Sunday 29 March 2009


19 days post op - Just got back from 50 mile bike ride from Leeds to Burnsall just past Bolton Abbey- Great
I went to WW meeting on sat and have lost 4.5lbs this week - Thats 3 stone 2 lbs in total and thats 20kg which is airline luggage limit know wonder it used to hurt cyling up hills at 19 stone
I feel great have loads of energy which is amazing as all I eat is a slimfast for breakfast, small soup for lunch and half peice of fresh fish for tea with bit of garliv mayo, mango chutney and some cracked pepper - I threw out the salt grinder and the sugar
Looking forward to my firstofficial meeting with Wendy on Tue although I dont get my first fill until 28 April _ I hope to be 15.5 stone by then. Im amazed that having already shed 3 stone I am looking forward to shifting that spare tyre round my waist another 2 stone off and it will be gone.
My clothes are falling off me jeans that I couldnt wear for party at xmas as were unfastanable are now flapping in the wind well I have lost 6 inches from my waist
The cycling going really well and am up to 725 road miles ytd. Tommorrow I pick up new new secret weapon another bike this time a pimped out carbon fibre beast thats means I can still go cycling twice a week evan if raining as will just go round woods where its partly sheltered.

I now dont eat until im hungry I have bought a juicer off ebay and have a blender so will start doing healthy juices as getting that down will be no problem and will be good for vitamins and energy.
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Wednesday 25 March 2009



As McDonalds say - I'm Lovin It
Cant tell you how good I feel all my clothes are starting to fall off me and beer belly is all but gone
On Sun I went to the WLS group conf in Blackpool and it was a great day
I really understand more now about the procedure and how I can make it work for me
What did shock me was a plastic scale model replica of stomach with band fitted - I thought it went half way down like an egg timer to give restriction but no way it sits right near the top and the pouch above is only the size of a golf ball - Now how am I gonna fit a fully loaded large pizza in there - Im not
New revelation - In now officially on the mushy stage of the diet thank god I was bored with fluids.
Well basically I now have fish every night for tea - I but fresh daily from asda in one of those cook in bage 2 filletts my son Lewis 14 and daughter Holly has 3/4 and guess what I have a 1/4 so am saving amazing amount of money on food because I just buy food for my kids and I have a tiny bit
Whats amazing is a dont feel hungry - I now learnt from the conf dif between head hunger and physical hunger - When my stomach growls I eat but only small portion naturally and then feel contented
I am booked in for my first fill with the lovely Wendy on 28 April and hop eto be down to 15st 7lbs by then so will only be 1.5 st off target
I actually starting to think about what happens when I get to goal - I'll have to have some fluid taken out
I'm back 2 work today and have been doing loads of cycling - 200 miles since surgery
I've lots of energy and am not on a DIET - I think carefully about what i'm gonna eat as because the portion size is so small I want it toi be nourishing and very tasty
This programm works for me and is far easier way of losing weight than anything else I have evr tried in my life
For anyone thinking of Weight Loss Surgery I highly recommend WLS Group - Their customer care and committment to client is exceptional and all their surgeries come with 2 years aftercare
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Tuesday 17 March 2009


Tuesday 17 March 2009 - 16 stone 10lbs - 34lbs off since New Year
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Monday 16 March 2009 - 6 days post op

My shoulder pain has gone, I did not need painkillers on Sunday so that is a relief to get rid of it. I used stick on heat pads, gripe water, peppermint tea to try and get rid of it. I feel absolutely great my stomach is only a tiny bit tender and have slept like a baby the last 2 nights. On sunday I went to Weight Watchers and was 16stone 10.5 lbs so thats 13.5lbs in 2 weeks loss. The group leader was delighted and whilst I did not tell her about the band it has not started working yet as I have no restriction. I am going to continue with weight watchers until such a time that I have adequate restriction. I am on a liquids only diet which I'm bored with already however must follow for 2 weeks. I am desperate to get back to the gym and more importantly out on my bike. The weather has been good today and I would love to be out riding.

Measurements
9 Jan v 16 Mar
Chest 52 47
Waist ( Navel ) 50 46
Hips ( Widest ) 48 44
Neck 18 16.5.
Leg ( Widest ) 27 25
Arm ( Widest ) 15 14

I am delighted at how I a m feeling in fact I barely recognise the thinner person looking back at me in the mirror. My clothes are starting to drop off me and clothes I bought previously that were too small or tight now fit great. Can't imagine how I will look or feel when I get to target. Yes i said WHEN and not IF

  • Target

    14 stone
    196lbs
    89KG


    Mountain Bike

    I am in the process of building up a mountain bike. I have sourced all the parts from e-bay and am just awaiting the wheels and tyres then she's ready to roll. The idea is that I can then go out every weekend biking irrespective of weather. If the weather is good its a 50 mile road bike if weather is poor its a couple of hours in the woods / local trails.
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Wednesday 11 March 2009

Sexy compression tights

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Day 3 - Thu 12 Mar 2009 - Feelling a lot better today, shoulder pain has eased off a lot, keeping up with my painkillers, had my stomach injection and just pottering about the house. Stomach is still swollen so no desire to eat anything - I will clarify that im on a liquid only diet now post op for 2 to 3 weeks and then mushy food for 2 weeks after that. I have had a few coffees but will try some soup later. I think the key to success is to follow the advise given by the professionals 100%. I did this on the pre op diet and intend to continue this now. In addition I will not have my first fill until 6 weeks which is 21 April so I will not have any restriction until then and it may take several fills and a few months before I hit the sweet spot of correct restriction. I will therfore be very careful to follow advise given as I am 100% committed to making sure that this is a success. I will monitor evrything I have to eat and drink in my daily journal and complete the online journal on foodfocus. I am booke din as a day delagte at the WLS conf in Blackppol next weekend and will be attend the Weight Loss Surgery monthly support group in Leeds starting on 13 April.

Band surgery - Tue 10 Mar 2009

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My gastric band surgery was booked for Tuesday 10 Mar 2009 at the First Trust hospital in Preston. I travelled over by train on Monday and went to the hospital to have my bllod done. The hospital is a small private facility with 22 rooms a few miles out of Preston. The Ibis hotel is only a 10 min walk away although you have to drag your case under the motorway subway.
I went to the hospital on Tuesday morning for 8am and was escoted to my private room with en suite. I changed into my paper pj's and waited to see the surgeon, 5 people were being banded that day and I was number 3 however I did have a delay as due to problems with my blood samples a further sample was taken and sent off to Blackpool hospital for analysis . My blood platelets were down which is what makes your blood clot, a further discussion with the surgeon and we wre ready to go. The staff nurses at the hospital were lovely, I eventually was taken down to theatre about 3pm and the op went well and was straight forward. When I came round I was monitored by one of the nurses before being taken back to my room. The tube that is put down your throat during surgery makes your voice a bit rough for a while after and I was not uncomfortable as given painkillers. The aneatatist came to see me and advised me that I suffered from sleep apnea where I stopped breathing whilst sleeping so hopefully with continued sustained weight loss this will be another ailment that is cured.
The only real pain I got was with the trapped wind. We stayed in hospital overnight and due to my sleep apnea I was checked regularly through the night. The following day the only problem was the trapped wind which gave me acute pain in my shoulder. It was a releif to return home on Wednesday. My stomach is swollen following surgery but my shoulder hurts that much i'm not really aware of any pain in my tummy area. I went to bed at approx 1.30am thinking I was going to be in for a long night,I propped myself up in bed and felt the strain on my stomach wounds as I lay down and my shoulder began to hurt. Anyway I had a heqted whey bean bag so tried to get in a comfy position and amazingly fell almost straight to sleep and awoke at 6.50am on Thursday - Great

Sunday 8 March 2009

Day 7 of Pre Op Diet - 8 Mar 2009


Heres a picture of me taken tonight by my son Lewis - 17 stone exactly

Its the end of day 7 on the pre op diet and i'm all packed and ready to go to Preston tomorrow

Im staying overnight in a hotel and then getting the band fitted on Tue
I must say that this is the best i've felt for a while - I'm down 30lbs from New Years Eve and really enjoying getting some road miles in on my bicycle.
This morning I did Leeds to Burnsall in the wind and then sleat on the way back 50 miles in 4 hrs - 3200 cals

Not bad on fuel of Slimfast and a peice of fruit - My friends did not question why I was not having anything to eat at the cafe
Im very confident that if I can work hard to follow the plan and get the weight off the band will assist me in keeping it off

Tip - Have got a journal that I log everything I eat and drink plus exercise and then do net cals at end of each day
Will add steps from pedometer also when I get it working - Also then load it all onto Food Focus so can see breakdown of not only calories but % Protein, Fat and Fibre - Super detailed - Not for everyone but if you can be bothered its well worth it
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Saturday 7 March 2009

Day 6 of pre op diet

Today is Day 6 of my pre op diet
I joined Weight Watchers on Sunday night before I started the diet on Mon with a friend of mine
Sunday night was the world club challenge Rugby League Final so I had my final supper of Curry and Wine - Bloody Lovely

Anyway can't make Weight Watchers class on Sunday as going out biking so went today Saturday morning

Am shocked to have losy 11lbs - Yes 11 Lbs in 5 full days

I have stuck to it 100% and done lots of exercise including Gym, Cardio, Spin class and on Thursday on day off a 72 mile road bike ride to Kettlewell

Why join WW you ask - Well im aware that many people feel swollen after surgery so have little appetite and manage fluids only but then after approx 2 weeks many people report hunger and being able to eat anything due to swelling going down and no restriction. Most people have 1st fill at 6 weeks so leaves several weeks in no mans land plus there is no guarantee that it may not take several fills to hit the sweet spot. With this in mind I am going to attend WW weekly with my friend to officially record my weight.
In essence I see it as running in parallel with band - The band may not work for me for several weeks evan months so I need something else in place to keep me on track

Thats the idea anyway - Will keep my WLS private from group for time being
I have no issue in them knowing as its a personal thing and I dont really care what people think - Im doing this for me, my health and my children.

However some may perceive its easy option - Which i'm certain it is not
I'm nervously excited but quite looking forward to it in an odd sort of way

I'm travelling over to Preston by train on Monday on my own and getting bloods done at the hospital then staying overnight in a hotel before attending the hospital on Tue 10 Mar

I'm feeling rather pleased with myself that I have been able to not only maintain the weight I lost on Lighter Life but kick on and loose more. I was 19st 2 at New Year and am 17 st today so thats 30lbs / 15kg gone

If i'm honest after my epic 72 mile bike ride on Thu I was shattered that evening and craved a take away and a few glasses of wine which if it was not for the pre op diet I would have been easily influenced as having expelled over 5500 calories you feel like you deserve a treat

I did not faulter and enjoyed my slimfast shake and small bowl of green salad

So its only 2 more days on the diet now and then am getting banded

I've set my target goal mentally at 14 stone which is 196lbs - So whilst i'm only looking to lose a further 3 stone i've lost 2 stone already so that magic work maintaining is Key

I really hope the band will help me to maintain my gradual weight loss rather than Yo Yo as before !

I have taken the decision not to tell my kids as I don't want them to worry about me and have only told direct family about my decision to have a band. Once I return home on Wed I am happy to tell everyone who will listen and for those that frown and don't approve so what - I don't care.

This is my band living in my body - If someone else wants breast implants, a tummy tuck or face lift thats their choice.
I'm not doing this for Vanity far from it - I like me and the person I am, I dont want to be skinny or slim far from it, I'd be very happy being as I am now if I could guarantee my health at least while the children become adults and chose thier path in life

As a single person widower I do worry about what would happen to them if anything happened to me - Should that not be the exact motivation to lose weight traditionally I hear ?
YES of course it is - Buts its not quite that simple


I assume very person who is overweight can think of some credible rationale why they should - A loved one, children, caring for parents etc

The big thing for me is that I am worried that if I do not get down to a healthy BMI then my Diabetes and High Blood Pressure will catch up with me one day and thats my main motivation.

Tuesday 3 March 2009

Day 2 - Pre op diet

Today is Tuesday 3 March which is Day 2 on my Pre Op diet

I have been following the pre op diet of 4 Slimfasts and portions of fruit and veg with no trouble
This is probably due to the fact that the shakes taste a lot better than the Ligter Life ones I was having in January and I am also enjoying a bit of fruit and small portions of green salad

I have also thrown away my salt mill today and have decided that on a go forward basis our family doesnt need salt. I love cracked pepper on my food so hope that is ok but think getting rid of the Salt will be a good move

When I am back on solid foods I plan to do a lot of my own cooking rather than rely on pre prepared food

Can't beleive that one week today I will be banded - Nervously excited

Monday 2 March 2009

Why a Gastric Band

I have been thinking about having a Gastric band for several years now and have finally made the decision to go ahead. I have tried every diet going known to man from clubs to tablets you name it and i've done it. This cyucle has been going on for 20 years.

Every year seems to get harder and no-ones getting any younger
I seem to be on a revolving wheel where each Xmas I feel crap and then decide to do something about it normally with a degree of success. Christmas 2007 I weighed 19 stone and with a cycling holiday booked for June and a charity bike ride from London to Paris at end of July I had to get my act together.

I joined WW but wasnt getting a lot out of it so I bought some digital scales and decided to get weighed at same time each week and record in my filofax.
the allocated time was 7.15pm the same time as WW Class.

I promised myself that I would take drastic remedial action if I put on in any given week and lost every week sometimes half a pound but always losing.

I basically found it was a three pronged attack that worked for me

1. Reduce calorie intake - switch to healthy option

2. Reduce alcahol - still had wine every night but not as much

3. Increase exercise - spin classes at gym and road cycling


All was going well and I managed to get down to 16 Stone for the summer

Then the wheels fell off so to speak, The bad food habits started again with takeaways etc and suddenly I was downing too much wine and I seemed to have forgoitten the way to the gym and bike was getting dusty.

So by Christmas 2008 I was back up to 19 stone 2 lbs and so it starts again

I knew I had to do something about it so decided to try Lighter Life as a new option and did that for 4 weeks but had to come off it as had no energy for cycling and gym. Now I don't just want to lose weight I want to increase my fitness. Some people have incredible weight loss on Ll but only 500 cals a day you are soon in Ketosis but I wanted to be able to exercise at the same time. I was also very concerned about maintaing the weight loss but that was for another day first I had to lose it. It did claw away at me though the praise at losing weight and then seeing people again if you regained - Not good

I am pleased to report that since coming off Lighter Life at end of Jan I have maintained my weight, I put about 5 lbs on staright away but have managed to lose that over the last 3 weeks. Thats not bad considering I Knew I had to do a pre op diet so have had a few last suppers in the last couple of weeks. I didnt go overboard but I did enjoy myself - Naughty but nice

I am reasonably fit for example I have cycled 90 miles in the last 2 days but at 17st 11 lbs it kills me on the hills .

As well as losing weight I am hopefull that my band will assist me in improving my health. I am suffering from the following

Diabates

High blood pressure

High cholesteral

Over the last 2 years my medication has gone up I used to be on 5mg ramipril wheras now on 10 plus have to take an extra tablet I didnt used to need before.
I also sometimes forget to take my meds which is not clever but these ailments have no side effects so you dont actually fell like your health is at risk.

Sadly my beautiful wife died suddenly of a brain haemmorage 6 years ago so I have brought our two wonderful children up - At the back of my mind I am worried about stroke orr heart attack and have tried but struggle to mainatin - Hopefully the band will be the permenant fix ive been looking for

I made a decision on weekend after I came off LL to to go for the band.
i Had already done lots of research and had selected WLS group. I saw Michelle on TV Extreme Slimmers programme

Amazingly I called Called WLS on the Monday morning in London and spoke to Colleen. By pure chance ( Or was it fate ? ) Wendy who does the fills had a clinic in Leeds that day and agreed to see me so within 3 hrs of phoning up I was sitting talking to Wendy which went well. I then found out they had a cancellation for 4 weeks later which is 10 Mar so I booked it and here I am one week out.

I have not gone in to this blind and have spent many weekends surfing the net reading 100's of peoples diaries about banding. I am aware of the issues re slippage and erosion and can see that it does not work for everyone but am committted to try and make it work for me

I expect that the band will give me 30% but i've got to give 70%

I hope to lose 7lbs on the pre op diet so should be 17st 4lbs on surgery day Tue 10 Mar

My target weight that I have set myself is 14 stone ( 196lbs )
This will be a post surgery target of 3 st 4lbs but the main thing is maintaining, my worry at the moment if I was not having this procedure is would I put the weight back on?

If I can acheive and maintain at 14 st I will be delighted it will help my health and hopefully a reduction of medication and will certainly help my cycling

According to BMI I should be with the range of 9st 9lbs to max of 12st 6lbs which seems crazy

Day 1 of pre op diet

Today 2 March 2009 is Day One of my pre op diet. I can have 4 Slimfasts per day and 3-5 small portions of fruit or vegetables.

I evan managed a 40 mile bike ride to Bolton Abbey. Having recently done 4 weeks on Lighter life this pre op diet should be easy.
I have registered with Food Focus and will log everything I have to eat and drink daily plus enter exercise.

Today I have consumed 944 calories but my 3hr 4 mins bike ridburned 2478 cals according to Food focus ( Garmin says 3164 but I assume that records about 30% too high )

Net calories = - 1484 ( Yeah that does stated minus calories for the day )

See what Day 2 brings