6.5 months post sleeve - LOVIN' LIFE & LOVE MY SLEEVE!!!

Well it's been ages since I've updated my blog & after sending the link to a friend I've decided it's high time I updated my progress.

I currently weigh about 76kgs & have about another 6 or so kgs to go before I reach my goal! And I couldn't be happier!

I can eat everything, just smaller portions. I have a ton more energy & motivation. My blood pressure is at normal levels, my cholesterol is the lowest it's been since my early 20's.  I have a whole new wardrobe with the latest fashion. I no longer avoid mirrors. My self confidence & self esteem are back - I've totally found my MoJo!

After Gastric Sleeve Surgery Easter 2013

 Before Gastric Sleeve Surgery Sept 2012

Catch Up

Well I've been very busy with the surgery, post op etc so have been really slack updating my blog!

Everything went brilliantly, I'll post a more in depth blog about the whole procedure when I have more time I just wanted to do a quick catch up on the weight & measurements so far...

Today I'm 2 weeks post op exactly. I'm 103kgs (down 9.5kgs) & these are my measurements:


Neck: 35cm (loss 7.5)
Left Arm: 40cm (loss 2.5)
Right Arm: 40cm (loss 3)
Left Wrist: 16cm (loss.5)
Right Wrist: 16cm (loss.5)
Bust: 122cm (loss 5)
Waist: 109cm (loss 15)
Hips: 124cm (loss 6)
Left Thigh: 70cm (loss 3)
Right Thigh: 70cm (loss 4)
Left Calf: 40cm (loss 6)
Right Calf: 40cm (loss 7.5)

I'm heading off to Wamberal Beach for a power walk & will update more at another time!

Day 12 Opti - SOOO Over it!!!

'So over it' doesn't even begin to describe how I'm feeling day 12!! Suffice to say this SUX HARD!!!

The routine thus far... 
Breakfast: Coffee Opti with an extra teaspoon of Moccona coffee
during the day whilst at work I cut up capsicum, carrots & cucumber to snack on
Dinner: A bowl of the free vegetable soup followed by an Opti bar
occasionally I've had some strawberries, grapes & very occasionally some sun rice corn cakes... 12 days of this!!!!! I'm really proud that I have stuck it out so well!

4 more sleeps until my surgery & I can't wait!

Sleepless in Lisarow

It's 4:43am & here I am tap tap tapping on my keyboard trying to be a quiet as possible so as not to wake Lanny... arrrrggggghhhhh!! Been awake for about an hour, not quite sure why... starting to have the odd 'freak-out' thinking about my upcoming surgery - I'm sure it's normal!

I've gotta give a shout out to my favourite forum right now - gastricsleevesupport.com forum... have joined & been actively watching the September 2012 sleevers thread on there & have to say that the support, encouragement & care that the members have for each other via this thread is simply amazing... I have learnt a great deal about gastric sleeve surgery researching the forum & feel really well supported with my upcoming surgery, albeit via social media & of course via my beautiful wife & too the rest of my family & friends!

Yesterday I weighed myself & was 109.1kgs so a loss of 3.4kgs so far... am looking good to make the 4kgs prior to surgery! 

I can hear the kookaburras waking up the neighbourhood now... it's been a while since I've heard their calls this early!

I'm hoping it's a nice day today so that we can take the dogs down to Wamberal Beach for a run & so I can get a bit of exercise too ;-)

Think I'll head back to bed now to try & get a little more sleep, my eyes are burning & my tummy's rumbling... until next time ;-)

OptiFast Day 8 - 7 days from surgery

What a roller coaster ride this journey is turning out to be... I'm on the Gastric Sleeve Support Forum & am watching the September Sleevers thread where everyone who is being sleeved this month is documenting their journey & I've gotta say it's a little scary & has filled me with doubt that I'm doing the right thing.. But I keep reminding myself why I embarked on this journey in the first place & know that it's the right thing to do. 

I've tried all my life to diet & keep the weight off without success - this procedure has given me hope that I can actually achieve my weight-loss goal & achieve a happy & healthy life! So regardless of the fear I'm pushing forward!!

I've been a little disappointed with my weight-loss on the Opti, after 4 days I was going great guns & had achieved a loss of 2.2kgs but since then I have stalled, not making any further progress despite my compliance with the diet! So in desperation I decided to take my measurements this afternoon to see if there was any change in my dimensions & thankfully some progress is evident!

Neck: 37cm (a loss of .5cm)
Left Arm: 42.5cm (same)
Right Arm: 42cm (-1cm)
Left Wrist: 16 (-.5cm)
Right Wrist: 16 (-.5cm)
Bust: 126cm (-1cm)
Waist: 117cm (-7cm)
Hips: 128cm (-2cm)
Left Thigh: 73cm (same)
Right Thigh: 74cm (same)
Left Calf: 46cm (same) 
Right Calf: 47.5cm (same)

So all is not lost!!! I AM making progress! I just hope/pray that I manage the 4kg loss that I need to prior to next Thursday ;-) 

I think that maybe my body is in starvation mode & hanging onto stored fat at the moment so am hoping that soon I'll start stripping some actual weight on the scales.

I've been supplementing my OptiFast with the allowed vegetables in a vegetable soup made mostly with tomatoes, beef stock & spices which does a mighty fine job at staving off the ridiculous hunger!

I'll leave you now until my next update... 

OptiFast Day 1 - OUCH!

First day of the OptiFast diet proper... and it has SUCKED ARSE... Just sayin'!

I started my day (as late as I possibly could - being my day off I slept in until about 11am) with 1 coffee Opti for breakfast - I hadn't tasted the coffee one yet and was pleasantly surprised, it tasted pretty good ;-) I left my next one until about 2:30pm and mixed up a strawberry Opti which I know tastes pretty good. About 4:30pm the hunger was starting to take its toll so I sliced up some cucumber, cherry tomatoes and capsicum and dressed with a little balsamic vinegar which staved off the hunger for a bit. Then around 6pm, absolutely starving hungry, I had some steamed broccoli, cauliflower & carrots. I've just had my last Opti (strawberry @8:30pm) for the day & my stomach is growling so dam loud the dogs are looking at me funny!

God love my beautiful wife Alanna - she is supporting me by replacing 2 meals a day with Opti (breakfast & lunch) & eating a Lean Cuisine meal for dinner - she too is feeling the hunger, but we're all good & I'm sure we'll survive. 

I've found not smoking a real challenge today. I think being so hungry I was wishing I had a cigarette to distract me & give me something to do - but I have resisted the urge and have stayed true to my quit journey ;-)

Something quite awesome & unexpected happened today... I was emptying the dishwasher & putting the large bowls away in the cupboard & I thought to myself 'I'll never be eating a bowl of food this size ever again' & at that moment I felt so incredibly happy & almost free I guess... I would have one of those bowls chocka-block full with porridge & cereal every morning & if we were having a meal that could be eaten in a bowl of a night I would have it stacked full again - I had become a slave to food, so the freedom i felt with that thought today was VERY special indeed!

I also had to weigh myself again this morning before starting the Opti & was 112.5kgs - not surprising seeing as I have been having a constant food funeral for the past few weeks. I'll weigh myself every few days & post up my progress. 

Lock it in Eddy!! 20 September 2012

Woo Hoooooooooo! I finally have my surgery date - Thursday 20 September 2012 I go under the knife! 

I met with Dr Ken Wong this morning and have locked in my surgery date. Dr Wong is just lovely, a great communicator, and very friendly. He answered all of my questions and particularly the most important Q on my mind... Have any of your patients had any complications, particularly any leaks?? 

When considering this question in the lead up to my appointment, I also considered which answer I'd prefer and found myself torn... through much research I discovered that there is a 1% chance of complications with this surgery, mainly from a leak at the staple line. Such a leak can then lead to other significant complications which can quickly turn into a life threatening situation. So did I want Dr Wong to say 'No Complications' therefore speaking to his surgical prowess and giving me confidence in his sleeve skills... ?? YES! But then I found myself thinking, Russian Roulette - what if that means I could potentially be his first... do I want to chance being that unlucky No1. and risk being at the mercy of a Dr who has no experience in managing a surgical crisis... hmmm I was certainly in a quandary... I thought that perhaps it would be better for his answer to be 'YES' then I could take comfort in knowing that he's successfully managed/treated a potentially life threatening medical emergency... I ended up getting the BEST answer I could have hoped for. Dr Wong said he has not had any patient suffer complications from his surgery and no leaks! But here's the best bit - when he was doing his residency and training in the sleeve gastrectomy in New Zealand many years ago, he was involved in over 7 cases per wk (they did them in the public system over there all the time) and due to that large volume, the surgeons he worked with did experience a few leaks and complications which gave him the opportunity to learn the skills required to manage such situations, each time with a successful outcome. BRILLIANT!! that was the BEST answer ever! I now have every confidence that if something does go wrong, he'll be able to manage my recovery successfully ;-))

So it's all systems GO! I went and had all my blood tests done together with my ECG. I meet with the dietician, Megan, next Wednesday and commence 100% OptiFast diet from next Thursday 6th Sept continuing right to my surgery (2wks). I need to lose 4kgs from the start of the Opti to surgery day - so the challenge will be on... apparently it's so that the liver shinks to give more room for the surgeon to perform the operation.

Oh yeah, I should really update you on my OptiFast sitch from the start of the week... I decided that I had really bitten off more than I could chew stopping smoking and starting OptiFast on the same day, so after some wise advice from my wife, I decided that I would wait to see when Dr Wong said I needed to start it & just conquer the no smoking on its own for this week & that's what I've done...