The Wonder of Soy Paper

I am a sushi girl.  My husband taught me to love and love it I do.  But sushi and I have not been friends since about 4ccs.  Last night, I went, even though I was so anxious about taking the rolls apart and looking like a fool.  And I did something my husband hates, I asked the waitress what could be done for a person who simply could not eat the seaweed - and she was like "SOY PAPER!"  What??  Soy paper?  Okay then, give me a roll with soy paper and cut them in smaller portions.  Ok.

What followed was heaven...little sushi pieces, wrapped in something that melted away in my mouth.  HEAVEN.  I highly recommend if you are a struggling sushi lover.

How?

I have decided to write a book.  It's about time.  So I bought Khaliah Ali's book that she wrote with my surgeon.  I figured if I am going to write a book about this experience, I should read what else is out there.  In the intro, she talks about Dr. Fielding, the same surgeon I see, and she asks, "How do you thank someone who gave you your life back?"  I cried.  How do you do that?

I remember the day I went to New York University Hospital the first time to attend an informaiton session, it was about one year ago.  I was still on the fence.... and this attractive, smart, laid back Aussie got up on the stage (there were about 400 people there) and told my story.  My story, your story, all of our stories of trying and failing and self-hating.  He talked about the statistics and the likelihood of any of us losing the weight and keeping it off.  He talked about bodies failing after years of carrying around so much excess weight.  And, sometime during his speech, he made me a promise.  He told me that if I committed, he would change the course of my life.  And that change began that night....

I am not done, I am not at the goal that Allergan and Dr. Fielding set for me.  I still have 40 pounds to go.  But I have to confess that I am at the precipice of my own personal goal.... to weigh less than 200lbs.  I made a commitment that night, inspite of what other people said, inspite of what other people thought, inspite of the stress it would put on my relationships and inspite of the radical change it would have on my outlook and my state of mind.  I don't regret a single moment of this journey.  And I do not know how to thank someone who gave me my life back - other than living my life to the fullest (and maybe writing a book about it).

The Mystery of the Bump

I call a fill a bump.  And there is good reason behind this...it's a bump, a push, a shove. And I feel this way because of what happens to my weight after a fill.  I want to know if other people experience this too.

Thursday, March 10:  I weighed 207 lbs - got a .15 fill
Saturday, March 12:  206.6
Monday, March 14:  204.2
Tuesday, March 15:  203.6
Wednesday, March 16:  202 - That's 5 lbs in one week.  Now, it will slow to 1-2 lbs per week.

Wednesday, January 25:  221.4 lbs - got a .15 fill
Friday, January 27:  218.2 lbs
Tuesday, February 1:  216 lbs (That's 5.4 lbs in one week from fill.)
Friday, February 4:  213 lbs
Friday, Feb 25:  211 lbs
Friday, March 4:  208.8 lbs

I have this rhythm and I wonder if it is what other people experience?  Bump, then fast drop, then stabilized...?  (And yes, I weigh myself every day except when I have my period - I know, not good.)

You know what they say....

Slow and steady wins the race, right?  I saw someone I haven't seen in a while at the gym today and she was like HOLY CRAP you have lost a ton of weight - and so FAST!!!  And I smiled and proceeded to think about it for a while.  I have lost a lot of weight.  But has it been that fast?  I don't think that fast is really what has happened here.  I have lost about 10-12 pounds per month.  Almost anyone who really tried could probably lose 10-12 pounds in a month.  The thing this has been is CONSISTENT.  While perhaps a person could lose 10-12 pounds in 30 days, could they do it every 30 days for 8 months?  Hell no.  That's where the gift of the band comes in...  Slow and steady (aka consistent) will win this race.

Will Power

Talking with a fellow bandster yesterday, I told her that I didn't feel like I had any willpower.  I felt like the band had the power.  That I didn't have to choose to eat well, that the band limited me naturally. But today, I have thought more about it and I am not quite sure I gave myself enough credit.  Example.... I have dinner plans in NYC tomorrow night with friends and then a dinner at a chef's home on Saturday with friends.  I went to the doctor today.  I could have cancelled or skipped my fill just because of these two food related events, but instead, I took the bump and subsequently passed on any of the food that we be served at these two events (since I am now liquid for 2 days).  I had to choose.  And I chose me and my weight loss.  I showed some will power - and some committment to my goal.  And now, I will give myself some credit for it.

I will also take credit for dragging myself to the gym 6 days a week.  And maybe some credit for always eating protein before anything else.  I guess I might also deserve some credit for saying no to a cookie when I knew it would mean not being able to eat dinner with my family.  There... ;)