I'm Still Alive

Hi all,

Long time no post!

So what the hell is happening in Reggie world you may ask? (or maybe not)

Life really is good, I've been in my unit for a couple of months and really settling into single life. The diet is going OK and I've lost about 47kgs now, so feeling good and feeling great about myself. The lapband is the best thing I've ever done. I went to the fill Doctor last week and they didn't want to give me any more fill cause I'm the "Biggest looser" apparently (is that how you spell looser Kitty?)

Work is average to be honest and not very fulfilling at the moment and I'll hang in there for now, but the way the economy is picking up, I might have a look around soon and see what is on offer.
I had a nice lunch for my daughter Sammy's 16th she looked beautiful and we had a great time......... she is growing up too fast, but that's life hey?

Not too much else to report..exercise is now on my radar with me walking up to Nobby's breakwater and around to Newcastle beach every morning - which takes about 40 minutes round trip and it is making me feel healthier - I am sure that this lifestyle change is here to stay and there's no way I'm going back to 140kgs.....ever again!. My blood pressure cholesterol are now within the normal range so all is good.

Anyway that's it for my quick check in - I was feeling guilty for not updating so here it is!

Hope all is good in your world! 

Love Reggie xxxxx

Happy New Year - Not Far Away!

Hi all,

Young Reg here for a weekly / monthly update. How has my Christmas been you may ask? Well to be honest it's had it's high's and some low's but all in all has been good!

The Pro's

• Some nice lunches and quality time spent with close friends!
• No work - or very minimal!
• Work is still going well - ahead on targets on all fronts :)
• I got a Wii Fit Plus which I have set up and starting to use
• Nice Chrissy Day with the parents and brother and sister + other assorted relatives.
• Visited my younger (but older looking) brother Mikey Reagan and stayed overnight we had a fun day of Snooker, pokies and piss, followed by a huge dose of pizza. This is the first time I have really "got into pizza" since I got the band done. The first slice was a bit of a challenge but I soon got back into the swing of things! (Please note this is a once off occurance with pizza being one of main reasons I put the beef on in the first place)
• Going to James Reyne in a couple of weeks and staying away for a couple of nights which will be great and definately something I am looking forward to!

The Con's

• Too many beers and the odd scotch consumed
• Too many late nights - like every night for the last couple of weeks (I've gone off the rails abit this Christmas!)
• Still "messed up " big time on the personal side of life - marriages - accomodation etc etc
• Weight loss still heading South! hit 99kg's the other day (wohooooo) but put a kg back on so sitting on 100kg's which is cool and to be expected this time of the Year.
• Too much smoking when I'm on the grog.
• I hate a place called the Bank Hotel due to an ongoing war with a female security (lesbian) who for some reason has taken a disliking to me and won't let me in the shit hole!!!!! (i can't understand she wouldn't love the Reg Man????- but anyway it's her call) the biiiiaaaaaatttttcccchhhh (This has nothing to do with my state of intoxication or lack there off). I think she's on a power trip - stuff the Bank Hotel there's plenty of other places to go!
• The Wii plus I got off Santa reckons my physical age is 55!  man I'm only 43 something is wrong there, so rechecked today and I'm on 47! So somehow I question the accuracy of the Wii ;)

Still undecided about New Year's Eve tonight but think I might head down to the local Club and see what pans out from there! Hope you all have a happy NYE.

Love Reggie Reagan xxxx

Almost There - Merry Christmas - Almost!

Hi All,


Young Reg Reagan here with a long over due update!

Things have all been going on!  Mr and Mrs Reagan are going our seperate ways in Jan, which to be honest will be the start of my second "cuming" pardon my spelling and crude connatations. Twenty years is way too long and I shoulda been outta here 10 years ago but stayed for the kids.

Work is cranking which is good, we are working over Christmas with Reg "attending" in the lightest sense of the word!

Weight wise I'm still cruising down to 101kg's.........i'll be struggling to get to the the old 99kg target by Christmas but stuff it!  39kg's gone aint bad in 4 months!

Anyway enough said,  time for another beer........stuff it, it's Christmas time :)  and yes I just said it "HO HO HO"  no "HA HA HA's" here!

Hope all is well in your parts of the world.

Reg Reagan xxxx

Day 115 and Getting Close to the Century!

Hi All,

Young Reg Reagan here...... with another update in the life of a male Lap Band patient!

So what's happening?  A hell of a lot!!!  Work has been busy, with a couple of people retrenched due to a bit of a downturn, not me fortunately but I am the one delivering the bad news, at the wrong time of year unfortunately :) but I am just the messenger so if it wasn't me doing it someone else would.

Dramas with Mrs Reagan...... after 20 years of marriage to be honest I've had a gutful :(  and don't know what to do......  It's like the old song " will I stay or will I go?"  don't remember who sang this one but it's very apt at the moment cause "I've lost that loving feeling"

Lapband wise all good :) down to 104kg from 140kg so happy, and will smash my Christmas goal! so I'm lovin that. I went and saw the dietician but decided against another fill and I am still losing on average about 1kg / week. They are so pleased with my loss in 4 months that they want me to speak at an upcoming lapband seminar for people thinking about the band....and of course I said I'd love to.

That's about it from me, leave a commment and I hope all is going well in your life.

Love Reggie xxxx

Busy Days - 102 Days Post Op!

Hi all,

I have been away for work a bit recently and had alot going on in my personal life so haven't had time to do any blog updates. But now that I'm home and won't be going anywhere for work until the New Year (with one exception a trip to Narrabri/Gunnedah for a couple of days) I will be looking to post at least weekly.

This blog is an important part in the weight loss process and helps me to keep track of how I am going. Plus I really enjoy reading your comments and encouragement!

On the weight loss mission I haven't lost anything much in the last couple of weeks unfortunately - with being away from home I have been thrown out of my usual eating routine - and eaten foods I normally wouldn't have - and in larger than normal quantities. It might be time for another 1ml in the band, which will bring me up to 4.5 / 10 ml. I have an appointment with the dietician and fill guy on Tuesday next week so will be pushing for a bit more fill.

Positives of late are that there have been so many people that I haven't seen in ages noticing the 30 odd kg's I've lost which is great. I am still learning how deal with these nice comments and find myself trying to change the subject ..... I really need to learn how to deal with these comments better, because they are being given to me by people who care and are genuinely pleased to see me making the change. Most of the people ask me what I've been doing and my response to most is that I've been cutting down food intake and exercising...... which is true - but only part of the story!

Some of my closer friends know about the band - with a couple even spending time with me getting the low down on all my experiences to date, with the view to getting this procedure themselves. I am becoming such an advocate these days for the band, that if people are genuinely interested and seek out my input I will go out of my way to give them as much info on my experience so far as possible. The information is always given with the overiding message that I can only comment from my experience and what has happened to me might not necessarily happen for them, or might not happen at the same rate I have been fortunate enough to drop the first part of the weight I want to lose.

My family life is settling down I hope finally working out with the Daughter - I hope I haven't jinxed us again because last time I said things were looking good they all turned to shit!!! But I can only be hopeful.

The house hunting still continues and there are a couple of house that look OK - so hopefully by next week I might have some more certaintity in that department.

Anyway time to get to bed I've got a big day on tomorrow and alot to catch up on that's built up over the last couple of weeks I've been away.

Hope everyone else is going OK?

Love Reggie xxxx

Day 91 - Friday Night Blues

Hi all,

As I have mentioned in the past I love a good Friday night drink - and I have promised myself each and every week since I've had the Lap Band that it's not happening this weekened. Guess what? I have blown it again.

I am good all week watching my food make-up and quantities and ensuring that I am doing the right thing, and to be honest losing a couple of kg's each week has been do able, and not too difficult. Then on about Thursday I "get a hankering" about the Friday night piss-up ( a ritual that has been part of my life about 25 years) and when Friday night roles around after a long week at the office a switch in my head "flicks" and the Friday night piss-up is on again. I have no willpower on Friday night - what the hell is wrong with me????? The rest of the time I am focused like a machine on my weight loss goals.

Enough is Enough!!!!!

That's it no more Friday night merriment for the Regmiester! I haven't gone to the expense and effort of getting a Lap Band only to put back on half of the weight I've lost by drinking excessively once a week...... the net result is I am losing weight half as quick as I could be! Don't get me wrong I am ecstatic about the 31kg's dropped to date but it could've been alot more.

From now on their will be no more Friday night drinking sessions!!!!!!

Does anyone have any ideas which might make it easier to achieve this goal? I'm thinking other positive rewards- the Friday night drink is an old habit and it's hard to break let me tell you!

Any positive and constructive suggestions or input would be greatly appreciated......thanks

Reggie boy xxxx (ex Friday night pisshead)


PS: Thought I'd put in a picture of my mate Jeff Fennech and myself at a recent charity event - my six pack will be like Jeff's one day!!!

PPS: I dropped 1kg this week down to 108.5kg - should have been 2kg's  :(

Day 82 - The Journey Continues!

Hi All,


Had the weekly weigh in this morning and I'm pleased to report a loss of about 2kg last week!!! I am now down to 109.5kg - my next goal is to be under 100kg by Christmas Day ........ I really hope I can get there!!!


Since the the 3rd Week in August 2009 (when I started the pre-op Optifast) I have lost 30.5kg or about 67 pounds! That's a drop in BMI from 40.6 to 31.7 which still makes me obese but it won't be long my friends till I am just "overweight" which is good for now :).


I am feeling proud of myself for making the decision to get the Lap Band - to be honest I had a few apprehensions, both financially and also the whole surgery and risk part of the process. The band is the key to the so loss so far but I have also been working hard to make the right choices - from a food quantity and type aspect, and it's great to get a good result so early into what is a life long process.


My aim is to get to 85kg by May next year - the plan is for my wife and I to go to America on holidays for a month..... I've been there before but my wife hasn't so it will be a great experience for us both as a couple. I am actually very focused on the holiday and am using it as a motivation when "bad food opportunities" present themselves. If things continue as they are I will easily meet my goal by May next year:)


Below is a picture of me on my last American holiday arriving at Las Vegas Airport - complete with Hugh Hefner pipe and harem of beauties!!! They all wanted a piece of the Regmiester and I'm not saying which piece ;)






The band has been going well ...... I can pretty much eat whatever I want in smaller quantities and eating my lunch for example takes about 20 mins, which is about right. I am going back to the Surgeon's Office on Tuesday next week for a weigh-in and potential fill, which if I get it will be another 1ml taking me to 4.5ml in a 10ml band. At this stage I reckon I will give the fill a miss ........ I believe I have enough restriction and don't want to get to the point where I can't eat and spew everything up! I've read allot of blogs and as always there's "a fine line between pleasure and pain" in band fills- I think I will leave it another month and see how things go.


Everything is calm on the home front - we didn't get the house I mentioned in the last post, which we were shattered about as it went for about $40k more than it's market value and although I "wanted it bad" my head ruled my heart and we made the right choice in stopping at our upper limit.

That's my update for this week - feel free to comment!


Loving the band and loving life! Reggie Boy xxxx

Day 75 Post-Op

Hi all!

Sorry about the delay in posts but life goes on and generally life has been good for the Regmiester since my last post.

Work is moving along nicely with the industry I'm in not being knocked around too much by the supposed downturn which is great - and it's almost time for my annual wage review so I am hoping for somewhere between a 3 and 5% wage rise which would come in handy!

We are going to an auction this morning to hopefully buy our new house - we have been renting for 12 months since we relocated back into the area and have been looking for a long while to find something we really like. Who knows whether we will win the auction or not, only time will tell! here's a link and a picture of what will hopefully be my new pool!

http://www.rwmaitland.com.au/pol/property/search.asp?f_PropertyID=1172967&f_AgentID=2966&xsl=2966&f_st=1





Things have settled down a bit with the daugther dramas I spoke about last post - and I am hopeful we are headed in the right direction - I am getting her back into year 9 at high school on Monday so another meeting with the Principal .... we are now on a first name basis and good mates. I am thinking of asking him over for a BBQ next weekend - haha.

Now onto the Lap Band Stuff!!!

Weighed in this morning at 111.6kg down from 140kg which means I am more than 50% to my goal weight :) Things have slowed down substantially though I am still heading in the right direction and have no doubt in the world getting this lap band is one of the best decision I have ever made - and I would make the same decision again in a second.

I recently had some blood tests done and guess what???? my LDL HDL and total cholesterol count is down from 6 to around 3.8 - man was I stoked with that. I am also on blood pressure tablets each day and suspect that the dosage may soon be able to be reduced. I will go to my GP to seek his guidance but I am hopeful that this medication will now longer be required as my weightloss continues.

I have had two fills the first they injected 2.5ml's and the second a couple of weeks ago they put in another 1ml, after fill number one I still had no or perhaps a minor restriction, but that extra 1ml made all the difference.At 3.5ml's in a 10ml's small AP band I am now feeling a good restriction. I have another fill appointment scheduled for the end of this month, I am not sure if I will get anymore put in at this stage, but I'll see how I go. As far as "PB's" go I need to be really careful to chew food thoroughly and take my time - if I don't watch out "up it comes". I believe my fill level is right though - it's just my own behaviours I need to keep in check and make sure I don't rip into the food like I used to pre-band. As far as what I can eat, well there is really nothing I can't eat as long as I "pace myself". Steak, bread, you name it, it's on my menu in small quantities-which makes me very happy as I thought I may have never been able to eat some of my favourite foods again.

The only thing preventing faster weight loss is alcohol! I have always loved a beer /scotch or 20, and things haven't changed. Since I have been banded I have had one "piss-up" per week where I might have 15-20 drinks in a session >>>>>>>> not good I know but old habits die hard. I have always only drunk one night a week either Friday or Saturday night and have found it hard to stop this 25 year habit! What this does besides the usual health and social issues is puts me back 3 days / week before I get back to where I was pre "pissup" ... this is really "weighing heavily" (pardon the pun) on my mind and I need to cut this out or try to at least moderate it substantially - otherwise I am cheating myself

Here is a pre-op picture of big Reggies gut:

And here's a shot taken last night by one of my mates, when we were having a few coldies out the back - some people are starting to notice my weight loss and tell me I'm looking a bit pale????

Anyway thanks for reading, please feel free to leave a comment I love to read them.

All the best Reggy Boy xxxx

Day 48 - Post Banding

Hi all,

Hope all is well in your parts of the universe! Reg has been keeping busy and out of trouble for the most part. My daughter is back but still causing trouble and the weight loss has slowed, but still going in the right direction!

I have my first fill scheduled this Tuesday and they reckon that the "real" weight loss starts from here on in..... bring it on I say! The band (and me) have both been behaving well with only a few "spews" in the last couple of weeks, with each involving me not chewing well enough and rushing my food. So far I am lucky there's nothing I really can't eat! And I have tried most of the "healthy foods" which is great.... I only have a smaller serving these days.

I'm down to 115kg from 140 so that's a nice 25kg drop (14kg Optifast pre operation and 11kg post op) and I'm hoping from next Tueday the weight loss slow down of the last couple of weeks will be a thing of the past.

During my life I've met many famous people and Ray Martin is just one of them! see below for a picture of Ray and I from a few years back.

Anyway until next time....... love Reggy xxxx

Day 26 Update

Hi all,


Young Reg Reagan here back for the weekly Blog update after another week at the Salt Mines!

Reg in transit for a work trip - Sydney Airport

On the weight loss/lap band stakes all is progressing well, I am back onto solids and to be honest really enjoying my food again albeit in smaller quantities. I've had only one "food recycling" event this week which involved dinner on Thursday night and some baked chicken, which I chewed each mouthful about 30 times, but for whatever reason spewed back up...... So baked chicken is off the menu for me for now :(

Most other things even toast are going down well if they are properly chewed so I am happy. The challenge comes this week when I try a piece of steak for the first time.....hopefully this is compatible with my new lap band lifestyle as I love my steak and a good BBQ!


Me and a couple of good mates at a recent BBQ (Jeff "I luv ya's all)Fennech and Wendall (where's a straw mun?) Sailor

Weight loss has slowed this week only dropping 1.1kg which I suppose is what they recommend.....and I was expecting. And I have to be happy with that cause this ain't a race! I only want to lose another 33 kg's, so 33 weeks if I can be consistent is nothing in the big scheme of things :)

Started at 140kg down to 118kg so lost 22kg of blubber that will never return!!!

Work is going well, from all angles we are exceeding budget and longer term strategies are falling in place - "I love it when a plan comes together!"

Family has been challenging with my daughter still attempting to "fly the coup" at 15 years of age...which I will not allow. She is mixing with the wrong crowd and I am really concerned about her future. Police got involved only once this week which is better than the week before! I'm lucky because I go to work and have other things to occupy my mind, but my poor wife has taken 3 weeks off work to try and work with our daughter to get her back on the rails....... the stress and drama of the whole things is really upsetting her and I need to make sure that I'm extra supportive. Hopefully we are slowly fixing this problem....only time will tell.

People are now fully aware I have dropped a bit of weight with several comments again this week........ I have not made it common knowledge I had the band done (only told a couple of close work colleagues), so just give everyone else who comments the old " cutting down on food and grog + a bit of exercise routine" which works fine. I'm a private person about some things and this is one of them. My clothes are getting loser! and I am feeling a lot more energetic and generally well. The cuts from the surgery have healed up well after almost a month, they did one big cut (only 4 cm long) and 3 smaller cuts - from what I read there is often five cuts done...... so I got lucky! here's a rough picture of the scars, sorry about the quality the pics off my mobile.

Anyway another long post from the Regman, hope everyone is winning their own life battles and making the most of their opportunities, please leave a comment I love to read them.

And Ute thanks for your kind words after my previous post ! And Cazzie as always thanks for your motivation!

Love Reg Reagan xxxx

Day 19 Update

What a busy week....... work has been flat out and fairly challenging, but I love my job so that's a good thing.

I have had a decent week on the Lap Band front, and lost another 2.5kg's, which is way down on last week but I am slowly introducing solids back into my diet so I am happy with that. I've brought food back up twice this week, both times I didn't chew well or long enough and tried to swallow too much at once..... I have to remember I am not the old Reg Reagan who scoffs food down like a mad man!! Plus the pain I get when food gets stuck and has to be brought back up is very painful, so I reckon I'll completely eliminate any "food spewing" this week because I will be taking the food nice and easy.

Been having major problems with my daughter who has ran away again..... it's a long story, but to keep it short the Police found her and brought her back, we are currently working with Counsellors to get her back on track. At 15 years old she thinks she knows everything .....and no one can tell her otherwise :( I am hopeful the counsellor will help sort out these issues.

The weather is slowly starting to warm up with about 30 degrees expected here today ...... for once in a long time I am actually looking forward to summer because by the time it really hits my weight should be down to a reason figure, and I will be able to tolerate the heat better and actually feel like going for a swim at the beach or pool.

People are starting to notice a bit of a physical change in my appearance, which is great! Last week I had about 5 or 6 comments like ........ "I can notice you're losing weight....your face is smaller" and "what are you doing to lose weight?"

One thing I am enjoying is the non scale victories, I am now on the 4th hole on my work belt, before the lap banding I just struggling to use the first hole on the belt. And this morning I put on a shirt that wouldn't fit me 2 months ago..... last time I tried it on I threw it back in the cupboard in disgust.......... this morning I was actually proud of myself for taking control of my destiny from a weight perspective and am starting to see some early successes. I will continue to keep positive, and aggressive in my efforts to get to 85 g's, and in my mind it's not a matter of if, rather a matter of when ...... the battle of the bulge is in it's early stages but progressing well!

I am hoping to drop another couple of kilo's next week, which I'd be happy with as my dietitian advised most people put on weight during this phase of the lap band journey. I have my first band adjustment or fill in the first week of September so I am looking forward to that and this is when the "real weight loss will start". Currently I am still feeling a reasonable restriction and not feeling hungry at all which is good..... I don't know how much fill I'm going to need based on how well the band is working now.

Anyway thanks for reading and have a great week......... I will do an update each Saturday it's the only day I can find the time!

Reg Reagan xxxx

Day 12 - Post Op

Hi all,

Well time is flying by in my world and I am really starting to get a feel for what my band and my body are telling me as far as how much food I can eat and when to stop.

Over the last few days I have had a couple of painful "learnings" where I have brought food back up, this happened for a couple of reasons which I can totally avoid - either I swallowed too much food at once, or was rushing and didn't chew the food properly. I can still feel a good restriction which limits my intake dramatically - I have my first "fill" scheduled for the first week in September so I am looking forward to that :)

As I am on Day 12 since the band was installed, I should really be just finishing up on the fluid stage and moving onto mushies. To be honest I was onto mushies after the first week and I am now "dabbling" in mushey food and even trying some non mushie food (prawns - boiled eggs etc) I am being highly cautious to ensure that everything gets chewed 30 times so there is no possibility of blockage or my band slipping......it's cautious as I go.

Another thing I have done is made sure I started an electronic "Food Diary" - I looked around the web and found a few good ones, but settled on CalorieKing which is made by Australians and has all the usual Aussie foods by default, and if they aren't there you can add your own custom foods. It's free to start an account and easy to use - here is a link if you haven't check it out yet..... highly recommended. http://www.calorieking.com.au/today/

I have my own history available for members to view so check me out if you want to....my username is - ac1966

Below is a cut and paste from CalorieKing incase you can't get into my results and graphs:

Daily Averages
food calories:	842	cals
exercise minutes:	0	mins
exercise calories:	0	cals
net calories:	842	cals
fat:	20	g
saturated fat:	6	g
carbohydrate:	87	g
sugar:	53	g
protein:	32	g
fibre:	4	g
sodium:	1,187	mg
potassium:	760	mg
calcium:	570	mg
iron:	5.0	mg
zinc:	3.4	mg
cholesterol:	141.5	mg
effective carbohyrate:	58	g
water:	16	cups

We recommend that around 50-60% of your calories should come from carbs, 15-20% from protein and under 30% from fat.


So obviously because I am still building up my level of eating I am only averaging 842 cals / day when my break even point is 2000 cals, I will build this up as I go but that's what is allowed me to lose the 5kg last week. The graph suggests that what I am eating is fairly balanced and healthy - so I'm happy with that. The only thing I haven't got into properly yet is exercising, which I will commence in the next week or so.

I have also included a ticker graph for my blog which will hopefully be another visual reminder for me to keep working towars my goal.... I am a highly visual type of person and I think this will be of benefit! It details how much I have lost in kg's and what my BMI is...... I am almost obese (35 or less) and not morbidy obese (above 40 BMI)! I expect to crack the 20kg's lost mid this next week !!

So far so good, I am getting more and more confident that my decision to be banded was the right one, obviously time will tell and I will document my progress on this blog but so far.......... I am "jumping out of my skin" with how well it's all going and how easy it has been.

As they say this is a major lifestyle change, and the band is a tool, so far I am loving it!

Thanks for reading lots of love from

Reg Reagan xxxxxx

Day 6 - Back to Work and a Dietician Visit

Hi all,

Had a good first day back at work, not too many dramas awaiting me after my week off which was great!

Also visited my Dietitian this morning and on their scales came up with a 16kg lose since I went on the Optifast :) The Dietitian believes I am progressing well enough to start introducing some "mushies" into my diet a week ahead of schedule. I welcome this but will proceed with extreme caution as there's no way I want this band to slip......but am almost ready for a change after 3 weeks of Optifast.

Overall I am back to normal from a pain perspective and feeling great.......probably the 16kg's I have lost. I am feeling positive and highly motivated at the start of this journey and want to capitalise on my loss to date and really make every post a winner!

The wife and I had a nice Sunday afternoon at the Newcastle Brewery listening to a pretty good but mellow band....... while I was there I decided to reward myself with a couple of Vodka and Oranges. Normally I would have sucked down half a dozen pints but not anymore!
I reckon that a bit of a reward once in a while won't kill me - you've got to live as my dietitian told me this morning after I told her about my 2 drinks.

All is good and will update on my progression to mushies and how successful it is.soon ......

Love
Reggie xxxxx

Day's 3 and 4

Hi,

Day's 3 and 4 have both seen an improvement in my general mobility and ability to take in fluids such as Optifast etc, water however is still going down slowly with me struggling to drink 1 litre per day.

The aches and pains I had all over my body during day 1 and 2 have all gone which is great.
As I am on fluids only I am not racking up many calories per day, with me lucky to be consuming approx 700 cals, most of which is from Optifast. My carb intake is low as well so I thought I'd see if I was in ketosis and guess what? I am in heavy ketosis which comes up as a deep dark purple on the ketosticks (for those of you who know what I am talking about) - this means I am burning fat which is goood!!

Net result was a good loss from Day 3 to 4 of almost 1kg! bringing me down to 125 from 140kg since I started me pre-op diet on 20/7 so I am very happy...... but also very aware that this rapid lose will tapper off soon..... my weight loss goal per week is a reasonable 1kg, which I feel is very achievable.

As I am now feeling a bit better I am heading out this afternoon for a 30 minute walk, this will be the start of my exercise regimen. The aim is to drop the weight down to 100kg's by Christmas and start back into one of my passions - weight training early in the New Year. I going to Weights and did quite a lotof training as a young bloke.

Only negatives at the moment are that I am feeling a little nauseaus for some reason and slightly light headed - probably to do with the lack of food over the last 3 weeks!!!

The other thing I have my eye on is my Blood Pressure which has jumped post operation??? it was a consistent 140/90 pre-op and it is now sitting at 170/106 which suggests something isn't right or has recently changed driving the BP too high?

Beside that all is good and on plan for the Reg man, with me looking to return to work next Monday.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Love Reggie xxxx

Day 2 - As Stiff As an Older Fella!

Hi all,

Well I had a good nights sleep and have woken up a bit worse for wear today....aches and pains right across my entire body, it feels like I've gone five rounds with Iron Mike.

Still I am in high spirits and know I have made the right decision and this is to be expected day 2 after surgery, and will soon pass. I have just upgraded my drama/pain score to 4/10 :) I am taking the liquid panadol 240 medicine once every three hours and it is going OK.... will keep this up until nature takes it's course.

As far as the water intake goes I am working may way slowly but surely through a one litre sipper bottle but it's slow going! but I will get there by early afternoon, they weren't joking when they talk about restriction from the band and also the swelling from the operation - if I take anymore than a big sip I can feel that I have had enough and it starts to flush back. I haven't let this happen yet but if I did have too much water in one go I am sure I'd regurgitate it!

I had an Optifast shake this morning to add some goodness to my food equation, it went down slowly over about an 1.5 hours with no major dramas, this will make sure I am getting some "good stuff" into me. As well as this I had some Supradyn vitamin supplements which have been recommended by my dietician, these went down nice and easy.... I put them in the fridge last night as directed to ensure all the bubbles have dispersed.

Weight wise I thought I'd jump on the scales this morning, and found that somehow I'd put on 2kg's. I thought WTF, how can this be? I've been eating SFA for days..... but after doing some reading apparently this happens to most people postop, not sure why??

Anyway day 2 going along nicely :)

Reg Reagan checking out xxxx

I'm Back

Hello All,

Well it's been a while, and I just haven't had time to get the basic requirements in life covered - let alone blogging. But I found 10 minutes spare and thought I'd say hello.......that's if anyone is still checking this blog? Hellooooooooooooooooo !

Anyway most things are going well, work is going great and just had an excellent review from my Manager which was very satisfying as I have only been managing this business for 9 months and things have really turned around! And I think I am providing the direction, motivation and environment for the staff to deliver their best......so work all happy :)

Home is getting more challenging with my kids getting older and becoming more independent and let's call it "strong willed". To be honest my daughter aged 15 is getting more distant each day, and is not even speakiing to me half of the time, which isn't good but I am working on that challenge. My son who is 16 is doing a traineeship at KFC, which is going well.... he too can be a handful!

The days are not far away when the Chicks will fly the coup, and then it will be HAPPY DAYS!!!! Not that I want them to leave but as they have gotten older and their behaviour worsens it has been putting addition stress on the relationship with my wife. When we are "kid free" we get on like we used to as best mates....... but just add the kid drama and things aren't much fun and stressful for us both.

The diet is non existent and I have put on a shitload of weight and now weigh just under 140kg's which in any ones terms is way too fat. I have made a decision that will hopefully change my life, on 4/8/09, I am booked in for Lapband surgery. I am going to use this as a tool to restrict my eating........ as I drop a bit of weight my intent is to get back into some exercise and run my body like the machine it is - or used to be! ( calories in less calories burned up = fat)
I plan to be putting in minimal calories and burning up allot of fat, so I should be back to my fighting weight of 90kg's easily within the next 12 months. I haven't been under the 100kg mark in 15 years and I am going to fix that real soon.

Being overweight / obese or whatever name you want to give it - is really the only negative thing in my life at the moment, and I tell you what - I am going to fix that problem the same as I conquer other challenges in life......... The time has come!!!

Anyway if you are still reading thanks for your interest! please leave a comment and say hello. My intent is to turn this blog into a bit of a weight loss journal.... I took my before pictures last night so might put them up in my next post - as long as I don't scare people off :)

All the best

Love Reg Reagan xxx