Thank You For All the Lessons...

The Lap-Band had NEVER limited my portions.

The amount of food that I eat has always been up to me and my choices.

Here's how it had usually gone down with my Lap-Band:

1. I measure (or weigh-out) my one cup portion of food in a dish.
2. I chew like a maniac and eat it all in about 25-30 minutes.
3. There is nothing left in the bowl or plate.
4. I am done eating. 
5. BECAUSE there is no more food to eat.

Did I feel like I could eat more? Abso-freakin-lutely.  Pretty much at every meal.  But I didn't usually.

Ever since my last fill (about 8 weeks ago), here are things that are NEW to me:

• Not finishing my one cup of food because if I eat one more bite, I feel like it'll all come back up. I'll now usually eat and enjoy about 3/4 of the meal, solid proteins and veggies/carbs.

• I now realize why they always tell us bandsters, "protein first."  Don't tell anyone, but I used to kinda roll my eyes at that saying. I thought that some medical peeps thought that up in a fancy conference room somewhere and thought that it sounded good...EVEN though they never had bands inside them, so what did they know. But now I realize that there might not be any room left for the protein if I start with the veggies/etc. I never really "got it" until now.

• Not having room for dessert.  I'm too full.  Dessert is usually at least a once a week event. For example, I went to Cold Stone Ice Creamery the other night with friends and DID NOT EAT ICE CREAM. WTF. I NEVER pass up ice cream. Ever. Ice cream! The ultimate slider-food and I didn't feel like I could comfortably eat it.

• I've stopped eating snacks too soon before a meal, because the snack will literally take up too much room. I now fully understand the phrase "don't eat that, it'll spoil your dinner."  I sometimes pass on the chips n' salsa and the bread basket now at restaurants. WTF x 2.  An entirely NEW concept and experience for me.

These are things that haven't really happened before.

Ummm...have I finally begun to understand what this Lap-Band is meant for?

Has it really taken over two years and nine months to get to this place with my band? I did flirt with this concept when, in my opinion, I thought that my band was over-filled last summer. But I wasn't ready then.

But I am ready now.

I'm okay with my band at this level (7.8 cc's in 10 cc band).

Of course, this new restriction level didn't stop me from making a delicious chocolate peanut butter pie on Saturday and then eating three slices of it over the weekend.  But that's a discussion for another day I suppose.

I still haven't had an official food "PB" since being banded.  All food that has gone down, has stayed down.  But I have come very close a few times! Yikes.

I just have had occasional difficulties swallowing large vitamins.  My first food PB will happen one of these days. And I will tell you all about it in gruesome detail so that you too can cringe like I always cringe reading about your first PB stories.

I'm liking these new-to-me experiences with my Lap-Band.

I always knew that my band could do this, but do you know what?

I am very thankful that it actually took this long to get here.

If it hadn't taken this long to get to this level of restriction, I wouldn't have learned so many lessons that have hopefully, permanently, changed my food behaviors.

I think that I'm loving my Lap-Band even more now.

And now for a photo that I forgot to show you about six or seven or twelve posts ago because it was trapped inside my iPhone. But the pic is released now...to roam free among the interwebs. I got henna tattooed at Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World when I was in Florida.  The tattoo lasted about a week and then faded away.  A perfect amount of time for this commitment phobic girl:

I miss my spray tan...don't you?

Banded for Ten Years

Nope.

Not me.

I've been banded for over two and half years.

But I did receive an email from a follower (why does that sound rather cult-like?) that I just HAVE to tell you about.

I love receiving emails from you guys!

The email that I received from Gidget* was a little surprise out of the blue. Gidget and her husband, Moondoggie* were both banded on the same day in 2002.

Has is been TEN years of wedded, banded bliss?

Gidget said it was okay for me to share her email with you, so here's the 411:

"I have had a good experience with my band. Right now I don't have a fill and have kept off around 100 lbs. I would like to be about 10 lbs lighter, but what is new! I am a hiker, jogger, and walker. I am 62 and got the band in Mexico.

I wear a size 6 and am 5'9" tall. I have excess skin, and have only had a tummy tuck. Would have loved a leg lift and an face lift, but haven't gotten around to it.

My husband on the other hand had the same surgery the same day and has had a lot of trouble. He had his band replaced in 2005, and then almost died from complications in 2010. He is now having problems with where the scar tissue has started to close off his esophagus. He has kept off his 100 lbs and feels like most of this was worth it, since he was headed down the path of sitting on the couch never doing anything. We just got back from the doctors today and fortunately this won't require surgery..."

What do I take away from this email from a veteran bandster?

1. That exercise is SO much a key part of weight loss and maintaining weight loss. A must-do for overall health in my opinion.
2. That even with occasional complications, most bandsters are happy with the weight loss achieved. 100+ lb weight loss maintained with band issues?! WOW.

Thank you Gidget for your email and letting us all know how two, ten-year veteran bandsters are doing on their journeys! 

If you are too young to know who these people are, click HERE.

*Not their real names. Duh.

Weigh-in Day...

Goal Weight: 145 lbs

Today's Weight: 142.0 lbs

That is all.

What do you think of my new 'do?

You likey?

A recent app that I dig: Pimp My Hair.

Sometimes when I SHOULD be sleeping in the wee hours of the night and I'm not actually sleeping, I occasionally end up downloading apps on my iPhone.

The above pic is the result. 

Justin Bieber hair.

Perspective

Here I am immediately post-op on the day of my Lap-Band surgery.

October 20, 2009

It's perspective that I am given by this photo.

Almost like a gift from the past.

A reminder from my former self to who I am today.

I look back on this photo and remember exactly how I felt in that moment: Physical PAIN.

So much pain that I couldn't keep my eyes open.

I think this is one of the reasons that I continue to keep going and keep fighting the good fight.

It's why I continue to workout each night for an hour or more. Yep, I come home all sweaty and tired.

It's why I still try to limit my calories to 1200-1400 calories each day. Yep, I still keep track in my head.

I didn't sign up for Lap-Band surgery lightly.

It was a huge commitment for me.

I knew that getting the band was a FOREVER decision.

For me, that's what the band is.

Not just something to occupy me for a little while...just until it wasn't fun anymore.  Nope.

I didn't get the band to lose "some" weight.  I got the band to lose ALL of the extra weight.

Yes, I was in pain.

Yes, I felt run over by a truck.

But looking back on this photo over two and half years later after my surgery:

It was totally worth it.

Laughter is an Instant Vacation

Do you remember this scene from National Lampoon's European Vacation where Audrey is dreaming about her upcoming vacation and all the wonderful foods that she'll eat?

Yep.  One of my fave scenes from that movie.

Audrey and I think so much alike.  

I especially thought this way when I was pre-band...AKA a "fatty."

Yep, that would be me...associating travel or vacation with  FABULOUS  horrible food choices.  

This is not a new struggle for me: VACATION = FOOD.

Speaking of vacations, I've just returned from a trip out of town (barely 48 hours!) to California, shall we discuss?

It was a mixed trip....business and fun.

...And I know that you'd rather hear about the FUN.

I scored an exit row seat on the plane! After reading about the airlines' expectations of me in sitting in this seat, I realized that I am now ACTUALLY fit enough to open and LIFT that 30 lb door hatch. Non-Scale Victory (NSV) alert!

I will totally rescue your ass.
You can count on me when the plane goes down.

Plenty of seat belt to go around me and crossed my legs sitting in the tiny airplane seat. Two more NSVs that never get old:

The next time a Southern Oregonian complains to me about the "traffic" here and how it took them ten whole minutes to go across town, I will show them this picture:

The wonderful thing about traffic is that it allows me time to think about things.

Here's a photo of the radio inside the rental car:

Here are the thoughts and questions that I pondered while sitting in some awesome Bay Area traffic:

• What kind of cats does one put in a "CAT FOLDER"?  
• Could I put Pemberley in this folder? 
• Would she like it in this folder?
• Why doesn't Enterprise Rent A Car wipe down the insides of their cars? Blech."

Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge:

There is not a Whole  Paycheck  Foods in my town so I of course had to hit up the Whole Foods on my visit. I am jealous of anyone who has a Whole Foods in their town.  

As I stood with a really clueless look on my face staring at the HUGE selection of protein bars, a Whole Foods employee walks up and asks: "Can I help you choose a bar?" I responded with "I'm looking for low cal, high protein." He pointed at a 410 calorie (!) bar and said, this one tastes good.  I nodded, thanked him, and DID NOT choose that bar. Yikes.  But I did find this one:

This bar was tasty! 20 proteins! Kinda like a Bit-O-Honey.

Back at the hotel and ready to go:

I never miss a full-length mirror opportunity.
Thank you Sheraton.
I really need to get one of these mirrors at home.

Whoever invented that phrase, "nothings tastes as good as 'thin' feels," never ate at In-N-Out Burger. Seriously.

Got my sweat on and worked out at the hotel gym. I am slowly making friends with Instagram if you haven't noticed:

I even squeezed in a fun visit with my really good friend Amy.  I've told you about Amy before.

Amy is the only person that I know that eats SLOWER than a Bandster (she is not banded, just eats slow naturally).  A rarity.

We had an amazing and delicious lunch and caught up on what's been going on in each others lives.

In the approximate 30 minutes that it took me to eat the insides of a fish taco, she ate half of her salad.

As we were leaving the restaurant later, Amy said to me, "I feel guilty not eating all of my salad and leaving so much on my plate."

I then said something like this to her, "I try not to feel guilty. That's how I know that I haven't eaten too much...when I can leave some food on my plate"

I went on and said "My usual goal with food portions when I eat out is to see if the server, after taking one look at the small amount of food that I ate, says 'Didn't you like your food?' or 'Can I bring you something else instead?'

She just laughed at me and then we walked into the ice cream shop next door.

Yum.

birthday cake with sprinkles flavored ice cream

Weigh-in Day...

It is not Friday.

I didn't mean to confuse you.

No need to do a double-take at the calendar.

I'm doin' the weigh-in a day early this week.

I am so crazy busy lately. Emphasis on the crazy.

If you can please invent a 28 hour day, I will be your BFF. 

The digits:

• Goal Weight: 145 lbs
• Last Week's Weight: 141.4 lbs
• Today's Weight: 141.4 lbs

Yeah.

Exactly the same as last week.

That's maintenance for ya.

It's the same amount of hard work maintaining my weight as losing weight, just way less exciting.

Why I Can Never Get Down With Y O L O

A new phrase / phenomenon has jumped into my brain.

I had never heard of it before.

That was until I went jet skiing in Florida a few weeks ago.

The surf shop, YOLO Watersports, that organized our jet ski tour was full of t-shirts, bumper stickers, key chains, and pretty much everything not nailed down with the phrase "YOLO."

YOLO = You Only Live Once.

Yep.

New to me.

I must not get out much.

It seems to be a movement or whatevs on the interwebs too.

And for some reason still to this day, the phrase BUGS the sh*t outta me.

It just gets my knickers in a twist.

Why?

Because I know that when I was a fatty, I used YOLO as one of my main excuses of why I could make horrible food choices and not exercise.

These were the usual thoughts that would creep into my brain:

"Hey, I only live once, I might as well eat that entire box of macaroni and cheese."

OR

"Oh, what the hell, I can eat half this pizza, you only live once, right?"


OR


"I don't want to go to the gym....I haven't been for months anyway and I don't want to miss out on that (party, movie, etc) tonight. I only live once."

Yep, this was my fatty mindset.

I totally get that the official YOLO movement is all about “carpe diem" and that oh so noble idea of living life to its fullest.  


But that's not how I interpret it.


Probably never will.


Sure, I'm all about making a bucket list and checking things off of said list:

Jump out of an airplane? Sure. Sign me up.

Travel the world to exotic destinations? Abso-freakin-lutely.

But instead of proclaiming "YOLO" when I feel the need for a bucket of cookies, I'll be using my time more wisely and planning for my future reincarnation as a spoiled house cat.

Because, as you may not know....I am down with the Dali Lama on this one.

My 147th Weekly Weigh-In

I can't believe that I've done my Friday weigh-ins now for 147 weeks. 

If I had started knitting a sweater 147 weeks ago, I might be done with it by now. 

But wait, I don't know how to knit. 

If I did learn how to knit, I could achieve that oh-so-important status in the crazy cat lady inner circle of stardom. 

Pemberley would dig that. 

By the way, have you seen Pemberley's recent fur-cut? 

Her "butt in the front" shows now.

I can relate.

floofy camouflage. (BEFORE)

butt in the front. (NOW)

Onwards to the digits...

Goal Weight:  145 lbs.

Today's Weight: 141.4 lbs

My weekend begins in exactly 8.37 hours.  Let's all thank the baby Jesus for that.  Amen.  Hallelujah and happy clappies all around.

PS: I've turned on the Comment Approval feature here on the blog. I've been getting SPAM advertising comments lately.  Me no likey SPAM.  So quit that already.

The Million Dollar Question

I was asked a question on the Facebook page yesterday.

It's the most simple question.

It gets right down to it.

It made me think.

It made my head hurt.

Ouch.

What was this question?

"How do you stay so motivated?"

My first thought was: I have no freakin' idea.

Really.

No clue.

Such a tough question for me.

Is it habit?

Is it routine?

Not sure.

But what I do know is that I didn't lose weight to squeeze myself into size 6 jeans and small tops. Nope. That's just a bonus of this entire process.  Wanting to continue to fit into my smaller clothes are not enough motivation for me.

I also didn't lose the weight to change my appearance. Sure, it's kinda fun when I see someone who hasn't seen me in a few years and they don't recognize me.  The "wow!" and the "you look great!" comments are nice too.  The looks on their faces are priceless. But looking better/different is not enough motivation for me.

Then I started to wonder.  I started thinking of new questions to ask myself:

• Why do I make it a priority to go sweat buckets and workout most nights and not go to Happy Hour with my peeps? Think of all the yummy appetizers. Sweet potato fries! Mozzarella sticks! Cocktails! But I choose to exercise instead.

• Why do I make myself drink 100+ oz of water each and every day? It sure is a major inconvenience visiting the little girls room every two hours and having to refill that water bottle just as often. But I still drink all that water.

• Why do I usually order a healthy protein choices and eat protein first when I'm out to eat at restaurants? The Fettuccine Alfredo and bread sticks would be so much more tasty. But I eat that small piece of chicken or fish instead.

Then I remembered the main reason why I originally chose to finally lose the weight and make healthy habits part of my life forever:

I was sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Is this the reason that keeps me motivated each day?

Psssstt! Check Out These Bloggers!

Please stop by and say hello to these bloggers...tell 'em I sent ya.

So many newbie banded bloggers to read up on:

• Banded in Texas

• From Fabulous to Fit

• Lapping the Band

• My Lap Band Adventure

• B's Banded Mama

• Three Kids, Three Cats, One Dog, One Husband, and a Lap-Band?

An oldie too:

• Dr. Feiz: a Lap-Band Surgeon who blogs 

...and a Must-Read:

• Island Bandit: Why us bandsters need to take our vitamins. Seriously.

Enjoy these FAB reads!

Road Trips Aren't Measured By Mile Markers, But By Moments

I'm back!  Did ya miss me?

Where did I go?

I'm back from a sister-togetherness road trip extravaganza from Orlando, Florida to Sanibel Island, Florida!

You Be Thelma. I'll Be Louise...

But before I can road trip it to the beach, I must spray tan...and then cover it all up with super-thick SPF 70 sunblock.

I have never possessed the ability to tan.

I'm very skilled at achieving either super-pale or burnt red...so in my mind, spray tan is the best thing ever invented (of course, after the best invention ever : cake).

If you're in the Central Florida area and need to get your spray tan on, check out Infinite Glow Mobile Tanning. They do an AMAY-ZING job!

The BEFORE. Duh.  So pale, that I'm almost see-through:

The AFTER. Repeat after me: "there is no such thing as too much sunblock."

Let's hit the road!

Are we there yet?

Our very detailed directions on how to get to Sanibel Island.

This is my super-serious pumping gas and a credit card stuffed down the bra face.
Us Oregonians never get to pump our own gas. I never miss an opportunity.

OOOH! Look! Middle of nowhere B.F.E. Florida.

The best thing about B.F.E. Florida?
Peanut Butter Chocolate Pie at Wheelers Cafe!

I spot Sanibel Island!

Almost there...

Home sweet home for the next few days...

View from our room....

Sunshine! Light! Warmth!
They should truck this sh*t to Oregon.  

Let's get beach-ready with some bikini shopping (another first for me!)  Which one did I choose?

top too big.  adorbs skirt.

love this color.

lace and flirty skirt.

Too much to consider...so many choices...let's go have a cocktail and give it a think.

Let's all sing it together now:
"I like Pina Coladas
and getting caught in the rain..."

Yep, chose the Betsey Johnson blue skirt bikini.

Shade is my friend.

The newbies are always asking...
can I see my port now that I've lost the weight?
I can't see my port. Can you?
But I'll let ya feel my port any time. 'Cuz I'm naughty like that.

So many shells on the beach!
I felt like I was in a craft store where everything was FREE.
How about a future blog post on what I made with
my bucket o' shells that I brought home?

...each holding our copies of "Fifty Shades of Grey"at sunset.
According to my older sis, I'm not allowed to read it
because I'm way too young.
Will I always be 12 years old in her eyes?

Onwards to another "first" for me: Waverunners!  

A.K.A. Jet Skiing.  Tomay-to. Toma-tow.  Whatevs.

We went on an AWESOME private two-hour tour all around the nearby islands with our tour guide Jordan...a tan, young, Fabio look-a-like.

Tour map

My stupid question of that day, "How fast can we go?"
 Fabio's  Jordan's response: "As fast as you want."

Is it too soon to start planning our return visit to Sanibel?
'Cuz I'm ready to go back.