I Was Afraid...

It was just before New Year's Eve 2009.

I was newly banded for about two months.

And I received an email from a friend (also recently banded, whom I had met at Support Group). We shall call her "Candy."  'Cuz food names are my fave.

Candy's email was all about this new exercise craze that she wanted to try: ZUMBA.

Candy wanted me to sign up for a Zumba six-week session of classes that began in January. She wanted me to go with her.

The classes began in just a few weeks! Gasp!

WTF.

Seriously?

Me?!

Exercise?

Sweat was no fun.

Being out of breath was even less fun.

I was about 210 lbs at the time.

And I had seen those Zumba commercials on TV.

Those Zumba people were skinny.

And healthy.

And had abs of steal.

That just wasn't me.

I was a couch-sitter.

TV watching was my exercise.

But with Candy's persistent emails and convincing, I signed up for that Zumba class.

On the first day of Zumba class I walked in the door in my baggy sweatpants and big t-shirt.

I hid in the back of the room.

Hopefully no one would see me struggle.

Hopefully no one else would see how afraid I was of failing at this thing called "exercise."

And guess what?

Candy was a no show.

Yikes.

All alone in a room full of strangers.

I thought about walking out that door...many times.

But I stuck with it.

The whole hour of class.

Yes, I was sweaty.

Yes, I was out of breath.

And yes, I hurt in places that I didn't know that my body could hurt.

But I finished that Zumba class.

And guess what?

I had an AMAZING and FUN time.

Shaking my booty.

Dancin'.

Jumpin'.

And that was the moment.

That light bulb moment.

The moment that I realized that exercise isn't that bad.

And that exercise could actually be FUN.

I continued to go to Zumba class and finish out that six week session.

And then I signed up for more classes.

And more classes.

Over the following year, I lost 70 lbs doing Zumba.

Who knew that exercise can actually be fun?

All that I had to do was stop being afraid...

Rockin' those Zumba Toning Sticks!

How I Lost Weight Over Christmas Week

Before I tell you what the official weigh-in was for this week, let us first admire Pemberley wearing her new hair bow that Santa brought her.  Awww....

 

Here's the digits for this week's weight:

Last week's weight: 142.6 lbs

Today's weight: 139.6 lbs

How in the heck did a THREE pound loss happen over Christmas week with all those goodies and treats everywhere?

Let's make a list, shall we?

1. I told you over on Facebook that my band was feeling SUPER TIGHT because Aunt Flo was about to arrive. Adding in some stress and seasonal sinus allergies: a Lap-Band perfect storm for tightness.
2. Because of the super tight feeling, I ate very much like a bandster is supposed to: barely a half a cup of food at each meal.  I probably had 2-3 bites of turkey and a small stuffing "muffin" for Christmas lunch. And I was absolutely OK with that.  For me, the holidays are no longer about the food, but rather who I spend my holidays with that matter.
3. I only exercised twice over the week instead of my usual 4-5 times for the week. I probably lost some muscle.
4. I usually lose weight during the week of Aunt Flo's visit.

Here is today's weigh-in photo. That's Pemberley's paw in the upper left. She's been there at every weekly weigh-in since I began my weight loss journey in August 2009:

Weigh-in Day

Goal weight: 145 lbs

Today's weight: 142.6 lbs

Still below goal.

Happy Friday!

OMG! Did You Hear?

Pretty.

Much.

The.

Most.

Useful.

Thing.

I.

Have.

Ever.

Heard. 

It was the most wisely spent 60+ minutes of my day in a long, long time.

I just listened to this podcast.

It's an interview with one of the all-knowing  GODS  experts on the Lap-Band: Dr John Dixon.

My favorite part of the podcast?

When Dr. Dixon talks about (at length) about what proper fill level is for a Lap-Band.

My second favorite part?

When he talks about what the expected life span (expiration date) is for a Lap-Band.

Go check it out HERE.

You won't be sorry.

Why Is Today Such A Big Day For Me?

In my mind, today is kinda a bigger deal than my actual surgery date.

What is today?

Exactly three years ago today on December 17, 2010:

I stepped on the scale and I had reached my goal weight of 145 lbs.

Finally!  After 14 months of lots of hard work.

You can read about that fateful day HERE.

It was an AWESOME-SAUCE of a day.

And then can you believe it? I maintained my goal weight for one whole year on December 17, 2011. Read that post HERE.

And THEN I maintained my goal weight for two whole years on December 17, 2012. Read that post HERE.

Now, I have achieved three whole years of maintaining my goal weight today on December 17, 2013.

Do I still have the fear that I will GAIN ALL 115+ lbs back?

Absolutely.

Pretty much each and every day freakin' day.

That fear is still very present in my life.

Sigh.

How will I celebrate my GOALiversary this year?

I can tell you how I will NOT celebrate it.

I will not eat to celebrate.

Maybe I'll go buy myself a new fantastic skinny girl outfit.

Because let me tell ya...

I.

deserve.

It.

It's A Fashion Show & The World Is My Runway

I remember how my Prom dress was pretty tight when I zipped it up in the dressing room that afternoon.

But it covered me.

And I guess it looked OK.

So I bought it.

That was back in 1997.

A size 26W.

Now let's fast forward to this past Saturday.

It was fashion show time at my weight loss surgery support group.

The once a year event where we bring a piece of clothing from before our surgery.

An item that we wore before we lost weight.

One lady wore her size 32W acid washed jeans.  She could fit her whole body into one of the legs.

One guy wore his size 5X button-up shirt.

And I wore that Prom dress.

How loose that dress is on me now.

It easily fit over my current size 6 frame.

I felt like I was wearing a big navy blue polyester blanket.

While I stood there wearing that dress, I decided that I didn't need to bring the dress home with me.

I no longer need that dress.

I donated it to the support group clothing exchange.

That dress isn't me anymore.

Weigh-in Day

Just in case you missed it... I posted this morning's weigh-in over on Facebook:

Goal weight: 145 lbs

Today's weight: 141.4 lbs

Happy Friday!

Weigh-in Day & Eating Out At Restaurants

Let's get the weigh-in over and done with:

Goal weight: 145 lbs

Today's weight: 142.2 lbs

Still below goal.   Yay.

Now let's talk about eating out at restaurants.

One of the main ways that I make good food choices: I do not eat out at restaurants that often.

I usually prepare and eat food at home.

And these foods are usually foods that I know the calories and proteins totals for already.

This past week, I have had three dinners and two lunches out (work and non-work related).

Yikes.

A rarity.

I usually don't choose the restaurants, I ask my friends/coworkers choose where they would like to eat.

Why?

I have learned that for me, the food is not the reason I eat out anymore.

It is the people who are seated across the table from me that are important.

The conversations.  The company.  The time together.

This was a HUGE lesson for me to learn after being banded.

I can remember in the not too distant fatty past, all of the planning of having a meal at a restaurant would be about what I would eat. Not who I would be eating with.

Here's how it usually would go down in my fatty head:

"Should I order the fried fish & chips or the cheeseburger? Don't those taquitos look yummy? What would I get for dessert? Oooh! Doesn't that chocolate cake on the online menu look good?  Let's be sure to order that!"

This pre-planning of what we would all eat became the conversation.

I was obsessed.

And then we would get to the restaurant and all we would talk about is the food.

Now?

I don't really care where I go out to eat.

I usually don't look at the online menu before I leave the house.

I walk into most restaurants never knowing what will be on the menu:  I did this five times this week at five different restaurants.

But I do know that there will usually be a food option that I can choose.

So now it's your turn, how do you handle eating out at restaurants?

A Secret To My Success

I don't think that I did anything special or particularly unique to lose 115+ lbs in 14 months.

What I do to maintain my 115+ lbs weight loss is not really too complicated.

But a secret to my success has just been pointed out to me.

My coworker said to me this morning:

"You're CONSISTENT."

Sometimes I need the people around me to state the obvious to me.

I need a big ol' hit over the head occasionally to make me realize something.

And here's today's not-so-obvious-to-me learning lesson that I needed to learn.

My light bulb moment.

Examples of my consistency were rambled off to me this morning by this same coworker. I guess that I have never really thought about it before:

• She sees me workout almost every day - at the same time - Can you believe that I've been doing the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred DVD for almost a year now?
• She sees me eating my vitamins at my desk each morning
• She sees me drinking my water and refilling it at the water cooler - a lot.
• She sees me eating small-portion, sensible food choices
• She never sees me lurking near the office snacks, donuts, muffins, candy dishes, etc.

These are all habits that I had to LEARN. 

Did it take me years to learn some of these habits? Absolutely.

And let me tell ya, there was no magic button where all of these habits were all of a sudden easy for me.

It.

Took.

Time.

And does my Lap-Band help me with all of these daily habits?

No.

Not really.

It's pretty much me.

And only me.

My Lap-Band does NOT send me a psychic signal telling me to "Go drink water."

My Lap-Band does NOT send me a text message that says, "Go exercise."

And my Lap-Band certainly does NOT send me any emails that tell me to what to eat. I've never heard my Lap-Band say, "Eat that shrimp salad, not that delicious Fettuccine Alfredo and Garlic Bread"


It is...

Up. 

To. 

Me.