Formerly LoseIt!

Hi everyone! I haven't been out here in a while, but I hope everyone is doing well. I have my FOURTH 5K coming up on Saturday! Not bad for a girl who couldn't run a half of a mile this time last year. A year out and well over halfway to my goal. Life is good! I have a blogspot blog, if you have any interest...come take a look. I love visitors!! http://neverendingquestforsomething.blogspot.com/

If anyone is interested, I have started a new blog. Hope everyone is doing great!! http://neverendingquestforsomething.blogspot.com/

Hi girl! Don't know if you are still looking for me, but I got frustrated too and I'm working on my own blog site. I will come back out here and tell where it is once it is ready.

Yesterday I was very frustrated with myself, but I'm doing much better today. I realize that I have to take this one day at a time, sometimes one meal at a time. I've always known that, but when I get overwhelmed, I forget. :-) I didn't have a PERFECT day yesterday. I was unable to work out at lunch like I had wanted. But I ate a reasonable lunch at my desk and I went to Jazzercise where I worked out hard. After Jazzercise, my friend reminded me that we were supposed to meet another friend for dinner. Flexibility, where are you?! I was quite proud of myself for going to a yummy Mexican place and ordering a cup of soup. I also had some chips, but I portioned them out and didn't ask for more. At the end of the day, I had a calorie deficit of 400. Not stellar, but if I did that everyday, I would lose a pound every 9 days or so. That would be 40 pounds in a year which is close to my goal! Today, I (again) have to be flexible. I won't be able to work out at lunch because I have to go get an allergy shot. I would put it off, but I'm going out of town W-F and wouldn't be able to get it until next week and I'm already overdue. That's okay though. I have committed to myself that I will do a Zumba Wii class when I get home tonight. That will be difficult for me because I have dinner plans (will make good choices!) and then I have to come home and pack. BUT, our dinners always end early. I have no doubt I will be home by 8pm...8:30pm at the latest. It should only take about 30 minutes to pack and I can work out for 30 minutes and I should still have 30-90 minutes to relax before going to bed. I've been very proud of myself lately for being productive, but the lazy couch potato in me is lamenting not having all my down time. I have got to get used to not needing all that. Sidenote: Did anybody watch Heavy on A&E last night? I thought it was a great show and I plan to continue watching. For those that haven't heard of it, it is a documentary about people struggling with weightloss. They follow 2 people each episode over the course of 6 months. It is a "real" show and not a competition or full of gimmicks. I probably won't have another entry until next Monday, so have a great week! Hopefully the DC area will get a heat wave for me. Beth

I don't feel very motivated today. Until I get my next fill which is two weeks from today, I think I 'm going to be in a frustrating holding pattern. I'm having a very hard time "dieting" which is what I need to do since I'm so hungry. I did an excellent job M-Th last week, then it all fell apart over the weekend. This is just another bump in the road that I need to get through. It will be extra tough this week because I travel W-F. I will have to really focus on making good choices. It's intersting that when it comes to exercise, i can make all sorts of good choices, but when it comes to food, I can be so horrible. Baby steps, Beth. Right now I will focus on my exercise AND making sure that I don't sabatoge myself on the food side. In two weeks, I will have more help. Hope your week is starting better!! Beth

Congrats on your success so far! I have found that when I'm actively blogging I do better. When I slack off for many days with blogging, it usually means I'm not watching what I eat either. By the way, I realized I was sitting here looking at your picture with your son and I was smiling back. He is super precious!!

I don't know about the pills, but I'm pretty sure that you can get it in liquid form. Although, it probably wouldn't be time release. I have never had any problem taking standard sized pills, but I know some people do. It would be best to talk to both your surgeon and your back doctor and see what they say. I'm sure they will be able to get you what you need.

I had two fills in a row where I only got 1/10th of a cc. Each time it was perfect. Just a few drops can make a HUGE difference!!

I am SO the same way with my ticker. You will get through it and then you will encourage others later! Keep up the great work!

I am so, so sorry about your diagnosis. I pray that you find the strength to fight it, just like you did before. Keep kicking it in the butt until it goes down!

You all may already know about this, but I just found it. There is a website www.healthydiningfinder.com where you can plug in your zip code and it tells you what healthy dining options are near you. It not only gives restaurant ideas, it tells you exactly what to order and what special requests to make, if needed. I go out to lunch a lot at work. Right now (until my next fill in two weeks), I'm really struggling with hunger. So I want to be able to eat a little more hearty without spending a bunch of calories. Through this website, I had about 6 restaurant options I could give my friends that would allow me to choose wisely. They chose Red Lobster and I found that I can get a fish option I like with broccoli, salad, & dressing for less than 400 calories. Sweet! Happy Friday!!

One of the issues with a rapidly changing body is that I don't always have the most appropriate outfit for every occassion. Most of my adult life I spent as an 18W. There were a couple of times I got smaller and a couple times bigger, but I would say 80% was spent fitting into that size. So I had EVERYTHING! I had great career clothes...beautiful suits, blouses for every season, business casual to formal businesswear...I was covered. I also had casualwear, activewear, swimwear, underclothes, pajama's...EVERYTHING! I love clothes and I loved to look good even when I didn't feel good about my body. Now, I'm starting to feel GOOD about my body! I can see muscle tone. My flab is decreasing. I just fit better in my skin. But my 18W wardrobe is long gone. I'm not complaining at all. I would choose to be a regular size 16 rather than 18W any day, but I can't deny that I don't have the options in my closet that I once did. I have purchased clothing as I have dropped pounds, but it is casual to business casual. I limit my purchases to what I can wear to work and what I wear on the weekends. I have to testify in a hearing in court in Annapolis, MD next week for work. The jeans and blouses that I wear to work daily are not appropriate. I have no desire to buy a suit for a size 16 body when I plan to be a size 12 body the next time I would need one. I could probably get by with a dress and sweater, but I still may go shopping for a blazer this weekend. If I could find an inexpensive black blazer, i could pair is with a dress and could trasform it into more of a suit type look. Regardless of what I decide, it will be fine. I'm not going to spend $100+ on something I won't wear again and I'm not going to sweat it. Honestly, as sad as it is, I think I would cause less attention being smaller and dressed less businesslike, than being big and dressed to the nines in a perfect suit. (Sidenote: I had a grey suit with blue pinstripes that had a trendy belted jacket and was SO sleek. I never got to wear it. I bought it and promptly gained a bunch of weight. As I was losing the weight, my company had shifted to jeans and a more casual atmosphere. So, I passed it right on by... Sniff.) Oh well, soon enough I will be at or near goal and I can start stocking up my wardrobe again. This is a small, small price to pay for the joys of obtaining a healthy life and smaller body!! Hope your week is going well! Beth

I love this entry because I'm a total scale whore. I will not get myself to not weigh every day, but I am much better about not stressing about the daily results. It works for some and not others, but you have your own healthy relationship with your scale (even if that means not having one!)

I have never been able to figure out why insurance people do anything that they do. The best benefit of self pay is that I didn't have to deal with that headache! The best thing is that she seems to be positive so take that hold onto it until you hear back. Don't want to obsess about something you can't control. Good luck!!

Congratulations on your success! Your hard work has paid off and you should be proud. Keep it up!!

Best of luck to you, Rachel! Being prepared is so important and that should help you. This part is mind over matter, so just set your brain to it and get through it.

It has become abundantly clear to me that my fill was not aggressive enough. I was so concerned about being too tight that I ended up not being tight enough. I guess it is better than being too tight, but it is also frustrating. That said, I have almost 3 weeks until my next fill, so I need to suck it up. I may not be able to meet my aggressive goal of Onederland by then, but I should still be able to lose 2-3 pounds with a regular diet and exercise. Yippee. It is that "time of the month" (except in my case I only have 4 per year), so I know my hormones are haywire, so I'm trying to be patient. But what is frustrating is that I'm logging all of my Body Bugg results and I have a calorie deficit each day this week, but each day I weigh more. I know, I know...quit weighing every day. As a certified Scale Whore, that isn't going to happen. But I do have to revisit my committment to focusing on my input not what comes out on the scale as output. I'm sure the discrepancy is due to hormones and if I'm patient and continue doing what I should, the scale will reflect that shortly. In the meantime, I'm going to have to make some extra sacrifices. Since I need more volume to be full, I'm going to have to eat lower calorie items. Additionally, since I need to snack to quell the hunger, I will need to steer clear of my "treats" and snack on healthier, low-cal options. This is not a big deal, but it is a challenge. Obviously, I am not a tremendously successful dieter or I would not need a Band. But it is a short term issue that will be fixed with another fill. People who aren't Banded don't have that type of comfort or support to look forward to, so I am am fortunate. I have my fitness plan in place, now I just have to implement these few tweaks to my nutrition plan and I am in business. Have a wonderful day! Beth

Yesterday, I didn't take the time to write my blog entry in the morning and then I never got back to it. That seems to be a thing, so I have to make it a priority. History shows that blogging keeps me on track and I WANT to stay on track and reach my goals! I have started another of my fitness challenges. They have always been so successful for me in the past so it seems like good timing. I plan to work out 6 times a week for 6 weeks...with at least 1 workout per week dedicated to running. I didn't want to get too specific or too hard core. I wanted it to be doable, but a challenge. Sunday, I did the free run on the Wii for 20 minutes. Not a huge workout, but it got me moving on an otherwise lazy day. Yesterday, I worked out at lunch doing lunges, 8 minutes on the elliptical, 20 minutes on the treadmill and some strength training. After work, my LB Support Group meeting was cancelled (sad!), so I went to Jazzercise for an hour. So by the end of Monday, I had done 3 of my 6 workout committments!! Today, I plan to walk on the treadmill at lunch. I have found that hills (inclines) are my weakness, so I'm attacking that. Right now I'm walking at 3 mph, but I hope to increase that over time. Then I vary the incline between 5-15. It is funny how walking at a 15 incline for a few minutes make a 5 incline feel like a breeze!! I have noticed that on my 5Ks, I do all fine until I get to a hill and then I just poop out. My hope is to develop some resistance toward that. Since my knees won't allow me to run every day, I can still work on it with walking. Have a wonderful day!! Beth

I have been thinking about rules. I am an accountant and typically a rule follower. I like structure. When I was Banded, I was told to not drink carbonated beverages, don't drink with meals, take small bites, don't eat bread, etc. I considered them RULES and I followed them with great success! I lost 75 pounds in about 9 months. But then I started to stretch the rules. I tested some toast or a biscuit and it didn't hurt, so I stopped following that rule. I started sipping more at meals until I was drinking normally again. My bites started growing to whatever my body would allow instead of making them all small. There are many more of these than I'm listing now. The last three months, I started stretching all of my rules so much that I stopped losing weight at the same rate. I became frustrated at my lack of success. Instead of admitting my weaknesses and making changes, I kept going...stretching the rules even more. I'm very fortunate that this behavior only stopped my weightloss. But I learned that very easily, old habits come back quickly and old paths can be revisited. I'm glad to have restriction again and I'm back to the basics. Watch out Onederland...I'm gonna get you!! Beth

I'm so sorry. Even if it is a routine thing that the doctors aren't concerned about, it HAS to be scary for you...especially with your family history. I truly pray that it will be nothing.

What a wonderful post! Congratulations!!

I'm glad you mentioned that about losing too much. That's exactly why I haven't set my long term goal yet. I feel like as I get closer, I will get a better idea. It's so good to hear from you! Thanks for the feedback!!

Yesterday was another busy day from start to finish and I was unable to check in. I have to start making that a priority each day to get myself back in the correct frame of mind. After work, my friend and I went out for pizza and then went to the musical Young Frankenstein. It was A LOT of fun! When I got home at 11pm, like a crazy person, I finished my book (The Mockingjay, the 3rd book of the Hunger Games). What an amazing trilogy! If you like to read, I highly recommend them. Today I go for my refill which means a couple of things. First, I can't eat today. After not censoring my food choices for several weeks, this is going to be my first challenge. My tummy is already protesting. After my coffee, I will have my smoothie. It is my first one in a LONG time so I'm looking forward to it. I have some chicken broth for lunch and pudding and applesauce for snacks. I just have to get to 2pm so I can head to the doc. Post fill, I shouldn't be so hungry! Today's refill also means that it is time to refocus. I spoke about that the other day, but it has really been on my mind. Throughout my life, the holidays have been a time for gluttony and the new year a time for self punishment. This year is quite different. Although I allowed myself leeway during the holidays, I didn't feel gluttonous. And now that it is time to get back on track, I feel invigorated, not guilty or aprehensive. I have decided that when I reach my next big goal of ONEDERLAND, I am going to reward myself with a running watch. I have made a goal of running a 10K next Spring. That gives me one year to better my 5K and get to the point where I can double it. I'm not a natural runner, so I'm not sure if I will even be able to run a reasonable 10K. But if I don't make the goal and give it a shot, I will never know. I have found that I do fine on a flat course, but hills are killers for me. Yesterday in my lunch workout, I walked at 3mph on the treadmill varying the incline between 5 and 15. It was amazing how easy a 5 incline was after spending a few minutes above 10! So, short term goals: 1. Onederland (85 pounds lost) by 01/31/11. 2. Six workouts a week for 8 weeks. 3. Cut 30 seconds off my next 5K on 2/26/11. Mid-term goals: 1. 100 pounds lost by 04/07/11 which happens to be the next Nascar race here. Kind of arbitrary, I know. 2. Run 2 additional 5K's by 05/31/11. Long-term goals: 1. 120-160 pounds loss overall. I've never been that small, so I don't know what the realistic goal is yet and will have to wait to officially set it. But I would like to reach my goal by Summer 2012 when I plan to reward myself with a trip to the London Olympics. 2. Run 10K in Spring 2012. My friend just stopped by as I was typing this and I told that I feel like I did this time last year EXCEPT I'm so much happier because I'm starting from such a better place. I apologized to her because I told her she is going to get the obsessive me all over again. She is thrilled because she is fascinated by my journey. I guess I am too! Happy Thursday All!

Also, logging your food can do amazing things. I always hated logging food even back in my Weight Watcher days. But a few months ago, I got a Body Bugg and I became obsessed with logging my calories consumed and burned. I learned so much about myself and I learned that I'm not always honest with myself. Plus, I got a charge out of having an accurate reading of calories I was burning and the competitive part of me wanted to increase my calorie deficit everyday. Everyone is different and gets motivation from different places, but it is an option. Good luck!!