The NYC Superstar: Catherine!

Total score for the S.O.B. Blog and for all of us!!!!!!  The gorgeous, fabulous, elegant, and oh-so-skinny Catherine55 (from Chronicles From Bandland) is our guest this week!

She's the smart, sexy, wine-sipping, foie gras-eating, party-going New York Girl we all want to be when we grow up.  Our very own Carrie Bradshaw of the Band!  (Except she's even prettier IMHO, has way better boobs,  and totally rocks her designer dresses).

Full disclosure here:  Catherine's blog was the first one I read the night I decided, for sure, to get the band.  I started at a similar place and size as Catherine, and watching her shrink was hugely inspirational to me.  Catherine's blog is so informative, interesting, and helpful, especially for Newbies.   Catherine is just one of those S.O.B.s we all love to love.


What has been most amazing, to me, is the incredible transformation Catherine has experienced in just a few short months -- all while enjoying life to the fullest, dining out and traveling with friends, and just generally living a very cool lifestyle.  Catherine has reached her goal weight with grace and style -- embracing the "slowly but surely" approach to losing, and demonstrating that banded life need not be boring or especially difficult. 

Catherine's new-found confidence, happiness, and the joy she expresses living in her new body is truly a thing to behold.  We all heart Catherine!  And now, we have her best tips and tactics for living well and losing well with the band all in one place!  Catherine's S.O.B. answers, below, will be invaluable to new and soon-to-be Bandsters....so make sure you direct all the Newbies right here for some of the best advice around.

Thanks Catherine! 

1.  All about You!  Tell us a little bit about yourself (age, how long you have had the band, etc.)

Hi!  My name is Catherine and I’m a 39 year old trademark and copyright attorney living in New York City.  I was banded on October 23, 2008, which is about 19 months ago.  I’m what’s affectionately known as an “oil brat,” since I grew up moving around every few years (my dad worked for an oil company), and I’ve lived in seven countries. 

I love to cook and really enjoy good food and wine, and being banded has only added to my enjoyment of these things, which I didn’t expect at the outset of this process.  The reason for that is simple – it’s finally allowed me to stop feeling bad about my weight and to enjoy delicious food in reasonable amounts so that I don’t have to feel guilty about what I ate afterwards.

2.   Your Weight Loss

Please let us know your starting weight and/or size, and current weight and/or size

I began at 230 pounds, with a BMI of 37.  I am 5’6 inches tall.  At the outset, I was wearing a 1X, 14W or a Gap size 20 or XL.  These days, I wear a designer 10, an 8 in a few brands (which is a huge thrill, since 10 was the smallest I remember being as an adult), and buy mediums at The Gap and Old Navy (I love to see that M!!).

How long did it take you to get to your goal weight (or first 100 lbs. lost)?

I hit my goal weight at 75 pounds down, and my aspirational goal will bring me to a total of 85 down.  Right now, I am 76.4 pounds down.  It took me from about October 15, 2008 until April 5, 2010 to get off the first 75 pounds.  That’s just under 18 months.  I am a relatively slow loser compared to many other bandsters. 

I know that 18 months may seem like a long time if you are at the beginning of this process.  But the beauty of this is that, since I got banded, I’ve actually felt good about my weight, my progress and my body for the first time in my entire life – including when I was at my current weight in my 20s.  Back then, I felt “fat” and did not appreciate how good I had it!

So, while 18 months may seem like a long time, it’s been an incredibly enjoyable time in my life.  Being free from waking up every day feeling bad about my weight and berating myself for getting so fat and letting things get so out of control is one of the most incredible things that being banded has done for me.

As you got closer to your goal, was your weight loss slower?

Absolutely!  I lost about 40 pounds in the first 6 months of being banded (so, about 1.45 pounds a week on average. . and that includes the healing phase. . . and the 5 pounds I gained during Bandster Hell and subsequently lost).  The second six months, I lost roughly 25 pounds (just about .9 pounds a week).  And, during this last just-over six months – when I’ve been very close to my goal, I’ve only lost 12.4 pounds (about .4 a week). 

Here’s the weird thing. . . that last 12.4 pounds probably makes a bigger difference in my overall appearance than the first 30 did.  Crazy, right?  But that last bit took me from being slightly overweight to being within my “ideal” BMI range and to looking like a (gasp!) reasonably thin, in-shape person.

Did you experience plateaus?  What did you do to shake up weight loss stalls?

Totally – everyone does.  It’s SO ANNOYING!!!  But it’s part of the process, so you just have to wait it out.  I shook things up by doing a bunch of different things.  Sometimes I’d up the exercise, and other times, I would actually up my calories for a day or two.  Another annoying thing is that my scale bounces up and down between every pound lost.  I had to learn to be calm by the constant boing-boing-boing action on the scales and not to worry if I was up .4 from one day to the next.  A new lowest number would always eventually appear.

How did you decide on a goal weight?

I picked 155 because it took me within a hair of my “ideal” BMI range and also because it was a weight where I felt great in my 20s.  I set 145 as my aspirational goal because that was a weight that I achieved in 1997 (with the help of a phen fen diet) and I had felt absolutely amazing at that weight.  These are very reasonable weights for someone who is 5’6.  I just want to look healthy, strong and as attractive as I can manage!

Is your final goal weight considered "normal" on the BMI charts?  

Yes.  154 actually put me in the very highest part of the “ideal” range, and 145 has me a bit more toward the middle of the range. 

I don’t really put too much stock in the on-line calculators though.  I’ve been working out like a fiend for the past year, and I have to believe that with all of the muscle I’ve built, my BMI is actually much lower than it was when I was at this same weight in my 20s, but nowhere near in this good of physical shape.

3.   All about Food!

Do you follow any of the band rules religiously?  (For example, no drinking with meals, etc.)

Yes.  I stopped my daily Diet Pepsi cold turkey before my pre-op diet.  I really don’t miss it at all.  I am careful to chew my food, and that has become second nature to me.  Also, I take my vitamins (2 Flintstones chewables) every day, and I focus on getting enough protein in my diet.

I do ignore the rule about drinking during meals, especially when I am out, and I will drink a beer on occasion. 

On the vitamin front, some people may laugh at me taking Flintstones chewable vitamins for kids (I take two every morning).  But, the truth is that I love those vitamins, so that means that I will actually take them!  If I had another kind, I am sure I wouldn’t be so good about taking them every day.

Which band rules do you think are most important?

To stop eating when you are full and to chew your food.  If not, you are going to make yourself uncomfortable, and potentially get stuck and have to PB.  Highly unfestive . . .

Did you track calories or log your food while you were losing weight?  Do you do this now?

No.  I hate doing that.  One thing I love about the band is that this just isn’t necessary for me.  I’ll think back over my day and mentally go over what I ate, but I don’t write it down, count points, or do anything like that.  For some people, tracking is a useful process, but I’m just not one of them.  To me, it feels like an onerous chore, and I just don’t enjoy it.

Did you measure your portions?  Do you do this now? 

No.  I do think about portion size when I serve myself and when I prepare a meal, and I am generally conscious of it, but I don’t measure anything.  My band keeps me in check.  This just isn’t necessary for me.

Describe a typical day of eating for you, both during your weight loss phase and now.

What I eat hasn’t changed too much, though at the beginning, I was having SlimFast shakes for breakfast pretty regularly (I went through a phase where I was really loving the vanilla and cappuccino flavored ones).  Nowadays, I usually have a lowfat yogurt for breakfast.  Lunch is usually either soup or something protein-rich, like sashimi, grilled salmon, or maybe a Thai green curry with chicken.  Dinner varies quite a bit depending on whether I go out or not.  Tonight, I had ½ of a very high-grade hamburger patty and a glass of red wine.

One thing I did early in this process that I found really helpful was to make home made soups and freeze them in individual containers.  I love to cook and found some great recipes that I really liked – like butternut squash soup ("Cooking with Catherine"), or chicken, cheese and chilies soup ("What's Cookin").  This let me take soup to work for lunch every day, helped with portion control, and I also knew that I was only eating high-quality band-appropriate ingredients.  I posted some of my favorite recipes on my blog, with photos, if anyone is interested. 

Some lap band practices tell patients to eat only 3 small meals a day; some say 3 meals plus 1 or 2 snacks; some say 5 or 6 small meals.  What did you do when you were losing weight, and what do you do now? 

I generally have 3 meals every day.   Sometimes I also have a snack, particularly on days when I am going to my Boot Camp workout, since I like to have the extra energy to burn!  It’s a tough workout!

Approximately how many calories per day did you eat during your weight loss, and how many now?

Yikes – I never really counted.  If I had to guess, I’d say around 1200.

 

What are some of your favorite band-friendly foods?

Soups, fish, sashimi, baked potatoes with Greek yogurt (and butter and cheese. . not low cal!), yogurt, scrambled eggs, poached eggs, and – weirdly – Amy’s Organic Cheese Enchiladas frozen dinner.  For some reason, that dinner goes down pretty well for me – I usually keep a few in the freezer for quick dinners. 

 

Did you drink protein shakes during your weight loss phase?  Do you now?  

 

I hate real protein shakes.  I actually drank the Isopure drink that tastes more like Gatorade (they sell it at GNC) during my healing phase and early in the weight loss phase.  I liked the flavor pretty well, and it has about 24 grams of protein and zero carbs, so was a great alternative to the gross shakes. 

That said, I did drink a whole lot of SlimFast for breakfast during my first six or so months post-op.  I know it’s not the greatest shake, protein-wise, but I just found them really tasty!  These days, I’ll occasionally get a fruit smoothie with an extra shot of protein as a breakfast treat.

Did you follow any special "diet" plan during your weight loss -- for example, low carb, counting points on Weight Watchers, etc?

No – I didn’t need to do this, and I really didn’t want to do this.  I view banding as a life change, and I didn’t want to think of it as being on a “diet,” especially since I had never been able to lose the weight and keep it off with a traditional diet in the past.

Are there any foods you cannot eat with the band (like meat, bread, etc.)?

Not really.  I’m careful about eating red meat and chicken in restaurants, since I can easily get stuck on those foods if they are a bit dry or if I do not chew well enough.  I stay away from bread that becomes “gummy” when you chew it, but I can usually have a bite of a baguette or other crusty bread if I’m in the mood.

What would a “splurge” day be like for you?

Yikes. . . It would probably start with some foie gras and some really nice wine. . . then something amazing for dinner, like a flaky fish. . . and maybe some dessert.

4.   All About Fills!

I have a 5 cc Inamed band.  Right now, I have 3.0 ccs in it.  My fill situation is a bit different than that of many other bandsters because I hit my sweet spot at 2.85 ccs and stayed there for about 11 months without needing a tweak. 

 How many fills did it take you to get to your “sweet spot”?  

It took me five fills to really get to my sweet spot, but I had restriction from my third fill on.  My doctor (Dr. Ren at NYU) was great about letting me come in for fills frequently until I got to restriction.

My first fill put 1.7 ccs in my 5 cc band and really didn’t do anything.  I went back a week later (December 16, 2008) and was bumped up to 2.0 ccs, which still didn’t really get me there, but I was wary of being too tight over Christmas, since I was visiting people who did not know about my band.  On January 10, 2009, I got bumped up to 2.2 ccs, went back in and was filled up to 2.75 on February 24, 2009, and then on March 13, 2009, I was filled to 2.85, where I stayed for about 11 months.

Right now I’m at 3.0 ccs in my 5 cc band and I’m just a teensy smidge too tight.  Somewhere between 2.9 and 2.95 would probably be perfect.  I’m going to see if I can work that out during my next doctor’s visit.

 

Approximately how many weeks or months after surgery until you reached the “sweet spot”? 

It took about five months to get to my true “sweet spot,” but I had some decent restriction from about 1 ½ months on and was losing steadily.  I have been very wary of getting over-filled and risking a slippage, so while I’ve been very proactive about getting fills, I have been conscious of not wanting to go too far.  Also, I enjoy life more when I can eat a bit more easily, and I haven’t really minded losing at a slow and steady rate.

 

Did you ever have to get a un-fill? 

No, thankfully.  However, I’m thinking about getting a teensy weensy unfill the next time I see my doctor.  If she could take out just a fraction of a cc (like .05 cc), I think I’d be exactly perfect.  I’m just the tiniest bit overfilled at the moment, and it makes it more difficult for me to enjoy eating out than is strictly necessary.  It doesn’t help with weight loss to be this tight because I just wind up having less food choices and have been eating too much of things like cheese and soups.

Can you drink water and other fluids easily at your fill level? 

Yes – it’s not usually a problem. 

Do you get stuck and/or slime and/or PB very often? 

I don’t view it as often, but my answer is actually the same as Amy’s!  I tend to slime maybe twice a week.  This usually happens when I’m stuck talking on the phone at night as I’m trying to eat my dinner.  I probably don’t chew as well as I would otherwise and then wind up sliming.  I really hate that and make an effort to get the heck off the phone when I’m eating, but it’s not always possible.

5.      Share Your Secrets!

Tell us your best tips for losing weight with the band.  What do you think contributed most to your success? 

Enjoy your life.  This isn’t a diet, and it’s not a prison.  This is a tool to let you enjoy food in moderation while vastly improving both your health and appearance.  Don’t sabotage yourself by loading up on slider foods.  Be honest with yourself about how you are eating, and give serious thought to it if you get off the path.  Also, try out a bunch of different things exercise-wise, until you find something you really enjoy.

What advice do you have for Newbies?  Is there anything you would have done differently if you could go back to the months right after your surgery?  

Take before photos and take your measurements!!  You will want to have those things as you go through this journey!  Also, think long and hard about your privacy.  Do you want to tell everyone about your surgery, or do you want to keep it private from – for example – your work colleagues or friends or relatives who may be judgmental and/or say hurtful things?  There is no right way to do this, but you should make a conscious decision, regardless of how you decide to manage your privacy.  I also strongly recommend writing out a Pro/Con List ("Reflections on my pre-op journal") with your reasons for, and concerns about, getting banded.  This really helped me in making my decision.

Commit to working with your band.  Write out a post-op plan for success (Post-op plan for success), listing the things you will do to help yourself succeed.  Make a list of the things you are looking forward to about being thinner, and things you want to do as you lose the weight that you have not been able to do in recent times.  It is very exciting to look back on those lists and realize that you are doing everything you wanted, and that the things you hoped would happen really did.

What is the best band-related advice you received?

When I was debating the band, I made a pro/con list about the surgery.  I was talking to a friend about it and realized that my biggest fear about the surgery was about having to drastically change my approach to food.  My friend said, “Catherine, regardless of whether you get the band, you are going to have to either drastically change your approach to food or reconcile yourself to being overweight.”  That just rang so true to me, and it was like a light bulb went off above my head.  I knew I didn’t want to accept being obese, and I expected that changing my approach to food would be easier to do with the help of a band.  And, it certainly has been.

How did you deal with “head hunger”? 

When I find myself looking for food, I ask myself “Are you really hungry?”  If I am, I eat something.  If not, generally I don’t, but sometimes, I’ll eat something very small.  It doesn’t take much for me to feel satisfied, and “head hunger” isn’t a big problem for me at this stage in the game.

On the hunger front though, when I’m actually hungry these days, I’m pretty darned hungry!  I try to make sure that I plan regular meals because. . . no one wants to see me turn into Little Miss Crankypants!! :)

Did you find the mental aspect of losing weight difficult? (Including, for example, no longer relying on food for stress relief, getting used to seeing yourself as a “thin” person, or anything else)?  How did you deal with this? 

No.  I love it.  I was around my current weight for most of my 20s, so now I am back to feeling and looking like my old self.  It’s a thrill to see that person in the mirror, instead of the puffy, more matronly person I’d been seeing for the last 6-7 years.  It’s nice to get more attention from guys as well.

6.               The Dreaded “E” Word:  Exercise!

How long after surgery did you start exercising?

I was terrible.  I did BS exercise for the first several months.  Seriously . . . total BS workouts, and not very frequently, either.  I finally re-hired my old personal trainer and worked out with him a bit once I was about 36 pounds down.  That helped me get back on track.  About a year ago, I joined an incredible Boot Camp workout program called Pure Power Boot Camp (www.purepowerbootcamp.com).  It’s a military-style workout and will KICK YOUR BUTT!!  I’ve seen people throw up in that class on a few occasions, and it is very intense.  I’ve been doing that workout throughout the past year, and I have never been stronger or in better shape. 

Also, I hated my butt for my entire life up to now – I thought it was too big and wide.  But a few thousand squats, squat thrusts, burpees, miles run, etc. and I actually like it now!  I did not imagine that would ever happen!

What kind of exercise do you do, and how frequently?

I do my Boot Camp 1-2 times a week and a yoga class on Saturdays.  If I only make it to Boot Camp once, I usually run 30 minutes and do abs at my gym another night during the week.

Do you think exercise is important to your success? 

Absolutely.  It not only helps to burn calories, but it has shaped my body, made me leaner and stronger, and given me good muscle tone.

7.    Issues with loose skin/plastic surgery. 

Have you had any issues with loose skin? 

I am very lucky on this front.  Because I was a lower BMI patient (37 BMI pre-op) and am under 40 years old (just barely. . .), so my skin was flexible enough to shrink back into shape.  I do not have any extra skin, and the “girls” have bounced back much better than I expected.  I thought I would at least need a breast lift when I hit goal, but I don’t.

What are your thoughts about plastic surgery? 

I would get it in a heartbeat if I really needed it.  I could do with some lipo to get rid of the saddlebags on my thighs, but I doubt I’ll do that.  Honestly, I’m just so much happier with my body now that I can live with the flaws!

8.   Anything else to tell us?  

If you are banded, or going to be banded, embrace and enjoy this process.  There are NSVs (non-scale victories) to be found at every turn.  Enjoy being able to go out for a nice meal and not having to feel like crap later because of what you ate.  Take pleasure in being able to wear heels and dance without your feet being in pain.  Become a part of the bandster community, whether through boards like LapBandTalk.com or through the blogging community.  There are so many wonderful, supportive people going through this process, and it is great to be able to talk to and get advice from others who are experiencing the same things that you are.

THANK YOU CATHERINE!  WE HEART YOU!


Look for Catherine's stunning "after" pics in the next post!