Just had my nails done

Just had my nails done with this new lady who comes to your house. I had a gel overlay this time with something called Calgel... Very interesting. Its like a mega thick nail varnish which cures under a UV light. I had a french manicure as usual and it looks just as good. She says it will look a lot better once all the acrylic has grown out. Its much much thinner than acrylic nails, which is good too. So, we shall see how it goes.

I am in much much less pain today. I am really please because I was starting to think that it would never lessen. The pain from the second operation has not ever been that bad, just sore and annoying... cut muscular kind of pain around the port area, but not as bad as the first time. However it never got any better... just sort of carried on being the same pain each day, but today is the first time I have done a few things around the house (cleaned the kitchen and bathroom including the bath) without it being too obvious that I had surgery. I am sitting here typing this and I cant tell at all. So there has definitely been a big big improvement. I am glad as I need to go back to work on Monday.

I took my steri strip stitches off the other day and the scar is quite neat and tidy, not oozing or red or hot or anything else. Its not that bruised either and certainly isn't as annoying as the last scar was. I have been wearing trousers all week and to be honest, I always avoid them because they hurt my port because its right on the waist band, but it doesn't seem to bother me this time around. Dee says she doesn't notice her port at all, so hopefully neither will I. I seriously hope not as its horrible doing my job and having to adjust my waist band when I have to lean over the piano and stuff.

It will be nice to just forget I have these things to be honest and just concentrate on the rest of my life rather than every waking moment wondering if I am gonna be in pain or not from doing this or that or the other.

My bruise from the needle for the anaesthetic on my arm is fading, but still quite obvious. It's still 2 inches square (yes really square!) and painful to bump. Its in a good place through. The last time (and also when I was taken into hospital when the whole mess started in May) they put that big old needle into a vein on the inside of my elbow. It was really really sore. I can remember lying in hospital feeling dead sorry for myself, and tracing the plastic tube that ran up the vein to deliver the fluid via drip. My arm was bent and I could feel the tiny plastic catheter turn the corner and bend around with the vein. YUK.

This time, its on my forearm, between my wrist and my elbow on the inside, so its not anywhere that really gets knocked, you don't have to lean on it and it doesn't have to bend so its been much less of a bother. I know my veins are quite deep, even when I am thin, and they always have trouble getting blood out of me or liquid into me. Having DS was a nightmare, and I still have the scars from the holes they peppered me with on the backs of my hands, forearms and elbows. One good thing is that I am not scared or bothered by needles one little bit. I had to inject myself in the leg for the whole of my pregnancy, and that about cured me, but what with everything else, its just no problem anymore.

Right, foodwise...
This morning we slept in until 11:30 so missed breakkie.
I had 3 cups of coffee with milk and then felt shaky so had 1 weetabix with a teaspoon of sugar.

I will update what we have for the rest of the day later, but right now I am tired and am off to have a lie down. We are going to DH's Mums pub tonight for Karaoke. I expect to eat there, so I don't know what I shall have yet. I am also going to have some wine as I haven't had a lovely glass of wine for a week now. Boo Hoo. I know its stalls weight loss, so I am going to try and have wine just once a week for a treat. I don't know what day will be my treat day, but I am guessing its will most likely be a Saturday.

L8erz

Locavore is a Famous New Word

There is a new word in the dictionary and it's locavore.

A locavore is someone who tries to eat food that is grown locally -- within a 100-mile radius.

The word has just been made famous because it was chosen as the 2007 Word of the Year by the New Oxford American Dictionary.

See more about losing weight to help save the enviroment here.

The photo of a farmers market in Birmingham is by Photo-Mojo

9 months since banding(1 week since its been working)

Its 9 whole long stressful months since banding.
Its 1 whole long stressful week since its really been working!

I was 18 stone (252lbs) when I had it done
I was 17 stone 12 (250lbs) when I had it re-done
I am 17 stone 3 (241lbs) today.

Loss = 11 pounds (or 9 pounds since it was re-done)

I am really chuffed.

Today's food...

Breakfast
1 pint s.f. squash for pills
1 coffee
2 weetabix
1 cup coffee
8oz milk for the coffee's
1 crumpet with 1 swipe of light flora and 1/2 tsp jam
half slice bread
2 tablespoons coleslaw

I had half a slice of bread because I sicked the other half back up again... tee hee.

I love my band!

I have just been really naughty, but then again, I have been very angelic for the week. I just ate about 20 sweets. Boiled sweets, so pure sugar. I know its bad, but for some reason i just NEEDED them. I don't have a particularly sweet tooth, but maybe not being able to eat much of the savory stuff either means my bod is crying out for something... anything!! :o)

So I had them, and I am sucking a lollipop right now. Yummy.

I am not doing it again, but when DS has sweets in the house its so awful. I want to throw them away really but they were a present to him. Grrrr.

I had a puke attack again today. I was peckish at about 4:30 and grabbed a slice of bread with coleslaw in it. Not a good idea. Bread seems to be another no no now. So i puked back half of that and I just keep thinking of the other night and that terrible choke and as soon as I feel it I'm like "oh no!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" but so far it hasn't happened again.

I am having to have fish tonight, because TB's daughter is back from Russia for a few days and it seems she wants as much English foodstuff as possible. Yesterday I cooked a curry - Brit's No.1 food. Tonight its fish and chips with champagne. Goodness knows why the champoo, but there we go. I hate the stuff it tastes like sour off cider. Ewwww - give me a nice full bodied bottle of red any day.

Tomorrow its a pub meal and karaoke at Phil's mums pub. I think that's just about as English as it can possibly get. Well, I don't know, maybe crumpets and scones and tea and fruit cake and stuff too I guess. She can do that another day!

Today's food intake was similarly as small as the other days this past week. The calories were significantly more though because of the sweets. Still low though - 1300 cals today. Goody.

**HORROR WARNING **

NEXT IMAGE NOT FOR THE FAINT HEARTED

I found this picture whilst at my mums house. It is AWFUL. This is one for the hall of shame.

I think I was about my heaviest of 19 stone 2 (268lbs) here back in 2001. This is me plaiting my brothers hair. I live on a rich diet of fruit and veg and eat everything, my brother eats only pizza, donuts, cake, sweets, chips, burgers and weetabix. He refers to anything green on his plate as poison. He is 6ft 2 and weights 10 stone soaking wet. WHY????????????????????????
I look terrible. I look fluffy and bloated and ill. Its horrible. I have come a long way since then even before my band. I never want to go back here EVER.

'Men Only' Weight Loss Support

The New York Times had an article a few days ago about how men's weight loss efforts differ from women. They said that at Weight Watchers meetings, the women get emotional but the men don't. They interviewed a few men who attend male-only weight loss meetings. One guy says; “Without the women there you don’t have to be as masculine because we’re all in the same boat. We don’t have to show off for anyone. We can all be ourselves.”

See more at It takes a Big Man to Seek Help on Weight Loss.

Gradual Weight Loss Works for Sally

Diets were not working for Sally so she decided to take a long term approach and change her lifestyle, rather than dieting.

She says;

Because I've taken a gradual approach, I've had gradual results as well. At first I lost a good bit of weight, but now my weight loss has slowed to an average of about .5 pounds per week. I'm down 26.5 pounds from where I was at the beginning of January; I'm halfway to my goal. If I keep my current pace, I will reach my goal one year from today. Two years to lose 53 pounds--I never before would have found that acceptable, but I also never before could have managed to lose it at all!


See her very interesting story here and here.

Spicy Cranberry Sauce in Pinot Noir

Did you receive our LivingAfterWLS Recipe of the Week on Sunday? (If not, subscribe by entering your email address in the Free WLS Newsletters box on the left.) It was all about cranberries. Well, Elise over at Simply Recipes presents a great cranberry sauce using a Pinot Noir as the simmering base. Her food blog is one of my favorites, though not weight loss surgery oriented. She is all about

Word of Thanks

Dear LivingAfterWLS Friends:Just a word of thanks for all your support, prayers and kindness over the last few weeks. As many of you know my father has been critically ill and on Monday underwent open heart surgery to replace an artificial aortic heart valve which has given him life since 1969. Yes, 1969. Remarkable. He now has a new artificial valve and is responding well. Your thoughts and