I am a little late with this update (week 7 was last Thursday). But here is is anyway!

Starting weight - 110.5kg
Current Weight - 100.9kg
Total lost - 9.6kg
Only 31.9kg to go!!

BMI Starting - 39.6
BMI Now - 36.2

Starting Hips - 132cm - Now 121cm <11cm
Starting Waist - 118cm - Now 111.5cm <6.5cm - Same
Starting Thighs - 71cm - Now 63cm <8cm - Same
Starting Calves - 44.5cm - Now 42 <2.5cm
Starting Arms - 41cm - Now 39cm <2cm - Same
Starting Chest -117cm - Now 112cm <5cm

I am sitting here eating cheese, dip and wine. Why am I doing this? I have had surgery to help with my weight loss yet I am still eating crap!! Well the wine and cheese are really nice … but you know what I mean.

Hubby and I have made a pact, to start Monday. Yes, yes I know I hear myself, the classic “diet starts on Monday” speech. But really it does. Marc and I both need to get our eating in order.

The funny thing is I wonder how many partners end up needing a band after their other half has lost all there weight. Marc has a bad habit of eating his dinner and then eating what’s left of mine.

So as of Monday we are on a healthy eating and exercise binge! I want to get down to 85kg before my holiday! I know it sounds like a lot but it’s 2kg a week over the next 8 weeks. Lets see if I can do it! I would love to be even at least under 90kg before we go away in November. To be able to fit comfortably in the seat, to not have a double chin in our holiday snaps and just to feel better in my clothes!!

So I am going to sit here and enjoy my wine and dinner, I am doing to savour every mouthful because as of Monday I am knuckling down and taking advantage of this awesome tool I have!

I was actually thinking today that there must be an advantage to paying for your surgery, not having your health fund or superannuation pay but you actually physically removing your savings and paying for it. I wonder if people who do that respect it more and do better? Or maybe it is how we are programmed and it takes a lot more than a band around our stomachs to get through the psychological part of being an over eater?

So until Monday …..

We decided to go out for dinner tonight, just down to the local tavern. We used to go there quiet a lot. I love a really nice steak and prefer to eat steak at a restaurant rather than at home … always tastes nicer! So tonight I ordered what I would normally order - eye fillet (300gram), topped with garlic prawns with a side of chunky chips and salad. Normally I would get through the entire meal, I would be full but I would eat it all. Tonight I took my time eating and kind of cheated a little by drinking water with my meal. I managed to get through 1/3 of the steak, 4 garlic prawns and 2 fork fulls of salad. I didn’t touch any of the chips!

How times have changed, for the better obviously. I am so full and I only ate 1/4 of what was on my plate which meals that even though the garlic prawns weren’t that healthy my total calorie intake is much less than what it would have been if I had have eaten all of the steak and chips too.

Another thing I notice when at restaurants now is the overweight people. I really wish I could run up to them and tell them … “I can change your life!!!”. But sadly I can’t so I see them and hope one day they will discover a way to be happy and lose the weight.

Eating is definitely a who new experience and I have to learn to order half serves and also to take things home for the next day …. or even for the dog! LOL

My friend Nicole and I have created a banding forum http://www.australianbandits.com.au

It is completely free to join! How can you put a price on support and advice! Come and join and help us create the best banding community in Australia!

http://www.AustralianBandits.com.au

Well the last post was far too short and I need to set a plan! Tomorrow is a new day! So as of tomorrow I am going to make a conscious effort to eat healthier!

I have a heap of organic fresh vegies in my fridge so tomorrow I am going to make an effort to include them in all 3 of my daily meals.

Breakfast - Scrambled egg with grated spinach and tomato

Lunch - Salad with tomatoes, lettuce, cucumber and grilled chicken

Dinner - Meat and vegies

I need and must eat healthier! This band will only work if I make it work! So I am going to aim to lose 2kg this week and get under the 100kg mark!

Another aim is to drink only water …. or as much water as I can and no sugar drinks!

Time to knuckle down!

So even though I have been good with the exercise part, I have been so bad with my eating this week. The healthiest thing I ate was a chicken salad yesterday. Sounds healthy right? Well parts of it were - lettuce, tomato, cucumber and it was all organic …. but I added full fat creamy caesar dressing and a chicken tender! So even though in my head I was telling myself it was healthy, really it wasn’t!

The whole week has been coke, chocolate, take away etc. I MUST STOP!!!

So this is my aim for next week! NO MORE JUNK FOOD!! NONE! No Coke, no chocolate, no take away! Good healthy yummy food!

That is all ….

So this was my first week of actively trying to include exercise in my daily life and I did great!

This week I have walked 3 times to the park and back, 1 of the walks was a big 30 minute walk the long way around the block and the other 2 were 20 minute walks to the park. I also spent 3 hours on Sunday mowing the lawn all on my own which I am sure is all my exercise in one session!

So even though I didn’t stick to my plan as such I still did exercise and I think I earned my reward, off to David Jones this Saturday to buy a piece of make up! YAY!

God I hate the word exercise!! Makes me want to vomit thinking about it. If someone says “you need to do shakes and exercise” I will seriously start convulsing. They are the 2 things when it comes to diet I just can’t handle. But it needs to change! I NEED to exercise to loose weight, I MUST exercise to loose weight!

Ok so I need to set some realistic goals and some awesome rewards

I went to a workshop with Circle Of Care the other day (the office I had my surgery done with) and it was about diet and exercise. He gave us a great worksheet to help us incorporate exercise into our lives, so I will work through that sheet on here so you can all see it and maybe it can help others.

Step One: Choosing the right time for you

Write down the best times for each day to be active.

Monday - 5-6pm, 7:30-8:30pm
Tuesday - 11am-12pm, 5-6pm, 9:30-10:30pm
Wednesday - 11am-12pm, 5-6pm
Thursday - 11am-12pm, 5-6pm
Friday - 11am-12pm, 5-6pm
Saturday -
Sunday - 9-10am

Step Two: What style of exercise?

Walking with Cooper
Walking with Marc and Cooper
Walking on the treadmill

At the moment walking is the easiest way for me to exercise. It cheap and easy! Plus I have an awesome treadmill in my living room that never gets used!

Step Three: Setting realistic goals

My goal is to exercise 4 times a week for 30 minutes.

Step Four: Setting a reward

As soon as I think of reward I think of chocolate! LOL but I guess that is a bad reward for someone trying to lose weight! So I have decided for every week that I achieve my exercise goals I will buy myself a piece of my favourite MAC make up - a lipstick, eyeshadow etc. So roughly $35 a week to reward myself. If I meet my monthly goal then I will have a beauty treatment done

Step Five: Exercise Plan

The Psychologist told us we need to have 2 weekly plans. One with 100% of our activities and one with 80% of activities. That way if we miss a day we wont write the whole week off and we will try and reach 80% of our goals.

So here are my weekly goals:

100% Activity

Monday - 7:30pm-8pm Walk on the treadmill while watching The Real Housewives of NYC
Tuesday - 9:30pm-10pm Walk on the treadmill while watching Kendra
Wednesday - Break
Thursday - 5-5:30pm Walk with Marc and Cooper
Friday - 5-5:30pm Walk with Marc and Cooper
Saturday - Break
Sunday - 9-9:30am Walk by the beach with Marc and Cooper after we visit the market

I will increase my exercise as I go along. I want to eventually take Cooper for a walk in the middle of the day and walk every afternoon with Marc.

80% Activity

If I miss an activity I will walk with Marc in the afternoon the following day. It is much easier to motivate myself when I go with him and I will be less likely to skip it and write the week off.

So they are my goals!

Ok so here is a mini update on weight, hip and waist measurements.

Starting weight - 110.5kg
Current Weight - 101.3kg
Total lost - 9.2kg
Only 32.3kg to go!!

Starting Hips - 132cm - Now 125cm <7cm
Starting Waist - 118cm - Now 111.5cm <6.5cm (same)

Today was my first band adjustment! YAY!

I was so nervous all morning. For those of you who know me will remember what a big needle lover I am … hahaha yeah right! All I kept thinking about was the huge needle I was going to have stuck in my belly! Not a great start to the day.

We got into the office and there was a medical student on, so he took photos for me (which I will add to the bottom of this post).

Ok so I am going to try my very best to answer the questions I know you are asking … because they are the same I had before my adjustment. Lets get the main one out of the way first.

Did it hurt?

The short answer is a big fat NO!!! When the needle comes out it is pretty scary! To me it looked about 30cm … possibly 20cm as it is like fishing and always seems bigger than it really is. Like any needle there was a tiny little scratch, but it was less than a blood test. Actually is was sooo much less than a blood test and felt just like someone had touched you with a pin but not pieced the skin. It was that painless.

What did it feel like?

Honestly the worst part was him piercing the port. He put the needle in my skin and moved around a little to find the port and when he pierced the mesh on the port it makes a crunch feeling …. not really a sound because you can’t here it but you can feel the crunch. Does that even make sense? LOL Then he injected and pulled the needle out and it was over in about 15 seconds.

How many mls did I have?

He put 2.5mls in my band and I have to go back in 6 weeks and will probably have more put in.

What happened next?

Basically I had to drink a full glass of water to make sure it would go down. I am now on shakes again for 48 hours and mush for 48 hours then solids again. That will happen after every adjustment.

So that’s it! I now have 2.5mls in my band and I feel … the same!!! LOL I am sure I will notice a difference when I eat solids

Here is the photo … the needle is halfway in and he is injecting! Ewww