Fat Woman With A Band

No weight change in two weeks.

Very, very, very frustrating.

I’m this close to losing 100 pounds and the darned scale won’t co-operate.

What to do? What to do?

The old me would have sat down for a few bad noshes. The new me? I’ve kept exercising, and kept watching what I eat.

Something has got to give. Got to.

Jackie suggested more fruit and fibre. She’s right. I’m going grocery shopping now.

And I know before you say it … not the kind of fruit or fibre as in Finnish Christmas Star pastries. But they do look yummy, don’t they?

Grrr.

Did I tell you my project plan? No? Really?

I’m not surprised. I didn’t really have one articulated in my head. Other than losing weight I haven’t told many people how much I want to lose. And though I’m not quite ready to tell everyone how much I weigh right now, I can share this.

I want to lose 134 lbs. That’ll get me to a “normal” BMI for my height. To get to this goal I have three more milestones.

1. The next milestone to reach is to have lost 100 lbs. I’m 4.6 lbs away.
2. The milestone after that is to reach a BMI that says I’m overweight, not obese. I’m less than 2 points away from that.
3. The final milestone is really the goal – a loss of 134 lbs from my weight in November 2008.

I’m projecting reaching my goal sometime in March 2010. Thinking about my weight loss as a project plan, i.e., using the milestone terminology, helps me keep my eye on the prize.

Those words used to make me very uncomfortable. Not because I was scared of flying, but because I couldn’t do up my seat belt without a great deal of discomfort. A couple of times I flew without doing up the seat belt, and a couple of times I had to ask for an extender.

This time not only could I do the seat belt up easily, there was room to spare. I also had lots of room in the seat. Moreover, the tray table came down easily and there was plenty of room between me and it.

It was a glorious experience. One of the best non scale victories I’ve experienced so far. I’m looking forward to more.

I may not be the energizer bunny. I do, however, have a lot more energy. I notice that I can walk longer before I feel tired, and even longer before I feel tired enough to rest. Also, my recovery time is decreased, and I can keep going a bit longer. As with the weight loss, I have a long way to go improving my physical stamina, and I’m pleased that I can feel the progress.

I’ve also signed up with a personal trainer to work two days a week beginning July 6. I feel that as my weight loss slows down strictly through eating less, I’ll have to increase my activity level to ensure my weight loss continues.

In the last week on two occasions I didn’t get to eating lunch. I got busy doing stuff, and didn’t work a meal break into my plan. I didn’t feel hungry, which was unusual, but my energy didn’t seem to wane either. It’s not a good thing to miss eating, I know, and that’s definitely not something I want to do frequently. I’m glad I could deal with it appropriately, as I didn’t overindulge at dinner time, just ate the right amount.

June seems to be a month full of eating challenges. Lots of birthdays, lots of special occasion gatherings, and happily a bit of travel. I feel equipped to get through it, and I’m not going to be hard on myself. I want to enjoy the social experiences, and not worry about the effect on my weight loss goals. I’ll happily indulge by tasting even those foods usually not on diet menus, e.g., birthday cake.

I’m coming up to my six month anniversary with the band, I feel in a good spot, and I’m feeling my goal is achievable.

Friends can make you crazy. Friends can make you sad.

And friends can make you proud. And they can make you happy. And that make you laugh. And laugh. And laugh.

This week my friends have been amazingly supportive. They’ve fussed over me. Told me how good I look. Even suggested I could stop losing weight.

This is me smiling. Thanks friends.

I read about this woman today, and thought it was time to provide an update on my real gastric band.

Now that I’ve lost 70 pounds, I can feel the port a bit more when I put my hands just below my rib cage. It feels a bit more at the surface of my skin. I don’t think it’s moved, but rather the layer of blubber covering it has diminished slightly.

I also experience a feeling like a cramp or a side stitch from time to time. Sometimes I feel this when I’m sitting in the car, or less often after eating. The feeling passes after a while, and it’s not painful.

I think the band is living up to its good press. It helps me regulate how much I eat, plain and simple. I can feel when I’ve had enough food, and it always less than I would have chosen to eat in the past. In conjunction with this I think I’m making wiser choices when eating. I do more planning on what I’m going to eat throughout the day, and try to make sure I get enough protein at each meal.

I don’t beat myself up when I do have something that’s not a “diet” food, e.g., beer or dessert (though for some people beer=dessert), but I do limit the amount and I feel I’m taking part in the festivities.

After slightly more than five months with the band, I’m pleased with the results and my progress.

For the last three weigh-ins I’ve been gaining and losing the same pound. This means I’ve officially plateaued – or perhaps stuck in a rut is more apt. I am miffed, and suprisingly for me, not overly miffed.

I went to NYC last week and though I didn’t go overboard, I did have foods I haven’t in a while, and I did enjoy some beers. I balanced that with a lot of walking. Now at home, I’m back to the usual routines and foods, and I hope I can lose some by the next weigh-in. If I don’t I’ll have to  … actually, I don’t have a plan … yet.

At Slimband the nutrionist said that when we go into a plateau she’ll help us out. This help begins by documenting our meals. I so dislike doing that. There are some websites that help you do the documentation, which may make it easier. I find meal documentation a burden. I’ll pick that burden up if at the next weigh-in I haven’t lost at least two pounds. (Here’s one website that could help with record keeping: www.fitday.com.)

In NYC one of my travelling companions met a young woman who had laprascopic surgery about two years ago. She lost 130 pounds in about 18 months. She is in her early 20′s. I hope that could be true for me – but weight loss in your early 50′s is not the same as in your early 20′s. Good for her though. Really good.

Going to do some rowing now, and then a walk to try and get out of this rut.

Today is a day to think about what you eat. Stop dieting and start eating.

Not over-eating, eating. Eating food that makes sense, in quantities and qualities that are good for you. Here’s a good article from www.divine.ca, an online women’s magazine.

And here’s an article describing why a day was set aside to think about not dieting – it’s from about.com.

So, I’m not dieting today – I’m eating the right amount and the right stuff for me.

I lost weight again, thank goodness.

I know I shouldn’t obsess, and I know that I shouldn’t expect to lose weight each week. But that is my expectation. No amount of self-talk helps me … I just have to live with it. Live with the idea that I’ll continue to lose weight each week, and then live with it when I don’t.

On the happy side, I’ve had a couple of days of uber walking. Of course my little muscles are screaming, but never mind. I also know that at some point in the not too distant future I’ll have to kick up my exercise a notch or two. I’m just not quite ready to do that. And by “that” I mean going to the gym and using the torture equipment. Sounds lovely, doesn’t?

I had my teeth whitened this week. One’s teeth are graded on a scale of A1 – D4, with D4 being the dingiest. My teeth were D3-D4. Now they’re D2-ish – you can’t jump from the “D” line to the “A” line apparently.The procedure itself wasn’t onerous – it only took about two hours start to finish. I’m happy with the result.

Hey I just realized! I haven’t said how much I’ve lost. I’m down 65 pounds. And people have noticed. Two people whom I haven’t seen in a little while saw me this past week. Neither realized it was me to begin with, and both were very complimentary. Thanks S & B, it means a lot to me.

A happy week! Yeah me!

It’s disconcerting that having a life, that is a social life, is incompatible with making wise food choices. At least for me it seems to be true.

A social life means meeting friends at food and drink venues. I do try and combine a walk with meeting, but it’s not always possible because of time constraints or because there’s more than one person involved.

I try to make sure that I get a walk in somehow. I walk to the meeting spot, or I go early, park my car and then go for a walk and end up back at the restaurant or bar at the meeting time. It weighs less on my mind during lunch or dinner if I know that I’ve got my exercise quota convered and I can enjoy sitting and schmoozing.

The food choices are harder for me to regulate. Even though I know I physically can’t consume the same quantity as I could have before my banding, the habit to overindulge is hard to break. I know all the tips ‘n tricks: order an appetizer instead of an entree, order the light or lunch portion instead of the dinner portion, order steamed or grilled, order salads with dressing on the side, etc.

But last week I lost less than a pound. It’s the least amount I’ve lost since banding, and what changed for me was the number of times I ate out. This week I’ve eaten out a lot again, and I think I’ll show the same small amount. In the coming month I’ve got a trip planned, and lots more social engagements. I’m concerned about not meeting my goal of losing 100 pounds by December 11.

On the other hand, I can’t be a hermit because then I’ll be a crab.