Excited

Packing our suitcases ready to head North into warm sunshine.
I must be reincarnated from a Northern Hemisphere being, I am hating the cold, wet & dreary weather here in Melbourne, and want the Sunshine, the beaches, and my bathers!

Port Douglas is such a beautiful spot, lot's of beaches, and there's not much concrete, and no Casinos or loud cars! Tropical trees ....& me!
It's permanent population is around 3000, it's small. But people fly in from all over the world to stay, it's just so pretty and laid back. I believe loads of celebs stay there, but it's so remote and laid back, no one hassles them

Looking forward to just relaxing, walking on the beach, swimming galore, and diving ( well, I can't dive with my guys, so I'll snorkel around the Great Barrier Reef ).

I lost a stack of weight last time I was there, I don't know why but this place soothes my soul......

This pic of my daughter Paige and I was taken there last year, I drop kilos when I there, so happy :)

Ruth

Hospital emergency

My posts stopped as I was admitted to hospital last Wednesday, after losing my balance, and ultimately being unable to walk, and enormous waves of nausea. Chris was on the way home from work when he called as he often does. He said I sounded unwell, and I was. I told him I nearly fell over outside, and had to hang onto shelving in our garage to stop from keeling over.
He raced home and took me straight to the emergency room of a private hospital nearby. He got a wheelchair as I could not walk, the world was spinning 100 miles an hour, and I kept my eyes closed to avoid throwing up.

I was admitted that night, with suspicion of having a stroke, so the Doctors did a CT scan, and thank God I was not having a stroke.
They gave me fluids, and a few needles, and I stayed in hospital until the next day.

I have never felt so sick in my life. The diagnosis was that I had Labyrinthitis, or possibly Menieres disease, the Doctor was not able to give a conclusive diagnosis. So I have to wait and see if I have another attack before they proceed with any further tests.

A bit of a setback, but I'll just deal with this and move forward with the weight loss. My health is so important to me, so I hope this was just a random event.

I have lost 10.5 kgs (22 pounds?) since 10th May, which is not bad considering the setbacks, so I am still so very happy with that figure.

I have a dilemma in that I have another appointment due this Wed at Paul O'Briens rooms, and possibly a fill. I know it would be great to have another fill, but I fly 4 hours north to tropical Port Douglas this Saturday for a holiday with Chris, Paige and my Mum. The band was uncomfortable after flying a few days after the first fill, so I will discuss the best options with the clinic. I am torn between having a fill and moving back into restriction, or waiting until I return from my holiday 2 weeks from Saturday.
Decisions, decisions.......I don't know what the best way to tackle this is, if anyone has been in this situation and can offer advice, I would sure appreciate it.

Slip Sliding away....

Just finished a Loooong weekend here, and well, quite frankly I f*^%ed up badly with my food choices.
I got my head in a 'woe is me' zone, you know how it goes, and well, I stuffed down a mozza of crap.

Poisons of choice:
Chocolate coated Ice cream
Bloody expensive French Gooey cheeses- with water crackers. These have always been my weakness.
Chocolate
Red Wine
Salt and Vinegar chips ( crisps)

No exercise either, just laid on my fat arse on the couch, with a little housework thrown in for good measure.

What the hell came over me?

I have spent my life 'fighting the beast', and I just caved, just like that.

My daughter was really pissed off at me, ( she is a food Nazi), and shot me looks of contempt at any given opportunity.
I am not repeating this weekend of sloth in a hurry, I am sure the scales will kick my arse in another few days.
I am punishing myself with furiously running around, and will punish my arse on the elliptical after dinner tonight.

I wish I could keep my shit together to make sure I get this right, I know we all slip at some time, but I was just so fricken disappointed in myself.
I made the time to read some other blogs, and this has helped me refocus, and re energised my positive thinking.
Thank you for posting Guys, no matter whether positive or negative, you all get my head back in the zone!

Settling down

Greetings from a freezing cold, and very wet Melbourne, Australia.

Well, the band has given me some warnings lately, as intended.

It says slow down.
It says chew your food properly, and boy it gives you a fright when you forget to do that.
It says small, small bites.

It says all these things, and you'd think that even though with all the reading, and advice you'd still get it, then it gives you a little kick to remind you that it demands more of your attention.

No , I haven't been sick, just feel the limits very easily, and it just never ceases to amaze the heck out of me.
The sensations when you can feel tiny amounts foods passing through the band, and sitting on it and not really moving, yeah, that's always fun isn't it Guys? LOL!

I have lost another 2 kgs, (4 lbs) which brings my total weight loss around 8 kgs ( 17.6lbs?) I am feeling really good, and have only just started working out on my new elliptical trainer. I am so UNFIT!!!!!!!

My incisions have finally knitted!!!!!!! I can now give my body a light flogging with exercise!!!!

I have not taken any profile pics, when I read other Blogs that have the timeline photos, it inspires the heck out of me! They motivate me, and give cause to hope that I will be successful on this journey. I will post some embarrassing profile pics in the near future.

Hope you are all travelling well, and those that are recently banded, welcome to a wonderful new world!

Ruth

Greetings from Tasmania!

Hi everyone,


Well, my first business trip since banded, and it's been OK.

I packed Optifast shakes, sachets of Oats, some sachets of energy drinks, and some spicy noodles.
Day 1, we were flying in late, and Hobart is a beautiful quiet town that doesn't have late night eateries open, well, not the type I needed. So we landed, and heated up some noodles and settled in for the night.

We have a stunning apartment overlooking the wharves, and it's also so handy for everything we need to do whilst we are here. Travelling and having your own fully equipped kitchen makes life a little easier too.

I have been 'naughty', and I don't mind that I have either. A few pieces of chocolate and a couple of glasses of Pinot have seemed entirely civilised, I really needed that freedom! Albeit but for a moment. Foodwise I have had Moroccan Lamb tagine, and also Vegetarian Lasagne which I chewed like hell to make sure there was no repeats of the other night. Everything is starting to settle again. I am amazed at how little I can actually fit now after my first fill, It really takes very little meals to fill me up now.

It is Day 3, Friday night here, and we are heading out for dinner to one of the stunning Seafood restaurants, I am looking forward to a romantic night out with Chris. Our daughter is back in Melbourne with my lovely Sister who cares for her when we are travelling. We love her dearly, but we savour the moments we can spend together alone as well.

I have been walking, although the wound that has been giving me trouble is weeping like crazy again ( sorry if you're eating + reading this), so I took it easy this afternoon.

We head out to the beautiful Salamanca Markets in the morning, so I bade you all farewell, and hope you all have a great rest of the week!

Oh Crap! PB

Yesterday, when I visited my surgeon for an inspection of one of the incisions giving me grief, he decided to give me my first fill ( sounds weird, LOL, but Bandsters understand).

Well, even after telling me to take it easy, I managed to experience my first PB. ( Productive Burp) but it was the self inflicted type of PB

Aside from the fact that I felt peckish, it was 11pm and everyone was in bed, I wound my way to the fridge, heated up one tiny Falafel, drowned in Eggplant dip, and, even though I chewed it slow, took a break, the dryness of it made it lodge quite firmly way before the band.

All I could think was Oh Shit, you've done it now Girl!

Not only was it stuck, not only was no one around, I could not breathe properly. I had 3 seconds to panic, then 10 seconds to calmly walk to the downstairs bathroom, look in the mirror, see the fear in my eyes and throw my finger down my throat. It took around several goes to clear the blockage.

With everything I was told, and reading about others experiences with this, I STILL managed to do it.

So, if you are reading this, and you're still yet to be banded, or awaiting a first fill, take heart, keep calm,  use common sense and don't panic. I don't know if this was the right thing to do, but it was all I could do.
I am going to have to slow down, and now avoid dry types of foods.....

Damn, I was so looking forward to that Falafel!

Ciao for now,


Ruth

Infection, and First Fill

Last night, I lifted my shirt, as one of the wounds was annoying me, and my daughter just said Wow Mum, you need to see a doctor. The top right hand wound was red, and raised up slightly. I squeezed very gently and green liquid wept from it. I cleaned and wiped the wound with Isopropyl Alcohol.

I phoned Chris who is in Sydney, and he said to call the hospital, who then called Prof. O'Brien who, then called me. So into Paul's Surgery I went this morning, he has checked the wound, and said everything will be fine, I did the right thing by wiping it with the alcohol wipe.

He also said I may as well have my first fill, as I was due next week. It went very smoothly, he had a little trouble finding the port, and just put in a longer needle. He has put in 1ml, taking the total to 4ml.
I want to do this slowly, it's a lifestyle change not a horse race.  So I am glad he is taking my journey gently.

Also, they weighed me on their scales today, I have lost 6kgs ( 13.2 pounds) since May 10th. I am on the beginning of my 4th week today. I have to admit, that the weight loss is with no exercise whatsoever due to trouble with another one of my wounds.

I was very happy!

So on the drive home from the Surgery, I purchased an Elliptical trainer
http://www.fitness-equipment-source.com/elliptical-reviews/spirit-xe500-elliptical-trainer.html

I wonder what the next 4 weeks will have in store, with one fill, one on the way, and more exercise?

I fly Interstate on business for 4 days from tomorrow, so I apologise in advance if my posts are thin on the ground.

Have a great day!

Ruth