Day 14 Post Gastric Band Surgery - 2 weeks

Day 14 after gastric banding: I am still amazed that I continue to lose weight. Yes, mentally I get it that I am not eating as much as I use to but still... wow. I had a new experience last night eating a pork chop w/mashed potatoes. I ended up giving 1/2 my chop to the BF and only had 1/4 cup mashed potatoes. OH MY GOD what just happened there?!? He gave me that quizzical funny look that says "who are you" and ate it. Told me I could have the rest of the mashed potatoes and my response, "I'd love to but I can't, too full." We laughed at the moment. I think I also had the pressure/pain right where the ribcage meets indicating that I might have ate too much. Today I am on liquid protein just to make sure I didn't stress my new Realize Band area.

The surgery scars are healing nicely. Only have a couple steri-strips left in place (the one over the port scar for sure is going to be the last to come off). That adhesive is a bear to get off the skin. My facialist created a special essential oil blend for my tummy and scars. Sayra is the absolute best person for skin products. It is a base oil of sesame with lavender, frankincense, and carrot seed oils. It smells clean and natural and I am already using it. A little goes a long way with these oil blends. Sayra also makes her own special blends of cleanser and facial lotions which I use. My face is awesome thanks to her. This is a critical time for the skin to be replenished as the weight loss continues. Lots of hydration by drinking water and sugar-free liquids but also caring directly for the skin with wonderful products.

I am a firm believer in being friends with your belly and bottom. Don't neglect the bits that need the most care with lotion and oils. I have said this on many an occasion with my kickboxing clients. Lotion up and get to know and love your body as it is changing.

Day 9 after gastric band surgery

Day 9 after gastric banding surgery. I had my first post-op personal training session Wednesday night only a week after surgery. No abdominal work was done but there were a couple times the stitches twinged on me (push-ups and getting situated on the exercise ball). Worked hard in hot, humid space for about an hour, felt awesome! And as per usual, I ended up gaining ½ pound the next day even with consuming a paltry 737 calories for the day. However, today I was down 1 ½ pounds! Who would have thought it would actually be hard to consume my full 1200 calories?!?

I am working on soft foods right now and loving my scrambled egg breakfasts. Still getting use to the no water for an hour after eating. Breakfast is easy because I hop in the car and drive 45-mintues to work. By the time I get my coffee, it has been an hour. Tonight I am planning on doing something other than watching TV during the initial evening hours. Probably spend time in my art/craft room making cards that are due for birthdays and anniversaries. Peace out. Live Long and Prosper.

Day 6 Post Lap Band Surgery

Day 6 after surgery and I have been approved for soft foods! Yeah! I just ate ½ cup of hummus. Don’t mock me; I love the stuff and no celery to chew with it (although I miss the crunch). Down only ½ pound over night and can’t believe I am disappointed with ½ pound overnight. Dr. Chock also gave me the thumbs up to do personal training session tomorrow, woo! No abdominal work or heavy weights but I get to work out with my trainer again.

I am healing well with little bruising. The port incision still hurts a bit as expected and one other tiny incision spot. My clothes are fitting nice right now, nothing is tight anymore. I am fixin’ to try my black jeans tomorrow which use to be a mite bit snug in recent times. Have to finish this up as I shut down the air conditioner (blows right at my laptop on the kitchen table) to write. Still hungry so going to try a scrambled egg w/cottage cheese for dinner. The doctor says this month isn’t necessary for losing weight but for healing, yeah right I wanna lose weight too.

Day 4 Post Realize Band (Gastric Banding) Surgery

Day 4 after surgery and wow, another 2 pounds gone this morning. I am somewhat flabbergasted at how the weight is dropping off my body. Yes, intellectually I get it that I am eating less food and therefore I should be losing weight. However, it stills seems a bit like a miracle that it is actually working. It must be the many years of dieting that didn’t pay off for me influencing my thoughts about this procedure. I still remain a wee bit skeptical about the weight continuing to drop while still accepting this is a permanent solution.

Man oh man, this is freakin’ awesome. Sorry, lost my head for a moment. IT IS WORKING. What is that a sign of … euphoria mixed with doubt? Oh well. So far since the day BF and I went to NWWLS seminar I have lost 12 pounds. Some of that was due to the pre-op 800-calorie diet and the rest due to recovery and liquid diet. Next week I get to eat semi-solid foods. Okay, I am all about the mashed potatoes and scrambled eggs for next week!! I am a salt-tooth not a sweet tooth so the protein drinks and pudding are getting a mite bit old for me. V-8 juice has been my life saver. I even made a fake tomato soup with milk in my V-8. I couldn’t find a high-fructose corn syrup free version in the grocery store. We are going shopping this afternoon and I will check all the soup brands. Sheesh, the food industry needs to get a clue that some of us don’t want the crap excess corn products. Stay tuned, I am on a roll.

Day 3 after lap band surgery

All is going well on this Day 3 after surgery. I am pleasantly surprised that I am healing so fast. Reminder that I am giving huge credit to my personal trainer for working me out tough for the previous 3-months. I am not experiencing hunger in the usual way so that is good. Lost another pound overnight and suspect that will continue at 1/2 to 1 pound a day until I can eat something solid. Walking every day, only 20-minutes so far but will increase that every day until I am back to 45-minutes plus. Not going to do my personal training session on Weds as I can't bend very well from the waist yet without annoying my stitches. Plan to do training session next Saturday although with very light weights.

My BF has been an absolute gift. He is very careful to make sure that I am not trying to overdo things. I can't stand being such a panty-waist right now. I hover because I can't help with much, argh! Okay, I did try to lift a couple weights, BAD. Recovered well but won’t be touching them again for a week. Isometric exercises are a better choice right now.

Day 2 after Lap Band Surgery

Couple cups of tea w/milk for breakfast. Waiting to be hungry which isn’t happening. Have to walk 10-minute stints to get surgery gas out of system (hey, I aim to keep you informed; it ain’t pretty and according to the BF not smelling great). Also used "greens to go" to promote the first BM much better choice that Milk of Gag-nesium, yuck. Now I am back to normal.

I’ve had a couple of questions related to where and how much. I had the surgery at www.nwwls.com in Everett, WA and it cost a pretty penny out of my pocket because I do not have health insurance. If I lose all the weight I plan to lose, it will average about $200 a pound. Good bargain in my opinion. I have heard that you can have the procedure in Mexico for about $7000 and all the risks that go along with that choice. With NWWLS, I get 13-months of follow up care free. Well worth the expense and ease of mind that goes along with that care. I have dropped ½ pound from yesterday and expect that rate to continue while on the liquid recovery diet. That portion of the diet gives the band area a chance to heal properly before introducing soft foods and then normal foods. I plan to be back with my personal trainer doing minimal low weight and no abdominal work in 5-days. I have a plan and I am going to win this freakin’ weight battle once and for all.

Post Lap Band Procedure

(Day after surgery) I chose the Realize Band as my lap band as it has a lower fill port profile (ever hopeful I am about weight loss results). Post surgery twinges last night and regular bouts of gas. Actually weighed more after surgery last night probably due to the gas from surgery (inflate the abdominal area) and the fluids I was drinking all day. Today I am back to pre-surgery check-in weight. All the exercise I have been doing the last 3-months seems to be paying off in minimal pain today. I give credit to my personal trainer (Health Happenings with Meghan Manning) who had me doing mucho abdominal work as well as all over strength training. The pre-op diet also helped the recovery process by making it easier for my surgeon. Having a spot of tea with milk this morning along with a protein drink (don’t want to lose muscle mass so drinking protein is good). I have only taken a couple doses of children’s liquid ibuprofen (cherry flavor but tastes like cherry-coconut, yummy).