Catching up; Fill 1 and a Memorial Day 5K

Well, everyone, I really wanted to post sooner but time has really gotten ahead of me. I have been juggling a lot of day to day stuff, but I am happy to be back. Reflectively speaking, I am happy to say that I have not gained any weight. Why do I say this? The old Fat Bastard would have blamed the busy past few weeks on the gorging of burgers, Philly cheese steaks and pizza on the “who has time to think healthy on a day like this?” frame of mind.

My wife is recovering from a hysterectomy. The surgery went well and she is recovery faster than I thought. But the driving to sports practices, house cleaning and puppy training has fallen on my shoulders. She handled this task well a month ago for my surgery. So, now is my time to shine. Now, with the kids being out of school, everything should be easier to manage.

I have not lost any weight and had my first fill yesterday. But like I said, the victory is that I did not gain. It seems as though I hit a major plateau. It’s like my body is saying, “Hold on you Fat Bastard. You starve me with a pre-op diet of protein shakes for two weeks. You put this strange thing on my stomach. Then you stick to clear liquids for a week. No way, my friend, I’m going to hold every calorie you give me now.”

Why is it a victory? Simply because throughout the last two weeks I have been able to maintain a decent workout schedule and even added lifting weights to the mix. I try to get three lifting and three cardio sessions per week.

My other big victory – I entered and walked in a Memorial Day 5k. In fact, I finished in 43:36 placing first in my age group of walkers. I would have like to have jogged it, and if I did, I would have never placed first in the runners. But, for my first 5K, I am happy. There is another one in July that I am looking forward to. Don’t know yet if I’ll walk or run.

As far as my first fill, I have an AP Large Lap Band that holds 14 ccs of saline. There were 1.5 ccs in there, which I suppose is standard. He explained that generally 1 cc remains in the port and tube. So, yesterday, he added 3 ccs. I asked him if that was somewhat aggressive and he said that it was but that since there was so little saline in there, there was room to play. He said that the next few adjustments will probably be somewhat less aggressive as we will be chasing the ever-elusive Sweet Spot.

It’s hard to tell whether or not I feel much restriction yet. Yesterday, I was limited to liquids and yogurt. Today, I was able to start with a little bit more solid foods. So I will have to keep you posted.