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9 Months Down!

I had my surgery 9 months ago, February 7, 2012. It seems like just yesterday, but no its 9 months ago. Wow, time has flown and wow things sure have changed. In celebration of being 9 months reborn I made a list of 9 things that have changed (excluding the weight & inches lost): No more medication – When I started this journey I had to take 3 different medications to control my high blood pressure. Today my blood pressure is normal without medication.
Giving the elevator the day off – I work on the 8th floor, every morning I walk up the stairs to my office and in the evening I walk down. Plus during the day I go up and down at least 3 floors, several times.
Sex – Sex is definitely better. I’ll skip the details…
How my skin feels – I like rubbing my hand up and down my arm, my skin feels thinner (Don’t know if this makes sense to you)
Wearing heels – When I was at my heavies my ankles couldn’t handle heels. Now I’m back to wearing heels again!
My confidence – I walk taller, I smile all the time, I really like being me now!
I like looking at myself in the mirror – dressed or naked, I like what I see. It’s not perfect but I like it!
Finding my extravert self – When I was in high school I was very outgoing; I had no fear of talking to strangers. When I was at my heaviest I was so shy, I wouldn’t look people in the eyes, afraid to talk to them. Now, I’m back to looking people in the eyes and talking to strangers.
The way others look at me – I love seeing guys take a second look; the expression on my friends faces when they see me and how the family responds to me.
♕ajtexas♕

♕ajtexas♕

4
 

My Banded Brain Tool

My Lap-band is a great tool for my weight loss journey, if only I could band my head. How many times have we thought that? I read it on threads all the time. Well, we can band our head. In fact I have a Banded Brain Tool and it’s called SUPPORT. It comes in all different shapes and sizes. My Banded Brain Tool consists of five things: Cheerleaders – these are my family and friends who from the sidelines are cheering me on. It’s my hubby seeing me struggle and walking up to me whispering in my ear, “You are doing so incredible on this journey, I’m so proud of you.” Or my friends saying, “You look great!”
Support Group – My support group meets once a month. Seeing fellow bandster, exchanging stories and ideas gets me from month to month.
LapBandTalk – I log on every day, check in with my friends, help and support other bandsters as well as get help and support.
MyFItnessPal – Keeps me honest with my food intake and my friends offer help and ideas here too.
FitBit – My pedometer on steroids! I never though one little electronic devise would get me climbing stairs every day. It sends me emails when I earn a new badge (never forget the first day I climbed 50 flights – I was a dancing fool). I compete with my friends to see who can walk the most steps and we encourage each other one.
Between my Lap-band and Banded Brain Tool I have been able to succeed with my weight loss.
♕ajtexas♕

♕ajtexas♕

4
 

November

“November comes And November goes, With the last red berries And the first white snows.   With night coming early, And dawn coming late, And ice in the bucket And frost by the gate.   The fires burn And the kettles sing, And earth sinks to rest Until next spring.” Clyde Watson
♕ajtexas♕

♕ajtexas♕

0
 

Is Your Food Okay??

I took my husband to Longhorn Steakhouse today for his birthday. I knew exactly what I was going to order (plan ahead is the best advice for eating out). I ordered a 6oz Renegade Sirloin Steak with fresh veggies and a mix salad, raspberry vinaigrette on the side. I also knew I would be taking over ½ of it home with me (part of the plan).   Salad comes and I have 2 or 3 bites and stopped, I wanted my steak so I wasn’t going to get full on salad. Waiter comes up and says, “Is everything alright with your salad?”   “Yes, everything is fine.”   I push my salad aside (wouldn’t let them take it away…..my chickens would never forgive me if I did). My steak arrives; I eat about 2oz of the steak, 1 small crown of broccoli & 2 small carrot bites. I’m full.   The waiter comes up and says again, “Is everything alright with your steak?”   “Oh yes, it’s delicious.”   He walks away with the most confusing look on his face. Meanwhile my husband is sitting beside me trying to not laugh at this guy. I notice the smirk on my husband’s face and ask, “What?”   To which he replies, “You are enjoying this aren’t you?”   “I don’t know what you mean. I’m enjoying a nice steak here.”   The waiter returns and I ask for 2 to go boxes, one for our food and one for the food for my chickens (yes, I spoil them). He brings me 2 small boxes and I say “Do you have any bigger boxes; I have a lot of leftover food here?”   “I’m sorry, was there something wrong with the food, you didn’t eat very much?”   At this point my husband couldn’t hold it in anymore and started laughing. I replied, “The food was wonderful, I just can’t eat the volume you serve.”   “We do serve a lot of food here, but you would be surprised how many people can eat it all.”   He brought me the larger containers and we left, both happy with our meal.   Plus, my hubby gets steak and eggs for breakfast as well as a baked potato with everything on it (He ordered but didn’t touch) for lunch. To top it off my chickens were so very happy with their treat tonight!!
♕ajtexas♕

♕ajtexas♕

2
 

Do Grammar & Spelling Matter?

I read a post today that irked me, no it pissed me off. This Texas gal was ready to put her boots on and find her gun….. Hunt her some grammar and spelling police.   A fellow bandster said they read a thread where bandsters were criticizing the grammar and spelling of other bandster’s posts. It hurt this bandster so bad that she had steered away from LBT. REALLY…….why?????   Does it matter if we don’t use complete sentences or if we spell words wrong?????? Those of you who have a problem with bad grammar and spelling please comment and tell me why it’s so important to you. Cause (oh wait I should say because) I don’t get it.   We are all fighting a terrible disease called obesity and one of the side effects of this disease is low self-esteem. We don’t need our brothers & sisters pointing out more of our faults….. We do just fine doing that ourselves.   You are wondering why this bothers me….. So many times I hit that POST button and watch my written words appear on a thread and think SH** I spelt that wrong or that doesn’t make any sense hope they get my point. We are here for support in our weight loss journey. We consist of all different people, different education levels, different languages, different everything and we need support.   What we don’t need is the grammar and spelling police after us!
♕ajtexas♕

♕ajtexas♕

13
 

How To Become A Banded B*****

First you have to be willing to jump in anytime   Then take the thread completely off topic and talk about pretty nails, dragons & princesses .   And finally you have to kiss the pink princess’s butt.   Once you have been accepted by the princess you must protect the princess from all evil (especially VD).   Are you up for the job?  
♕ajtexas♕

♕ajtexas♕

6
 

He Said I Glow With Happiness

I ran into my patient advocate, Paul, at True Results today. The patient advocate is the first person you meet with and they walk you through all the pre-op stuff. Once you have the surgery you don’t see the patient advocate. Anyway, I ran into Paul and he about fell over when he saw me. (btw, Paul has been banded for 7 years – lost 120lbs)   We sat down and chatted a bit. He said he remembers our first meeting and how I cried because I was so unhappy. And now I glow (his words). He said not only do I look great from the weight loss but my face glows with happiness. He said I was a walking Lap-band billboard. Me? Wow.   It was so cool hearing that. I just had to share it. Now I just have to figure out how I’m going to get this big head through the doorway. lol
♕ajtexas♕

♕ajtexas♕

4
 

Scale-A-Holic

My name is AJ and I’m a scale-a-holic.   I have lied to my LBT friends, it wasn’t intentional… I don’t know how it got so out of control.   You see in the beginning I only weigh myself once a week, but back then I was seeing my doctor every week or two. Now I go every 4-6 weeks and that will get stretched out more. When I weigh in at my doctor’s office, that is my ‘official’ weight, I update my profile based on that. So when I weigh at home it doesn’t officially count….   Like I said I started weighting once a week, I even had a set day (Sunday morning). Then I started ‘just checking’ on Wednesdays, then Fridays too and before I knew it I was weighting every day. Then it was twice a day, once in the morning & once in the evening (just to see if there was a difference). It wasn’t my ‘official weight’ so what harm is there…..   Well my scale died last night. Yep after ten plus years it went kaput. My beloved scale was no more. Panic set in, how am I going to weigh myself in the morning? Where can I get a new scale and fast….   Boy was I in a panic! I searched on line all evening, need to find a good scale and fast. Thankfully, I go to the doctors tomorrow and will get an ‘official’ weight.   But in the mean time I realize that I have an addiction that I need to manage. The first step in the detoxing is cold turkey. I found the scale I want on Amazon, ordered it & selected Super Saving Shipping (It wound get here till next week). Next, if I have to I’ll have my husband lock it up….hopefully that won’t be necessary. lol
♕ajtexas♕

♕ajtexas♕

7
 

My Step Daughter Is Going To Be Fat.

I have a 13 year old step daughter, I’ve been her step mom for 4 years now and to say our relationship is strained is putting it mildly. Basically her mother wanted her to hate her step mom and she got her wish.   Tonight I watched her eat a dinner plate worth of food in less than ten minutes. She shoveled the food into her mouth; barely chew as she reloaded her fork. All I could do was watch and cry inside. Her father & I have tried to get her to eat slower, smaller bites, etc… but it goes on deaf ears. The only thing we can do is only have health choices in our house. I am thankful that what she wolfed down tonight was baked salmon, brown rice, boiled carrots and for dessert a frozen Greek yogurt bar.   I know that if she continues these eating habits she will be fat as an adult and will face all the things I faced as an obese adult. That makes me cry.   I know that all I can do is what I already do, offer healthy choices and advise if she wants to listen.
♕ajtexas♕

♕ajtexas♕

10
 

My Halloween Nails!

Got my nails done today, went with orange polish and a spider design. A little silly but I thought what the heck!   What do you think Pink Princess?
♕ajtexas♕

♕ajtexas♕

13
 

Crazy Week

This week has been extremely busy at work. I haven’t been getting home till almost 7pm each night and before I know it the evening is gone and midnight is around the corner. I have had no time for my LBT friends and boy do I miss it!!   This is the first time since being banded that life has got hectic on me. Did it affect my band? I think so, I have suffered from what I call last bites syndrome. Similar to first bite syndrome when you are so hungry that your first bite is too big and not chewed enough…. You know what that is like. Well, last bite syndrome is when you only have 1 or 2 bites left on your plate and you quickly stuff them in your mouth, don’t chew enough & swallow as you are taking places to the kitchen to wash…. Ughhh. I’ve done this a couple of times this week simply because I wanted to get things done & rushed my meal time. Boy it is the most discomforting feeling, the weight on the chest, the extra saliva in the mouth. All I can do is wait it out.   I am to blame for the discomfort, my own impatients. It is so easy to do, hurt yourself (and your band) by being careless. The band does forgive, however as this week goes on I find my band getting tighter & tighter. Stress of the week? Sinus drainage from my head cold last week? Is it in my head? These questions start running through my mind. I can eat and drink (as long as I slow down and follow the rules), so I know it’s not too tight.   I look forward to the weekend and relaxing!!!! Hopefully spend some time catching up with my LBT friends…..I miss you guys!
♕ajtexas♕

♕ajtexas♕

1
 

Diet Vs Lifestyle

When I think of diet I think rules & restrictions. You have to eat this; you can’t eat that, you have to drink this; you can’t drink that, etc…. Doctor’s orders are diets, rules that we have to follow. Now the rebellious teenager in me (I know shocking right?!) says “What do you mean I can’t, watch me!”   When I think of a lifestyle I think choices, things I want and am willing to try. Lifestyle means changing the way you live for the rest of your life. The level headed adult in me (again, shocking!) says, “I want to change and live a healthier lifestyle”.   So what works in my head is I am not on a diet because I have changed my lifestyle. I follow the recommendations (orders) from my doctor and therefore I see success.   My new lifestyle does not restrict me for eating the things I love. I have chocolate, cookies, cakes, breads, pasta, potatoes when I want. I enjoy family gatherings (well most of them). I enjoy my new life.   This is what works for me!
♕ajtexas♕

♕ajtexas♕

1
 

My New Blog

So I'm a little slow......just figured out how to create a blog. That's what I get when I only access LBT from my phone & tablet. There are a lot of features that you don't see on the mobile app. Alex we need to be able to update our status, reply to other statuses and access blogs on the mobile app. (Don't think he heard me.) I don't do Facebook or twitter so I'm not sure how stuff like this works, oh well I'll wing it.   I am amazed at how far I have come this year. January I was in the biggest depression, I hated my job, I hated myself, honestly I disliked my stepdaughter greatly. The only thing I liked/loved was my dear husband. I went to the doctor for my annual physical and got a huge slap in the face. I was on 3 different high blood pressure meds and my blood pressure was still high and on top of that I was diagnosed pre diabetic. I was so upset after that appointment that I stopped at Starbucks for a large Java chip Frappuccino. That solves everything.   The next morning driving to work I heard a radio commercial for True Results and the Lap Band, I started doing some internet research as to what the Lap Band was. Talked with my parents about it (my dad is a retired MD so his advice is gold when it comes to medical stuff). My dad researched some and gave me his blessing on doing the Band. My initial appointment with True Results was the second week in January, my surgery was February 7, 2012. Basically three weeks and it was done. I had no time to reconsider. (That’s the difference between self-pay and insurance)   It’s funny I didn’t know about LBT or that different doctors had different diets all I knew was what my doctor had me doing, so I did it. I followed the doctor’s orders; I was losing weight and really knew nothing about the band lifestyle. Then in June I found LBT and started reading. Wow there was so much I didn’t know. I read every post I could find, quickly got Jean’s book and read it. Within the month I felt I had a much better understanding of what I had and how it would work for me.   Now here it is October, 9 months later, and I’ve lost 65 pounds. Wow I can’t believe I have done so well. I look in the mirror and often don’t recognize myself. I have no regrets at all, even if the future brings complications with the Band. I love this little tool, my Yellow Rose of Texas.
♕ajtexas♕

♕ajtexas♕

3

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