Checking In with an Update

1 April 2022 was my last post & things have been up & down since then!

I had a trip to Melbourne the end of April as my Dad had a cochlear implant inserted. It was a whirlwind weekend but got to see my nearest and dearest family & finally meet my brother’s gorgeous girlfriend face to face after nearly two years!

Early May Mum & I went on an amazing holiday to the Northern Territory starting in Alice Springs, visiting many beautiful gorges & canyons before arriving at Yulara. Uluru was just something else. I will forever hold that trip close, it spoke to me on another level being in those places & sharing that experience with Mum.

At the end of May our family was rocked with the devastating news of my Auntie Kaylene suddenly passing away. It was so, so sad - she was such a strong presence in all our lives & is deeply missed.

Lastly what I wanted to share is that three months ago today I underwent gastric sleeve surgery. For the last 20+ years I have battled with my weight. I’ve tried most diets, fads, restrictions, exercise program etc, except Jenny Craig - I always thought it was too expensive!. So I decided to take matters into my own hands (realistically my surgeons hands) and have the procedure. I knew of a few people that had had it done with amazing results, no long term effects & wishing they’d done it a long time ago.

I did think long and hard about it though. I didn’t want to rush into it as with gastric sleeve surgery they permanently remove 80% of your stomach. So once it’s done, it’s done!

My thought process was this is a tool & a great tool at that to help me be the best that I can be from a health & nutritional perspective. I had always considered myself most of the time a good eater but I ate too much. I never felt full/satisfied & found I could easily go back to a second serving, equal to my first one.

So leading up to the surgery I started compiling a list of why I wanted this & this is what I came up with:

• Stop yo-yo dieting

• Stop wasting money on fad diets, gyms, plans, subscriptions etc etc

• Improve health & reduce fat around my organs

• Be comfortable in me

• Wear tops tucked in

• Wear a bikini (not a string one!)

• Improve on my running

• Run New York Marathon in 2024

some of these are vain things yes, but come on who doesn’t have these goals & thoughts?!

1 August 2022 I commenced the pre-op diet at a starting weight of 105.2kg. Yep took me two years to put back on what I worked so hard to lose come June 2020. But that's what failed IVF & the processing of being childless does to a person.

This diet was:

• 3 x OptiFast Shakes per day

• 2 x cups non-starchy vegetables

• Soup made from allowed vegetables

Man that was tough. I had basically had a food funeral in the weeks leading up to this diet so there was a whole lot of withdrawals going on in those first few days. But I stuck to it except for two days. First weekend on the Sunday I had scrambled eggs instead of a shake. Then the following Saturday I had eggs on toast to enjoy my traditional weekend breakfast one last time for a while.

My biggest stress during the lead up to my surgery date of the 15th August was getting COVID. If I had of got it leading up my surgery would’ve been postponed 8 weeks. I worked from home a bit more & just steered clear of going out in public. And it worked!

I had to be at admissions by 1pm on the Monday so in the morning I took Daisy for a walk & took my time getting ready before heading in. It wasn’t too much of a wait & I was in the theatre waiting bay at 3:20pm. Surgery weight was 100.9kg so I lost 4.3kg in the 2 weeks on the pre-op diet.

Around 5:10pm I was waking up in recovery. Feeling super groggy, couldn’t swallow properly as my mouth was so dry & when I tried I got stressed & my heart rate spiked!! Nurses weren’t concerned though & when they took me back to the ward I heard her say in the handover that I had been a dream & gave her no issues. Forever the well behaved girl, even after major surgery ;-)

Then came Tuesday & the first day of the rest of my life! Breakfast was served which was broth, apple juice x 2, water. Delicious 😂 The broth was actually quite tasty after having had only water for nearly 24 hours. Couldn’t drink much though in one hit (maybe 20ml). I wasn’t in much pain though which was good & as the procedure was done via laparoscope it was less invasive. The pain was much worse post my hysterectomy to be honest. The message I heard a lot from the support groups I’d joined was “sip sip sip” and so that’s all I did. I found it hard to drink much more of anything else other that water.

Wednesday morning I upgraded to nourishing fluids so soup & a “milkshake” for breakfast. I steered clear of the soup & drank the milkshake - don’t know what exactly it was but it was thick, not overly normal tasting & could see a couple of chunks in it. Doc had been around & given me the all clear to go home which I was very grateful for. He made a comment after my surgery that I have a very, very, very long stomach so no wonder it would never fill up!

The eating post surgery looks like this:

• 2 weeks of fluids - soups, juices, shakes, water, thin custard, even plain ice-cream!

• Followed by 2 weeks of purées

• Lastly 2 weeks of soft foods before slowly introducing normal foods again

I’d made some soup up the weekend before my op & frozen it in preparation for coming home. Plus some up & go’s & more Fiji Water as that seemed easier going down.

I settled into a groove pretty quickly. Coffee with tasteless protein powder first thing, followed by a smoothie with frozen banana, tasteless protein, almond milk, honey then soup a couple of times later in the day. I found the Protein Pea & Ham Soup from Woolies was delicious & my stomach loved it! Made some lentil & bacon soup too which I preferred more than the other I’d made.

Energy levels continued to improve each day on the one before. I got out for a walk with Daisy on day 6 post op attaching her longer lead for less pulling.

At the end of week 1 I was down to a weight of 96.8kg & lost a massive 40cm in measurements.

The fatigue was quite high for the first 3-4 weeks. I got tired easily & getting back into work increased that for a little while. I just had to listen to my body & still not to try & overdo things as I wasn't feeling any physical pain or discomfort but knew I was still healing.

Week 4 I was down to 93.1kg. Had a bit of a stall around this time due to my mind catching up & trying to hold on to the weight. Frustrating at times but all part of the process.

Preparation was key especially for eating at work. Gone were the days of just grabbing something on the run & instead focusing on protein as a priority. One of the biggest changes was that I could no longer drink & eat at the same time. It had to be a 30 minute wait between doing either. Now I find that drinking before eating is ok, but not the other way around.

The weight has continued to slowly come off, losing on average 700g per week. I'm walking every day with Daisy but have pressed pause on any other exercise for now as I've been having regular pain in my right hip.

My typical day looks like this:

• Protein, banana, coffee, peanut butter smoothie for breakfast (1 cup)

• Protein for lunch either slow cooked Mexican chicken, a bento box grazing spread, chicken rice & broccolini, or salad & protein (1/2-1 cup depending on what it is)

• Dinner much like lunch, sometimes will have a little pasta, might have a wrap or might have an omelette! (Again 1/2-1 cup depending on what it is

• Snacks are sometimes not always - might be chobani yoghurt, might be cruskits with some cream cheese or a piece of fruit.

Couple of coffees and around 2-2.5 litres of water (that's another thing - can't drink that in big serves anymore!)

My dietician has given me a target of 80g protein per day as ideal to keep the weight coming off consistently so I try to get above this.

My stomach will start gurgling & I'll get a bit burpy when I know I've had enough to eat. That's my body's trigger. Some people sneeze, cough, hiccup as their triggers! I have thrown up a few times too post eating. If something is too heavy or just doesn't sit right it's the only thing that can make me semi-comfortable. Some days I feel like I could eat everything (not very often) and others the restriction is high, so what I could've eaten the day before I can only do half of that.

I know some will think I've taken the "easy" way out but believe me, this is far from easy.

If this procedure helps me achieve only half of my goals listed above I will be much better off.

The turmoil & unhappiness that has come from being the bigger girl over the years has been tough to deal with. The hatred I've felt towards my body, times I've wished I could have cut my stomach away, times I've cried in the shower because of how much I disliked how I looked. The horrible horrible things I've said to myself when I've overeaten or tried to make a change & failed, I wouldn't say to my least liked person.

I want to live a long & healthy life & this tool will help me do that. I'm working on the internal dialogue, I'm working on making smart choices with my food (I can only have a little bit so I'm not going to waste it on shit) and the training for the marathon will come in due course!!

One thing that has been a huge help during these 3.5 months is the online community. I have engaged with many who've been through this surgery or similar. Tips & tricks & general wins & struggles are shared & it's nice to be able to discuss with those that understand.

So there's my update. I'm not going to share the underwear before & after shots I be taken (will spare you that!) but here are some clothes I tried on pre surgery & again a few days ago.

I've still a long way to go - today I'm 17kg & 98cm in measurements down & the aim is to drop another 14kg to reach my first goal weight. Slow & steady wins the race 🐢

If anyone wants to know more then please reach out xx