Last night on my way home from Jazzercise, I decided that since I worked out twice (ran at lunch and did high impact Jazzercise at night) that I would stop and get myself something fun to eat. I told my mom that I was getting Chinese food and she said that I was going to weigh more the next day. I told her that I wasn't planning to eat A LOT, I just wanted something different. She told me that she thought that Chinese food made you weigh more the next day. Whatever. I ordered the Mandarin Chicken which is not fried, but I did have the sauce. I just ate the chicken, no side. I also drank about 2 glasses of Diet Cran Grape juice. This morning I am up 1.4 pounds!! Crazy. Considering I had over 1000 calorie deficit yesterday, I know it isn't real, so I'm ignoring it. But geeze!!
I was really proud of myself yesterday during my run. I ran almost the entire two miles at some sort of incline. I also got the incline up to a 4 in some places where as last week the inclines were lower and shorter duration. I "sprinted" the last few tenths of the 2nd mile. I discovered that when I really push myself faster, I lengthen my stride. So I think if I can work on that and get myself to naturally lengthen my stride while running, I can improve my speed with less effort than it would take to actually increase my pace. We will see how that works. I have 5 weeks to improve before my next 5K.
Today's new items: I'm wearing my new Victoria's Secret bra. It sure is comfortable! I'm wearing a tan, black & white animal print tank under a brown short-sleeved sweater that cinches with a button at the waist. I paired with my new Levis (size 16!!) and my new brown low-heeled brown loafers. I'm feeling sassy today!! New clothes from head to toe. :thumbup: I will try to post some pics of all the fun new shoes this weekend.
Today is a no exercise day. We are meeting some friends for lunch and tonight is the So You Think You Can Dance tour!! We will be there along with an audience full of 12 year old girls screaming our heads off!! Woooooooooooo!
Have a happy Wednesday!
I don't usually post on the weekends, but I had to today. My scale read 234.2! That means I am down 50.8 pounds. YAY!!!
I am so very excited. 50 pounds in 150 days!! I realize that I have a way to go, but this is such a big goal. I just have to stop and take a moment.
Have a great weekend!
Between the pictures yesterday, the compliment from a stranger and Support Group last night...I was almost giddy yesterday!! :thumbup: I think I forgot to say in my blog yesterday that I had platform shoes on in the new picture. I received a comment that I looked taller, but in all fairness I WAS taller!! But I still felt awesome!
I think I have talked about this a bit before, but over the last few days I have really seen myself in a different light. Almost all of my adult life, I have been a size 18W. I remember discovering "women's" sizes my senior year in college. There have been a few (maybe 3?) short spans where I have worn smaller/bigger sizes, but the majority of the time, it was 18W. I think that in my mind 18W is my size. Period. When I was brushing up against 300 lbs. and squeezing myself into 22/24s, I would still pick up items in the 18W range and think they would fit. I would be so surprised when they didn't.
Now, my 18W sizes are too big. But it seems to surprise me when I fit into something smaller. For example, I bought a Junior size XXL Halloween shirt from Target. You know those ones they have every year? I have never been able to fit in them so I had to buy the womens ones that were so ill fitting on me. Since my next 5K (!) is on October 30th, I thought it could be an "incentive" shirt. I would strive to wear it by that time. When I got home, the darn thing fit. What?? Don't get me wrong, it was awesome! But I obviously never thought I would fit my body into that.
Then, last night at group, my friend Debi gave me some regular size 16 khaki pants. First of all, they were size 16, not 16W. Second, they are light khaki and that shows EVERYTHING! I'm much more comfortable in black pants. Anyway, I told her I would take them for incentive. Again, I went home, tried them on and they fit great! I wasn't even concerned with the light color.
So, is it official? Am I now in the range of "normal" size? Can I actually go to "normal" stores when I go shopping? My mom is coming this weekend to help me bargain shop for fall clothes. Can we skip Lane Bryant and Avenue? There have only been two times in my adult life that I have been able to do that. In 1999, I'm not sure what initiated it, but I got down to 197# and fit into a regular size 14. That lasted about 6 months. In 2006, I had just started on my CPAP machine and was sleeping great and Jazzercising and I got down to 203# and got into regular size 16s. That lasted about 9 months.
Although I KNOW I look smaller, it is hard for me to imagine that my butt will fit into something smaller. I'm quickly approaching those 203# & 197# numbers that are my all time adult lows. What then? I can barely register myself now. I can't even imagine what 185# or 175# might be. I almost hate to dream about it lest I jinx it!! I have difficulty thinking about years to come and daring to hope that (with continued dedication on my part) I will never have to wear an 18W again. I will revisit this issue again at a later date.
Now...pictures. Yesterday I had my casuals. Today it is the stripped down spandex version. I really do feel like I'm tightening up nicely. I think the running is helping my legs a lot! Plus the use of hand weights at Jazzercise (and the fact that I'm up to 10# weights) is really helping the arms. I have included Front-beginning and today and Side-beginning, last month, and today.
Hugs to you all!!!
I missed you all while I was on vacation! I had a wonderful time.
We left at lunchtime on Thursday. The drive to my friend's small town Louisiana home is about 6 hours, so we made it in time for dinner. Her brother and his family met us at her parents' house and we all had some EXCELLENT smothered chicken. I was a little concerned about the rice since I have had some trouble with it, but with the Cajun gravy, it all went down fine.
Friday we went to New Orleans. I couldn't resist cafe au lait and beignets at Cafe du Monde, but I limited myself to one. I still don't understand why I can't eat bread, but the fried doughs, cakes and such all go down fine. Ha! We spent some time walking around the French Quarter. I was looking to buy a painting, but I didn't find anything that particularly caught my attention. We went to lunch at 1179 which is an Italian restaurant closer to the WWII museum. It was on the expensive side for lunch, but it was very good. After lunch we went to the WWII museum and I have to say that it exceeded every expectation. The movie is a MUST SEE. If you are ever in NOLA, you should visit and if you are a hard core war buff, you should make the trip. We left around 5 and made it back home in time for my friend's dad's Cajun Shrimp Stew. Oh my God. It was unbelievably delicious. If I haven't mentioned it yet, my friend's dad is an incredible Cajun cook. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to eat his food, but I could...just in moderation like a "normal" person.
Saturday we spent with my friend's brother's family. He has two little girls that are both adorable and exhausting! We went to a 4th of July celebration and watched fireworks. On Sunday, my friend's extended family gathered at her parents' house for a potluck lunch. Heavenly!! Her dad BBQ'd Boston butt (hee, I'm 12) and there was macaroni and cheese, eggplant/rice dressing, carrot casserole (which tasted like the best sweet potato casserole ever!) and baked beans. I had a little of everything and I was satisfied with one trip. I did have a couple pieces of PB fudge for dessert. :frown:
Monday was our annual casino trip. I was down almost $100 bucks in 3 hours!! Yikes!!! But I made an incredible comeback in the last 45 minutes and made it out only down $40. Whew!
We came back to town yesterday. We are working today and tomorrow, then leaving for Wichita Friday. We are going to see the Mens USA Volleyball team compete in World Cup pool play. We are big fans!
I'm happy to say that while I was on vacation, with NO exercise whatsoever, I'm down almost a pound. Woo hoo! I plan to jog during lunch today and go to Jazzercise tomorrow night. That's about all I'm going to get this week. But I figured it will at least keep me a little more prepared when I get back to normal next week.
A fun NSV: neither my friend nor I usually fit into "normal" size bracelets. They are usually too big for her and too small for me. She got one from her aunt for Christmas and she gave it to me because it was too big for her. It didn't fit me, but I held on to it. I'm wearing it today. YAY!!
This might not be a very fun blog entry to read, but I felt it was one I needed to write so I could see it for myself. I keep saying that I want to be healthy, so what does that mean to me? Once I wrote it, I looked at it before I posted it. Wow. I need this surgery. I need help so I can get and stay healthy. Thank you all for existing so I have somewhere to do this.
SLEEP. About 5 years ago, I was diagnosed with sleep apnea. Once I got used to my CPAP machine, I had the best nights of sleeping that I had in my life! Then I gained 40 lbs. It certainly didn't happen all at once, but it's like I noticed it all at once. I can feel that my machine is not effective any longer. I am exhausted all the time. I yawn constantly. I remember being like this before I got my machine. While I could go make appointments and get another sleep study and get it all changed (about 60-90 days), my hope is that in the next 3-4 months, I will lose the 25 or so lbs that will make the machine effective again. My ultimate goal would be to get off the machine altogether!!
Acid Reflux. I take two Nexium a day. I have terrible reflux that my doctor has indicate would lessen considerably with weight loss. All the research I have seen indicates that people who suffer from acid reflux benefit greatly from the effects of the LB. I would love to be able to take only one a day with no flare ups. It would be super great if I didn't have to take it at all!
Blood pressure & cholesterol. My blood pressure is mostly fine, but I had a period earlier this year when it was high. I took medication for one month and it seemed to lower and I was able to go off. My cholesterol is hovering near the elevated area. My goal is to NOT have to get on medication for these things!
Skin. I've noticed that as the heavier I get the more issues I have with my skin. I know part of that is nutritional and that will help alone. Part of it is that I am less flexible and it is harder to clean and moisturize in every area. Gross and sad, but true. By being able to reach everything, and areas not being "lost" under flab rolls of skin, I think my overall skin will be much better!
Feet. My feet hurt constantly. I honestly believe that I'm just trying to carry to much weight. I used to be able to exercise and then ice them, but I can't even do that anymore. I'm actually wearing flector patches during the day just so I can do normal walking. I should be at least able to do normal walking and low impact aerobics without ridiculous pain. I'm hoping for high impact aerobics, but I will settle for low if that is all I can get!
Knees. In the last year, I noticed that as I exercised, my knees started to really hurt. No question in my mind that if I were carrying less weight, this would not be a problem at this point.
Energy. I think this goes along with sleep, but since I'm not able to exercise, I just have no energy whatsoever. I'm sleeping 9-10 hours per night and it just doesn't feel like enough. I remember when I was exercising 7 hours per week. I was bouncing off the wall with energy!
Anxiety. Yes, it would nice to be thin for looks. But mostly, I just want to be comfortable in my own skin. i didn't have any physical reactions to anxiety, but then I was like a volcano. I have it under control, but it would be nice to not have it at all. I feel that with weightloss, I will feel more comfortable and in control. With that, I feel that my anxiety will lessen.
Comfort. Speaking of comfort, it would just be nice to be able to sit down in a chair and not be concerned if it is sturday enough. It would be nice to sit in a plane without being concerned that the person next to me is hating life because they are stuck next to a fat person. It would be nice for my nephews and neice to not innocently say things about how big/squishy/fat etc. their aunt is.
I said to someone the other day, "The more you love yourself, the easier you are to love by those who love you." I believe that and I want to make it easier for my family and friends to love me. I want to LOVE myself. ALL of myself!!
I am ready for my new life.
I am now two months post op. This month I lost 7.4 lbs, for a grand total of 29.4.
This month I reached one of my early goals of losing 10% of my body weight. YAY!!
Later this week, I will retake measurements, so that should be interesting!
I lost around 10 pounds on my preop diet. My goal has been to average 10 pounds lost per month. Jan-10 pounds preop, Feb-12 lbs., March-7.4 lbs. Not too bad!!
I will have new pictures in a couple of weeks so that will be great to see as well.
Have a great Easter!!
I had my pre-op and nutritionist appointments this morning. I think I'm a little overwhelmed. I definitely started to panic on my way from the doctor to work, but I was able to get past it. I think I'm good to go now!
I'm starting my pre-op diet tomorrow. It is mostly a liquid diet. Two protein shakes and one serving of either broth based soup or cottage cheese. You can even have "chunks" in the soup. So that will be good. It is going to be super hard. I don't know why I thought it would only be one week of liquid diet. Oh well, maybe I will lose my holiday weight before I actually have the surgery. That would be excellent!!
I keep thinking about how ridiculously hungry I'm going to be. But then I think I can do most anything for two weeks.
I actually told several of my employees today. I wasn't planning to tell most of work, but we were discussing me been out and I was asked specifically what surgery I was having. I started talking about how it was stomach surgery, no big deal. But then I realized that I love these people so I just said, "well, I'm having LAP-BAND®®® procedure." They were all so happy for me (of course, I guess they work for me so it would be weird to trash me.) One of them has a daughter who had a band, but she had a lot of complications. She still said she thought it was a good idea and thought I would be good with it. That was a great feeling!!
So, now it is definitely not a secret. I'm okay with that. I just don't do secrets well.
I took my before pictures last night and they are beauties! Ha! I will post them soon.
That said...tomorrow is officially Day #1. Here I go!
Hi everyone! I've been absent for a couple of days because I had been following the rule that if you can't say anything nice then don't say anything at all. :bored: I knew from everything you all told me that the pain would pass, so I just waited it out.
I can't say you all didn't warn me...you totally did! I guess that since I have a high tolerance for pain, I thought I could handle it better. Plus, I don't think I expected it to last so long. They didn't really get bad until Day #4 and they lasted excruciatingly until Day #6. Alas, it is Day #7 and everything is tolerable. I am still quite uncomfortable, but I feel that it is downhill from here!
Food has turned me off since the surgery so I still have to force myself to eat the mushy stuff. I don't feel hungry at this point. I'm sure that once all the swelling goes down, I will be hungry again.
Tomorrow is my post op appointment and they will tell me what I can eat from here. I'm trying not to hope too much that I will be able to eat something new. :mad3: That would be super awesome though.
I have a girls group that goes to dinner once a month and we are getting together tomorrow. I would be fine to get soup and just eat the broth or get a smoothie on the way, but it would be so great if I can have flaky fish and mashed potatoes or something!
Hope as is well with you all!!
I wore a skirt yesterday and Lord Almighty, my inner thighs are paying for it! If I am blessed to lose a lot of weight in this process that is one thing I'm definitely NOT going to miss!!
The crazy bloating I had on Monday that gave me a 1/2 pound gain for the week is gone, so YAY! I have two more weeks before my next fill, and I would really like to lose 5 pounds by then. That should be doable.
I've been in a scheduling frenzy lately. I have two musicals, Nascar race weekend at TMS, a friend's wedding in South Texas, a support group meeting, a few dinners with friends, & my fill all scheduled in the next three weeks. May has two more musicals, a trip to Six Flags, a support group meeting, more dinners with friends, & a trip to Florida to see my parents. I love doing stuff!!
I used to hate staying in at lunch, but now I'm learning to enjoy the post-workout feeling. I have a two workout day today, so wish me luck on accomplishing that! My trainer kicked my butt yesterday, but I know that I can still get the 2nd workout in today if I really push myself. Then tomorrow is my full day off from exercise! Plus, my office closes early tomorrow. What a way to start the weekend!
I felt so down on Monday, so I'm glad to be back in fighting form! I hope all my fellow bandsters are having a great week!
Vacations are GREAT! But it is good to come home and get back in my routine.
Thursday I got to Louisville and my brother picked me up at the airport. My brother and I love each other, but we have never really been friends. I noticed that this trip, that seems to be changing. I have no idea if it is coming from me, him or both of us, but I LOVE it!! One nephew and my niece were with him and were really excited to see me (as I was them!) We picked up other nephew and met SIL at home. SIL was extremely complimentary...she has been one of my biggest supporters throughout this whole process. It feels good!
Friday I slept in and then went to my nephew and niece's school for a Read-a-thon kick off. Too cute! That night we went to a party at some friends' of my brothers house. One of his friends that I have met before just went on and on about how different I look. Awesome!!
Saturday, I got up and ran the 5K. I detailed all of that for you in my last post. Sunday, my brother was having a big party for the neighborhood, so I helped get ready for that. It was almost like a work out! But then all the delicious food came in for the pot luck and I ate like a fiend. Now, of course, I didn't eat like I used to, but I still ate way more than I usually do today.
Sunday, I woke up and hung out with the kids a bit. Then, my SIL, the kids and I went to lunch before they took me to the airport.
Super fun time!!
I was really hungry this morning when I woke up. I weighed myself and I lost .2 pounds for the week. Not too bad since I went on vacation, but I think it is probably time for a fill. I had one scheduled for Thursday, but I cancelled it a couple of weeks ago when I was going strong. Oops! Anyway, I have one now scheduled for 9/14. That is two days before my parents come to town, but they are supportive so it should be fine.
I certainly missed you all!!
It has been an interesting week. One in which I have learned a bit about myself. Last Monday I began to get sick. I really pushed myself to get through it. I worked out on Monday and twice on Tuesday and ate well. I lost over a pound in those two days. By Tuesday night, I just couldn't deny that I was sick.
Wednesday I went to the doctor and took it easy. Thursday I worked out but didn't push too hard. I also did not make good eating choices. In those two days, I found my lost pound.
By the weekend, I felt myself making excuses. I've been sick, so I should take it easy. I've had a rough week, so a treat is in order. I haven't slept well, so I should sleep in instead of working out. On and on it went through the weekend. Monday (today) is my official weigh in day and I lost 8 tenths of a pound for the week. Don't get me wrong. I will take a loss regardless of the size. But in my heart, I know that I wasn't working at it. A pound when you are working hard is a huge victory...a pound when you are making bad choices is not. (for me.)
If I were the old, unbanded me, today would be the day I would quit. I mean I have lost 50 pounds. I fit GREAT in my clothes. I'm at a "normal" weight for myself as an adult. I can tell that if I were the old me, I would start my climb back into non-diet mode.
Fortunately for me, I'm no longer on a diet! I have changed my life. Therefore, it is much easier for me to say "ENOUGH!" It is much easier to stop this nonsense and get myself back on track. I couldn't help getting sick and causing a pause in my routine. But I CAN help how I react to it.
My goal is to eat "right" (and I know what that means for me) and work out three hours during the next three days. If I do that, I know myself well enough to know that will be enough to get me going in the right direction and the rest will come.
I'm leaving for vacation on Thursday and return on Tuesday. Then I leave again on Friday and return on Sunday. I actually do well on vacation so I'm not worried about that at all. My issues are squarely on me when I'm at home by myself. It is time to make myself busy again.
Thank you Band for helping me to be strong and take control of my life! I will always have hurdles, but you have helped me be able to jump them instead of letting them stop me!
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!
It's been quite a week! I'm glad it is the last day of my self-imposed exercise hiatus. I do think it has been productive though. I learned (as I suspected) that I was using exercise as an excuse to make bad food choices. I think that now I have my head wrapped around the idea that I can make good choices without feeling like I'm sacrificing greatly.
A couple of my thin friends say that is why you exercise...so you can eat what you want. I tried to explain to them that is a faulty argument for me two reasons. First, they are thin and just working to maintain. I am trying to lose over 100 pounds. In a year, when I plan to be at or very near my goal weight, I can live on a very small calorie deficit or even breakeven. But if I do that now, I will never get to where I want to be.
Secondly, and probably most importantly, I am a food addict or at the very least, I have an unhealthy relationship to food. Eating "whatever you want" most likely means a very different thing to me than it does to my thin friends. I can never have the attitude that I can eat "whatever I want". Even at goal, I will have to modify that.
I would like to think that I will lose this weight and gradually learn better food habits. I would like to think that when this weight is gone, I can eat like a "normal" person without the assistance of the band. While I don't think that is 100% out of the question someday, I do think that I will probably need the help for at least a long while. And I'm really starting to be okay with that.
Right now, I AM dieting, whether I want to admit to it or not. Now, it is also life changing and I'm not dieting in an unhealthy way. However, I'm eating in a way that I do not plan to continue forever. I don't think you should have a 1,000 calorie deficit forever because at some point you need to even out. But that IS normal.
This week while not exercising, but focusing on food, I have lost 1.6 pounds in 5 days. I hope to increase that over the weekend. My plan next week is to keep the same plan with my food, but add a 150-200 calorie snack on days that I work out. That should increase my calorie deficit on those days by 350-450 calories.
Starting tomorrow, the schedule is to work out 5 1/2 hours in the next 8 days. After 0 hours in 6 days, that should be interesting!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!!
One more day down and getting better. I still have a lot of gas pain so I have been walking and I have taken the advice for using a heating pad. Maybe that will help. All in all, it is doable.
I took off the bandage on my belly button this morning to take a shower. Not pretty! I'm sure it will heal fine though. Just one other small incision and it looks like it is healing perfectly. The belly button incision stings a little more since being bared so I have some ice on it.
I had hot tea for breakfast this morning and it went down fine. Around 10:30, I had some protein powder in milk. It wasn't too bad, but I definitely like it better cold.
I love all the tips I'm hearing from you guys so if you think of something, bring it on!
I'm so fortunate to have my mom here helping me. I don't know how some of you all do it on your own. It is just so comforting and makes it easier to relax. We are going to have one more completely lazy day (except for the walking.) Tomorrow I'm going to try and make myself presentable for a trip to church. I think I should be able to do that. I have theater tickets for Sunday, so church should give me a good indicator if I will be able to do that. It is only a couple of hours. We shall see.
Have a great weekend everyone!
First, let me tell you about my AWESOME vacation! Thursday night we landed in New Orleans and made our way to our hotel in the Quarter. After we checked in, we walked the 2.5 blocks (great location!) to Cafe du Monde for some decaf Cafe au Lait and beignets. When I was there in July, I was able to eat one beignet VERY SLOWLY and it was uncomfortable. After I was able to wolf down one super quick this time, I knew I was in trouble! :confused: Then we headed over to Pat O's and the dueling pianos for a Hurricane. One Hurricane is PLENTY for this girl! After a quick walk down Bourbon, we settled in for the night.
Friday, we slept in a little then went to Mother's for a late breakfast. I had the special which is two eggs, biscuit, meat (I had debris & gravy) and grits. I only ate half the biscuit and barely any of the meat. The eggs, grits & gravy were AWESOME! I didn't think I even liked grits. Ha! After we took the ferry over to Algiers. We had some coffee at a cute little coffee house then visited a glass blowing place. That was REALLY neat and I picked up a super cute hand blown perfume bottle.
After we headed back to the French Quarter and went to Yo Mama's. This, my fellow Bandsters, is where you put your hands over your eyes and shriek! My friend & I shared a Peanut Butter and Bacon Burger. I will let that sink in... Now, I will say that I was only able to eat half and I was quite satisfied. So, if I were in my maintenance stage, I'm actually in a very good place. But I still have 50 or so pounds to lose! And I know that I would not be able to keep my hunger in check at this restriction (well, at least not enough to continue to lose weight.) So, duly noted.
I will say though that was the MOST DELICIOUS burger I have ever had. My friend agreed. Anyway, after lunch we went to the casino where we both lost $40 in less than an hour. Nice. By then it was time to make our way back to the hotel to get ready for the evening.
We met my friend's brother and sister-in-law for dinner on Frenchman Street. It was delcious! I had grillades and grits...grits twice in one day! Crazy. Then we went to a couple of different bars to listen to some live music.
Saturday, we grabbed some coffee and headed to the Mardi Gras World museum. It is at the company which makes all the floats and it was a really neat thing to see! After, we had lunch at an authentic Po Boy place. It didn't even have a sign, but the line was out the door! I had half of a catfish Po Boy and again...this is the first time since my surgery in January that I have had real bread.
After lunch, we walked around Magazine Street for a few hours then headed back to the hotel to freshen up. We had dinner at the Gumbo Shop and it was one of the best meals I've had in a long time. I would STRONGLY recommend the place! After dinner we took a Haunted History tour which was a lot of fun. After that, we walked around Bourbon for a while taking in the "sights".
Sunday we got up and went with brother & SIL to tailgate for the Saints game. I will say that New Orleans has some of the most dedicated fans I have ever seen. The place is COVERED with Saints colors and signs and you can't get a block without hearing "Who Dat?" or "Geax Saints!" As a Colts fan, I can appreciate it, but I had enough!! :thumbup: The pregame was fun though! We watched the game from the airport bar. Darryl Johnston was at our gate when we left! But I don't think he was able to make it on the plane.
It was very nice to be home! Since my doctor wouldn't allow a fill for another week, I can't regret not getting one before I went. And quite honestly, I think the vacation was worth the small amount I was up this morning. I have no doubt it will be gone soon enough. It did make me realize that I still need a lot of help to get to my goal! But it also made me realize that I have a life to live in the meantime and I HAD FUN!
I have another vacation to Indianapolis this coming weekend. In the past, I would have used this as an excuse to continue my vacation through the week and get back on it when I return. But I'm a different person now! It is back to the routine for 4.5 days. 4.5 days of focus and work, then I can enjoy another vacation with NO GUILT!!
I hope you all had wonderful weekends as well!!
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!
I had a wonderful weekend. My mom came in town on Friday and we stayed up late talking. She is one of the only people that knows of my Lap Band decision, so we talked about that a lot. We had a nice Saturday shopping and lazing around. There was a small incident in the Kohl's restroom where we learned that fiber granola bars make you gassy. I haven't laughed that hard in a LONG time!
Sunday was my confirmation as a Catholic. Religion is deeply personal for many people as it is with me. But I'm so blessed to have had my religious journey this year as I feel that it has helped to give me the strength to make this life changing decision.
I took Monday off to spend with Mom, so I have been crazy busy at work this week. Tuesday afternoon was my first appointment with my surgeon! I just have to coordinate with my mom since she is going to come help me out and I will have it done late January. It will be such a weight lifted once the final plans are made.
Today, I finally had a chance to look at the pictures from my confirmation. HOLY COW! I know I'm fat. That is why I have made this decision. But, man, I just forget how I big I am until I see a picture. When I look in the mirror, I see a big person, but I honestly don't see how big I really am. It made me very sad for a brief moment, but then I just felt good that I have made this decision.
I look forward to the day where I LOVE to have my picture taken!! :biggrin:
I'm booking my surgery today and I'm looking for some advice. I am planning to schedule my surgery for Wed, Jan 27th or Thurs, Jan 28th. I just realized that my theater season tickets are for Jan 27th. So...should I go to the show on Wednesday night and have the surgery on Thursday? I guess that is really my only option. I started to think that maybe I could have the surgery on Wednesday and change my tickets to the Sunday show, but now I think that I would probably not be up to it. The show only runs Wed-Sun.
Anybody have thoughts?
I'm sitting here blogging and watching Colts preseason football. My life is SWEET! The only thing that would make it better would be a regular season game. :scared2: I LOVE football!!
Speaking of the Colts, I bought our plane tickets to Indy today. They went down almost $100 so I jumped on it. I also reserved the hotel so we are ready to go! It is hard to believe that I have a trip to Louisville, a visit from the parents, & a trip to New Orleans before that. Plus I trip to North Carolina to see my godson a couple weeks after that. Whew! Exhausting...but again, how awesome!?
Jazzercise was a good workout tonight. I used 8 pound weights tonight instead of 10. They felt pretty light which is a good sign. I had a little twinge in my back today and I wanted to baby it. But I still felt that I got in great strength training.
Tomorrow night we are going to a Bowling for Soup concert. They are my favorite band and I LOVE seeing them. I'm excited!
Have a great Friday everyone! I will be rocking out! :sleep:
Hi everyone! I think I must've caught something while on vacation because I've felt puny the last couple of days. I took some Nyquil and went to bed at 8:30pm last night so I feel a little better today. Hopefully, I will feel a lot better by the afternoon because I work at Jazzercise tonight. If I'm going to be there I'm going to work out!!
I'm looking forward to a nice relaxing weekend. Tomorrow after 3pm, I have to call the US District Court to find out whether I will be called to Jury Duty on Monday. I have never been called before, so there is a part of me that would be interested to participate. The other part of me knows that I'm super busy during the next 2 weeks and jury duty could really mess me up! :wink: I will keep you posted.
Tomorrow is also my annual well woman exam. Super fun! At least I'm not old enough for mammograms yet, so I suppose it could be worse!
Have a great Thursday!
It is roughly 3 months post op. I had my surgery on 1/27, so I track my weight and measurements at the end of each month.
My ladybug is certainly on the move! I officially lost 8.8 pounds last month.
I certainly look forward to measuring this weekend. I hope that the exercising is paying off!!
Hope you all have a great weekend!
Hi everyone! I have to say that I'm a little tired today. I went out with a LB support group friend last night and didn't get home until 11:30. That is late for me!! We met for dinner then went to see the musical Dreamgirls. We had a GREAT time! I feel so blessed to have met her.
But I had a hard time getting to sleep and (pardon my TMI) I am feeling constipated the last couple of days. That is unusual for me so I'm getting a little annoyed with it.
I think part of my problem is my lack of exercise this week. It will be a full week for me today without ANY kind of organized exercise. I feel sure that once I get back to it, my energy will take off. I have Jazzercise tonight, so that will be fun. I am supposed to go see Master Bruce tomorrow night which is fine, I guess. I have really gotten to the point I dislike him and don't want to go anymore which is too bad. I only have 4 more prepaid sessions I need to use and then I can focus on trying something else. Any ideas? I am trying to think of something fun to do probably once a week that would be a little different (to supplement the Jazzercise and running.)
Mostly, I'm just looking forward to a weekend at home! I loved going to Louisiana and Kansas, but I'm ready for a break.
Thank goodness tomorrow is Friday!! :thumbup:
Jax is providing me with TONS of information. First and foremost, I burned 3060 calories yesterday. Wow! I cringe to think about how many calories I was consuming per day to gain the 20-30 pounds in the last 6 months of 2009. Yikes!
But the good news is that now I know. I have set up my online program to shoot for a goal of a 900 calorie deficit each day. I'm actually trying to reach closer to 1200 per day to allow for the apparent 20-40% (!) error rate that people have when counting calories consumed. I try to be conservative when counting what I eat, but I want to make sure that I'm allowing some cushion.
So, yesterday I burned 3060 calories and consumed 1625 for a calorie deficit of 1435. Technically, that should lose me .4 pounds. Actually, I weighed exactly the same this morning that I did yesterday morning. That's okay though. I feel quite sure that it will all catch up.
Tomorrow is my best friend's birthday. Today for lunch we are going to Babe's Chicken and tomorrow night we are going to Campania's Pizza. I have to say that knowing Jax is paying a whole lot of attention will help me make good choices.
Have a great weekend!!
Today is 11 weeks post op and 13 weeks from the start of my pre op diet. At times, I can't believe how much my life has changed in that short time. I almost don't believe it is me making these good choices and sticking to my committments. Throughout my life, when it has come to diet and exercise, that hasn't traditionally been the case. :thumbup: So when I get home at 8:30 on a weeknight and I choose to walk a mile before plopping down in front of the TV, I am still surprised.
I do wish I could have the same focus/committment/success with food that I have with exercise. Now that I am into my 6th week of my Jumpstart exercise program, it is becoming more of a habit and a craving. I feel that now is the time to move my focus to food. ::gulp:: Up to this point, I eat what I want trying to keep in mind band rules. As long as I am losing, regardless of how little or how much, I don't do anything different. If I gain, I make myself log my nutrition until I start losing again. I think that is a good plan for me for the most part. However, I find that I make silly choices sometimes. Like last night, instead of having the 1-2 chocolate squares I would like to allow myself when I'm having a craving (it is that time of the month)...I had 4. Yikes! I also had fried popcorn shrimp for dinner. I didn't eat all of it, of course, but there was obviously an alternative I didn't choose. It is time to focus on making those better choices. I have one week before my next fill. I would so love to lose another 2-3 pound before then. I think by putting this in writing, it might help me commit!
I read someone's blog entry yesterday and she was talking about a book by Dr. Oz (I think) comparing life and the LB journey to a GPS system. If you take a wrong turn when you are following a GPS, it corrects you. It may take you a little longer to get where you are going, but really is no big deal. The LAP-BAND® is my (our) GPS. Before when I would make a bad decision (like eating a bunch of chocolate), I would spiral out of control for days or weeks eating whatever I wanted. Now, I just get back on track. I loved reading that analogy and have adopted it as my new attitude!
Have a great day!!
