sixth fill, "band holiday," european vacation

I thought about titling this post as "February," but I dearly hope I'll post more often than once this month!

I had my sixth fill today, and I'm already glad I did. I'm not feeling a lot more restriction right away, but I can feel a little something-something. I know my body takes a couple days before it really knows, "oh hey, I'm more restricted now!" so I'm hoping this will get slightly tighter in a couple days. If, come Monday, I don't think I'm tight enough I might go in again. I got 0.25 cc today.

I'm also hoping that with this slight fill I'll also be better about eating mindfully all the time instead of some of the time, and that I'll be better about writing down everything I eat instead of just the morning's worth and then get lazy. It's like a new beginning!

I asked the doc about whether or not I should get a slight unfill before our European vacation. I explained how my mother in law would be with us and she doesn't know about the band because of her judgment, etc. (He nodded knowingly.) I explained that if something happened, I didn't want to have to find a fill doc there while trying to explain to my MIL what's going on. But I also explained that I want to make sure I'm not just trying to "enjoy my vacation" more by being able to eat more. I said I wasn't sure how much of each thought was going on in my head.

Without hesitation, he made a general statement that he thinks it's smart for bandster to take a "band holiday" every couple years. I have to admit, this surprised me. He made another general statement that he thinks getting a small unfill before a trip can be a good idea because the stress of traveling can make you tighter. And then based on those opinions and what I said about my MIL, he was very supportive of the idea of getting some sort of unfill before the trip.

I really found his band holiday idea interesting. Not because I'm looking forward to a holiday, but because I never expected it. When he was talking about it, he was saying that sometimes it's good for people to take a 1-2 week break and be able to eat bread and pasta again and enjoy that stuff, and then go back to being filled. He didn't outright say it, but what I inferred is that doing this can allow someone to not feel deprived, like they can never ever have something ever again. I think there's something to that, to be honest. It really fits into my approach of being able to eat what you want as long as you are getting the proper nutrition and number of calories (whether that means losing or maintaining). Anyway, it's good food for thought...

OH!! Hahaha, I can't believe I didn't think of this until I was writing the paragraph above! Omigosh, I change my mind, I DO like the idea of a band holiday. I forgot that sometime last year I had contemplated (very briefly) the idea of getting a complete unfill before eating at The French Laundry, and then getting a fill again after. I dismissed the idea because I was feeling very guilty, like that was wrong and a total waste of my money. But secretly, I want to be able to eat at TFL again.

If you're not familiar with TFL, it's a 3-star Michelin restaurant in the Napa Valley. It is basically one of the top 5 restaurants in the entire U.S. And it ain't cheap. Think $270 before drinks, tax, and tip for a 9-course meal. Yeah. Right. You can see why eating there while banded isn't exactly an option. Oh crap, I'm craving going there just thinking about it. Siiiiigh.

Anyway, so yeah, maybe if I get to my next mini-goal I'll be able to justify a trip to TFL. Well, let's be honest, I'd also want to go with some friends, like our cool cousins or some other foodies. Regardless, this isn't happening anytime soon, to be honest, I don't even know if it'll happen this year. But the point is, it's nice to know that my doc is supportive of something like this. Handy to have on the back burner, at least so I don't have to squash the dream immediately upon thinking about it. =)

I still haven't decided what to do about our European vacation. (I swear I think of the Chevy Chase movie every time I write that even though I never actually saw the movie.) If I had to guess, I'll probably get a slight unfill and not a full out and out "band holiday." But I'll cross that bridge when we get to it.