erteretnrotn

Yesterday my husband & I rented a craft booth at out town’s Market Days. We make several things (wood bowls & trays, bags, napkins, placemats & coasters) and we wanted to try selling them.
 
The day started early, we were up at 6:00am. As my husband loaded the truck I packed food for the day. We would be at our booth all day (9am to 4pm) so I needed both breakfast and lunch for both of us. Now my band had been tight the day before, probably due to stress and excitement for the upcoming event. So I wanted to bring smart food for myself…. I knew there would be lots of tempting food vendors there with not so healthy choices.
 
I made a protein shake to take with me for breakfast; I knew this would be safer than trying to eat something. For lunch I took 3ozs of chicken salad and a Greek yogurt, for a snack an apple cut into slices. I also packed a pre-made protein shake just in case I had problems eating and needed fuel….
 
I also packed 4 water bottles for myself so that I would get my water in for the day (course this meant I had to locate the closest bathroom, lol)
 
As it turned out our booth was downwind from the kettle popcorn vendor…..yep smelled popcorn ALL DAY LONG…. & watched people walking by with big bags of the stuff. My created husband started asking people, “Need a bowl for that popcorn?”
 
It was a great day. Business wise we sold a few things did some networking with the local vendors and made some good business connections. Personally it was a great success; I managed a challenging situation by planning ahead and sticking to my plan.

My rat terrior mix, Bugsy, caught a mouse and he wanted to bring it INSIDE!
 

I had my surgery 9 months ago, February 7, 2012. It seems like just yesterday, but no its 9 months ago. Wow, time has flown and wow things sure have changed. In celebration of being 9 months reborn I made a list of 9 things that have changed (excluding the weight & inches lost):
No more medication – When I started this journey I had to take 3 different medications to control my high blood pressure. Today my blood pressure is normal without medication.


Giving the elevator the day off – I work on the 8th floor, every morning I walk up the stairs to my office and in the evening I walk down. Plus during the day I go up and down at least 3 floors, several times.


Sex – Sex is definitely better. I’ll skip the details…


How my skin feels – I like rubbing my hand up and down my arm, my skin feels thinner (Don’t know if this makes sense to you)


Wearing heels – When I was at my heavies my ankles couldn’t handle heels. Now I’m back to wearing heels again!


My confidence – I walk taller, I smile all the time, I really like being me now!


I like looking at myself in the mirror – dressed or naked, I like what I see. It’s not perfect but I like it!


Finding my extravert self – When I was in high school I was very outgoing; I had no fear of talking to strangers. When I was at my heaviest I was so shy, I wouldn’t look people in the eyes, afraid to talk to them. Now, I’m back to looking people in the eyes and talking to strangers.


The way others look at me – I love seeing guys take a second look; the expression on my friends faces when they see me and how the family responds to me.

My Lap-band is a great tool for my weight loss journey, if only I could band my head. How many times have we thought that? I read it on threads all the time. Well, we can band our head. In fact I have a Banded Brain Tool and it’s called SUPPORT. It comes in all different shapes and sizes. My Banded Brain Tool consists of five things:

Cheerleaders – these are my family and friends who from the sidelines are cheering me on. It’s my hubby seeing me struggle and walking up to me whispering in my ear, “You are doing so incredible on this journey, I’m so proud of you.” Or my friends saying, “You look great!”


Support Group – My support group meets once a month. Seeing fellow bandster, exchanging stories and ideas gets me from month to month.


LapBandTalk – I log on every day, check in with my friends, help and support other bandsters as well as get help and support.


MyFItnessPal – Keeps me honest with my food intake and my friends offer help and ideas here too.


FitBit – My pedometer on steroids! I never though one little electronic devise would get me climbing stairs every day. It sends me emails when I earn a new badge (never forget the first day I climbed 50 flights – I was a dancing fool). I compete with my friends to see who can walk the most steps and we encourage each other one.

Between my Lap-band and Banded Brain Tool I have been able to succeed with my weight loss.

Tonight’s dinner did not come from a grocery store. I made a venison roast from a deer that was shot on my uncles ranch and roasted veggies (butternut squash, turnips, yellow was beans & snap peas) that where grown on our land.
 
My husband pointed out that nothing on our plate came from the grocery store. This made me think, ok the seasonings I put on the roast and the corn starch to thicken the drippings for gravy are the only items from the grocery store.
 
That is pretty cool! (Just had to brag)
 
Oh and by the way, it was delicious!!!!

Hi from Boston and wonderful Sandy,
Lately I have been unable to feel full. Right now I am very full. I had for dinner elbows, tomato sauce and shrimp. Dinner was yummy. I had a fill in September and not scheduled to see the doctor until after Thanksgiving.
Yesterday I made an angel food cake and put sugar free chocolate chips into it. My husband is a diabetic. He has eaten over 1/2 the cake. I had one piece last night.
I find with the Band that I getting bored with food. I never know what to have. For lunch I had a grilled roast beef and cheese sandwich (1/2). It was great.
Have a great and safe night and hopefully with electric.

Hi fellow Banders. Can we wear Spanx after surgery? For some reason I think I heard you should not wear them.
Also, I went to my PCP today and had my first Flu shot ever, at 62. The doctor said there is a new version this year and if you get it expect 7 days in the hospital. That heard, got the shot.
Enjoy your evening, all.

I am from New England, home of great lobster. I was told by many banders that after surgery food can be different. I guess tonight I had my last lobster. It was just too chewy for me. I am sad. I do eat a lot of jumbo lump crab and that agrees with me. I have had shrimp and that goes down fine. The only way I would eat clams is fried, so that is out and I don't do scallops. I find salmon does down super. Tomorrow I am making a pot roast. My husband does not eat meat, only poultry and fish. I guess that means about 12 pot roast meals for me.
Everyone have a great weekend.
Arlene

I love clothes shopping in my own closet! Yesterday I put on a pair of jeans I forgot I had. They fit with a little room. My dream is to fit into my Warner Bros. jeans with the Taz and Bugs Bunny on them. I have saved them for over 15 years. Wow! over 15 years since I wore a size 16 and in my 40's then. I hope in my 60's isn't too old to wear fun clothes like that. I even have a 't' shirt to wear with them. I am running out of smaller clothes and will have to buy some clothes. In my support group one woman said because you change sizes so often go to consignment stores. I will have to check them out. I have my nephew's wedding in November and hope to fit into a size 14-16 and was thinking of buying at the consignment store to save money on a dressy outfit. Do other people save too small clothes hoping one day they will fit again? One pant suit I love, I waited too long and the jacket is way too big.
Have a great Labor Day weekend everyone. Drive safely-the nuts are out there.

Let me first tell you a little about myself. I grew up as a very athletic and yes a very skinny kid without a care in the world. Then the teenage years hit and I started battling depression. As a result I was put on drug after drug, many of which cause weight gain or atleast an inevitable carb obsession which leads to obeseity. I essentially became my feelings: slow, sluggish. I used food to try to fix my problems. But it didn't work, so I ate more and more.Don't get me wrong even in my teens and twenties there were times when I was healthy and thin, but then I would yo-yo back everytime my medications would have to be changed or tweaked to treat my depression and anxiety. From the time I graduated college 2008 to 2011, I yo-yoed up 100 lbs from 155 lbs weight to almost 257 lbs at 5'4''. This was the position I found myself at when I started my process of approval for lapband surgery in July of 2011. I was over 250 lbs. A size 22 pants and xxl in tops. It was the seemingly little things that made life so miserable as an overweight person. Some of these little things included walking from my car into the schools for work. I got mad at myself everytime I forgot something upstairs because the walk up the steps took my breath away. I would get blinding back pain. And then there were the times when people asked me "when is the baby due?" that really ruined my self esteem. I guess it wasn't there fault. I did look like an egg on stilts with my apple shape and protruding tummy.
I knew right away that a typical diet wouldn't work for me. As long as I was able to each such large amounts of food it wouldn't matter what food I was eating (even healthy food is not longer healthy if the quantity is too large). I needed something to help my control the bottomless pit that was my stomach. Something that would stop my stomach from being treated like the trash compactor that it had become. Most importantly I needed a solution that would allow me to still absorb the medications I needed to maintain my mood. The lapband was the tool I chose to help myself lose weight. Yes, it is a tool not a fix all or miracle cure.
So far I have used my tool along with diet and exercise to lose about 60 lbs. I am now in what some people call "onderland" where that first number on the scale is a 1 instead of a 2,3,4 etc. It has to be one of the best feelings in the world. I now wear a size 14 pants and a large top. Even though I'm not what many people call skinny or what I even consider skinny, I know that the decision I made and the sucess I have earned and deserve is signifigant to my health and wellbeing. I now don't have to struggle so much with the physical and emotional weight that was taking over my life. I can walk, I can even run (a little) and I love cycling. It hasn't been easy. In fact, it has been really hard to give up the food that I was using to comfort myself; in fact I still battle emotions that cause me to overeat, but now I feel like it's a battle I can win.

I finally realized by getting the Band, I put me first for once. I have been taking care of my sick husband for about 15 months. I help with a retarded brother, a 94 year old mother in a nursing home and an 89 year old mother-in-law, who finally gave up driving. You can see, I have a full plate and HATE it. I would love to find a hobby to occupy my time.
Have a wonderful Sunday everyone.