Good news....

I've broken the plateau, and have lost 2 kilos since Monday (it's now Thursday).

I read a book last week by Dr. Duc Vuong called Ultimate Lap Band Success and it really focussed me. I think when I found out that I wouldn't be seeing my doctor for a while, I felt that I could cheat and I felt that I couldn't be successful on my own. Since reading this book, I've realised that I need to take it back to basics and follow the rules. I'd been eating a lot of slider foods and a lot of junk, and that was why I wasn't losing anything. I also wasn't exercising. So since Monday I've been following the rules religiously. It's all about protein! Yogurt and fruit for breakfast, fish for lunch, chicken for dinner. I've been eating around 100-140 grams of meat for lunch and dinner, and I think that's a little more than what's recommended but my restriction isn't 100% and I'm getting hungry after about 3 hours (should be 4 or 5 with good restriction). Total calories for the last few days have been around 1000 per day. I've also been walking to and from work (4 kilometers each way) and have been tracking my walks using an app on my phone called runkeeper. I love it! I've also been recording all my food and exercise using fatsecret (online and on my phone).

I have some challenges coming up this weekend. This will be the second to last weekend my boyfriend is in Korea so I am going up to visit him tomorrow night, there will be a party all day Saturday and then we will be heading out with friends in Seoul on Saturday night. When I visit him I tend to eat junk because he's in the military so he has access to lots of foods which are impossible to find off post (my addiction to cheetos is not helped), so I feel I MUST eat them because I don't know when I'll have another opportunity to (which is ridiculous thinking). There will also be alcohol involved this weekend. So I've made him promise that we will be sensible this weekend (he doesn't really eat much). Eggs for breakfast on Saturday, chicken on the grill on Saturday afternoon, and I'm just going to drink vodka and water on Saturday night. Hopefully I'll be able to contunue the weight loss if I stick to that!

I've just realised that today is 5 months since my surgery. So in that time I've lost 21 kilos and have gone from a UK size 22 to a 14. Not bad going. Even when I was being naughty I didn't gain anything, which I'm really pleased about.

This plateau has also taught me that I need to do something about my thinking towards food. For as long as I can remember I have had problems with food. Binge eating and bulimia were massive problems when I was growing up and in my early 20s. I feel now that I've overcome these issues, but still on occassion want to comfort eat. I also have that 'f**k it' mentality of when I've eaten something I shouldn't have, I continue to go crazy with the food. This can last for weeks (as witnessed over the last month). I really want some counselling regarding these issues. I have a feeling that my insurance company will cover the cost of counselling so I'm going to look into that this week.