Made a page for my charts and graphs tracking my weight loss. I will update every 2-4 weeks depending on when I go to Doctors.

Here is link:
http://www.bariatrictalk.com/my-weight-loss-progress-charts/

Yes, i am quite pleased by my progress- i am feeling real hope here. I am still not convinced that something was wrong with scale at doctors.

I have been following the 1500-1800 calorie a day diet requested by Canadian Bariatric Clinic ( Dr. Sean Wharton) . Also increased fiber and proteins. It has been very easy. Not sure because the diet is curbing cravings or because of drug but it has been very easy.
Almost like when i quite smoking 17 years ago using the patch- was shocked at how easy it was.

I hope I am not getting false sense of security. I am still apprehensive. I put on my “control” jeans. I call them “control” because I am going to put these on every week or so to see how they fit and take picture in them every month. I am putting photos in My Weight loss Gallery.

So I have been doing very well- eating lots of yogurt, fresh fruit ( mostly apples) and the occasional meal replacement shake. They can be a bit chalky but adding a handful of strawberries makes a HUGE difference. I have been buying whatever is on sale or cheapest so maybe that would make a difference.

As of of now- 1 month after I started my weight loss journey using Meridia weight loss drug and lower calories diet I have lost 12 lbs!
My current weight is 302 lbs. Yeah! I am quite pleased. I started at 314 4 weeks ago. I am following a low calories diet ( 1500-1800 calories a day) and trying to eat low glycemic foods- as well as more fiber and protein.
Here is my pic now:

Other pics:

The side effect of insomnia seems to be wearing off a bit- thank god! I have had a few good nights sleep this week, despite the stress. We have had some bizarre things going on in our family and we were all running around this week.

Today my husband commented that he could see that I was “slimming down” a bit.. he was quite sweet about it. He is very supportive of all the changes I have been making. I am sure it has hurt him over the years to see me try and fail over the years.

I am struggling with adding more fiber to my diet. I am trying to eat 6 times a day, stick to about 1500 calories, 90 gram of protein and 30 grams of fiber. The fiber part is challenging!!! Looks like adding more vegetables and fruits is the only way to go.
I do eat oatmeal in the mornings which I think has been key.

Snack also hard. A couple of times this week I have felt a bit of a craving for something sweet- but nothing major. I did discover at county fair last night that a GIANT bag of Cotton Candy only had 100 calories in it.. I didn’t have any but I was shocked that it was so little. I thought for some reason it would be like a 1000 calories or something…

So- looking for some ways to add fiber to my diet.. if you could please share in comments section that would be great!

I mentioned that I was going for more first appt. with Dr, Wharton at the Canadian Bariatric Clinic. I was sure what to expect- but several forums had led me to believe that he was very quick to push the Opti-fast program and drugs. The clinic was very busy and to be honest I was put off by the amount of business going on- scales and cases of Optifast were being sold like crazy- there was quite a bit of traffic of people purchasing things from the receptionist and this troubled me- ALOT.

The wait time was much longer than I expected. On a positive note- staff cam out often and were friendly to returning clients patients. There chairs where extra wide and comfortable.

I first saw some sort of intake worker- her role was never explained to me. She rhymed off what felt like a “speil” she had said a thousand times in a quick monotone. At this point I could see no difference between a Jenny Craig office . The selling of stuff from behind the counter was just so unprofessional and it got worse. I had to pay a mandatory 100.00 to receive their special binder and take test using a calorimeter which checked your metabolic rate. Also I had to buy a scale – the ones I saw flying from behind the counter- a whopping 130.00. I filled out a lengthy medical history and chronicled my weight loss attempts and history.

I did express my concerns to Christina that from what I could see it looked like they were positioning themselves to be the next Dr. Bernstein … she was polite and friendly but she did say it felt like a slap in the face. She said that the scale was difficult to find and that it was really a service they were providing patients. I then said- if you were doing a service than the scales would be provided at close to cost and were they- she said “no” and did admit that in that regard it was a business. She made great effort to tell me they were like a family here.

I was weighed and measured and goals were discussed, etc then asked to go back to waiting room to wait for Dr. Wharton. she also explained some of their available services- a psychiatrist ( covered by OHIP) , kenesieoligist (not covered and 65.00) and nutritionist (not covered).

I waited about another half hour – again staff were very friendly and many came out to waiting room to greet patients by name.

I finally went into Dr. Whartons office. He gave me quick medical exam- checking for swelling, rashes and enlarged liver as well as listened to my heart and chest.

I spoke with him for about 10 minutes- not a lot about treatments, etc was discussed- basically had to journal my food, he talked about the importance of understanding food , relationship of carbohydrates , proteins and was adamant that the key was understanding calories and nutrition. And before I left he advised that I attend his lecture coming up on Wednesday.

I left feeling a bit like every other program i have ever tried.. and felt like this was just another business aiming to make money off of weight loss. I also wanted to give it a chance- i have been wrong before about first judgments and after all- this was a bit of a last stop for me before getting weightloss surgery ( WLS) . Nothing else has worked.

One of the boggest conceren fo people who have alot of weight to lose is excess skin and will they need plastic surgery, This is one of the MANY easons I haev for holding off on gastric bypass surgery or and WLS( weight loss surgery).
Interesting article here on The Myth of Loose : http://www.bodyfatguide.com/LooseSkin.htm
When I look at my body- expeciall the “apron” of fat and skin I really dont know what will happen to it or where it will go.
The article implies that increasing mucsle mass with ger rid of the excess skin- but I am dubious.

Forom the site”
Non-Surgical Removal of “Loose Skin”
To eliminate the droopy appearance of the remnants of excess body fat following weight loss, without resorting to surgical procedures, you must change your body composition, not just lose bodyweight. That means paying particular attention to the ratio of your body fat to lean body mass. Gaining muscle to replace some of those lost pounds of body fat and preventing loss of lean body mass while dieting will dramatically improve your appearance.

It is possible to be at the ideal bodyweight according to Body Mass Index charts (BMI), but still have too much body fat and not enough lean body mass. For example, a young woman in her twenties with “loose skin” recently appeared on a popular radio talk show. She had lost over two-hundred pounds in one year, and her bodyweight at 5′ 8″ was now in the 120’s. Yet, her abdomen was covered with flabby skin that hung off of her. I would guess there is at least another 20 pounds of excess body fat stored in those folds of skin. However, if she lost another 20 pounds of bodyweight, she would obviously look like an emaciated stick! But, that’s not because she is too low in body fat…it’s because she lacks sufficient lean body mass!

these are the newest thing to hit the snack market- 100 calories snack- Both Cadbury and Hershey offer 100 calorie bar/sticks of chocolate. Mr. Christie has oodles of pre-packaged snacks aimed at dieters- wafer thin cracker-like Chips Ahoy and Oreo cookies or Reese’s Pieces cereal snack mix. I do like the portability of the snacks- they are great for keeping in the car for a craving or kids – HOWEVER maybe its me- but they can lure you into a false sense of security. 1 pack is so tiny that I will find myself eating another… and another. Suddenly I have eaten 3 of these things and consumed the same amount of calories as as full size chocolate candy bar .
The snacks tend to be heavy in sugar and simple carbohydrate – leaving you wanting more and more. I undertand their convenience of portion control- but don’t be fooled – or fool yourself into eating more than one of these. You are much better of with an apple or juicy peach- the higher fibre helps with hunger and cravings- you are getting much better bang for you buck when it comes to food “value”.

I have seen this a few times now- I think the first time was with a kinder egg surprise- you got a “secret” code with your chocolate egg to play a game online. The latest trend in kids advertising is online games featuring junk food favourites- such as Froot Loops, Cheetos and others. I am all for free speech but I wish we could draw the line. Just another way to draw children into eating cheaply made and highly profitable junk food. Personally I think all advertising aimed at children should be banned.

Here is article on CNN’s website for more information on these “advergames” for kids.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/internet/07/19/food.ads.kids.ap/index.html

I took the plunge and weighed myself. I actually lost another 2 lbs- which is a miracle based on the month we have had. Nothing but stress. Stress for me usually means coconut cream pies and more. So I am a svelte 308 now. Hardly worth changing the picture in my header :-)

I have been going through this weird phases where I push my own addictions on the family. I some how convince myself that my family needs and wants dessert every day- when in fact it is usually me that ends up eating half- or more of it. I am now in the habit of making graham cracker crust pies. We have made 2 coconut cream, a key lime and one butterscotch banana pie in the last 2 weeks. I foget that I CANNOT bring this stuff in to the house. I don;t know how I delude myself. I am like the smoker who thinks he will never get lung cancer.

I took the eplunge and weighed myself. I actually lost another 2 lbs- which is a miracle based on the month we have had. Nothing but stress. Stress for me usually means coconut cream pies and more. So I am a svelte 308 now. Hardly worht changing the picture in my header :-)

I have been going through this weird phases where I push my own addictions on the family. I some how convince myself that my family needs and wants dessert every day- when in fact it is usually me that ends up eating half- or more of it. I am now in the habit of making graham cracker crust pies. We have made 2 coconut cream, a key lime and one butterscotch banana pie in the last 2 weeks. I foget that I CANNOT bring this stuff in to the house. I don;t know how I delude myself. I am like the smoker who thinks he will never get lung cancer.