Happy Halloween!

Both of those belts are size small!  Non-scale victory!

That All Important Question...

There is one, single question that you guys ask me via email and messages on Facebook pretty much each and every day.

What could this one question be?  Here you go:

"Do you have loose skin?"

Which I would like to respond with the smart-ass response of: is the Pope Catholic?

Yes, I have loose skin.

Yes, it is unsightly.

For me, it is mainly an issue for me in the belly/abdomen area.  But really, it's all over my body. Extra wobbly bits (as I lovingly refer to my extra skin) are everywhere.

It's like bread dough.  

It's squishy.

It's evidence of where I've been on my weight loss journey.

It's weird.

But all the toning and lifting weights really helps with the loose skin.

And let me tell ya, I would rather be healthy with loose skin than a fatty again at 260 lbs...

SERIOUSLY.

Please don't let the loose skin issue not cause you to get healthy and lose weight.

I put this video on YouTube in June 2011. I think it shows off the wobbly bits quite nicely.

PS: Spanx are a girl's best friend.

What's In My Fridge?

Here's a quick shot of what's currently in my fridge (I just went grocery shopping!):

Top shelf (L to R): 2% cottage cheese, spinach/herb salad mix, arugula,  Starbucks drink left over from the last house guest, lemon (?) soda drink also left over from house guests...they've been sitting there a few weeks now.

Middle shelf (L to R): 2% shredded Mexican cheese, String cheese, 2% Fage yogurts, eggs, goat cheese, 1% milk.

Bottom shelf (L to R): Rotisserie chicken in 3 oz. portions, wine.

Door: Girards Light Champagne dressing, soy sauce.

Onwards to the freezer:

Top shelf (L to R): Trader Joe's Asian Marinated Chicken breasts, Fudgesicles, Chipotle Chicken Kebabs, Amy's Kitchen Cheese Pizza, Chicken Kiev

Bottom shelf (Top-ish, L to R): Open Nature Cheese Pizza, two types of Trader Joe's turkey burgers, chicken won ton thingys.

Door: Top: Frozen chopped onions, Bottom: new fudge bars that I found at Safeway (haven't tried them yet)

If you're reading this, you've now been tagged! Tagged in the "What's in my Fridge?" blog game.

Your mission: go take pics of what's in your fridge and put 'em up on your blog!

Let's share ideas of what we all eat. Ready, set, GO!

Weigh-in & Flashback Friday!

Goal weight: 145 lbs

Today's weight: 139.6 lbs (exact same weight as last week's weigh-in)

And now let's step back in time.  Back to May 2009:

We went to see "Wicked" in San Francisco! 
Have you seen it?

The idea to have weight loss surgery had not even crossed my mind at this point.  

Who knew that just five months later I would have Lap-Band surgery?

Why Didn't I Think of This Recipe Sooner?

"Full-Liquid" recipe alert!

Why wasn't this recipe idea in my head three years ago when I was suffering through the TWO weeks of full liquids post-op?

Remember how I was recently  complaining  letting you know about my band being non-existant? I think that my band reads my blog.

With the change in weather (rainy) combined with some really awesome sinus allergies, my band has been feeling a little snugger that I would like.  

Therefore, I've been enjoying a majority of liquids/mushies.

Ok, onwards to the recipe!

• 1/3 Cup milk (I used 1%)
• 1/2 Cup Safeway Chicken and Dumplings soup
• 3 oz shredded/cubed cooked chicken breast (I had leftover rotisserie chicken)
• 1/2 oz of crumbled goat cheese

1> Put it all in the blender and blend it up.

2> Pour it into a bowl and microwave it until it's hot

3> Sprinkle goat cheese on top.

So complicated.  

I know.

The all-important details:

• Milk:  35 cals, 3 proteins
• Soup: 125 cals, 7 proteins
• Chicken: 140 cals, 26 proteins
• Goat cheese: 35 cals, 2 proteins.

TOTAL: 335 cals, 38 proteins

YUM!!!!

The Big Puffy Thing

No.

I'm not talking about Pemberley.

I'm talking about this:

Open wide! YUM!

I got to visit one of my all time favorite Indian restaurants this weekend.

As you can see, we enjoyed the big puffy thing.  It's real name is "Cholle Bhature."  

How it works is: you rip off a piece of the doughy fried puffy goodness and dip it/scoop it in the curry bean mixture that's in the bottom right of the tray, and then stuff it in your mouth.  OMG.

This is more evidence that for me, eating in maintenance is very different than how I ate when I was losing.

My method to maintenance:

• 80% of the time I'm on track with my high protein, low calorie, approx 1200 calories a day.
• 20% of the time I'm choosing foods that are not always the best for me.

Either way, I'm still exercising 4-5 times a week for about hour each time and sweating buckets.

You would think that at 22+ months of maintaining my weight loss that I would have this all figured out by now.

But I'm still learning.

It's a never ending process I suppose.

Three Years Ago Today...

...was October 20, 2009.

It was a Tuesday.

I remember that I had to report to the hospital at 6am sharp for my Lap-Band surgery.

It was still dark outside.

But I was showered, prepped, and swabbed head to toe with that awful 2% Chlorhexidine Gluconate antiseptic solution that they made me apply at home before leaving for the hospital.  It made for a pretty sticky situation under my size 3XL sweat pants and hoodie sweatshirt.

Yeah, surgery was and still is a big deal for me.

Let me say that again: A HUGE FREAKIN' DEAL.

I didn't take the decision to have surgery lightly.

My Lap-Band is still my one and only (and hopefully ever) surgery that I've ever had in my entire life.

I still think that it's an extremely crazy concept that I had to put a silicone device inside my body to help me lose weight and get healthy.  Talk about a "First World Problem."

If you want, you can read my 1st bandiversary post here.

Then on my 2nd bandiversary post, I wrote my former fatty self a letter.

And here we are...now at my 3rd bandiversary blog post.

Looking back on the past three years, you may be wondering....

Would I do it all over again?

Would I still have Lap-Band surgery?

Would I still exercise each and every day?

Would I still try to make good food choices each and every day?

Would I still keep myself accountable with weekly weigh-ins?

Would I still do all the work that it takes to lose and maintain a 120 lbs weight loss?

ABSOLUTELY.

It is A LOT of work.

But it's all worth it.

Weigh-in Day...

Goal weight: 145 lbs

Today's weight: 139.6 lbs

Happy Friday!

Ten Things Thursday

1. 

Did I tell you that Dancercise was a total bust?  Yeah. It was old people doing floor exercises on mats with one jazzy song at the end of class. What a bummer... I withdrew from the class.

2.

Therefore, I've been doing lots of Zumba, On Demand Fitness classes (through my cable TV), and swimming laps.

3.

Would you like to guess what I've been up to for 40+ hours each and every work week? Here's a hint. Yep. I'm still in the food industry. Yum.

4.

Obama is in the closet. Literally. My Obama yard sign is currently being stored in my patio storage closet because I have no yard to put it in. The folks that run my apartment complex have a rule about no signs in the windows AT ALL. So, Obama is not in the window. Whatevs.

5.

Pemberley likes to exercise too. She knows exactly where to lay (lie?) when I'm trying to get my fitness on. Helpful.

6.

I've been unpacking boxes. Lots of boxes. When I find stuff in boxes, I sometimes put them on my head.

7.

Weigh-in day tomorrow. Guess what Saturday is? October 20. Now think a little harder.  Something kinda BIG happened three years ago on that day.

8.

I've been decorating. Hangin' stuff on walls. Ya know. Getting "settled" as they say. What do you think? Too patriotic with the stars? Discuss.

     

9.

I'm now on a first name basis with the people who work behind the counter at my local Baja Fresh. We're tight.  BFFs. Did you know that the music that they play at Baja Fresh is really Zumba music? Or wait...is Zumba music really Baja Fresh music?  Now I get the urge for a taco every time I go to Zumba.

10.

Cinnamon rolls make me happy. What makes you happy?

Weigh-in Day...

This morning I didn't have time to log in and put my weigh-in officially here on the blog.

I only had time for a quick Facebook post.

Yep. So here you go:

138.8 lbs.

Onwards.

Blogging For Three Years

I started this blog exactly three years ago today.

I started this blog exactly nine days before my Lap-Band surgery.

793 blog posts so far.

I can't believe that there have actually been 793 things to tell you about.

I never would have imagined that this blog would one day become so much more than just a place to document one woman's weight loss journey.

Thank you for reading along with me on this journey.

And don't you worry, I'm not going anywhere.

Goggle Eyes

Did I ever tell you that I used to be on swim team in the grade school and junior high years?

Every night after school we would swim laps, more laps, and more laps.

Back and forth across the pool in the darkness.

And then almost every other weekend we were at a swim meet competing against other teams.

So last night I decided to go see if I could remember how to do those awesome flip turns at each end of the pool.

Before I knew it I had done about 35 minutes of lap swimming.

....and it seriously kicked my butt.

Now I know why swimmers get to eat so much.  

Swimming has mucho calorie burn potential!

Goggle-ringed eyes are super sexy.

The Lap-Band is NOT About Restriction

Three bread sticks...

Yep.

It happened.

But wait.

Let's rewind...

and start at the beginning.

In case you didn't hear, I had a one full cc unfill before the big job change and move to another state.  That was about a month ago.   From 7.8 cc's to 6.8 cc's.

Since mental stress is the usual culprit for causing my band to feel tighter, I wanted to avoid any band tightness issues while I was in transition.

Careful what you ask for.

My band is pretty much non-existent these days.

I can eat whatever I want and as much as I want.

Trust me, I've been testing it.

This doesn't mean that I always eat whatever I want.

It's that I shouldn't eat whatever I want.

This level of restriction reminds me of how my band was for about the first year and half-ish after surgery.

So let's fast forward to my visit to the Olive Garden last weekend.

THREE bread sticks.

In one sitting.

Yikes.

Luckily (unluckily?) this level of restriction works quite well for being the office newbie where everyone wants to take me out to lunch. I've been chowing down at the local Chinese, Thai, Japanese restaurants...pretty much all the way around the world.  Tempura makes me happy. Oh, and Turkish too.  Yum.

Unfortunately, I get hungry after about 2-3 hours after eating a 4 oz lean protein meal.

That's bad news.

At my previous level of restriction, I was never hungry... Pretty much ever.

It was amazing.

For me, hunger and appetite suppression is what the Lap-Band is for ME.

One of my all-time favorite online articles about the concept of restriction with the Lap-Band is HERE.  I puffy heart it. Go read it. Now. It's awesome.

I am going to attempt to ride out this level of restriction until January when my new health insurance kicks in.

Perhaps after almost three years of being a self-pay patient, my new employer's health insurance will NOT have a weight loss surgery exclusion on the policy (like the last one did)?

Perhaps my band adjustments will be covered?

My fingers, toes, and eyes are crossed.

Can you please cross yours too?

Would You Like Some Doro Tibs?

You know that you do.

Eating at an Ethiopian restaurant (like we did this past weekend), is like looking up a word in the old school dictionary and then having to look up each of the words in the definition each separately.

Lots of mysterious foods, but oh. so. tasty.

By the way, there were no utensils. No forks. No knives. No nothin'.

One breaks off small pieces of the rolled up yeast bread (that tastes like air/nothing) called Injera to scoop up the food.

Don't worry, I washed my hands first.

It was all served family style from the one big platter...so I had troubles trying to figure out how much I had eaten. I also had difficulties focusing on eating small bites.

But it was SO TASTY!  Delish!

Here are some pics that I stole off of the menu.

Lots of protein choices: garbanzo beans, lentils, chicken.  Spicy too!

Left side of the platter:

That clears it up.

Right side of the platter:

YUM!

I can't wait to go back for more!

Weigh-in Day & Flashback Friday

Goal weight: 145 lbs

Today's weight: 138.2 lbs (exactly the same weight as last week's weigh-in).

Now onwards to my monthly tradition.

On the first Friday of the month, we flashback in time...

Here I am in May of 2008 in front of the pyramids in Giza, Egypt. 

~245 lbs.
I remember that I "dieted" to lose 15-20 lbs before this trip.
Which I promptly gained back upon my return from my trip.

Well Done Jennifer....Well Done.

I love, love, love this news anchor's response to a viewer's hater email.  

Check it out:

Not Forgetting.

I got my closets organized this weekend and unpacked more boxes.

Oh. What an exciting life that I do lead.

But seriously, I'm slightly concerned that I've become a big-time clothes shopper since I can now fit into smaller sizes! My closets are getting full.

Anywhoozle, along with all my size small tops and workout gear, I unpacked the three items of clothing that I hope that I will never get rid of: my old fat jean shorts (Size 24W), my old fat green shirt (Size 22/24), and one pair of my fat black pants (Size 22).

I've put them up on the shelf where I can see them often and never forget where I've been with my body size and appearance:

Here I am wearing those same black pants back in June 2009:

And here are those exact same jean shorts with a current pair of my shorts. Wow! What a difference.