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!!

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!

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

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!!

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

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

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!

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!!

That rollercoaster called life.....

After a lovely week of happiness, I had some news that threw me for a loop and has left me considering how I handle challenges these days. I used to eat lots and lots of food, that was my modus operandi, so what do I do now that I have the band and most assuredly can’t?!?!?

Well, my first step was to let myself crumble – I gave myself permission to lie on the couch and have a good old cry. It really helped to acknowledge that I am human and it is okay to feel sad, angry, disappointed and not to eat those feelings away – though I confess, I did have some chocolate.

Since that day, I have gradually picked myself back up. I made sure that I continued going to my Bikram Yoga classes. Boy, those classes are ridiculously tough and certainly one of the benefits that I’ve found is that it releases emotions. It certainly did a couple of days after the news when I hit some rough spots in the session and the emotions came bubbling out.

After that, I have had some great chats with some trusted confidante’s as well as my coach. This allowed me to work through the issues and start to plan for what I could do in the future. I started to gain back my hope and optimism.

So, whilst the past week has been an emotional roller coaster, I woke up yesterday feeling that I was moving past it. Instead of eating away my emotions, I have a new strategy for challenges:

1. Allow myself to feel whatever emotions have come up as a result of the challenge
2. Keep up the physical exercise
3. Speak to trusted friends, family and coaches to be sounding boards and to start looking to the future

One quote that seems to keep jumping out at me that I have found enormous comfort in this week is ‘this too shall pass’ – it is a great quote for getting through a tough exercise session, an emotional outbreak or getting through the Melbourne heatwave (I keep thinking that in a few short months I will be rugged up in my winter woollies at the footy with days on end 40+ temperatures a distant memory)!!

So the questions for you this week are:

· How do you comfort yourself when you are challenged?
· What is your strategy for moving past challenging situations?
· Who are your trusted people to help you move from despair to hope?

Thanks for reading and have a wonderfully cool and hopeful week!

Cheers,

Jodie
www.lapbandforthemind.com