"This won't hurt a bit...."

Morning. Well, I have had my first fill and me don't like it!

So, of to Birmingham I went on Thursday and the first thing to note was the lack of traffic on the M6. For once (and perhaps for once only), the road was totally free of queues meaning I arrived at the clinic half an hour early which gave me time to "people watch" the persons ahead of me in the queue including one women so fat she had to stop for a breathe every few paces... It can't be good being that unfit so at least she was doing some good having a gastric band fitted, although I would have thought a bypass would have been better for her given her possible BMI..... blimey, I am turning into a fat nazi here!

Oh, and please clinic, turn the blood radio off or at least down or to a listenable station. I really feel sorry for kids of now days having to put up with the rubbish which passes for music now days. Its horrible, auto tuned rubbish.... after half an hour of listening to it I was ready to kill!

Moving on quickly to the procedure.... the nurse was very nice and took a short history of how I was getting on with the band and did note, as I thought, that the port was quite high up under the skin (if that makes any sense). and then stuck me with a long needle. I tried not to watch as I am not great with needles but it seemed that the Mr Super had put some fluids in the band: 1ml worth. I thought he said he had left it empty. Anyway, the nurse withdrew this and replaced it with 4ml worth. And, apart from a plaster, that was that.

Having the fill means that its back to liquids for three days but being me, I had to cheat so last evening I ate a small piece of CHB left over pie crust....MISTAKE as I came close to throwing up almost straight away. Must remember to stay away from such lovely food stuffs....sob. As to weight loss, I seem to be stuck again around 113kg. I put this down to not having had a poo since Thursday.

Anyway, on other topics, did a quick cycle ride before yesterdays game....Got VERY wet and winded upon doing a circuit around Penkridge International Airport. Only 8 miles but by then, I was very cold and wet so was very glad to get back to the car and change into something warmer. I have no idea how people do long rides in the rain: it seems to drag all the fun out of cycling. I hate getting wet when exercising. Perhaps I should start going swimming again?

Right that's me done. Got some jobs to do around the house today and some shopping to get with CBH but this afternoon I have a long ride (20 miles plus with a bit of luck planned), so wish me luck.

Sorry, vomit, cycling and fill day.

Morning and firstly, sorry for not reporting in earlier. I would love to say it has been as I have been so very busy doing lots of exciting stuff like climbing mountains or swimming with dolphins or something like that but truth be known, I am just a lazy git who rarely has anything interesting to say; as you will have noted, so haven't bothered coming back here to tell you all about it.... no wonder Facebook threw me out for being boring!

Anyway, that over, an update on where I am on my weight loss journey and all that. Where am I...stuck. I have managed to lose only a pound over the last week or two, so I am now down to 113.5kg (or about 17st 12). Okay, I should be happy that I have lost weight but I would have liked a few more pounds before today's visit to the clinic (that sounds like I am going to get an STD fixed or something...!). It's not that I am over eating as I have certainly cut down on what I was gorging myself on but I feel that my body is hanging onto every calorie I put into it as its worrying about where its next feed is coming from. Perhaps? Oh however I have discovered one thing I can't eat...wholemeal bread! I had half a slice on Saturday morning which completed bunged me up and caused me to vomit. Not nice but its the only time I have done so, so at least that doesn't seem to be a problem as it can be with some people.

I suppose I look a little different due to the weight loss than I did.... I can see some difference, as can CBH. It was interested that I got a comment at a team meeting on Tuesday by someone who knew I had had the operation (only three people at work do), that I was looking quite well. Good feedback. Talking about being quite well, I saw my GP on Monday who gave me the results of my HC1 blood sugar tests. My count is 44, down from 66 and according to the GP: "almost normal." Which is nice.

Before we move onto today's action at THE CLINIC...... (sorry, trying to build it up) shall we talk about any cycling...well its part of what the blog is about isn't it. Thus, rewinding a little, last Friday I finished work early on the Friday: well I am paid to do around 37 hours a week but had already had done well over 45, so off to the lanes around my favourite village Ranton I went....only to get nearly drown in a rain storm.... not quite but you know what I mean. However, being very stupid, I forgot to put my wet clothes in the washing machine, so next morning they were dank and unpleasant to wear. That afternoon, after finding some clean and dry stuff, a few miles were done around the lakes near Penkridge..... they aren't really lakes but there was so much water on the road, they may as well have been! Oh...and did I mention the wind?

Tuesday it was of into Birmingham for a team meeting, so for a change I cycled to the station.... I managed the "climb" up the first road in the big ring, which is nice and the down hill spin took only 9 minutes. Coming back in the evening is a bit more of a struggle and includes an additional half a mile of travel as I avoid the bridge over the railway line on the Newport Road. Well its only a lane wide at the most, and has metal fencing along side which if you get trapped against will see the end of you. Oh you can try and take a lane but most of the time the killers in their metal boxes won't let you and try to push their way by. Anyway, the 2.2 miles did take 14 minutes but then its uphill most of the way and the wind was still playing up! I think overall I have done about 25 miles this week. I really need to up that if I am going to get fitter...fit enough to do some excellent adventures next year as planned....more on that when I make my mind up!

Finally then, today is fill day! No, its not Phil from East Enders day, but its the day "they" adjust my band to make the hole smaller which should me I can eat less and thus, lose weight. I think given that my weight loss has almost dried up, this should be a good thing for me....not sure I am looking forward to the needle or the three days worth of liquid diet again, but on the positive side, I should have lost a stone by Christmas....oh sorry, if we take the ads on telly that's next week isn't it.....SCREAM.... I HATE CHRISTMAS ADS IN NOVEMBER.... so should finally get back into the 16 stone range, somewhere I have not been since the late 80's I would think.

I promise I will report back in tomorrow after having it done...honest.

1st November update

Morning all, an update....yes I know you can hardly wait!

Well gets get down to the nitty gritty.... I haven't lost any weight this week! It seems after dumping two stone in a month, my body has gone "WWWWWOOOOOOOOOOO there!" and slammed the brakes on! That, or I have been overeating? I don't know when I look back at what I have been eating as far as I can calculate, I have been staying under 1 200 calories a day all week, so should have lost some?

I don't know....lets see what this week brings. Thinking about this week, it going to be a bit of a challenge as I am off to Stamford on Tuesday for the day, so will have to plan my meals for whilst I am out. The rest of the week I am at home, so it shouldn't be too bad. As for exercising, I need to pick that up a pace: I did a short 20 minute walk on Tuesday, a six mile bike ride on Wednesday, tried to use the treadmill on Thursday but ended up stopping after only 5 minutes with a very sore hip, and had a bike adventure yesterday.....
  

Well did my first bike adventure yesterday since my operation, although I will happily accept that the word “adventure” is somewhat over egging what I did at only 19 miles, but hey ho, it was different from the normal loops I have been doing and did include a muddy canal side path, a cycle path full of cars.... POLICE cars at that and a train ride home!!!

So, faced with “needing” to be in Brereton yesterday afternoon for the epic top of the table clash between unbeaten Brereton Social and the MIGHTY Penkridge FC I was faced with three choices.... I could drive, an idea I quickly dismissed as the roads around here are currently a nightmare with roadworks everywhere....it seems that everyone who is entitled to dig up a road is currently doing so, get the train there and walk the last 2 miles each way, or cycle it! Guess which won?!

Now as the crow flies its only 10 miles or so between here and Brereton but that would include using the extremely unpleasant to cycle on A513, so instead I decided to use the somewhat quieter but quite lumpy Tixall Road out of town to the back of Shugborough Hall where I picked up the rather muddy canal path at Haywood Junction. I followed this path, down to Meadow Lane before rejoining Main Road at Little Heywood, thus avoiding the climb in Great Heywood....okay, its only 100 foot but I am so poor at climbing I would rather go around and risk falling into the canal!

Then after a quick dash along the A51 came my favourite bit of the trip, the hardly used by anyone, Bellamour Lane.... I love this road! It is like roads should be... no traffic, nicely graded and a joy to cycle on. Turning right onto Colton Road brought me to Rugeley Trent Valley station and then onto the cycle path along side the A51 to the ground slowing down only to avoid the four police cars dumped on the cycle path! Nice bit of “showing the public how to act” that.

Overall a nice trip of 15 miles in just over 82 minutes.

After the match (which the MIGHTY Penkridge won 2-0), given that night was falling and I dislike cycling in the dark, I took the London Midland train back from Rugeley to Stafford....never before have I seen so much luggage stored on the train. It was everywhere, so much so I struggled to find a place to stand and rest my bike!

So overall 19.8 miles at an average speed of just over 11mph....not bad for a fat lad and a bit of an adventure.