Official Weigh In

181.8 up slightly ~ if only I'd get myself back on track!!

Just Saying.....

I'm in NC for a few days, we came over for a convention that happened to be held @ the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC and who decides to take a vacation here the same weekend? Well, I'm sure it's been all over the news....Obama! Of course this gave me circus thoughts with all the hyped up security that would be @ the resort. But I must say I was very impressed with the way things went ~ almost like they were really trying NOT to impact other guests of the resort. Our car was sniffed every morning by a dog and my classes were held in Vanderbilt wing of the resort where the Obama's were staying so I had to go through a security screening every time I went to class. It was kind of like air port security and no big deal really. It was harder for me to prove who I was and what my middle name was to the NC state driver's license peeps! So just saying..........job well done to protect the prez and guests! ;-)

51, 51, 51...

Official weigh in Thursday!! 181.2 this morning that's 51 lbs since surgery day baby!! I'll take it!

Went shopping last night and it was FUN! It is fun to shop when you can put clothes on and um they flippin' fit!! ;-)

On a side note I have been asked to give my testimony for the WLS centers newsletter to include before and after pics! I'm working on my verbage as I type this. I like the feeling of success and if my story helps even one person to make the decision to have or not to have WLS I'm happy!!

onward and downward.........

Me A Slacker and Those Capri Pants From Last Summer....

OK so I have been slacking in blogging area ~ it's not that I don't have a million thoughts in my head that I should write down....it's that we are in the process of selling stuff, moving to a new state, fixing things in current house, starting a new business, packing, and oh yeah still working full time! So yes I am a slacker with a few excuses! My weight is staying right around 182. So those capri pants from last summer are too big but I'm wearing them even if it does look like I have a huge poopie diaper on ~ haha ~ onward and downward....

A Little Review...

Went to the dietitian on Wednesday ~ let me first say I just love her! She is real, upbeat, informative and encouraging. She really cares about each person that comes into the practice for surgery. She doesn't judge your body size, she just wants to help you with your nutritional and vitamin needs. And she says when I move I can still contact the staff there!

My ideal body weight is 132 pounds, that's 100 lbs to take off since surgery, I've taken off 50 now and that's 50% ~ most lapbanders take off 55% of the weight in the first 12 months, I've done 50% in 9 months so I am considered a successful lapbander!! Hot diggity dog!

It's very early my time and I'm beat so if this doesn't read correctly you'll know why!

;-P

If The Shoe Fits Wear It?!

So I put on a pair of shoes I bought last summer with the peep toe thing going on....well 50 lbs later they are falling off my feet!! I have heard your shoe size changes but I really didn't think....it was true!

onward and downward...

Nine, Nine, Nine...Fifty, Fifty, Fifty....

9 months bandiversary!!

182 this morning ~ looking for those 170's!!

50.2 pounds gone!!

I'm off to do the happy dance! (maybe some new pics and measurements later?!)




So the nine fingers things is kinda backwards but so am I!! haha
Measurements:

waist 37
hips 44 1/2
chest 44
wrist 6 1/4
forearm 10 1/2
thigh 24 1/2
calf 16 1/2
ankle 8 1/4
upperarm 14 1/4
neck 14 3/4

took off a little bit of inches here and there, feel better in my clothes, can fit into some smaller sizes sometimes, overall ~ all is well!! ;-P

Gizmo Update! Traveling Clothes.

184.2 this morning...... working it!

Went to see my favorite lap band doctor this morning. He was dressed a little strange. Guessing the x-ray garb is for the protection of all, well everyone but the patient that is, LOL. He did a little tweak of a fill this morning under the flora thing x-ray ma bob (maybe I should google the technical name but does it really matter?!) Fact is he could see the port, the tube, the gizmo, the pouch that was created for me and we watched the fluid go in and down, a little tweak, more fluid in and down, interesting, wishing I could see a little better. Anyways his report was something like this "everything looks like it did the day I put it in". That is a good thing cuz my lap band brain often worries "did I eat too much that meal and stretch out my itty bitty pouch?!" He assured me my pouch looked great, keep up the good work, continue to eat good proteins, etc. Oh, and by the way, today....liquids, tomorrow next stage of foods, and the next day is the next stage of foods and back to normal after that.

Now my recent delima since last weeks visit has been trying to find a lap band doctor in the area I am moving to. The office that is the closest to my new home wants 500 bucks non refundable, goes nothing towards any of my care, just a flat 500 bucks to see my smiling face! (my face is really not worth that amount of money!) So I called the next one on the list...first visit 300-400 dollars, no fills, then upper GI, then a fill and each fill 111.00 ~ so I'm thinking "forget it, just give me a needle to have on hand incase of an emergency unfill". Dr Minkin set me straight on those thoughts and he is right, I need a local doctor, a local support system, etc. The lap band rep was on hand, gave me some info on where to go to and what to do and they will do all they can to help find me a new doctor in my new location.

On another note I made a trip to MI this past weekend and my Aunt Vivian has been cleaning out her closet and had the mother load of size 14s, 12s, 10s and etc etc etc! So I went through 2 totes of clothes, took capri pants that are very near being able to be worn by me and left jeans since I have so many already (and we are moving and I don't want to take more than I will use) ~ how exciting to enjoy the benefits of others losing weight before and faster than you!! I love having clothes travel to me, even if I have to pick them up!

onward and downward........

Here's a shot of the new to me clothes:

Official Weekly Weigh In Results, Questions In My Head, etc...

It's been awhile, we have been traveling and that means no scale tied to my leg! haha

184.6 was the result this morning.

I'm almost 9 months out from surgery now. Things have slowed considerable. Lack of exercise, lack of food journal, lack of self discipline are playing a part of the slow down I know. I know I've been doing a little stress eating. Not good!

Monday I go for an upper GI flourascope thing, Dr. Minkin will do a fill under the "light" if needed, he will check lap band placement, pouch placement, etc. I think it will help ease any mental anguish because I find myself wondering sometimes....have I stretched my pouch? did I eat too much just now? did I drink too soon after my meal?

onward and downward.....

Do You Ever See Yourself In The Mirror And....

wonder who that is?! Seriously when I get a full glimpse, like in a dressing room mirror, I wonder "who is that"?! Almost like my mind is in someone elses body, a body I do not know or recognize. Very strange feeling. ;-)

It's Not...

that I really try to keep my gizmo a secret, if peeps ask I am very open about it. It usually goes like this "how are you losing so much weight" and I usually say "well ya know I had that lap band surgery and it's the tool I needed to help me". So why do other peeps find it necessary to share this information with others? Especially when nothing is being asked about me personally and I'm sitting @ the same table eating lunch with them?! Just wondering because it is my business and my story.....

This is out of the mouth of a person who told me they wouldn't share my surgery with others, that they would leave it up to me if I wanted to tell or not. This same person was very upset the morning of the surgery and then a few days after surgery told me I had ruined our lives...we couldn't eat this together anymore or eat that anymore, or drink this or drink that... Don't get me wrong, this has all been settled ~ worked out ~ overcome ~ explained since then (it was mostly coming from fear) so there is NO issue there now. I'm only blogging this stuff because I feel new bandsters need to know that the surgery can be a roller coaster of emotions @ times, especially in the beginning. If you read back in my blog you will see how upset I personally was over giving up food, bread, popcorn, nuts, drink, yada yada it was for a short period of time and I'm OK with it now, I had to come to grips with the grip these things had on me and sometimes still do. (I so wanted a bite of the sandwich this person had @ lunch today ~ I miss a good sandwich!!)

anyhow after lunch we talked, I wasn't mad but I didn't plan on sharing my gizmo info w/the people @ this point in time. I believe I communicated it clearly that I would have shared it when and if I wanted to. Also that it wasn't necessary for it to be shared today, the question of "how do you feel about lap band surgery for weight loss" could have been answered w/o telling I had a gizmo.

So reminder lesson ~ listen more, talk less.

Today I Learned....

First the temptation = a whole grocery store!!!

Second the lesson = I can overcome being hurt and upset without food. I had all kinds of thoughts running through my head....from chocolate to cookies to diet soda to chips but INSTEAD I decided I would only be hurting ME and I am on this journey for ME so why hurt ME?! I sat and read a book for over an hour before I vacated my car. Then I saw a Dollar General and thought maybe they would carry the non food item I wanted and they did so I bypassed the grocery store all together!!

Third the other lesson = call a friend, read a book, text somebody, just do something besides giving into emotional eating!

onward and downward.........

Greeting from Highlands, NC

Does this photo tell how this week is gonna go?! haha Had a great day in the mtns today! Looking forward to many more...... We went out for breakfast and knowing I couldn't eat a whole omelet even if it was after 1PM and brunch time...I ordered cheese grits ~ hot diggity dog ~ awesome! Only ate half then the man candy took over for a little more of them. These peeps know how to cook grits!! ;-)

69?! Home Sweet Home?! Life....

Not 69 pounds, 69 followers!! Love it!! ;-)

Home Sweet Home?
We are in the NC mtns, visiting, trying to decide if this is home sweet home or not....

Life....can be so exciting and yet so confusing @ times!

onward and downward.......

Bandiversary, To Be IN or OUT Of The Closet?!

Bandiversary first........8 months ago today my gizmo came to live inside of me. I couldn't have come this far without the help of my gizmo. What a great tool in my weight loss journey. I still have no regrets ~ I did this for me. There are things I miss eating and sometimes I miss being able to eat lots of something because it tastes so good but overall I have no regrets.

Has taking off 46 lbs since surgery made me a better person? Has it changed my outlook on life? Has it changed my relationships? Has it changed my goals in life? Has it changed how I feel about myself? I think not. I'm still me, I still joke about my fat butt, I am still a friend to many, I still cry, I still have feelings.... The weight loss hasn't uncovered anything, my inner person is still there ~ it's just exposed a little more and still just as vulnerable to life's hurts, life's excitements, life's joys... I think I might have gained some self confidence, I still see all my flaws, (what they didn't go away with the weight?!), I just don't really feel a big huge change ~ maybe later ~ maybe not @ all....


Today I weighed in @ 186.2
Recap:
Day 1 of liquids before surgery = 232.2 so minus 46 lbs since surgery. That's almost 6 lbs per month. About 1 and 1/2 lbs per week. That average is OK with me and I know it will kick up a notch when I get back on my REGULAR exercise routine!

Now the closet issue.....
Just when I feel like I have conquered closet eating (you know those "secret" things you eat when nobody is looking) I take a bite of something in public and the food police come out....and they ask questions and make remarks like:
"why are you eating that?"
"should you be eating that?"
"is that on your diet?"
"I was wondering if you were going to eat ALL of that."
"that's really chewey, make sure you chew that good."
"don't forget to chew chew chew."
"someone ate cornbread for breakfast."
"can you eat that with the band?"
"is such and such band friendly?"
You get the picture, this really ticks me off, I know I have not taken care of my body over the years and the food police questions/remarks haven't helped so far so why do you think they would help now?! ...just saying...


Onward and downward I go.......one meal @ a time, one day @ a time.....

Inspired!!

OK bloggers.....I saw my friend Kathy tonight (the one who secretly passed on the magic jeans to me) and WOW she looks awesome and so tiny!! She inspires me to keep on going ~ we've been doing this weight loss thing together since Dec 2005 ~ she talked me into joining WW with her and it's all been good!! ;-) Thanks Kathy!

Pretty Woman....

The hubby bought me the movie for Valentine's Day! Got the 15th anniversary special edition! Now I can watch that shopping scene anytime I want to!! ;-)

HaPpY VD!!

....That's right Happy VD!! Happy Valentine's Day!! My hubby, boys, family, friends and followers are the sweethearts of my life! Thanks for the love and support!! ;-) I heart ya'll...

The Magic Jeans!!

Those jeans from my previous post......they are magic I tell ya!! Just magic! Who would have thought and why didn't my friend Kathy tell me of these powers?! Why do I call them magic you ask?! Well, first let me back up to yesterday.. Yesterday, I sent Kathy an email explaining my excitement over these jeans and being able to fit into them! She explained those were her expensive, favorite jeans and that she was sad when she got too small for them (her loss ~ literally)! I told her that is why they feel so yummmy on! So anyways I wore them again today and I have decided they are just magic jeans! They remind to only eat when I'm hungry! Not because I am bored, happy, sad, lonely, etc! (did you notice I didn't list mad in that list ~ I do NOT eat when I am mad so go ahead and tick me off daily and I will be one Skinny B!@#$ ~ oh wait that's a book title). Anyhow, I'm enjoying these magic jeans today!! onward and downward ... ;-)

My All Time Low ~ Probable Since Birth! And A Jean Shot!

I did that 3 day liquid diet thing up until last night....I ate a real dinner last night and boy was my restriction back! I made a salad, then took half of it back out of the bowl ~ so glad I did cuz I couldn't have ate the whole thing. I had a couple of bites of chicken and a little gumbo about 2 hours later...

so my all time low is 185.6 this morning!! Now to hold onto it!!

Now for the jeans....I couldn't find my jeans again this morning, of course I searched the teens room for them since that's where they were hiding from my butt for a few days last time they came up missing. So anyways I tried on some of my other jeans ~ now I have no clue where these came from besides from my friend Kathy so I am not sure how the sizes run BUT....
this particular pair button up the front, have "Cruel Girl relaxed" stitched on the inside waistband and tag reads size 13 regular how cool is that?! I'm not hung up on a size # since every piece of clothing fits different in every size but geez a 13 sure beats the heck out of the size 24's I wore way back when!! I was about a size 20 right before my gizmo came to live in me. So here's a couple of shots: