Heart Walk 5K

Yesterday morning I did the Heart Walk 5K with some women who have been very important to my band journey.

Maria is on the left. She works at the front desk at my bariatric surgeon's office. She is also banded, and she has also become a good friend. We meet up often for lunch or to go for a walk, and she's been an amazing support when I am struggling. She's fantastic.

On my other side is Gwen, the band nurse. She is learning how to do fills and I told her she can practice on me if she'll do it for free. :-)

Jody is on the right. She's the registered dietician. She ran the 5K in about 30 minutes. Awesome. She's such an inspiration.

Our team was called "The Shrinking Population".  :-)

Still Purple

Thank you for all of the awesome comments on my purple belly post. For everyone who suggested sending it to my doctor, thank you. I did just that by posting it on his Facebook page. He said that it's nothing to worry about and it will go away. I feel fine, so I'm not worrying about it. It's definitely getting better. I do tend to bruise easily, so he probably just hit a blood vessel on the way in.

I don't know if this fill is doing anything for my weight (I'll jump on the scale at support group tonight) but it's definitely decreased my appetite. I ate a Lean Cuisine for lunch yesterday and the day before, and it kept me full for HOURS. I'm definitely not as hungry and eating way less.

Violet, you're turning violet, Violet

Bonus points if you caught the movie reference.

I had my fill 4 days ago and this is what my belly looks like...

I have never bruised like this after a fill! What the heck? Has anyone ever seen anything like this? It's crazy. It doesn't hurt or anything (just a little sore like the port site always is after a fill).

5K Today

My pace was pathetic (about an hour) but I managed a full 5k on the treadmill today for the first time in months...

And I even managed to keep smiling afterwards, red-faced, sweaty and all...

All Filled Up

I had my fill today - a little over one more cc added, making about 7 cc's total in my band. I am up about 14 pounds from my lowest weight (gulp) and the doc said he wasn't surprised...I didn't realize it had been this long but I hadn't had a fill in A YEAR AND FOUR MONTHS. He said he's not the least bit surprised that I have gained a bit and is surprised I haven't gained more.

The fill was uneventful as always - a quick needle in the belly, added 2 cc's, water wouldn't go down at all, removed 0.5 cc, water still in my throat, another 0.25 cc out and the water started trickling down nicely. No pain. Easy peasy. Doc and I had a nice talk too. I really like him.

I've been sipping my clear liquids all afternoon with no problem - I may try some strained homemade broccoli soup for dinner in a little while.

I hope this will get me back on the losing track!

Tomorrow is Fill Day

Tomorrow I'm finally getting the fill I've needed for a long time. I hope it will make a difference! I found out that an un-fill within 7 days is free for a self-pay patient, so I'm going to ask the doc to do a big-girl fill and really crank it up tight (as long as I can get fluids down) and if I'm too tight after a few days I'll back it off a little. I just can't afford to be spending $150 for tiny 0.25 cc tweaks all the time!

I'm going to spend today getting ready for a few days of liquids/mushies. I'm making a batch of cream of broccoli soup and chicken enchilada soup. I have a couple of 4-packs of Atkins shakes and a box of sugar free Carnation Instant Breakfast. Just need to get some yogurt and stuff to make smoothies and I should be good for a few days.