place to create changes in your life? Remember one day at a time. Every day you wake up is another day to create the change you want to happen.

Back to the gym, weight loss ensues 0.6 Kgs down

A friend (and my brother) managed to get a gym membership, on a special, of $29 down and a weekly amount. I got mine for $10.95 a week because they went ahead of me so I won both ways. I have mainly done treadmill and horizontal cycling with a few arm exercises with weights. Tomorrow when I go in the morning I should get a free 30 minutes with a trainer. I will get them to run through the weight machines with me and give me number of reps, etc. I have put myself down for a nutritionist time next Monday as well (free this time). I have been twice so far as the other 2 days were busy ones with a long walking time involved as well.

I am already feeling more comfortable in my body. It may be a psychological effect but I don't care. A few muscles are letting me know that I am doing something different but it doesn't stop me moving freely so that is ok. I found last time I was doing this that after 90 minutes of exercise I would feel happier. When I got back home the housework was done quicker as well. Wednesday I swear I was up and moving at 8 am and it was after 3 pm before I sat down. Beds, dishes, a large load of ironing, the small amount of lawn mowing we have, some extra gardening (putting in seedlings we got last week). picking up everything from the floor (chairs etc) so my daughter did the vacuuming were all done after 90 minutes at the gym.

The nights are getting cooler here and early morning needs an extra layer if you are out exercising. They say if you sleep in a cooler environment you use a few more calories keeping warm. Me, I like to be warmer or achy muscles will wake me up. Since I have lost weight I don't wake up to turn over so my sleep is more restful and relaxing. I am also not being smothered by my boobs trying to cover my face. I find that I still snore less sleeping on my side. I do deam quite vividly and often remember that dream now. Do you ever think you are dreaming so vividly that you are not sure if you have rested much overnight?

Overhead lights are not great to photograph under but this is a baseline facial one that I hope will show a difference in my next post. This is one of my meals earlier in the week. I managed to leave some of the potato and corn on my plate. I did not have pudding that night. I have not got myself fully out of the habit of a 10 pm snack yet but maybe I can by having a small amount around 9pm. Tonight I did eat just a bit more than I should at teatime.What I find happens now is my body then insists on a short doze. I wake up regurgitating some food almost. Note to self: eat a smaller amount at meal time. The beauty of having a LGS is your body will let you know when you have had too much and you won't like the way it does that. Listen to your body and you won't have that problem. There is eye hunger when you want to eat all you see, then there is a small volume that you can fill and no more. 

It is more than a lap band so it takes longer to lose as much weight .I don't think that is a bad thing though. We get to our very large size because we love food and eat more than we use. Yes , I know there are people that have medical reasons and I have a few of those. I didn't eat take aways but I did eat like a labourer and not work like one. I enjoyed a few lollies and the occasional homemade biscuit or cake. My recent gain in weight was through not enough consistent exercise. I have a monetary reason to continue to use the gym because I have a limited income and I am spending $22.00 of it each fortnight to be able to use the gym whenever I want. It will be good over winter too as it is only a few minutes away from our place, walking. It is a place that you can use 24/7 as you have a card that only allows paid up members to enter at any time. If I keep losing like I have already this week I have another incentive. The third incentive is I will reshape my body and have less saggy skin and more muscles. Muscles give a higher metabolic rate than fat as well.

Creatively I am doing Camp Nanowrimo to help me complete a book I have had on the go for a while. I have added over 6000 words and will do more tomorrow. Knitting wise I was doing strips for a blanket. The wool I was using was thinner than the pattern says so I am making it into a scarf instead. The KIP group decided that for World Knitting Day we would knit scarves, beanies, gloves and other items for the Auckland City Mission that they can hand out to people in need this winter. Any made beforehand can go on the table at the start of the day as well.

This Week's Intentions:

• Lose 1 kg or more
• Go to the gym at least 5 times
• Write 10,000 words + on MG novel
• Alter eating habits after tea to lessen the amount
• Do more Autumn cleaning and assess winter wardrobe needs
• Tidy up the garden

What are you doing this week to improve your life?