Wu Long Teas And Weight Loss

According to the American Obesity Association, obesity "is the second leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. Approximately 127 million adults in the U.S. are overweight, 60 million obese, and 9 million severely obese."These numbers are disturbing and continue to rise every year. There are more than 30 medical conditions associated with obesity including cardiovascular disease, diabetes,

10 weeks + 3 days

I hate being on fluids.

Today so far I have had a
Breakfast:
coffee and a slim fast
Lunch:
coffee followed by 3 activia yogurts.

Joyous.

I am feeling a little weak.

Ho Hum. I have still got 4 lessons to do today. I have done 3 already. I think I have another pupil who is going to give me grief. Today I went to the new peoples house and the Nanny said "Oh I forgot to ring you, its just J today as D is at scout camp."

Oh Ok. Yeah no problem. Did you not know that LAST WEEK???

So I am £12 short. However, I wont be, because I will be charging them for it.

Why do people treat me like this? Do I have 'MUG' written across my forehead?

Well I will be giving them a bill through their door to remind them that next week I will want paying £24 not just £12. The Nanny wasn't left with any money, so I also didn't get the £12 I was actually owed. Good eh?

Imagine turning up for your job. Your boss comes up to you and says, "Oh your desks being picked up in a while, so just to a bit of work and then go home. Oh and I forgot to get your wages for today, so you will just have to wait until next week. OK?"

I have a mortgage, a car to run, bills to pay. I bank on having that money. I need to nip this person in the bud. If I let them get away with just cancelling willy nilly they will do it for the whole of our working relationship, so to make sure that they 'remember' to call me I will be charging them the full price. Only fair I reckon.

If it didn't happen so much, I wouldn't bother, but I had 4 people do it to me this week already, and one of them actually said "Oh darling daughter is doing her exams now, so she wants to pick up again in September ok?"

"No! Its not flippin' OK!" I wish I had the guts to say that.

That means I have to keep a £12 slot open all through the rest of the year. Stuff that. I have people phoning up all the time asking for lessons, so if someone wants that slot, well they can have it. I mean, no warning, just dumped like that. I even have it on my forms that I require 4 weeks notice... Doesn't mean a thing.

I am too soft.

Anyway, I seem to be getting some spunk about me recently don't I! Maybe this is the new Me emerging. I don't think I am willing to take this crud any more to be honest. I need to be a bit more businesslike.

Anyway, I feel so bloated after eating those 3 yogurts that I am actually going to have to have a lie down!

I'll update later no doubt.

Update:
Well its dinner time. Work was rubbish. I was in a foul mood, and just could not get myself together enough really. One of my pupils in this afternoon is always a bit of a challenge, and I really couldn't be bothered. I have to coax piano out of him. Pull it with pliers. But today I said, "OK, this one has both thumbs on middle C..."
"A...? A...? Thumbs on middle C.... A?"

Sigh.

Resigned pause and I just sat there with his notebook on my lap. He looked at me all funny like..."Go on make me!"

So I just didn't make him. I sat there and he sat there. Then we sat there some more. This went on for about 10 minutes. Then I said "OK, I can't be bothered to teach you , go get your brother now..."

And all of a flash, he was like "NO... I want to show you what I have done!!" And then FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER he played his pieces of his own accord.

I remained calm and disinterested to be honest; firstly because I was. Secondly because I thought maybe the reverse psychology was working.... Maybe he doesn't want YAY Piano!! Whooop WHOOP! Clever Boy! WELLDONE! Maybe he needs a bit more of a challenge...
It certainly worked today. I expect that next week he will be better behaved.

I think maybe the lack of food is addling my brain. I feel a little bit fed up to be fair. I am on my own tonight as DH is doing a Karaoke in his Mums pub again. Yes, he really is!! After the whole fiasco of last time, he still yells "How High" when they say jump.

I flat out refused to go. Then it looked like I had no other option but to go, albeit grudgingly, and then a miracle happened!! :o) I had to work.

So tonight I am babysitting. I don't mind. I can have a nice chill out. I just hope it doesn't all kick off like last time. He has taken his mate Steve with him tonight so hopefully they will be on their best behaviour. DH has already rung me and asked me if the leads from the Karaoke are behind the filing cabinet (No) and then rung back to ask me to check again. (Um... still No! ) So it looks like ti will be a bit of a disaster anyway. I think we left them there to be honest, but it was such a blur and we left under such a storm cloud I can't really remember.

Right, I am off to eat my final slimfast of the day and I am definitely having a glass of wine or 4 later. Hey... its fluids!!

Lady Rose is 75 Pounds Closer to her Goal

Lady Rose is about to celebrate one full year of very successful weight loss. She's lost 75 pounds and now weighs 220. She feels so much healthier than she did one year ago. See her weekly progress numbers here.

Tomorrow is a big day on her website. It's the one year anniversary of her diet and exercise regime and she plans to do a few "a year in review" posts to compare how her diet has changed over the time and to talk about health issues. She is also going to record her measurements for the first time since she posted them one year ago.

Check out her Incredible Shrinking Ladies site and help her celebrate her success tomorrow.

An Emotional Eater Breaks the Cycle

Roberta Perry says she used to be an emotional eater who ate whenever she felt angry or depressed. But she has managed to get off that cycle. She has changed her lifestyle and has decided to focus on her cholesterol level rather than her weight.

Perry has lost 75 pounds. She has gone from morbidly obese to obese. She used to weigh 325 pounds and she is now down to 250. See her story here.

10 Weeks + 1 day post band - Fill no. 2!

Well fill number 2 went well.

The actual meeting was nice. He is a really nice chap and wasn't annoyed for any reason like last time. He asked me how things had been going, how was the eating, of which I have told you all before (oooh there was a big long burp right there!). Then he asked how the weight was going and I said that I have been losing a pound here, half a pound there and that this week I put on a little.

He said this was perfectly normal. The first fill is the coarsest fill and the next ones are the finer ones. He then said that there is a layer of fat around the stomach and as you lose fat, you lose it from there too, and the band then gets a little looser... hence the weight lose fades or you stagnate or even put on weight. He said that at the moment I should really not worry at all about the scales. he said its one of the hardest things for us to do - forget to think about weight. He said, all you need to do is eat normally and be careful with how you eat. Take my time and don't drink after meals etc. No problem there.

Then he weighed me. Now this is where the WEIRD bit starts...

Make of this what you will:

According to HIS scales

Last fill - 15th March 2007 - weight 17 stone 4 pounds (242lbs)

2nd fill - 26th April 2007 - weight 15 stone 6 pounds (216lbs)

HEH?????!!!!!!!!!!!!????????? I mean WHAT?

A loss of 26 pounds.

NO WAY JOSE

According to the scales at slimming world (and the chemists because I now know that they are exactly the same don't I)

Monday 12th March 2007 - weight 16 stone 13 pounds (237lbs)

Monday 23rd April 2007 - weight 16 stone 8 pounds (232lbs)

So a loss of 5 pounds.

Can you guess why I am freaked out a little????????????!!!!

Not much difference between 26 pounds and 5 is there!!!!!

So what the heck do I make of that. I nearly dropped dead from shock as you can probably imagine. I was flabbergasted! I said "You cannot be serious" but then I saw it with my own eyes. He even showed me the label where they had literally been calibrated last week!

So who do I go with. I simply cannot trust his scales. I mean I have gone to slimming world for 2 years and they MUST be right. I mean people are paying for them to be correct! I mean, you could totally sue if they weren't. the chemist has the same kind of problem. You have to pay, so they have to be accurate too, and the fact that they are the same as slimming worlds makes me think that the guy who checked Dr. C's scales might have been having a laugh. So I just have to go with the chemist and SW.

Anyway, back to the subject...

Normally (according to Dr. C) they put in about half a ml. to 3/4 ml. But I was given 1 whole ml. this was apparently because he didn't feel much restriction at half a ml. So I now have a total of 5mls in my 10 ml band. I am half full!

I drank the water after being filled up, and it went down fine.

I had a drink from McDonald's on the drive home and I have had a coffee and a slimfast since then. I even actually had a spoonful of fruit salad in my mouth before I remembered that I am now back on fluids for 4 days. No food till Monday teatime. BOOOOOoooo HOOOOoooo

I have noticed a difference already. About 2 weeks ago I was burping all the time after eating or drinking... little mini burps over and over again and then then I was only thinking today that all that had stopped recently.

Well I am burping again! good huh! So there must be a bit of restriction there now.

I am really amazed at the small quantity of fill. Its like a drop of water. 5 mls is literally a spoon of calpol. How can a spoon of calpol make me lose weight. Fascinating isn't it. Such small amounts make such a difference.

Anyway, I am gonna get off bum and do something like.... Oh I dunno.

What's in a Name?

Yesterday I was doing a media interview about life after WLS and the reporter asked me, "What should I call this surgery?" I didn't understand the question at first but he clarified, "Do I call it gastric bypass, lap-bad, weight loss surgery, bariatric surgery, obesity surgery, fat-loss surgery, stomach stapling or what?"Now, personally, I prefer to lump all of the procedures together under

10 weeks After my LAP BAND SURGERY exactly

10 weeks.

10 weeks of not doing slimming world

10 weeks of getting slimmer

10 weeks of not (well... nearly) stressing about food

10 weeks of worrying if I can really afford it!!

Ooops Too Late!

But most importantly, 10 things I like about the new me:

1.) I am happy
2.) I wear my hair down and straighten it every time I wash it
3.) I don't wear glasses any more
4.) I am a dress size smaller
5.) I am 20 pounds lighter
6.) I am more confident in my career and every other aspect of my life at the moment
7.) I feel cleaner inside my body and soul
8.) I feel like people notice me for reasons other than my fatness
9.) I dont feel like a greedy pig when I eat my dinner
10.) I feel like ME for the first time in my life

I feel good.

I am looking forward to my fill with Dr. Clayson tomorrow. I wonder how much juice hes going to plug me with. Hopefully a LOT! Tee Hee. Well at £75 a throw, its the most expensive water in the world I think! I want a good few millilitres for my money.

My last fill cost me £18.75 per ml. That's got to be more expensive than precious perfumes!

I doubt I will get 4 mls this time. No way. But maybe 2... hope so.

I also hope it lasts longer that 6 weeks. I don't really want to be trekking all the way to Tamworth every 6 weeks or so. On the other hand I do want to get thin!

The Rock - ME - The Hard Place

Went out this morning with Rebs for half an hour. Then we came back and had coffee and cake with her hubby and DS in a little place that's probably a bar in the evenings, but during the day has WOW sofas to lounge around on and was really nice and airy and calm and quiet but classy - if you get my drift. It wasn't grotty like some places I've been in that are clubs or bars in the evening, but it was much more classy than say Costa Coffee, Starbucks or Pret... etc. The prices were, however, much more reasonable than those "cost a lot" coffee bars. It was somewhere where I really had never noticed before, and probably would never have gone into had I not been with them. It was a really nice surprise. I will definitely be frequenting the place again soon!
It was particularly lovely because her husband had a massive brain hemorrhage a couple of years back and is still quite damaged by it, but he has got so much better, and he leaned out of the car window and said to me "Hey, I have heard that there is a secret society in town." "Now, don't tell anyone, but this secret society have their meetings in this place I know, and they serve you..." sly peek about to check for listeners..."coffee... shhh and sometimes.. cakes! shhh."
It was so nice to see him having a laugh and a joke and inviting us too. A lot of people don't want to go out during the day with me because I always have DS with me and I think they get worried about what people think. Obviously I don't have a tongue in my head to explain why he is not in the government state training programme being force fed boring crud like all the other drones. Yeah. But I really do think that these particular ones prefer to have their adult time, and the school to them is like the best baby sitting service about! Its free!! Yay! I don't think everyone's like this... just these 'special people' I know.

Anyway, that's my view, and I keep it to myself most of the time. But I believe that kids are better off with their parents. I mean, I would not be home educating my child if I didn't would I! It would be a bit stupid of me to extol the virtues of the school system when I don't believe in them.

That's why I think its really brave when people say to me "I would love to, but I know I just couldn't do it."

Well done. Seriously. That's a straight up honest answer right there.

Its the people who say "I think its terrible, you child will be damaged socially and not learn anything" or words to that effect that I dont believe. I think they protest too much. Obviously if that was the case it would be at least un popular let alone illegal. Those people I believe are simply trying to affirm that that they did the right thing. Ostriches.

"Kids are going to be OK in school."
"Kids do well in school."
"Kids are happy in school."

If they say it enough times it might turn out to be true.

YAAAA totally of topic. But I don't rant about home ed at all.. in fact I don't think that I have mentioned it before on this blog. So now you all know.

I don't really care what other people do to be honest. What they choose to do with their children is their business. I just wish they wouldn't care so much about what I do. They didn't before when I ran with the river. Now everyone and his flaming dog has an opinion. I always find it odd.

The next time I meet someone and they don't have a child with them I will say...
"Wheres your child?"
and when they say "At school"
I will reply "Oh really? Wow. How normal. so how did you find their teacher?"
and when they reply "What? He just goes to the local school..."
I shall say "Oh right. That's a shame. How did you match their classmates?"
and when they say "What?"
I will ask them if they checked out the other children who were going to be mixing with their angels. When they have to say "No I just signed on the dotted of X schools register"
I will say "How spontaneous of you. So daring. Don't you think your child will suffer socially? I mean what about when it goes to senior school and mixes with all those druggies and smokers and gets beat up at break?"
"Oh well I don't worry about that kind of this because little johnny is a really good boy"
"But he doesn't have the chance to mix with any other kind of people other than the same age group..."
"err umm er umm"

Basically I get the reverse of this.... Practically every day.

I am sick of it.

I tell you what. I am GLAD my child will be socially challenged if that's what he has to put up with at school. Trouble is he's started to talk to people of all ages now he doesn't sit with a group of drones of the same age all day long. Is that a cause for concern?

I teach 20 kids music. They can't look you in the eye. they can't hold a conversation. They look at their boots. Their faces are dull and tired. And that is just a sample from our local area. maybe every other kid in the whole world is not like this... but I beg to differ.

People actually comment on how DS is with adults. How his manners are impeccable and how different he is from other children. Then in the other breath they are dismissing home education as rash and a disaster waiting to happen. Makes sense doesn't it.

grrrr. Can you tell I got on my high horse? Got off now. Its in the stable. I really don't want to open up a debate about home-ed v. schools. Home ed will win hands down in my book any day of the week.

Doesn't matter what anyone says. It shouldn't matter what I say either if you are convinced school is right for you kids. Get my drift?

Please no one take offence. I just never EVER get to view my side of things. I love blogging. No one can shout you down and you get to say everything all at once without people shutting off their minds.

Anyway, I am worn out typing that lot. I promise I will get back to fat fighting tomorrow. Especially as I will yet again be on LIQUIDS! AHHHRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!! NOOOOO!