Working Out..... Wiiiiiiiiii!

So I started to work on yesterday. I need to start to get on a schedule if I want to stick with it. I belong to a gym, but have been so busy and don't want to leave the family so I took out the Wii. I forgot how much of a workout you can get from it. I love the Yoga because I can really feel my muscles working and my new favorite is the step aerobics that you can pick an amount of time and then turn your TV on and step while watching your favorite shows.

Man do my calves hurt today. It makes it hard to workout again, but I did it. I think I'm going to start working out in the morning before my husband goes to work. Then I don't have to take my son to the gym with me and pay for daycare.

Stuck!

My first stuck episode was today and it was horrible. I took about three bites of a boca burger and the pain was unbearable. It feels like when you've eaten too big of a bite and it goes down really slow. You know the pain will go away, but you panic a little anyway. Take that pain and multiply it a few times. I also felt like I was dry drowning. I was getting air, but I felt like not enough. I tried to drink some water to get it to go down, but nothing worked. I didn't feel like I had to throw up, but I hurt. I went to the bathroom because my throat started making weird noises and I leaned over the toilet just in case something happened. Without any effort at all a big ball of goo slide out of my mouth. It was disgusting. It was all slimy and mucuousy. Not like if you chew food and spit it out. I don't know how it got all gooy, but man was it gross. I though that would make me feel better so I tried to go back on working, but the pain came back. I ended up having to go in the bathroom and get rid of 5 more balls of goo. As each ball of goo came up my esophagus started to feel better. There was no pressure or heaving like when you throw up. That was the weird part. It just slide out when I leaned over and opened my mouth. I didn't even realize that the food never went down it literally got stuck above my stoma and kept filling up to the back of my throat.

I had heard of this happening, but never knew what it would be like. I think it was the bun to the burger. I haven't had bread since surgery that hasn't been toasted. I think it just turned into a ball of dough in my throat and my body did not like that.

Note to self: Chew, Chew, Chew. Slow down. No more untoasted bread.

First Fill

I had my first fill yesterday. It was very strange. I got into the room and the nurse took my blood pressure and then the dietitian came in and asked me about what I was eating and how I was exercising. I know it wasn't his plan to make me feel bad, but by asking all the questions it feels like he's second guessing everything I've been doing.

When the doctor came in he asked me if I was hungry after meals and that with this fill it should fix that. He had me lay down on the table and point to where my port was. He felt my stomach for it and then swabbed it with an alcohol wipe. He turned around to get the needle and when he turned back I saw the biggest needle I've ever seen. I knew he wasn't going to stick the whole thing in me, but it sure is intimidating. It had to be at least 5 to 6 inches long with a syringe on the end. When he stuck it in, it didn't hurt at all. He then started to push the fluid in and immediately felt the tightness in my chest. I then had to sit up with the needle still sticking out of me, bobbing up and down. It was like something you would see in a comedy movie. The doctor them gave me a bottle of water to drink.

*Thank you to the lady in the waiting room who warned my about the next part.

As I was drinking the water, it completely filled up my esophagus. I now realized that the doctor had completely filled my band and closed my stomach off. He said let me know when the water is at the back of your throat. It's the strangest feeling. It feels like you're close to drowning. You have to make sure you're relaxed or you could panic like you were drowning. Once the liquid was all the way up my throat. He started to pull out the liquid and told me to let him know when the water drained out. He said that water should always flow right through the band. So when I felt it was okay he had me chug the rest of the bottle of water to make sure it went through freely. By the way, the needle is still sticking out of me, bobbing as I move. I then had to stand up and the doctor took the needle out. He said I got 2.8 cc's.

The funniest part of the appointment was the doctor explaining the "filet 'o fish test" to me. He said that if I'm not sure if I need a fill I have to go to McDonald's and order a filet 'o fish. I then need to take off the bun and eat the fish with cheese and tarter sauce. If I feel like I can eat more I need a fill. If I barely goes down I probably need to have some fluid taken out. I'm sorry, but I've never eaten a filet 'o fish in my life and the fact that my weight loss surgeon is telling me to go to McDonald's to eat a fried piece of fish just makes me laugh.

DH not a good diet buddy

So I encouraged my husband to "diet", well just eat better, because he's started to get a beer belly. He's always been really skinny, but I think as he's getting older the food isn't being as friendly. I also want him to eat healthier in support of me and to show my son proper food habits.

There is no strict diet, just watch what you eat type of thing. He has whined and complained the whole time. During dinner last night we discussed how his eating habits effect mine and my son's. I think he understood.

Until tonight.

We had a normal dinner. We've even been trying to eat at the dinner table instead of in front the the TV. So far we've made it over a week. As I'm getting ready to go to bed around 10pm I walk into the kitchen and what do I see? My husband is making peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Not 1, but 2!. These are not ordinary sandwiches either. He loads on the PB & J. I understand that sometimes you need a snack, but 2 sandwiches? Come on! I looked at him and he looked back at me knowing that this was not good.

I didn't get mad, but this was not good. I took one sandwich and bagged it up for him for lunch tomorrow. I know he wanted to eat it, but I tried to remind him that sometimes our eyes are hungrier than our stomach is.

FILLLLLLL? Where are you?

I need a fill really bad. I very rarely feel any restriction and when I do its usually because I'm eating noodles and/or taking too big of bites. I started off really well sticking to the 1 cup per meal, but my meals have definitely been getting bigger. I haven't been over eating, but I don't like this slippery slope.

Life has been a little stressful as my husband and I have been getting our house ready to put on the market. I was very surprised, but I didn't fall off the wagon and emotionally eat during this process. Happy to say that our house is on the market today! I'm sure we'll sell the house right around the same time I'm having my bandiversary. :) Well at least we know its going to be a slow process.

My son has T-ball tomorrow and a birthday party after. I hope I can get enough water and stay away from grazing at the birthday party. I'm just going to have to stay away from the kitchen and only take one plate of food.

Broccoli Be Gone

It's been a rough couple of days. I've been having severe intestinal cramping to the point I have to lay down. It lasted for two days too. I had broccoli the night before and I'm convinced it was that and hoping its not something different. I went to the store to stock up on fiber foods and have really been watching what I'm eating and making note if my body reacts differently.

All was well today, but didn't really get in enough protein. I tried though. Had turkey sausage and an egg this morning, half turkey sandwich at lunch, and refried beans with chicken for dinner. I also had some healthy snacks in between.

If the cramping comes back, I'm definitely calling the doctor, but for now I'm thinking I need to stay away from broccoli.

Pasta...so good....so bad

Man I love pasta, but it doesn't love me. Had a cold pasta salad with penne tonight and it went down really slow. Very painful. Just like some egg noodles I had before. I think I need to make sure my pasta is really soft or make something else. I limit how much I eat, but its so good and so versatile. It can go in so many dishes. I guess I'm going to have to start looking at some new recipes with out pasta.

Summer's Going So Fast

So summer is half over and our house is almost ready to put up for sale. We've been really busy de-cluttering and cleaning carpets, etc. My weight loss is coming slowly but surely. I'm down 24 pounds since the start of my journey. Today I had major intestinal cramping. It was so much I couldn't do anything. I laid down and took some gas reliever hoping that moved things along in there. This is not the first time this has happened. If it continues I'm definitely going to tell my surgeon.

Happy 4th of July to all. My son and I are going to a parade tomorrow. No candy for me though. Party at my sister's after. Nervous about the food I can eat, but I'm sure I'll find something.