So, I got a speeding ticket this morning. Isn't that super awesome!! :thumbup: Honestly though, I was going 76 mph in a 60 mph zone, so I totally deserved it. The only thing that makes me mad about the whole thing is that that motorcycle cop is there EVERY morning and I KNOW BETTER! Oh well, it is what it is.
I'm feeling much better today! The respiratory infection has faded for the most part. Jazzercise was tough last night, but I definitely felt better when it was over. It is nice to be in enough shape that I don't feel like I'm killing myself the first day back after a break! Today I'm taking it up a notch and I'm doing my 2 mile hill run at lunch and Jazzercise tonight. I only have a non-running lunch work out tomorrow (maybe the bike?) so I should be able to push it out today.
I was hungry yesterday. After breakfast, it didn't take too long until I was hungry for lunch. We went to Mi Cocina to meet my parents and I was worried that I would need to eat too much. But my mom & I shared a nacho plate and I ate three nachos with sour cream and guacamole. So, not too bad. In fact, it held me until very late in the afternoon and I didn't get hungry until about 4pm when I had some greek yogurt.
I was a little hungry when I went to Jazzercise, but it wasn't horrible. When I got home, I fixed goodies for dinner. (My niece's favorite meal is what she calls goodies, which is bascially a collection of snacks, like apples, pretzels, peanut butter and cheese.) I had just less than a 1/2 c of potato salad, a boiled egg, 10 crackers and 5 pieces of cheese (roughly 3 oz, I think.) I finished the potato salad and egg, but I left 2 crackers and a piece of cheese. I didn't seem to have any "restriction" in the sense that there was no issues with anything going down, however, I did have "restriction" in the sense that I was full after eating a reasonable amount of food. So, I did well yesterday. The trick is stopping when I'm full. I've not been good at that historically and is something I need to work on.
So, goals for the week...drink water! And stop eating when I'm full.
PS: My new item of the day that I'm wearing...electric blue flats with a row of sequence around the top. Very flirty, but practical too.
Have a great day!!
Wowzaa...Friday sucked. Flat out one of the top (bottom) ten work days I've ever had. In one decision, I cost my struggling company about $40k that it sincerely doesn't have. I was a basket case on Friday and it took me long into the weekend to get a grip on my mood. Objectively, I knew about 2 hours in that it wasn't truly my fault and about 4 hours in I had determined that with the information I had at the time, I would make the same decision every time. But it took me about 24-30 hours to adjust back from my bad attitude. I was mad at EVERYBODY although I did do my darnedest not to show it. I slipped a little, but my truly awesome friends rallied and even tried to cheer me up with crazy You Tube videos. :thumbup:
But by Sunday, I was all better and today is just another new workday. I have a lot of responsibility in my job and a lot of high expectations. Occassionally, I'm going to make a mistake and that is just part of life. The good news is that we may have legal rights to retrieve the money so that would be even better!! Regardless, we have all learned a lot from this experience.
Moving on to Sunday...I went shopping. (Sidenote: finallyincontrol, I think you were the one that said that I love to shop? I thought of that repeatedly during the day. HA!) I now have plenty of clothes to get me through the next 20-30 pounds, I think. One of my friends here at work told me I look very SLENDER in the outfit I'm wearing today. ME...slender? Uh, okay. Huh. I will take it!!
I figured out last night that I wasn't going to be down this week at my Monday morning weigh in. I even had a fill this week...a teensy weensy one, but a fill nonetheless. I ALWAYS lose a couple of pounds at least on a fill week. But I guess I have reached my first dreaded plateau. Y'all know I'm not one to sit around and find out. So...yes, I have a plan!
I ordered a Body Bugg last night and it should be here sometime this week. I'm committing to a new 8 week plan. I'm not technically starting until next week since I don't have the bug which I have already named Jax (after the badass biker on Sons of Anarchy). I was going to name it Bicho (meaning bug in Spanish), but I was afraid that everyone would think that I was calling it a bitch. :smile2:
I will use Jax to accurately determine calories burned during the day as well as log my calories consumed. I'm committing to using Jax for calories burned for 8 weeks. I'm committing to recording calories consumed for 4 weeks, because I honestly don't think I can get myself to do more. Hopefully after 4 weeks it will become habit, but committing to 8 weeks for something I absolutely hate to do is too overwhelming.
Additionally, I'm committing to doing 20 minutes of beginner yoga 4 times per week. At least 3 of those times must be in the morning before work (because I think it would be really beneficial).
Honestly, using Jax for calories burned is a no brainer. Once I got over the thought of spending $300, using it will be no big deal. Getting myself up (just 20-30 minutes) earlier in the morning is going to be a little more challenging, but I used to do it all the time. I know that once I get through a couple of weeks, I will be able to do it. Recording my calories consumed is going to be the real challenge here.
Technically, it was supposed to be part of my first 8 week challenge, but I gave it up after a day and decided that I would only do it if I gained weight. I'm such a sucker to myself!! But I thought if I lowered the committment to 4 weeks, I might at least get out of the gate.
I'm going to visit my brother and his family for Labor Day. They know I'm doing this and saw me at the highest at Christmas and then again 40 pounds lighter at my grandmother's funeral. There are over 5 weeks until that vacation and I would very much like to lose 10 pounds. That is a lot for me since I typically average 1.8 pounds and I seem to be slowing. BUT it is very doable. That would put me at around 70 pounds lost and only about 15-20 pounds from my lowest weight ever as an adult.
I can do this! Thank you all for your good wishes and support. It makes ALL the difference in the world!
Hi everybody! Thanksgiving vacation was SO much fun and in even better news, my weight held steady. My goal was to lose 5 pounds this month and I lost 4. I will take that. Especially since I'm "taking a break". I have one more week like this, then I have my partial deflation on Monday. I will have a couple days with the ability to eat anything which I'm not too concerned about. I'm going to try and be good, but I guarantee you I will be having some pizza in there somewhere!! Tonsilectomy is on Thursday, 12/09 and after that, I'm guessing eating will not be an issue for quite a while...
North Carolina was BEAUTIFUL!! I flew into Atlanta on Wednesday evening and drove up to Murphy, NC with my dad. The drive up the mountain was a little scary. It felt like the car was going to flip over backwards!! It was so good to see the family! Thanksgiving day started with a trek down the mountain which was steep so it was tough but highly doable. The walk up was MUCH harder, but I made it! I tried not to be annoyed with my nephews and SIL who RAN up. HA! Just kidding...they are some of my biggest cheerleaders.
We had a bit of fun with dinner because the oven didn't work correctly. It was bad news for the turkey but everything else made it with success. I only cared about the mashed potatoes and noodles because that was all I needed for a yummy Thanksgiving!! Other than a short trip to explore the town, the rest of the day was spent watching the football games.
Friday was quite chilly. We drove to Anna Ruby Falls and hiked up to see the waterfall. It was extremely beautiful. Then we went to Helen, GA for lunch. Helen is modeled after a German town and the downtown buildings all have a distinctly German fascade. We had to sit outside for lunch. Since it was cold, I think it made some people cranky. We walked around for a bit, but decided to leave soon. We headed Babyland General Hospital, home of the Cabbage Patch Kids. I love dolls, so I thought it was a neat little stop. It was a packed day, but we all slept well!!
Saturday, we went hiking around Fires Creek. We had an absolute ball with the kids as they climbed around like mountain goats. In the afternoon we went to the movies. The group split up and I saw Tangled with my brother, nephew and niece. It was cute. Afterward, we went home and played games I had prepared. They were Minute to Win It style games and we had such a blast! My nephew Sam was crowned Family Showdown Champion!
Sunday it was time to leave and I was ready for my own bed. It was a wonderful vacation!! Now I'm back to work to get everything I can possibly accomplish into the next 7 working days!
I will check in before the surgery, but until then...Make every day a great day!!
Beth
If you have been reading my blog, you know that I was banded on 1/27, had a good start but stalled after a month. I had my first fill on 2/19, started working out that week as well and gained weight each of the next two weeks. So, two weeks ago, I started what I was calling an 8 week Jumpstart. Basically it was a committment on my part to focus on nutrition and to spend more time working out.
I have completed two weeks of my little program and after losing 1.6 pounds last week, I haved gained 1.2 pounds this week. Sigh.
Recap of the week:
Monday - Did 40 minutes of cardio at Jazzercise and 50 minutes with my personal trainer. I ate just under 1,500 calories for the day, including 100g protein.
Tuesday - Did 25 minutes on the elliptical. I ate 1,600 calories, including 119g protein.
Wedneday - No work out. I ate 1,500 calories.
Thursday - Did 25 minutes on the elliptical at lunch and 40 minutes of cardio at Jazzercise after work. I did have 1,900 calories this day.
Friday - Did 50 minutes with the personal trainer and ate 1,800 calories.
Saturday - Did 60 minutes of cardio and strength training at Jazzercise. Did not track food this day.
Sunday - No exercise and no food tracking. I went back today and tracked the best I could (because I did think I ate a lot and even adding an extra 400 calories for things I might have forgot, I was still under 2,000 calories!)
I took a metabolism test that said that if I was totally inactive, I would maintain my weight by eating 2,000-2,200 calories a day. I would lose moderately eating 1,800-2,000 per day. I felt that my goal of 1,500-1,800 would be sufficient. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't completely on target with that, but by all accounts, I should have lost SOMETHING!
I'm telling myself that a lot of it is muscle and I have no doubt that some of it is. But it is clear that I'm going to have to eat less which gets me to today.
I feel that I have been doing the best I can foodwise, so I'm hoping today will help. I would like to get to a point where I only need 1,000-1,200 calories a day. Although, it is hard for me to imagine woking out with that little...but that's what the doctor's say, right? I will be sure and ask today
Each week is a new one and a renewed comittment. It took me many years to get this way and it will take a long time to get where I want to be. I do not like being negative, so I won't be. I feel strongly that eventually everything I'm doing will kick in and help me, I just have to be patient.
Hope everyone has a good week!
Hi all! It has been a super busy day at work today. Busy is good though since I hate being bored. Plus, I'm so ready for the weekend! I slept quite well last night so I'm not so tired today.
Tonight I'm going to Master Bruce. I will have to be careful not to aggravate my back, but I'm sure we can still work out a good work out.
Tomorrow is a busy day. I'm Jazzercise class managing at 9 AM, then having lunch with my godson. I have to grocery shop in the afternoon, then church at 5 PM with a pool party after. Whew!
Sunday, though. Sunday, blessed Sunday, will be lovely. My friend & I are taking another friend's 14 year old daughter to see Eclipse, but that is all that is planned. Sweet!
Monday I should be nice and refreshed! Have a WONDERFUL weekend, my friends!
You know it is going to be good day when someone tells you that you look good. It's even better really because my BFF Cori (who is not one to sugar coat or to give false praise) told me that my outfit makes me look skinny and another friend (who is a little quicker to compliment) told me that I look great. Woohoo!
I am a big fan of long shirts/short dresses with leggings. Today, I'm wearing a navy blue Simply Vera dress with a black ribbon belt. It's very simple, but I think it is pretty. I've paired it with black leggings and silver encrusted black sandals. I went ahead and took pics. I also added a pic from 7.12.10 in a similar outfit. I think it is fair to say that today's outfit is a little more body skimming than the last one, but I also think there is a difference in the body it is skimming. Ha! (FYI, we took several pictures today but the lighting kept making my boobs look deformed. This one kind of looks like I'm about to fall down, but my boobs looked normal so I went with it. :mad:) It's funny how eager I am to take pictures these days...
Jazzercise was great last night. I can really feel my body doing things I was just not able to do before. My lunges are lower for sure and using the 10 pound weights is getting a little easier. NOT EASY, mind you, but easier. I feel strong!
Today is a lunch work out. I'm going to try and run two miles. I'm slow...I will stick to 4mph which will take 30 minutes, but hopefully I can do that!
Tonight is my monthly girls' night Interesting Dinner. It is restaurant week, so we are going fancy! We are headed to a chop house, so I'm going to try steak for the first time post op. I like my steak medium rare, so if I take very small bites and chew, chew, chew, I should be okay. Wish me luck!
I'm not sure why I haven't blogged much this week. I don't feel bad or down, just not motivated to put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard.)
Jax & I have reconciled, so that's good. I have taken a one week hiatus from exercise (which might be a very good reason I'm so blah right now.) I've decided to completely focus on food intake this week. I have done great! My goal is to keep it up next week when I layer in exercise, but to add a 150-200 calorie snack on big work out days (like Jazzercise.) I don't think I need additional calories for my small 20-30 minute lunch work outs.
Next week I will hit it hard, I actually start on Saturday with an hour of Jazzercise. I have more Jazz on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & the following Saturday. That alone would be great! But I will also layer in at least one lunch work out on Tuesday and go from there.
Saturday I'm also getting my hair cut. I think I'm going to continue with the length. However, I'm thinking I might go shorter and sassier next time. But for right now, I like how my long hair is framing my thinning face. Plus, I wear it up most days because it is SO DARN HOT!!
I can't believe that tomorrow is Friday. This week has flown by! I hope you are all having a fabulous one!
After I managed to extricate myself from my wallowing yesterday, I started thinking about how blessed I am to have the support system I have. I am one to push myself, but for me, support is critical.
First and foremost, my mom is my rock. She has been supportive (almost PUSHING me! ha!) from the very first moment. No hesitation whatsoever. We talk during my commute each morning and I'm estimating that on average 60% of our daily conversations are about my "journey". Today for instance, it was 95%. She and my dad are hands down my biggest fan/supporters and I love them dearly.
My best friend is not a nurturing type person (by her own admission) and listening to me talk about the surgery or my weightloss endeavors in general isn't her favorite thing. But she is always a trooper and I KNOW that she supports me in a happy life 100%. She is like a sister that doesn't fully understand my issues, but just wants whatever is best for me.
I have two exercise accountability partners. One is my godmother who works out with me on Tuesdays. We chat while we work out and use it as time to catch up. She was the first person other than my parents that I told of my LB plans. She has also been supportive from the first moment and likes to hear about the ins and outs that I learn along the way. I have another friend that I work out with on Wednesdays. She is a RUNNER...as in she ran the Boston marathon. With her, we put on our iPods and get to working out. Since we are at such different paces, it works out well. She is interested in all things healthy, so we often swap ideas about foods.
All three of these friends work with me. In addition to them, I have several other people that ask me about how things are going and never cease to give me compliments. In fact, one of our partners (who I barely know) gave me a gift card yesterday because he knew I hit the 50 pound mark. He had LB several years ago and although we have never discussed it directly, I can tell he is paying attention. He compliments me a lot and the support is just incredible.
Then I have LBT & my support group. I blog here several times a week and the feedback I get from you guys is so powerful! I can't believe how eager I am to check if anyone has responded to my blog, or a picture, or if they have posted a visitor message. I have befriended two ladies in my support group and we clicked right away. One carries on an email conversation with me everyday. We compare food choices and other things. The other texts me sporadically to ask me what's going on or to update me on something with her. It is amazing how close we have gotten in a short amount of time.
All of this and I didn't even get into my extended family (who I saw recently at my grandmother's funeral) or my close group of friends. ALL of them support me. i had one slight hiccup at the very beginning with one friend but we straightened it out quickly.
I write all of this to remind myself how lucky and blessed I am. I read stories on here how people are treated badly or have saboteurs in their lives. I know folks who have told nobody or only one person and don't have anyone to share their experiences with. I honestly can't imagine that. I competely respect everyone's choices on whether they tell, don't tell, or tell sparingly. Everyone is different and has different circumstances and needs. So, in my opinion, no one is WRONG in how they choose to handle it.
Today is a day that I see how wonderful life is! For those of you that are contemplating LB...I can't tell you what to do, but I can tell you that my life is SO different from six months ago in the best possible way!
It was a good week all around! After my .4 lb gaining debacle last week, I lost 4.6 lbs this week. YAY!! That mean that I'm averaging 1.8 lbs lost per week since the procedure. I'm quite happy with that.
I worked out EVERY day last week for 5 1/4 hours which is an average of 45 minutes per day. Excellent!! One of the girls I work with has started working out with me at lunch one day a week and she said that I have inspired her to work out more. Another person I met through Group says that I have inspired her to make an 8 week exercise committment. I have NEVER been an exercise inspiration before, so that is just AMAZING to me. My exercise goal this week, is to get in my two lunch work outs and my two personal trainer sessions. It is race weekend at TMS (woohoo!), so anything else is gravy. We generally get a lot of walking in at the track because it is at least 1/2 mile to the car. :-)
Non-scale victories just keep coming. I bought a new pair of size 18W jeans yesterday that I'm now wearing. I was wearing a 20W (or size 3 from LB), so that is great for just 11 weeks! Also, I'm wearing my rings full time again. I stopped wearing them sometime last summer because they were just too tight. Finally, I get comments constantly about how good I am looking. I will NEVER get tired of that.
I'm starting to see muscles forming everywhere. There is fat hanging from them from every which way, but they are there!! I know that as I continue to lose, it will look better and better.
I have Support Group tonight and I ALWAYS look forward to that. I can't wait to see how my new friends are doing.
Have a great week fellow bandsters!!
October 30, 2009: I have been researching LB for a few months now. I have had the initial consultation and learned that my insurance will not cover. I am still moving forward and have my initial meeting with my doctor on 11/17. Since I am paying for the procedure myself, I will need to wait until 2010 to take advantage of my company's flex med program. That will at least help with some of the cost.
I am keeping my mind open in case something comes along that makes me realize that this is not for me. However, I believe that I have done enough research to know most of the costs and benefits.
I am 35 and single so the decision is my own. My parents know I'm thinking of it and support me completely. My friends, although skeptical, realize they have no idea what I'm going through and will stand by my decision.
I have noticed that people who are active in a lap band community seem to be successful overall, so I have determined that I should try.
I'm not a writer by nature, but I think logging my experience (if only for myself) can only help. I have a long way to go, so the next few months will only be prep.
My motto for now: Prayers and preparation! :crying:
Well, I got the big haircut today. There were piles of hair everywhere! I would post a picture of the winning style, but I can't. My wonderful stylist of 15 years went rogue. Chop, chop, chop. After venting to my mom for 30 minutes and crying about it for an hour...I took a shower spruced up and starting looking at it objectively.
What I was originally seeing was just short hair. My mind was screaming "boy", "butch", and "soccer mom". Sigh. All of the pictures I had were of medium length. Short in the back but with the sides and top long so it was roughly all one length. What I got was short all over, just shy of a pixie cut.
I am proud of myself because I did express my displeasure and did get her to get rid of the scary "roundness" of it all. She did admit that she cut it too short on top, but I can't get too mad at her. She has been an AWESOME stylist for so many years. I think she may have been distracted today because she had to tell me she was dropping me as a client. I knew it was coming because she has been wanting to scale back. I wish she wouldn't have been so nervous about it... :-) Ha!
Anyway, now that I look at it, it is a cute cut. Just VERY short. Thank goodness I'm 75 pounds lighter and feeling better about my body. This cut last year would have put me in the looney bin, i think.
I tried to take a picture but I can't get a good one of myself. I will try and have someone take one on Monday.
I guess one silver lining is that it is going to inspire me to lose more weight just to stay confident with it. All in all, I wanted something different to emphasize my transformation and I got that. It certainly makes a statement. I'm determined to make that statement "I'm a confident and sassy woman!" and not "I hate my hair."
Have a great weekend!
Beth
What a wonderful weekend at the NASCAR races! We always have a good time, but this weekend seemed particularly fun.
I have noticed something interesting about thin people vs. fat people. Now don't get me wrong, this is going to be a generalization (and honestly, there is no good or bad) but just something I noticed. Overweight people (especially women) are typically very aware of the space around them and how they fit into that space, more so in my opinion than thinner people.
Example #1 - My BFF Cori is not only thin, she is petite. At 5'0" tall and small build, she doesn't often have to worry about much in the size department. There were four of us at lunch the other day sitting in a booth. Cori & I both scooted in to each end. I put my purse on the floor and my jacket on my lap to make sure that the other person in my seat (a super petite person) had plenty of room. I was sitting with my arm touching the wall so I was as far over as I could be. I noticed that Cori put her purse by her side against the wall of the booth and was seated more toward the middle. They seemed to have plenty of room, so it certainly isn't a big deal. But it did make me realize that I think about the space that I take up (even though it is WAY less now) more than smaller people.
Example #2 - I was at a company event and we were all in a big room standing in a circle. There were these desk tables around the room and I decided to sit on one. I precariously perched on it and settled in with as little weight movement as possible. A guy I work with who probably weighs 60 pounds less than me came over and jumped on it with the full force of his body. I cringed as I waited for the desk to settle. It didn't break and I was so relieved. It is funny because Chris didn't think anything about it, but if the desk would have fallen down, I would have been mortified. I would have felt that people would have been looking at me...not him. Again, he didn't do anything wrong at all. I just noticed that we approached doing the same thing very differently.
As a fat person(for I will always be that in my mind, I feel), I think I will always be more concious of my surroundings. I think sometimes that will be a very good thing and sometimes I think it will be a bad thing. It is just something that will make me a little different from someone who has never experienced literally not being able to fit in.
Now...picture time! Today I will post my spandex pics and tomorrow I will post my casuals. Changes are way more subtle now, but I can still see them.
I have attached my front pics from last month and this month. And I included side pics from the start, last month and this month. I think I'm actually feeling better about my arms. :-)
As we all know, Snow White had seven little friends...Sleepy, Sneezy, Bashful, Happy, Dopey, Grumpy, & Doc. Early this week, I felt like Snow White. I was feeling thin and pretty and generally princess like.
Yesterday, I was definitely Grumpy.
Today, I'm deciding between Dopey and Sleepy.
Which dwarf are you today? Or maybe it is a Snow White day for you!!
I LOVE the show So You Think You Can Dance and have attended every tour they have had! Yes, I am somewhat of a 12 year old girl. :thumbup: The first tour which was from Season 2 didn't come to DFW so we actually flew to Chicago for a weekend to see it. We are dedicated!
Last night was the most recent SYTYCD tour at the Verizon theater in Grand Prairie. Eight of us met for dinner, then went to the show. It was great! Plus, I had plenty of room left in my seat AND I kept my legs crossed which was super awesome!!!
I was slightly annoyed this morning when I weighed and I hadn't gotten rid of ALL the pesky extra I had found with my Chinese food. I guess it was over half though, so I should get over it. I'm sure that tomorrow will bring things back to normal.
Today's new items: I'm wearing a long shirt/short dress in grey black and white animal print over leggings. I added a short-sleeved linen jacket and grey suede short boots. My dental hygenist told me that I looked "super cute" this morning so that is fun! This is the first time I've worn any of it except for the leggings. It's so fun to take tags off and wear something each morning!
Tomorrow is Friday everyone...hold on, we've almost made it!!
When I'm asked how often I get "stuck", I usually respond 1-2 times per week. When I eat, sometimes I can feel that things aren't going down correctly and I stop. Sometimes it is at the end of the meal and sometimes it is after only a few bites. Typically it passes quickly and I've never had a situation where it wasn't corrected before the next meal. It is uncomfortable and annoying, but not painful or concerning in any way.
Which brings me to Saturday... I woke up in the morning and went to Jazzercise. After class I went and got some coffee and a smoothie. As I drank both, I noticed that I seemed a little tighter than normal, but both went down fine.
For lunch, I drove through Raising Canes (I had never been there before) and got some chicken fingers. I actually have chicken fingers/nuggest/strips at least once a week. It is a standby that typically works for me. After just a few bites, I knew that I couldn't go any further. No worries. I threw the rest away and went about my day.
We went to see The A Team in the afternoon. I had thought I would get some popcorn, but I didn't feel exactly right after the botched chicken fingers so I abstained. Before the movie began I started to get HORRIBLE acid reflux. It wasn't painful per se, but it was intense! I started to panic just slightly and in my head went through the reasons I might have reflux. Of course the first thing I thought was that my band slipped. Yikes! For a few minutes I pondered what I would do if I had to redo the surgery and worst case scenarios. Heh. Then the reflux was right in the very back of my throat...almost immediately it moved down my throat and lower into my chest. It FINALLY occured to me that I had something REALLY stuck and it was trying to make its way out one way or another.
At that point I went to the restroom to see if I could help it. No dice. I sat through the rest of the movie (I actually enjoyed it!) as it moved up and down, up and down. After the movie, we went to dinner. I ordered some chili knowing I wouldn't eat any, but thinking I could take it home. On the way home, I stopped and got some OJ. I had heard that it helps. I drank some sips of it and waited but that didn't help. I chugged some and other than PBing that...nothing. So, I waited a little while longer and had some ice cream. (Man it sounds like I eat like crap, doesn't it?) The ice cream stayed down so that gave me some calm knowing that I could get down protein shakes and some nutrition.
I went to bed with some awful reflux. I don't have a recliner, so I just went to bed. It was very uncomfortable but I managed to get to sleep around 11 PM. I woke up about 12:30 with some pain in my shoulder that moved into my side. I had heard my Support Group leader talk about referred pain and assumed that's what it was. Around 3 AM I woke up to the most god-awful gurgling in my stomach. It took about an hour to calm down and I fell back to sleep.
I woke up and my tummy hurt quite a bit. I didn't want to take a chance eating anything before church. I hadn't thought about communion, but I never seem to have an issue with it and this time was no different. After church we went to breakfast and I had an egg over medium. It went down fine. I realized that I was sore from the trauma, but I was FREE! :smile2:
I ate soft and soggy food throughout the day (i.e. the chili with no meat, then crockpot chicken and mashed potatoes for dinner.) I feel back to normal today!
I have to say that situation was most unenjoyable!! I don't think I did anything out of the ordinary, so my guess is that it will happen again someday. At least I know that it can happen and then get better.
On another note, for some reason, I want to set a weight goal for this month. I want to lose 2.8 pounds by the end of the month. It is absolutely doable, but a little more than I usually lose. I thought if I documented my goal, I might make some good choices that will help me hit it! I will keep you posted.
Have a GREAT week everyone!
It seems like there is something EVERY SINGLE DAY that I could use to get me off track. In yesterday's blog I mentioned the stuck episode. Yuck! Now today I have a sinus/ear infection. Bleh! It isn't horrible, but it is starting to suck the lively out of me. I have an appointment with the doctor tomorrow morning so I figure if I can hang on until then I will be better or will get something to get me on the road to being better!
On the positive side of allergy issues...I'm not very hungry and the drainage makes me tight so I lost 8 tenths of a pound yesterday. Ha! It's probably water weight, but I will take it today!! :thumbup:
I hope you all have a wonderful day and I'm sure I will feel better tomorrow!
I wear jeans to work so I have a ton of them. 9 pairs, I think. Which seems crazy until I think about the fact that I literally wear them everyday. I remember a time when I didn't even OWN a pair of jeans!!
I have had to retire a few pairs this week and I noticed that others were getting a little baggy. Last night I was running early for my dinner with a friend, so I stopped by Cato. I am now the owner of 2 new pairs of size 14 jeans!! (And a $6 slim fitting size 14 skirt which is still a little snug...but $6! And I know it will fit in a few weeks!!)
I have gotten smaller a couple times in my adult life. I graduated high school around 185 and by the end of college I was 250. Around 1999, I got to 197 for a short time and in 2005 I got to 203 for a short time. Interestingly though, I don't think I ever bought size 14 jeans. I think 1999 was around the time I just didn't wear jeans and 2005 I didn't stay small long enough to get a proper fitting wardrobe. I know I won't be in these jeans long, but it is nice to know that this time it is because I will be heading for size 12s!!
I was trying to remember when I bought my current size 16 jeans and I think it was only a month or so ago. And I know that I didn't fit into the 14s at that time. I only lost ONE POUND in the last month, so it just goes to show you that you can't always go by the scale. :-)
I'm having such a feel good day! It is such a rush to wear something new and SMALLER!
I'm out tomorrow and the weekend for the NASCAR races getting my redneck on, so have a wonderful weekend, my LBT friends!!
Beth
Yesterday, late in the day, I realized that it was the 6 month "anniversary" of the start of my LAP-BAND®® journey. My pre-op diet started on that day with me weighing in at 285 pounds. Prior to 2009, I had never weighed more than 255-260, so I was in a horrible place for me. Six months is not a long time at all, but looking back, it feels so much longer ago!
Last night, I went back and read my old blog entries from the beginning. I laughed because sometimes I can be so darn silly. I cried because I remembered how isolated and unhappy I was.
My favorite blog entry to read was the one I posted on 12.10.09 titled "Ailment Buster!" I had made the decision to have the surgery, but was still wondering if it was the "right" thing to do. I listed out all my issues and how losing weight (which I felt I couldn't do without surgery) would help those issues.
Here I am, 6 months later and 58 pounds lighter with an update.
Sleep - I had gotten so big that my CPAP was no longer working effectively. My friend & I went on vacation together and she said that it slipped off and made noises all night. I was tired all the time and it was clear there was a problem. Now, my CPAP is working! I'm less tired and I have more energy. I just went on a weekend trip with my friend and she said that she didn't hear a peep all night!
Acid Reflux - I was on 2 Nexium per day pre-surgery. TWO! I haven't taken any since my surgery and I have had no issues. I never imagined that it would have that much of an effect from day one.
Blood pressure & cholesterol - My blood pressure has been in the LOW normal range since the surgery. No issues!! I haven't had my cholesterol checked yet, but I'm sure that it will be good too!
Skin - I am proud to say that I can now reach every area of my body in order to clean it well. Ha! Yay! I have had hardly any breakouts since the surgery which comes from eating better, I'm sure. Also, I don't have as much of an issue with flab rolls causing rashes. Now I'm just trying to work on my stretch marks!
Feet - Through most of 2009 and the start of 2010, my feet ached constantly. I had to wear tennis shoes or crocs all the time. I still have issues with plantars fasciitis, but my feet don't ache all the time. I can wear cute shoes to work! Also, I've started jogging and as long as I don't over do it, my feet are able to handle it!
Knees - I have noticed hardly ANY issues with my knees. Maybe a little when jogging or Jazzercising hard, but nothing much. And I think even that will fade with more weightloss.
Energy - while I don't always have optimal energy, I sure do beat the pants off where I was. I go, go, go all the time!
Anxiety - I have had almost no anxiety issues since the surgery. I believe that most of my anxiety stemmed from being uncomfortable with myself and insecure. The better I look and the better I feel, the less I worry about EVERYTHING.
Comfort - The difference is astounding. Last weekend I went on vacation and I spent very little time checking on whether I was the fattest girl around. It still happened sometimes, but it used to consume me. I think I am back to a "normal" comfort level for me. I am eager to see just how comfortable I can get!!
WOW! Six months. Almost no time in the grand scheme of things. Many times I have expressed my frustration or impatience to you all and then used your strength to psych myself back up. Now here I am, back to "normal". Such a relief. I am so happy!
By Fall, I expect to be at my lowest weight as an adult. Then I will be headed into uncharted territory. It is so exciting! It feels SO far away, but 6 months have passed so quickly that I know it will be here before I know it.
I have worked hard, but I haven't worked so hard that I can't maintain this pace. This life is doable. I'm doing it and I'm going to keep doing it!!
I ended that blog with a quote, "The more you love yourself, the easier you are to love by those who love you." As I have become more comfortable with myself, the less focus I put on what others do. It is absolutely freeing! I do LOVE myself and I'm loving me more and more each day. I can tell that it has an effect on my friendships and other relationships. The good ones are getting stronger and the not-so-good ones are showing themselves and fading away.
Halfway there everyone! Can't wait to check the status of everything next January!!
After 7 sinus infections in one year, last November I saw an allergist. It turned out that I was allergic to EVERYTHING! At least all seasonal allergies. Big bummer. So I started getting shots. At first it was 2-4 times a week which was tough to do, but I actually stuck with it.
The shots were so effective for me that I didn't have another sinus infection until today. Although it totally stinks that I have one now, I think it is pretty cool that was able to put it off for a whole year.
Now if I can just get through the next couple of days!! i have tickets to see South Pacific tonight and I'm not going to miss it. Getting up for work tomorrow will be the painful part.
Have a great day, everyone!
It has been a very roller coaster day! I was still a little bummed this morning because of my quitting staffer. Then I had some more fun news that another coworker (whom I adore working with) might be leaving. Too much change! Bad!
I guess that stressed me out a bit because my Band was tight as all get out at lunch. It immediately got stuck and had some yogurt instead. Bad.
Right after lunch I was gifted with a brand new iPad. Our bosses gave them to all of us and some of us will even get a monthly 3G bill paid. How cool is that? Good!
As I was wrapping up my workday (I left at 2:30 for my ENT appointment), I received a phone call. I didn't recognize the number so I let it go to voicemail. When I checked it, it was Sister Barbara Lynn from Sister of St. Benedict telling my that I had won their raffle and wanted to confirm my address. It sounds like a scam except for the fact that I totally entered a raffle and vaguely remembered that they were doing the drawing at the end of August. I was unable to get back to her, so I'm not 100% sure yet, but I think it is possible that I won 6 Suite tickets to an Indianapolis Colts game in October. Holy sh*t!! I never win things like that!! Hopefully I will figure it all out soon. :wub: Super good!
My ENT appointment was a bummer. I have chronic tonsilitis and the only cure is a tonsillectomy. I know I didn't spell this all right, but you know what I mean. :thumbup: Both a friend and my mom have had their tonsils out as adults and assure me that it is the worst thing ever. Sigh. Two weeks of hell. I don't think there is going to be any way around it though. Super bad.
All in all, I know I'm blessed and I have a wonderful life. Some bad news this week, but it will all work out. It always does!
It is so very interesting how when I don't stay current on my blogs, I don't hold myself as accountable for my weightloss. Don't get me wrong, the Band keeps me from going nutso and losing all control. But I find if I'm not logging my goings on, I also don't police myself as much as I should.
I have found that this journey is FULL of recommittments and that's exactly what I'm doing today. I need to lose 6.6 lbs. to reach the 75 lbs. lost mark. I'm committing today to do that by the end of the month. It is not by any means an aggressive goal for me, but it is enough to make me work at it. I'm going to New Orleans the first weekend in October and I think it would be lovely to have reached my goal. It starts with a 2 mile run today at lunch!!
I'm getting a fill tomorrow, so that should help with the hunger. While it is nice to have some flexibility on what I can eat, it is harder to make good choices when you are hungry. DUH! I guess that just brings me right back to why I started this process!! Although my allergies are causing some acid reflux and I'm sure that tightening the Band will make it worse. I will ask the doc about that tomorrow.
Today is the day for picture updates. I have attached full body shots for today, one month ago, and the start. Also attached are head shots from today and the start. I'm really feeling good!! Tomorrow will be the super fun spandex pics. Ha!
I'm SO glad that I made the fill appointment. Yesterday, I really focused on what I was eating and my hunger. Morning was okay. I had my normal coffee then smoothie which generally gets me to lunchtime. I drink my coffee when I get to work and usually start my smoothie around 9:30. So, I'm not finished with it until 10:15 typically, and sometimes I'm not finished with it until 11:15 which is when we go to lunch.
Yesterday, I had lunch in and gave up working out as I mentioned in my blog. I had some soup (which isn't a good choice for staying power) along with a few tortilla chips and hummus. In retrospect, something solid would have helped keep the hunger at bay longer. In this case, I was hungry by 3:00. I had some greek yogurt and was fine until dinner.
By the time we got to the restaurant, I was starving. I did have a drink. It was called Between the Sheets. I asked the waiter (who I'm pretty sure was gay) how he liked Between the Sheets. Honest to goodness, I wasn't trying to be flirty, but it came out that way and my girlfriends thought it was hilarious. For the record, it was delicious! I was proud of myself because even though I'm able to eat bread, I passed on the deliciously-smelling rosemary bread that was delivered to our table. I ordered the tilapia dish which was grilled fish with the tastiest citrus caper sauce. It came with super thin cut fingerling potates and blanched arugula. I ate about half my fish and all of the potatoes. The problem came when my new waiter boyfriend gave me a complimentary red velvet cupcake. The place was known for their pastries, so who was I to say no?? I took my leftover fish (and the extra 2 cupcakes to my BFF who couldn't make it to dinner.) I stayed up to watch the disappointing Rangers game and by the time I went to bed, my stomach was growling. :-(
Jax tells me that between my calories consumed and calories burned (I didn't work out at all yesterday), I should have broke even. I was up 2 tenths on the scale this morning, so that make sense. I fluctuate 2-4 tenths with bloating, easy.
This is part of the process, I know. I will have to by hyper aware of what I'm eating. I will have to eat healthier because I'm requiring bigger portions to keep me full. That...and exercise...is what I will have to do until I can get some help with my fill. i will NOT let this set me back.
As frustrating as it is, I will probably not realistically reach Onederland by Thanksgiving. But that's okay. As long as I don't gain anything until my fill, I will consider it a success. After that, I will reevaluate. :-)
On a final note...I saw a friend last night that I hadn't seen in two months (actually, more like 10 weeks) because she was unable to make it to our last monthly dinner. She went on and on about how much weight I had lost and how good I looked. I've lost 12 pounds in that time which is more that I realized. I told my mom that I had only lost about 7 pounds since I had seen her. Ha! Anyway, 12 pounds is still less than 20% of my total weightloss. But I think those 12 pounds really made a substantial difference.
Okay, really the final note...today I'm wearing some skinny jeans. I've never worn skinny jeans before because they make my butt and thighs look to big. But I bought these and paired them with a black shirt and longish black and white cardigan. I have on tall black leather boots outside of the jeans. This is a real fashion risk for me, people! :-) I feel myself ready to make some bolder choices. Maybe it is the hair!
We are almost to the weekend, everybody! Hang on!!
First things first...I just got a call from the doc and they told me that the ultrasound showed two nodules on my thyroid. They are both very small and probably nothing to worry about. In four months, I will have another ultrasound to confirm that they aren't growing. So, I will circle back with you all in March! But until then, I feel strongly that all is well.
Onto random thoughts...
Exercise - I have just been lazy lately. I was doing SO WELL with exercise for so long and then I just became complacent. I'm very glad that I made my Jazzercise class manager committment because it is about the only thing I'm doing. I was supposed to be running twice a week, but I'm not even averging once. I'm supposed to work out twice a week at lunch and I'm barely doing it once. I'm lucky to get two Jazzercise classes in. I guess I should be glad that even though I'm not doing all I would like, I'm still working out more than I used to. Gonna have to work on that in 2011! :bored:
Compliments - I am so enjoying the compliments that I get from everybody about my shrinking body. It never gets tiring to hear how great you look! HA! But sometimes, when people go on and on and on and on and on about how proud they are of you and how different you look that I start to get a little defensive. I mean I know I wasn't a beauty before, but I was still a good person. I was smart and funny and hard working. I'm glad you are proud of me for this, but hopefully before you were proud of me for that... I get over it quickly, but I've noticed that I felt that way a couple of times.
Sleep - you would think that I would start getting more energetic, but that isn't the case. I feel like I need at least 9 hours to feel decent. 10 hours makes me feel great. That just seems like too much. I wonder if my sleep apnea is changing and my machine doesn't work properly. I know that I still snore because I woke myself from a nap snoring. :-) Once I heal from my tonsilectomy, this is something I'm going to look into. Maybe I just need my settings changed.
Clothing - last week I tried on some brown suede boots I had bought when I lost weight in 2005. They are sweet! I remember that they were super tight back then and I weighed roughly what I weigh now. When I tried them on last week they still wouldn't zip up. I tried them on last night and they did. It is amazing to me that one week would make that difference!
Today I'm wearing a skirt I bought when my mom was visiting in September. I remember picking it up at Kohl's and thinking that it looked so small. It was tight, but doable and I bought it. Today, I'm wearing it and it fits great! I feel like $1,000,000. I have a business dinner tonight and I feel professional and hot! It is just so hard to imagine that I will probably be too small for this cute little skirt by Christmas.
Busy - I have so much planned between now and my tonsilectomy! There is something ever single day or night between now and then. I guess I wanted to get everything in before I'm down for the count. I mentioned that tonight is a work dinner. I'm sure we are going to go to some super fancy steakhouse which is going to be lost on me. I just haven't been able to do steak. Maybe they will have a fish option or something. I'm sure it will be delicious!
Sorry for the incohesive thoughts today. It's Monday. :thumbup:
I was having a very "is this really the right answer??" sort of day. I'm freaking out about the pre-op diet. I'm worried I won't be ready to come back to work when I need to. But most of all I feel fat. I stopped and thought about it and realized it has been almost 2 weeks since I posted to my blog. I realized that I just need to take some time and figure out what is REALLY bothering me.
What is really bothering me is that I feel fat. I tried on a pair of fat pants this morning and they were too small. So I had to wear my fatter fat pants. Sigh. I feel guilty, because I should be eating better in anticipation of this life change, but so much of me wants the tastes of things that I'm going to have to give up. I know I can do this when it is time. I'm very good about sticking to it when I have made that decision. But I just can't get myself to do it now. That's when I realized it...I want to do this now. I want to do this so much and I can't seem to do it on my own.
My banding date is still 56 days away. I know I had no choice (financially) but to schedule it in 2010. Since I'm a corporate controller, I had to schedule it after the year-end books were closed which puts me at the end of January. So, I had no choice and that is that.
56 days... Of that I will be spending 8 in Louisville with my family. I have two nephews and a niece, so I feel sure I won't have much time to dwell on much of anything!! :wink2: That leaves 48. I have 3 sets of theater season tickets (yes, I have a slight addiction) so 5 nights between now and then, I have wonderful shows to see! 101 Dalmatians tonight, next week is Christmas with the Rat Pack, the following week is South Pacific and I have August: Osage County and a Broadway "spoofish" show in January. Each of those days, I have something FANTASTIC to look forward to!
That gets me down to 43 days. I have two LAP-BAND® Support Group meetings and my pre-op appointment. That leaves 40 days! I have 4 parties in December (including one I am hosting!) and a trip with friends to the Gaylord Texas ICE exhibit. Also, some friends from work and I are going to volunteer at an assisted living facility one day which will be fun. I should probably throw New Year's Eve in there too! I'm now at 36 days.
If I really think about it, I will be on my pre-op diet for 14 days and even though it is going to be super hard I will be DOING something that is moving me toward my goal.
All of that gets me to 22 days. That seems more reasonable. I can get through 22 days! And during that time, while I may not be "dieting", I'm doing things that will help me later. Like I've been trying new protein sources, especially liquids. I have also experimented with not drinking while eating. I'm cutting down on Diet Coke. I was drinking 7-10 a day and I'm currently at 1-5 per day. I will get there! I'm also trying to find non-caffeinated drinks that I like. I am researching how to cook, what to order at restaurants, & what I will need to moderate/give up completely/learn to like.
So, I guess I am doing okay! Whew.
:biggrin:
This morning I weighed in for my weekly Monday official weight and I was the exact same weight I was this time last week. Normally, I would be SO UPSET! But not today. Today, I know that I most likely lost over a pound this week, but I'm still dealing with the havoc put upon my body from being sick. Last week, I "lost" 4.4 pounds according to the scale, but I know if reality, it was more like 2.4. This week it says ZERO, but I know it is more like 2. So, PFFFFFFFFFFFFT to you scale! I have the power now!! And now that I'm back on track, things will be back to normal. I win.
I won't be able to reach my goal of being 210 before my trip to NOLA, but it was an aggressive one. I have 8 1/2 weeks to lose 13.20 pounds to reach my Thanksgiving goal. That one I'm determined to reach!!!
I had a nice relaxing weekend before my whirlwind October begins. Despite the rain on Saturday, it cleared up enough for us to have a couple good hours at the drag races in Ennis. Boy, those cars are LOUD!
Sunday, after I spent an hour at church with my stomach growling virtually the ENTIRE TIME (I really need a fill...), we went to breakfast at the Original Pancake House. I had some egg concoction. It was good, but I think I prefer IHOP. Then I went bargain jeans shopping. At Kohl's, I bought a pair of SIZE 14s!!! They are Gloria Vanderbilt and they tend to run big, but STILL...SIZE 14! No "W" after it or anything! :smile:
Then I went to Cato. When I was bigger, I LOVED the way their jeans fit me. Plus, they are cheap! I got to shop on the SKINNY side of Cato this time which was a big, huge stinking deal! I bought a pair of the Classics and a pair of skinny leg (heh.) in size 16. I think I am a true 16 right now. Not bad, but I will be REALLY excited when I am a true 14. (Don't get me started how I'm going to feel when I'm a true 12, because that has NEVER happened in my adult life!!!!)
Lot's of exclamation points this morning. Hmmm. or Hmmmm!!!! :ohmy:
I'm not wearing any new stuff today, but I am wearing a shirt that I haven't been able to wear since 2006. Yay! I'm starting to thing about what I need to take on my trip to New Orleans this weekend. Must look sassy!!
Have a great week everyone!
