Friday, May 20, 2011

Weight loss journey for 4 months....what have I learned...

I have now finally lost the first 25 pounds....25.5 to be exact. Next week is the 4 month mark for my lapband placement. I hit a plateau of sorts in April and only lost 2 pounds, and now 2 pounds in May. Slow progress, but at least progress. Life with the band is certainly challenging and at times even strange. People are starting to notice I have lost weight, and it is funny the different comments I get. Some ask about the band and how it works and are mainly curious about it for themselves or someone they know. Other comments leave me a little tense. Comments like, "The band is the easy way out", or the comments by those that think the band is the "solve-all" for weight loss. The band certainly is not a "fix-it" for weight loss or an easy way to see the pounds drop. I HAVE NEVER WORKED SO HARD IN MY LIFE! The band is a tool to assist in better weight loss, but it is by far not fool proof. So life with the band changes a lot of things:
1) Fast Food/Dinner out: I have to just keep driving. I can no longer eat in the car and for the most part the menus do not offer the right kinds of foods. Everything comes with bread or is fried. At restaurants I have to select carefully from the menu just the same. I can now order a regular size entree and eat anywhere from a third to a half of it and be satisfied and as some people have asked....I am not mad that I cannot eat all I want to. I am satisfied with a portion of the meal and taking the rest home for lunch is a bonus the next day!
2) Diet Coke: I was the diet coke queen....having at least 1 every day! I have not had one since Jan. 12, 2011 and the funny thing now is that I do not want one. It does not bother me to see others drink soda at all. Banders have to stay away from carbonation as it can cause issues with the band such as erosion or even esophageal dilatation. Scary enough for me to stay away from all that all together.
3) Slowing Down & Chewing: I have always been a fast eater but in order to get food down, I have had to learn to stop and chew each bite. No eating on the run or when I am not concentrating on my meals. With two hungry kids, this sometimes means I have to get them fed first so I can then sit down and enjoy my food.
4) Fullness/No liquids with food/No Hypoglycemia: I can now tell during a meal when I am full and I can certainly tell when I need to stop. I have never known what it was to feel full until now. I would have to say I have cut in half the meals I use to consume. Banders are also not suppose to have liquids during meals so that our pouch will stay full. That has been hard, but I am doing it pretty well. As I can tell when I am full, my brain is understanding that and I no longer seem to get the headaches from low blood sugars which would be one reason I would over eat.
5) Hunger/Water: There are times I am not hungry. I have never not been hungry my entire life. This is new to me. So I have to create other things besides food to be my outlet. Sometimes I even have to remind myself to eat as my stomach now protests in very loud gurgles when it goes too long without food. I am also drinking way more than 64 ounces of water each day. This is a new one for me too as I never really liked drinking water. I do lose better when I get the water down, so I keep working at that between meals.
6) Exercise/Tracking food intake: I continue to walk with my friend Carolyn several times a week. I call her my personal trainer and she pushes me for 2 to 5 miles several times a week. We go around our neighborhood up and down hills, which I can do better than being board on some kind of equipment like a treadmill. I do have a gazelle trainer for exercise on the rainy days, but I am not good about using that so that should be one of my goals. I also have to track every bite that goes in my mouth. I keep up with calories and stay under 1200 for the day. I track myself at 60g of protein per day, 60g or less of fat a day and not more then 120g of carbs per day and with the help of my friend Kathy (diabetic educator), we have found this is the combination that is helping me to lose weight for now. This changes up now and then as I lose weight. When I was trying to stay under 1000 calories a day I was not losing well. My body just shuts down the weight loss when it is not fed enough. Can you say "no metabolism"? There is so much more I could mention in living with the band, but for now, I hope I got the point across that this is not the easy way out or the end of my weight loss problem for good. This is the beginning of a very long up and down journey for the rest of my life. I am just happy to see progress and feel better! I am excited about one day being able to shop for clothes in the regular section and leaving plus sizes behind. I hope to also be an example to my kids of will power and success so they will know they can do anything they set their minds to as well.

6 comments:

Andrea said...

I sat here and read every word of your blog (kinda like you chewing every bite a million times)! What an amazing story you're telling. You can tell that the lapband is life changing and you're taking every step to be successful! Keep up the fantastic work...sounds like you keep making yourself proud everyday :)

Andrea said...

By the way...how about an update picture!!

Waiting for Emily said...

Your doing great! I have to say that I am not jealous of all that work!! Good luck and keep up the good work because you look great!!

andrea said...

i am so proud of you ;0) i'd love to see an updated photo...i commend you for your hard work and know that you will be successful in this journey.

let's get the girls together soon!

andrea

Tammy ~ Country Girl at Home ~ said...

Kim,

Yay! Your hard work is paying off! So happy for you! Can't wait to see you all....you'll have to fill me in on what kinds of things you can eat while you're here!

Ya'll have a great week!
Tammy

Brandi said...

I am so proud of you too!
I know you are working sooo hard not only for you to be healthy, but to be healthy for your family! What a great role model for your girls.