Happy Saturday Bandsters!
Hope everyone has had a great week. I finally fell like I am getting back on track from my last fill on January 30th. This time it has taken me much longer to recover and get adjusted to my meal plan, it has been like step one learning to eat all over again. I really struggled the first couple of weeks post fill and had to rely on protein shakes more than I would have liked to but I am finally eating solids 3 meals a day, no hunger or snacking between meals and able to get at least 90% of my protein with solids. I still struggle a little in the mornings with solids, but I just keep trying and eventually I know I will be able to do breakfast of eggs again. So for now breakfast will just have to be Greek Yogurt with some additional berries and a little high protein Kashi. My weight loss since the fill has finally leveled off to about a pound a week, but the rapid weight loss during the first few weeks made my hair start to fall out again. I was bad, I did not take my vitamins like I should have and now am paying for it but have gotten back on track this past week. I went back to the gym this morning, this is the first time I have done formal exercise, except walking since my knee surgery last year in November. It felt good just to make my self go, I took it slow and did not over do it, I was a little nervous and afraid I would struggle with the knee exercises but I did well. Exercised for 40 minutes than stretched for 10-15 minutes. Great way to start a Saturday, I have decided to go to the gym on Tuesday and Thursdays after work, and Saturday mornings. I am going to try hard not to over do it like I did last time so I do not re-injure myself. I also had them to remeasure me this morning and since I started the gym last year, I have dropped 23.3 lbs and 23.75 inches, not to bad since I have not exercised since September of last year. I think the most dramatic drop has been my waist and my bust. I have dropped my waist from 40 inches to 33 inches and 5 inches off my bust. Needless to say, it is time to buy bras again... Again I could put my husbands tube socks in to fill out the cups. I really need to work on my thighs, honestly out of all of my saggy body parts, I hate my upper inner thighs. If anyone has any good suggestions for some great exercises for the inner thighs let me know, I am going to concentrate on the legs so at least I won't look to much like a Shar Pia this summer. This week I was reading the blogs and really liked one that (MorelGirl) I think the blog was timely and could really hit home for a lot of us, Logical Me and Emotional Me. That blog really hit home for me, logically I always know what I should be doing but emotionally sometimes it is so difficult to remember everything I am suppose to do and not allow the emotional side win over the logical side. Take for instance, waiting so long to get a fill, I knew for months I needed a fill, but kept telling myself, you can do this, you can manage your portions, you know what to eat. Well logically, yes I do know what to eat, but it was nice to eat what everyone else was eating, little pizza, little bread, little pasta. Even thought I did not gain weight, I was not losing, I had convinced myself I was just at a plateau but honestly that was emotional me trying to convince logical me that it was OK to eat that stuff. So I will not cry over spilled milk and I will not lose anymore time feeling sorry for time lost. I am refocused, back on track and will faithfully blog and be accountable to myself. It is so easy to drift back into bad habits, and thank you Morel Girl for snapping me back into reality. So since I am back in the Green Zone and back on track I am posting a few tips for all of us to learn to live by. Please learn from my mistakes, do not give up on the band, remember to use it as the tool it was designed to be. If your adjustments are not quite right keep going back and insisting they get them right. Remember it is not the amount in your band but how you respond to the amount in your band. It takes some of us longer than others to get to our "sweet spot", some just need a little adjustment, some need more. Stay in touch with your surgeon and attend the support groups locally if you can, support is important because even though our family and friends support us if they have never been "overweight" really they can not help us or identify with us. Remember we are all individuals and we will all lose weight and have different amounts in our bands, we should never compare the amounts in our bands, we are indivduals and will all respond differently to the lap band. The most improtant thing we can do is learn from others successes and failures. Standing alone sometimes we may feel powerless but as a group we are strong and very powerful. Have a great weekend friends. Love and Good Luck to all, Diane
Lifestyle Guidelines After LAP-BAND® Surgery
10 Tips for healthy living
Here are ten simple but important tips that will help you achieve your weight loss goals with the LAP-BAND® System. Remember, your success depends a lot on your ability to commit to a new way of eating — and embrace your new way of living.
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1. Aim to eat three small meals a day.
The LAP-BAND® System creates a small stomach pouch that can hold about one-quarter cup (approx. 2 oz) of food. Eating more can stretch the stomach, canceling the effect of your procedure.
2. Eat slowly and chew thoroughly.
Food can only pass through the new stomach opening (or “stoma”) if it has been chewed into very small pieces (about 15–20 times per bite).
3. Stop eating as soon as you feel satisfied.
Once your stomach pouch is full, your body receives a signal that you have eaten enough. If you rush through your meal, you may overeat before this signal reaches your brain.
4. Avoid or limit drinking before or during meals.
If you drink in the 15 to 20 minutes before, or during, your meal, the food you eat becomes liquid and the effectiveness of the LAP-BAND® System is greatly reduced. Take only small sips with meals.
5. Limit eating between meals.
Snacking between meals is one of the major reasons for weight loss failure. You should not feel hungry between meals. If you are, it’s a good idea to keep healthy snacks on hand. Remember, to listen to your band to stay in the Green Zone. You may need an adjustment if you are persistently hungry.
6. Eat only good-quality, nutritious food.
Your meals should be high in protein and vitamins. Don’t fill up on high-sugar, high-fat “junk” foods which lack the important vitamins and nutrients you need. Talk to your doctor to determine the right nutrition and vitamin supplement plan for you.
7. Avoid fibrous food.
In general, foods that contain many fibers, like asparagus, can block the stoma. Even with thorough chewing, saliva sometimes cannot break the fibers down enough for them to pass. Try cooking fibrous foods well, then cut them into very small bites and chew them thoroughly. You’ll soon learn what your body can and cannot tolerate.
8. Drink enough fluids during the day.
Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water daily, in small amounts, all day long (but not right before, during or after meals). This helps you stay hydrated and eliminate waste from your body.
9. Drink only low-calorie liquids.
If you drink high-calorie liquids (even healthy ones like fruit juice) you may not lose weight, even if you are following your diet with good, band-friendly eating habits.
10. Keep moving.
This is an important tip. Physical activity burns calories and increases weight loss. Once your doctor clears you to exercise, aim for 30 to 45 minutes of moderate to high activity, 3 to 5 times a week. A lot of calorie-burning activities can be fun and rewarding.
I haven't blog in few weeks or months, but wanted to let everyone know I am still out here, reading the blogs and forums to keep up with everyone. I spend more time on MFP these days. I started working out with a personal trainer 5 weeks ago and that is really working out good for me. I had really hit a slump in my program and was pretty much dead in the water again. My band was working, but I just wasn't eating very well. I had hit a spot again when food just wasn't my focus and was eating way to few calories. My trainer told me I was pretty much starving my muscles and my body was holding on to those fat cells for dear life. Sad I had to pay someone to teach me how to eat, but it is working. At first I thought there is no way I can do this. I am suppose to eat 3 meals a day and that is it. But guess what 5 weeks later, I am eating my 3 meals a day but I am supplementing a protein shake twice a day for snacks and most days take in 100 plus grams of protein. I still have my days I struggle but they are fewer and further between. My first month I lost 5lbs and 9 inches. I am hoping to lose 4 lbs this month and I will finally be out of the 150's.. While what a mile stone, I have not been this petite since high school. I used to think a goal of 132 was unreachable but I am finding out if you have the right attitude you can make anything work. Now don't get me wrong I have my ups and downs with the band but for the most part this is the best thing I every did for me. And seriously it really is all about me at this time. This is my chance, my time and my journey. Lap band is not an easy journey, it is paved with trials and tribulations. It will test your passion, it will test your commitment, you will have to fight temptation on a daily basis. There will always be food and lots of it, you have to realize that food to you is no different than alcohol is to an alcoholic or drugs are to a drug addict. My journey has consisted of distancing myself from temptations, I do not allow certain foods in my house or more specifically in my cabinets or fridge. I have no control of what others do but I do have control over what I put in my mouth. I find my self more aware of what others eat and I often think, man I used to eat like that and look where it got me. I think now my goal has become an obsession, I work my butt off, 3 days with a trainer, 6 days a week of cardio and logging religiously every morsel I eat. I have a new set of fears now, I used to fear not losing weight, my new fear is how will I maintain? I am trying to make exercise routine and part of my life.
To all you newbies and those weighting to have surgery and lose of you who are struggling, stay positive, stay focused and if you detour, forgive yourself, pick you up and move forward. We can all get caught up in the soulda, coulda, woulda! Look at everyday as a new beginning. Good luck to all of you and if you know a nurse be extra special to them this week, this is our week to celebrate. It is national nurse week, so hug your favorite nurse this week and tell her how much you appreciate what she does.
Those of you who have been following my blog know I am a bit of geek and sometimes spend countless hours researching ways to help myself to stay focused and be successful. I do believe there is no magic to weight loss and actually hate the word DIE..T and have removed it from my vocabulary. I do believe that being successful with Lap Band does require a life style change in eating habits and rewiring of my brain to help me to make healthy choices. I try very hard not to put myself in situations that would require me to be around junk food or foods that are not good for me. I am fully aware that only being 1 year post op and still having weight to lose to get to goal makes me vulnerable to all the horror stories of regaining what I have lost. I know the fat person still lives in the shadows and watches and waits for a weakness in my armor. I know I must be strong and must learn to live the healthy life style, by always picking the best food choices, exercising daily and always practice what I preach. I sometimes tell myself it is ok to still be overweight because I do look much better than I did a year ago but my fear is that as long as I stay overweight it will be just as easily to accept being obesity again. If I am totally honest this journey will continue for the rest of my life, because once the journey of weight loss ends than the journey of maintaining everything I have worked so hard for starts. So today on my internet travels I found a bairitric physicians web site who has published several books and one happened to be a free down load. "The Last 30 Pounds". I started reading and decided I needed to share this with all of my LapBand Family because at some point in time we will all be here and it doesn't hurt to read ahead. I know just reading a book doesn't make it happen but if you read and apply it can work. I need goals and rules, goals help me to keep focused and true to my journey. I also read several other things on this physicians web site about the yoyoing of fills and unfills and it actually made since to me. This physicians web site is one of the best I have ran onto while inquiring on success of Lap Band Patients. Here is the site and also the free down load of the "Last 30 Pounds" Check it out I think it will be worth your reading if you are struggling with losing and are feeling a little frustrated with your Lap Band Journey. We can all blame the Band or our physician for our failures or we can all take accountability for our failures and successes. As always these are my thoughts and opinions and I hope I don't piss anyone off.
http://drsimpson.net/index.htm
The Last 30 Pounds.pdf
Thanks for allowing me to rant earlier today but i have been having a lot of bad days lately with eating solids and I just needed to vent. I had a yummy dinner tonight of solid foods and it all went down and it felt good to eat. Drinking only protein makes me grumpy sometimes and I knew you guys would understand. I bought my Fit Bit today and have set it up, I am really excited to wear it to work this coming week and to exercise. It will be interesting to compare how much I burn all day during my daily activity and how much more I can do. Hope everyone has a great week.
I started this journey 7 months ago and yes it has been a journey. I had my appointment with my surgeon today, it was 4 weeks post a fill and slight unfill of .4 cc's. I had lost 10lbs since my last visit. I am down 56lbs since surgery now and have dropped from a size 24 to a size 14. I really am enjoying the new me, I went to the beach last week and actually was not embarrassed to wear a bathing suit. My husband and I had so much fun, it was great not to feel short of breath or have the pain in my knees I had the summer before. We road bikes, walked on the beach and had a wonderful time. It is the first time I can actually say I went on vacation and actually lost weight not gained weight. But back to my journey. This journey has had it's ups and downs, I have had to learn to listen to my body and what my band is telling me. Eating early in the morning is just not an option for me, I drink protein. I have learn to be creative with my protein drinks and use unflavored in my coffee or lattes from Star Bucks and call this breakfast. Unfortunately I was one of those people that thought weight loss surgery was a cop out, but believe me I have changed my opinion. This has been one of the hardest journeys of my life. It truly makes you learn to make healthy choices or pay the price. I have paid the price along the way when I have tried to eat pizza or pasta. Yes I can eat them but it is a painful process and they sit in my stomach like a piece of lead as the digest. I have found new loves, vanilla protein shakes with peanut butter powder, I consider this a treat, a little crushed ice to make it thick and I think I am drinking a milkshake. Yummy! One of my favorite desserts has always been German Chocolate Cake, last week I found, chocolaty coconut, Biggest Losers Protein Bars. I told my husband, you know you have crossed over to the other side when a protein bar is the best tasting thing you have eaten for a while. He thinks I am crazy most days, but is one of most devoted supporters. Life post lap band surgery is truly a journey and a new beginning to a better life. I ask my self daily, why did I wait so long to do this, I could have been so much further than I am. But honestly I was not ready emotionally. The emotional part of weight loss is probably the most difficult for all of us. I mourned the loss of food in the beginning and really did not realize how much I had used food as a coping mechanism until I could no longer use it as a crutch. Food has much less importance in my life now, I see it as nutrition for my body and not something to run to when I am frustrated. My family sometimes has difficulty dealing with my honesty and so do co workers, but if it is between me binging or purging my thoughts, the thoughts are coming out. I have learned in order to be successful in this journey, I must listen to my band and not to the emotional eater that hides in the shadows waiting for me to let my guard down and find a weak place in the armor. I will not fail in this journey, this is for me, I do love the new me and I love the commitment I have made to myself to give this journey 100% of my ability to succeed. As I continue I need to challenge myself to increase my exercise. Actually I need to get off my butt and exercise daily. I am making a pledge to myself today to increase my activities by taking the steps instead of the elevator, walk from my car to my office instead of taking the shuttle, spend 20 minutes each day doing some type of physical activity. I will be successful in this journey!
I am super excited today! I shared with everyone I started exercising 3 weeks ago, I joined Curves and dusted the treadmill off and started using it for something besides a clothes holder. I had been so frustrated because I had been stuck since after my last fill and unfill in May. I dropped immediately after my fill but than continued to hover in the 180's, lose a pound, gain a pound. I started logging everything I ate 10 days ago on myfitnesspal.com. I loaded the free app on my blackberry to make sure I would log every morsel I placed in my mouth. Well ladies and gentlemen, it paid off. I got weighed this morning at the gym and I am down to 179!!!!!!!! Woo Hoo, a new set of numbers, I am so super excited, I have been stuck in the 180's for 2 and a half months. I was so excited and motivated I started Power 90 the Original Version, Circuit 1-2 and 3-4 this evening. This is lower impact than P90x or Power 90 Master series but for me it is enough impact. I made it through the 35 minutes and didn't pass out or pull my back out. My husband walked in and said, "Honey please don't have a heart attach, your breathing awfully hard and sweating. I had to laugh. You guys don't know me but I'm a girlie girl and usually don't go out any where with out every hair in place and my make up on. So seeing me work out like this was blowing his mind. He thinks I have become a little OCD and maybe I have but dang it I didn't do all this (have the surgery) to not loss weight and get in shape. I want a healthier me and it is going to take more than just a lap band to get me there. To get to my goal weight of 138 I am going to have to really work at it and if that means I am obsessive, so be it. I really care what I put in my body these days, I have wasted a lot of time over the years abusing my self with fast food and junk. It is time I really took care of me, because I am worth it and I want this not so much to look good but to feel good. Today doing the Power 90, I could barely do jumping jacks, now come on who can't do jumping jacks? My legs felt like two lead pipes and it took everything I had to move it, and balance, OMG.. I think I have the coordination and the balance of a 90 year old. My WII fit tells me all the time I need to work on my center of gravity, seriously! I hate it when a dang computer soft ware program is such a smart A$$, but honestly it is correct, my balance sucks. So here is hoping that I improve my coordination and tone a little doing this, now I don't think I will ever have 6 pack abs. (lol) but at least maybe I can stretch my thighs without hanging onto a chair. I am sooooo glad I did this circuit in the privacy of my own home so no one could see how bad I was, but I think I get "A" for effort. I get my measurements done on the 27th of July I can't wait to see how many inches I have lost since I started working out, I know I have lost some because my shorts are lose in the thighs and waist and my bras are too big again. Dang it I really wish I could keep the boobs, I have more fat on my booty and wish it would come off first. Do you think I could have the fat from my butt sucked out and injected in my boobs than I would be pretty equal. (Just a suggestion) Signing off, have a great week everyone!
I have always loved the early morning hours of the day. The time before the sun comes up, the house is quiet, every one is still asleep. This is my time of the day to just ly quietly in bed and reflect about the day ahead and plan. This is also the time of day that I can relect on how blessed I have been in my life, thanking God for my wonderful family and friends and for giving me the strength to handle almost anything that falls in my path. Now.....back to the present! (For those of you who do not know me, I had surgery October 2010) I had a fill two weeks ago, my idea. I must admit the past 2 weeks have been pure HELL! I did my 48 hours of liquids like I was instructed but unlike every other fill I was not able to go right back to solids after the initial 48 hours. (Note: after my second fill in May of last year I was over filled and had to have an unfill. I was unable to drink liguids let alone eat.) I had to progress my self through full liguids, to soft and than to solids. I almost gave in several times and was tempted to go back and say, "Take some Damn fluid out I want to EAT." But I didn't, I drank my protein, which I do not love, every day I would take my breakfast, lunch and dinner, take a few bites push it away and drink a protein drink. I didn't have reflux, I didn't throw up, liquids passed without any difficulty and I had no desire to eat. I didn't feel hungry, Not sure I understand why but after my fill this time everything tastes different, things I loved before my fill, I don't like or want. The past 3 days have been good, I have been able to eat solids for lunch and dinner. Breakfast is still a little touchy, I do a couple of bites but than just decide to drink a protein drink. Sadly I have not even enjoyed my Starbucks! May weekday ritual is always a "Triple Tall, Skinny Carmel Machiatto" I have tried several different lattes this week and after about drinking a third i just toss it. Tossing a $5 cup of coffee is pretty expensive so I think I will give up on them for a while. They just don't seem to taste good! Sorry Starbucks, I will hold on to my Gold card but I guess you won't be getting rich of me for a while. My goal for the upcoming week is to increase my calories and find something that tastes really good and yummy. I have only be averaging about 600 cal a day for about 2 weeks, so I have been faithfully taking my vitamans and adding protein when ever I can to increase the calories and make sure my hair doesn't fall out. I have lost 10 lbs since my fill, the 4 lbs I had gained and 6 additional lbs. So this morning I way in at a "skinny 165" Hope everyone has a Great Sunday. Adding a new pic, of me and the family at Christmas.
Well bandster family, I hope many of you took the time yesterday to spend Valentines Day with someone you love and who has supported you. I got up early yesterday, 5am and baked Valentine's for my wonderful Husband, Son and staff. I made vanilla cupcakes with marshmallow cream center, butter cream frosting and decorated with edible glitter and hearts and kisses. Now I know my friends here are saying, WTF is wrong with Diane, she is suppose to be making better choices. I love to bake and I believe it is OK for me to have a taste of something sinful like a cupcake once in a while. It is only a problem if I bake and eat the whole recipe. Actually I enjoyed less than a quarter of a cupcake and I was very satisfied. Tonight I want to share what a wonderful Valentine's Day I had with my hubby, we got all dressed up and went out to dinner and a comedy show at a place here in our local town of Greenville, SC. "Café and then Some" and saw a show called "Life after Oprah" I have never laughed so hard. We joined our best friends, my girl friend had a gastric sleeve about 6 months after my lap band surgery so we are the perfect friends who can share a meal. The night did not start out to well for me, I had two bites of salad and it got stuck, it took about 3 trips to the bath room to get it unstuck but than I was able to enjoy a wonderful appetizer of 3 succulent broiled scallops wrapped in Bacon with a Hollandaise sauce. I left the bacon but the scallops were delicious and so moist and juicy. I had one small glass of Pino Noir and a strawberry dipped in chocolate for desert. I thought I had died and gone to heaven. It was a wonderful evening, I enjoyed my meal the company and we looked smashing if I do say so myself. I am attaching a couple of pic's one from 2 years ago when I was as my hubby puts it Large and in charge and one from tonight. Life and living with Lap Band is possible and we can all do this if we believe in ourselves.
Now you tell me, does lap band work. I say, oh hell yes it does. I think I look pretty good for a 56 year old lady. Remember Lap Band Friends and Family this is a journey!
All of us can do this, with time, dedication and support of the ones we love.
I will apologize to the guys for this topic up front.
Now I am going to warn all of you male bloggers I am going to discuss a rather x-rated topic. My panties! lol Well yesterday I finally broke down and bought my self some new underware. I know your all asking how in the world was she still waring the same panties she wore 68 lbs ago. They were a little baggy in the seat but they were dear old friends and I just wasn't ready to go to the expense of purchasing new ones. I have had to purchase new bras, on two separate occasions but the panties worked so I left them alone. Well for two weeks I have been saying to my husband, "Honey I gotta buy new panties, one day I am going to be walking down the hall at work and they are going to fall right off." It had got to the point when I wore my tee shirt spanks that my underware gave me a wedgy. TMI right but you have to fully appreciate how much our bodies change and all of the things we go through when losing weight. Well I bought two pair of really cute hipster style panties at Target. They were so cute, "Not granny panties at all" They were a soft gray pattern with this cute little bow on the front and flat ecru colored lace on the legs. And guess what they are a size "7" and they look so cute. Ok, so they are only underware and I know I am the only one that is going to see them but they make me feel thinner. I know that may sound ridiculous but they do. I have not bought underware that was not of the granny pantie style for years, I got satin ones, lacy ones, etc.
Tomorrow, Monday June 27th I start my exercise at Curves®. I have to be there at 7am, so excited. Spent the weekend working in the yard and swimming in the pool. Also bought some delicious protein bars at CVS for buy two get one free. Had a yummy pretzel peanut butter one yesterday for lunch and a chocolate Carmel crunch one today. 200 cal 15 gm protein and low carbs. I like these on the weekend for when I am busy outside and use as one meal replacement.
Hope everyone is doing great this weekend. I will keep you posted this week on my exercise, oh and I guess I get to wear my new panties to work and won't get a wedgy!
Well October the 27th was my one year band-iversary. Wow... what a year this has been. If you would have asked me a year ago if I thought I would be where I am today I am not sure how I would have answered. The road has been bumpy along my journey, I have been too lose, I have been too tight, I have peaked and plateaued weeks and months on end. I have lost no pounds, I have gained a pound or two, I have lost inches, I have not exercised, I have over exercised and I have had knee surgery but my biggest accomplishment is that I really do love "me" and I have learned that food is a necessity for nutrition not a coping mechanism. If I learn nothing else from this journey it will be that I can get angry, upset and frustrated and I know McDonald's is not my friend, my friends have been my family, my co-workers and all of you who have supported me and encouraged me. To all of you who are just starting, or who are struggling and to those of you who have been successful, share your success, admits your mistakes and love yourself! We are all worth the effort that this journey takes!
I weighed in this week at 168, still not at goal but very pleased with my progress and yes, I really do" love the new me." I am going to share some before and now photos with you. I have dropped from a size 24 to a 12.
Cyber Hugs and Kisses to All!
Hope everyone is having a great weekend and a wonderful relaxing Sunday. The day is beautiful here in SC, sun is shinning but it is still a little cool for the south. I don't know about everyone else but I can't wait until spring. I have so much more energy and motivation when it is warm outside. I find the winter months to be a little depressing and I do not feel as motivated to be outside and exercise. I am proud that I have went back to curves a week ago and have met my goal of going on Saturday mornings, and Tuesday and Thursday evenings after work. I need to set a new goal this week of at least doing 30 minutes of exercise daily of at least walking or something. I need my tread mill moved so I can use it, my son moved in late last year and it is in his room and a little hard to use. My husband says he has to take it apart to get it out of the room and has not done that yet. First thing that ticks me off lately. I go back to see my surgeon next week one , I had my last fill on Jan 30th and I am still struggling with solid foods most days, I do eat but it is usually late in the afternoons and evenings, I am getting all my protein in but with supplements. I keep thinking the band will loosen up a little and some days it seems to and others like yesterday, I just gave up and ate Greek yogurt and drank protein. I am still holding at 160 lbs, so at least I have slowed down on losing for a while. On the 30th I was at 175 which was up 5 lbs from before Christmas. I did find something good to eat this weekend, we ordered take out from the local Chinese restaurant and I ate a tofu stir fry, it was yummy and the tofu was silky soft and slide right down. I was only able to eat about 1/2 cup but it was yummy. I went out today and purchased a fit bit and tied it to my fitness pal account so I could track my activity and calories burned. I will let everyone know how that works out. I have been a little lazy lately and feeling a little frustrated with food and eating in general. I haven't felt this way in a long time but it is just so frustrating when one day things go down with out problems and they same things don't the next day. Welcome to bandster hell, I guess. The last thing that ticks me off today is people who use this site to promote sales of products. I was reviewing the forums and blogs this morning and found a blog that someone had started yesterday, she said she was 2 years out from lap band and had lost 150 lbs but was promoting a protein drink diet to get back on track. I thought to my self, every lap band patient knows that gimmicks don't work, diets don't work and getting the lap band has to be about changing your life and behaviors. Not sure why it pissed me off but it did, I feel we all work so hard on trying to live with lap band and trying to change out lives and live like others and the last thing I needed was someone telling me I could lose weight with lap band drinking yummy protein shakes. SERIOUSLY! I drink the damn shakes because nothing else goes down some days and this is not how I intend to lose my last pounds. I want to eat, enjoy my food portion. So shame on you if you are a lap band patient for encouraging us to drink protein to lose weight instead of change our behaviors and learn to live with lap band. I know we all have the freedom to post and believe what ever we want but SERIOUSLY give me a break. Ok, I feel better now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well guys it is almost Friday and I don't know about all of you but I am so thankful. It has been one hectic week here in SC. Today and yesterday are my first two days in weeks that I have managed to get all my protein in, now that being said, it is only because I am making myself drink one protein shake a day. I have not exercised like I should, I made a decision not to go back to curves. It just isn't working for me. Last week I went twice and when I went on Thursday I was in one of my moods (someone at work pissed me off) and I over exercised and got my other knee hurting. You would think I would learn but for some reason I have to do everything the hard way. I have been debating something for weeks and finally made a decision today and a commitment. I was talking with a friend at work about needing a trainer, someone to help me focus on my problem areas, show me how to work out effectively one on one. I told her about a local place I had contacted but was frustrated because they had not returned my calls. The nerve, you have a business and don't return calls. She gave me the guys name and number and I called him. Well he said he would take me on as a client if I was willing to listen to him, monitor my eating habits and commit myself to 90 minutes of cardio 3 times a week. I laughed when he said, would you be willing to eat healthy. You see, at first I didn't tell him I had, had WLS, I wanted to feel him out to see what he was going to recommend. He told me now you will have to eat a lot of protein, oh yeah I know about that. You need to cut back on your carbohydrates, no problem there, they don't go down. I would need to give up sweets and snacking, ditto already done that. So next week I start, I am both excited and nervous. It is going to cost me $25 a session but I am going to give it a month and see how it goes, I don't have to sign a contract so if it doesn't work out I am not out anything but my time and some money. I have a point I want to prove, which I know is probably ridiculous at my age, I want to see how much I can actually tighten up. I don't want to have surgery to tighten up my skin I want to tighten as much as I can with exercise. I know this may be totally impossible but I gotta try and I feel that a few months with a trainer is cheaper than surgery and less risky. I know you don't ask but my main problem area is my inner thighs. I have given up on having boobs, too old to care and that is why there is Victoria Secrets, push'em up and make them look like their big.
Think that's all for now, so a big cheers to all of us who are working our boom-booms off. (I also ordered the Brazilian butt video work out today from beach body, I thought it could keep P 90x company on the self.)
Hi, everyone! Hope everyone had a great weekend and is doing well on this beautiful, hot summer day. This past weekend I have been doing a lot of soul searching about commitment and why I seem to be stuck for the past month when I felt I was doing everything right. The first 6-7 months after surgery I did well with my weight loss, I lost 1-2 lbs per week, had 2 fills, 1 unfill. I failed to exercise regularly as my doctor told me because I was not motivated, so basically the weight in the beginning dropped at a fast rate. But I weighted 248 lbs, 5'1" tall. (check out my photos I was quite the little butter ball) I ate around 800-1000 calories a day and tracked what I ate. I used the lap band web site, watched the videos, logged my foods, read everything I could get my hands on and participated in the forums. I was committed. I thought. Then I got comfortable, I looked better, felt better,and like I said things were going well. Then the weight slowed down, but I was still losing, so I started using the expensive treadmill I bought for Christmas, 2 or 3 days a week. I had pretty good restriction after my first fill, I had too much restriction with my second fill and they removed less than .4 of a cc. Some days I feel restricted, some days I can eat what ever I want. So over the past few weeks I asked myself, " Diane are your really committed to this journey, are you in it for the long haul" Boy is that an eye opening question. My answer is yes! So I had to recommit to why I started this journey, I look a lot better now, but seriously, I am still obese. Just not as obese as I was 8 months ago. I can wear a size 14 but a size 14 today is probably not what a size 14 was years ago. Let's face it guys as a society we have all gotten larger and so the designers have made the sizes fuller to growwwwwwww, with us. Sorry just a little play on words there. But honestly, I was fat so I feel I have the right to talk about myself and have an opinion. So how do I make sure I can keep this commitment to myself, because honestly in the past at about this time I start getting Bord with things and fat Diane would seem to resurface. I cannot let this happen this time, or maybe I should say I WILL not allow this to happen this time. So this is what I did this weekend to try and figure out why I seem to be sorta stuck, lose a pound, gain a pound, loss two pounds, gain one pound, loss nothing.
What I committed to a month ago.
1. 2 weeks ago I joined curves, and I am proud to say I have went 4 days a week since I started. I got my curve smart key today and boy I thought I had been working out, well now I am really working out. 2. I committed to blogging and being honest with all of you, I have kept that commitment also, I make every attempt to blog my feelings at least weekly and I read the other blogs and comment to lend encouragement and honesty to others. Many of you have encouraged me, some directly and some indirectly. I find even though I have never met any of you formally, we all share so many experiences and we can learn so much form each others successes and failures.
3. I committed to writing down all of my food and not snacking between meals," the graze thing" boy I think this has been the hardest. I tired using the lap band web site to record and this wasn't working well for me, when I was at work I would write my food down and try and log it to the web site in the evenings. I wasn't always consistent. I had post it notes all over my office with bits of info on them of what I had eaten daily. I tried drinking protein for breakfast, no between meal snacks, increasing my protein, watching my carbs, looking at my fats, etc, etc. I thought about getting a fill so I would eat less, but realized over the 4th, I may not have total restriction but I was not listening to my band. I had fallen into the crutch of wanting my band to do the work not me.
Now let;s face it guys, I loved food, I love to cook, I love to eat because no one gets as big as I did by just cheating a little. Seriously! Sorry for digressing.
Like I said logging the food on the lap band site was not working well for me so by reading the forums' blogs and internet searches I found some answers I am going to try. Saturday, I did a lot of Internet searches; How many calories should a lap band patient eat?, How much protein should a lap band patient eat? How many carbohydrates should a lap band patient eat? How many calories do I need to decrease to lose 1 lbs a week? How many fewer calories do I need to eat to lose 2 pounds a week? What drives the metabolism, How do you jump start your metabolism? I am not sure but I am sure I did a few more I have forgot about by now. So what did I find, lots and lots of information. So what now? I think the best site I found, was right here on our own blogs. www.myfitnesspal.com The site is free, you plug in your height, weight and your life style. (Now be honest about the life style) You can tweak the protein to what we should eat, and there is a mobile application that you can use on your droid, I-phone, I-touch or blackberry. It is free, it will allow you to add stuff that isn't in the data base, build a recipe and calculate your servings. It tells you how much you should loss based on what you eat and exercise. Honestly, not sure what the long term result will be but it will also allow me to run a report I can take to my nutritionist for her to evaluate at my next visit. It adds your exercise points back in but I have decided to eat these for now to see how the next few weeks go. So what have I learned about myself over the past 72 hours, I am OCD big time. But I need to be OCD or I will never make it for the long haul. I have to hold myself accountable, I can not expect anyone else to do that for me. I can not lie to my self and I can not expect the band to do all the hard work. Some of the work is changing my own thought process about food and how I cope with life. Do I have restriction, yes if I listen to my band and to what I was taught. Eat off a small plate, cut my food into bite size pieces, chew each piece 20-30 times, lay my fork down between bites, eat at the dinner table NOT in front of the TV. If I finish my food under 20 minutes give my brain time to catch up with my stomach oh and lastly make healthy food choices and eat protein first. Now if I do all of those things I do have restriction and I am satisfied for 3-4 hours. Question is, do I feel full? The answer to that is no, but I feel satisfied with what I eat. I still measure all my food, eating 2-3 ozs. of protein at each meal, learning that a serving of vegetables is really 1/2 cup except lettuce of course. I will probably measure my food for the rest of my life because obviously I do not understand serving sizes.
So guys I challenge all of you to commit to your self. Think about why you did this, it should have been for you. You are the only person you have to be honest with, you are the only person who knows what you put in your mouth everyday. You are the only one who really can answer the question."ARE YOU REALLY COMMITTED TO THE LONG HAUL?" We will have good days, great days, bad days and totally sucky days? We will lose weight, we will gain weight, we will stay neutral but what matters most is our honesty to ourselves and our commitment to change how we use food, how we think about food and taking this one day at a time.I am committed or maybe I need to be committed some days I am not sure but I will say, I am so glad I had the surgery, I am thankful for this support forum and last but not least I LovetheNewMe!
Have a great week and believe in yourself because "YOU" are worth it!
Edit note: (p.s. I learned by logging my food that I may not be eating enough consistently and maybe my body is going into starvation mode. I will keep you posted if I lose anything over the next week. I started tracking every morsel on Saturday the 9th of July. So crossing my fingers ) Try out the web site it is pretty neat and I got the idea from reading one of our blogs. :iloveuall:
Sometimes I really hate weekends. Weekdays are so much easier to stay focused and on program, you are always busy with work or scheduled activities and I never think about eating or worry about snacking. But weekends need to be as full so my brain does not drift back to the grazing mode and the little devil lurking in the shadows does not win by saying, "Just take one bite, one bite won't hurt anything." Yeah right, one bite got where I was 7 months ago. So today I decided to emulate my daily activities of my usual morning routine and kick it up a notch. Up at 6am, showered and got dressed, minus the make up, it is Saturday you know. Mixed my unflavored protein in 2ozs of water and off to star bucks for my Triple Granda Skinny Caramel Macchiato, Total count of 18ozs at 240cal(calories for protein powder-24 gram protein and 140 calories for drink with 11 grams protein) Breakfast total 35 grams protein. Drive to the dog park with Lexis and do a few laps. Now Lexi thinks this morning was all about her and we will let her think that but actually it was really all about me needing to exercise and get my coffee fix on. Lots to do this weekend, need to complete a school assignment on Linear Equations! (yuck ) First I have to read the chapter so I can even discuss what a linear equation is. Duh...........Laundry..clean house, etc..etc..etc... I live such an exciting life.
As a side bar update, I did keep my challenges I made to my self on "No Regrets " Wednesday's post. I parked my car at the furthest point from the hospital, and I walked to my office. Mitch the shuttle driver looked at me and said, "What's up you don't want I ride today!" So I stopped and explained my new goals to him and he just smiled and drove on. I managed to only take the elevator once on Friday and that was to the 10th floor, up town 3 and 4 flights I was OK with but I decided, heels and 10 flights was pushing it a bite for a Friday.
I have decided that I am going to use this blog to keep me honest and true to this journey. I have this little OCD thing about writing things down, if I write it down and check it off I am more likely to comply. It is hard to ignore what is in black and white under your nose. So I don't go back to my MD for 4 months, (very scary thought to me). That is unless I need a fill, or start feeling hungry I am suppose to call and make an appointment. I though on Thursday when he told me this. OMG, you are trusting me for 4 months to stay on track, you are my mentor, my honesty guage. As long as I was going to see him every 4 weeks or so and I knew I had to face him and the dreadful scale I had to stay on program. So Mr or Mrs blog and bloggers you are my new honesty guage. I am pledging to all my blogger friends out there I am using all of you to keep me honest. So don't let me down. Ask me questions, keep me honest, challenge me. WE will not fail, We will stay on track and focused. WE will over come all obstacles and be SUCCESSFUL! Go Team! Always wanted to be a cheerleader.
Well gang I have been MIA for a while. busy with work and school. Just to update everyone, I am still on track but have had a little set back. On my journey to a healthy me, I had a little set back with my exercise routine. I selected curves as my gym because it had been such a long time since I had exercised and I wanted to start out slow, I lost 12.5 inches my first month and was so excited in my progress, I think I became a little obsessed with my progress and was attending the gym 4-5 times a week, well 2 weeks ago I went to work on a Friday like always and wham............... I started walking across the hospital campus and my knee went out, I tore my lateral meniscus, The past few weeks have been a serious bump in the road, no exercise and I am on crutches. I have to do 3 weeks of PT and than they will decide if I need surgery. I have no stability in the knee and with out the brace and crutches I end up on the floor. I have really been worried that I would gain weight and have obsessed over my calorie intake. I decided not to have my band tightened because I was exercising and maintaining my intake to the 1000-1200 calorie range. I had just finally gotten to the point I enjoyed eating again and not getting stuck. I monitor my calories on myfitnesspal.com but the not exercise is driving me nuts. I am stuck, still weighing in at 177. Hope everyone is doing good.
Have you ever really sat down and wondered how you got to this point in your life? You know how did you end up on a blog pouring our your inner most feelings to strangers. Well I know how I got here, how about YOU? I got here by lying to myself, telling myself that if no one saw me eat it, it did not count. I got here, by snacking on unhealthy foods, potato chips, candy bars, ice cream, soda, alcohol, bread, snack food, snack food, snack food. I got here by always making excuses as to why I ate something, why my diet failed. It was a dinner, a party at work, an outing with friends, I could cheat just once because, I COULD CONTROL THE BINGE! Well guess what I LIED, How about you? Have any of you ever lied to your self that you were in control? I did then and I do now and you know what I probably always will unless I learn to call myself on every morsal I put in my mouth that does not belong there. Have you ever wondered why the people who are successful are successful with lap band and weight loss surgery or diets? Why, because the follow the rules 99.9% of the time. I am not there yet, I still back slide, and I still beat myself up and promise I won't do it again. Why I am where I am today? I had to have surgery on my knee and this was just all the sympathy I needed for myself to start lying to myself. No I have not gained any weight but I have eaten things I know I cannot control. So I have spent countless hours trying to figure out how to make up for what I ate, so I'm hungry most evenings, not satisfied with my choices and feel like crap. Oh but it's OK. right, I had surgery, it is OK to allow myself a few days off for good behavior? WRONG, that is the thinking of an addict, an addict who has slipped and is lying to themselves again. Believe me I know what I eat, I log every morsal I place in my mouth, I am not eating enough protein, and I consistently eat too much fat. I have been trying to eat 40-30-30 and it ends up more like 40-20-40. (Carbs-Protein-Fat)So why am I bloging this today, because everyday I read about how one of us is doing good, one of us has back slide and one of us is searching for the right answer. We can not help each other or support one another if we do not hold ourselves and each other accountable. I need someone to call me on my bad behavior, I may not like it but, what good does it do me if I am allowed to continue back down a path of destruction. What good does it do any of us? We all made a decision or are making a decision to have surgery to help us control what we were not able to. So why sabotage our selves? Why go through all the physiological evaluations, jump through all the insurance hoops if we are going to continue to lie to our selves. I am nearing my one year anniversary this month, maybe that is what prompted this blog. I have lost 74 lbs and still have 34 lbs to go by the height and weight charts. I have been stalled for months; most days I eat right on target, I have restriction or "I am at my sweet spot" I have thought about a fill just so I eat less but know that is not the answer. So what is the answer? I guess that is a personal answer for all of us. To me the answer is learning to live a healthy life, make healthy decisions every waking minute of my day. To me it is hard wiring or rewiring my thinking so it becomes natural and not a daily chore. To me it is not allowing unhealthy foods into my shopping cart or on to my dinner table. I may not be able to control what my family eats but I can control what is brought into my house and I have a Rights. I have the right not to subject myself to unhealthy atmospheres, friends or family who do not support my choice to make a healthy life for myself. This may sound harsh but I have to be committed to this because every corner I turn there is someone or something there that if I allow it, it will help me to sabotage myself. So friends, take inventory of your life and YOUR cupboards because no one but US is going to help US make it.
So my question when I started this rant,"Why do we sabotage ourselves?" So why do "YOU" sabotage yourself, do you know?
Thought I would update everyone on my progress with exercise. I have gotten up everyday since last Thursday and I am up at 5am and exercising by 7am. Cardio with muscle strengthen 3 days a week and walking 3 days a week. Sunday's off to lounge by the pool and give the muscles a little break. My knees are holding up pretty good, the squats are a little difficult but I am hanging in there. I had no idea how our of shape I really was. Today I finally got my heart rate up to target zone so I was getting the max effect from the exercise. I think I am using muscles I forgot I had. i can really feel the burn tonight, when I raise my arms above my head. I guess the old saying of no pain, no gain is true. I made the mistake of weighing this morning after I showered. Weight still the same, no gain, no loss. I have religiously been writing down every morsel I stick in my pretty little mouth, average of about 900 calories a day and 60 gms of protein. Sticking to the 3 meals a day and in the evenings I have 1 cup popcorn for the fiber or 1 oz nuts for protein. Staying witiin my calorie count and servings. I guess my body is just comfortable with this weight but I'm not. So girls and boys let't get movin, movin, movin. We can all make this happen!
Yesterday I went shopping to make myself feel better, retail therapy is my new addiction, it always makes me feel good. My clothes are starting to get a little big again and it makes me feel better when I can buy something new that may be just a little bit smaller. Well here's how it went, I took several dresses into the dressing room ranging in sizes from 12 to 16. For all of you who don;t know me I started this journey wearing a size 24 womens. Now I am only 5'1" so I was pretty round. Not sure why I thought I could were the 12 but I just wanted to try it. I did get the dress on but the look was just not me. Now if I had wanted to add some 4 inch heels and work a street corner the dress may have worked. Sorry about that visual but sometimes it helps if I can laugh at my self. I did find two really cute dresses after trying on about 8 or 10. For some reason I thought I bought size 16 in both dresses but to my surprise when I was taking the dress off tonight, yes I had to wear it to work today, I noticed it was a size 14. Wow, I have not had a size 14 on in years. Still need to get on the stick and exercise. I have also developed a bad habit lately I need to break, eating almonds. I think they are my new substitution for salty snacks, so I threw them out tonight. I found my self grazing on these off and on and this is not something I want to start. My husband gets a little frustrated with me when I start throwing away the food in the house but if I don;t think I can trust myself, in the trash it goes. I know that sounds silly but I gotta do what I have to to remain true to myself and this journey. I will not allow myself to fall back into bad habits. I spent way to may years lying to myself about what I ate and never told anyone. I used to stop off at McDonald's and eat a snack on the way home from work and then come home and eat dinner. My addictive thinking was if no one saw me eat it, it did;t count. Well let me tell you that will get you a few pounds overweight real fast. Like I said last night, old habits die hard and we do what we need to do to develop healthy habits.
Everyday is a new day and everyday I love the new me that is blossoming from within. My success is all on me, I have been given the tools I just need to continue to apply them.
Well I hope all my friends are doing well. I have spent the morning reading and trying to catch up on how everyone is progressing. I noticed I had not posted since November of last year: why, not sure. The holidays came and went with no major issues, I got a GI bug before Christmas and learned I could truly vomit after being banded and it was not a pleasant experience. I learned that even with a band Thanksgiving and Christmas can be very challanging holidays. Who does not enjoy the smell of fresh baked cookies and pies and lets not forget about that wonderful dinner with all the sides. My family was a little disappointed because I chose not to bake, but why tempt a former fat person. I may have learned alot over the past year but I still love food and I love the wonderful traditions that I have enjoyed since I was a child so I decided to let my daughter do the baking for the family, they live 4 and half hours away so they were not in my easy reach. Early in January I started to notice that I was not staying as satisfied between meals, I would eat my portions but I could usually down my portion in about 10 minutes. I knew this was not good but hated the idea of getting a fill. Any of you that have followed my blog know that I have not had but a few fills but my last one resulted in an overfill and an unfill before they got it right. Multiple sticks later I was back in the green zone again. Well I went to see my surgeon the second week of Jan and had my 3rd fill on Jan 30th. What an event, I had an esphogeal spasm when he pulled the fluid out of my band," it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest." But I survived and the past week has been as fun as I remember, that is where Wow, it;s like starting over comes in. My first thought after this fill was, "Why can I not just learn to control my hunger so I don't have to go through this." 48 hours of clear liquids, than advance to soft than to solids. It has taken me 7 days to advance back to solids and it is really small amounts, about 2 ozs every 2-3 hours. I had to go back to the protein drinks to get all my protein in for a few days. I thought I might be too full, but I can pass liquids easily and solids if I chew them well. I think I had been a little more unrestricted than I thought for quite sometime and had become comfortable with managing my portions on my own. I lost 7 lbs last week but have finally leveled off maintained for the past few days, I am gradually adding solids back into my diet and cutting back on the protein drinks. So I guess this past week I have learned that this truly is a life long journey! Never give up and stay true to your self and you will be successful.....................
Today is around 5 weeks since I hurt my knee and had to stop exercising. I must say it has been a very frustrating month. I have been doing therapy 3 times a week, now for 3 weeks and seriously there is little improvement. Not sure what I expected, "I think miracles". I guess my saving grace is that at least this did not happen at the beginning of my journey and I had already made progress. I have managed to maintain my weight loss and have even lost a few pounds. But I so much miss exercising, every time I see someone jogging or walking it makes me sad and makes me realize how much we all take for granted. Lap band surgery has given me back my life, I have so much more energy and has helped me re-build confidence in myself. I never realized how much being overweight had effected all aspects of my life. I wonder sometimes why I needed the lap band and why I could not have wrapped my brain around learning to control my portions myself. It took potential life altering health problems to shake me to reality and do something about my weight gain. The band truly is my friend and makes staying on track so much easier. I have thought many times over the past few months about getting a fill in my band so I would be able to lose weight faster. Patience has never been one of my attributes. I have always wanted instant gratification in what ever I did. I am glad I made the decision to work with the band instead of letting the band do all the work. I still have those days when I get stuck and PB, but they are usually because I fail to follow the rules and that is when I reflect back and realize if the band was not there to stop me I would easily revert back to bad behaviors. I honestly think I have found my "sweet spot" I can eat what I am suppose to eat, I rarely feel hunger, and food is not my main thoughts. I do occasionally splurge and allow myself a treat of a miniature chocolate or 100 calorie snack. The difference is I count these in my total daily calorie count. Yes guys I am one of those OCD people that has to count calories, I realize some think we should not have to do this but, I still do not trust myself, or maybe it is not trust but the fact I know myself and I know how easy it is to say: oh, that little bite won't matter, and a couple of desserts later your pants are too tight. I know a lot of you are still struggling to get to the place where I am. Don't give up on your self, each and everyone of us is work the trials and tribulations that we are going through. Believe in your self, because if you don't believe in yourself you can not expect others to. Don't let small roadblocks or set backs take away your focus. We all have common ground, this is a life journey and not a vacation from food. This is us building confidence in ourselves and learning to trust our selves alone in a room with the "evil" that lives inside. We all have our own demons to fight and all of our journeys are individual, we can't compare ourselves to one another and we all have to hold each other accountable. I am approaching my 1 year anniversary next month and I so wanted to be at goal but I know that I will not be there. But you know what? That's OK. Seriously, it is! I am pleased with my progress and realize that I will get there. So, I guess what I have learned most of late, is I have changed. I have moved from Diane the closet eater to Diane the obsessive calorie counter. I have always read that when you give up one addiction you usually develop a new one, well thank you God my obsession is managing my weight loss. So for all of you out there that are still struggling to reach that place where you are happiest, remember the happiness may not always be found in a number you reach on the scale but a happiness from within yourselves.
Happy Hump Day everyone! Hope everyone is having a wonderful week. I have been enjoying my new electronic toy, the FitBit to track my steps, a pedometer on steroids I will call it. I am finding it as obsessive as logging all my food on myfitnesspal. I do find it more rewarding to do the exercise when I can actually measure it accurately and record the numbers. Tomorrow is my 4 week follow up from my last fill, it is actually 5 weeks and I get weighed. I rarely weigh myself at home because the scales can vary so much so I will be excited to know where I am. I still think I am a little tight because I still find it difficult to get all my food in and I rarely fill hungry. I am only able to eat about 1/2 cup at each setting so I have been eating at least 1 snack per day to add some protein and calories. My regular MD did reduce my blood pressure meds on Monday to have the dosage so this was a hugh milestone. I have been on top dosages on my BP meds and asthma meds for several years. This was great news and a great milestone for me. My never be totally off but this is still great. Everyone keep up the good work, we will all make this journey. Believe in your self and you will succeed. Happy Wednesday and talk to ya later!
Well it's Sunday evening and I am pleased to say I made it through the weekend without any issues. I went to a web site of a hospital here in SC, MUSC and they had a few neat tools for Lap Band patients. I down loaded the forms so I could keep track of my food and check it off. They also had a nice shopping list and lists of types of protein we should be eating. I have done good with my weight loss and in the beginning I used the Lap Band web site to record my food diary but after I returned to work I was not as consistent. It is hard to stay honest with eating for me unless I write down every bite I put in my mouth, today I did this and when it came time for dinner, I realized I only had 3 protein servings left, 1 Vegetable serving and 1 Fruit serving. So dinner was Grilled Shrimp and a small salad. I still had all of my fats so I added salad dressing to my salad. It was yummy! I exercised both yesterday and today so check for exercise. All in all this has been a good weekend but I am so glad it is over. Well off to do homework, been procrastinating this all day. Ugh!
Well Happy Monday! Just to let everyone know, I am making progress with my physical therapy on my knee. Today I started pool therapy and I actually was able to do steps leading with my right leg. Well of course this was in 4 foot of water but hey, I have been walking with crutches and my knee taped for 3 weeks now. So to me this is progress. I also made it through a whole day at work with out crutches, a limp because I am so afraid of falling but the knee did not buckel once today. The small things that make me happy these days. I still live in fear everyday of gaining weight, I log my food every day, it drives my husband crazy but I want to be sure I am eating right. I had another stuck episode tonight. I have had freguant episodes lately, almost daily something gets stuck. I was having a discussion with my husband tonight and he said he observed that I am going back to bad habits of eating to fast. He;s right, I used to watch the clock and make sure I was chewing every bite. Now I just want to finish when everyone else does, so I eat faster and usually that means I PB at least 1/4 of what I eat and sometimes it really hurts. I guess old habits die hard. Weight is still holding at 177. Hope everyone has a great week.
Finally, i got on the scale this morning and they moved. down 1.5 lbs. I was so happy to see a new number. Then I went to work. Why do some people just have to burst your bubble. I was talking to a nurse and we were talking about losing weight and I said, I had been stuck at the same weight fo a while and was frustrated. She said,"You look amazing" I said, thank you. Then I was telling her about hurting my knee exercising and how worried I had been about not losing and afraid of gaining, so when the scales moved this morning and I was down 1.5 I was elated. She says well you know why don't you, you stopped exercising so you are losing muscle. Just what the blankty blank I need to hear. I know she is probably right but it sure did deflate my mood. Sighhhhh! The day ended well, I went to PT and was able to do the eliptical bike, 599 steps in 10 minutes. My balance sucks, the therapist told me I could use my WII Fit and do the balancing exercises and step exercises. Really low impact compared to what I was doing but I was excited. I decided I would stay positive and not let negative comments distroy my mood. "It is what it is" and right now it is slow going, but it is going. Another thing, not sure what is up with my stomach. I keep getting so bloated and so much gas, I know TMI but seriously, why all the gas. I had a few slices of granny smith apple yesterday and I though I was going to die. Seriously I was doubled over with pain and then later it feels like someone is ripping me open. thank you all for your support, I really appreciate all my lap band friends and all the info we share. I learn so much from reading others blogs. Have a great rest of the week bandsters.
I just want to say, could we please have an auto save to our posts as we type. I just spent 30 minutes responding to a blog only to have it lost due to accidently hitting the back button. so frustrating, I will try again later. Am I the only idiot out here who does this grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
