Weigh-in Day & What Will I Do For My Four Year Bandiversary?

Goal weight: 145 lbs

Today's weight: 142.0 lbs

Still.  Below. Goal.

In exactly 23 days, it will be October 20th.

On October 20th, 2009, I had my Lap-Band surgery.

It's theeee official "bandiversary" -- as us bandsters like to call it.

And I have some seriously EPIC plans for this bandiversary.

I will be doing something that I don't think that I would have tried to achieve or complete when I weighed 258 lbs.

It's something that involves some serious fitness.

And there will be lots of climbing.

Ladders.

Stairs.

...lots and lots and lots of climbing involved.

Hopefully there will be lots of amazing photos to share with you too.

Stay tuned for my upcoming post on October 20th where I will post a photo of me showing you what I did to celebrate my Bandiversary!

Does That Dress Come With A Pole?

Did you know that mirrors are big, damn liars?

They lie to me.

Mirrors show me a body shape and figure that I do not see when I take photos.

While we are on the topic of liars, did you know that my brain also lies to me all the damn time on what my body shape really looks like?

Speaking of dams, here's a dam picture of yours truly at 166 lbs:

July 2010

This is how I picture myself and my body image currently in my head.

About 166 lbs-ish. 

Size 12 shorts.

This is also how I see my shape when I look in the mirror.

Kinda a no-waist kinda figure.

That shape is awesome.

And healthy.

I remember that blue shirt.  It was a size Large.

I was no longer shopping in the plus size section of the store! Sweet.

I am waiting on my brain to catch up to what I look like now. Size 6. 140-ish lbs.

And what about those mirrors too?

They need to catch up to what I look like now.

But let me tell ya....

How do I know what my shape really looks like now?

PHOTOS!

Photos tell a completely different story.

Here is a photo from this past weekend in San Francisco.

Girls Night Out!

What have I learned?

I learned to take buckets of photos as I was losing weight.

And I take lots of photos at my "now" weight.

This has helped me to realize what my figure currently looks like.

It helps me to not believe what I see when I look in the mirror.

Take photos.

Take photos.

Take photos.

Did you hear me?

Take.

Those.

Photos.

Weigh-in Day & Roll Call Alert!

Goal Weight: 145 lbs

Today's Weight: 141.4 lbs

Still below goal.

Yay.

Maintenance.

********************

Did you see what we're up to this morning on Facebook?

We are doing a roll call and finding out what state here in the USA we are all from (or what country of the world!)

Here's your chance to represent your home state!  Go comment on the roll call post.

So far there are lots of you from Texas and Tennessee.

Where are you from?

Loose Skin & Vegemite Sandwich-Eating Koala Bears

This is a two-for-one post today.

Lucky you.

And you didn't even need a coupon for this deal.

#1:

I posted this pic on Facebook the other night.

Why?

I still struggle with being comfortable with my loose skin.

Especially the belly skin.

WTF.

Don't get me wrong though.

I love that I have lost weight.

I love that I am strong and have muscles.

I love that I have improved my health ten fold.

Go me.

I know.

But have been thinking about so many recent rockstar examples of ladies of all sizes in my life who have rocked their rolls, belly skin, tight tummies and not so tight tummies at the beach and pool this summer. They are confident! Awesome-sauce.

No matter the size, shape, wobbly bit, I've seen these ladies rockin' their bikinis, tanks, and swimsuits.  They look GREAT!

And all the while when I see these lovely ladies, I am silently thinking in my head "I wish that I could be that comfortable with my jiggly bits. Sigh."

Welcome to Crazytown. Population: 1.

Maybe because I always covered up my jiggle-jaggle belly bits for so long (about 20+ years), that it's a little bit awkward to now show the belly?

So I have officially started "Operation: Let It All Hang Out" 

What does this stealth not-so-military operation involve?

 All kinds of tricks so that I get more comfortable with my extra skin and wobbly bits:

• Posting random pics of the loose skin on Facebook or here on the blog.

• I've also been wearing the bikini occasionally around the house.  

• Whether I'm sitting on the couch with Pemberley watching TV or cleaning the house, it's bare-that-belly time lately.  

• You should have seen me vacuum in my bikini on Monday night.

 Stay tuned on how "Operation Let It All Hang Out" goes.

#2:

Do you live in the land of koala bears? 

Do you live Down Under?

I'm headed your way in October.  

Sydney and Melbourne to be super specific. 

Would you like to meet up?

I have already received lots of positive feedback from all you Aussies when I announced my upcoming trip on Facebook. 

If you're interested in a meetup: email me at lapbandgal at yahoo dot com.

We could eat Vegemite sandwiches together and pet each others ports.

Good times.

The Long Lost Blog Post - My Maintenance Ring

I've written over 953 blog posts in four years. 

Only one post has been deleted. 

Deleted on purpose.

On that deleted post, I showed you my my ring that I designed for achieving one year of maintaining my goal weight.

Then I deleted that post a week later.

I regret that decision.

I've received a few emails and Facebook messages from some of you recently asking, "what ever happened to that ring?"

So here we are with a story to re-tell you.

Let's flashback to December 2011.

I had just achieved my one year goaliversary.

One year at my goal weight of 145 lbs.  

For me, my plan for my Lap-Band was not about losing the weight, but really all about maintaining that 115+ lbs weight loss.

And I knew that I deserved a reward for that accomplishment and at the same time needed a daily reminder of maintaining my weight.

So I asked a local jeweler to design me a ring.  

My only two requirements that I asked the jeweler?

A ring that I couldn't break if I accidentally hit it against something.

And a ring that was symmetrical.

I know. Doesn't my practicality scare you sometimes?

The jeweler drew these images to give me an idea of what he had in mind.

Then I chose a gemstone (a gift - a ruby, thanks Mom and Dad!) It's the in the bottom right of the box:

Then the jeweler made the ring in wax and put the ruby in it:

And the final creation:

White gold, ruby, diamonds

If you look closely in most of the photos of me on this blog and on the Facebook page, you will see that I have been wearing that ring ever since my one year goaliversary back in December 2011.

The ring is always there to remind me of my accomplishment of losing 115+ lbs.

The ring is always there to remind me of what I need to keep doing: maintaining my weight.

Being silly with my sister at Disney World
Christmas 2011

Having a laugh with friends!

 Singin' Karaoke!

Eatin' ice cream - Spring 2012 - Austin, TX

Summer 2013 - Lunch break

I have now maintained my weight for two years and eight months. 

I wonder what my ring and I will be up to next?

What Did I Make & Take?

Thank you all for all your fantabulous ideas and recipes that you gave me on Facebook last week when I asked the question: 

What is a good potluck type of dish to take to a weight loss surgery patient get-together? 

Go check out all of your AWESOME-SAUCE suggestions and ideas HERE

On Saturday I went to my weight loss surgery support group annual potluck picnic BBQ.

What did I end up bringing to the potluck?

I made these: Bite-Size Caprese Appetizers

Super easy to make.

Just put a cherry tomato, mozzarella, and a basil leaf on a toothpick.

Word.

Easy cheesy.

And see how fantastic it looks!?!  

Amazeballs, indeed.

Yum!

Weigh-in Day & How Did I Lose 115 lbs?

Goal weight: 145 lbs

Today's weight: 140.8 lbs

I just realized something kinda interesting.

Like a light bulb just went on above my head.

Fridays have been my weigh-in day for over four years now.

I've rarely ever really looked past the upcoming Friday.

Let me explain.

When I started out in my weight loss journey at 258.8 lbs, I almost never thought about the daunting task of losing +115 lbs.

I never thought at the beginning of this process back in August 2009, "OMG. How am I ever going to lose THAT MUCH WEIGHT?"

I only thought about that upcoming Friday weigh-in.

That Friday was never more than 6 days away.

What I focused on: that the weight on that upcoming Friday needed to be less than the previous Friday's weigh-in.

That's it.

Just less.

It didn't really matter if the scale showed 0.3 lbs less or 3 lbs less than the previous Friday.  It just needed to be less.

I know that if I had thought about the HUGE job of losing 115 lbs, I would have been discouraged.

I broke it down in manageable weekly chunks.  I wonder if it's one of my secrets to my success?

That's how I rolled for about 14 months while I was losing.

And let me tell ya, all of those little losses week after week added up to 115 lbs eventually.

Now that I've been in maintenance since December 2010, I still never look farther out than this upcoming Friday.

Each and every Friday, when I step onto that scale, the number needs to be less than 145 lbs.

That's it.

As long as the scale shows less than 145lbs, then it's all good.

And to be honest?  This is a pretty fantastic place to be.

Would You Rather Gain Weight or Gain Financial Debt?

I am a personal finance blog reading freak.

There are about 17 personal finance blogs that I read pretty much each and every day.

'Cuz that's how I roll.

My favorite personal finance blog?  DINKS Finance.

And just in case you didn't know, D.I.N.K. = Double Income No Kids.

Today's post over at DINKS Finance was:  What does your health have to do with your budget?

Go read it.

It's awesome-sauce.

What I liked most about the post was the hypothetical question:

Would you rather gain weight or gain financial debt? 

Let's get one thing super duper clear here:

Debt.

Scares.

The.

Sh*t.

Out.

Of.

Me.

I don't like to owe anybody, anything.  Ever. 

The concept of debt gives me the heebie jeebies.

Just for grins, let's rephrase that hypothetical question again with some hard-core numbers thrown in: 

Would you rather gain 100 lbs or gain $100K of financial debt? 

My answer? 

I'm honestly torn on this.

 

If I instantly gained 100 lbs, I would take me about a year and a half to lose it again. (I've done it before and I could do it again).

If I instantly had $100K of debt, that would take way longer to get rid of it and pay it off.  Maybe ten years or more? Who knows.

But how can I put a price or timeline on my health?

How can I put a price on how I feel today: fit and healthy. 

What is your answer to this question?  

Would you rather gain 100 lbs or gain $100K of financial debt? 

Tell me:

New Banded Bloggers Alert!

Please go say HELLO to these lovely ladies.

They've just started blogging about their Lap-Band journeys.

RxLapBandLady who is getting banded tomorrow! OMG. And...her Mom gets banded next week! I love that they will be on this weight loss journey together. She has a weight loss ticker for accountability at the top of her blog. That makes me smile.

Kat's Adventure 'N Weight Loss. She's soon to be banded and she's a Canadian. Eh? I dig her recent post where she talks about how the Canadian health care system can suck it. It doesn't cover Lap-Band surgery. That's lame, Canada. But luckily Canada still makes yummy Maple syrup, so there's a bonus.

Funny Girl.  Banded just two weeks ago on Aug. 27! She's also Canadian. I sometimes wish I was Canadian too. Can you please adopt me? I can learn to wear plaid. Check out her weight loss ticker at the top of her blog. She's rockin' it. 

I totally dig these ladies' blogs. Go say whaz' up and tell 'em Lap Band Gal sent ya.

Podcast Alert!

The day that I met Reeger, I was six days post-op and at my surgeon's office.

I remember her asking me to step up to sit on the exam table and lay back.

Within the first few minutes of our appointment together, she unceremoniously ripped off those steri-strips from each of my five brand newly-acquired laproscopic belly wounds.

And let me tell ya.  Each of those little rips hurt.  A lot.

I knew from that moment on, this woman meant business.

Reeger doesn't mess around.

I love that about her.

I've told you before and I'll say it again: one of the secrets to my success is the high-quality after-care that I received from nurse practitioner (Reeger) at my surgeon's office.

Reeger taught me many, many things about my Lap-Band.

She also listened to me.

All 26+ follow up care appointments that I had in the three years post-op were with Reeger.

Wouldn't you love for listen to some of that Reeger magic?

Here's your chance:

Reeger now has a podcast called, "Weightloss Surgery Podcast" on iTunes.

And episode number 007 is an interview with yours truly.  Yep, ME.

A whole hour-long coversation between Reeger and I.

Chatting all about my Lap-Band.

Please go check it out on iTunes.  You won't want to miss this.

Weigh-in Day & Where Am I Headed Next?

Goal weight: 145 lbs

Today's weight: 140.8 lbs

Still below goal.

I've been looking at my posts that I've shared with you over the last three to four years...

Exactly one year ago today on September 6, 2012, I announced to you that I was moving from Oregon to California. What an amazing year it has been living back here in California! You can read that post HERE.

Exactly two years ago today on September 6, 2011, I told you all about how my Lap-Band had somehow ended up in the dreaded red zone and was way too tight. Yikes! You can read that post HERE

Exactly three years ago today on September 6, 2010, I told you all about how I stuffed myself silly at a food and wine tasting event with my good friend Amy. Coincidentally, Amy was one of the brides from the wedding blog post earlier this week! You can read that post HERE.

I wonder what I will be telling you about one year from now on September 6, 2014?

What Does My Lap-Band Do For Me?

I'm keepin' it real people.

There is no sugar-coating today.

What my Lap-Band DOES NOT DO for me:

• My Lap-Band does not tell me to drink over 100+ ounces of water each day. It doesn't carry around the water bottle for me. It doesn't remind me to refill it at least four times a day. That's my job.

• My Lap-Band does not make me workout, exercise, sweat, and lift weights each and every day.  It doesn't make me change into my workout clothes and it especially doesn't remind me to make time to exercise. That's my job.

• My Lap-Band does not keep a running tally in my head of calories and proteins eaten during the day to make sure I don't go over my approximate 1300-1400 calories daily limit. It doesn't announce "OK, that's it. You've hit your calorie limit today." That's my job.

• My Lap-Band does not magically send me a telepathic signal to my brain that says, "You should go eat your vitamins, girlfriend." Nope. That's my job.

Here's what my Lap-Band DOES DO for me:

• My Lap-Band keeps me not hungry and not thinking about food for about 5-6 hours after a high protein meal. It's like someone has turned off the "hungry" switch in my brain.  What a relief that is.

• My Lap-Band slows my eating. Example: I sat down in front of a huge plate of chicken Alfredo pasta, Texas toast, Crispy Chicken strips, Bacon Cheese Fries, and another plate of french fries the other night at a restaurant. But what did I actually EAT? I ate the following in approximately 30 minutes: 1 chicken strip, about 8-10 fries, and three bites of pasta/chicken.  That's it.  I would have eaten WAY more than that before I got my Lap-Band.

Do I love my Lap-Band?

Absolutely.

Would I spend my hard-earned cash ($16,500) again for a Lap-Band and do it all over again?

You betcha.

What To Wear?

It the not so distant past, dressing up for parties and events was a HUGE chore for me.

It was not fun.

At all.

Why?

Because I usually didn't have anything that fit me at a size 22W/24W. 

All of my dresses hanging in my closet were usually too small.

If I had a party or professional event to go to, I would have to make a trip to Lane  Giant   Bryant because that's the only store that had decent clothes to fit my plus size body.

Now, let's fast forward to this past weekend.

We went to a wedding celebration.

And guess what?

I was overwhelmed with the dress choices that I had hanging in my closet.

I just couldn't decide what to wear to the party because all of the dresses I have are so cute!

Should I choose the blue flirty twirly dress?

Perhaps the red shift dress with a fab black belt?

What about the black and white dress with that amazing full skirt?

So many choices!

I ended up choosing this black and white dress in size 6 petite:

The Boyfriend and I

More pics from the fun-filled day at the wedding celebration!

The brides and each of their brothers.
Their shirts say "My sister got gay married and all I got was this unicorn t-shirt"
Ha ha. Too funny!

Catching up with old friends!

The happy couple! Congrats ladies!

Come To the Dark Side, We Have Tater Tots. Recipe Alert!

Lucky me! The Boyfriend treated me to his BBQ grilling skills on Friday night.

The recipe? Grilled Cilantro Lime Shrimp Kebabs courtesy of Skinnytaste.com

Grilled Cilantro Lime Shrimp Kebabs      

Serving Size: 1 kebab

Calories per serving: 74

Proteins per serving: 13 g

Ingredients:

• 32 jumbo raw shrimp, peeled and deveined (17.5 oz after peeled)
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 24 slices (about 3) large limes, very thinly sliced into rounds (optional)
• olive oil cooking spray
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
• 16 bamboo skewers soaked in water 1 hour
• 1 lime cut into 8 wedges

Directions:
Heat the grill on medium heat and spray the grates with oil. Season the shrimp with garlic, cumin, salt and half of the cilantro in a medium bowl.

Beginning and ending with shrimp, thread the shrimp and folded lime slices onto 8 pairs of parallel skewers to make 8 kebabs total.

Grill the shrimp, turning occasionally, until shrimp is opaque throughout, about 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Top with remaining cilantro and fresh squeezed lime juice before serving. Makes 8 kebabs.

Here are a few pics from Friday night:

Check out that steak!
It was a surf n' turf kind of night.
I ate the surf. The BF ate the turf.

Removing the the shrimp from the skewers. 

My plate.  Yum!

The BF's plate.

Now it's your turn. Go check out this recipe and lots of other fantabulous recipes over at skinnytaste.com.