Mid Week With Pete

Pete is 5 weeks post Realize Band placement.

He currently weighs 260.  He's gone from a 52-54 pant to a 40-42 pant.  He started out in 3X t-shirts and is down to 2X or XL depending on the shirt.  His wedding suit (that he looks oh so handsome in) is getting big on him and the shirt does not fit him any longer.  His wedding belt is worn out from stretching in the past and now would need new holes to make it smaller.

But he's still struggling.  If ever there was a time when I realized that the band is just a *tool* it is the last week or so.  The swelling from the surgery is gone and he can eat normally.  He struggles with this.  His temptation is not that he's eating unhealthy foods, it's that his portion sizes are getting larger and larger again.  He was so disillusioned the last week that he went back to soup for lunch, jello & protein shakes for breakfast and whatever I'm eating for dinner.  I think that is his comfort menu for lack of a better term.  It limits him and he finds comfort in that so that he will not over eat.

His weight has gone up in the last 10 days or so.  This also troubled him.  He's met with a couple of trainers at the gym about TRX and kettlebells and training.  Each one has told him something different.  Lots of cardio to lose weight, little cardio and lots of weights, both cardio and weights on the same day...  Again, his 'comfort' is running 6-10 miles a day.  It's how he's gotten to the size that he is and it's what he turns to when he needs to lose.  The issue is that he has lost muscle.  He appears thin in his shoulders, chest and arms; wider in the belly area; thinner in the butt and legs. 

Today is his first appointment with the bariatric center about his progress.  Is he ready for a 'fill' of the band?  Has he lost enough on his own that they don't want to tighten it?  Are there other suggestions for working out for him?  Where should he be at this point?  These are the questions he hopes will be answered.  I'll update the post after I talk to him tonight.

Post Appointment:

Pete's been saying that his tummy was still swollen and distended.  However, the nurse from his last appointment never said anything.  Over the last couple of weeks we'd thought that it was just where his fat was sticking while he was losing everywhere else.  We were wrong.  (gross alert) He had a hematoma by the port.  The doctors took out about 33 cc's of blood and fluid from the area.  Because of the hematoma, the port had travelled over 2 inches up.  The doctors took over an hour to find the insertion part of the port.  Needless to say he's pretty sore. 

He ended up with a 6 cc saline fill in the band to restrict his eating and an "Atta Boy!" for his progress.  Hi starting BMI was 56 and his current BMI? 28!!!