I'm sure anyone who's struggled with weight loss knows exactly what this post's title is all about, Temptation! Any of these, or quite frankly a number of other situations like birthday parties, graduations, celebrations of all kinds, social situations galore...in other words life! can jump up and bite you in your weight loss goals. During Independence Day week I faced the triple threat all at once. My wife and I decided to enjoy a little time away to enjoy our first anniversary together. We didn't want to go too far as I was still less than two months out from surgery and had recently had my first fill. Luckily we live in the Sunshine State, so we headed for the wonderful beach at Siesta Key. We thought we could do a lot of outside activities and enjoy some of the local cuisine guilt free. Well, it rained 90% of the time, so much for the Sunshine State!
We did manage one limited trip to the beach where we got a nice long walk along the water and some mini golf, both led to good sweats in the Summer's heat and humidity. Unfortunately the weather left more time for the local cuisine. We did get to enjoy a couple Food Network visited eateries in Yoder's, home cooking Amish style, and Jose's Real Cuban Food. If you ever get the chance, you have to try some pie at Yoder's; it is worth the trip and the 30 minute line to get in. When I mean pie, any will do, we ended up trying a few varieties while we were in the area, and all were incredible. Enjoy! Jose's had an excellent array of Cuban food. They start you off with a sample of their pork if you are a newbie. We tried a couple items on special and everything we had was delicious. Again, don't see where you can go wrong here.
OK, I'm through torturing you with the food. This is supposed to be a blog about losing weight, not what to eat in the Sarasota/Bradenton area of Florida. The point is I was able to enjoy eating! The Lap Band didn't prevent me from enjoying the food, but it did help me not to over do it. It was a nice change from the vacations and special occasions of the past, where it was always a good excuse to binge myself into oblivion, leaving any diet in waste. Not this time! This time the Lap Band was my ally; it limited my portions and was a constant reminder of my ultimate goals and why I shouldn't lose control.
I was even able to enjoy our one year old wedding cake without too much guilt. It was pretty good too! Great job freezing it babe! With the Lap Band, I guess you can say that I can have my cake and eat it too! Sorry had to say it. ;P Now don't think there wasn't a weight loss cost to this. I certainly had a weight gain for the week, but instead of the usual complete derailment of a diet, I had a minor setback thanks to the Lap Band. The setback was easily reversed and I was back on track the following week. You need to get back to good habits with what you eat and your activity, which is so much easier after Lap Band surgery.
Life happens and it is unrealistic to think you can be on the straight and narrow all the time. The Lap Band allows you to enjoy the finer things in life without letting them sink your weight loss goals. Life with the Lap Band isn't harsh and hungry. Instead the Lap Band allows for a full and flexible lifestyle. You can have your cake, just remember to run with it too!
Thanks,
me
Sunday, July 21, 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
My First Fill
For those who may not know, getting a fill in the Lap Band world is when you inflate your band with a liquid solution, usually saline. It's certainly not filling up on lots of food as I might have thought in my pre-banded life. When the band is initially placed it is not inflated because there isn't a need for additional restriction while you heal from surgery. Once you heal it is necessary to use your Lap Band tool to make sure you restrict yourself before your body goes back to old eating habits. I will say that my stomach had begun to feel a little frisky, so I was glad Dr. Jessee began the fill process. The Lap Band is a very flexible tool in that you can have adjustments done through adding liquid or even removing liquid if you find yourself too restricted. It can be tailored to the individual's needs.
The process is simple. As I lay back on the medical table in Dr. Jessee's office, she placed a cylindrical pillow in the small of my back. This allows your port to be pushed up to as close to the surface of your skin as possible. The port is the part of your band that is sewn into your abdominal muscle where the needle can be inserted to either add or remove fluid from your band. This was my first fill, so I confess to be a little nervous, but I had the good fortune to witness a fill at the seminar I had attended, so I remembered it was a pretty straight forward procedure. The needle was fairly large, but it only pinched for a moment. Dr. Jessee asked me to sit up before I even realized that she had already inserted the liquid. That was easy! Now came the hard part. I had to drink water. Yes, it was hard because now I had to judge based on my drinking whether I had too much liquid. It's tough when you don't know what to look for. I had this feeling like I needed to burp, but couldn't. Dr. Jessee realized before I did, that I indeed had a bit too much and the water wasn't going down. She then had to reinsert the needle to remove a bit of the liquid. To be honest it was very confusing on what normal should feel like as I still felt a bit too restricted at that point. I feel it's more a matter of experience and as I get adjustments I imagine that I will get better at reading the signs. For now I was content in relying on Dr. Jessee's experienced and better judgement. She was really good at reading the signs, and she wasn't the one swallowing the water!
For the first day you are back on a liquid only diet followed by one day of mushy foods before getting back to solid food. This wasn't a hardship, as I certainly didn't want to eat anything solid. I kept feeling like I may have had too much of a fill, but later realized this is exactly how it's supposed to feel. I had my liquids and had them sparingly for the first day and a half. Then I cautiously introduced some mushy foods like cream of wheat, soups, and the like. Before I knew it I had the confidence to go back to solid foods probably by day four and haven't looked back since. It's amazing that I thought for sure that I was going to have to go back to have some removed, but felt just fine and back to normal a mere few days later. My advice is trust the process. Your doctor knows more than you do, so rely on their expertise especially at this stage.
I certainly feel restricted on how much I can eat, but that's exactly what the band is designed to do. It keeps you honest and encourages you to stick to the program. It is the tool I always wanted to help me on my journey. I always fell short in my weight loss goals, because at some point I would give in to the cravings. I couldn't stop myself in time before consuming mass quantities. No longer. Now the band will help me not go over the line. It will give me the strength to persist; I can now see it through; I won't falter. Thanks to the band, I have confidence in the journey; I have confidence in myself.
Banded,
me :-)
The process is simple. As I lay back on the medical table in Dr. Jessee's office, she placed a cylindrical pillow in the small of my back. This allows your port to be pushed up to as close to the surface of your skin as possible. The port is the part of your band that is sewn into your abdominal muscle where the needle can be inserted to either add or remove fluid from your band. This was my first fill, so I confess to be a little nervous, but I had the good fortune to witness a fill at the seminar I had attended, so I remembered it was a pretty straight forward procedure. The needle was fairly large, but it only pinched for a moment. Dr. Jessee asked me to sit up before I even realized that she had already inserted the liquid. That was easy! Now came the hard part. I had to drink water. Yes, it was hard because now I had to judge based on my drinking whether I had too much liquid. It's tough when you don't know what to look for. I had this feeling like I needed to burp, but couldn't. Dr. Jessee realized before I did, that I indeed had a bit too much and the water wasn't going down. She then had to reinsert the needle to remove a bit of the liquid. To be honest it was very confusing on what normal should feel like as I still felt a bit too restricted at that point. I feel it's more a matter of experience and as I get adjustments I imagine that I will get better at reading the signs. For now I was content in relying on Dr. Jessee's experienced and better judgement. She was really good at reading the signs, and she wasn't the one swallowing the water!
For the first day you are back on a liquid only diet followed by one day of mushy foods before getting back to solid food. This wasn't a hardship, as I certainly didn't want to eat anything solid. I kept feeling like I may have had too much of a fill, but later realized this is exactly how it's supposed to feel. I had my liquids and had them sparingly for the first day and a half. Then I cautiously introduced some mushy foods like cream of wheat, soups, and the like. Before I knew it I had the confidence to go back to solid foods probably by day four and haven't looked back since. It's amazing that I thought for sure that I was going to have to go back to have some removed, but felt just fine and back to normal a mere few days later. My advice is trust the process. Your doctor knows more than you do, so rely on their expertise especially at this stage.
I certainly feel restricted on how much I can eat, but that's exactly what the band is designed to do. It keeps you honest and encourages you to stick to the program. It is the tool I always wanted to help me on my journey. I always fell short in my weight loss goals, because at some point I would give in to the cravings. I couldn't stop myself in time before consuming mass quantities. No longer. Now the band will help me not go over the line. It will give me the strength to persist; I can now see it through; I won't falter. Thanks to the band, I have confidence in the journey; I have confidence in myself.
Banded,
me :-)
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