About me and this blog

Hi  :)

I'm a 35 year old woman, wife to a lovely husband who also happens to be my best friend, a hopeless workaholic and a big geek.

I started this blog the day before I went for a gastric band consultation with Dr Paul Super at The Hospital Group. I will be keeping my food journal here and noting down my experiences as I go. I expect to change my ways, lose the bad habits and hopefully develop better ones so looks like I will be here for a while!

Although I did think about weight loss surgery on and off for a long time now, in June 2012, after my 35th birthday, I started to seriously consider it. Discussing it with my husband at length, considering risks, sorting out finances etc we decided that this is the way forward.

After researching for a while, I registered on WLSurgery.com forums and this was a huge step forward for me. I felt like when I wrote "hello, I'm in this" and shared it with the people on the same boat as me, it felt like it was where it all began. I was then in the search for a surgeon and a hospital which offered good after care and I also started a pre-pre-op diet to lose as much as I can until I have a consultation, aiming to lower my BMI under 50. Started at 52, I easily achieved this in a couple of weeks.

Unfortunately, I went into a very difficult time at work at the same time. I was working 16 hour days to meet deadlines and was terribly stressed. I could not diet anymore when I had days with no lunch break, I was ravenous when I got home around 10-11pm and would order a pizza or grab a take away. I found myself sticking to my better habits in the day though. I would go and have a huge breakfast (huge but still Special K) which would keep me going for the day. I did snack though it would be an oven baked pack of crisps or nuts etc. I just lost it when I got home after work and had big bad meals shortly before bed time - I mean passing out in front of the telly... I didn't dare check my weight in this period. I was very disappointed that I couldn't carry on with the diet and were putting the pounds back on, plus extras.

Just when my mad days at work were over, I developed a trapped nerve in my right buttock/leg. NHS offered no comfort other than very strong painkillers and my GP said she can only refer me to a specialist if I'm still suffering after 6 weeks. How do you live with that for 6 weeks I have no idea. I couldn't move, I couldn't sit and I was in agony. I couldn't go to work and although the strong painkillers made me very sleepy, sleeping was hard work and it was the most painful when I woke up.

I made my own way to an osteopath. After 6 sessions in 2 weeks, I was in a much better position, although still not healed. I did go back to work though and it slowed down my healing process as I had to sit on my ass all day. This time I could only sit for 20 mins before I had to get up and walk around a bit.During this time I couldn't think about weight loss or surgery, I was in too much pain to care.

After a while, finally, I started to feel better and my thoughts drifted back to the original plan. I decided I wanted Dr Super as a surgeon and The Hospital Group both looked professional enough and 2-year aftercare was included in their package.

Booked the consultation for the 16th of September. Took me 3 months from the beginning to take the first step but I'm there now, determined more than ever.

First time in a looong time, I feel like I can do this and it's a strange kind of relief... :)