4 sleeps to Thailand!

Whoo hoo!! I am SOOOO excited about going to Thailand, it is going to be fantastic!! We are going to Bangkok for a week and then to Hua Hin on the coast. The main things that are on the agenda are: sleep, reading, spa treatments, eating, swimming and shopping - it is going to be a great holiday. The good thing is that we get back on Christmas eve.

I have been really busy with work lately which has helped pass the time though the last week felt like it took bloody forever. I am pretty organised, so much so that I have looked up the movies on the flights, the movies that are on at the multiplex near where we are staying in Bangkok, converted all of the prices of the spa treatments to AUD - gosh, I am really looking forward to it.

The husband and I have to go to my Mum and Dad's place tomorrow to put up a fence so the dog won't be able to get out when we go. Then I am going to do a big clean on the house and pack - I am very organised!!

Band-wise, it has been a bit up and down of late and I am going to have some taken out on Wednesday before we fly out that night. It has just tightened up again today, I think because of a bit of stress and sometimes that really drives be crazy about the band. Though, I still absolutely love it all the same - my weight has stayed the same the last few weeks which I am really happy about - I have never really had stable weight, well, not for a long time anyway.

I am also looking forward to Christmas this year. Last year was a bit of a disaster as I hadn't really gotten used to eating only a little bit of food so I really pushed limit - I am looking forward to a calmer Christmas this year!!

Some good things in life.....

I have been thinking about my trip to Perth and how different it was having the band. Firstly, I would not have gone if I was weighing at my heaviest, now way. There were too many people that I had not seen for a long time and going to the beach, I’m afraid not. This time, I went without thought – how nice is that? I wasn’t worried that people were going to be thinking ‘my god, she looks terrible’ – partly because I have lost weight but also because I am a lot more confident in my own skin and don’t particularly care what people are thinking about me these days.

Due to my blood clotting condition, I always wear the thrombosis socks on the plane. When we flew to Perth, I put them on once we were on the plane. We went on one of the cheapie airlines and you know how close together the seats are right? Well, I was able to put my socks on in my seat, no problem – 18 months ago – I would have had to have gone to the toilets to put them on, no way in hell would I be able to put them on in my seat!!

I also am notorious for putting mega amounts of weight on whilst away. On our honeymoon for two weeks in Thailand, I put on 5kg’s (11lbs) in two weeks – I mean, how is that even possible?!!?? Anyway, when I got back, I was a bit worried about my weight because I had had some fill out and had been able to eat a little more. Happily when I got home, I was the same weight – this was a huge relief and a massive success for me!!

Gosh I love the band!! 9 days to Thailand, people – I am SOOOOO excited!!

I'm Back!

Well, I am back from Perth and we had a wonderful time!! It was a pretty relaxing weekend just pottering around and going to the husband's cousin's birthday celebrations!

The weather was a little disappointing, quite chilly so we didn't get to have a swim until Sunday. The beaches in Perth though, my goodness, they are surely some of the most spectacular in the world - absolutely gorgeous!

The good news is that even though the flight tightened up the band a little, it wasn't too bad and I have been able to eat a bit but not too much. Despite my resolution not to weigh myself, I did this morning and it is all good, it has stayed the same - yay!

Now I have 15 days until we go to Thailand - I can't wait!! There is still alot to do and lots to get done at work but I am really, really excited for Thailand - whoo hoo!!

Perth bound!

Okay – I had an incident last week. As a result of some medications that I have been taking, I had to get an emergency appointment to see the wonderful fill doctor, Caroline! All of a sudden, I started to get toxic heartburn and I was unable to eat anything nor drink very much. We have been having a pretty big heat wave here over the past week or so with record temperatures for this time of year so the dehydration was horrifying!

I ended up having .4 taken out of the band and even then it took another 36 hours to be able to really eat anything other than liquids. I am still not able to eat a great deal but I have been able to have lots of liquids, thankfully because the heat has continued unabated all weekend.

I have to say, I get nervous getting fluid out of the band – it takes this kind of situation to realize just how much I rely and trust it which is a good thing – my resolution in the new year is going to get that level of trust and reliance on myself – then I would be unbeatable right?!!? I am very glad that I got the fluid removed though, it would have been a disaster if I hadn’t of with how hot it’s been over this weekend!

I have been ultra, ultra busy at work with a big project coming in to land over the next couple of weeks but the biggest news this week is that I am heading West people – heading over to Perth with the husband for his cousin’s 30th birthday. I am really looking forward to it because I have never been there before (apart from a 4 hour wait when I was on the way to Africa!). It will be nice to be right on the beach and have some serious relaxing – I can’t wait!!

Two weeks after that, we are off to Thailand and we don’t get back until Christmas eve – I am so excited for the Thailand trip, we had our honeymoon there and absolutely LOVE the place! I think I will have to get more fluid out for the trip – the last thing I want to happen is not to be able to eat there or to get something stuck – not the place for that!!

Anyway, will chat to you after Perth!!

Unsettling band changes!

I am happy to tell you that my weight finally dropped down, yay - I was very pleased I can tell you though due to personal circumstances, I am not going to weigh myself for the rest of the year and be happy with maintaining my current weight (which is only 7kg's away from my healthy weight range and a whisker away from 40kg / 88lbs). If circumstances permit - I will start back on the weight loss journey again in the new year. This is actually really exciting for me as I have never intentionally tried to maintain a weight, I have always been trying to lose weight. I am quite excited to see how the band works to maintain my weight!!

Speaking of the band, it has been a little changeable the last week. Firstly, I had felt that it had loosened off a whisker - which was good news for maintaning because it has been pretty tight. Then yesterday it tightened up like no tomorrow, tightened more than it has been for awhile which is a bit annoying. I am going to wait a day or so and hopefully it will loosen off, if not, I am off to get some fill taken out cos I am struggling right about now.

Sometimes the band annoys me and this is one of those times but I am just going to have to work with it - onwards and upwards as they say!!

Exercise galore!!

It’s funny when you think that you are not getting anywhere with your weight loss and then something comes along to make you realize that you have changed significantly. This can come in many forms, a friend who you haven’t seen for a while, a comment from someone at work, a look back in your journal or blog or a gym assessment. For me, I had felt like I had been toiling away for the past few months without very much reward. I definitely have felt that my clothes were looser – I am pretty much in a size 12 (pants, much smaller up top) now which is very encouraging but the scales felt like they had not been moving for months and months.

I had a gym assessment last week and I am not sure how long it had been since the previous one but I think it was around 4-5 months. I had lost 16kg’s and mega inches everywhere – 8cm’s off my waist was a memorable one. It was a great wake up call – it made me feel rewarded for the months of training that I have been putting in.

Still, the weight loss is coming pretty slowly now. I still have 8 kg’s (17lbs) to get to my healthy weight range and whilst I would love to get there quickly and start to maintain, for the most part I am quite happy for a slow weight loss as long as it keeps on going down. I still have days when I’m frustrated about it but for the most part, I go along pretty well.

Jen and I had our second tap class this week which was so much fun again. I am seriously unco and have trouble even getting the most basic steps but honestly, we laugh and have a good time and I tell you, that’s how I like my exercise!!

I am having a good exercise week this week – I feel like I am finally over the cold that has plagued me for the last month, so I am really getting in to it again – yay!! I went to the gym on Tuesday, did the tap class on Tuesday, did a boxing class with my husband last night (holy cow, that was tough!!) and went to the gym today. All in all, I am feeling really good.

We are going to Perth for a long weekend in November – I am looking forward to getting some sun and swimming in the beach and then we are off to Thailand in November and I will be having almost a month off work – am SO excited, I can’t WAIT!!

Tap on, my friends, tap on!!

Jen and I went tap dancing last night – gosh it was the most fun that I’ve had exercising in a long, long time!! It was an hour and a half and a pretty damn good workout, I can tell you!! There was a lot of looking at myself in the mirror which I have to say was easier than when I started Bikram yoga – at that point I was more than 20kg’s heavier than I am now but I still sometimes have to make sure that I am not being overly critical of how I look.

Most of the time there was no time for that as I had to concentrate to make sure that I got the steps. If you are looking for a fun form of exercise, this is it!! The instructor also let us know that tap dancing does wonders for cellulite – I can tell you that Jen and I will be there with bells on!!

I am back on the exercising band wagon again and feel like I need to add in some toning so I am adding a couple of Pump classes a week to my routine – especially in the lead up to my two upcoming trip to the beach (Perth in November and Thailand in December – whoo hoo!!).

I am going to try to give it a good push to get really toned and healthy by the time I go there – it should be a good challenge!!Jen and I went tap dancing last night – gosh it was the most fun that I’ve had exercising in a long, long time!! It was an hour and a half and a pretty damn good workout, I can tell you!! There was a lot of looking at myself in the mirror which I have to say was easier than when I started Bikram yoga – at that point I was more than 20kg’s heavier than I am now but I still sometimes have to make sure that I am not being overly critical of how I look.

Most of the time there was no time for that as I had to concentrate to make sure that I got the steps. If you are looking for a fun form of exercise, this is it!! The instructor also let us know that tap dancing does wonders for cellulite – I can tell you that Jen and I will be there with bells on!!

The only time previously that I had ever done any tap dancing was on a trip to New York when I was 22. I was staying at a backpacker place when me and a few international travellers discovered a tap-a-thon that was going to happen in front of Macy's in New York - they were hoping to get more than 5,000 people doing a tap dancing routine in the street - which they did. It is one of my most memorable travelling experiences - doing a tap routine in the middle of the street in front of Macy's with a straw top hat and a cane. They even had tickertape - it was one of the most fun days of my life!!!

I am back on the exercising band wagon again and feel like I need to add in some toning so I am adding a couple of Pump classes a week to my routine – especially in the lead up to my two upcoming trip to the beach (Perth in November and Thailand in December – whoo hoo!!).

I am going to try to give it a good push to get really toned and healthy by the time I go there – it should be a good challenge!!

10km Run done and dusted!!

Good news, people!! I am feeling way, way better, I have less than 10kg’s to go to my healthy weight range and I did the 10km run last Sunday!! I didn’t run the whole way, probably about 8km of the course which I was very happy with!! I lay in bed at 6am on Sunday morning for about 15mins debating with myself whether I would do the run or not because my preparation was terrible – basically no running in the 2 weeks up to the run – not good! It was a gorgeous morning though and I thought even if I walked it will be a good experience and it certainly was.

The Melbourne Marathon Run is pretty popular with thousands and thousands of participants in the four races. It is on a really scenic route through Melbourne and ends up with a lap of the MCG (Melbourne Cricket Ground) which is quite fabulous. I was up on the big screen for ages as I ran my lap and boy did I feel good when I crossed the line!

I think I am going to do another 10km run in December to hopefully keep up the fitness, help the weight loss further and feel good about myself – there is a good one coming up – it is an all women one which is nice!

The band is still quite tight at the moment though it has eased off a little bit. I have still been eating good, low fat food so that is the mostly probable cause of the good weight loss that I have been having recently! The husband and I are off to Thailand in 54 days so I am hoping to lose a few more kilo’s by then!!

How funny is this – Jen and I start tap dancing next week! We thought we would do a bit of exercise that was a bit fun and this is what we came up with – I am so looking forward to it though I am sure I am going to be pretty uncoordinated!!

Work has been seriously, seriously busy so time is at a premium right now plus my home computer is broken – I am devastated!!

I am going to have to update my pics soon (hopefully once the computer is fixed!).

Catch you soon!

Jodie

So sick of being sick!

Gosh, it’s been awhile since I posted. Sorry gang, I have been sick with the flu and boy has it been a bad dose. I have been absolutely exhausted – barely able to get off the couch. The band has been a bit changeable during this period, some days quite loose and some days quite tight and today is one of the days that it is tight. I haven’t weighed myself in a good while either, I really should to see where things are at with me!

I have been making a lot bigger effort to eat much, much lower in fat and have been pretty successful – after all, I used to always eat that way, it was just that I had started to justify to myself ‘oh, I am eating so little, it’s okay to eat full fat items’. The high cholesterol has given me quite a scare so I have been eating everything low in fat and high in veggies and fruit. I have been doing a bit more cooking lately (when not sick) and I felt a lot better last night so I cooked low fat chicken quesadilla’s – I just love Mexican food so this was pretty delicious.

I feel a lot better in myself now that I am eating more low fat and my clothes are becoming more and more loose, which is fabulous!! I have to admit something that has never happened to me before – I feel great about how I look. I know I am not a super model or anything but I am not hell bent on changing anything which is really great. This is a real surprise because as I say, I have never really been this way before. I think that this is a lot because I have focused on this journey being about my health and not my looks. It is just so nice to look in the mirror and not cringe.

Anyway, need another lie down – am still struggling. Honestly, I don’t know how I’m going to go with my 10km run on Sunday, I think it is going to end up being a run / walk. That’s okay, I haven’t had ideal preparation being so sick. I will do the best I can!

Happy Bandiversary to Me!!!

Okay gang, sorry I have been away for awhile – it has been a whirlwind of a week and one in which I celebrated my Bandiversary – yay – happy Bandiversary to me!!

My stats:

Started Optifast: 3 September 2008
Date Banded: 17 September 2008 – weight lost in 2 weeks prior to surgery = 6.5 kg / 14 lbs
Bandiversary: 17 September 2009 – weight lost overall 36kg / 78lbs

I have lost 69% of my excess weight so fair and I have gone from size 22 pants to size 12. I still have 11.5kg / 25lbs to reach my goal.

Reasons that I had the band in the first place:

· Fitter, healthier, happier
· Give myself the best chance of conceiving a child
· Reduce risk factors
· Look good in clothes
· Gain in confidence

I thought I would deal up my top 10 ways that the band journey has changed my life – so here goes:

1. Healthier and fitter – yay! This is definitely the case. I had my blood pressure checked recent ly and it was actually quite low and I found all of my tests bar one are in the normal range – this is excellent considering that I was pretty low in vitamin D before the surgery (I did make an effort to sit in the sun for 10mins a day though which obviously helped). I am going to be running the 10km run in a couple of weeks so am definitely fitter. The one test that I do need to address is that my cholesterol has risen so I need to ensure that I cut out all of the saturated fats and high fat dairy (I must admit some full fat cheese and yoghurt had crept in to my diet – no more, she cried!!). In addition, I have had bulging discs in my back and normally I would be at the osteopath around once a month to keep it flexible and normally every couple of months I would have a bad episode with my back – in the last 6 months I have been to the osteopath once and that was not even for my lower back – whoo hoo!!

2. More confidence – Before the band, I was in a real down on myself period. I didn’t want to see any of my friends because I was ashamed of my size and I barely had any clothes that fit me anymore. Now, I still don’t have that many clothes (mainly because they are all too big) but I definitely feel a lot more confident in myself – I don’t reject invitations to go out straight away and I certainly like getting dressed up again. It has been nice all of the comments that I have received from people as well – lately I have gotten all sorts of raving about how good I look and you have to love that!
3. Happier – Before the band, I would say I was pretty depressed and isolated. I was quite exasperated with myself that I had had to turn to the band to turn my life around. My self esteem was quite low. Even though it has been a tough year (not Band related) I feel that I am a lot happier with myself. Through the work that Jen and I have done, I feel like I can handle situations better (especially related to behaviours like comfort eating etc) and in general, I am very pleased with myself. The best thing that I feel now is that I am now more of a ‘glass is half full’ kind of a person.

4. More energy – Gosh, when I weighed my heaviest, I barely had enough energy to get out of bed. I was not exercising and at work I would go up and down the stairs a couple of times a day and would be breathing SO hard I would go to meetings 10mins before so that I wouldn’t be heaving for breath and embarrassed when I got there. I actually had a meeting upstairs at work today and I noticed that when I got to the meeting (1 min before it started!!) – I was barely breathing above my normal resting breathe – huzzah. Now, I confess, sometimes I am still tired and have a hard time getting out of bed but that is usually from the hectic pace of my life and not the heaviness of my body!

5. Greater choice of clothes – can I get an ‘amen’ on this one! Seriously, I was only able to buy clothes from the ‘Big is Beautiful’ type shops which was hugely depressing. I have always hated shopping but never moreso than when I have to go to those shops – it is very hard to come out looking like ‘the Devil Wears Prada’ out of there – I was more like ‘Frumps R Us’. Now I am wearing jeans and little tops and having great fun with accessories and all sorts – it has been SO much more fun!

6. Have become a foodie – interestingly, now that I am able to eat less, I have become really interested in cooking and making really nice, high quality food. This one has been a real surprise for me because basically before, I alternated between eating very strictly (on some sort of diet) and eating crap junk food. I had quite a few food hang ups from spending so much time on and off diets and thankfully, Jen and I have really done a great deal of work to move past these hang ups so that they don’t run our lives any more. I still have quite a ways to go but I’m getting there, people!!

7. Fit in everywhere better – this is a funny one but really important to me. I have mentioned before that one of the ways that I measure success is by how I fit in the bath – before the band journey, my thighs would touch (and squeeze against, mind you) both sides of the bath, now I have a fist and a bit of room in there! I fit in seats better at sporting venues, movie theatres, restaurants etc. I am not dreading my flight to Thailand later in the year because I know I will fit in the seat. These kind of things creep up on you over the journey but looking at 12 months ago – boy do I fit in places better!!

8. Take care of myself more – for me, a big part of this journey has been to change my self esteem. Eating junk food in huge quantities was a form of self punishment for me – as was dieting. The last 12 months have really been about learning how to take care of myself. Making sure that I am getting enough nutrition. Exercising as a gift to myself (rather than a punishment). Cooking interesting and yummy food to eat.

9. Celebrate my successes – I have been very guilty of the past of setting a goal, getting there and then not even celebrating my success (it is really linked in with the self punishment behavior as mentioned above). Thankfully, I have moved past that and have had a really nice 12 months of gifts to myself, massages and treatments to celebrate all of the success that I have had – gosh, I tell you – it has been nice (no wonder I am happier!).

10. I look and feel fabulous! As an overall, one of the things that I realized over the last month to 6 weeks is that I feel great and I can look in the mirror and say ‘you look good’! This is a really nice place to be!!

The past 12 months feel like they have gone in the blink of an eye. I am really proud of my efforts and am thankful that I made the decision to get the band!!

Countdown to Bandiversary!!

Okay people, it is two days since my 60min run, I need to get back into it tomorrow! I was actually really tired yesterday and today but one of the biggest problems for me is that I am a morning person and I prefer to do my exercise in the morning – if I don’t, I try to talk myself out of my session all day. So – tomorrow, my goal is to go running in the morning before work – that will set me up for the day and then I won’t have to worry about going in the arvo.

Okay, I need to talk. There is a problem going on with me at the moment and it is one that has plagued me for a good long time. One of the great things that I like about the band is that it restricts my eating and that, for the most part, has helped me to lose weight. Sometimes though, I hit a plateau – I am sure most of you can relate. The plateau’s drive me crazy. As soon as the scale stops going down, I start to panic and I revert back to my old self thinking ‘I have to cut out sugar, wheat, flour, dairy and only eat chicken, fish and vegies’ and then I try it for half a day and swing back the other way thinking ‘okay, I got the band for a reason, it doesn’t matter if it takes awhile as long as the weight is going down’.

Over the journey, I have found this pattern getting less and less though it has still been hanging on. I had a chat to Jen about this today and we agreed that we need to realise that we can’t break 20 years of undesirable eating patterns in 12 months, it is a journey and sometimes things can take time.

You know – it is only 2 days until my Bandiversary, I was hoping to have lost a bit more weight but 36kg’s in a year is pretty damn good – I am very happy!!

Chat soon!

Jodie

Motivated a-go-go!!

I’m back, people – back in town!! Yeah, I finished off the weekend very, very strongly. I went to the gym on Saturday and did 50mins of intense cardio plus today I did a 60min run – whoo hoo, I am back on track for the 10km Melbourne Marathon fun run!! So after a very sluggish start to the week I ended with 3 sessions. Not great but not crap either – I am happy that I at least pulled out of this low motivation state and got myself moving again.

Eating wise, the weekends are generally my time of treats and this weekend has been no different so I am going to have to reign myself in to some very healthy eating over the next few days. I am definitely in need of a fill as I am still getting hungry when I wasn’t hungry before and am able to eat more.

Goals for the week:

Running Session 1 – 30 mins steady jog
Running Session 2 – 30 mins intervals (or hills)
Running session 3 – 70 mins long run
2 x Weights sessions
Post on blog at least 5 times in the week
Take my 12 month Bandiversary photo’s and post

It feels good to be motivated again, it makes a lot of difference and certainly I feel happier!!

Here’s to a great week everyone!

Good news people!!

We have a gym workout done, people - one down this week!!! Hurray - I tell you, I was getting a bit concerned about my form, happily - I am back in town!! I only did 20 mins of running though I did an extra 10mins of walking plus 10mins on the stepper. I can't say it was a great session, it most definitely wasn't but I got through it, thankfully and I am going to go back tomorrow and hopefully give it a better go!! The bad news is my back is pretty sore now. I have had lower back problems since I was 16 so I am no stranger to it. For me, I need to keep moving so even if I do a low impact cardio tomorrow (stepper, cross trainer, bike) it will be better than doing nothing.

So, what else is going on. Well, my husband and I are just about to book a trip to Thailand in December which is fantastic. We went there for our honeymoon a couple of years ago so it will be wonderful to be back there!

Band wise, it is very loose, I definitely need a fill - I am hungry when usually I am never hungry (in the mornings) so that is not good. Oh and I received my shipment of chewable vitamins from www.bandbuddies.com.au yesterday and I am in heaven, I am SO glad I don't have to have those horrible horse mulitvitamin pills that keep on getting stuck - seriously, I have great fear of those multi-vitamins now. I got a 3 pack of the chewable orange flavoured and they taste kind of like a grainy Berocca. The taste does not bother me at all because I actually like the taste of Berocca (I know, honestly, there is no accounting for taste!!). The grainyness is kind of like Mylanta. I am so, so happy to have found these multi-vitamins, I was getting worried because my hair had thinned out quite a bit (I usually have very, very thick hair) and my nails have been breaking. I am really focussed on getting enough fruit and veg into my diet as I don't think I was getting nearly enough.

Anyway, I am a lot more chipper today - had a nice sleep in and then got my arse to the gym so that is a good day! Will check in tomorrow!

Not good news.....

Okay, people we are at critical mass here – the malaise has not lifted and I did not get to the gym or have a running session despite my good intentions. I want to at least have 3 running sessions before Sunday – so I will need to do tonight, Friday and Sunday which is my long run – I will be aiming for 60mins. My eating continues to be pretty good – I have not weighed myself for awhile so I am not really sure of what is happening there. The band is getting looser every day though it seems as I am getting hungrier and hungrier – I am sticking to very textured foods to ensure that I am as full as possible.

I must get to the gym tonight. I must get to the gym tonight!!

I will update you tomorrow!!

Has anyone seen my motivation?

I have a confession to make, my friends. Last week, I did only one 30min run – ONE and this week so far I have been running zero times – ZERO – what the hell is going on here!! I also just received an update from the fun run people that I am doing in October and they have let me know that the run is just over a month away – what the, how did this sneak up on my so quickly, where is time going!?!?

I have seemed to have fallen in to a form slump- I am not sure what is behind it. I have every reason in the world to be motivated but I am in a fug, a malaise an indefinable apathy – what the hell is going on? I should be panicked that the 10km is just over a month away. I should be outraged that my weight loss has reached a plateau but I am nothing, really just nothing.

I really shouldn’t have said that I am not sure what is behind this malaise as I suspect that my dip in motivation has something to do with an old pattern of mine. This pattern consists of me being very, very motivated and pushing toward a goal then when I get close, I ease my foot off the pedal believing that ‘I have done enough’ and then never actually reaching this goal. A weight loss example of this is that I lost a heap of weight in the lead up to my wedding, I got to within 600grams (1 pound) of my healthy weight range and then totally lost the plot and I haven’t been within 20kg’s (44 lbs) of it since – though now I have only 14kg’s to get to my healthy weight range – so it is time for me to dig in and get past this pattern.

I need to get my passion and motivation back and of course I know what I need to do and that is to take some action!! So my first action was to write this post as an act of ‘owning up and taking responsibility’ – secondly, I am going to go to the gym or for at least a 30min run today – regardless of the time, I just have to do it – it will definitely help me to feel back on track. Thirdly, I am going to commit to posting every day for the next two weeks to push myself out of this malaise and get the hell off this plateau. I need to push through, people!!

Band wise – I went to see the wonderful Doctor Caroline last week and had .1 put back in because it had really eased off. Unfortunately, this doesn’t seem like it’s enough and I have to wait until next Thursday to go back and get some more fill, so discipline is the key this week. I have to admit that I have been eating quite healthily and not snacking as much during the week which makes me thankful for small mercies!

Anyway – I will check in tomorrow and let you know how I am going!

Cheers,

Jodie

It's my Optifastaversary!!!

Okay people, it is my 12 month anniversary from starting Optifast – how quickly does a year go, my goodness!! So, this post is a small look at the past 12 months – I will do a full retrospective when I have my Bandiversary in 2 weeks!!

It has been an amazing 12 months for me. This time 12 months ago, I was struggling and I mean, literally struggling through my first day of Optifast. I was full of optimism though – I wrote in my diary ‘this is the first day of the rest of my life’ and truly, it has been. I got half way to work on that first day and realised that I didn’t even have the Optifast products with me, I had to turn back and go get them and of course was late – der!! I used the two weeks of Optifast to ready my mind, house and complete environment – it was a really important two weeks for me (and for Jen . I did not cheat on the Optifast period at all, not once – I am still proud of that achievement.

So what is different for me from 12 months ago – I am going to do my top 5:

I feel SO much better about myself, it is a great feeling not to loathe what I see in the mirror or feel disgusted with myself after I have eaten so much people wouldn’t even believe it. Now I am confident and happy – it’s a nice place to be!
I am healthier. I had an appointment with my haematologist today (I have a blood clotting disorder) and he told me that my blood pressure was excellent, even a little on the low side.
I am fitter – indeed, as any of you regular readers know, I am training for a 10km run that I will do in October and after my 50mins session of running last Sunday, I am confident of being able to run the whole way!!
I look great! I am wearing size 12-14 pants – a great achievement for this pear shaped girl whose size 22 pants had gotten tight. I am taking more care with my appearance, I make those little efforts that when I was feeling bad about myself – though many of you know
I am nearly normal!! I can go into ‘normal’ shops to buy clothes. I don’t feel like people are looking at me when I am eating or not being able to fit my bum into seats. I still have weight to lose but I am quite calm and relaxed and trust that the band will help me to achieve my goals.

It has been a great 12 months!

In other news, Jen and I went to a seminar with Helen Bauzon the nutritionist. Honestly, it was a brilliant seminar that I wished I had attended 12 months ago – she is fabulous. You know, she also has online support groups and weight loss competitions all very reasonably priced – check out her website at: http://www.helenbauzon.com.au/. I realised from the seminar that I had become afraid of some foods, with Helen’s help I am wiping the slate clean and trying foods again – it has been brilliant!!

Helen (as well as Caroline – the wonderful fill doctor) also let me know about www.bandbuddies.com.au – these are chewable vitamins and I tell you as soon as I heard about them, I was on the site ordering them because I had an incident a while ago with a multi vitamin getting stuck in the band – I have been mortally afraid of the multi vitamins since then. I haven’t received them as yet but I will keep you up to date on what they are like.

That brings me to my previous challenge – to have the vegetable powders from AIM. You know what? They weren’t that bad. The Barleylife was like one of those wheatgrass shots that you get from a juice place and the carrots and beets tasted exactly like carrots and beets so not horrible. I am definitely continuing on with those as I am quite concerned about getting enough nutrition.

Well that’s about it for the moment – I am off to the gym for a run (sprint intervals, not my favourite) on the tready and then am having gnocchi for dinner.

Will check in soon!!

Cheers,

Jodie
www.lapbandforthemind.com

P.S. Have you checked out my BFF Jen’s blog – here is the link: http://mindthebandjen.blogspot.com/

My mission if I choose to accept it.....

Hmm, I am able to eat a bit more now and I have to confess, this makes me a little nervous. I did make a risotto for dinner tonight, feta, leek and anchovies. It sounds hideous but it is SO tasty, it was originally an experiment on a friend who came around for lunch in a ‘last few days before pay day’ concoction. Then I has a small serve of chocolate pudding with some cream – yum. I am glad that I booked in for only 2 weeks away from my last ‘reverse fill’ because I think I will definitely need a fill by then.

I did go to the gym tonight to do a quick 20min run on the treadmill, which I did, though I struggled quite a bit because I thought that it felt a lot hotter in the gym than usual – my Mum said it was the same as normal so I don’t really know what that is about. I did take my temperature later in the night and it definitely was up about a degree (Celsius) and a half on normal – I don’t know if that is anything though.

Sorry Lady Lap Band for not getting to your comment earlier – for everyone else, this is what Lady Lap Band said ‘you should tell us more about these veggie powders I have never heard of such a thing and it sounds interesting!’ – so I will let you know what these are about. Okay, these powders are made by AIM and there are 3 vegetable powders: Barley Life, Just Carrots & Redibeets as well as a product called Fibreblend which is of course fibre. Let me start by saying that the only product that I have tried as yet is the Fibreblend – which tastes like marzipan and I really, really hate marzipan. I tried it in a smoothie (as did the poor old husband) and it was repulsive!! So, needless to say, I have been a bit reticent to try the vegetable powders. I promise I will try them in the next couple of days and report in.

I am going to come out of the closet about one of the main reasons that I had the surgery in the first place and that is because my husband and I have been doing IVF and I was hoping that it would make a difference to our success. Unfortunately it hasn’t and my hormones are still going crazy – I am hoping that things will normalise soon. It is one of the reasons that I have been really hot on getting as much nutrition as possible.

Anyway, I am on a mission to try these powders – will check in soon!!

Cheers,

Jodie
www.lapbandforthemind.com

Food glorious food!!

Now, I know that this topic is not a particularly good one for a Lap Band blog but honestly, after only being able to eat for around 4 days out of the past 3 weeks, well I am thankfully now able to eat a bit more!!

Yesterday I went out for brunch with my Mum and had the most divine creamed tomato soup with chorizo sausage - wonderful!! I was also able to have some fish and salad for dinner last night so this morning I was up early to do my 40min run (well, let's say slow jog to be more accurate!). I was so very proud of myself for the 40 min run I tell you. Especially because I had a personal training session on Friday morning and we used a kettle bell and my legs are still hurting I tell you!!

Basically we did 4 million squats in all sorts of different positions, my goodness, I didn't think I was going to run today but then I was actually hoping that I would run the soreness out - nope, still hurting I tell you!!
Well, back to work tomorrow and definitely another gym session, I am getting a bit scared about this 10km run I tell you!!

Check you later in the week.

Jodie

www.lapbandforthemind.com

A reverse fill?!?

Firstly, let me say welcome to my new followers - bless you, guys and thanks for the comment, Naomi - you gave me a warm feeling inside!! I am going to do a bit more work on this blog soon, put some progress pics on and jazz it up a little - so stay tuned you guys!! Just a tip for you as well - Jen, my BFF, bandster and business partner is starting a blog of her own soon, so keep an eye out for the link!!

I had a fill today – well it was actually a reverse fill, I had .2ml taken out of the band. I usually go for fills or at least a check in every 3 weeks and I realised yesterday that over the past 3 weeks there were around 4 days in total that I felt like I got enough water and nutrition for the day. With the training for the Melbourne Marathon 10km run, I was exhausted and really felt like crap basically.

I have the same fill doctor practically every time that I go now. I go to a pretty big surgery so there is actually a lot of choice for fill doctors. In the first few months after having the band fitted, I felt like I saw all of them. Then I stumbled across the wonderful Dr Caroline and boy does it make a difference having a fill doctor that I can talk to candidly and who has gotten to know me over the journey. She is fantastic and I love her – I try not to see anyone else but her these days. One of the main things that I like about her is that she is consultative. It is always a discussion between the two of us as to what will happen, she values my feelings and input, I like that very much as I like to be in control of my own journey.

The past week has been pretty rough eating wise. I have been trying out these new vegetable powders (cos I have been concerned about getting enough nutrition) but I couldn’t even swallow enough liquid to get them down – that is no good, I tell you. I realised that I was averaging only around 500mls of water per day when I like to drink about 2litres and I was barely able to eat anything. You might wonder why it took me the three weeks to realise that the band was too tight and I think it is because normally after I have a fill, it is quite tight and then eases off after around 3 days – unfortunately that didn’t happen this time

The good news is that I have now lost 35.6kg’s – whoo hooo, I am pretty damn happy about that and I have realised today that I have lost 76% of my excess weight – three quarters of the way there, not bad for 11 months hey! This means that I have 11.2kg’s to go to my healthy weight range – hurrah, that will be a great day I tell you!!

The training for the 10km run is going very well – there is under 8 weeks to go to train for this ‘race’ – I am using inverted comma’s because there won’t be much racing in me, I will be going out there to jog the whole way, that is my goal for the event. Last week I only did 3 training sessions and this week I have only done one so far (will do tomorrow and Sunday) and I feel it has been because of my lack of energy so next week for sure I am aiming for the 4 running sessions!! My session yesterday was really good, it was only 20min but I ran faster than I had over that whole time so that is exciting. Bikram yoga has been out of the question for me to for the last few weeks because I just couldn’t get enough fluid in, I am hoping to get a couple of those sessions in next week.

Well that’s about it for my Banding along journey – though I am trying to think of something good to do for my Bandiversary which is coming up on the 17th of September. Let me know if you think of anything, okay?

Chat soon!!

Jodie Flynn
www.lapbandforthemind.com

Inching my way to victory!

Sorry I have been away for a bit, gang – I have heaps of news. I have turned 38 – that is more along the lines of bad news than good news I would say but I did go away for a long weekend with my husband and woolly dog so that was really nice. My birthday day itself was a good one, we went to a bath house for a swim and a massage so that was divine!! I am taking my 10km run training very seriously as I even went for a run on my birthday – I was pretty proud of myself I can tell you!!

Speaking of my training, I have been going pretty well. Last week I did the first full week of training with 4 sessions ranging from 15mins of running to 30 mins by Sunday. I even did some hill sprints last Tuesday morning and I thought my lungs were going to catch on fire – boy did it hurt! The good thing is that it really set me up for some good sessions later in the week. This week I have delayed a few sessions, I have only done 2 so far, today’s was some 1 min intervals on the treadmill which I did at 12km per hour – I had never even been near that type of speed before but I thought ‘well if they do it on the Biggest Loser right?’. I am building up really slowly and am not aiming for any time records in the race itself (cos I am a real plodder of a runner I tell you!) but just aiming to finish the race jogging – hopefully in my healthy weight range!

Band-wise I have been going pretty well though it is probably just a touch too tight, I am hoping that it loosens off just a little whisker more and then I will be at perfect fill amount. I haven’t lost a whole lot on the scale but I can definitely feel it a lot in my clothes. Can you believe that I had on some size 12 pants the other day – well okay, so they were cutting me in half a little bit but size 12 – rock on!! I had a look at my measurements from the start and to now the other day and this is what I found out:

Neck – lost 2cm’s (1inch)
Boobs – lost 11cm (4.3inches)
Waist – lost 15cm (6 inches)
Hips – lost 29cm (11.4 inches)
Arms – lost 4.5cm (1.7inches) off each
Thighs – lost 13cm (5inches) off each

Wow – that makes me feel good I tell you – that is a huge difference in the time frame!! I am only a month off my Bandiversary so I am going to go all out over the next month to see how much I can lose in that time! I love the band – it has changed my life in so many ways – I just love it!!

Cheers,

Jodie

The ups, downs and changes!

So, it has been a little while since I posted and it has not been a great time for me personally. It is in these difficult times that I like to review how things are going as well as try to find the positives to focus on rather than the negative. Don’t get me wrong, I do fall in a heap and allow myself time to be upset or angry or whatever feeling that I am feeling at the time but I generally choose to let that go on for a certain amount of time before I start looking for a plan going forward. Thankfully, I have been able to do that and though I am a little sad, I am moving forward.

I have been thinking about my Lap Band journey a lot in the last few days and have really noticed some differences in myself. These are some changes that I didn’t even realise were occurring, they have kind of snuck up on me. Firstly, I am eating way, way slower than I used to. This is a really big thing for me. I used to eat extremely fast and now people that know me are even commenting on how slow I am eating! It is nice to slow down and enjoy my food rather than hoovering down like I used to. One of the reasons that I used to eat very fast was that if I was eating something ‘bad’ I would want to eat it as fast as possible to minimise the guilt that I felt for eating it – crazy hey?

That’s another thing, the guilt has reduced significantly. My relationship with food was terrible before I had the band. I swung between two extremes of eating only fresh fruit, veg, rice, potatoes and chicken and fish to eating junk food at every meal. I had gone on so many restrictive diets in my time that almost every food had been banned at some point. I pretty much felt guilty about every food that I ate. Now, I have discovered that given the choice, I generally pick the healthier item. I am not there by any means, I mean even this week when I when things weren’t going great, I turned to chocolate and unhealthy choices – I’m still a work in progress!

I’ve also started to stick my toe in the ‘normal’ shops. I have been hanging back because I wasn’t sure that I would be able to fit into anything but I am getting braver and more confident by the day. Speaking of confidence, I went out with my husband’s family last week for dinner. This would have previously sent me into a spin of ‘I have nothing to wear, I look horrible’ and I would try to find excuses not to go. It was so easy finding some nice clothes that I didn’t even think anything of going out for dinner, I had fun! This is a big change and has really snuck up on me!!

The other thing that is going on with me is that I am going to train to do a 10km run. In my previous skinny life I once ran a half marathon so I know how to train for it. I have already mapped out my 10 week plan so I will update you each week on how I’m going. The run itself is part of the Melbourne Marathon and ends with a lap of the MCG!! I am not going to aim for any time, I am going to aim to get through it!!

Here is my plan for next week:

Monday: 15mins steady run
Tuesday: 20 mins of fast intervals
Thursday: 15 mins steady run
Saturday: 30 mins slow jog

Don’t be fooled by the words ‘running’, I would class my ‘running’ as a very slow jog type shuffle but I am out there doing it so I am proud!! It is an ambitious plan but I need a good healthy focus at this point!

Till next time, my friends....

Cheers,

Jodie

www.lapbandforthemind.com

P.S. Have you checked out Jen’s and my photo’s on www.lapbandforthemind.com? We will keep them updated over the months so you can see our journey!!

Measuring Success without the Scale

Those of us on the Lap Band journey generally measure our success through the scale – this can sometimes be deceiving. We can be retaining fluid at certain times of the month or building muscle and because muscle takes up less space than space than fat, we have lost inches but no weight on the scale – this can be frustrating! Some of us (I have been there many times in the past) even get obsessed with the scales and the numbers on there but there are other ways to measure your success on the Lap Band journey – here are the top 5 that Jen and I have come up with!!

1. Your clothes

For most of us who have been obese, we have a wardrobe chock full of different sizes – when I started my Lap Band journey, I had at least 7 different sizes of clothing in my wardrobes. I have used this to great effect on my journey. I started off in the largest size and I had a pair of pants in the next size down hanging behind my bedroom door. Every week I would try on this pair of pants and when they fit, I started wearing them and threw out the old, larger pair. I am down 4 pants sizes since the beginning of my Lap Band journey and I have my eye on the next size down which is hanging on my bedroom door!

2. How long it takes you to walk 2km or mile

For many of us who have had a gastric band fitted, exercise is an alien concept (or more like alien torture!). Exercise can be one of the best indicators of fitness and weight loss! Walking or any form of exercise becomes easier and easier the more weight that you lose because you’re not hauling around so much weight. Work your way up to walking 2km or a mile starting with 10mins of walking if that’s all you can do. Once you are walking a mile, write down the time that it takes you to complete the distance. Repeat this measure each week and see how quickly your body responds to consistent exercise and weight loss.

3. Monthly photos

You might not notice the differences that are happening every day when you look in the mirror but a picture is worth a thousand words! Take photos of yourself from the front, side and back at the same time each month and watch the changes take place! This also serves as a great record of where you have come from. If you are feeling frustrated with your journey – take out these pictures and compare where you were at the start to your latest photos, generally this will cheer you up straight away! Jen and I are only days away from posting photo’s of our journey on www.lapbandforthemind.com – check it out in the next week or so!!

4. Compliments from family and friends

It’s really lovely when we receive compliments from friends, family or even colleagues and this is a great way to see how you’re going on your journey. Sometimes it takes a little bit of time for people to notice the weight that you have lost if you have quite a bit to lose but then generally the compliments will come thick and fast!

5. Your own measure

For many of us, there are some great personal measurements that we can take. Some people like to measure the reduction in the number of medications that they are taking, some will measure it by the pain (or lack thereof) in their backs when they are in bed. For me, I have a strange measuring system and that is the bathtub! I like to have baths to for a treat and each time I get in, I check to see how far my thighs are from the edges. In the beginning, both thighs hit either side of the bath, now I they are nowhere near it and I can get my whole fist between my thigh and the bath – now I am aiming for 2 fists! What is your personal measure?

On a personal note, I am back in the exercise swing of things – thanks for staying with me through the slump!! With that said, I am off to do some water aerobics!!

Cheers,

Jodie
www.lapbandforthemind.com

How do you pull yourself out of a slump?

Okay – so you know that last week I took a good hard look at myself exercise-wise and I came up with a plan for this week. Well, I have a confession to make – the plan did not work and it’s official, I am in an exercise slump.

So this week’s post is all about what to do to get yourself moving when all is seemingly lost. In the past, this would be the point that I would give up and think, ‘oh well, it’s too hard to get fit, I will just quit and sit on the couch and watch TV instead’. To tell you the truth, that is absolutely tempting today I can tell you, it is really cold outside and the perfect day to stay in and be a couch potato. Okay – so I am sure that you will agree, I really need to get off my behind and do something – so I will. I tell you what – I am going to go out for a 45 minute walk and come back and finish this post.

Okay – so it is roughly 60mins later – I got changed, got my dog and we went for a walk. It was bracing outside but it felt good to be moving again!! I went down to a park not too far from home and though it was cold, it was pretty sunny and it was nice to be out in the fresh air.

Now not to make excuses for another week of not moving enough but I did have a displaced rib that hurt unbelievably which interrupted any plans that I had. I honestly don’t know how I did it but it happened and had to deal with it. So what I am going to do is leave last week in the past and look at what I’m going to do next week.

Now I will do another decent piece of walking tonight because I will be going to the footy and then I will do a walk tomorrow as well. I will have a rest on Sunday and then go to the gym on Monday morning. Then I will walk in the morning for the rest of the week.

Next week I am going to tell you good that I went getting moving again – it’s time to pull out all the stops people!!

The lesson for me this week is TAKE ACTION!! As long as I get to the gym or do my walk each day, I will be very happy. I have had to give up Bikram yoga for the moment, so I am going to do some yoga each day on the WII.

I will check in with you next week!!

Cheers,

Jodie Flynn
www.lapbandforthemind.com

Come with me while I take a long hard look at myself!!

Okay – so this week has been a pretty bad week for me exercise, wise – I haven’t made it to the gym or Bikram yoga – what is that?!?! I had been going really well and had been really consistent for months but the last week, I have really fallen into an exercise slump.

Of course, the first thing that I need to do is to ask myself some questions – so I thought you could come along with me while I nut this one out. Okay, so the first question is – what is stopping me from exercising? Well, on Monday, I didn’t go to the gym because I slept in and got up too late – I had intended on going there later but felt sick later in the day. On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday – I got to work early so that I could make sure that I got plenty done and then today – well I had a personal training session booked but I cancelled it because it is freezing and raining.

So, a week full of excuses, not good. I always have back up plans if I don’t make it in the morning (I am a morning person and exercise is way easier for me in the morning!!). Well, I could take my dog for a long walk or I even could do some time on the WII Fit but I didn’t do any of those things – why? I have been pretty tired, I have been working quite late and then going to bed late and not getting enough sleep so it has made it harder to get up early. Okay, so now I understand that the number one issue that I have is that I have not prioritised exercise highly enough – I have prioritised work over my health. Hmmm, I thought that little chestnut had been dealt with a long time ago – obviously I need to do a bit of reprioritising!!

Okay, because I now know that the problem is that I haven’t been prioritising exercise for myself – the question is why? I know the answer to this one straight away as it is a pattern that I have been working on breaking for a while – I think that work is more important than my health. Obviously this is not the belief that I want to have so I have been working on changing it to my health is my number 1 priority (as an aside, this is one of the big reasons that I got the band, I wanted to put health as my priority) – I am going to show this by taking action.

So – what action am I going to take? Since I missed my personal training session today I will take my dog for a walk – it will do us both good to get out of the house and get moving a bit. For me, it’s important to act right now because in the past I have been guilty of the old ‘I’ll wait until Monday morning’ which of course is only a habit that I had gotten in to – I am practising breaking it. Secondly, I am going to go to for a walk tomorrow morning and then I will go to the gym on Monday.

In addition, I am going to get my hypnosis MP3 out ‘Putting myself first’ because this issue for me is about not prioritising myself and I will listen to it for 3 days out of the next week. I am also going to focus on why I want to do exercise and for me, it is because of these things:

· I want to be fit and healthy
· I want to feel good about myself
· I want to be nice and toned for summer!

Okay – well this has been a long post and I hope that you have enjoyed coming along with me while I took a good hard look at myself! I will update you on my plan next week!! Remember – sometimes even though we think we have handled an issue, it still may come back in the same or a different way to challenge your resolve!!

Cheers,

Jodie
www.lapbandforthemind.com

P.S. Remember that we have our great new product out: The 5 Keys to Pre-Surgery Success. We have opened up an offer to our newsletter subscribers. If you sign up for our newsletter, we will give you the pack (plus all bonuses!) for the one time only price of $29.95 AUD that is a saving of $100!!!
This price will expire on 15 July so get in quick!!
Sign up to our newsletter at www.lapbandforthemind.com!!

P.P.S. Remember this special offer of $29.95 expires 15 July so get in quick to gain instant access!

Got a Lap Band already - here's how you can benefit from our eBook:

Chapter 2 - Goal setting & goal setting templates, these are useful wherever you are on your journey!
Chapter 3 - How much do you want it, great for reinvigorating your motivation!
Chapter 4 - Working out your mind, Focus, responsibility, persistence, this is really handy information to keep your eyes on the prize and move past those issues that can be holding you back.
Chapter 5 - Celebrate your success, it is really important to continue to celebrate all successes on your journey, big and small

Plus there is an unbeatable list of bonus items that go with this product!!
Bonus items:
Online journal
Exercise calorie tracker
Measurement tracker
Weekly exercise planner
Food tracker
Shopping list tracker

Got a touch of the when / then?

I don’t know about you but sometimes I feel like I am completely living in the future. Lately I have found myself saying when I lose weight, then I’m going to be able to wear these clothes, when I lose weight, I will be able to go out more, when I am maintaining my weight, my life will be so much better!!

I am not as bad as I used to be in the when / then stakes but sometimes it still comes up as an issue for me. I have also found that this has almost without exception been an issue with all of my clients who have a challenge with their weight. However, this is not only a challenge that is significant to those of us who battle with their weight. Many of our fitter / thinner friends have this when / then attitude to many parts of their life – for example have you heard people saying:

· When I win Powerball, then my life will be great
· When I meet my soul mate, then my life will be complete
· When I fix how I look, then I will attract the partner of my dreams

So what is wrong with thinking about the future? Well nothing really unless you put your current life on hold until you get your when / then thing – that makes the present less than it can be!! However, I think that the biggest issue with the when / then thinking is that it can be hiding a deeper issue. When I was single and overweight, I used to think – when I’m thin, then I will attract the partner of my dreams. The problem with this was that despite the fact that I was a fun, interesting, successful person, I didn’t think that anyone would like me because I was overweight.

So, what do you think happened then? I lost weight and discovered that I still didn’t think that people would like me and that was when I realised that there were some underlying issues that cosmetic changes to the outside of me could not fix. Interestingly enough, I did meet the man of my dreams and he is wonderful and completely loving though one of the things that I have discovered is that I still have times where I think ‘Does he really like me?’ This has been a bit of an underlying challenge for me and one that I continue to peel back the layers on. For me, it is important to keep on digging in to the issues that I have so that I don’t fall back into the whole cycle of ‘when / then’ and then feeling discouraged about my present life and then turning to food for comfort. Now, the important thing for me is ‘what can I do to make my now great?’

Here are some questions for you:

· How do you when / then?
· What is the underlying issue?
· What can you do to make your present more fun, exciting, excellent?

Cheers,

Jodie
www.lapbandforthemind.com

P.S. Jen and I released our new product this week: The 5 Keys to Pre-Surgery Success. We have opened up an offer to our newsletter subscribers. If you sign up for our newsletter, we will give you the pack (plus all bonuses!) for the one time only price of $29.95 AUD – that is a saving of $100!!!

This price will expire on 15 July so get in quick!!

Sign up to our newsletter at www.lapbandforthemind.com!!

P.P.S. Remember this special offer of $29.95 expires 15 July so get in quick to gain instant access!

Got a Lap Band already - here's how you can benefit from our eBook:

Chapter 2 - Goal setting & goal setting templates – these are useful wherever you are on your journey!

Chapter 3 – How much do you want it – great for reinvigorating your motivation!

Chapter 4 – Working out your mind – Focus, responsibility, persistence – this is really handy information to keep your eyes on the prize and move past those issues that can be holding you back.

Chapter 5 – Celebrate your success – it’s really important to continue to celebrate all successes on your journey, big and small

Plus there is an unbeatable list of bonus items that go with this product!!

Bonus items:

Online journal

Exercise calorie tracker

Measurement tracker

Weekly exercise planner

Food tracker

Shopping list tracker

Shall I compare thee to a summers day?

Okay, I had an interesting experience at Bikram yoga yesterday and it really reminded me of life with the band. Bikram yoga is all about consistency and incremental changes. Each session, the heat is the same (43 degrees Celsius / 109 degrees farenheight), the moves are exactly the same, it is only you that is different – we all bring along what is happening in our lives to the sessions so sometimes the sessions are ‘easy’, sometimes they are more challenging.

One of the lessons of Bikram yoga is that you cannot compare your progress to someone else’s. No one else has had your life experiences, no one else has had the small or large injuries that you have had in your body, your flexibility is all your own. One of the most interesting (and frustrating) things about Bikram yoga is that sometimes I find that I have a great session – I am able to hold a pose for longer or I have been able to stretch further and then this is followed by a session that is so challenging, I feel like I am back at square one.

I had a really challenging session yesterday morning. I had been away and it was my first session in a week. I go with my sister who has never had a single issue with weight, in fact she is the skinny mini to end all skinny mini’s! I had one of those really, really challenging sessions. Even though I have lost a whisker under 30kg’s, I felt like I was back at the start of my journey. I couldn’t balance to save my life and I found myself comparing myself to my sister, I knew it was crazy but I just couldn’t seem to help myself.

I really started the negative self talk and before I knew it, I was almost in tears. After the session, I couldn’t help but keep thinking about it for hours. Why do we compare ourselves to others, there are always going to be people who are better at something than us and people that are worse than us so what does it matter? For me the comparing has been about finding validation. Yesterday when I discovered this, I started to give myself the validation that I needed. I celebrated the fact of nearly losing 30kg’s in 9 months, what a great achievement. I looked at my board of successes and felt a whole lot better!

So, what has this got to do with the band? Well of course I have SO many clients who compare their progress to others and at the end of the day, what does this matter except for what you have achieved for yourself? When you find yourself comparing yourself to others, think about what it is you are trying to get from the situation and then see if you can provide it for yourself!

As for me, I am off to yoga again tomorrow, no doubt to learn another lesson!!

Chat soon!

Jodie Flynn
www.lapbandforthemind.com

Why would I delay a fill?!!?

I thought that this week I would talk about a situation that happened to me recently. I went through a period of not losing as much weight as I would like and an interesting self sabotage that came up was that I avoided going back to the surgery to get a fill!!

I finally went back last Friday and since then, I have lost 3kg’s – now this is a little unusual and mostly because I was retaining a good deal of fluid and keep in mind that it was not the only reason for the weight loss – the other reason being that I am having a weight loss ‘push’ at the moment, so have been focussing on a pretty rigorous exercise routine. It did lead me to examine why I would have waited (probably 2 weeks more than I should) rather than get my bottom down to the clinic asap to get the fill corrected.

So, I have had a good long think about it this week, especially considering that Jen and I had always reiterated to each other, right from the beginning, that it was really important to get a fill even if there is a little bit of shame because of the small amount of weight loss or even if we have put on – we really believe in the ‘partnership’ with the clinic and that keeping in touch with them more than necessary is way better than not being in touch enough. So I was confused about the delay!

Searching inside of myself, I found the following reasons:

· I was enjoying eating more
· I was using the food as a comfort item rather than as fuel
· I was able to eat some of the foods I hadn’t been able to for awhile

This led to quite a discussion with myself as I don’t really want to hold myself hostage in this way in the future and I thought I had addressed these issues completely and was a little surprised to see them come up again.

After a lot of soul searching, I put together a plan of attack which is really to be more consistently aware of my patterns – go back to basics and become aware again. The first step to change a behaviour is to bring it to constant awareness, the second step is to start to choose a different behaviour, the third step is to practice, practice, practice the new behaviour and I tell you, this is what I’m going to do!!!

Have a sensational week everyone!

Cheers,

Jodie

Taking care of yourself!!

One of the common areas that I have found coaching clients that either are or have been obese, is that we are very hesitant to take care of our own needs. We will happily take care of others and will certainly advise others to take care of themselves but when it comes to our own needs we are more likely to give ourselves a lecture on how lazy and no-good we are.

Jen and I experienced this powerfully last week as we both came face to face with a massive brick wall and felt like we couldn’t go on. The nicest part of working with a friend that I have known for 30 years is that I know that she will treat me way better than I treat myself (though I am a work in progress and am definitely getting better at treating myself nicer). We able to give each other permission to take some time out to take care of ourselves – and in case you didn’t notice, we did!!

So what drives this behaviour to be nicer to others than we are to ourselves? Well, for me, it was always about not feeling good enough - basically never living up to my own or others expectations. I have come a long way and have practised a lot but sometimes it still rears its ugly head in my life. For example, this week I didn’t go to the gym on Wednesday because I was sick on Tuesday night but I caught myself asking people if it was okay to do this – as if they would know better than I would how I felt?!?? I ended up not going and being very proud of the fact that I chose to be nice to myself rather than punish myself with exercise as I have done many times in the past.

The very best way that I have found to change this way of treating myself is via a tip that I saw on Oprah (oh yes, I love Oprah!!). The tip was to treat yourself in the way that you would treat your child, best friend, niece, nephew – basically anyone that you love unconditionally. This has been excellent for me though it is always a trick to catch myself when I am doing it and turn it around.

On a personal note, I am back at Bikram yoga which I am just loving!! I am also off for a fill tomorrow, definitely have been able to eat more lately which is no good!!

Until next time!!!

Cheers,

Jodie Flynn
www.lapbandforthemind.com

It's your journey

Jen and I had an interesting conversation this week about taking responsibility for your own journey and I have been thinking about it ever since. As we all know, the band is only a tool to help us on our weight loss journey, we have to work with it for it to work. Of course, one of our basic philosophies at Lap Band for the Mind is that you need to change your behaviours to have success and taking responsibility for your own journey is a huge part of that.

So what does this mean ‘taking responsibility for your journey’? Well it is all about understanding that you know your body better than anyone else better than the doctors, nurses etc that you see along the way and questioning things if they don’t seem quite right. I am constantly asking myself – do I have enough fill in the band, do I have too much, am I eating more than usual or less? Sometimes, we all fall into the trap that someone else knows better. I know that I went for a fill one time and they put in .5 when I was thinking that .2 would be probably the amount that would be best though I didn’t speak up and – you guessed it – I was overfilled. No one likes that feeling I’m sure and I experienced quite a bit of panic at not even being able to drink water but I was able to get in to see a fill doctor pretty quickly to get the situation rectified. I really could have seen this as a negative experience but instead, I saw this as a positive situation as I now knew what my maximum limit is.

This incident has really served as a reminder to me that:

a) speak up if you don’t agree with what the nurse or doctor says
b) Knowledge is power – if you don’t understand something, always ask
c) Doctors see many people every day, it is up to me to remember the details of my own situation

This taking responsibility for your own journey really does make a difference to your success with the band. Sometimes I expect to lose weight with the band even though I am eating unhealthy food items and I have to pull myself back and say ‘What foods do I need to eat to lose weight?’ – or even ‘are my expectations realistic’. It is all about the questions that we ask ourselves after all.

Hope you are all going well and remember – it’s your journey and you’ll succeed if you want to!

Till next time.

Cheers,

Jodie

When things don't turn out quite as planned.....

So what happens when you intend to be moderate and to make healthy choices and it doesn’t quite work out that way? The reason that I am asking that question is that this is what happened to me over Easter. As you know, from my last post I was heading on up to country Victoria to watch the Stawell gift and it was all in my plan to eat my Easter treats in moderation. This is not exactly what happened unfortunately.

Some of my old patterns kicked in, especially my ‘whoo hoo I’m on holidays and can eat anything I want’ patterns!! I was quite disappointed that over the weekend I overindulged in the Easter treats and chose things that I wouldn’t normally. So on reflection, I have realised that:

a) I needed to put a bit more preparation into how I was going to handle the eating up there – especially because we stay in a Motel and there are few options except to eat out
b) I needed to be more prepared in terms of my packing and organising (I did it at the last minute, mainly due to work as well rushing off in the morning)
c) I needed to examine my ‘going away on holidays’ patterns before I left
d) I needed to let it go once it was over and done with

The last point is an important one and one that I hadn’t realised that I was still holding on to the anger at myself until I had one of my regular chats with Jen. I had spent the whole of last week holding on to this anger at myself and what happens when I am angry at myself, well, I turn to food for comfort.

So what happens when you intend to be moderate and make healthy choices and it doesn’t quite work out this way?

a) Firstly, reflect on what happened and where the snafu’s where?
b) Identify a plan for the future
c) Move on for crying out loud!!

Okay – so that’s it from me this week – I have forgiven myself now and am moving on as we speak!

Check you next time!!

Cheers,

Jodie
http://www.lapbandforthemind.com/

Happy Easter!

Okay so anyone who has a Lap Band knows that chocolate goes through the Band pretty easily, this is good but can also be challenging! Good because of the endorphin inducing sweetness, challenging to moderate the quantity that slips through the band – or that could just be me!! That is where the mind work comes in because if chocolate goes easily through the band, it becomes a question of mind power to not completely over indulge – especially at this time of the year.

Anyway, Easter is a great time of year – I love it because I get away from the city and go to Stawell in Victoria, home of the Stawell Gift – the richest footrace in Australia. I am looking forward to going to the Grampians for some bush walking and also watching the athletics – not everyone’s cup of tea I grant you but I like it! Most of all I am looking forward to a bit of a rest. Jen and I have been burning the candle at both ends getting our new products ready (stay tuned!!) and the thought of 4 days of rest and relaxation is really attractive!

So, that brings me back to the chocolate and the temptations of Easter. I love chocolate and have definitely been known to overindulge in the past. Even more than chocolate, I used to love, love, love hot cross buns but since the band has allowed me to not indulge in hot cross buns (I’m not particularly tolerant of bread) – I don’t have to worry about those anymore. Chocolate on the other hand is another matter. I don’t like to deprive myself anything anymore so I will eat chocolate over Easter though these days I am a little more discerning (in the past I have been known to eat anything resembling chocolate just for the sake of it or usually because I was starting a diet after Easter) and like to choose the best quality chocolate that I can find and allow myself a small portion each day.

So that is how I cope with the chocolate onslaught at Easter. How will you prepare your mind? What do you need to think about, what will you give yourself permission for?

Hope you and your families all have a wonderful Easter!

Giving yourself Permission!

I don’t know about you but I am one of those people that is pretty hard on myself. I set goals, I have high expectations and when I don’t reach those goals and expectations, I tend to beat up on myself a bit. This is one of those habits that I have been working to change.

Sometimes I find that I set out my day so rigidly that there is quite a big part of me that wants to dive back under the doona and spend the rest of the day avoiding all of the goals that I had set up. These are the times I usually know that I have to take a step back, look at my expectations and see whether I have set them so high that I don’t have any hope of achieving them.

It is only after years of wondering why I don’t achieve my goals that I have learned that this is a self sabotage strategy. It is really along the lines of the old ‘I have banned so many foods from my life, it is all so hard, I am going to get McDonald’s’ type eating pattern that I ran for years – is it just me or has anyone else run this crazy strategy – *sigh* it may just be me!

Anyway, after years of running the strategy of setting goals so high that I am overwhelmed with the amount that I need to achieve and then run for the safety of the doona that I have discovered that ‘giving myself permission’ can really help out. So, what does this ‘giving myself permission’ entail? Well, firstly – if I am feeling a ‘running to the doona’ moment coming on, I start to ask myself some questions – ‘what if you only achieved, X and X today instead of X, X and X?’ ‘Is it okay to only get X & X done?’ This usually brings back the focus and identifies that I have probably set my expectations too high and then things move on pretty quickly from there.

Sometimes a spell under the doona can really help so instead of avoiding it, I will give myself permission to luxuriate in the fabulousness that is my doona. In allowing myself to enjoy it, I am usually ready to move on pretty quickly. It also helps me out no end as I am much more kind to myself these days.

So, do you have any ‘overwhelmed’ strategies that you run? Will giving yourself permission to ‘run to the doona’ help you out or is there something else that in order to be kinder to yourself that you need to give yourself permission to do?

Have a good week, my friends!!

Cheers,

Jodie
www.lapbandforthemind.com

P.S. We would love to hear any feedback that you have on our Fear, the Band and your life MP3 currently available on www.lapbandforthemind.com!!

P.S. We have a new ‘Success on Optifast’ Workout your Mind MP3 coming out soon, watch out for it for anyone who will be starting the LapBand journey soon – it will be a great tool for them!!

So tired of being tired!

It’s been awhile since my last post and a lot has happened!! My last post made me laugh considering it was about jumping on and off the scale as since then my scale has died, poor thing - no doubt from over use!! So I am feeling a bit like left arm has been cut off at the moment.

The past week for me has been an interesting one regarding my own little head games and self sabotage. I had a pretty full on weekend last weekend, helping to hang plasterboard at my sister in law’s house in the country and my sisters and nephews were is a car accident on Sunday. Happily everyone is fine, though I can tell you, it was a very tiring weekend.

So what has this got to do with the Lap Band? Well I noticed one of my self sabotage patterns rearing its head this week. Since I started the week off tired and I didn’t have time to cook up a lovely home made vegie soup for lunches during the week, or get my bag together to walk in the morning – I used tiredness as an excuse to break the new habits I had created. Even though I was tired during the week, I didn’t go to bed early so I could remedy the situation.

It has been interesting looking at this pattern this week. It is definitely not a new one, I have been doing it for a long time. So, how to break it? Well the obvious way for me is to take some time to get organised and get a good night’s sleep for starters – though it does go back before that. I firstly needed some way to recognise the pattern sooner so that I can pull myself out of it sooner – which in this past weekend’s case was to get organised on Sunday night and then have a very early night (usually I stay up later because it extends the time before I have to go back to work - crazy right!!).

Anyway, my plan this weekend is:

1. Get house organised
2. Buy beautiful ingredients for yummy healthy food
3. Do some cooking
4. Get plenty of sleep
5. Go to bed early on Sunday night

Sometimes breaking the smallest pattern can have huge results in your life. What self sabotage patterns are your running and what can you do to catch it early and stop it!

Cheers,

Jodie
www.lapbandforthemind.com

P.S. On another note, Jen and I have been working extremely hard to get our first Workout Your Mind MP3 download created – Fear, the band and your life. We will have this on the website in the next couple of days!!

Ruled by the scale?

Okay, I have a confession to make – I am a weigh-a-holic. You know the type of person, weighs themselves at least once a day and sometimes more! I have improved over time but not quite to my satisfaction as yet. When I first got the band I was weighing myself once a week and that was it, sometimes it was actually only once a fortnight – it was a huge step for me and I was really proud of myself. However, I have lately slipped back into my old ways of weighing every day – sometimes twice!!

So, what has driven this latest fascination with the scale? Well it is all to do with the Lemon Detox diet that I am doing at the moment. I have always believed in detoxing and have tried various forms over the years to create a more healthier me. The detox consists of drinking 2 litres of this syrup that is mixed with fresh lemon juice and cayenne pepper. It has been a tough few days, I can tell you. Yesterday, I went through what is called a ‘cleansing crisis’ – in other words, I got a ridiculously painful headache that lasted through the night. Today hasn’t been quite so bad but I am still waiting for the time when ‘my energy increases and I feel unbelievably great’, hopefully not too far away. I am looking forward to the benefits after the detox as well, mainly the reset of my palate as I find that doing a detox takes away many cravings – it is great to refocus on healthier eating habits.

What exactly does this have to do with the scale, I hear you ask? Well, as one of the side effects of the detox is weight loss, I have been jumping on the scales like no tomorrow. I don’t mind so much the act of jumping on the scale, what I mind is that sometimes the results rule how I feel about my day – it takes discipline for me to refocus my mind on the positive after I haven’t seen exactly what I want on the scale. I have lost weight, that is the great news and I am hoping to lose a bit more.

So, is this a harmless habit or a destructive behaviour? Well, it is different for everyone and whilst it is not my ideal to be weighing myself every day – as I would love to reach the point where weight no longer occupies quite so much of my mental space, I am giving myself a break during this time of the detox and will then focus my mind back on creating a more helpful habit of once a week and a stretch, maybe in the future – once a month? What I will do this week is consciously choose to feel positive about my day regardless of what it says on the scale!

Till next time!

Cheers,

Jodie
www.lapbandforthemind.com

Helpless and helpful

The past few weeks for all Victorians and indeed all Australians have been challenging. So many have lost their lives, loved ones and homes, it is sometimes very hard to believe. Amongst so much sadness though, there are ever increasing stories of heroism, generosity and triumph over the odds.

Many mornings in Melbourne, we have woken up to the smell of smoke, a constant reminder of the battles that people continue to fight and that there still may be more loss to come – this week is a big danger time. My sister, her husband and three gorgeous sons live in a heavily bush area that is still far from the fires, though I have confirmed with her on numerous occasions that they will get out as soon as they are put on a warning, houses are replaceable, they are not. My sister in law’s sister completely lost their house and are staying with my brother and sister in law. Luckily they were away at the time of the fires and didn’t have to make the heartbreaking choice that others did to go or stay.

In speaking to friends, family and colleagues over this past two weeks, there has been a theme that has come to the fore – most people are tired, really exhausted. For me, the feeling of exhaustion has come from a feeling of helplessness. Oh, we have donated to the appeals, given as much clothing and bedding as possible and donated pet food for animals but sometimes, it just does not seem to be enough. Australians have been SO generous, it has been utterly amazing and it makes me so proud . So – how do I deal with this feeling of helplessness? Well, this is a classic example of learning how to change emotions via self talk. Once I had identified this feeling of helplessness, I started to define the word ‘helpless’. When I really thought about it, of course I am not helpless, I have donated what I could and will donate more later to ensure continued help to these people. I have the ability to give whatever help that I choose. Once I made this distinction, I felt more powerful again, in control and of course able to help.

To all of the CFA, Police, Army, volunteers and all of those who have contributed to helping our brothers and sisters who have been affected by fire and flood, thank you – you are all wonderful, generous people who answered the call for help with a beautiful generosity of spirit.

Below are some links if you would like to contribute to the victims of the Victorian Bushfires:

http://www.redcross.org.au
http://animalaid.com.au/
https://salvos.org.au

See you next time.....

Cheers,

Jodie Flynn
www.lapbandforthemind.com