Taught my first Powertex Class

Today has been a long time coming.  It has been months of training, playing and purchasing supplies.  I can finally say I have taught my first Powertex Class and it went really well.

Four lovely friends of mine came over to be my guinea pigs and they did extremely well.  So well in fact that we finished before 2:30pm.  If it was me doing the creating I wouldn't have finished until 5pm! 

What I love about these classes is those who think they can't do this.  I had two in this class.  Why do I love this about the classes?  Because at the end of the class they are super proud of what they have achieved and extremely happy with what they are taking home.  That is the best thing about teaching any craft class.  

Here are some photos of the Masai Ladies being created.

Pre the guinea pigs

Adding the torso

 Before the mess           &          After the mess

 The final touches

The finished product.  I have slightly enhanced the colours so that they show up true.  The camera phone dulled them a bit.

I will be running more classes in the new year.  If you are in the Perth area, please send me a message if you are interested.

One month Post Op

I made it.  One month post op and no complications. Just very itchy.  I wish I could say most of that itchiness was to do with healing wounds but it is not.  My body tends to react to sudden changes in weight by giving me a very itchy rash.  I remember it from when I put weight on quickly now I am losing it quickly and it has come back.  I am not being negative about it though.  To me it is a good sign as it means something is working.

I am very excited to say that I am down one size in clothing.  In fact my wardrobe is looking a bit bleak on the options but I don't want to go out and buy clothes when I may be close to the next size down. 

My weight loss is below.  I have tried to weigh myself each Saturday but I had my post op appointment on Thursday so I will include that weigh in as well.  Yes the surgeons' scales and mine are the same.

• Week 1 - 5kg.  Apparently my stomach was only 200g so that was all me working hard.
• Week 2 - 1kg
• Week 3 - 1kg. If I keep going like this I will be happy
• Week 3.5 - 3kg.  SERIOUSLY!!!!  No wonder I have gone down a size this week.  Surgeon says I will probably start to plateau now.
• Week 4 - gained 500gr.  I had a feeling this might happen so I am not unhappy about it.  That is still a 2.5 kg weight loss for the week.

Total weight loss so far is 10.5kg in 4 weeks.  If I include the weight I lost on my own prior to surgery it comes to 14 kg for the year.

Yes I am totally fine with that.

Food wise, I found this last week the hardest.  It was the second week of mush and I was getting sick of the same thing over and over again.  Not the mush as such but the flavour.  In order to make the mush you had to have a lot of ingredients to blend and that left you with at least 3 days worth of mush in the same flavour.  I get to start on semi solids today for the next two weeks and then I can start experimenting more.  Having minced meat and bolognaise sauce tonight.  I can't wait. 

Two Weeks Post Op

I must confess that I felt a little deflated this week. After a 6 kg loss last week I was hoping for something similar this week.  Stupidly I weighed myself on Monday and I had gained a kilo.  SERIOUSLY!  How does one gain a kilo when one is only on fluids!  It was beyond me.  I was beginning to feel it was a big waste of money and that nothing was going to work.

By Thursday I had lost the kilo again but I was just getting more depressed.  If I could have I probably would have ordered a pizza to drown my sorrows.

Friday morning I refused to weigh myself.  I had a Dr's appointment (something entirely different).  My GP asked me how I was going and I told him that it seems I am struggling to lose yet again.  He then asked me how active I had been which really is very little thanks to the pain I have had which occurred more intense when I moved.  He made me realise that that was the most likely reason.  I have always said I need to exercise to lose weight so just because I am on fluids doesn't mean I can stop moving.

The rest of the day was spent shopping with mum and we were out for a few hours.  Basically this has helped prove my Dr's point because I finally lost another kg today.  I now weigh less than I have for over 3 years and I am 1 tenth of the way to my goal weight.

On another note, I graduated from fluids to mash today as well.  Doesn't this 1/4 cup of potatoe/avocado mash just look divine.  Trust me, it tasted divine.

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Its Finally HIt Me

I was so pleased that I did not get the pain in my shoulder from the anaesthetic nor did I get the pinching feeling under my diaphragm.  Unfortunately whatever they injected to prevent this, wore off Sunday night.  Now I know why they sent me home with pain killers. 

These drugs certainly knock you out that is for sure.  You would think I would be getting a decent sleep but I haven't.  Due to the burning sensation in my lower abdomen I can't get out of bed easily so I have been sleeping in the recliner chair.  Not the best bed and my back and shoulders are complaining to me about it.  Thankfully the burning sensation is dissipating so I hope to sleep in my own bed tonight.

I said I would go back to work tomorrow but I don't think I will be.   I am so tired and the pain doesn't help much either.

A friend came to visit me the other day with her baby boy.  He (the baby) bought me a gift: his favourite pureed dessert.  That will be on the menu on Saturday.  LOL

One week on

This time last week I was in surgery.  Thank God that is over.  I weighed myself this morning and have lost 4kgs so far. 

Food wise I am still on half a cup of fluids per meal.  This is anything from broth to watered down custard and yoghurt.  I am also having the Optifast soups and shakes.  

At the moment I still have the burning pain if I move around too much.  To pass the time I have been catching up on some shows I have missed.  I think the TV has it in for me.  On one show they are eating cream pastries, another, it is a beautiful roast.  The adds come on next and my favourite Chicken Fast food outlet has just released chicken, chips and gravy.  At the same time my mother has cooked lamb shanks (my all time favourite that I rarely get to eat) so that I can have the broth.  Here I am sipping away at half a cup of yummy lamb broth (yes it was yummy) and my mother sitting next to me chowing down into a scrumptious, juicy lamb shank.  

In a weeks time I can graduate to pureed food.  I think I am on that for about 3 to 4 weeks.  I never thought I would ever say, "I can't wait to eat baby food."