ash

I think you are so awesome. Thanks so much for your updates and encouragement!

Well, after two years of no Zumba classes, my gym is starting a class every Tuesday night! Tonight is the first night and I'm SO excited. Of course, it's right after my other favorite class (Kick-n-Abs), so I am going to try to go to both!!! Teaching PE is exhausting, but I love how active I am becoming. If I could have more energy, I'd be at the gym every day after school, but I'm so excited for Zumba tonight!!!

I adore Zumba!

Thanks all! I'm really excited. I start Monday and I found out today that I am able to order $1200 of new equipment. My school has just started participating in the SPARK pe program and it is AWESOME! It is kind of based on small groups, so everyone is always participating and never waiting or sitting around because they didn't get picked. Everyone always has a piece of equipment and it is fun, fun, fun! I hope it will turn around my school's previously BORING (no offense to the little old lady who just retired) PE classes and maybe I will get to come back again next year!!! I will let y'all know how it goes!

Well, as of this morning I am no longer teaching Kindergarten! This former morbidly obese girl is my school's new PHYSICAL EDUCATION teacher!!! How awesome is that?! I can now exercise all day and not feel guilty if I can't make it to the gym after work!!! Teaching PE is something I never thought I would do. A year and a half ago I would have dreaded it. This is a VSG success for sure!

I'm glad to know I'm not the only one! It can be frustrating hearing about people getting to goal. I don't know if I'll ever hit that goal on the BMI chart, but I'm going to do my best to get down at least 40 more pounds before I start trying to get pregnant. Then I can dread becoming fat again! HA! I just hate cooking so much. I never have enough Protein around to go to when I need it. As far as exercise goes, I love it, and I never thought I'd say that. I have finally realized that finding something you love is the key for me. I will not work out alone, and I have no motivation on machines. Jogging kills my knees and it's way boring for me, so those group fitness and spin classes are my thing. I get up every morning and go to the 9 a.m. classes and three times a week I go back for an afternoon class. Once I start back to school I will really miss my morning workouts!! Best of luck to you. We can do this! Thanks everyone else for your kind words and encouragement!

This time last year I was still groggy from my surgery (best sleep I've ever had, haha), and now I'm posting a quick update: I have lost a total of 112 pounds (my ticker says 114), have about 55 more to go, and have been struggling the past few months with going up a few pounds and down a few pounds with no significant loss. This is somewhat frustrating, but my measurements are shrinking and I really have hit the gym hard since the end of May and my mom, who lives in another state, thought I had lost more when I went home last week, but I guess I'm just toning up. I work out 1-2 hours a day 6 times a week (never on Sundays), and I love it. I absolutely love the gym. I'm on summer break now and am dreading missing my morning gym classes when school starts again. I will be completely honest and say that I'm 100% sure my "stall" has been from the stuff I've been putting in my mouth. Too many carbs, not enough Protein, but as of Monday I'm back on track with protein and I've already seen the scale start moving back down. I'm really tall (6'2") and I say I'd like to get to 175, but I really just want to get to 200 and see what I look like. That was my dr's recommendation also. Also, my thyroid is not functioning properly as of May, so I'm on meds for that now, but no other prescriptions are in my medicine cabinet! I "celebrated" today by taking my wedding rings in to have them sized down. YAY! I don't really have any new pictures, but I will post one that made me look twice when I saw it because I didn't think it was me...go to my photo albums and it will be the one with me in a turquoise shirt and white shorts. In a size 16 now (started in a 26/28)

I just bought a Fiona Sports Bra by Moving Comfort from Academy. It has adjustable velcro straps (sounds weird, but they are awesome) and I love the support. We do lots of jumping in the gym classes I attend, and while they still bounce (I still got big ones!), they are supported by this bra unlike my Lane Bryant sports bras. I threw them out.

I have dipped veggies in it (carrots, broccoli), and I dip tortilla chips in it too! I like to put it over anything mexican, pretty much!!!

This is one of our favorites, but we have so much in the freezer that I won't have to make this for a very long time!

Congratulations!

Congratulations! You are doing great!

Awesome! :thumbup1:

I don't know why you couldn't use fresh jalapenos. I only use fresh in my salsa and have never tried it with this dip. But it might be yummy!

I sure hope I am gaining muscle! I love that the classes at the gym include strength training with cardio. The class I went to this morning was AWESOME! The scale moved again and now I'm down 111 pounds! Hope I can keep it up. :001_tt2:

That sounds similar to what I try to eat, but I guess I just get lazy on keeping the protein handy. I saw Sex and the City 2 today and want Sarah Jessica Parker's legs so badly that I'm going to live at the gym from now on, I swear, lol

I'm pretty sure carbs are my issue. Tiff, how are you getting so much Protein? With drinks or not? I have gotten in more protein the past week and the scale moved yesterday and today...in the downward direction, yay! I've just been stuck in the 240's for so long that I really want to get out of them, lol. I'm burning between 500-600 calories a day, 5-6 times a week for two weeks now. The two weeks before that it was about 3 times a week, and before that, I hadn't exercised consistently at all.

I'm also a vocalist (former music teacher, now I just sing at church) and I had trouble for about 6 weeks after surgery with a very sore throat, which meant I had virtually no head voice. Of course, I'm plagued with allergies and as soon as I feel a tickle in my throat, I lose my head voice for a good 2 weeks. That has been happening all my life! After I got over that, I have had no problems singing. I have a friend who is a voice instructor, and after her VSG, she had no issues with going to back to singing. I just have a weak voice, I guess! I think it just depends on the person.

I'm not sure if this is a stall or if I'm just not working hard enough any more... I haven't lost anything for about 6 weeks now. I've lost a total of 108 pounds and I'm very happy with that, but I'm far from thin. My weight fluctuates between 243-245 daily. I really need to get another 50-60 pounds off and I'm starting to wonder if it will happen. I've been exercising consistently for about 2 weeks now (5-6 times a week) but I really think my problem is my eating. I'm not getting the 80-100 grams of Protein a day...it's more like 40-60. My husband recently decided he wants to eat healthier, so hopefully that will help. Any suggestions? I also have not been getting all my Water in daily.

Wow, does parsley even come close??? I used to hate cilantro, but now I really like it if it is not overpowering.

Well, I went a little over-achiever on myself today and after my first class at the gym, I stayed for the next one too. WOW, that was dumb. I was so tired and weak after 2 hours of exercise! So, my points for the week ended up being 36.

Oh my! When did you start your school year?! That's a really late summer start!

Posted the recipe in a new thread! I think I might have to have a bite of it now....lol

My absolute favorite Tex-Mex restaurant is Chuy's. They serve a Creamy Jalapeno dip (Creamy "J") and since I moved away from TX, I crave it often. I did a search for it and tried out one of the copycat recipes, and this tastes really close! I like to use lowfat stuff in it and eat it over refried Beans (and other mexican dishes), but with refried beans is a quick snack and it really gives them a kick! You can adjust the heat by adding less jalapenos. CREAMY JALAPENO SAUCE 3/4 C low fat mayo 3/4 C buttermilk (low fat...regular milk can be subbed) 1 packet hidden valley ranch dry dressing mix 1 (4 oz) can sliced jalapenos, drained) cilantro leaves, fresh (to taste) 1 t. salt 1 t. lime juice 1 t. garlic powder I just throw it all in the blender and add the cilantro last. I put a lot of cilantro in it and just keep tasting it until I get it right!