Thirty-two week weigh in

At this morning's weigh in I registered 92kgs/14stones7lbs/203lbs which means I've lost 2.4kgs this week, so I'm very pleased.  It also means that I have now lost 50 kilos plus and eight stone, as I started this long experience at 143.1kgs/22st 7.5lbs.  I'm not sure I ever really thought I could lose so much.  Obviously I am not thin at 14st7lbs, but when I look in the mirror, to me I look thin.  I find it hard to imagine that I could lose more weight - although I do, week after week.  In some strange way my head hasn't caught up with my body.

One of my friends wrote to me on Facebook:  "Sandra, what happens when you get to your ideal weight? How do you stop keep on losing weight???? I am worried you may disappear!"  I'm not entirely sure.  I guess when I want to stop I just have to eat more so I consume more calories - chocolate, chips etc - only joking!  I don't know is the real answer.

I saw a friend today at my Book Club who I haven't seen since before my operation.  I think she was quite impressed at the obvious difference in me.  It's good to get a reaction like that - keeps you going.

I've just heard that the brother of a friend has had a successful gastric bypass and is already losing weight at a rate of knots.  I'm so pleased it went so well.

Food intolerances - possible causes for diarrhoea after MGPB

I have been reading stuff on the internet today.  Specifically to do with diarrhoea after a mini gastric bypass.  It seems that lactose intolerance is a major factor.  Often extra lactose is added to products with dairy ingredients to make a "better" product, and, of course, it is also added to products where you wouldn't expect there to be any lactose, so label reading is essential if you have a lactose intolerance as I have now. 

The other two foods listed which may cause a problem are, first, wheat products which have gluten.  The suggestion is that you go without wheat/gluten in anything at all, again checking labels, for two weeks and see how things go.  Reintroduce it slowly and see what happens and whether it confirms that gluten is a problem for you.

Secondly, mayonnaise.  This is horrific to me.  As I now can't have dairy products, mayo is one way of me having a "sauce" which I can use with so many things: shellfish, fish, chicken, raw veggies sticks, fried potatoes, hard boiled eggs etc. etc.  I can't imagine not eating mayo. 

So - not a good read this morning.  I think I will try to do the gluten exclusion two weeks sometime soon and see how that goes, as clearly I can't continue with this bowel hassle.

Dr Robert Rutledge has several youtube videos about the mini gastric bypass operation and living with it.  It is the only bypass operation he performs and he's done thousands.  On the whole they are informative and interesting.

Seven month weigh in - 31 weeks

I weighed a day early this week as I was asked how much I weighed this morning.  Well - I have snuck into the 14 stones at 14.12½/94.4kgs.  Seven months post op and 7st 9lbs lost.  Yeah!  I took this photo this morning.  I'm wearing a charity shop sweater that I've never been able to get into before.

My bowel problems remain although, I have, in the last seven days had two days without problems for the first time since my op.  My eating wasn't different on these two days, so I have no idea why.  Perhaps it's the beginning of things getting back to normal.  I've had loads of fish this last week and meat.  I've cooked trout, mussels, haddock three times and prawns, duck, beef rib and chicken.  I haven't eaten all of the meat, the dogs over the road have benefitted quite a lot, but I have eaten some and have made stock and soups with the bones and veggies.

I'm off out today to my Writers' Group and we usually have a packed lunch.  Normally it is held at my house, but today I have to drive to one of the other members and I shan't be eating lunch or drinking as I still have worries about accidents away from home. 

The brother of someone I know was to have had his bypass on 6 February.  I don't know if it happened or not, but if it did, I wish him all the best for the future and hope he is doing well.

Valentine's Day and 30 week weigh in

Weighed in this morning at 96.2kgs/212lbs/15st2lbs.  I'm pleased with the weight loss and I've broken the 100lbs lost now too, having lost 103.5lbs/46.9 kilos - I think, among us fatties, it's generally known as being a member of  the onederful club.  I have lost 7st 5.5 lbs.  When I got married the first time, in October 1966, I weighed 7st 4lbs, so I've lost the whole of me in my wedding dress! 

That's something to think about, losing a whole person and yet still being a person with weight to lose.  Before the operation I weighed more than three times what I was on my wedding day - my first husband, John, who was like a lath himself, would have been very surprised to have seen me so heavy.  I could no more pick up and carry a person of that weight than I could fly.  Yet somehow I dragged that weight around with me minute after minute, day after day, week after week, year after year.  Thank goodness I don't have to do that anymore.

It will be 7 months post op on Sunday coming - 7 months and 7 stone lost - got to be good.  I know the weight loss is slowing down, but I'm so happy that I've got this far.  I shall go further - I've succeeded.  I am a success!

Twenty-nine week weigh in

I weighed in this morning at 97.4kgs/15stones 5lbs/215lbs, which I'm pleased about.  My weight loss is slower now than it was, but definitely still disappearing and that's all that matters. 

I had my appointment with the radiologist last week and the growth on my sterno-clavicular joint is not a tumour, it's osteo-arthritis, so that's good news really, better than a tumour anyway.

Today I had my scintigraphy to check if I had a tumour on my remaining three parathyroid glands.  Unfortunately I wasn't so lucky with this.  I have two tumours, one on each of the left parathyroid glands and possibly one on the one remaining one on the right.  I now have to wait for an appointment with the endocrinologist and then with the surgeon who will operate to remove them.