EdmontonGal

UGH - February SUCKED! From Wednesday to Sunday I drove 1500 km for work. I am glad it is over. Just in time for me to fly out to Toronto this Sunday for a week-long Conference. Then... ah, yes then.... I will have one glorious week in Newfoundland. Work has been crazy and to boot I was hit with a terrible cold this Sunday. Monday and Tuesday have been spent "working" from home. All of the time spent on the road did not make it easy to keep up with my routine at all! Exercise was fit in by a few short trots around unknown bushland at -30 celcius looking for geocaches (I think thats where I found this damn cold) in 3ft deep snow. I stayed overnight at a volunteers house where she cooked dinner of porkchops, egg noodles and mushroom gravy. This meal is not something that I would usually eat at all so I politely informed her that I didnt eat pork when I showed up with a roasted turkey breast and a salad. I did push some noodles and gravy around on my plate so as not to offend her. She was fine with it. The turkey breast actually made 3 meals for me with plenty leftover for my travel buddy while on the road. We had a picnic lunch overlooking the Grande Cache Moutain View with the turkey tit and some cheese and crackers. To my surprise, the lack of exercise and the lack of GREAT food options totally didnt hinder anything. I think it had to do with the amount of stress that I have been facing in the office these days being deminished significantly by the view, but I HIT 60lbs down yesterday morning weighing in at 201.6. This morning the scale said 202.4lbs and I should really count todays weight as it is my Tuesday weigh in day BUT I do believe that the extra .8 of a lb is all mucous that has filled my lungs and sinuses overnight so I am celebrating the success today. I have metally prepared myself and Sparms Bestie to be at the gym at our hotel every morning next week for some cardio. We all know what kind of food options are going to be facing me at the conference and I will not cave. I will dabble but not cave! On a more positve note, I tried another new recipe. FAUX-TATO SALAD - from the Atkins Diet I am guessing. It was passed on to me by a friend and I made my own adjustments to it. It was FAB and even better leftover! It is a heavy recipe with the mayo and the bacon but a nice indulgence for a side salad on occassion. I did not count the calories! 1/2 head cauliflower cut in to bite sized pieces 1/4 c diced red onion 2 stalks celery chopped 1/2 c ff greek yogurt 1/2 c lf mayo 1tsp salt 1tsp pepper 1tsp german mustard 1TBSP dill - use whatever spices you would like! 1/2 lb turkey bacon (I am sure you could use ff ham too) 4 hard boiled eggs chopped fine about 14g of protien per half cup. boil califlower for about 5 mins with lid on. DO NOT OVERCOOK! It shoudl still be sort of firm. Plunge in cold water to stop cooking - drain and set aside. saute bacon, add onions and celery until golden. Place egg, mayo, yogurt and spices in large bowl and combine. Add bacon, onion, celery and cauliflower. Mix well. Let chill for at least one hour before serving. It had me fooled! Take Care All!

So, 4 WEEKS! The scale greeted me to a .4 of a lb lost this week. BOO! But given the stress at work these days and my return to normalcy with meals, it was to be expected. I have done my 4 cardio days this week PLUS an extra 5 days at the off-leash park and tah dah... .4 of a pound. FML! I feel great though. Great about my food choices and great about my exercising too! You can't win em all! AND eh hemmm - look COLLARBONES! I've been pondering how much I will miss carbs in my life and was sad about it for a while. That has changed now that I have discovered a new found love for grains and even more important.. experimenting with cooking. Before surgery I was in the same old same old menu rut. It was safe... and BORING. But alas, it has been broken! Last week I experimented with BULGER and MILLET. This week it is CHICKPEAS or GARBANZO beans. So, here is what we are having tonight. TURKEY and QUINOA meatballs and CHICKPEA salad w. curried yogurt dressing. I actually made the salad for last night but it was such a hit we are having it again tonight. SALAD 2c prepared chickpeas* 1c shredded carrot 1c red and yellow peppers chopped 1/2c finely chopped purple onion 1 head romaine lettuce DRESSING 2c no fat greek yogurt 1c chopped cilantro 2tbsp curry 1tsp salt 1tsp pepper 1tsp roasted garlic minced 1Tbsp pepper taste test as you go to suit you. I use more curry and more garlic. Mix all salad ingredients except lettuce. Blend together all dressing ingredients. I served on a bed of romaine with a few slices of fresh tomatoes on the side. It was so light and fresh. *-Chickpeas require soaking and cooking. I cooked up a whole bag on Sunday for use throughout the week. TURKEY QUINOA MEATBALLS 2lb extra-lean ground turkey 2c prepared quinoa* 2 large eggs 2 Tbsp roasted garlic minced 2Tsbp Sunflower oil 1tbsp pepper 1tsp salt 1Tbsp chili powder - add whichever spices you fancy. Mix all ingredients together in large bowl. Use 1/4 c measuring cup to size out balls. Fry in pan with no-fat cooking spray, turn meatballs often. Recipe makes about 20 meatballs at about 12g of protein/ball. I double this and freeze them on a cookie sheet before separating into plastic bags.

So today marks 5 weeks. It is crazy time for me at work these next few weeks. I have to, "HAVE TO" work hard at planning ahead during these times. For instance, I had a 0900 staff meeting and rushed home at 3 to get my elliptical session in before a 630 meeting at a neighbouring town for a banquet. So, little time for exercising, plus allot of eating on the run will equal poor choices for me in my old life. NOT MY NEW LIFE! Last week I weighed in at 208.6 - a 4th of a lb lost for the entire week of super duper exercising and eating well 100% of the time. This week, I weigh in at a respectable 206lbs and didn't exercise as much as I would have liked to AND had a ladies only sushi slumber party with the besties Sunday night AFTER a few nachos and Irish Car Bombs Saturday. WTF?!?!? Anyone else with me on this one? I am not complaining here either but I have noticed things starting to sag. First the boobs, which I believe most of my 55lbs lost came from, are starting to droooop. 2 o's didnt do the drooping justice. Second, the flab around my tummy. I went from a round, robust belly to getting rolls. It does't seem fair. Give me back my boobs WL Gods and take whatever you need from my thighs or my ass. Actually, ripe for the picking from ANYWHERE else besides the boobs! I will continue to make my exercise goals and plan ahead and HOPE that if I continue, I will hit my mini-goal of 199lbs by June 5th - My Bday. I dont really have a solid # in mind that I would like to reach but after this entire year of hard work, I would be happy to maintain whatever I do lose for the rest of my life. I think a maintenence goal is a good one for me! DO NOT GAIN! Should be easy, right?!?! lol. THE BESTIES DO JASPER, Easter 2010. Me on the far right.

I only had one Irish Car Bomb and it was alright... I was more worried about nachos to be honest! All in all, my tummy felt fine, my brain hurt from guilt, but - YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE!

Shonette: I think around here (in the cold NOrth) we have named February the most depressing time of year! Its cold, we only get about 8 hours of sunlight a day. Christmas bills and such are weighing us done, tax season.. all of it. To be banded in January and face February now, the busiest time for me at work... I have had to make the decision to take care of myself, no matter what else happens. It will fall in to place. I used to be the kind of gal that swept the floor everyday, cleaned the entire house every week and had to be the first one to the office. Now, I sweep the floor a couple of times a week, spot clean the house and do ONE room every week and waltz in to work AFTER Ive done my exercise for the day. I know this may not be possible for you but I just wanted to let you know that some things can afford to spare your time FOR YOU! GOOD LUCK! HANG IN THERE!

I spent the first 3 days sleeping wherever I could, the couch, the chair, the spare room, ANYWHERE! I didnt get much either BUT I found comfirt in a wheat bag. Like a heating pad, put over my shoulders and neck. Also found walking walking walking to help. After day 3 I would walk after dinner until I was sore and the fresh air and exercise would really help allot. GOOD LUCK!

Good job owning it! Now, back on the wagon!

Thanks for sharing. I had some negative thoughts the other day too. Mostly about my band and stress at work. It does help to know that I am not alone and if I take anything from this site it is that. WE are not ALONE. All the best!

CONGRATS!!!! :bananapartyhat:

Happy Vday to you too Rosey! I havent eaten out yet although I think about it daily. Damn drive thru addiction! Youre mastering it all bit by bit. Keep it up! As for the guilt, forget about it. Give yourself permission to make less healthy choices once in a blue moon. 80/20 is what I live by. Live perfect 80% of the time and dont 20% of the time. I may amp that ratio up as it seems that I am currently doing great 90% of the time and 10% not but we have to allow the little flex for the human in us! Keep up the good work!

fillesudiste: For everyone the process is different but with the openess of most people on the site, your questions will be fielded. Dont obsess! It's a little bit harder when you go in and think you are prepared for every detail and aren't. Take it from me! Good luck, RELAX, be at peace.... What's meant to be will be! Always here if you need anything. Good Luck!

Good to hear things are swell so far! 40 lbs!!!! CONGRATS! ZUMBA!?!?!?! WOW! You must be doing great! I only started doing 20 mins on the elliptical at 2 weeks and wasnt allowed (nurse) to use the arm bars even at that point. Amped er up to 30mins today and used the arms. All good! My nurse said that the internal stiches are still healing for up to a month and suggests no HARD AT IT until 6 weeks. But each to thier own inner voice huh!? Keep it up and I am sure you will hit your goal!

I totally agree with the accountability in a blog. I dont mind if no one reads... but it feels good to get the encouragement from those that do follow. YOU CAN DO THIS! The first 60 came off easily, the next 60 is going to be tough BUT you deserve it! PS I may just call on these forums for accountability and motivation come my 6 month honeymoon burnout too! All the best!

I am 3 weeks post-op and still have allot of tenderness at my port site. I still cant sleep on that side and tend to wake myself up in pain if I do. My surgeon suggested the other day that trama at the site could cause the port to actually sort of pop right out of the skin. SCAREY! To be clear though, I have a Realize band and have been told that my band is not sutured to my stomach like a LapBand would be. In getting back to exercising, my nurse and surgeon suggest rolling the band of my sweats down to aviod any rubbing on the port site. Good luck!

GOOD JOB! KEEP AT ER!

So today makes 3 weeks. Again, it seems like only yesterday but also like it was 6 months ago! I have my full energy back. I am back on the beginner levels of my elliptical at least four days a week and I am still maintaining great meal choices! Another 3 lbs gone this week. For a grand total of 14lbs since surgery and 53 lbs all together. HOW EXCITING! I came out of the washroom yesterday morning after getting ready for work and the hubby looked up at me from the kitchen. "Wow, you look like a different person". Did he just say that? The man that sees me more than anyone else? He never notices. Not that it is a fault of his but they say when you see people on a regular basis, you are less likely to notice. I wasnt expecting that but it sure made my Monday start off on a good note! *sigh* He is sweet! I had a follow-up with my surgeon yesterday. I have been a little nervous about the two upper incision sites as over the weekend, my sports bra was rubbing on one and it seemed like it was getting infected. Sunday night I had a bath, cleaned the sites well and dabbed a bit of polysporin on them. They were cleaner by morning. I had a few questions for Dr. Birch. I wanted to know when I could get back to practicing roller-derby (not like I'd ever make a team), skiing, full on work-outs and all of that. He suggested another 3 weeks. Keep doing the cardio and light weights but suggests holding off until the 6 week mark before diving right back in to everything. 6 weeks, that's it?!?!? I can live with that! Dr. Birch also asked if I had been feeling any restriction. This made me panic a bit. Am I supposed to be feeling restriction? I know my band is empty! I explained that I have been eating small portions and not pushing anything to the point of feeling any restriction. I thought for a moment that maybe I had done something wrong, that I wasnt eating enough.... NOPE! He smiled, high-fived me and told me that for such a young woman, I was wise. I shouldn't be dependant on feeling the restriction, I should be controlling my portions. IT WAS A TRICK QUESTION! Ah, that cheeky little monkey. So I left the clinic feeling awesome and booked my first fill for March 21. He said that 2 weeks would be ideal BUT I have a week-long conference in Toronto the 2nd week of March and then... as a thank-you for pulling up my socks, rolling up my pants and carrying the laundry up and down gift, I bought tickets to St. John's Newfoundland for Steve and I for a week following. There is somehting about Newfoundland that is magical. Someone told me once that no matter which walk of life you may arrive from, part of you will feel "at home" in Newfoundland. This is an understatement. We haven't visited his family there for a year and a half. So, no worries about getting a fill and heading off to a conference with colleagues for a week and trying to adjust. This also made me feel fantastic. I wont have to worry about ANYTHING but staying on track! So, BRING ON ADVENTURE PACKED MARCH! I am ready for it! My first dip in the Atlantic Ocean - 2007. The view from Signal Hill, St. John's

Keep it up!

CONGRATS!

" can be done but you have to use the band and not rely on the band, You and only YOU can decide that that tasty chocolate is not worth it and you can live with out it." I couldnt agree more! I find, even with an empty band currently, that I make better choices and concentrate on better portions. I didn't go through major surgery to get back to my old habits! I wont have my first fill for a while and being 2 weeks post-op, just got back on the elliptical yesterday. It felt good! Your post is totally inspirational! Thanks for sharing!