Lap Band Success! 21 Pounds in 21 Days

I had my surgery on September 10th and have done a meticulous job of sticking to the diet. Happily, I’ve only experienced a little hunger. On the 21st day, I finally got my courage together and weighed myself – I’d lost 21 pounds. Wow. This operation is a miracle.

As a result of the weight loss, I’m walking farther than I have in years. Two nights ago, I walked 5.4 miles without having to stop even once and I got it done at a 20 minute per mile pace. Not rocket speed but I haven’t been able to do that in years. If I’d had a better pair of shoes on, I could have gone another 2.7 miles. As it was, my feet were covered in blisters by the end of the walk and it’s kept me home for a couple days now. But now I know I can do it. I used to walk 8 to 10 miles a day, and I’ll be able to get there once again. You can’t imagine how good it is for your soul to walk alone at night time with no voices or music bobbling in your ears. Just me, my dog, the stars and Ventura Boulevard in the late evening.

My clothes are finally getting baggy. I wear stretch jeans and it takes quite a bit before they stop fitting. I think I have ten more pounds max in my current jeans and then, times being what they are, I’ll have to figure out what to do next. In the meantime, I have a Macy’s Wish List for Love My Lap Band, in case any of my readers want to help out with my current dilemma. If so, the jeans are the priority.

I’m still not experiencing much hunger – it’s a very nice thing to have it totally swept away.  My big splurge day was just under 900 calories. I’ve made this decision to keep my calorie intake ultra-low, if I can, until the point where I can fit back into a size 14 and I find myself relating to the notion of 900 calories the way I used to relate to the notion of 2000 calories. But now, because I have a Lap Band, 400 calories,only provokes occasional twinges of hunger rather than a full out assault on my consciousness. I drink a lot of water and that helps as well. I know Dr. Ortiz’s materials suggest having some Metamucil for hunger. I may pick some up just in case.

My compromised computer does not allow me to link pictures right now, so I apologize for how dry looking blog is at the moment. Hopefully, I’ll have a new MacBook Pro sometime soon, and I’ll make this blog a little prettier once again.

I want to say one more time that this operation is a miracle. My life is now under my control in a way that  it hasn’t been in years. I’m not hungry, it doesn’t hurt and no, I’m not throwing up. I’m going to be able to do it – I just know it. Nothing is gonna stop me now. 🙂

Day 19. Still Not Hungry.

Dr. Ortiz keeps his patients on liquids for the first three weeks. He says that if you lose your pre-surgical weight and stick to liquids for three weeks, you can hope to lose between 30% and 50% of your excess weight in the first 8 weeks or so. And since I want to lose 100% of my excess weight, I have been almost perfect on this diet. I will admit to crushing three bite sized pieces of pineapple in my mouth, chewing them and swallowing what was left. So, I did cheat a little.

I am getting healthier. It’s an amazing thing. I’ve always been someone who walked a lot and I try and walk between 3  and 5 miles most days. But for the past several years, it’s been very difficult to do and I’ve had to stop and rest along the way – sometimes several times per block. Three nights ago, I walked 2.7 miles, stopped to rest maybe twice for only a few seconds, and covered the distance in 72 minutes. Pokey, it’s true, but gratifying nonetheless. The next night, I walked the 2.7 miles in 66 minutes and didn’t have to stop and rest even once. Last night, I walked it in sixty minutes. That was a real delight. Still, I should be able to cover a mile in under 15 minutes, so I have distance to go. But it remains, that 19 days after Lap Band surgery, I can do something I haven’t been able to do in years. And I’m 54 years old so that impacts the equation. I’m getting healthier already.

I feel fine. Today, I  forgot to eat anything besides my chicken broth. I’ll have to make up for that when i get back from my walk. I don’t have cravings. I don’t miss eating. My husband fixes himself dinner right next to my work space and it hasn’t been an issue in the least. I do avoid the grocery store because of the aromatic roast chicken that they have, but other than that, I haven’t given food much thought. I had been worried that I would have the worst case of munchies known to human kind, but no, no munchies. I’m so happy to be free of hunger that it’s just natural  and effortless to avoid food.

I haven’t weighed myself yet. I weighed 225 in clothes and shoes the day of surgery. This Thursday, on my 3 week anniversary, I’m going to weigh myself to see how much I’ve lost. I can tell you that my jeans are looser and a neighbor who didn’t know I had surgery commented that my face was changing and that I looked thinner. I’m hopeful that I have lost more than 5 pounds, but we’ll see. I’m trying to concentrate on the process rather than the scale.

I live right around the corner from Los Angeles’ Hugo’s Tacos. Some of the taco blogs consider them among the best tacos in LA with amazing light, crispy shells. So for my coming out dinner, I am going to have one taco. I have a very slender girlfriend and she and I went to Rick’s Tacos and Burritos in Pasadena one day. I ordered three tacos. She ordered one. She got done eating and pronounced herself stuffed. LOL Now, I get to be one of those women who can eat one taco and be satisfied. Yahoo.

Next on my list is ordering Bodylastics Bands to work out with. They’re pretty inexpensive but business is very slow right now so I’ve put off buying them. My dream is to get a Concept II rowing machine but right now, I’m not sure where I’d put it. I do have to figure out a way to work out during the rainy season.

Day 5 Post Op. Still Not Hungry.

The last time I ate solid foods was last Wednesday afternoon. I had my Lap Band on Thursday. Since that time, I still haven’t experienced any hunger. I’m drinking a couple bottles of protein water a day and a cup or two of diluted fruit juice. I stopped by a grocery store today and the smell of the roast chicken really got me for a couple minutes. But then I was out of the store and quickly forgot about it.

It’s interesting being this disconnected from food. I wonder how long it will last. I’m expecting that when my stomach heals, hunger will return but for the time being, I” going to take this as far as I can.

Day 5 And I’m Still Not Hungry!!!!

I was banded last Thursday and haven’t eaten solid food since last Wednesday afternoon. Much to my delight and surprise, I’m subsisting quite well on the diluted fruit juice and protein water diet prescribed by the luverly Dr. Miranda. I’ve had about a cup of apple juice today and 2 bottles of Kellogg’s Protein Water (50 calories, 5 grams of protein, 5 grams of fiber). Two more days and I get to add some broth and some liquid yogurt. Yahoo!!!

I don’t know if I’ve lost any weight because I don’t have a scale right now. I thought I’d wait a few weeks before I purchase one, just so I don’t get too crazy.

One of the women who commented said that I made the process sound so simple and easy. I want to reiterate that Dr. Ortiz makes it very simple  to get through the pre-surgical process. There is no drama in Dr. Ortiz’ facility. It’s one of the most well-organized and direct experiences I’ve ever had. They know exactly what they need to know to make sure that surgery is safe, and that’s what they find out. Everyone knows what their job is, and they do it quickly and move you on to the next stage. It’s just wonderful. And that’s what it’s like when you’re in the hands of someone with tremendous experience who is thoughtful – Ortiz has worked through it all and has the entire order worked out. I can’t say enough about the experience that I had there – they are wonderful people.