Fat Woman With A Band

The question being: do I recommend the laparoscopic banding procedure aka the adjustable gastric band to help lose weight?

If I had my life to live over, I would have asked for another set of genes. The set of genes that would let me know when I’m full when I’ve ingested enough calories to keep me at an average weight. My mother, my uncle, and my sister managed to capture these genes. It’s not to say that each of them had been at exactly the same weight for their entire adult lives, because I know they each fluctuated. However, as my sister can do now, when she feels that she weighs a bit more than she’d like, she somehow has the inner resources to cut back a bit on her eating, and perhaps ramp up exercise a bit, and the excess weight sloughs off. Somehow her genes allow her to make these food/exercise decisions before she becomes overweight or obese.

I simply cannot do that. I eat quite a lot before I’m full, and I’m sure that there were times when I stopped eating because there was no more food, not because I couldn’t eat more. The curious thing is that I can do the “stopping” with alcohol easily. Not, not, not with food.

Back to the question. The banding has worked for me. I stop eating because I’m full with much smaller amounts than I would have consumed previous to the procedure. And, importantly, I can abide the side affects.

The first side affect is bad breath. I think this happens because I also have extra “spit” – I really don’t know how to explain this. I try to keep my teeth extra clean, and do a lot of gargling with non-alcoholic mouthwash.

The second side affect is the occasional productive burping. This usually happens if I’ve eaten too quickly, or not chewed my food enough. The food kinda gets caught, and I have to throw it up. I don’t do this too often now, as I’ve learned to slow down, and chew more thoroughly.

The lapband doesn’t help you make good food choices, or tell you to exercise. It helps only with volume of food you consume. You still need to DO the right stuff to lose weight, or to keep your weight under control.

So, I’m weaseling out of answering the question. The band worked for me – I don’t know if it’ll work for you.

It’s been one year since I was banded.

I’m pleased with my weight loss and my health improvements.

I’m pleased with being able to by clothes in “regular” stores.

I’m pleased with my increased level of activity.

I’m confident I can continue and meet my goal.

Yeah me!

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.

Do it when you’re ready and not a moment before.

What’s “it”? Pretty much anything, really. My “it” is all about weight loss. Here’s how the timing worked for me, and the process I took to lapband surgery.

1. I was feeling very unhealthy, again, and I knew I had to do something about it, again. But, I was having a very hard time getting motivated. I had been looking at weight loss surgery alternatives, but just couldn’t convince myself to do more than read about it.
2. A friend has a friend who had lapband surgery, and was very successful losing weight. My interest goes up a notch.
3. I do some research on the procedure and can find lots of positive information about it, and not much negative. Interest is definitely climbing.
4. I make an appointment at Slimband (then called TLBC), and even though it’s a marketing blurb, my interest continues at a high level. I give myself a deadline to make a decision in the vein of “shit or get off the pot.”
5. It’s the end of the year – a time to think about how the year went, and how next year could be better. What could be better than getting healthy?
6. I sign-up for surgery.

So, the tipping point (aren’t I fashionable?) was researching weight loss surgeries and then finding a person who has undergone the procedure with good results.

So I’ve changed my eating habits substantially since surgery 13 weeks ago. More fibre, more fruit, more veggies, and less bread, pasta, and fried foods. I roast or steam my vegetables, have roasted chicken or turkey, and much more vegetarian or soy products. Lots of water, and no soft drinks. Tea more often than coffee, but usually only one cup of either each day. I think I’m doing pretty darn good. But …

I’m bored of my own cooking. If a make a batch of stuff, I eat it almost everyday until it’s all gone. I never think to freeze the portions – I’m going to have to work on that. So, it’s very good timing for me than I’m off to NYC next week. Not only is it one of my favourite cities, but it has lots of food choices.

I’m not going to “fall off the wagon”, just make the best choices I can without making myself crazy or worry about whether I’m eating too much, or not the right things.

The change will do me good. Then when I get back I’ll be able to get back into my kitchen and start cooking again.

Take one down and pass it around, 99 bottles of beer on the wall.

This drinking song is my ear worm this morning. Because … because … I’ve only got 99 more pounds to lose. Yeah! Or as my niece would say, yeah?

I don’t weigh myself every day or even every week, as one thing that would make me crazy on past diets was the scale. I’d have a really great week, where I’d exercised prodigiously, and ate wisely as prescribed, and I’d gain weight. And another week I’d have meals out and my exercise schedule would have been trashed, and I’d show a weight loss. See – crazy making.

As this week’s session on exercise at the clinic, there was a very long group discussion on weighing oneself, and on scales. Most people weighed themselves at least once a week, and I think one person said they weighed themselves daily. There was also a discussion about when do you weigh yourself, is it better to weigh yourself in the morning, or at some other point during the day.

The facilitator suggested weighing yourself in the morning just after your first trip to the bathroom. She also suggested that as our body weight fluctuates quite a bit each day, that weighing ourselves each day and getting a weekly average is also optimum. I’ll continue with stepping on the scale in the morning, but I’ll also stick to my schedule which is about every two weeks. That’ll do just fine.

My current loss rate is about 2.8lbs per week. That is more than recommended as a slower rate is best, at about 1/2 to 2 lbs per week. But, for heavier people, and Helen’s a heavy girl, bigger weight loss happens at the start of the diet, before settling down. At this weight loss rate I’d be at goal in 7 months, but realistically I’ll be at goal in about 14 months.

99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer – take one down and pass it around, 98 bottles of beer on the wall.

It feels like a lifetime of diets. I can remember my first diet using doctor prescribed amphetamines when I was in Grade 8. I lost weight. My mother was happy.

The next big time was in Grade 13; I received doctor prescribed injections containing a substance too horrible to repeat. Actually a very famous current diet doctor was responsible for popularizing this treatment. I don’t think he does this anymore, he now prescribes a near starvation diet.

Next was a diet without medical aids, just with watching my food intake. That was in the second last year of university. That worked well, too.

And then from then on lots of tries, and lots of failures. Each time I was ‘effin’ good at losing the weight, and even better at regaining the lost pounds and finding even a few more pounds for extra measure.

There are a few things different this time. The most obvious is the lapband. I have a surgically implanted aid to help me control the volume of food. Weight loss surgery consists of at least one part surgery – at the clinic this part is described as 50% of the tools needed to lose weight.

The second difference is me – my physical self. I’m 51 and in menopause. I can feel that my body is reacting differently to weight loss than it has done in past attempts. The weight loss feels slower to me. And the physical activity needed to boost this weight loss is more difficult to do.

The third difference is me – my mental self. I think some of this difference is again related to menopause. Mood swings, hot flashes, sleeplessness, all of the usual symptoms rage around in my brain pan. Happily these symptoms are not as bad as they were even six months ago.

The final difference is the support I’m receiving from my tribe. In the past, I’ve received support from family and friends, and they were great, and helpful, and cheered me on. This time the same holds true, in spades, but I’ve also reached out more. You’re reading this blog, for example. I’m more vocal about what I need, and what I’ve done.

I’m different, and I’m planning on a different result. Lose the weight AND keep it off.

First, I had my surgery two days ago. And, I’m pleased to report it went very well. Today I have a bit of cramping from the gas that is still rolling around in my innards, but I feel good.

Second, to help me reach my goal I need to do these things:

1. Decide on a goal
2. Decide on the activities need to reach my goal
3. Work on the activities

My goal is to lose 100lbs by December 13, 2009.

To reach my goal, I will eat less and move more. The lapband will help me with the eat loss goal, as it will help me monitor my intake.

As for moving more, I’m going back to the “Y” in January, beginning with aqua-fit. As the weather warms and I become more fit, I’ll start incorporating more walking into my routine.

And, overarching these items is working on my brain. Getting my brain rewired so that the eat less/move more (ELMM) is just as natural to me as breathing.

I think the rewiring part will be as difficult as ELMM. And perhaps more exciting.