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