My eyes are too big for my stomach

And its true, with my new pouch being about 15ml in size they were definitely too big for it this morning…


After an extras long week at work – 12 days straight with Bathurst – and a 4am start thrown in the middle of it for Sunrise – it was nice to finally have a day to myself… Caught up with a bit of stuff on the TiVo before heading down to the local shops for my morning coffee while I read the paper… Knowing that when I got home, I had a bit to do outside, mowing, lawns, weeding, and hosing the patio; I though that my 2 weetbix this morning probably wouldn’t last me till lunch, so I thought I’d try some banana bread, seem the raisin toast I had last time, just didn’t cut it so to speak… well this time, the banana bread was fine… no blockages; but by the time I had finished reading the paper; I felt like I had had too much and didn’t even finish my coffee… strike 2 at the coffee shop…


While I was down the shops, I noticed my reflection in the window I realized how much more I like the look of myself now… my gut is disappearing, my chubby face is going; and generally I'm starting to look proportionate for the first time in years… It’s really starting to make me feel good about myself again


When I got home it was into the garden… The lawns haven’t been mowed since we started getting all this rain, and chief kept on getting lost in it; the weeds had taken over the front garden; and the back patio was still covered in dust from the dust storm a few weeks back. That kept me going until early afternoon when I came inside for lunch – what to have when you haven’t been shopping; tin salmon, cherry tomatoes; onion and basil with a cruskit, ah well it was lunch…


Then it was time to start tidying inside as we have a fiend coming over for dinner that I haven’t seen since I started the preparation for the band… I’m sure he’ll be surprised when he see’s me


Anyway must head as he should be here soon… Just getting takeaway tonight as neither of us feel like cooking…


Until next time

Takeaway

First the first time in over 9 weeks I was able to go downstairs and purchase my lunch… a “small” chicken Caesar salad from Feisty salads… It was a nice change from Celery Sticks, Tomatoes, shakes and mush… I'm not going to get back into my old habit of buying lunch every day (I'll go back to mortgage meals as they are much cheaper), it's just I haven't been shopping this week since I got back from Bathurst.

It all felt fine… and I only got through just over half of it in half an hour and I felt full… So the band is working… Before, I could get the whole lot down in about 10 minutes and then have a piece of banana cake to top it off… And no drinks… I’m getting better at that one, although I must admit it’s a hard habit to break… and occasionally I still start my meal and have a drink then remember I shouldn’t…

Finally today I have been able to break away from my desk and do some running around as well… they last couple of day’s its been catching up from being away in Bathurst and getting ready for Melbourne cup, so now that’s almost in hand. I’ve been able to get around to do some other stuff, which means I’ve been out and about walking as well as running up and down the stairs, which makes me feel good when I can do that…

Better run and get back to work… until next time

Another week, another Kilo

I’m very impressed with myself… my first full week back on normal solids after 8 weeks and add to that being away and eating out as well as at the OB, and I still managed to loose over a kilogram in weight (113.6kg this morning)… As I’ve blogged previously it wasn’t easy last week, trying to find food that would go down easy, were low fat, and nutritious, but obviously the combination worked for me…


Melbourne Cup Carnival in a couple of weeks should be easier as we don’t tend to eat out as much, although there is the same type of OB lunch on racedays


I’ve just finished this morning’s mush (soggy weetbix) so I must head off now and finish getting ready for work. Gotta Love the school holiday traffic (or lack there of). Yesterday the usual M7/M2 carpark traffic wasn’t there and breezed through like it was off peak…


Until next time…

Fill ‘er up!

Yep… I had my first band fill today… I was a little apprehensive going in to see the doctor but it was over and done with in 5 minutes… and I almost didn’t even notice the needle…

So what’s a Band Fill?

Basically it adds restriction to your pouch by adding more fluid 0.5ml at a time… When I was banded they put some fluid (sterile saline) into the band so it was snug around my stomach. In my case it was 4ml, and add that to today’s fill, I have now have 4.5ml. While the first fill generally isn’t that noticeable from the intial one; the 2nd a 3rd is when you start to feel it working, and may start having issues until you get used to that fill. My next fill is after I get back from Melbourne on 8 November.

So how’s it done?

Well remember my mention of the port that is located under then skin just below the breastbone… Basically the doctor get’s you to lie on the bed. He then feels round and find the port and puts a mark on your stomach. They then clean the region with betadine, before putting the needle into the port and adding the fluid… I felt a small pin prick, but it wasn’t as bad as I expected; and then before I knew it; it was over and done and he cleaned the betadine off and gave me a glass of water to sip to check I could swallow OK with no pain… I had to have a 2nd glass then before I left the clinic…

Before the band fill I had another appointment with Dr Roy and then my Physio group session. Dr Roy (my surgeon) is very pleased with my progress and was asking how I was going; and particularly how I went last week… He also gave me some photos of the placement of the band in my stomach which was fascinating… a nice little keepsake.

The Physio’s appointment was very informative; and explained the benefits of effective exercise to aid in weight loss… Once I’m back home from Melbourne I’m even thinking of finding a gym to join which will really help with the cardio and abs; although she suggested a cross trainer at home or even Wii fit is just as effective… She also drummed it in to us of the need to ensure the port region is protected at least until week 8, to avoid any problems… That will fit in fine for when I get back from Melbourne. And the exercise will help to get me fit – which despite the weight loss and finding it easier; I’m still not fit, which is something I found out on Sunday in Bathurst when I had to run from the pit garages to the compound a couple of times… after the first run (about 400 meters) by the time I had to do it a second time I had nothing left…

After the band fill, you’re back on fluids for 12 hours and then mushies for 12 hours; so I had a shake for lunch and had some tomato soup for dinner; both of which went down with no problems… Tomorrow morning and lunch is mushies before back to normal food tomorrow night…

Time for Rafters and All Saints so until next time

Bathurst is over for another year after Holden takes the crown

Well after a fun filled week at a chilly Mount Panorama for the Bathurst 1000 V8’s; I’m finally home… As usual we worked hard long hours, but also found some time to let our hair down…

I’ve just been going through the 800 odd photos I took of the cars roaring around the mountain, which I managed to take while walking around the bottom of the mountain in some downtime yesterday… My media accreditation allowed me to get up close to the track (and the cars) which I haven’t done since I did production camera up there back in the 90’s… I’m in the process of going through them and posting them on Facebook; but above is a photo of the eventual winner of this years Race– Car 2 Garth Tander and Will Davidson from HRT. While I’m a Holden supporter through and through, I did feel a bit of disappointment for Craig Lowndes and Jamie Whincup who despite looking like they could rewrite history at towards the end of the Race, ended up finishing 5th in their last drive for the Blue oval at the Mountain… Next year they’ll be driving for the General…

At the end of the day we did the news from the HRT garage and managed to meet the boys and get our photo taken with them (left)… One of the perks of working in news which is always great…


Last night was a quiet one, with dinner again at the Church… I ended up having a couple of pieces of Garlic pizza and about half of a 9” pizza with prawns … All was good for that meal; but lunch was another story… I was eating a brown egg and lettuce sandwich… I’d had one half before I went out to take some pictures and then had the other when I got back… About 2/3’s of the way through it I started hiccupping (like I did with the raisin toast the week before); but this time I could feel a bit of pain… A sip of water only made it worse; I tried burping and coughing to no avail so I went up to the fridges in the compound and got some coke… To my amazement after only a sip of it; it was cleared… I sat down for a few minutes before heading back and having a bit of pasta salad for the rest of my lunch… that was fine… - how strange the band can be sometimes…


Today was spent packing up the shed and satellite kit; before heading home to Sydney; along with the rest of those that had been up the mountain… This year we didn’t leave until 11 so I though we may have got a good run; but the usual bottle necks at Kelso and Blackheath, as well as a lunch stop in Lithgow, turned it into a LOOONNNNGGGG 4 ½ hour drive… By the time we got back to Epping all we wanted to do was dump everything out of the vehicles and head home for a well deserved rest…

Before I go tonight, to the left is a photo for Arnie (a colleague of mine who is the News Ops Manager at 7 Melbourne) of me in Bathurst after over 4 weeks banded and 20kg's lighter... It doesnt show a lot as it was sooooooo cold up there and I had many layers of clothes on, but it does show how I am starting to change - especially around the face... The other photo above with the HRT boys probably shows its better...

Ok the media accreditation vest is a little tight, but it was only a large, and its been the first time since I started covering the V8's that I have actually been able to zip the vest up, so I was pretty chuffed about that.


I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again tonight before and early start in the morning prior to my late morning band fill and physiotherapists appointment at the clinic…


I’ll post again tomorrow night after my first band fill… Back to fluids for a day then mushies for another day before seeing how I go with the first fill


Until then

The smell of Ethanol in the morning…

It was a wet morning when I left home this morning; which means we could be in for an exciting day at the V8’s… All I could see on the way to the Mountain was a big low grey cloud hanging over Bathurst…

Even at 6.30am people were streaming in the gates ready for a day of excitement watching the big V8’s, despite the rain…

It wasn’t long and it cleared up, but it’s stayed threatening all morning…

I’ve just got back from watching the start of the race at the end of Pit straight and got some great photos from the start (over 100 in total)… It’s always a thrill to watch the start of the Great Race live and this one was no exception with Jason Bright heading off into the kitty litter as he turned into mountain straight…. and its continued as I blog from our shed in the TV compound while watching the telecast...

The last couple of nights have been great… We finally decided to go out for dinner, so it was my first real test… Friday we went to The Ox and I had entrée size pasta, which filled me sufficiently… Normally I would have had that and then a main; then last night we went to Church Bar where we had woodfire pizza. Again I only had about 5 pieces and some salad… again they weren’t huge toppings, but I felt satiety… I must admit I have been cheating a little, by drinking with my meals – and alcohol at that; but have not been keeping up with my colleges and have been self-nominated as DD (designated driver)…

I’ve probably been eating slightly more than I should be, but I’m sure that will change come Tuesday and my first band fill… Something I’m looking forward to with some slight trepidation, but only because I don’t know what it will feel like, and apart from that I hate needles, and this one goes right into the middle of my chest!

That said, I’ve probably been doing slightly more walking than normal so hopefully that will make up for the extra food… If I get home and my weigh in on Tuesday is the same as last Tuesday when I left, I will be happy… If I’ve put on weight, I’ll be disappointed but it’s currently a learning experience; and if I’ve lost some, I’ll be over the moon…

Anyway, I’m going to head off for another walk with my camera (and my raincoat)… The weather’s threatening so hopefully that will make for some spectacular photos…

Until next time