Im on my own for dinner tonight and I have quite a few leftovers to choose from. In the past I would have heated them all and had a smörgåsbord. I've been good about packing away the leftovers in meal size portions so If I need to grab something I don't have to think. This is working REALLY well for me. I've been breaking down the grocery's too when I get home. Crackers, carrots, beef jerkey in little ziploc bags pre-measured. I've been buying tuna in the single serve cans- a bit more expensive but worth it.
So as I wrote over on the March thread.
"This is the first week that I feel great, really super. No doubts. Controlling my hunger with my food choices. I have a ton of energy. And best of all "Spring really becomes you. Your cheeks are rosy, and you're looking radiant" from a coworker.
What a difference a few lbs make.
When I make goal I'm going to be a whole new person!!!":thumbup::thumbup:(I hope I like me)
TTFN
comments always welcome:wink2:
After a surprisingly good nights sleep I've accepted the invite to "hang with" my friends (it just happens to be in a restaurant) I have to learn to not put food in the forefront of social situations.
Lesson learned: It's the friends not the food.:thumbup:
Are you on the verge of giving up on your dream?
Are you just about to let all your hopes and dreams slip through your fingers?
Has the thought crossed your mind?
Are you despairing because things are not working out the way you expected?
Are you wondering how you will ever accomplish your goal or even whether you really have what it takes to achieve them?
If you are already feeling the familiar feeling of despair that accompanies the fear that your dreams and hopes might go down the drain: DO NOT GIVE UP! Get up and fight for your dream. Fight for what you believe in.
Here are 8 tips to help you hang on and not give up:
1. Take charge of your life.
When you give up, quit, lose hope or abandon your dream or goal, you give both yourself and other external circumstances permission to sabotage your efforts.
Don't give in to self-defeating, self-sabotaging and dream choking thoughts. No matter how bumpy the ride is, don't abandon your dream. Get on the drivers seat of your life, wear your seat belt and drive to your destination.
It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it. ~ Douglas MacArthur~
2. Reconnect with your vision.
Before you decide to throw it all away, ask yourself why you had the initial desire to achieve that goal/dream. What compelled and stirred your heart toward that vision? Why was it so important to you? As you reflect on your answers, allow the passion for your vision to give you the strength to carry on.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight. ~ Kahlil Gibran~
3. Focus on your big picture.
When things go wrong, don't betray the plan. Don't let short-term obstacles snuff the life out of your long-term goal. Work on overcoming whatever is momentarily standing in the way of your dream. Bear in mind that achieving the goal is the big picture and not the obstacle in your path to your big picture. Stick to the plan for your life. The race is only over when you reach the finish line. Honor you desire to achieve your goal. Run the race of your life and until you get to the end.
The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. ~Stephen Covey ~
4. Believe in yourself.
Having your hopes dashed can damage your self-confidence. No matter how bad the situation seems, believe in yourself and in your ability to succeed. The fact that you thought about your idea, worked on it and turned it into reality counts for something and is evidence enough that you can do it!
With ordinary talent and extraordinary perseverance, all things are attainable.
~Thomas Foxwell Buxton ~
5. Persevere
The journey to success is usually filled with many obstacles. Dealing with obstacles aren't only time consuming but can also drain your energy, motivation and drive as you struggle to overcome them.
Perseverance is the hard work you do after you get tired of doing the hard work you already did. ~Newt Gingrich
6. Be resilient.
Resilience is an ability to bounce back and stand on your feet after a hard knock out punch. Simple thoughts such as "I will survive" and "I will try again" are enough to get your hopes high again and to set you rolling and in motion again.
When the world says, "Give up," Hope whispers, "Try it one more time."
~Author Unknown~
7. Change your perspective.
Perhaps you just need to see things from a different perspective in order to understand how you can do it better. You may have to rethink your strategy, revise a few things or be creative.
The saying goes that "It is hard to see the picture when you are in the frame" Perhaps it would help if you got out of the frame and really looked at the Big Picture!
Problems are not stop signs; they are guidelines. ~Robert Schuller~
8. Hang on!
There is no better way of saying this. This quote sums it all up: Hang on! Don't give up! There is surely something in that dream or goal that's worth holding on to. Find it and hang on to it.
When you reach the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.
Whatever it is that you aspire to achieve: Never, ever give up! ~Franklin D. Roosevelt~
by Caroline Jalango
Sometimes horoscopes hit it on the button.
"The hardest part of making changes in your life isn't thinking up ways to change -- it's putting that change into action! You need a lot of self-discipline to get started -- especially today, when your energy is going to be challenged by the demands people are putting on you."
So true!
I'm under a month until the Triathlon.
On the bike Ive been averaging 6+miles daily. I need to up my runs over 3miles. I'm feeling good so far. No major muscle aches. Just my left shin being tight.
I had some really good BBQ today. I'm glad I'm training enough that I can eat it and not feel guilty.
Exercise is the key to weight loss people!
I have some stupid big scars. I don't know if this is just me or Dr's handy work. One is 2 3/4", two are 1" and three are 1/2".
Is that normal?
I've been thinking about taking up yoga. Nice gentle body work. Only thing is last time I tried my hands got so sweaty I slipped and almost broke my nose.
Or maybe a personal trainer.
I have an appointment with the Dr next week and maybe get a fill if the Dr thinks I'm really trying. I think it is interesting that some Dr hand out fills like candy and others like bestowing a knighthood.:confused2:
I had my "education meeting" today. A mandatory meeting for to-be-banded folks that have a surgery date with my Dr. What a waste of time. 2.5 hours of an RN talking about everything I all ready know(mostly from LBTF). I guess the meeting is needed because one lady actually asked when will the band be removed? She was shocked when she heard it would be in her for life. She was the one who also asked how soon she could schedule the surgery "with this Dr." to remove all the extra skin ?
I also met a lady in the Dr's office that has been banded for 4 years. What a downer she was. She said she hasn't really lost much weight and can eat "anything she wants". Well maybe thats the reason she hasn't lost anything. She pooh-poohed LBTF as a bunch of kooks. Said I should join her support group so she could teach me how to eat with the band. A- NO thankYou.
On another journal (sunshine2) I found a link to www.livingafterwls.com that celebrates living after weight loss surgery. I love this site. They have a newsletter, recipes, and the neighborhood, which is alot like here. A great resource.
I'm very psyched. This time in 2 weeks I will be banded!!!:thumbup:
I went to my favorite Japanese place tonight. Out of habit I ordered what I always ordered. Its a chefs special, always something different but served in a bento box. I love how all the food is separated into its own place , no sauce touching something its not supposed to. Today it was: three pieces of sushi, 4 wedges of orange, four little pieces of sweet potato, chicken teriyaki (about 1/4 cup), two pieces of shrimp tempura & two pieces of carrot tempura, with a bowl of rice and miso broth. I knew I was not going to be able to eat it all. I had about half of the soup, the fish from the sushi(i guess that made it sashimi) two wedges of orange(an 1/8) the shrimp and the sweet potatoes. I figured it out at home for the calories and am very happy to say it was 300 cals, 22gm protein and 8.3gm fat. Not bad if I say so. I chewed very well and ate slowly. I had them pack the chicken and some green beans from DH's dinner for lunch tomorrow.
I'm so happy I don't have a problem with Japanese food!! Im staying away from the rice, which I really don't miss.
I've only lose 14 lbs since surgery but over 40 since starting the journey. I'm happy with that.
Ok Im off to add my 2 cents to the boards.
PS is having the soup with dinner the same as drinking liquids?:confused2: Crap I didn't think about that.
I've been thinking alot about goals lately. I'm not a goal driven person, I do tasks. I see something that needs doing and do it. I'm more of an intuitive person, it either feels right so I do it or wrong and I stay away. I don't know what it is about writing out goals but I just seem to stall out. I look forward and see some things I would like different but can't seem to set a plan for it. Maybe that is the thing that needs to be different with the band. Goals.
So why can't I set a few goals?
I don't like to fail.
Ok so set some easy goals.
*start the day with 30min on treadmill.
*work with trainer weekly. Be on time and ready to workout.
*log all food weekly. Be truthful.
Do I want to set a weight goal?
*lose 2 lbs this week.
Will see about next week.
Longer term goal?
*200lbs by my wedding anniversary. Thats 1.6lbs a week.
What will I do to achieve these goals?
**I paid the trainer up front for the whole year. Big $$ so that's something.
**I need to recruit some friends to give me a call to get my mojo going in the morning.
**I will post my anniversary goal on my mirror with a wedding photo(last time I was 200lbs).
I think this is a good start.
Comments are always welcome. Thanks!
I have a cold. I've been coughing up a lung. I can't help but wonder what a cold will be like with the band. I've read about pouches filling up with post nasal drip and coughing so hard it feels like its ripping the stitches of the port or possibly causing the band to slip. Cold medicine, will I be able to take whatever I need too?
Back to bed.
:sick
The up side is the scale went down.
Hi all. Work has been a bear, so I haven't been posting.
I saw my Dr on the 21st and he cleared me for solid food. I asked about the mushy phase and his reply " you're a smart person, chew until mush then swallow. Unless you want to puree your food" Ive been enjoying food again. Ive found that I really cant eat more then a cup of food. Im keeping the protein up (60gm) carbs low & cals low(under 800) and taking 20-30 minutes to eat.
I still have to pulling sensation under my port, but Dr said that is muscle healing.
Im getting most of my water in. Ive found if I drink 20 oz on the drive to and from work that really helps.
night:sleep:
Memorial Day weekend is synonymous with BBQ and that means FOOD.
I did really great Saturday, very bandster. Today has also been fine. Sunday was the problem. I was on the hook to make BBQ chicken and ribs. Man were those ribs good, I make KILLER ribs! A nibble here a nibble there. Yum. Then at the party munchies were everywhere. I tried to be good at first and eat only carrots but the peanuts were calling to me. Then so was the pasta salad, ribs and fruit and cookies. I wasn't feeling too good when we left. Which makes it easy to not eat much today. Im not feeling too bad about my consumption this weekend on the whole I ate TONS less then I would normally have. Still I know that the scale will not be moving down in the next few days and I have only myself to blame.
On the bright side the scale will definitely not be going up.
I was taking some warm weather clothes down from the attic today. They are in plastic boxes and a bit heavy. I was bracing one on my belly, (like I have always done, nice soft landing zone), when it slid down over my port. OUCH!! Man I thought I scrapped that little bugger off my muscle. I have a bruise now and the port area is tender like when I first got it. Geeze I hope I didn't rip/pull a stitch.
Update on eating/drinking- Im doing great on calories/protein. I could do better on getting my water in. The scale is still going down though.
I have found a new mantra:
Am I trading what I want most for what I want at the moment?
Weather it is more/high calorie food or vegging/watching TV and not exercising.
I keep hearing "look at this in the long term" because I'm bitching about slow weight loss. It has been 26 weeks since I decided something had to change and began this process mindfully. If I go by my scale I have lost 50 lbs, (according to the Dr who is going by a different date and scale 40lbs.) Averaged out that's 1.92 a week and well within the standards of healthy weight loss. That makes me feel a little bit better.
Still I know there is a golden time with the band, 24 months. That is the optimal time to lose with the band. I feel the clock ticking away and hope I have the personal strength to get what has to be done, done.
Do I want this the most?
I had my first fill today. I thought I was going to have to talk the Dr into it but he just said "sure if you really want one".
1.5cc in the 4cc band. I've heard horror stories about fills being tough, Dr digging to get the port, but it was a breeze. I don't know if it was the excitement or what but I got a little lightheaded for a few minutes after. So now its liquids for a few days then soft.
I've moved the training schedule to 3 days a week (from 2).
I've taken in a few pairs of shorts (and need to loss the stuff I don't fit in any more.)
I'm finding I don't feel hungry most of the time.
Scale is moving down-slowly.
Cholesterol went down by about 100 points.
I have to work on wanting to eat when I'm bored. Why is that?
I have to work on exercising on non trainer days.
I think that is good progress.
