Thursday, March 27, 2008

Slow going

It's been several weeks, and I am a bit disappointed with the slow going. Slowly over time, I've migrated to solid food. And have increased the volume of food. I'm sticking to high protein food and fruits and vegetables. No rice, no pasta, no starchy foods except for the occasional sandwich with whole wheat bread and Kashi cereal. And yet, I am stuck at the same weight. I realize I lost the initial 14 lbs because I was on a liquid protein diet for about 2 weeks. Now I am eating lots of salads and healthy stuff, but no weight loss.

I have an appt in about 3 weeks to fill the lap band for the first time. Hopefully this will bring on another dip in weight. I have to be honest, my exercise level has been very low. I was hoping to lose more weight so it would be easier to exercise.

In the mean time, N and A have come back from their vacation and I feel like a whole person again. I'm having problems posting photos and I think it's because I have Vista.

Meanwhile the thesis has acquired a nasty attitude, wanting attention. I'm so stressed about it I'm having nightmares about not finishing it.

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

N at the beach!

N is on vacation with my parents in PR. My mom took her for two weeks and A is going for a week to pick her up. This is supposed to give me time to adjust to my new eating habits and time to write my thesis. All I can do is mope around missing her!! N, on the other hand, is having a blast and getting spoiled. I know this has nothing to do with the Lap Band, but I can't help it. She looks so cute! Here's a vid they sent me of her first day at a beach. Notice the confident strut like she's used to hanging out by the ocean:

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Life following post-op

My incisions are small and healing well! 4 days after surgery and I was back at school. Driving wasn't so bad; walking long distances and climbing stairs, well, I could have used 1 or 2 more days of rest. Not that my professors are so cruel as to MAKE me go, but the quarter just started and I hate to miss stuff the first day.

The diet after the lap band operation was simply liquids like protein shakes and soups. My favorites? Trader Joe's has great protein shakes in a can ready to go, with 35 g of protein and 4 g of carbs, and I suggest the chocolate flavor. Trader Joe's also has a variety of soups in a box, with my favorite being the Organic Tomato Soup. They come in a box similar to the UHT or soy milk boxes, very convenient and easy, and now I've hooked the rest of my family on them. We'll probably continue to eat them! At the end of one week, liquids just weren't cutting it for me, I was pretty hungry!

At my week after dr appt, everything looks really good and I was moved to mushy food. So I can eat basically anything I can puree in a blender. Believe me, I can puree almost anything!!! I'm trying to stick to protein shakes, pureed soft meats like shrimp, tuna, chicken in a can, and veggies and fruits. So far it's working, but I find myself eating a little more and more. That's okay since my band hasn't been filled with saline, the Dr wants to wait until my stomach and the port incision is completely healed before filling the band.

Supposedly, I lost 14 lbs!! But I know that's mainly from being on a restricted liquid diet and that I may actually gain some of that back before losing it again. In the meantime, I'm enjoying the feeling of loose jeans!!

Good news: I have pics! Both inside and out! The Dr took photos with his laparoscope when he was placing the lap band so those will be up soon. I took pics of the incisions only to show you that it really wasn't so bad.