Starting weight: 109 kg
Current weight; 102.4 kg.
Loss: 6.6 kg
It's now 2 weeks since my final visit to the Elite clinic in Fuengirola and they have been really busy.
Last week there was a break in the court case I am reporting on in Barcelona so my boss made me go back to Madrid for the first time since last September. Oh boy was the flat cold! When I got in on Monday evening the thermometer said 7ºC. I put the heating on, waited for a bit to make sure the heater would not explode and then went out in search of a few bits and pieces (mainly fruit). I got a kebab from the bar downstairs because I was whacked out, having had to get up at 5 in the morning to go in to Barcelona and catch the AVE to Madrid. I only had half of the pitta pocket and chicken, though I did eat all the salad.
I spend the first night in a huddle because by the time I got to bed the temperature had only got up to 14º.
During the week I would only eat one Shredded Wheat for breakfast and the big test was the lunch meal as the company has an arrangement with a local restaurant (the company pays for our lunches), I was surprised not to be hungry and, in spite of the tasty food, I only ate very small portions.
I met up with various groups of friends on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evening and travelled back to Barcelona at mid-day on the Friday.
The Son-in-Law had been in to check on the cats on Wednesday and they were fine, although Tumble was a bit cross with me for a while.
On Sunday we had a "Calçotada" at the Ex's. Calçots are a leek-like winter vegetable which are cooked over an open flame and you peel off the charred outer coating and eat the cooked vegetable, dipping it in Romesco sauce, a sauce made of nuts, oil and tomatoes. It's a great winter ritual. The day was nice and sunny and we had them on the Ex's balcony. I was SOOooo good as I only had 5 calçots. That's not difficult when you get full so easily. I resisted the family's attempts to get me to eat more. I did have a nice, full glass of Reserva Azpilicueta, though.
This week I have had court sessions morning and afternoon, finishing at gone 6, with lunch being any time from 1 to 3:30, depending on the judge each day. I have been going to a Japanese restaurant where they give you four tiny dishes, one being soup or steamed dumplings, the next being Maki's, the third being some kind of grilled protein: fish, chicken, beef with salad and the last being California Rolls or Sushi. Then dessert or coffee I must confess to feeing very, very stuffed all afternoon. This had led me to having a light supper, some shrimp or a little pasta and some fruit. One of our local speciality fruit shops has some fantastic, big, round, sweet Peruvian grapes and they even stock strawberries, which are surprisingly tasty even being so out of season.
I'm going to stop this now and contine later, as I have to get up for work now.
jueves, 11 de febrero de 2010
lunes, 1 de febrero de 2010
Gastric Mind Band "op"
It's been non-stop since I got back from Fuengirola on Saturday, mainly because I have had to come back to Madrid this week. Having been laid low with a sprained Achilles tendon for weeks, the house really needed a good clean, although not too much as the cats will be left to their own devices until Friday so there wasn't much point going too mad! The Daughter will be coming to see that they are okay for food and water on Wednesday and I will be travelling back to Barcelona at mid-day on Friday.
Anyway, I was really chuffed to have lost another kilo this last week, just by cutting down on the amount I eat.
This week was the actual mind-band "surgery". First of all Marion went through and explained what actually happens in gastric band surgery, complete with gruesome video footage. Yuck!
Then came the hypnosis part. After the usual visualisation of peaceful scenes, I was told to imagine that I was being wheeled down for surgery. The soundtrack was one of surgical instruments clinking together and the voices of surgical staff. Marion's voice came through repeatedly saying that everything was going to be fine.
When the "band" was put in place, I could actually "feel" it being tightened to make my stomach smaller.
So far it has been really successful and I just haven't felt the need to eat lots of food to stay comfortably full, although even small portions make me feel fairly stuffed.
This week will be the real test as I will be back in my normal working environment and not in Barcelona.
To start with today, I only had a main course for lunch - fish, baked with red peppers and sliced garlic and three small, boiled potatoes, of which I left one - even though I was tempted by the spaghetti bolognese. I know I need to eat more protein as I mainly go for the starchy carbohydrates like pasta and potatoes, so I can even feel virtuous as I "fill" my stomach.
Strangely enough, even that little has made me feel even a little over-stuffed. I brought the apple that they gave me for dessert back to the office for later. What I DO feel now is thirsty, so I'm just going to get a bottle of water for my desk!
Anyway, I was really chuffed to have lost another kilo this last week, just by cutting down on the amount I eat.
This week was the actual mind-band "surgery". First of all Marion went through and explained what actually happens in gastric band surgery, complete with gruesome video footage. Yuck!
Then came the hypnosis part. After the usual visualisation of peaceful scenes, I was told to imagine that I was being wheeled down for surgery. The soundtrack was one of surgical instruments clinking together and the voices of surgical staff. Marion's voice came through repeatedly saying that everything was going to be fine.
When the "band" was put in place, I could actually "feel" it being tightened to make my stomach smaller.
So far it has been really successful and I just haven't felt the need to eat lots of food to stay comfortably full, although even small portions make me feel fairly stuffed.
This week will be the real test as I will be back in my normal working environment and not in Barcelona.
To start with today, I only had a main course for lunch - fish, baked with red peppers and sliced garlic and three small, boiled potatoes, of which I left one - even though I was tempted by the spaghetti bolognese. I know I need to eat more protein as I mainly go for the starchy carbohydrates like pasta and potatoes, so I can even feel virtuous as I "fill" my stomach.
Strangely enough, even that little has made me feel even a little over-stuffed. I brought the apple that they gave me for dessert back to the office for later. What I DO feel now is thirsty, so I'm just going to get a bottle of water for my desk!
Let's just add a nice little photo of me, aged 28, to show that I actually HAVE been slim at some point in my life!
viernes, 29 de enero de 2010
End of week 2
Nagging at me is my promise to myself to continue this blog, particularly as the results last week were so splendid. I lost 3 (yay for me!) kilos in my first week, so that was an excellent start.
Last Saturday's session at the Elite clinic was a marathon 6-hour one. I picked a good day for it, too... howling gales, torrential rain, thunderstorms. If the sun had been shining outside I might have fretted at being indoors for so long. As it was, I got there in plenty of time (having been told not to eat anything for six hours before I got there for eleven, I had only had a cup of tea all day). This was so that food would not mess up my Basic Metabolic Index test. Anyway, according to the machine(s), to lose half a kilo a week I would need to exercise 30 minutes a day and eat 1,400 calories (!!!!) Now that's not much in anyone's book, so it's just as well I don't feel hungry most of the time.
I must confess that I dropped off during the visualisation session with Marion, but that wasn't too disastrous because it was being recorded and will be given to me together with my own, personalised slimming pack, tomorrow after the "mind-band op" session.
Marion gave me some good strategies to see how much is a "normal" portion of food and it's funny how, even after years of WeightWatchers when you think you know everything there is to know about portion control, you still think that you couldn't possibly live on that, although you know that you can do, and perfectly well, too.
The session with Martin was a real bugger - he was digging and prodding away there to get at my motives for over-eating. I got quite emotional at one stage, I must confess and told him he was making me cry, although I know it wasn't his intention. I was surprised at how defensive I was and how all of me wanted to resist! Anyway, between them they gave me some good strategies, although I'm not sure I agree with Martin that dairy products are the devil in disguise.
I said that my attitude to food is akin to something that John Goodman's character said on "Rosanne". If I feel angry I squash it up into a tiny, tiny ball and swallow it - and then put lots of food on top of it.
Anyway, I did confess to being extremely angry deep down inside myself, which Martin says is something I can address at some point. I must stress, however, that he did not put any pressure on me at all to do so, it was more like the offer of a cup of tea when you visit a friend. I am seriously determined to take him up on that, when my finances have recovered from all this, though and also when I know where I will be, whether in Madrid or Barcelona.
This week I weighed myself yesterday morning (Thursday) and, according to my scales, I have lost another kilo, but yesterday I got very stressed and I must confess to eating a few more "pipas" (sunflower seeds) than I should have.
Anyway, last session tomorrow morning (another 5 a.m. wake-up call for me - grrrr).
Still, the funny thing about all this is that although I get the occasional hunger pang, if I can hang on for half an hour it disappears and so does the urgency of cramming my food down into my stomach.
Last Saturday's session at the Elite clinic was a marathon 6-hour one. I picked a good day for it, too... howling gales, torrential rain, thunderstorms. If the sun had been shining outside I might have fretted at being indoors for so long. As it was, I got there in plenty of time (having been told not to eat anything for six hours before I got there for eleven, I had only had a cup of tea all day). This was so that food would not mess up my Basic Metabolic Index test. Anyway, according to the machine(s), to lose half a kilo a week I would need to exercise 30 minutes a day and eat 1,400 calories (!!!!) Now that's not much in anyone's book, so it's just as well I don't feel hungry most of the time.
I must confess that I dropped off during the visualisation session with Marion, but that wasn't too disastrous because it was being recorded and will be given to me together with my own, personalised slimming pack, tomorrow after the "mind-band op" session.
Marion gave me some good strategies to see how much is a "normal" portion of food and it's funny how, even after years of WeightWatchers when you think you know everything there is to know about portion control, you still think that you couldn't possibly live on that, although you know that you can do, and perfectly well, too.
The session with Martin was a real bugger - he was digging and prodding away there to get at my motives for over-eating. I got quite emotional at one stage, I must confess and told him he was making me cry, although I know it wasn't his intention. I was surprised at how defensive I was and how all of me wanted to resist! Anyway, between them they gave me some good strategies, although I'm not sure I agree with Martin that dairy products are the devil in disguise.
I said that my attitude to food is akin to something that John Goodman's character said on "Rosanne". If I feel angry I squash it up into a tiny, tiny ball and swallow it - and then put lots of food on top of it.
Anyway, I did confess to being extremely angry deep down inside myself, which Martin says is something I can address at some point. I must stress, however, that he did not put any pressure on me at all to do so, it was more like the offer of a cup of tea when you visit a friend. I am seriously determined to take him up on that, when my finances have recovered from all this, though and also when I know where I will be, whether in Madrid or Barcelona.
This week I weighed myself yesterday morning (Thursday) and, according to my scales, I have lost another kilo, but yesterday I got very stressed and I must confess to eating a few more "pipas" (sunflower seeds) than I should have.
Anyway, last session tomorrow morning (another 5 a.m. wake-up call for me - grrrr).
Still, the funny thing about all this is that although I get the occasional hunger pang, if I can hang on for half an hour it disappears and so does the urgency of cramming my food down into my stomach.
domingo, 17 de enero de 2010
The Day After
OK, so yesterday I got up at 5 a.m. to catch a plane at 7.20 (I like to have a cup of tea in bed first thing in the morning) which was pretty good, even though I was limping around with a crutch. Got to Málaga at 8:30. The idea WAS to get the train to Fuengirola but given the crutch I decided to take a taxi (at the "modest" cost of 37 euros - ahem). What a rip-off! Anyway, the taxi driver had no idea where Calle España was and certainly wasn't about to check on this Tom-Tom so I had him drop me at the station which I knew was close to where I was going. After having breakfast at a bar I went down to the seafront to pass the time until it was time for my appointment.
Martin and Marion are very friendly and the atmosphere of the clinic is light and airy. I was impressed by all their diplomas on the wall. I was invited to help myself to anything from the fridge and even left alone for a while because Marion was in session with another client.
They told me the first session was 3 hours long, which was cutting it a bit fine for me (I had thought it was two) as my return flight was at 15:30. More than 2 and a half hours were spent going over a very full questionnaire about my health, eating habits, etc. I thought that I had heard everything in WeightWatchers but Marion gave me a few pauses for thought and suggestions. I was intrigued, definitely. The last half hour was dedicated to visualisation. I felt myself falling and drifting to Marion's voice. The room was filled with gentle sounds and smells (I am surprised that I could identify them as I have practically lost my sense of smell since the operation to remove my pituitary adenoma last year).
On the plane home I thought I was ravenous (because I didn't have time for lunch). When I got home at 6 p.m., though, my hunger had practically disappeared. I had a couple of slivers of Teruel ham and later on that evening a small-ish (for me) salmon steak and some potato and parsnip mash (just a dessertspoon, though). Surprisingly, that was enough for me.
I weighed myself this morning, in light clothing: 107.9 kg. For breakfast I had toast and apricot jam - two slices rather than three and a lot less butter and jam than I normally eat. Obviously, after all my gallivanting yesterday my Achilles tendon gave me some grief today, so I just rested up. I made maccaroni for lunch in my SuperChef and the recipe said it was for three, so I just ate one-third of it (normally I would have had over half of it, if not all). I had a greek yoghourt afterwards and a cup of tea mid-afternoon. This evening I had some steamed fish with courgette and carrot (with a dash of white wine and a knob of butter) made in my Lekué papillote container. I have taken the time to savour every bit of food and I was surprised how tasty the fish was. In fact, I am amazed that I feel as full as I do. Hmm... That has been unexpected.
Enough for today, I don't want to obsess about the food...
Martin and Marion are very friendly and the atmosphere of the clinic is light and airy. I was impressed by all their diplomas on the wall. I was invited to help myself to anything from the fridge and even left alone for a while because Marion was in session with another client.
They told me the first session was 3 hours long, which was cutting it a bit fine for me (I had thought it was two) as my return flight was at 15:30. More than 2 and a half hours were spent going over a very full questionnaire about my health, eating habits, etc. I thought that I had heard everything in WeightWatchers but Marion gave me a few pauses for thought and suggestions. I was intrigued, definitely. The last half hour was dedicated to visualisation. I felt myself falling and drifting to Marion's voice. The room was filled with gentle sounds and smells (I am surprised that I could identify them as I have practically lost my sense of smell since the operation to remove my pituitary adenoma last year).
On the plane home I thought I was ravenous (because I didn't have time for lunch). When I got home at 6 p.m., though, my hunger had practically disappeared. I had a couple of slivers of Teruel ham and later on that evening a small-ish (for me) salmon steak and some potato and parsnip mash (just a dessertspoon, though). Surprisingly, that was enough for me.
I weighed myself this morning, in light clothing: 107.9 kg. For breakfast I had toast and apricot jam - two slices rather than three and a lot less butter and jam than I normally eat. Obviously, after all my gallivanting yesterday my Achilles tendon gave me some grief today, so I just rested up. I made maccaroni for lunch in my SuperChef and the recipe said it was for three, so I just ate one-third of it (normally I would have had over half of it, if not all). I had a greek yoghourt afterwards and a cup of tea mid-afternoon. This evening I had some steamed fish with courgette and carrot (with a dash of white wine and a knob of butter) made in my Lekué papillote container. I have taken the time to savour every bit of food and I was surprised how tasty the fish was. In fact, I am amazed that I feel as full as I do. Hmm... That has been unexpected.
Enough for today, I don't want to obsess about the food...
viernes, 15 de enero de 2010
1 day to go
I think I ought to have a good "before" picture, although "good" is kind of relative when we are referring to pictures taken with a mobile phone. Still, it shows THE SIZE, which is what I am really looking for. The one included here was taken on 10/12/09 at Barcelona airport at some ungodly hour of the morning (about 6 a.m.) on our way to Prague of me, ex-husband and daughter. Big, fat, ugly, blowsy.... nothing like the profile picture taken just a few, short years ago - well, six anyway, in 2003 on my 50th. birthday. Just look at all the weight that's piled on in the meantime. Well, I suppose that having my thyroid out didn't help much, or the pituitary adenoma last year but the plain and simple fact is that I eat WAY too much food. It's now 24 and three-quarters of an hour before my first appointment at the clinic. I have printed out my boarding cards to go to Málaga with Vueling tomorrow and return in the afternoon with Spanair, along with directions to the clinic and a lot of other stuff, including the receipt for the payment of the balance...
Ok then, all set...
jueves, 14 de enero de 2010
Fuengirola-ho!
Right, only two days now before I go down to Fuengirola for the first session of Gastric Mind Band therapy at the Elite clinic. First session on Saturday 16th., 2nd and 3rd sessions on the 23rd. and 4th session on the 3oth.
After that, hopefully I'll be well on my way to losing all this excess weight.
What a piece of bad luck, though. I tripped on my way to work on Monday and sprained my Achilles tendon, which means that even if I do get the urge to exercise I won't be doing much with my legs any time soon!
I am quite convinced that this is going to work. I have to get my daughter to Bluetooth me across a photo that she took at Christmas to use as the "before". I hope I can keep up this blog and that I will chart nothing but PROGRESS!
I have ordered myself a copy of "The new Cybernetics" by Maxwell Maltz from Play.com. I know from experience that his method works, but the last time I read it in Spanish and it's a known fact that using your mother tongue works far better. I hope it gets here soon! (Quite how I'm going to get to the Post Office to pick it up, though, is not so clear. I'll have to plead with the daughter to take me - Grrrr!
I hate being helpless. I hate not having a car of my own any more (not that I could drive it at the moment, either, but still...) I understand that it's a waste of money because I don't need one in Madrid because I go everywhere by public transport, and that it is not a good idea to leave it for weeks at a time here in Castelldefels under the apartment, but now and again I would just LOVE to be able to go to a shopping centre without having to beg the daughter for a ride.
Anyway, fingers crossed for Saturday...
After that, hopefully I'll be well on my way to losing all this excess weight.
What a piece of bad luck, though. I tripped on my way to work on Monday and sprained my Achilles tendon, which means that even if I do get the urge to exercise I won't be doing much with my legs any time soon!
I am quite convinced that this is going to work. I have to get my daughter to Bluetooth me across a photo that she took at Christmas to use as the "before". I hope I can keep up this blog and that I will chart nothing but PROGRESS!
I have ordered myself a copy of "The new Cybernetics" by Maxwell Maltz from Play.com. I know from experience that his method works, but the last time I read it in Spanish and it's a known fact that using your mother tongue works far better. I hope it gets here soon! (Quite how I'm going to get to the Post Office to pick it up, though, is not so clear. I'll have to plead with the daughter to take me - Grrrr!
I hate being helpless. I hate not having a car of my own any more (not that I could drive it at the moment, either, but still...) I understand that it's a waste of money because I don't need one in Madrid because I go everywhere by public transport, and that it is not a good idea to leave it for weeks at a time here in Castelldefels under the apartment, but now and again I would just LOVE to be able to go to a shopping centre without having to beg the daughter for a ride.
Anyway, fingers crossed for Saturday...
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