Sorry your BMI is too high...

So I know its been a while again...But I had to force my self to post about this situation...

So I am in the market for a new job, and there is a new hospital opening in Doha, Qatar. I love the thought of living abroad and working with the people of a different land. I called up the recruiting company and had a positively inspiring conversation. The lady and I spoke of my experience and she said I would be a wonderful candidate.  She asked if I would like to pursue the interview process and start my application assessments... "Sure" I replied.  She said I need to ask you a few health questions before we proceed...

Are you generally healthy...... Yes
Do you take daily prescription Medication.... No
How tall are you.... 5'5"
How much do you weigh... 244 lbs.

She then replies... "Oh, I am so sorry, we will not be able to move forward because your BMI is too high". I paused in disbelief , but quickly had to recover with..... Well I just had lapband surgery and I am progressively losing weight do you think they would make an exception for the right person???? She calmly says.... Oh no.... they won't budge... They are concerned with how hot it is and they only want healthy Americans to apply, but.... If you BMI falls below 30 give me a call and I would be happy to represent you.


Really... really... Did I just experience and outward expression of  "BMI discrimination"???? Part of me feels like I should be appreciative of the fact that they were straight up with me, and part of me thinks my education and experience is being over shadowed by my BMI. Wow.... I guess Doha, Qatar is not in my near future.

I am still alive...

Well not that anyone cares, but I am still alive. Holy cow it has been 4 evaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa since I put up a blog. I tell ya, it has been major crazy in my life. Seeing how I never get a lunch or a break at work I would usually blog first thing in the am before I start my day, and that has been interrupted for the last 3weeks.

Anywho's.... Catch up time....

So my mom came to visit and we all went to Disney a few weeks ago, it was really nice to get some long walks in and with my fit bit I was able to track 18,000+ step in one day. I was so excited, I even jogged while waiting in line to help get my stats up. Over the three days we were there I never came home with less than 13,000 steps.

The scale... what a Bitch... I swear the scale has to be a women. The type that holds a grudge over one piece of chocolate, or the fact that you only worked out for 45 mins instead of an hour, the fact that when you tried on those shorts they were super cute but if you lost about 10 pounds they would be freakin HOTT!!~ I am telling you all in bloggersphere... The scale is a nasty, hateful women who wants to see you oppressed.

I have been working out several days a week and I finally had my second fill on this past Monday. I can tell there is a bit more restriction but not much. I also met with the nutritionist and told her I think the idea of only consuming 30 carbs a day is ridiculous.  She agreed that she doesn't like the idea and told me if I wanted to switch my focus to calories she would be supportive of that. She also explained that most hospital bariatric programs and the American Bariatric association  say that you should eat 5 to 6 small meals per day. A total daily value of about 800-1000 calories is typical and at each setting you should consume about 1 cup of food total. She said protein is #1, whole grains and then fruits. I was some what relieved to hear her agree with me. I was starting to get really frustrated. My Dr. on the other hand is stead fast about only consuming 30 carbs per day.  When I went back to the Dr. I had lost an additional 5 pounds, 4 of it was total fat, and 1lbs. was muscle. While that is not so impressive I will take it. I have had no restriction since the second week of surgery and I have had to maintain and lose on my own.  My husband keeps telling me to be patient. He says once you get to the "sweet spot" you will start to lose like crazy... I hope he is right. 

Last night I was watching the biggest loser and became so disgusted... One of the gals has lost 105 lbs in 16 weeks. WHOLE FREAKIN COW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  While I was having a pitty party my husband says, " Ok, so quite your job, hire a star trainer, hire a star nutritionist and work out for 10 hrs a day", then you worries will be over.... I guess he has a point, but dang... NO surgery just pure weight loss. 

 For those of you much farther ahead in your journey did it take you getting to the "sweet spot" to really see the pounds consistently dropping off? Was there a point post op that it seemed like your dreams and hard work started to pay off? I am trying to be happy with where I am so far. I have seen a change in the clothes I wear and I feel success in the work I am doing. I have also committed my self to a life style change which means I don't starve my self every day I am just more conscious of what I put in my mouth. This also means I don't deprive myself of things I want.  My newest and most hard to break addiction is FROZEN YOGURT.... HOLY MOTHER OF GOODNESS.

       

One last thing... My FITBIT.... Yeah its dead... Dead in the water .... I washed it!  The one and only time I have done laundry instead of my husband and I washed the DAMN THING!!!!!!!!!!!! I am sick about it. And at this point , I refuse to buy another one. Urg!!! They need to make a WATER PROOF, fit bit.

Just sayin...

S

                                        

The first fill....

Hey all...

Sooooooooooooooo I got my first fill yesterday.... After waiting in the office for over 1hr 15mins... I go in and he gets me set up... I stand in front of the fluroscopy machine and he takes a peak at my insides.... Then he gave me some contrast to drink and we watched it run through the band... He then had me sit on the edge of a chair with my feet elevated and he injected me with some fluid... The prick hurt a bit but he talked me through it, so it wasn't so bad...

I then stood up with the needle hanging out of my belly and I drank more contrast while he monitored it on the screen. He said it was going through slower, but I really couldn't tell.... Anywho's, he put a band aid on me and said see ya in 4weeks....

Today is day two and I don't feel any different. I know I am suppose to be on all liquids but I had no trouble getting eggs down. My doctor advised I should not monitor my calories, he just wants me to focus on 30 carbs or less per day. He explained that he is the professional who has seen this process from many angles and his most successful patients consume 30 carbs or less per day.... Sooooo, back to the low carbs I go... Eek!

I guess since I have PCOS the lack of carbs in my diet will be helpful, it may help to combat the PCOS and aid in a more productive weight loss.

Hubby and I went to the beach and walked yesterday. We didn't go as far on this walk as I had a bit of discomfort but I was still able to get in about 8500 steps yesterday. My goal is to be at the 10K steps per day, but it is a work in progress.

I have committed to using my fitness pal, but I put in a question on the site to see if I could change the settings to focus on carbs instead of Calories..... I will wait to see what comes back.

I hope all is well with you and yours and I greatly appreciate all of your comments from the last blog...

Tata for now...

S

OMG, OMG,OMG,OMG.....

I know its been forever since I posted. Holy cow guys I have been so freakin busy at work it literally makes me sick to my stomach. None the less I have not lost any weight. I know my portions are smaller and I am much more continuous of what I am eating, but the scale is not showing WOW factor.  My exercise could be increased, but ya know what... if I was star athlete with tons of motivation I wouldn't need the darn band!!!

I did get my self a fit bit over the weekend and it is nice to have some accountability. It really allows you to challenge your self and it was good to know how far I had walked the other day. The weather has been so nice my husband and I went to the beach and walked a couple of miles. He wanted to do it again yesterday but I insisted we had to go home and clean the house as the MOTHER IN LAW IS COMING!!!!! Eek!

Aside from not dropping a ton of weight I have been struggling with the idea of calories vs. carbs. I feel like the low carb only diet is not gonna work. It seems toooooooo much like a diet. I understand that counting calories can feel that way as well, but I also feel like you have a little more liberty of things you can consume. The food industry is much more savy with calorie couting than low carb. My biggest concern with calorie couting is how to count the calories unless I eat a lot of prepackaged foods. I am not sure how to count the chicken breast with a side of cabbage... I am not sure how to count the eat out meal that me and hubby share, or the coffee from Starbucks that we split. ~ I know this may sound crazy but I just don't get it... Anywho's maybe a few of you successful bandsters are willing to share your wisdom....

On to another note... went to the running shoe store.... YUK!!! Just as I suspected the guy was so not engaged... I could see the wheels churning in his head... "what the heck is this fat girl doing in her trying to buy some shoes...." None the less I was even more turned off because I general wear a size 9 tennis shoes and I am totally comfortable. This guy brought out a 10.5.... The crappy part is that I only had about a thumbs length of space and he said that was perfect. On top of that the shoes looked like they were on old people steroids. The were so UGLY!!!!!

Anyways the guys suggested that I just were my five finger shoes. He said since I have chosen to do aerobics, dancing and Xbox 360 workouts, then tennis shoes aren't that great anyways. He explained that they are not really made for side to side motion and that the 5fingers offer more agility because they allow you to use a more natural stance than the height of the tennis shoe.... After listening to him I just gave up... I bought some insoles for the shoes I currently have and quickly got outta there... Urg! 

So next challenge... Find the motivation to keep working out..... and hope that my first fill on Monday will go well and jump start my weight loss...

Lisa, my dear Lisa...

OMG Lisa,

This blog is for me you and my banded friend named Gale.....

Wholly freakin cow I think I could eat an entire COW if cooked medium with a side of mash potatoes. I mean my gosh, I am so freakin hungry and I believe the swelling in my belly has moved on. I will be two weeks post op as of tomorrow and I am starting to freak out. I think this is referred to as Bandster hell???? I may have the terminology all wrong but I can tell you one word I am certain the meaning of  HUNGRY!!!!! OMG you guys, so yesterday all I wanted was some skittles, starburst, snickers or something... So here I am running all over the hospital ( I work at a hospital) trying to figure out what the heck I could eat. I went to the gift shop and all the sugar free candy had like 15 -26 carbs for ONE SERVING... R U kiddin me. Urg!!!

So I went back to my office and the urge was so distraction I ate a piece of gum.... Yeah .... That lasted me about 2 seconds. So I googled "low carb candies", - NOTHING! At least nothing that they would have in the gift shop and the one blog I found about low carb candies said it puts you on the "hershey highway". While last week I was complaining about the "Hershey highway" being closed, detoured or under construction.... I surely don't want to be running off in lieu of a little sweet indulgence. Soooo, what is a gal to do... I went and bought 4 different packs of fruit flavored, sugar free gum and some Orange Tic Tac's.... Well I thought this would satisfy some need of mine... Long story short... 60 Tic Tacs - GONE!!! 7 pieces of gum- GONE!!!  Need for sugar and candy... STILL PRESENT!!!! So .... I go home and I cut up some strawberries and put a little splenda on them... Yummy... Did it feel my need for sugar--NO!!!  Next impulse... The big bowl of plain M&M's screaming at me from across the room. So I take about a teaspoon worth of M&M's and a table spoon of peanuts, mixed those together and enjoyed. Did this satisfy my sweet spot, YES!!!  For the moment...

Soooo, my husband thinks I have been starving him and was really grumpy last evening. I suggest we order take out from his favorite restaurant- Istanbul- There rice is to die for and so is there salad so .... I opted to get double salad, no rice and then I get something called the Spice Adana ( has lamb and some other meats pressed and made into shish ka bobs) and grilled chicken skewers. My hubby gets, DOUBLE RICE and Gyro meat with sauce. The portions are way more than 1/2- 1 cup. But at this point I was so FREAKIN hungry I didn't care. So I ate ALL the salad and saved a few pieces of the chicken and about 4 big bites of the Spicy Adana. Feeling pretty good and full at this point I still needed something sweet.

I hear the M&M's bowl screaming at me AGAIN!!! Yikes how did it learn my name.... So I took another teaspoons worth and snuck into my bedroom before my husband could see me. Well I almost got caught... he says "Hey... where are you going" I said I am looking for my cell phone and can't find it anywhere,I will be back in the living room in just a sec. He then says "I have a special treat for you, look I bought some Weight Watchers Ice Cream bars ( fake snickers), not sure how they taste but good for a snack".  I was like ohhhhhh really... welllllllllll, how many carbs does it have.... he says " welllllll about 16 carbs, but if you eat half it only has about 8 carbs.... " I say to him.... " nah, not tonight I have already consumed a lot of crap today, maybe tomorrow night when I exercise".  I proceed to take a quick bite of his just so he doesn't think I totally blew him off ......Then back to the room I go.

Once he has turned his back.... Down the hatch went he M&M's.... Gulp, great, and likely more than 16 carbs.... LOL...

What is a girl to do.....


So Lisa.... I can totally sympathize with you and my friend Gale who doesn't blog at all and was banded the same day as I was.... Please don't cry your self to sleep thinking you are gonna be a chubby gal for the rest of your life because you want to eat everything in site right now.... We are all feelin your pain.


Happy Thursday and thank GOD tomorrow is Friday!!!!

Happy Hump Day Banded Friends...

Hey all,

Its been a few days since I have posted as I am back at work and busy as ever.....

Work, this one thing that I really need to maintain my life style but the one thing that interferes with so much. That being said I am so grateful and blessed to have a job when so many don't.

Anywho's I went in for my first post op appt on Monday I was a little nervous but have come down 17 total pounds since my visit about 1.5 weeks ago. In all I think it was the big dump I was finally able to take after no dump for about 4 days... HOLLY COW I was getting nervous. I had taken a double dose, then a triple does of Milk of Magnesia with no signs of relief in sight. Apparently this is normal... ;)

None the less after a 4 day back up... I was excited to see like 6lbs drop off the scale over night... Then.... I woke up the next morning and had gained 5lbs. --WHAT THE HELL!!!! I swore then I could not weigh in every day or I will make my self crazy. I have no idea what could have contributed to the 5lbs over night. Eek!

Anyways I cooked some spinach and my hubby put some cod on the grill with some lemon slices... Dinner was great... Then last night I took a Panera made soup that I bought at Costco and doctored it up a bit with some skinless rotisserie chicken and some sauteed bacon. We also had a small fresh spinach salad with a few strawberry's, mandarin oranges (that had been in juice made with splenda) and a dressing made with EVOO and some lemon juice. Again dinner was great last night. The last two nights have also been interesting with exercise. Monday night we worked out with the Xbox 360, while it was fun.... I think the last Zumba exercise may have put me over..... My port was so sore later that night and the next day. Even with a sore port I swore I would do more exercise because I had to get rid of the extra 5 lbs. Last evening we were able to catch some daylight and thought it would be nice to grab the dog and go for brisk walk.  The walk was really nice because we got to discover parts of our neighborhood that we didn't know where there. :)

For dinner tonight I think we will have some more cod on the grill with some stir fry vegetables. I have vowed to up my water intake. I was so pumped about my walk and the need to lose weight that I sat down last night, watched biggest loser which was a very AWESOME episode, and ate a SF Popsicle and sipped water until I had finished my 33.8 oz bottle of Smart water.  For me this is huge, if I drink 30 oz of anything in a day that's a miracle, much less water.  The best part is I had already drank 48 oz of water at work. Yeah me!!!

Today I have brought two bottles of smart water with the hopes to have them both done by the time I go to bed tonight. Last but not least... Thanks soooo much to , Lisa, Kelly Smith, Sarah G and Mdlapband for offering great advice and ideas on the last blog. I did not get to respond to each of you and wanted to express my gratitude for your thoughts....

For those of you who read the last blog... I am not sure if I will do the protein shots or not, but I will let you know if I give em' a try. Also I think it will come down to NB or Brooks on the shoes. I will plan to go to a running store this weekend and give em' a shot.

Ciao for now and best wishes to all...

S

Starting to feel normal again...

Hello all and HAPPY FRIDAY!!!!

So today was the first day I awoke and didn't feel nauseous. YEAH!!! I think I am starting to feel normal again. I really pushed it to the limit yesterday as I went to the hair dresser and got my self all dolled up. I got my eyebrows threaded, my hair colored, cut and eyebrows died to complement the hair. The gal who does my hair is a doll, but this time she went a little darker than I anticipated and while its much healthier than the blond, it will take some getting use to. I told her I wanted to back off the blond because as I try to balance my protein I don't want me hair to fall out and then the hair I have be damaged. I am planning to go back in 5 weeks and do a protein treatment that will give 84 grams of protein just to my hair alone.... Gotta Love AVEDA. Its an in salon treatment only, as my hope was to do a weekly at home treatment. Oh well...

My port site seems to not hurt at all, my belly button is starting to feel a bit more normal. At night I feel like it is really hard to get anything down, liquids, popsicles anything. Maybe night time is when my band goes to sleep...Not sure if this is long term or will change over time... I will keep you posted...

I had one of the Atkins Shakes yesterday and was good... It was a mocha flavor and truly tasted like a coffee drink. This morning I have had one of the Lean Body shakes (Strawberry and Cream) its not bad and it has 40gs of protein, 260 calories and 9grams of Carbs. You have to drink the entire 17oz to get these nutrients. While the proteins are great, its a lot to drink. Urgh!

I have been thinking of a lot of different questions and I think you all are the perfect audience. If any of you have a thought our idea about the following I would love to know....

Protein Shots.... Yes, no, maybe? Are they a good alternative to having to drink so much liquid with a shake?



Comfy shoes for a not so skinny athlete.... I want to find some work out shoes that will be really comfortable especially while I am still caring the majority of my weight.... Any shoes that you all have loved or HATED....Brooks,New Balance, Nike, Saucony, Adidas???

Did you find that your dr. originally focused on carbs then the focus became more on calories?  How much protein does your dr. recommend per day or how many calories has worked for you?

I have read about the fitbits and I have also read about some nice watches that do a lot of tracking... What do you all prefer, what keeps you motivated, how do you keep track or how did you keep track in the beginning?

Of course I will have a gazillion other questions as I embark on this journey but these are some of the few that I can actually remember at the time of this post. Thanks to all of you in advance who are willing to share...

Happy Friday..

Thanks so much...

Omg, Omg, Omg, I am so freakin excited that you all have allowed me "in". Thanks so much for all of you who have sent me well wishes...

So day 5 post op... What the heck is going on with me... So my belly button seems to be my biggest pain point. My port site seems to be playing fair and healing nicely. It hurts so bad when I have to use my abs in any way. Additionally I feel dizzy quite often and my back is killing me. Blah, blah, blah, I know the new bratty band gal... Sorry..

I was up working on the computer for work this am, I felt myself going down.... down...down....By down I mean, really dizzy, nauseous and not so swell... So I got up off my patooty and got myself a string cheese and a Fuze drink....

Holy cow these drinks are really good... I had the Strawberry melon and it was delightful. I am starting to get burnt out on the fluids. On a normal day, I hate to drink anything, but when I do decided to have 8-10oz of fluid I don't want to fill my self with aspartame. Oh well, I guess I better drink some H20. My husband made bratwurst last night and I have been dying for one for about 3weeks now. When I asked my husband to make me one he looked at me like I had 4 horns coming out of my head.  He replied " ok, so you can't get down water, but you want a brat!"  what the hell!

 I know, I know.. but I had a classic response... I will puree it... :)  Go Me... Good answer.  He was like what the hell ever... SO he made it for me. I did puree it and it was ok but no the same. I had the equivalent of my thumb nail worth and was done with it. Self pitty kicked in and I started watching the food network. God must have been on  my side because everything they were cooking was disgusting.

Example:
White duck kidneys= Duck Testicles
Brown bread in can
Crones= in the artichoke family but look like worms
Quail
And the use of cream corn for dessert... I know this sounds like fear factor but it was Chopped. Urg!!!

Anywho's went for a walk last night as I thought I would puke my head off at any moment, but my experience with this thing ( all 5 days worth) told me it was GAS!!! Since I had not walked much I thought this would be the remedy because the gas x strips SUCK!!!! I walked about 3 blocks and I was so out of breath. I was thinking holy freaking cow... Now I have been a big girl 4 eva but could keep up with the best of them.  It must just be part of the recovery.

While I have told my self my weight will only count on Fridays I have gotten on the scale everyday. I started preop at 274, day of surgery I was 259.4 according to my scale at home... The one at the hospital said 257.4... As of yesterday I was at 254. I know there are some folks who will see such better weight loss than me, 1). Because they will get there fluids in, 2). I have PCOS... urg! 

Anywho yall.... I am off the blog for now... I am starting to feel a little light headed and think it may be time for some J-E-L-L-O (in my Bill Cosby voice).

Ciao for now!

Sarah

Here we go...

Hello to all of you, I am really excited yet very nervous to about this journey. I have viewed a ton of other blogs and also watched a ton of you tube video's for people who have had LapBand surgery. In my pursuit to understand this process and also to better understand what I might experience I have made some great friends. It is amazing how the Internet can really unite you with others that have similar experiences. As I start this process I believe my two biggest fears are, 1. Not losing weight, 2. BP'ing.

Seeings as I am less than a week post op I am know I have to pay my dues with the band and it is all part of the experience. Additionally, I think I have come very close to experiencing BP'ing in the short time I have been banded. As I understand it my stomach is still fairly swollen and is likely not playing very fair right now. I have tried to be very patient with introducing new things and following my diet, but there were a few days that I thought I would die for lack of sugar.

My husband being the sweetest guy ever (most of the time) decided I need to take in some Power Aid. Yes, I know its not sugar free and has tons of carbs but it took me nearly 3 days to drink half the bottle anyways. I would drink a bit just to get some sugar in me and then drink some water or crystal light. Believe it or not it helped a lot.

I am off from work until Monday, thank GOD!!! My drs. office said I could have gone back to work on Monday, but wholly freakin cow, I think I would have died. My port pain and my belly button pain are still quite tuff. The one advantage I have is that my dr. only uses to incisions to do the entire surgery. One cut in the belly button and one just below the sternum to insert one of the instruments. Seeing how both of these are fairly small I am sure I will heal fairly quickly and with minimal scaring.

As you see the name of my blog is candyNcarbsdivorce, on my journey with obesity and PCOS my urge for carbs is like no other. In most cases you can keep your cakes and pies but please give me some Skittles, Starburst, Laffy Taffy , Ice Cream , Fresh Hot bread or pasta. I am sure we have all been there and for some of you, your affair has ended quickly because you can't tolerate candies or carbs as you did prior to Lapband. As much as I would like to indulge at times, I would be grateful if for some reason my band, was ANTI, candy and carbs.

I am going to say Ciao! for now and see if I can play around with this blog a bit more and make it pretty!

Happy Tuesday...

Sarah