Try, try again

Well it is the end of the year and I am really pleased that I am doing the Small Bites Daily Inspirations. I am getting alot out of it and it is keeping me focused, well mostly, although I would love to hear what you have to say on each topic, and remember it does not have to related directly to WLS, but in many aspects of our life. Also, if you want to follow me.....you can add yourself through google connect on the LHS of page.

Tomorrow, being New Years Day we are having our family get together, that is my brothers, Dad & Val and my neice and nephews, as well as Si's parents. We have not done the Christmas presents with most of that side of the family and we have a BBQ at our house. 

I am mostly on track with food at the moment, although there has been a few holiday treats. Today has been the first day since starting this posting daily that I have had some fizzy drink. But like the title says - Try, try again. 

So for the last day of 2010, the NAWLS Small Bites - Daily Inspiration is :

Try, try again
Sometimes after the holidays it's hard to get back on track again. Maybe you've put on a few pounds/kilos and feel huge. Maybe you feel like you cannot control your eating. Please know this feeling with pass. 

Keep trying. Start over every minute if you have to. And eat dense protein. Even if you have to bake chicken for breakfast, do it. Make tasty, "safe" foods, such as stewed chicken and vegetables. Eat good foods you like at every meal until you start to feel more satisfied and in control. It's hard to feel yucky when you eat solid, healthy food.

Action for the day:
Get back to basics. Eat dense protein and well-prepared nutrient-rich vegetables at every meal today. 

© 2007, Katie Jay. All rights reserved.

Well I didn't manage this today, but I did make some plans for upcoming meals by going through both my WLS friendly and Gluten free recipies. I think I also need to get to the farmers market each week and buy really fresh great ingredients for meals.

Off now to see the New Year in, not sure IF I will make it till midnight as I still have some things to make for tomorrow. Wishing you all a very happy New Year and the best for 2011. I am going to make this a WLS year.

Get enough sleep

Today's post is about sleep and the impact on Weight loss. At this time of the year it is so easy to stay up late and get over tired with all the festivities. So I think it was quite timely to look at sleep. 

So the Small Bite - Daily Inspiration from the National Association of Weight Loss Surgery for today is:

Get enough sleep.
Do you put off going to ned so that you can have quiet time to yourself, even though you have to get up early? Do you place a higher value on a lot of things besides sleep?

Insufficient sleep is tied to weight regain. It's harer to follow a halthy food plan when you're tired. In fact, everything is much more difficult when you're tired. Lack of sleep is one of the biggest problems people have, and the most underestimated in its impact on your health. 

Action for the day:
Start a log to find out how much sleep you're really getting. Find a way to get more rest, if needed.

© 2007, Katie Jay. All rights reserved.

I know this is a big one for me, I can find myself saying I'm tired at around 9pm but somehow I get cuaght up with something, or more precisely (something - the computer or FB) and I find myself in bed at 11:30. I say to myself I would like to go to the gym in the morning, but there is almost no way of dragging my butt out of bed that early. 

So, I will start this journal once I go back to work, and when I hear myself say, "I'm tired"  I will go to bed, rather than play "just one more game" on FB.

Refocus on your needs

Day two of the Small Bites - Daily Inspirations from the National Association of Weight Loss Surgery and it is in some ways simalar to yesterday.

Refocus on your needs.
Haveyou been so busy you forgot to take care of yourself? If so, it's time to regroup.

The longer you live the WLS lifestyle, the less urgent it seems to make healthy choices. But when you disregard your own needs, even to care for others, you do yourself - and them - a disservice. Today, remind yourself that your WLS lifestyle is effective only when you stop and acknowledge you have the disease of obesity, and that you need to be treating it whether you are overweight or not.

Action for the day:
Take a few minutes to plan what you will do to refocus on your health needs in the coming year. Write down you plans and refer to them often.

© 2007, Katie Jay. All rights reserved.

For me this year refocusing on my health needs means getting back to basics!!

• Having my protein first, and making that the priority.
• Watching the carb intake and limiting any carbs to the more complex rather than simple ones. 
• Upping my water intake and limiting the fizzy stuff (even if it is sugar free)
• Move more - get out for walks.
• Not drinking with meals
• Remember that I paid to have this way of life - so lets get the most out of it. 

Oh, Blondie, I did a little bit about the Meet & Greet on one of the posts, but did not really go into detail of the actual event. Let's just say it was fabulous and everyone had a great time. If you want to see the pics you can go to my you tube channel (Top right corner) and the photos are on there as a video montage. 

Today we are heading out and about a little, going to go to Te Manawa. I am looking for free or cheap things to do with our time as we have kinda overspent a little and we are heading away for a weekend in a couple of weeks that I need to save for.

Reflect first, then plan.

So I mention a post of so back that as at the New Year I was going to follow the Small Bites Daily Inspirations from the National Association of Weight loss Surgery for the whole year and I was going to follow through with the exercises (journal/meditation etc). Well I decided I need to start early and really get this going and my head sorted.

For each day I will type out the actual small bite and then the action for the day, so if you want you can do the same.

Reflect first, then plan.
On New Year's Eve, many people talk about their plans for the coming year. They make resolutions and hope for better times ahead. But before you start down the resolution path, pause for a moment and truly reflect. What can you learn from the past year about yourself? Have you discovered what works in terms of health and what doesn't? You can make resolutions soon (or better yet, set goals) but today look back. You owe it to yourself to learn your lessons, so that you can grow wiser and healthier in the coming year.

Action for the day:
Even if you don't usually journal, take a few minutes to do this exercise. Make a list of things you wish you had done differently this past year, and then a list of what you did well. Next to the things you wish you had done differently, write down a step you can take to ensure you won't repeat that mistake. Next to the things you did well write down what you can do to continue having success in that area. Read this list every morning in January.

© 2007, Katie Jay. All rights reserved.

Things I wish I had done differently: (steps I am going to take to stop me repeating mistake in red)

• Savings - we were meant to be saving for a trip to aussie, but due to not being able to save really well, we decided that buying a car and paying it off was a better option. So now we have no savings, and a debt. Still going to try to save - but will take up a friends offer to hold the eftpos card so I can't make rash purchases with it.

• Exercise - I can honestly say that this past year I have done hardly any exercise. When we moved here I had great intentions of going to curves, but with working fulltime it just never happened so I stopped paying that membership. I said I would walk the dog, but that didn't happen. I said I would go to aqua aerobics, I have been once. We joined the gym for 3 months over summer - I have only been once to the start up session. I am setting up a payment plan to myself. Each time I go to the gym (up to 3 times in a week) I am allowed my next weeks spending money.......(we have $30 each to spend) otherwise it goes on bills. So in other words if I have not been to the gym 3 times this week, when it comes to payday I can not allocate myself the $30. I am aso going to pay myself $2 for every 20 minute walk I do with the dog. Maximum 2 walks per day. Maybe even meet up with friends for a walk a couple of times a week.

• Drinking with meals has always been hard for me, and I know that I can fit more in if I drink when I eat, and of course I like food, that is part of my problem, I am a foodie. So I want to fit more in, so by drinking I can. I manage to do this at work, I never have a drink with my lunch if I am on track with eating.......I still do however if it is something bad for me that I know I want to finish. Stop bringing a glass of something to the table and only going and getting a drink if I REALLY need it - not to force the food down.

• Drinking more water is essential as well, the gym said my body water weight was really low and that I should be sipping from a drink bottle all the time. I know this, as this is what I should be doing for my WLS, but it has taken a backseat to coke zero, which of course now is thought to help strecth the pouch (carbonated drinks). I have bought some low cal, lemon and barley which I am going to put in with the water to give it a little flavour.

• Letting carbs back in - this is tough, as I do feel that some carbs are okay, justnot the overly processed carbs, and here I am talking more about the crap food, the chippies and the lollies and the chocolate. Sure potatoes and rice and fruit are carbs but are still much better alternatives to the above. I feel that I need to maybe limit these things and certainly the portion sizes (see below). but they main issue for me is actually the crap food. Stop buying it!!!!!!!!

• Portion Sizes have crept up again and I know some of it is from drinking with meals, so it is kinda a double whammy. Use a smaller plate to get back into control the real size of servings.

• Blaming the steroids for my weight gain. Sure it has a factor, but it is not the reason I have gained weight and over my accceptable ceiling. Take ownership of my mistakes that have allowed the weight to come on.

• Stopping Gluten Free - Most of the time I am, but then I just can't be bothered and honestley sometimes there is jsut something about a white bread tomato sandwhich or a pie or something equally as bad for my WLS journey that I just want, and so I do and then I pay the price by being itchy and irritable for the next week. Embrace the change and find alternatives that I can make myself. It is so much better than being itchy constantly.

Things I have done well (and what I can do to continue to have success in that area)

• Held a fulltime job for a year. After being sick and made redundant I was not sure I could get and hold fulltime employment, but although I was only meant to be part time over the last year, as at the 5th January I have been 1 year fulltime. I think I have done this by recognising when I was finding things a bit tough and taking time off throughout the year to have some mini breaks. Continue with the taking breaks when I need it and recognising when I get tired or run down.

• Creating and hosting the first ever WLS Meet & Greet. What a ride that was, and I am so pleased that I achieved it, and we had over 100 happy people. Planning is starting on the next one and I know it will be just as if not more successful as we I will learn from my mistakes. Keep working to the the formula that worked and tweak what needs tweaking.

• Fostering - taking the first steps towards becoming a parent, after learning of the difficulties we will encounter having a child ourselves. I know I want to be able to be a positive influence in a young persons life, but on the other hand I am scared that I will make a shambles of it. But as they say in the training, they are not looking for PERFECT parenting, just positive and consistant parenting. Complete the workbook and meet with the social worker to continue the steps towards being a foster parent to a special child.

• Not moved house!!!!!!!!! On the 5th January will mark 1 year at this house, and thankfully we have not had to move.....not like the year before where we moved 4 times in one year. Although I have to admit I still look at houses every now and then and think, wow that would be nice to live there. Especially when the landlord has still not installed the heat transfer kit, and I want to make sure that is done before winter rolls around!!! Speak with the landlord to get the heat transfer kit installed and then I will be happy as!!!!!!!!

• Vitamins - I have done really well this past 6 months of taking my vitamins. I think it is becuase I have found a better routine with taking all my other medication as well and I seem to be fitting it in more. Getting the Bariatric Advantage Calicum Chews was also a big factor as the calicum was the one I was missing the most. Continue with the routine I have in place for my pills.

• Identifying what I want to do as a career. I really want to be heading up the national organisation for WLS here in New Zealand and to be promoting the support and resources which are available for everyone who has had WLS or who is considering it. My aim is to be able to turn this into a full time role and maybe even get it to the stage where it employs several people from our community. I know that I can make this work, just like I did with the Meet and Greet. It is a little like the movie Field of Dreams - if you build it, they will come. Keep chipping away at the plan, and run with the ideas. I CAN MAKE THIS HAPPEN!!!!!!!!!

So there you have it, that is the first day done of the Small Bites Daily Inspirations for Weight Loss Surgery Patients. You can buy the book from the National Assocation of Weight Loss Surgery website. 

I will be doing this daily and would love to hear your feedback about not only my journey through this, but anything you yourself might want to share. 

Payments..........

I was talking to my surgery sister (Annie) this morning and we were talkng about exercise and how to actually make sure we do enough in a week. She mentioned that she is not getting out for enough walks since stopping her gym memberships. 

I asked her what made her go to the gym, and she said it was that she was paying for it. So I came up with an idea that I am going to use at home as well. 
To get myself some spending money, for clothes, coffees, movies, etc I have to work for it. That means for me, if I want to get my say $30 of spending money each week for me to do what I like with, then I have to go to the gym 3 times in the previous week, if I don't then that spending money goes onto one of the bills.

I thought that this is getting a double benefit....one I get to the gym the 3 times in a week, and I get to have some spending money that I can do what I like with. I then took it further and thought about how I could encorporate that further into my situation. 


So, how do I get a triple benefit out of it......well, if I take the dog for a walk for at least 20 mins, I get $2 as spending, so that is a benefit to me, to the dog and to my fitness!!!!!!!!! YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That $2 per time, I am going to put into a jar and when I have enough I am going to go shopping with it for clothes. 


We heard at our meeting a couple of days ago that pretty much yes there will be restructure but what that looks like for our site won't be known till around July. By then I hope to have the national organisation up and running and be able to be working from home doing what I love doing. 


So I didn't make it to the gym today as we have been flat out today organising our new car. We ended up buying a 2004 Nissan Maxima. It is really lovely and it was just what we have been looking for. So now I have to get out to the gym and to take the dog for a walk to pay for it!!!!!!!! LOL. 

Specialist Update

I had an appointment with my specialist yesterday, and he was runing 1.5 hours late. So I finally got out of the appointment around 6pm. 

It was great though, he is happy with how things are going with the liver results and in January he is dropping down my steroid dose by 2.5 mg and then the following month we are dropping down again. It will take a while to come of them, but it is the right direction.

So back to how I am going to focus on my fitness, well I had my first program set by the trainer on Tueday, and it didn't go as well as I had hope. I have been to gyms before and managed all of the exercises but she set me one that I just really struggled with and I ended up bursting into tears and honestly I could have almost stopped right then and there, but I didn't I continued, but man I felt so useless especially after having lost as much weight as what I have, that I couldn't do that simple thing. But I guess when you have been obese since the age of 9 some of the muscles just don't work the same. 

So back to the gym tonight, had a rest day on between. It should take around 45 mins for my program, and I will honestly attempt each thing. After she realised where my actual fitness level is, she has adapted some of it and on some of the exercises she wants me to even to do 2 on each leg as a start and slowly build up. 

So, the focus on fitness is continuing and I am also concious of what I am eating. I bought a calorie counter the other day as although I never want to really diet again, I do need to be concious of my energy levels, and one of the things I discovered was that I am not eating anywhere near enough in energy during the day, which would account for why I am ready to enhale the house when I get home from work and that doesn't usually stop till bedtime. 

So I am increasing my intake during the day which should make things more even. 

Next year I am also going to be blogging more about my journey to actually re-establish a strong link between myself and my WLS tool. I am using the Katie Jay "Small Bites - Daily Inspirations for Weight Loss Surgery Patients" book which has exercises everyday. Some of these are journaling, some are meditation etc, and I am going to give myself over to that process. You can get some of the daily inspirations free from her website www.nawls.com

Today is going to be an interesting day, we have meeting at work regarding possible restructuring, so I might pop back later to update. Just trying to keep an open mind and arm myself with the knowledge I have gottent hrough redundancy and illness at the same before, I can get through anything. 

If I don't make it back before Christmas, have a safe and Merry Christmas.

Focussing on Fitness

That is my main aim for the summer to focus on fitness as well as food. I would really like to get back down to my lowest weight before getting sick. I would like to take control of my re-routed guts and feel in control again.

It kind of ties in nicely with the Daily inspirations for Weight Loss Surgery Patients book that I have, and the entry for December 1st is :


"Change your Pace"
When you get bored with your routine, you are vulnerable to breaking it. Better to build in some variety than to go looking for it in a vulnerable moment. 


You can change all sorts of things to keep life interesting. For example, if you walk at a fast pace whenyou're exercising, take a stroll instead and focus on your breath - breathe in for four paces and breathe out for four paces. If you normally take leisurely walks, pick up the pace. See if you can cover your usual distance in a shorter amount of time. 


Action for the day:
Change something today to make your regimen more interesting. Do a different exercise, try a new spice, have a picnic for lunch, or eat dinner for breakfast - whatever sounds fun to you.

If you want to get small bites like this sent to your email you can go and sign up for the free emails from www.nawls.com

So for me, that is what I am going to do. Si and I recently bought a 3 month membership off www.grabone.co.nz to CLM Gym which is at the pool, and I am going to get back into getting my fitness up and hopefully that will have a positive flow on effect on the weight.

I am planning on doing aqua aerobics at least twice a week and then also some cardio work. I am meeting with the trainer next Tuesday to work through a program, but before that I will just do cardio and aqua till then, and then I might do some low weights as well to help build some muscle. I need to be a bit careful there will the steroids.

Oh, I guess that I should mention that the Meet & Greet went really well, and the feedback we got was really positive. We are now working towards redoing the website and moving towards setting up a national organisation to provide support and resources for the Weightloss Surgery community. With that I am trying to look at funding support to cover the operational costs including possibly covering wages for myself.

Why this has become of some immediate importance is that after I got back to work last week, I found out that our call centre looks likely to be shutting down within the next year and I am uncertain as to what hours I will have next year as technically I'm on a part time contract although working fulltime at the moment till Jan 5th next year. What will happen after that who knows.But I have to stay positive.

Oh that note, I am going to head to bed and get a nice nights sleep, and hopefully be at the pooltomorrow night for the aqua deep class.

Well it's here........the WLS Meet & Greet - New Zealand 2010.

I can't beleive after all the planning the weekend is actually here, and that we have had so much amazing support from so many company's. Here are just some of the companies that have provided some amazing support.

I still have a little to do this morning, nothing major, just a couple of calls to make and to type up some thoughts about the segment I am presenting, which is just surrounding the possible formation of a national organisation that provides support and resources for all things Weight Loss Surgery.


Some of the things that I want to bring up during this is that by having a national organisation we can hopefully have a strong support network, which help provide insight into the realities of WLS through all of the stages - good & bad. Having a national magazine like Obesity Help which celebrates our decision to "lead healthier lives with Weight Loss Surgery" or the National Association for Weight Loss Surgery (NAWLS) who suport and encourage with online forums and daily emails to keep you motivated and on track.


Products- I would so love to be able to get more top quality bariatric products here. Obviously if we can source good local products such as Eatme Protein Shakes, then brilliant, but where there is not the availability being able to buy these in easily would be fantastic. 


Funding - this of course is a touchy subject, but my main concern is not if Weight loss Surgery should be funded or to what level but that any level of funding should be consistant throught the country. eg, if funding is available under 1 DHB it should be available under all. To quote Mark Sainsbury from "Close Up" - "It shouldn't matter where you live dictating IF you live". We Need consistancy. 

Funding of Blood tests - currently in some DHB's the follow up blood tests requested by our surgeons to make sure that we are getting the right levels of nutrition are charged - once again consistancy issues arise.


Supplements - As bariatric or weight loss surgery patients we need great quality supplements. We do have access to the standard supplements through the health system and for most that is okay, however for me, I would love to be able to have access to supplements that are designed for my system and how I process it. If I never have to have another calcium carbonate "horse pill" it will be too soon. I would much rather have one of the chewable calcium from the companies like Bariatric Advantage or Celebrate Vitamins. The problem at the moment is getting it into the country easily. I hope by having a national organisation we can act as a distributor for these companies which would mean savings on the cost to get them shipped here as we could buy in "bulk".


A United Voice - for me this is really important. Every year more and more of us are having Weight Loss Surgery, infact in 2003 between New Zealand and Australia there was just 2750 operations in that year. In 2008 that number increased to 11914. That is an increase of 433% in just 5 short years. I wonder how much that has increased in just the last two years. As a WLS patient I beleive that it should not just be the surgeons who stand up and say why Weight Loss Surgery is such great tool and what benefits it can have to our health.  I hear from people who are "anti" weight loss surgery that when they see or hear the surgeons promoting or defending weight loss surgery that they "only want more money". Now I know that some people are not public about their Weight Loss Surgery and that is a personal decision which I respect, however for those of us who are public, should it not be us who tell the world how Weight Loss surgery has been for us, and how much impact it has had on our lives? Maybe if we had a national organisation we could be the ones that the media come to for a balanced view. 


Promotion - Events such as the "walk from obesity" campaign in the US. I would love to see events like that here. Basically they are sponsored walks which help fundraise to continue research into obesity and includes support from all forms of the Weight Loss Community, whether it be Surgery or not.  It may be a great way to show that for some of us, Weight loss surgery was the BEST tool for us. 

I guess one of the major reasons for me though, is to "celebrate my decision to lead a healthier live with the tool that is Weight Loss Surgery" and to have events like our first Meet & Greet, and the monthly support meetings. They keep me on track (mostly) and keep me motivated to keep picking myself up if I fall off the wagon.....eventually I will learn how to stay on the damn thing. 

That is just some of the points that I will be raising as part of the discussion segment of the weekend when we have the Associate Minister of Health - Tariana Turia attending as well. 


How I am going to start my presentation is with a video that was sent to me today from a lovely lady in the US who is such an inspiration. Her name is Cari, and she is adorable. This just highlights that we are just part of a global Weight Loss Surgery Community, and that no matter where in the world you are, this tool is pretty damn amazing. 

I will try and get some video and pictures of the weekend, I am conscious that not everyone is public and therefore need to get permission for both, especially as I will be posting on here and on you tube and facebook.

Super Busy - WLS Meet and Greet Countdown.

Wow - time flies, I have been super busy this last few weeks getting everything sorted for the WLS Meet and Greet, which is now only 24 days away. I can't wait and everything is slowly falling into place. 

I have had some amazing support from heaps of different companies and have even in the last day had emails from some US companies that I was having trouble making contact with, but with the help of Diva Taunia introducing me, I am getting some doors opening. Hoping like anything that we will be able to get the stuff here in time and that it will come through customs okay. 

As I thought, we would also get a little bit of a late rush to register and we now have around 95 people registered and most of those people have also paid, so fabulous news. The girls from the Palmerston North group are going to come over and help me make up the goodie bags this week, so that is fabulous. I really need a couple of days now just to get the programs finalised and the name badges printed.

I have been really busy at work over the last couple of weeks as well learning a new product at work, and that will pretty much take me right up to when I finish a couple of days before the Meet and Greet. 

We are also still doing the fostering/adoption training and have another session this Saturday, and another one on the 13th Nov. Actually the 13th is going to be a busy day as we have that to do as well as a wedding, the Harris family christmas and also I have two workdo's on the same day.  We have decided that we will miss the work dos but try and fit everything else in......going to be manic on that day. After that I only have 3 days at work as I have taken the 18th & 19th of for the Meet and Greet. 

I guess I should try an update more, and once the goodie bags are done, I might try and show you whats in them, although I don't want to spoil it for anyone who reads and is coming.....so maybe just after the event I will show everyone. 

Anyway - off to check on dinner and get some more emails sent. 

Take care 

J

A Video Update on the WLS Meet & Greet 2010

Just a quick 10 min video telling you all about the WLS Meet & Greet and some of the things that are going to be in the goodie bags and some of the events happpening on the day.

Long Overdue Update

This is a very long overdue update and I have had a few comments from people or emails asking if things are okay. Things are, just full on busy at the moment.

Work is going well, and I have had a commitment that I am on day shift now till the first week of January. This is kinda cool although I was planning on doing some of the organising for the Meet & Greet during the mornings, so this has made it a little more pressured to get everything done.  I have taken off a couple of days in early October to tidy up some aspects of it.

Specialist wise, my liver specialist is actually happy for us to get pregnant, although he does not want me to do this via fertility treatment, and that is fine as we had already discussed this and did not want to add any more drugs into my system.  The specialist actually upped my dose of immune suppressant in the hope of being able to get me off steroids….but at this stage it is still hit and miss as to what effect the drugs are having. One of the side effects is swollen gums, and I have always had a few issues with my teeth and gums, and this is causing me to have bleeding gums everytime I brush my teeth and I wake up with dried blood on my pillow and around my mouth every morning.  SO, I am going to get to the dentist and get my teeth professionally cleaned to minimize the damage to my gums. The specialist said if it gets to bad he will have to put me on a different medication. Actually thinking about it,my gums bleed even eating an orange…..I hate to think how much blood I am swallowing.

Sorry if that was TMI…….

The next 8 weeks or so are going to be really busy and the end of the year is going to be here before I know it. On Wednesday we start the fostering process by going to an information evening and depending on that we will continue with the training that runs over October and November. We are looking at both Adoption and Fostering and it will be interesting to see what the information evening holds.

Foodwise, Simon & I are trying to make sure our meals are planned, for two reasons, one so we eat healthier and also so we can put as much money aside as possible if we want to have an awesome trip to Australia next May for Simon’s Birthday. I would love it to be Las Vegas for the WLS Meet & Greet over there, but there is no way I could save enough money….and with still some other bills I could not justify spending that amount on a trip. Definitely one day!!!

GRAPEFRUIT – We have so many grapefruit – like 400 of them on the tree and I am not allowed to eat them or even have the juice, so if anyone locally wants them, please drop me a line as I am sick of having about 100 grapefruit on my lawn!!!! I have rung the local foodbank and they are checking to see if someone can come out and pick them. I also thought about the local rest homes but it is a matter of getting them down from this massive tree!!!!

Okay well that is me done for a while…..will update when I feel like it. LOL

Been a bit going on

So this week has been a very up and down sort of week. As I mentioned I had a specialist appointment, and I have another one this Wednesday as well. Although I am not sure that this next one is going to change anything significantly.

So the long and the short of it is that it is unlikely that Si and I will be having any children. The specialists are concerned with how much stress a pregnancy will put on my body and my liver especially. Even if it is okay ( I will find out Wed) it appears I would need assistance to get pregnant, as I don't appear to be ovulating normally and we have decided that it would be unwise to add more drugs to the mix. SO, what does that mean. Well, depending on what the Dr says on Wednesday we will either A) Keep Trying without drugs or B) look into fostering and adoption.

As you can imagine this week has been pretty rough and I have done my fair share of withdrawing into my own little shell. I am slowly pulling myself out of it, but it sure has been a bit rough.

Day Zero - 101 List in 1001 Days

Yup - thanks to Laurie and to Jaxx for paving the way. I have also created a list that I am going to work towards. You can check it out here.

I don't really feel like I have much to say at the moment, alot on my mind but not the right words to express it.
I have a specialist appointment tomorrow, so will pop back on at some stage and update about that. Really need to post a you tube video as well.

Oh well, off to have some dinner.

Huggles

J

Thoughts

So, I am sitting here and getting random thoughts popping into my head. I thought I may as well process them by writing it down and at least amuse myself…..LOL.

So anyway, I am loving my hair…..It is so easy to do, it takes about 5 mins in the morning including straightening, and I am finding that I am wanting to actually wear make up (well at least a little mascara and lippy) and it is amazing how much more proud I am of looking good….it does actually seem to put me in a better frame of mind.

Food – well, what can I say, the Gluten Free thing is actually is going okay, although I do need to stop the snacking and ask myself “am I really hungry?” and to be honest, a lot of the time I would not be, I would just be bored. Si and I have made a rule that we are not allowed to eat in the computer room at all, and that we have to actually sit down at the table for our evening meal. Infact I should do that for all meals. I know at lunchtime to make my tuna on rice-cakes more appealing I put it on a plate with my cut up fruit…..Makes it feel more special.

Si is actually working on his food as well, as he gets a really bad upset tummy after most meals and after speaking with the dietician last week we both think that he might have IBS – and that is based on FODMAPS….don’t ask, just know that he is most likely intolerant to a whole heap of different foods across a whole heap of different food types……so now we are going to work on finding out which ones trigger him. Luckily for us, most high protein foods are fine for both of us, but we have to tweak some of our meals.

Exercise, - well, this is just not a happening thing……In some ways I am looking forward to going back to late shift as it means I can actually get out and do some Aqua Aerobics and get out and walk the dog in the morning sunshine, rather than in the cold…I also have the Wii, but I just don’t seem to find the motivation to jump on it……or should I say I should say I can’t be stuffed…….really the Wii was a bit of a bad investment, we don’t play it and it sits there gathering dust really.

Meet & Greet – Well the Meet & Greet is going well, so far we have about 70 people registered to come to the event, and another say 15 for the dinner. Registrations are still coming in and I know this does not include the companies attending and does also not include the speakers. So there is less than 90 days to go till the event and I will be working on reminding the vendors of what we need from them and finding out how many people from each organisation will be attending. I will also be organising all the freebies to be shipped to me so I can start working on getting the goodie bags together. Listing all that down it looks like I still have heaps to do!!!! I have also thought about how we can do a WLS cookbook for the event, and idea that one of the other girls came up with, but I thought I might email all those attending so far and ask for a recipe that we can add to the cookbook that they have found useful during their WLS journeys. That was we can collate them and hopefully even get one of our sponsors to look at publishing it for us. Wouldn’t that be fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Room – we are looking at renting out the back room (attached to the garage) to help reduce our rent…..not because we are finding it hard or anything, but just that we both want to go over to Australia next year for Simons birthday and if we do this we can do it comfortably. It means I need to get off my tush and get my passport organised, and we might even need to get Si’s renewed. As soon as we do that, then I will work on getting the airfares/accommodation together and as soon as we have that money we will book and pay for it, leaving only the spending money. That way we will be set and ready to go next May.

Well that is probably enough dribble from me, tomorrow I might even get around to letting you know what we did over the weekend and what we plan on doing next weekend!!!! Oh and I might just let you know how the weight loss is going – after all this is meant to be a blog about weightloss!!

Didn't get the job

But that is 100% okay. Sure it would have been nice, but I am such a newbie to the organisation that I was thinking that it was unlikely that I would get it. They said that I interviewed brilliantly and that I nailed the assessment, but their one concern was actually my sick leave. Si doesn't think theyhave a right to actually decline me on that basis, but when it is an internal application they do look at all of these things, and on paper it doesn't look good that I have used my entitlement in the first 8 months. At the end of the day I just don't think it was meant to be, and there will always be other opportunities that will come up.

Weight has crept up a little this week, sitting at 107.6 kgs yesterday morning, but since the last week has not been good with evening meals, and we have been grabbing what we can (ie not planning) then it is to be expected. I will take ownership of that and make it work.

The plans for exercise have also fallen a little by the side as well, as for this week and next I am on a funny shift, neither early or late......oh and both the pedometers I bought are useless....so back to wearing the mobile, which is not so good for work, but still more accurate than anything else I have tried.

Went to the dietian at the hospital today, which was interesting as I was not sure what her focus was, as I was not sure which specialist had referred me to her. Well it turns out that it was for my Gluten Intolerance, and the latest research is that for my skin conidition you need to be Gluten Free, not just low Gluten, which I had kinda figured out, cos as soon as I have anything with Gluten I get itchy and come out within 36 hours little blisters/rashes on my elbows and buttocks. She was not however aware of my Auto Immune Liver Disease or my Gastric Bypass, but she was impressed with how much I had already researched about being Gluten Free and how many changed I had put in place.

Other than that, things are ticking laong nicely, we have another order of wood arriving on Friday and hopefully that will be the last one and it will be enough to see us through till Summer. Oh for those of you who are not on Facebook, I got my haircut on Monday morning. It was driving me nutty over the weekend, and although I am not a girlie girl, I do want to feel good about myself, so I took charge and I went to a proper salon and got my haircut.....I had been thinking about it for a while. I was kinda worried that I would pick a style that I could not recreate, but I dreamt about this one on the Sunday night, talked it over with the hairdresser and bingo, i love it, and have managed to actual style it the same for the last 3 days!!! and it only takes 5 mins.......FANTASTIC.....so anyway, here is a pic of it, although I think it looks better  with big hoop earrings, which I bought myself today!!!

Back in the swing of things

Home from my weekend away with Roz. It was an awesome and very tiring and challenging weekend and I came down with a cold whilst away, no where near as bad as the last time and I am almost over it already.

Back at work yesterday and really enjoying it. I am still to hear back about the job (at work) that I interviewed for. It will most likely be early next week before I do. I did however hear back about the other position I applied for, and I was unsuccessful in obtaining. The teamleader of that team gave me some feedback yesterday, which was great, and he pretty much said that it was just a matter of timing. I have only been in my current role for 6 months, so I didn't have enough experience yet for the role, although he was very positive about the possibililty in the future and he said hehad some very positive comments about my work ethic and abilities, so that was awesome.

Scales yesterday were positive and said 106.7 kgs, so that is another 700 gm drop in the week.
My aims have changed slightly with this. I am not going to stress about the figures, they are what they are, but I am going to commit to me and move forward. The plan I have put in place is to follwoing my surgeons guidelines in regards to my eating plan, and more specifically the water part. I know that I have not been getting anywhere near as much water as I could, and part of that is not paying that much attention to the guidelines.

Exercise wise, well I am going to get another pedometer, the cellphone is great when I am going out for a formal walk, but not so good for wearing all day as it is a bit bulky. I was thinking of a watch pedometer, but they look so "manly" and are not very elegant. (listen to me....I sound like I am trying to be elegant).

My step aims for the week are starting out small but acheiveable....I know that I tend to jump in with 3 guns blazing (with only two hands) sometimes, so I need to make it real and most importantly acheivable. So, my plan is:
Aqua aerobics twice a week

• 4000 steps everyday (incidental)
• 10000 steps x 2 in a week
• Follow the guidelines for eating from the surgeon
• Continue with gluten free
  

Small but simple steps will make this so much more acheivable. The plan for the two days where I need to get to 10000 steps is to do a formal walk, so something like a 4- 5 km walk on those days as well as the normal incidental walking.

I just looked up jaycar electronics and they have just basic pedometers for only $2.50 so I am going to pick up one of those on the way to work (they are across the road) and maybe even splashout on the ones that can be uploaded to my PC - they are a whopping big $6.

A short week

This week seems to be flying by already.....I only have 4 days at work this week and then I am spending the whole weekend with Roz doing a course in Wellington. It sure will be a full on weekend and I am bound to learn alot!!!!

I have moved weigh in days to Tuesdays as Monday's my weight is always slightly up for some reason, I think it must be to do with salt intake and maybe it is higher in the weekends or maybe just because my eating routine is not the same. So for this week, I have weighed in at 107.5 kgs which is not too bad since it is also that time. so a loss this week of 700 gms.

I get my blood test reults back today and will be able to see if the new combination of gluten free and the new drugs are having a good effect on my liver results. I personally think that they will be, but I won't actually know till I see the results.

The weekend was pretty fantastic.....Saturday we didn't do alot actually, just mucked around home and played on the computer. But on Sunday I had our WLS monthly support group and we had a great turnout, including visitors....Tim from Taupo who was on his way down to have his surgery in Wellington, and he has promised to drop by to our next meeting to join us as a post op boy. Also, Emma from Wellington and her hubby who were up here doing a show at centrepoint, who is having her surgery with David in about 3 weeks.

The WLS meet & greet is being promoted by several of the surgeons now and we are getting more registrations through, which is fantastic.......so if want to check out our website or if you want to come along, just pop along to HERE

Oh - I also have a job interview tomorrow at work for one of the permanent postions doing a different role. If I am successful it will be not as much phone work and it will be daytime hours.....so keep your fingers crossed.

I have a couple of medical appointments this month, more on those at a later time.......and maybe just on my private blog.

Anyway - off and about...

Janine

HMMM

Well a week of eating right and exercise resulted in a gain.......just don't get it, had gone up to 109.2, which is a gain of 400 gms.....but then this morning, I got on the scales and I was down to 108.2. I can't keep up with what my body is doing at the moment, so I am taking todays weight as my official weigh in.

Exercise has dropped of a bit, I am still wearing my pedometer but have not been for any organised walks. I am still jumping on the Wii for step but that should all change next week when I can get out for morning walks or to morning aqua as I revert back to the evening shift next week.

Oh I got an appointment in the mail yesterday to the Palmerston North Hospital Dietian, which was a referral by my gastroenterologist.....weird as he knows I am under the care of my surgeon's team. However as the new meds seem to be having more of an effect and I feel so puffy and yuckky right now, maybe it is best I still go.....another opinion can't hurt, however it will be interesting to see what they make of a "gluten intolerant cut and paste girl"

On Wednesday I am heading off to Lower Hutt with my Dad, my Mum's brother passed away over the weekend, so we are going to the funeral. He was the last of her siblings alive so the end of an era really.

No news on the work front regarding the positions at work, I am really not expecting to get one of them, but if you don't put your hand up you can't be considered. I think they would be more me actually as It is more a mix of admin, phones and data entry and you get to manage your own workload, which I think would be better. Maybe it is just after 18 years or so I am over the call centre environment.

One exciting thing.....my friend Annie.......who I had surgery with on the same day has started blogging, but she is kind of a private gal, and is a bit shy, so I thought that some of my loving, kind and considerate readers might be of as much support to me as they are to her.......so if you would like to support Annie with her WLS journey and battle then drop me a message with your email address and I can pass it onto her.....or email me janine.hallewell@gmail.com

Steps.......wowsers

Well I never thought I would get anywhere near 10000 steps in a day, and I can't beleive that I actually have done it.....well all but, as at 7pm I have done just over 9500 and I still will be wandering around my house doing cooking and washing up etc and then I am going to settle down and watch the final of Grey's Anatomy.

So how did I do it, well I took Porsche out for a walk and was meant to be doing that with Maree (one of the WLS Palmy girls) but something cropped up and she couldn't make it, so I donned my shoes and went anyway. I think I might be a little stiff tomorrow........I think I might also try out aqua aerobics....maybe just once a week, unfortunately I will be going to late shift in two weeks so might just go to a morning class.....if there is one....I must ask Anne.

Nothing else much on the cards, I have changed desks at work and also changed teams again, so have a new team leader. None of that really makes any difference at the moment, but will in a couple of weeks when I start back on lates. My new team leader is actually my trainer, and she has moved into the team leader role whilst one of the others is on maternity leave.

I have also applied for a couple of permanent fulltime jobs at work,(I am currently on a temp full time) but since I have only been there 6 months I am not sure how successful I will be...can only sit and wait basically.

Anyway - dinner needs to be looked at and Shory Street is on....thank goodness for my Tivo where I can rewind live telly......hehe.

10 Week Challenge

Yup - Annie & I are starting a 10 week challenge, which is the 10 weeks of the school term to get ourselves back to a better position weight wise. We are both wanting to lose around 8-9 kgs.

This morning I weighed in at 108.8 kgs so a total loss this week of 500 gms, so pretty happy with that considering I only did one walk.

I am aiming to do some form of exercise everyday - either going for a walk or doing something on Wii.......

So right this minute the dog is waiting and I am heading out the door for a walk.....

Back later - will update a little Challenge update on the sidebars and if anyone else wants to join in then the more the merrier. 10 weeks, something acheiveable.......!!!

Okay - so Maree is on board and we have decided we are going to get together for a walk 2 x each week if we can - might be a little harder once I start back on evening shift, but that is not for another two weeks, so that is at least 4 walks we can get it!!!

Maree mentioned something cool she had read recently and it made her think....it is a little along the lines of mindset......just 5 short questions that can really shape your day.

How are you going to ease into another marvellous week?
What are you going to put into place to support you as you move through the week ahead?
How is it you want your week to look like?
Who is it you want to connect with?
Where is it you want to go and what do you want to experience when you get there?

Remember as the week unfolds that you have control of you andyour view of happenings around you.

So I did my short walk, Si came with me and the dog and he did 1/2 the small circuit that I did. I did just under 2km and I am still planning on doing some Wii later on. Maree and I are going to meet up at my house at 4:30 pm for anyone who is local and who might want to join in.....if you need to contact me for my address email me.

Wise Words...

I got a message on my Facebook this morning from my WLS buddie Annie, for those of you who don't know Annie, we had our surgeries about 2 hours aparat and have remained friends since. We have had a simalar percentage in weight to lose and we have both stumbled around the same figure.

Well she knows that I am struggling at the moment, so she sent me the words to the Miley Cyrus song......I don't personally know it, but the word are kind of powerful!

It’s the Climb – Miley Cyrus

I can almost see it
That dream I’m dreaming but
There’s a voice inside my head sayin,
You’ll never reach it,
Every step I’m taking, every move I make feels
Lost with no direction
My faith is shaking
but I got to keep trying
Got to keep my head held high

There’s always going to be another mountain
I’m always going to want to make it move
Always going to be an uphill battle,
Sometimes you going to have to lose,
Ain’t about how fast I get there,
Ain’t about what’s waiting on the other side
It’s The Climb

The struggles I’m facing, the chances I’m taking
Sometimes they knock me down but
No I’m not breaking
The pain I’m knowing but these are the moments that
I’m going to remember most yeah
Just got to keep going
And I, I got to be strong
Just keep pushing on

So that is what I need to do.....just keep pushing on, and get in the right mindset.

u turn..........

Need to do a u turn here, my weight is creeping back up to that "do or die mark" and I do not want to see it go over that, so have to get it back under control.

With me being sick last week and being at home, my eating suffered terribly, I was home and that meant that I could graze all day......bad move!!! So now it has to be back to being in control and also getting out and exercising.....It has to be a mindset. Recently on you tube there has been alot of videos posted in the WLS community about Mindset......and let's face it, the WLS is now just a tool for me and it depends on how I use it to if it works or not.....I mean using a pitchfork as a spade takes a long time to get a job done, but if I use the right equipment then it should take no time at all.

But back to mindset.....it is up to me to choose how to face this.....I can bury my head in the sand and let the weight creep back up, or I can choose to remain positive and do something about it, and that means making sure I am eating the right fuels......and MOVE!!! So today I have a 1/2 day at work, and then I am going to get a hair cut.......ends need it terrible, and no I am not going to get it all cut off.......well I don't think I am.....might update later with a pic....although I still have a cold, so still look all puffy in the face. Then, the pooch and I are going to go for a walk around our neighbourhood.........I reckon that I should be home by 2pm and I might head down towards the river for hopefully about an hour.....

Will update when I get back as to how that went!!!

UPDATE::::Thank you so much Maree for the walk and the chat.....I really needed both, and it does re-enforce that I need to do this everyday......and the dog seemed to love it as well. So we managed to get together for a small but good starting walk of 2.35 km.......which for a first day was not to bad......and next time I will aim for more. I also showed Maree the Wii, and found some other things that I can actually have fun doing on it to burn some kilojoules and also build up some cardiovascular fitness.

I didn't manage to get a haircut as I forgot it was the last day of the school holidays and everyone was out getting their kid's hair cut......mad!!!!

Sniffles

Well after a busy weekend I have come down with the sniffles. My throat hurts and I am cold and sneezy and just feeling rundown. I don't have much sick leave up my sleeve, so will have to manage this week carefully. I am actually on late shift this week, so don't start till midday, so at least I can sleep in at the moment. This morning at 3:30 am when my throat was like razorblades I really didn't think I would be going anywhere, but a lozenge and some more sleep and it came right.

I am a bit confused at work actually, we have been put back to the late shift and only on a contract variation to full time (I was hired as part time) and they are in the process of hiring 12 new staff.....all apparently on fulltime rotational roster........so I asked if Ican apply as they are better shifts than what I am on.....one of them team leaders thought that was a bit odd, but the others can see my logic.

Weight has come down from it's highest last week of 108.9 kgs....so close to that freak out point. This morning it was 106.2 kgs, so a total loss of 2.7 kgs this week, so have to be happy about that. This week, although I am going to be good, it is much harder when I don't get home till 8:15 ish as it feels as though dinner just sits in my guts......and I don't seem to process it as well. Also TOM is due this week, so not expecting great things scales wise.

The conference is still chugging along, hoping to hit the 70 registered mark over the next couple of weeks and then the information will be out to all of the surgeons so I am sure we will get a surge in numbers then. I am now getting more and more businesses wanting to be part of it, so it is very very cool.

Actually back to the first line of this post....the weekend. I had a busy weekend, Friday night we just took it easy at home, although we had been invited to Dad's for a pot luck dinner we decided that at the moment itis hard enough trying to figure out what I can eat when I cook for myself, let alone trying to work out if I can eat someone elses cooking.

Then on Saturday I made a loaf of gluten free bread and a banana cake, and I am pleased to say that both turned out brilliantly!!! I know I will definately do the banana cake again. We took both some of the cake and the loaf of bread to my friend Judes house for dinner. She has just started working with Si's compnay part time, and it was nice just to sit around and catch up. She was one of the people who inspired me to have WLS in the first place.

On Sunday I adapted my gingernuts recipe to be Gluten free and higher protein (by adding protein powder) and then headed out to lunch with a couple of former workmates, one of whom is also Gluten Intolerant. Then it was onto the WLS Support Group meeting, which as one of the others commented recently it is now just like a group of friends getting together once a month for a chat and a coffee......long may it continue!!!

Changing shifts.....

Just found out tonight that our shifts are changing back to the late shift as at the first week of August....I actually have late shift next week, then a couple of weeks of day shift and then it is back to lates again. I am also moving teams at work and will have a new team leader. This will be team leader number 4 since I started, although I know that this one will be really good to have.
It looks at though at this stage we will still be fulltime so that is a bonus.

Anyway, just a quick update really to do the food thing, I am going to be trying to do some gluten free baking in the weekend, so will be interesting.

Food today has been pretty good

Breakfast - oops almost forgot so had 10 rice crackers as I headed out the door
Morning Tea - Protein cookie & Cup of tea
Lunch - 2 chicken wings, and 2 tablespoons scalloped potatoes & and apple
Afternoon Tea - Cup of tea
After Work - Trim 1/2 strength hot chocolate
Dinner - grilled fish fillet and about 12 chips & a coke zero.
Supper - 2 rows of whittakers almond chocolate.......very very full now!!!!!!!!!

Damn it.......I missed True Blood

So bummed I missed True BLood last night...........oh well there is always the internet I guess!!!!
Will watch it on there.

Anyway, onto today. I was up super early this morning as I had to have a blood test before work, nothing major, just that it had to be today and I am so ued to getting jabbed now I am sure that my veins stand to attention and say pick me pick me......LOL, well at least now that I have lost weight you can actually find my veins.

So the eating thing is going well, I had today

Breakfast - Vanilla Eatme Protein shake, with yoghurt and milk.
Morning Tea - Manderin & cup of tea
Lunch - 3 corn thins with a small can of lemon pepper tuna, small apple.
Afternoon tea - cup of tea
Afterwork treat - large trim 1/2 strength hot chocolate and I turned down the chocolate fish
Dinner - 4 chicken wings, brocoli floret, 1/2 carrot and a tablespoon of scalloped potato. (and about 1/8 cup of grated edam cheese while making dinner)
Supper - two rice crackers & a coke zero.

I have no idea about what this would translate into points on the WW system........but I know that I don't eat anywhere near as much when I am tracking as to when I am not and all of the above is gluten free. I am actually enjoying finding ways of creating stuff that is gluten free....like the scalloped potatoes, usually I would have used a packet mix with cream/milk etc. and the flavouring of the packet would have had gluten in the form of thickeners.....but today I did not......I actually made it all from scratch and I had a brainwave.....using the philidephia cream for cooking, it is brilliant, can he heated to a high heat and it does not separate. I had used it before in soups etc, but for this it was perfect, I just added the potatoes, and all of the flavouring and cheese all together and mixed it all up and then tossed the whole lot into a dish and baked for about and hour.....was so scrummy. Definately on the menu again, infact probably for lunch tomorrow with some chop chop chicken or watties chicken on top.....yummy!!!

WOW - 20K.......that's so cool

No I am not talking about 20K in money.......but in hits on my blog. I can't believe since I started this version on my blog back in 2007 that I have had over 20000 page views....that is pretty cool really, and I do thank you for the support you have given me over that time. The blog itself has never really for me been about my weightloss but a way of connecting with people, and I have to say I have met some very very special people through blogging.

To touch on how things are right now, well, I need to blog more often atm, as I really need to keep a journal of what I am eating. With the change in medication and change in diet it seems that my weight is on the climb.....I thought things were going well with a 700 gm loss over 4 days last week, but on Monday it was all there plus some more and my eating has actually been pretty good. I do think that the new meds that I now have twice a day are mixing with the steroids more, and if nothing else by keeping a journal of what I am eating, if the weight continues to climb at least I have a written record of what has been happening, so it can be shown that it was not what I was putting in my mouth!!!!

So today, I made a really concious effort to record everything that went into my mouth.

So here goes

Breakfast - Vanilla Protein shake, made with protein powder, 4 dessertspoons of natural yoghurt and about 100 mls of light blue milk.

Cup of tea with milk and artificial sweetner when I got to work

Morning tea - cup of tea with milk and artificial sweetner.

Lunch - left over beef curry and about 1/2 cup rice + manderin ( total serving about 1 - 1.5 cups)

Afternoon tea - manderin and two cups of tea with milk and artificial sweetner.

Pre dinner snack (dinner was late) - 10 rice crackers, about 6 with a small slice of brie cheese & a can of coke zero

Dinner - Home made low fat nachos,(mince+ kidney beans., tomato paste and chilli) and approx 10 cornchips. Topped with about 1/8 cup grated edam cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

Supper - gluten free biscuit, low fat, low sugar......and a hot chocolate, made with milk.

So that is what I ate.....now to some of you that might seen like heaps, but it is hard to explain the quantity and you need to remember that I am over 2.5 years post op and that most meals are around 1.5 cups worth of food, which on a plate looks like heaps more.

The meet & greet registrations are going well, although was a bit bummed that one of the girls in Auckland is trying to get something together for up there. It is meant to be a National event that we are doing, but oh well.

Health update

Well - it is has been a really busy week healthwise. Have seen 3 doctors over the past week, and all with different things.....man I wonder how I can keep up sometimes.

Okay so to drag you all back to last Wednesday, I saw my liver specialist, and I am not responding to the medication the way they thought I should and my liver results have not been declining.....so they have put me on other immune suppressants and still have me on steroids. They have apparently also referred my case to the head of the Auckland University Med school to look into ( I think the head of gastroenterology) as he said I am 'odd and unusual'......nice!!!!

I then saw my GP yesterday, which was fine, both Si and I went and it was in part to discuss if we can look at children in the future, that is still a bit uncertain with all of the meds etc, but he would like to refer me to a fertility specialist if we are going to go down that road as apparently I am old.....LOL.

Then yesterday I also saw the dermatologist who had taken a huge hunk out of my arm a couple of weeks ago and biopsed it.....and apparently although I tested negative via a blood test for Coeliac's disease the biopsy result came back as a very strong positive to Dermatitis Herpetiformis which is very closley linked with gluten intolerance. There is also a connection between that and Auto-Immune Liver disease......so I have been working out how I am going to manage a Gluten Free diet and a WLS surgery diet, and it shouldn't be too hard, and I got some ideas from Zola (the nurtitionist at my surgeons office).

Basically to me I am at the point that if I follow this diet now, and get my rash and liver under control, it will mean that I can most likely come off the steroids and long term may also mean that I don't need the immune suppressants, which would be fabulous. It also might mean that I can finally break the 100 kgs barrier and lose some more weight, although that has crept up over hte last week with the new combination of drugs and is now hovering around 108 kgs.......if it gets to 110 I will freak right out!!!!!

In talking with Zola today we talked about how post op there seems to be two types of people, ones that embrace the new diets with flair and ease and see food as a fuel and adapt easily......and then there are people like me, who have a relationship with food, and I have to enjoy what I am eating, and I can't have the same thing day in and day out.....just doesn't do it for me. It is an addiction, and I need to be able to figure out how to live with it and handle that addiction on a daily basis.....like today....I knew that gluten was off the table......so what did i manage to find that had no gluten in it???? Cadbury's Dairy Milk Chocolate!!!!!!! How stupid is that!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Here I am trying to actually make a positive change to help my health and I still can manage to sabotage myself and eat something that is not good for other aspects of my health........just stupid, but I really do think that part of me was feeling like I was missing out on something, so I replaced that something (bread) with the chocolate.

So if anyone has any good gluten free recipies please send them my way as I have to get my head around this!!!!

It's here.....the WLS Meet & Greet Website

Wow, I can't believe we are at this point. Last night the green light went ahead on the WLS Meet & Greet Website, and we are now accepting registrations and the first 2 hours we had had 7 registrations......it is so cool. As of this morning there is 14 registrations and most of those from people I don't actually know.....I think it is really going to take off, and so many people are interested in getting a WLS organisation set up out of this, which of course I really want to be part of.

So if you are keen to check out the website and even register for the event, click here for the WLS Meet & Greet website.

Other news, well it looks as though I am buying a new scooter, my one developed a fuel leak a couple of weeks ago, and it has certainly made things harder.....getting to work etc...so pretty sure I will be picking that up on Thursday/Friday. I might also be upgrading our computers as both ours are getting old and tired.....!!!!

Feeling the cold at the moment, and thank goodness we bought that wood and got in stacked before that cold weather really hit......feeling the warmth in the lounge. I do also need to get some baking done today so we have some lunchbox supplies for myself and Si. Nothing extravagant, just some bran muffins and some gingernuts.

Okay - so what do you think

I'm dying to hear what people think of the new blog format.....I had to change it since my other template broke....or they stopped supporting it.....I just love it!!! I love the way I was able to add my own pic to it, and that I can have multiple pages if I want.

Feel free to check out the two tabs at the top...one to my you tube page which I must do and entry for and one for the WLS Meet & Greet website which is almost ready.

Have been crazy busy at work this week and I am getting pain in my joints again, similar to last year, so I think the cold weather does have an effect on that. It is weird, it is like to the first step or two after I have been in one position for longer than 5 mins really hurts!!!!

Anyway- off to go and sit by the fire and maybe read some of my book. I am reading Carnie Wilsons Gut Feeling, which is all about her Gastric Bypass. I know that since her surgery she has had some struggles and I am hoping to watch her TV show online as I am pretty sure we won't get it here. It is called "Carnie Wilson: Unstapled"

Almost there

Wow, Time sure is flying......I have been once again busy with getting the WLS Meet & Greet off the ground and finalising sponsorship etc that I have been ever so neglectful of this blog.

Everything is coming together and we will have the website up and running soon. I have been speaking with a heap of the surgeons and they are all very supportive and it even looks as though at least one member of parliament who has had WLS will be coming along. Getting exciting getting firm commitments from a number of companies who have either sponsored or are providing freebies and prizes for the actual event. I am still working on more though as I think we deserve it!!!!

The main theme for the Meet & Greet is "Celebrating our decision to lead healthier lives with WLS" and I can't wait!!!!! Also the idea about getting a WLS non profit organisation is definitely coming together as well. I am so driven to making both of these things a reality and at times is putting me out of my comfort zone, but I am meeting the challenges, which is cool.

Si's parents moved to their new house on May 25th and I spent the following weekend rearranging the furniture and rooms at our house. They still have a heap of stuff here, and will have for some time, but I think both couples are enjoying having their own space.

Oh one of the things that was pretty cool this past week, was that I got a load of firewood delivered, and we got it all stacked on the same day...Now it was 4 cubic metres of wood and I did about 1/2 of it in the morning before going to work, and then Si & I did the other 1/2 with a little bit of help from Si's Dad in the evening. So we have dry firewood....yay!!!! I would never in a million years be able to stack all that firewood pre op, just something so simple and yet I didn't really even get that puffed doing it.....was fantastic.

Other than that, have just been working - pretty boring really. LOL. I had a biopsy on rash this week as well, and I thought it was going to be a nice little needle/core biopsy.....but no, he took a big hunk out and left me with stitches.....which I have to get taken out at the dr's later this week.
I have to go back and see the dermatoligist later this month for the results.....he was thinking that I was coeliac, but I been blood tested and it showed negative.......then he talked about an auto immune condition, which to me makes more sense as since I already have auto immune issues it seems like a no brainer......On the liver front, things are still elevated and I got back and see that specialist this week....I have started getting the aching legs again, and the join pain....so not sure what is happening. I am pretty sure it is going to just be stay on the drugs and see what happens..

This weekend, has been really quiet for me, Si has done something to his neck/shoulder and could hardly move....went to go to the after hours dr last night, but they close at 10pm and ended up at emergency.......which was stupid as it was not an emergency but he was in lots of pain. The wait was over 3 hours, so we came home and he managed to get some sleep and feels a little better today. We have had a fire going pretty much all weekend to try and keep warm as it has been raining all the time.

Yesterday we had the WLS support group, which as always was fun to catch up with everyone.

Wii.....................one sleep!!!

Wow, oops, didn't realise it was quite so long in between posts. Things have been kinda busy but in a good way around me at the moment. So, a couple of weeks ago I went down to see my surgeon and he was overall happy with where I am at considering being on steroids and how much I orginally had to lose etc. He would like to see me reduce the carbs and the mindless snacking that seems to creep in. Oh and the nutritionist would like to see me increase my water....so I made a deal with her that coke zero is a non work drink......only tea & water are allowed.

While I was down there I caught up with Jo, who is looking absolutely stunning, and I had my appointments at the same time as my surgery buddy Annie......Michelle, my other surgery buddy already had her appointments earlier in the year. After a couple of hours at my surgeons office laughing with the girls there, we met up with one of the guys from Wellington who had his surgery 10 months ago. It is so nice meeting other people who have been through a similar experience and truly understand the decision to have this type of surgery.

That evening Annie had a work thing on, so I went over to my brothers for dinner and to spend some time hanging out with his kids. It was a nice night and I managed to come away with a camcorder that my brother was going to sell on trade me.....but he did me a deal - if I (read Simon) spent the time transferring all the data onto dvd from tape we could have the camcorder.Which was a fab deal and although the camcorder is old, it is much better than not having one at all.

Since then I have been pretty full on organising the Weightloss surgery Meet & Greet and have managed so secure some sponsors, which is actually kinda cool. And I have been working with people to get the event website up and running - that should be done by the end of Queens Birthday Weekend, which will still leave people heaps of time to register.

Work has been pretty full on, we are still in "coaching" for the second queue we have learnt and we are not yet on our own.....but it is pretty full on at the moment as we are in our peak time for calls. Never a spare second really. I am still enjoying it, more than I thought I would.

This past weekend has been super busy, on Saturday I was meant to be working, but that means that I would have missed the fabulous ChrisH so on the Friday I volunteered to take the Saturday off if it looked like we were going to be quiet again..........and she worked some magic on the spot and voila I had the Saturday off as annual leave, so I got to go down to the Coffee Club in Palmy and meet up with her and Janene and a couple of Chris's other friends.

Then it was off home to pick up Si and then to the shop where we had looked at a Fridge/Freezer as the one at home is a little too small for when Si's parents take their one to the new house.......we have got used to having huge fridge space and when we are eating healthy we need lots of fridge space!!!!! So we ended up buying that and a Wii as well as Wii-Fit. I have given up my curves membership as I am not going, so this way we can do it at home together. Si apparently has almost perfect balance......whereas I definitely need to work on that.

After those purchases it was quickly off to a friends housewarming.....wow, what an amazing girl she is. At 21 she has just bought her first house, after saving since she was about 13 years old. She has been 'Scrooge McDuck" since then but now is reaping the rewards - good on her and shows that you can make it work if you try hard enough.

After that back home to a few games on the Wii (that Si set up while I was out) and then it was down to Raumati for a friends 60th Birthday. It is always so hard at these events when you only really know 1 or 2 people and because they are so busy trying to get around every one else you don't actually enjoy it that much. Unfortunately there was not enough seating and where we did manage to get a seat the music was so loud you could not have a conversation even between the two of us.....so we only stayed about an hour and a 1/2 and then came home again.

Yesterday I met up with a young guy just starting out in website design, and he is going to do the WLS Meet & Greet registration website for me, and although it will be pretty basic - it is free!!!!
I ended up staying chatting to his parents for about 4 hours as his Dad has WLS 6 months ago and they are also pretty passionate about maybe getting a non profit organisation set up for WLS patients that can provide information and advocacy. So something to certainly work with before the Meet & Greet in November.

Anyway today is busy as, have been up since 7am , ironed (I can't believe I ironed) Si's work clothes, made his breakfast and lunch, then put the beginnings of pumpkin soup on for tonight's dinner...will do the rest when I get home tonight and finally did this update. I now need to jump in the shower, make my lunch and have my breakfast........arghhhh too busy!! However......things are about to get easier.........................1 sleep!!!!!

There is 1 sleep to go before we are no longer living with Si's parents.......yes, they move out tomorrow, althoughw e are having the dog for a couple of weeks until they get a fence up and there will still be alot of stuff (little) that they will be popping back and forth for, we will be sleeping in the house all on our own....my goodness that is making us sound like we are "finally allowed to stay on our own" LMAO!!!!! Unfortunately Si's mothers back is not good at the moment and she has overdone it a little we think. So hopefully she will be feeling okay tomorrow, best thing might to be let the mover do all the big stuff, leave the little stuff till later when we can do it with a car and trailer.

Anyway, all go around her and will be rearranging the bedrooms and computer rooms...we are going to make the much bigger second bedroom our office, complete with a couch (when I find a cheap sofa bed) and coffee table.....will be nice!!!! and I will take pics of this house once we have actually got it how we want it. So for me now - off to work.....................ONE SLEEP!

Toooo busy.....

To do a proper update as very busy organising the meet & greet so i can get registrations out this month, and I went down to see my surgeon, had a fabulous time with Annie, caught up with Jo. Met some wonderful people, and then spent some time with family.

This weekend and week is going so fast already....weight is up....am I stressing? Not a bean!!!!
Just eating good food (healthy) and rushing around like a mad thing.

Will try and do a proper post tonight.

Ciao

Janine

Bungled Blitz....but realisations.....

Yup - I have fallen off the 10 day Blitz........hard. I find weekends so hard and it didn't help that we had takeaways and then went to a movie on Friday night. Then in the shopping yesterday a heap of wrong food seemed to find it's way into my trolley......and I let it!!!

Oh well, can only start again and move forward, although I don't think I am letting this get me down as much as I normally do as I have come to the realisation that I have done so well on this journey and i have lost around 42% of my body weight........and that is something to be really proud of!!!!!!! Sure I would still like to lose some more, but compared to where I came from I am so much healthier and can actually do so much more. Maybe it is about accepting where I am at right now, and appreciating what I have in my life. In other words - stop looking backwards!!

Okay - so moving forwards......what are some things that I would like to achieve in say the next 6 months leading up to Christmas??? Not necessarily Weight Loss specific..... I will have to think on this and get back to you, but I know that one of them will be to get my passport so if the opportunity arose to go overseas.(Yes I know that means me saving for it) then I can.I will think of some others.

The National Weight Loss Surgery Meet & Greet is coming together, and I confirmed with some pretty cool vendors that they are going to provide us some samples (for goodie bags) and some prizes (spot). I am trying to keep the vendors specific or complimentary to WLS and feeling good. One of the vendors is keen to help us maybe start a non profit orgnisation so we can have a voice when it comes to issues that concern WLS patients and to also get the positive word about weightloss surgery, rather than just the negatives that the media tend to portray. Although I do believe there is something positive on tonight's "Sunday" show on telly.

I have the Palmerston North WLS support group meeting this afternoon and I can't wait. I get so much out of these each and every month.