Another fill . . and photos of bands

After a week of being plateaued (and able to eat more than I should), I decided to go in for another fill. I am now at 2.75 ccs in my 5 cc band.

While I was in the exam room waiting for the doctor, I realized that I had my new camera in my bag. So, I took photos of the two band demonstratives that were in there. I thought the Realize brand did a particularly good job, since they show examples of what restriction looks like. Check it out (see the little stomach opening thingies on the base):
Here was the Lap Band brand's demonstrative. Also very interesting (obviously, the metal thing is just to hold the demonstrative and not part of the band system!)

I thought these photos might be especially interesting for people who don't have a band and aren't really sure what it will look like. I know that I found it interesting to see how the ports vary from one brand to the other. The brand I have is Inamed -- I wish they would have had a demonstrative of it so that I could compare mine to the two above!

Parties, Exes & PBing. . .

A while ago, I mentioned that I was going to have to see my ex-boyfriend at the engagement party of our mutual friends. This is the guy who I was totally in love with, but broke up with because after 2+ fantastic years together, he still didn't know when/if he'd ever be ready to get married. Turns out that my FB (former boyfriend) extended his Peter Pan Avoidance Tour (read: multi-month post-breakup vacation), so he was not at the party, which took place on Thursday.

It was a nice party and I enjoyed seeing everyone. Yet, on some levels it was a bummer, mainly because it just reminded me of the breakup. A small consolation was that I hadn't seen a bunch of FB's friends since before my surgery, so at least I felt good knowing that I looked better than I did the last time I saw them.

The party was at a very cute Spanish restaurant and we had a private room with nice wines and passed hors d'oeuvres. Unfortunately, I got totally stuck on the first thing I ate (a deviled egg -- which I thought I'd chewed very well. . ). I got that "I am going to throw up" feeling and headed for the bathroom. . . only to find out that it was a single room situation and someone was in there! I had a napkin in my hand and just stood there, praying that the person would get out before I threw up! Fortunately, the door opened just in the nick of time, and I was able to PB in privacy. Thank God. . . that is just so not what I wanted to project at that party!. . .

Show & Tell . . . Hobbies

I've been a fan forever of beautiful stationery, wrapping paper, ribbons and penmanship. I've been doing calligraphy since I was 11 and have been making cards for as long as I can remember.

(Here's a self-photo shot I took this weekend in the studio. . .)

So, a few years ago, I took lessons to learn how to do letterpress printing. (That's the type of press used for many high end wedding invitations. Below is a photo of a letterpress I've used for several projects.) Since then, it's become a big hobby of mine. Occasionally, for my very nearest & dearest, I offer to do the calligraphy for their invitations -- or even to make their invitations -- as their wedding presents. Also, for the past several months, I've been working with a private tutor/graphic designer to learn Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop.

So, that brings us to this weekend! I spent about 8 hours at the studio printing the invitations of my very good friends Adam and Erica (that's Erica with a "c," not "Erika" with a "K" -- two different people!).

(Here's a shot of my filthy gloves, screwdriver, palate knife, California wash, scissors and loop!)

(The yellow thing on the press is the
border design for their invitation)

So, since I'm doing a bit of tell. . thought I should show you a few projects that I've done on the press!

Here are the bachelorette party invitations that I did for my friend Sharon (I posted photos from her wedding in Greve, Italy some time ago). The cartoon looks pretty much like her, albeit in cartoon version! She has a total pirate fetish, hence the "Yargh!" and skull & crossbones skirt!

Here are the wedding invitations I did for my best friend last year. She was born in Taiwan, and we wanted the invitations to reflect that -- so we used the traditional Chinese good luck colors, red and gold, and the characters for Double Happiness, which are often used for Chinese weddings. (BTW, was a really fun wedding & she looked amazing!)

And, here are the invitations that I printed this weekend. I love LOVE LOVE the paper that I found to use as the belly band (a phrase that now makes me think of my lap band!). My friends really wanted something summery, casual and fun for their summer beach wedding and I feel like this fits the bill!

So, that's my show & tell for this evening. If anyone has an interesting hobby, would love to hear about it!

TWENTY-FIVE!

It's finally official! I have now lost 25 lbs! Actually, as of this morning, I'm down 25.2. One of the very best things about the band is that, although I've been on this "diet" for nearly 4 months, I am still very motivated and feel that this is a very sustainable course. That is so very different from how I've felt on any other weight loss plan (and, let's face it, I never got to the 4 month mark on any other plan)!

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Five things I've noticed after losing this weight are:

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1. I'm starting to look like myself again, instead of a puffy, more matronly version of my old self.

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2. I feel lighter and healthier and, emotionally, I feel really good about making the decision to get banded and making it work.

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3. The robes at the spa I go to give better coverage (I went for a massage yesterday. Normally I feel like their robes are just a little too skimpy. I checked the size and saw that it was the same as usual and realized that the difference in coverage is due to me losing 2.5 inches from my hips and my waist! NSV!)

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4. My back doesn't tighten up as much when I go for long walks (not that it was ever that bad -- just something I noticed)

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5. My feet don't hurt as badly when I wear heels (nothing like having 25 lbs less of pressure on them. . . )

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(For some reason, this program is taking the returns out of my post today, so I thought I'd use dashes to break up the text -- if anyone knows how to fix this, be sure to let me know!)

Fun with friends

I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd been a little stressed about seeing a very dear old friend and her 2 sisters because I was worried about what they would think about all of the weight I put on during the years since our last visit. It really was not an issue at all, and we had a fantastic time.

I thought I'd share a few photos from the weekend! Here my friend (Sofia) and I are posing with Max at my apartment.


We had dinner at Buddakan on Saturday night, which was delicious and a total blast. (If you saw the Sex in the City movie, this is where Carrie & Big had their rehearsal dinner.) The other girl in this photo is Sofia's sister, Daniella.

This one is of Sofia and her other sister, Eugenia. Super cute photo!

And, lastly, here we are at The Mermaid Inn (cute restaurant in the East Village) with my friend Brooke on the girls' last night in town.

I actually wound up telling Sofia and her sisters about me being banded during their first night in town. They were totally supportive (after all, they are from Venezuela, where cosmetic and similar surgeries are very common -- plus, they are just very open, cool people!) and I was glad that I told them. My other friend in these photos (Brooke) has known about the surgery before I had it, so that wasn't an issue either.

I feel very lucky that I've been able to tell family and friends about the surgery and that everyone has been so positive about it. I think that they can tell that I'm feeling good about it, and that's bound to help as well.

NSV! But Embarrassing!

Yesterday, for the first time since I got banded, someone who doesn't know about my surgery let me know that she noticed my weight loss.

One of the secretaries in my office stopped me as I was going into the kitchen and yelled "HAVE YOU LOST WEIGHT?!?!" While I'm thrilled to death to finally (!!) have someone who doesn't know I'm dieting notice and say something, that was pretty embarrassing! Hopefully no one heard her (we were the only ones in the kitchen). Not that I am ashamed of doing well on my diet, I just don't want to call too much attention to it at work! Anyway, while HOW it happened wasn't a dream come true, it felt pretty good anyway!

Seeing old friends

One thing that I've stressed about through the last few years is seeing old friends who I haven't seen for a long time. This stems from me being ashamed that I put on so much weight and being embarrassed for my friends to see how out of control my weight was.

This past weekend, a very dear friend of mine (Sofia) and her two sisters were visiting from Venezuela. Sofia and I became friends when I lived in the Bahamas (2000-2001) and we spent a lot of great time together there, going out dancing, doing fun things during the weekend, talking about life, guys and the usual stuff! I visited her in Venezuela in 2001, but -- though we stay in touch through e-mail and Facebook -- I actually hadn't seen her since then!

So, going into this weekend, I was in the funny position of both feeling fantastic about being down nearly 25 lbs -- while at the same time knowing I am 45 lbs heavier than I was the last time I saw my friend. Of course, I know that our friendship has nothing to do with how much I weigh, so reminding myself of that was a good thing to do. Unsurprisingly, it was totally a non-issue and I had a great time!

TWENTY-FOUR

Wha. . Who put that photo up here? This post is NOT about Kiefer Sutherland! :) I'm down 24 lbs as of this morning! Not 23.8 not 23.9, but a solid 24. WOO HOO!

(But that doesn't mean I'll deprive everyone of this other Kiefer photo that I came across this morning. After all, I'm in a GREAT mood!) :)

Recipes to Share?

Another quick note while I'm talking about cooking. If anyone has good band-friendly recipes to share, I wanted to invite you to post them (or a link to the recipe) in the comments to this message. I'll try out any that sound good to me and will let you know how it goes (with photos if I'm really with it that day)! :)

Cooking with Catherine #3

Now that I finally (!) have a new camera, I'm excited to share a really, really delicious recipe with you for a very easy and band-friendly soup -- Butternut Squash Soup with Blue Cheese and Walnuts. http://www.freshdirect.com/recipe.jsp?recipeId=rec_tb_rstbttrnt_squash_sp&trk=srch

How gorgeous is the color of this soup?!

This is my second time making this soup -- it is seriously delicious, and by only using a wee sprinkling of blue cheese on top (and either limiting or omitting the walnuts), you keep the calorie count low. I also made a few tweaks to the recipe, which are mentioned below, and it turned out really well (it also turned out great the first time I made it, when I followed the recipe to a tee).

You start with fresh butternut squash (though honestly, the lighter squash here didn't look so great, so I only used the dark one this time).



Even though the recipe says to cook the halves, I peel and cube them first, then coat them in a little bit of olive oil, freshly ground pepper and a teaspoon of sea salt. Then you roast them in a 350 degree oven for about 40 minutes.

I really love my olive oil bottle (above). I bought it in a little shop in Positano, Italy three summers ago. I was there with my mother -- who is a great person to travel with -- and we had a fantastic time!

While the squash is roasting, chop up 1/2 of a Spanish onion (I used a small white onion here and that worked just as well) and one pear.

In a large pan (I use my big non-stick wok), heat some olive oil and cook the onion and pear in it at medium heat for 20 minutes without browning them. (Nothing tricky here -- just stir once in a while and make sure the heat isn't too high.)

After that, add in 1/2 cup of wine and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Then, add in 5 1/2 cups of stock (recipe calls for vegetable, but I used chicken stock and it was great). BTW, one of these containers is about 4 cups.

Bring that to a boil, then add in your roasted squash and cook at a low simmer for 30 more minutes. Then, let the soup cool a bit, put it through your blender or food processor, and you're done! (I left out the honey this time and didn't miss it at all.)

Once the soup is done, I divvy it up into individual serving Ziplock containers and put a little Roqueford cheese on top. I then put them in the freezer and take one to work for lunch every day (unless I have other plans). By lunch time they are a little thawed and only need about 3 minutes in the microwave.

You can see that I still have some of the chicken & chile soup in stock! That recipe is in an earlier post -- I've made it 3 times now!

Bon appetit!

I saw Will Ferrell. . . and it was GLORIOUS!

Will Ferrell is just SO SO funny! My friend Erika took me to see his new show on Broadway last night, and we laughed our heads off! He was seriously the spitting image of G.W.

In band news, I'm still (!) suffering from getting stuck on Sunday night. I think my band just tightened up a bit after that. It's been harder to eat without getting stuck, so I've been having liquids as much as possible, and I bought a few Isopure protein drinks at GNC yesterday to make sure I'm getting enough protein. Don't want my hair to fall out! :)

Here is a self portrait of Erika and me in Times Square after the Will Ferrell show. Not the best photo ever!

Also . . . as of this morning, I'm 21.6 lbs down!

Scars. . .

I responded to a post on Lap Band Talk earlier today about scars and thought it might be interesting to post an updated photo. Honestly, I don't know if using Mederma has made any difference. Unfortunately, my first set of photos just weren't that good, quality-wise, and now that I have my fancy new camera (yay!! just got it tonight!), the image is a lot clearer.

Below is the photo I took tonight. Actually, the top scar seems to be fading pretty well. The bottom one is still quite red and not so pretty!

Below is the photo I took on c. November 20th (2 months ago). The thing is, the lighting here was much brighter and the photo isn't really in focus, so it's hard to really see. Still, looking at this one, it's obvious to me that the little scar has faded a lot. Interesting! Maybe I'll keep using the Mederma after all!

Measuring up. . .

Two days before my surgery, I took measurements of my chest, waist, hips, upper arm, forearm, wrist, thigh, calf and ankle. I started a progress chart with that information and my weight. I've been great about logging in my weight, but I misplaced my measuring tape in October and haven't taken measurements since then.

I am now 3 months and 5 days post-op and 20.4 lbs down. I took my measurements tonight and was surprised to find that I lost the most from my waist and hips (which is great!). Here is how I measured up:

Chest: -.75 inch (not that I'm trying to lose there!)
Waist: -2.5 inches
Hips: -2.25 inches
Upper arm: -.5 inch
Forearm: -.3 inch
Wrist: -.55 inch (surprising that it's more than my forearm, right?! Maybe I didn't get the exact same spot, though I've been trying to just measure the thickest point to be consistent)
Thigh: -.25 inch
Calf: -0
Ankle: -0

I thought it was weird that I'm losing more some places than others and that my calves didn't change! I guess we'll see if that changes in another few months.

Stuck

Last night, I cooked dinner for my friend Erika and had a great time. I made veal chops with polenta, roasted tomatoes and sauteed mushrooms, with a great arugula salad to start and lemon sorbet for dessert.

Erika knows about my surgery, so it was not any big deal for me to just take a small portion for myself and chew chew chew. Everything went fine, but after she went home, I was still a little hungry, so I had another few bites. And I got really stuck.

Basically, I slimed for about an hour and did a little PB, but I still didn't feel totally unstuck. I was able to have some water, and it went down, but I really had to burp after it went down. (If this sounds familiar to you and you know what the fix is, please post a comment!)

During the night, I woke up and STILL felt stuck. It was just really uncomfortable, and I had to burp. This morning, I still have an uncomfortable need-to-burp feeling, and when I drink water, it seems like my stomach is probably swollen a bit around my band b/c it feels tighter. I expect it is irritated from last night's events.

Here's to hoping the feeling goes away by mid day!

No Man's Land Size

I have to admit, I felt really great yesterday in those pants! And, when I thought back on it, I realized that it's been more than TWO YEARS since I could get into them (I haven't worn them since before I started my current job). Wow.

In other news, I have to go to an engagement party on February 19th, and my ex-boyfriend is going to be there. By way of background, I broke up with him in early July because after 2+ years (which were fantastic, I might add), we just were not on the same page about marriage and children. (Read: We're both 38, I'd like to get married & have kids with him, and he's more in the Peter Pan mindset.)

He's an investment banker and lost his job several months ago. So, he decided to take time off to travel and has been out of the country for the past 2 months. I saw him last in mid-November.

My weight was never an issue for him, and I don't have any illusions that me looking better is suddenly going to put him on the same page with me. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that I don't want him to see me and be kicking himself that we're no longer together! On the contrary! :)

That leads us to the obvious issue of me needing to look really, really good at this party! Unfortunately, I'm a weird size right now! I bought a really cute dress on-line in 14W, but am totally swimming in it. And, 16 is still too snug. (To my thin friends who read this, please block out this info. and let's never, ever talk about it.) Plus, most designers whose clothes I'd like to wear only make up to a 12 -- or a 14 at most. Oh, how I hate them!!

You know, you'd think the fashion industry would NOTICE that there is a 4-6 size gap in the market. There is such a shortage of clothing in that range -- hence the title of today's post. Yes, you can buy pants at The Gap, but finding a great dress is pretty much impossible. (If anyone thinks I'm wrong on this, please let me know where to shop!)

Now that I think about it, I was in the same position about 2-3 years ago when I was on my way up the scale. It was much easier to shop being 20 lbs heavier than I am now. However, I wouldn't trade those 20 lbs for anything! After all, soon enough, I'll be 30 or 40 lbs down (can't wait!) and then the problem will be "There is so much to buy! How will I ever decide?!" :) :)

Woo hoo!

I'm wearing a pair of pants today that I haven't fit into in about 1 1/2 years, and they look good! :) :) Band, I am loving you!!!

Breakfast Break (Day One)

I tried out my doctor's no-breakfast suggestion today. It went OK. I wasn't hungry when I woke up, but wasn't sure how the rest of the day would go. I packed my usual food supply -- a SlimFast shake (breakfast), a Ziplock bowl of homemade soup and a lowfat yogurt.

I still wasn't hungry when I got to work, so I decided not to have the shake. Funny enough, I kept thinking about breakfast -- so I kept asking myself "Are you really hungry, or do you just want to have something for the sake of having something?" The answer was the latter. By around 11:30, I actually was hungry, so I had the yogurt.

I wound up having the soup closer to 2, which worked out really well because I had a cocktail party for work tonight. I was still full enough that I didn't eat any hors d'oeuvres there (I'm still on day 2 of post-fill liquids) and just had a glass of wine.

Now I'm home, had another bowl of soup and am feeling good. (I was pretty darned hungry on the way here though!)

I'm going to try the no-breakfast thing again tomorrow. I brought some decaf teas to work, so I'll plan to have that instead again and see how it goes. It's interesting that the hardest part about that was feeling like I didn't do something I'm "supposed" to do, i.e. eat breakfast. Hmmm!

TWENTY!

Woo-hoo!!! As of this morning, I am OFFICIALLY down 20 lbs to the dot! Not 19.4, not 19.6. . . a solid, real 20! Feels great!

Skinny Girl Secrets. . .

I went in for another fill today and made sure that my doctor was the one to give it to me this time. She added in another .3 ccs, and I am now at 2.5 ccs in my 5 cc band.

My doctor has me follow each fill with 2 days of liquids, then 2 of mushies, so it generally takes a while for me to figure out whether the fill made a difference. While I was waiting, I re-read the office's list of best practices for bandsters. I've read it many times before, but this time, one of the first items caught my eye. It said: "Eat one to three small meals per day." I'm not sure why, but I never noticed the "one" in this before -- I just understood it to mean that I should have three small meals.

I asked my doctor about that guideline, and she said -- "Let me tell you a Skinny Girl Secret." (By way of background, she is thin and very pretty.) Needless to say, I was all ears! Her: "You really don't need to eat breakfast every day." She asked if I ate breakfast because I was hungry when I woke up (I'm not), and asked what I usually have (either a SlimFast shake or oatmeal). She then went on to explain that, while breakfast is a very important meal for growing children, the same isn't true for adults. She also told me that several studies by obesity physicians show that breakfast really isn't that important. I was like "WHAT?! All I've ever heard about breakfast is that it's the most important meal of the day!"

So, at my doctor's recommendation, I'm going to take a break from breakfast to see how it goes. She said that if I'm hungry when I get up, it's fine to have breakfast. But, if I'm not, there is no reason to eat. (That seems pretty straightforward, but it kind of blew my mind to be getting this information for the first time!) She suggested that if I'm not hungry, to just have a tea or a coffee instead of a meal.

The "one" part of the "one to three meals a day" thing really surprised me, so I asked some more questions. My doctor said that if you're not hungry, one meal a day is fine. She also said that I should think of just doing a healthy soup at lunch (which I do anyway) and dinner. I remarked that part of the reason I've been sticking to three meals a day is out of habit, and she was like "Exactly!!"

Still, it seems weird to me (and a little anorexia-esque/unhealthy) to think of only eating one small meal each day. I'm not planning to go that extreme, though I will try foregoing breakfast for a few days to see how it goes. Will let you know how it goes!

Funny -- I just ran a Google search and see that there are a bunch of articles on doctors' conflicting views of the importance of breakfast.

More Fill

I'm going to try to get in for another fill today. This weekend showed me that I really can eat a bit too much -- not that I overdid it in any real way, it's just that I've stopped losing. I had one of those Amy's Organic frozen meals last night and could eat the whole thing, so that tells me I probably am too loose.

Hope everyone had a great weekend! Cindy -- 30+ lbs down is amazing!! Congratulations!

BTW, I ordered my new camera over the weekend, so will be back to posting photos soon!