Major NSV!

NSV = Non Scale Victory or Non Surgical Victory.

I am still stunned at my achievement. I have never walked 10k before in my life, but here I am at the goal of the Soda Springs, which is the first leg of the Tongariro Crossing. The Crossing is a famous hike in New Zealand which stretches between two mountains, Mt Ngaurahoe and Mt Tongariro in the Tongariro National Park. (Look it up on Google!)

I knew I wouldn't be fit enough to get up the Devils Staircase - a nearly vertical climb - but wanted to reach the goal I'd set myself of getting to Soda Springs, almost 5 K into the trek. I did expect to be able to rest up before the return trip, but the weather was pretty dismal and if we had sat around in the wet we would have become very chilled, so we made the return trip straight away.

I couldn't keep up the pace of the rest of our party, but took my time and completed it with aching legs and a soaring spirit at my achievement. I must say that without the encouragement of my Best Buddy in the World I don't think I could have made it.

4 Weeks On...

Tracking my weight loss to date, for those who, like me, love the facts and figures:

My heaviest weight: 115 kilos (253.5lbs) for about 2 years to around Jun/Jul 08
Pre Optifast diet 111.1 kilos (244.9lbs)
Day of Operation 105.2 kilos (231.9lbs)
4 weeks post op 100 kilos (220.5lbs)

So on my own I struggled to lose 4 kilos (nearly 9lbs) in 6 months, which isn't too bad and deserves a pat on the back. In this time I did go up and down however, losing and gaining the same 2 kilos several times over. But when I hit my surgeons office it gave me renewed hope and helped the process keep to a downwards direction. Then the Optifast diet gave me a huge kickstart in the 2 weeks prior to surgery. The weight loss has slowed down considerably, probably due to my body trying to adjust to the new food regime! I have put the scales away, so I'm not obsessively weighing everyday. I know the weight will come off.

My main focus at this point is to make sure I get all the liquids/water I need on a daily basis and get my protein requirements in. I have progressed onto 'mushy' food, and although that sounds disgusting it tastes like heaven after consuming only liquids for so long. I've gotten into cooking again, which is a novelty! I'm not working at present (damn this recession!), so my domestic skills are coming out of mothballs.

I am really enjoying flavours and my whole relationship with food has done a 180 degree turn. I am not consumed with the hunger I was before the op, although I do feel hunger. Its a different feeling. Pre op my hunger was like this: most of the day, unless I was distracted with work, a low level nagging feeling in my stomach and mouth. The mouth part was a craving for something nice to taste, the stomach bit was an empty feeling in the pit of my stomach. Then at around 11.30 (pre lunch) and 4.30 (pre dinner) I would get this intense craving coupled with a feeling of faintness, headache, dizziness and nausea. So by the time I ate I would INHALE the food, it never even touched the sides and I never felt full or satisfied. I did test my blood sugars from time to time to see if this was a symptom - but it wasn't. Now, post op, I have a feeling that perhaps I should eat something, bit of an empty feeling in the tummy - check the clock and lo and behold! its actually a mealtime! When I heard of this lack of hunger phenomenon to do with WLS I knew that if I had this one small thing, loss of the over the top appetite, that I could do it.

Small victories so far - have crossed my legs; had my photo taken without cringing; taken off the bra extender; can get out of bed without puffing and struggling; still of my diabetes meds as blood sugar levels are within normal range; skin looks great; and (according to reports) not snoring so much! I completely deny ever snoring in the first place, but I have been told it rattled the windows.