The beaver is a proud and noble animal
Notes from a bemused canuck
As an unexpected consequence of my weight loss, all of my rings are too big now. One I can reform to tighten, one I can move to a different finger, one can’t be resized because of what it’s made out of. This one however has to be made into a pendant because, as soon as my finger gets slightly wet, it goes flying. As in, I’ve already almost lost it down a bathroom sink at work and, this morning, I had to fish it out of a cafeteria recycling bin.
I had my 9-month surgery follow-up this morning. I’ve lost 5kg in the last 3 months. This is good news. My BMI is no longer in the “obese” range but more in the “overweight” range. This is good news. My visceral fat levels have gone down again. This is good news. The meh news is that I’ve lost a bit of the muscle mass I’d put on at 6 months. This is probably due to the fact that I had the gall bladder op and I’ve borked my shoulder, so that means I did less resistance workouts. Hopefully I can turn that around.
Another bit of meh news is that I’m above the “expected average” line of my predicted weight loss. Ideally, I’d be at around 90kg but I’m more around 94kg. This one isn’t a big deal from the doctor’s perspective, it’s more a numbers thing for me. My rate of weight loss is mirroring the average curve, I’m just a bit above it. He’s happy that I’m still within the general range that is considered a positive outcome. He also points out that they measure overall success on a 4-axis basis:
– how you score the weight you’ve lost
– how you score the physical benefits/complications (i.e. post-surgery pain, dumpings, cramps, etc)
– how you score the mental benefits/complications (i.e. food frustration, cravings, etc)
– how you score the nutritional benefits/complications (i.e. the supplements you need to take, etc)
Each should get a score from 1 (worst) to 7 (best). I gave a score of 23 out of a possible 28, which is very good.
I can live with that :) I just need to get my shoulder fixed so I can restart doing more weights at the gym.
One thing I didn’t expect though was that the nurse who normally takes the blood samples for micro-nutrient analysis was out sick that day so I had to go to the main clinic. Instead of taking 5 minutes at the CMCO, it took an hour. That played havoc on my schedule because I had to get to the EPFL for a project review meeting with the NIHS LT.
The surgical glue and dissolvable stitches are finally starting to come off. That dark wodge of schmutz has been stuck in my bellybutton for the past week and has finally fallen out (with a bit of gentle teasing, which will probably get me yelled at by the surgeon, who doesn’t like his work to leave scars but the itching was driving me mad).
P.S. I’m now down to 95 kg so I need to lose another 4.5 kg to reach my next goal of breaking below 200lbs and 10kg to reach the final weight loss end-goal.
I am saintly (holey) again after having my gall bladder removed. This was the next ig step in the weight-loss saga to prevent gall stones, which are a common complication. Op went well, so far so good, and I’m going home this afternoon.
So, good news, my weight loss clinic appointment gave me some very positive news. I’m 2 kg over the theoretical prediction of where I should be, but 1.2kg of that “over” is new muscle, so all in all doctor is super happy. BMI is going in the right direction, my visceral fat has gone down loads and my total body fat percentage reduction in 3-6m is double that of 0-3m. All very positive signs for long-term success.
Since we decided to take the plunge at the start of 2018, I’ve lost 32kg and I’ve lost 10 inches on my waist since the operation. Katy’s done even better. Go us!
As of today, the bathroom scales tell me that I am below 100kg for the first time. Next goal is to go below 200lbs.
So. Scene. As part of the weight loss process, I try and go to the gym at work twice a week. There’s a locker room with attached showers. When I exercise, I leave my watch and my rings in my jean pocket.
Today, after having showered, I’m in my boxers getting re-dressed. I take out my watch to put it on and FWING! all my rings fall out of my pocket and go pinging around the floor.
So, here I am, in my underwear, on my hands and knees, crawling around the locker room floor while someone else is having a shower and all I can think is “please don’t come out now”.
The grown-ups can have some quality adult time.
Ben was at scout camp this weekend so – after shopping – we were able to go into Lausanne and have a (small) beer, share a basket of sliders and proper chips at a pub before going to see Captain Marvel.
Today, we went to Apero World and shared a G&T and a really big plate of antipasti.
It’s encouraging to know that even post-surgery, we can still enjoy foodie things like this.
Katy and I went to the outlet shops in Aubonne with a mission to get me a new belt. I was super bummed when I was in the Levis shop, because their biggest belt was way too small, and the biggest jeans they had in store were 38s – and I’m not there yet. We looked in a couple of other shops, and the results were depressingly similar. Swiss shops tend to be sized for stick figure people. We tried one last shop, and it well made up for the previous disappointment.
The sales assistant in the Wrangler shop was super nice. First off, they did have bigger sized jeans. I first tried some 48s, but had to go progressively smaller and smaller to get the perfect fit, with ever increasing incredulity at each step. I think the lady was actually happy for me, because she got really into it as well and was really positive at the fitting results.
I had to pick my jaw up off the floor. My jean size went from 48+ inches to 42. Now granted the “before” jeans had always been baggy in the leg but I needed them for the waist. I now have fitting (and fitted) jeans.
Still working on the belt though, but that’s going to come in time – and I’ve punched the 3rd hole in my current belt.
I met my goal of going to the gym twice this week. Nothing extravagant. 15 minutes on a bike (5K) and then 3 circuits of 5 resistance machines for arms and legs.
Goal for next week: do it again!