Thanksgiving Weekend Recap (A.K.A. Confession Time)

And so it began...

I flew down to my parents house on Thursday morning.  We cooked up a storm in the kitchen getting ready for the big turkey day meal.  If you scroll down a little, you will see pics from the amazing spread of tastiness.

As I have said before, my downfall is snacking between meals, not actually hungry, just eating because the food is available.  That is why I usually don't really snack and avoid having any snack foods in the house.

I ended up eating way too many candied pecans...WAY TOO many prior to the big meal.

At said big meal, I had:

• one bite of turkey breast
• two bites of stuffing
• bread roll with lots of butter. YUM

Then, three hours later:

• average sized slice of pecan pie with freshly whipped cream. YUM.
• average sized slice of pumpkin pie with freshly whipped cream.  YUM.

The weekend progressed and included:

• more of those bread rolls with butter, lots of butter
• more slices of pecan pie with the whip cream
• caramel sundae with nuts from McDonalds
• Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate from Starbucks
• In-n-Out Burger: half of a Double-Double (incl. bun) and 6-7 french fries
• 2 mini-slices of pizza

Oh yeah, did I mention no exercise...at all...!

I noticed that I was not drinking much water during the weekend (only a bottle a day) and by Sunday afternoon I was soooo thirsty and pretty much felt nauseous.  ICK.  Nice negative feedback :)

Today, I am back on the healthy lifestyle of lots of water and high protein eating.  Current calorie count so far for the day: 380.  Protein: 41 grams.  I feel better already.

Fun with Fat Photo...

Random photo find from 2007...260+ lbs

PS: Can't wait to tell you about all the poor food choices that I have made in the last few days..definitely a gain is expected this week...sigh.

What I ate on Thanksgiving

and I loved every bite!

Weigh-in Day...and the results are...

A loss of 0.5 lbs.

Total lost: 109.3 lbs

Happy Thanksgiving!

The dirty little secret of gastric banding...

constipation. 

Yes, I am going there.

That's what this post is about. 

If this is TMI for you, then move along to the next blog and read about thanksgiving or something more cheerful.

Since bandsters eat small portions of high protein foods, constipation becomes a problem.  It's wierd how no one ever told me about this when I was pre-op.

Well, I gotta hand it to my primary care physician to tell me about Miralax.  It's a stool softener....NOT a laxative.

I mix the packet of powder into my moring 16 oz water bottle/crystal light and drink it on my way to work.

I have been taking the miralax now for 6 days.  OH MY GOODNESS.  What a difference. :)

So this is today's public service announcement:

Give Miralax a try. just be sure to mix it into a beverage that has a strong flavor.  I use grape crystal light...most crystal lights cover the slight taste of the Miralax.

PS: My Zumba game for the Wii came in the mail yesterday...can't wait to tell you all about it.

Early Weigh-In This Week

Thank you all for your comments on previous post. 

Most of you mentioned that you can't eat pizza.  Perhaps I have never been filled enough or I might be a good chewer...but at 13 months post-op, I have never PB'd....never been stuck....don't hate me. 

I'm at 6.9 ccs in my 10 cc band.  I have to take things slow in the morning even drinking water/coffee, but I'm fine after about 11am if I eat slowly and chew, chew, chew.

I kinda wierdly wish that I could experience being stuck/PB just once so I can:
1) know what you all are talking about
2) have some negative reinforcement/feedback on eating bready/doughy foods.

I'm sure my day will come....just a matter of time.

Due to my holiday travel schedule an early weigh in will occur on Thursday morning, not the usual Friday morning.  My fingers are crossed for a loss...!

ZUMBA tonight! :)

This Is Why I Was FAT

Don'tcha love coupons that come into your email inbox?  I love coupons in general...emailed, clipped out of the Sunday newspaper, or coupon codes online.

I notice that I have quite a bit of "unsubscribing" to do on these distribution emails that I get from various companies offering their products and services...especially restaurants.

One of these restaurants is Pizza Hut.  Yummy, greasy, plastic cheese Pizza Hut.  I can smell the tastiness of it all in my head if I try real hard.  I remember how I used to order online and then pick up a pizza on my way home from work.  Then it would be just me...and the pizza....and a night of sitting in front of the TV....a bad combination!

Well, guess what I got in my inbox today?  Yes, let's all give thanks for poppable cheesy bites...shall we?














The nutrition facts for this pizza is unavailable on the pizzahut website....hmmm....I wonder why? (note: sarcasm).

This emailed coupon reminds me of the website:  THIS IS WHY YOU'RE FAT.  Check it out.  Beware: Food Porn Alert!

13 Month Bandiversary - Monthly Tracking

You all know how much I love a good spreadsheet...well, here's the monthly tracking for ya!

Weigh-in day...and the results are...

a gain of 0.2 lbs....yep, pretty much maintaining...

Start Weight: 256 lbs

Current Weight: 147.2 lbs

Total Lost: 108.8 lbs
 
HAPPY FRIDAY!

1 Year Labs & a BIG girl fill

I got my 1 year post op labs back this week.  Comparing with my 6 month post op labs (April 2010):

The Good:

• Triglycerides are down from 235 to 166
• A1C is at 5.1 (down from 5.8)
• All vitamin levels are in the normal range, except...

The Not So Good:

• Vitamin B1 is very low at a "2".  Normal is 8+.  This is a common deficiency with those who do Atkins (high protein/low carb)....I don't really do low carb eating...i think?

So I ordered some B1 sublingual from vitalady.com.  No way am I going to attempt to choke down these huge pills I bought yesterday from the hippie skippie healthy vitamins store....not sure what I was thinking.

I also got a BIG girl fill today....I went in to the fill appt with the thought that I needed .2 or .3 cc at the most.  Well, the water went down so well, that I ended up getting .5 ccs.  We will see how it goes.  Maybe this is what I need to kick those last few pounds to the curb.

Weigh in day tomorrow!

PS: thanks for posting what you eat on your blogs and commenting in the post below.  Lots of great ideas for bandster meals!

What Do YOU Eat?

OK, now it's your turn! 

I challenge you to post a list of what you usually eat so we can all gets some good ideas and freshen up our food/meal ideas. I know I could use some new ideas.

Post your list on your blog.  I can't wait to see your lists! :)

What I Eat

I've been getting a lot of requests from you guys for a listing of what I usually eat everyday.  So here goes...keep in mind I only count protein and calories. And yes, I know that I need to eat more veggies/fruit.

Click on the chart to make BIG. :)

The Band....

...is not about restriction...it's about appetite suppression and staying fuller longer.

That is all.

Moving My Body Through Space

Ha ha ha...no, i'm not talking about going up in the space shuttle and landing on the moon.

I'm talking about EXERCISE. 

My lap band support group leader (Hi Mark!) says the phrase "Moving My Body Through Space" at least once during every monthly support group meeting.  What he means is get your body moving any which way you can.  Example: take extra trips to/from the car when unloading groceries to the house.  Got 10 bags of groceries? Then take 10 trips and lift those bags up and down while you're at it.  Find ways to be inefficient yet active.

Anyways, I have found a new way of "Moving My Body Through Space." 

Yep, I've been walk/running.  I noticed that I haven't been able to get my heart rate up or sweat enough (ewww) with just walking.  So, now I have been trying to run a block, then walk a block.  It is WAY EASIER to run with less weight to carry around (duh).  If someone had said to me a year ago that I would be running, I would have laughed at them and said "what are you smoking?"

Normal!

Yep, after 11 months of using the Wii Fit, it finally told me that my BMI is "normal"!

Weighing in on the Wii Fit board has always been a little depressing, it would always  go "wah-wah" (a rather sad noise) and then announce "that's obese" or "that's overweight."  Now it makes a little melody and my Mii claps and jumps up and down :)

I love my Wii - I still use it once or twice a week.

I have pre-ordered Zumba for the Wii on Amazon which is coming out this week, can't wait!  It should be delivered to my house in about a week.

Weigh-in Day...and the results are...

a loss of 1.7 lbs! yay!

Start Weight: 256 lbs
Current Weight: 147 lbs
Total Lost:  109 lbs

Less than two weeks to go to Thanksgiving (and ultimate) goal of 145lbs.  2 pounds to go.

HAPPY FRIDAY!

NOT Drinking with Meals

This has been something I had always struggled with since surgery. 

As most of you know, bandsters aren't supposed to drink with our meals...key phrase in that sentence is "supposed to".  There are a lot of "supposed to's" in my new lifestyle.  Like, "supposed to" exercise or "supposed to" take my vitamins...or my favorite: I'm "supposed to" stop eating when I feel full (that could be a whole other post in itself).

Anyways, I think I have finally made it a "way of life" for me and don't realize it much anymore.

Example: yesterday I was at a potluck and we were all sitting down to eat.  A friend said to me, "aren't you going to have something to drink, they're over there on the table."  I hadn't even looked for the drinks prior to sitting down, it is just second nature now not to seek out a drink when eating.  FINALLY!  Only took over a year to get to this point...!

PS: Weigh-in day is tomorrow.

Fun With Fat Photos...

From the last 10+ years...

Well, I Guess It's Official Now

Over the past few months, I have been getting interesting looks and comments from various retail people and especially the TSA at the airports....when I would show them my drivers license when paying with a credit card or going through security...

So, last week when I was having an especially good hair day, I decided it was time to get a replacement ID photo.

Here's the comparison for you.  Current ID on the top and old ID (from June 2007) on the bottom. 

Looks like I lied about my weight back then too.  More accurate would have been 260lbs.  I also had them put my goal weight on the new one....3 lbs to go!

PS: I was amazed at how congratulatory and happy the DMV folks were about this ID renewal.  I guess they really do know how to smile.

Cheering You All On!

I see the Holiday Challenge begins today for many of you.

Congrats on setting some great and attainable goals...I know you can do it!

I'll be here with my pom poms cheering you all on :)

Rant

Long, long ago...way before surgery I made a decision that I was never going to be the "food police" to anyone else.

What people eat is their business, their choice, etc.  I don't care what goes in your mouth.  I have never said "you shouldn't eat that" or "are you really going to eat that?"  or any other version of that....I do this mainly because I know I hate it when anyone plays "food police" with me.

I try to set a good example in my food choices and portions, but that's all that I do.

What I don't understand, is now when I go out to eat with people, sometimes they insist on making excuses of why they are ordering a certain menu item.  Recent examples include, "I haven't eaten much today, I'm going to get the cheeseburger, terrible I know." or  "I am so bad, but I'm getting that pie for dessert."

People never used to do this when I was heavy.

I want to shake them and say "I DO NOT CARE.  Eat what you want."

OK, my rant is over.

But wait, now I'm wondering, when I weighed 250+ lbs, did I used to say things like that to justify my food choices?

100lbs down - Reward

I am a big believer in rewarding one's self at large milestones in a weight loss journey.

It's important to realize all that hard work to achieving those goals.

I hit the 100 lbs lost mark a few weeks ago and have been debating whether I would do another spa day as I talked about in THIS POST.  But then I thought, why not something I can wear?

Well, my UGG boots (from 1997!) have always been a winter basic for me, especially since moving to the wilderness of Oregon.  I put them on the other day for the first time since February...and guess what - they were too big!  Size 9s...looked like floppy clown shoes on my feet.  So I passed them along to a coworker who will enjoy them.

So today I went to my local (and only) UGG seller.  I picked myself up a new pair in size 7!

Weigh-in Day...and the results are...

a loss of .6 lbs. 

Starting Weight: 256 lbs
Current Weight: 148.7 lbs
Total Lost: 107.3 lbs

3.7 lbs until GOAL!