Weigh-in Day...and the Results Are...

Goal weight: 145 lbs

Today's weight: 140.2 lbs

That's the lowest Friday weigh-in EVER!

Happy Friday!


- Posted from my iPhone

Playing in the Land of Maintenance

I realized something last night during my surgeon's support group. It was an epiphany.  Like a big brick hit me across my noggin.  Yeah, I said noggin.  Sometimes it takes the big bricks to get me to realize some pretty obvious things.

This "big brick" of a message was actually said by our support group leader (Hi Mark!)

Here's how it went down:

After showing the newbies my before photo of when I was a fatty and giving them my 30 second summary about how I lost 111+ lbs in 14 months....blah blah blah, I continued to carry on about how I love to on occasion enjoy a Dairy Queen Chocolate Brownie Blizzard or how last Saturday I inhaled half of a (big) bag of Maui onion potato chips.

The newbies in the room who haven't had surgery yet looked at me like I had just grown horns and was speaking in tongues.

Mark quickly interrupted me and said something like this (I'm paraphrasing) "she's in a different phase now...maintenance....she gets to play a little." 

That's the big brick.  I get to "play a little" now with my food choices.  And do you know what? I completely agree.  This is soooooo true! 

Sure, I still keep an eye on my food choices and make exercise a priority just like when I was losing, but there's no way I would I would eat the "extras" that I do now when I was losing.  I was a woman on a mission with some serious determination when I was losing.

So, when you see me talking about my occasional unhealthy food choices, please remember that I am in MAINTENANCE and eating foods that I NEVER ATE when I was losing.  Maintenance is a little different of a game than losing, similar yet different.

I am still learning about the craziness of maintenance...it sure is an interesting place to be. I can't wait for more of you to join me and "play a little" in the land of maintenance.

PS: I saw an all time low this morning on the scale...140.1...crazy!  We'll see what happens on Friday's official weigh-in.

New Banded Blogger Alert!

Please stop by and say "hi" to Greenie over at Poke Me With a Fork, I'm Done (being FAT!).

She is pre-op and looking for some support.  Stop on by and offer up some BOOBs love.

My Deepest Darkest Fantasies....

....happen at Starbucks these days.

Did you know that while I wait in line to order my morning coffee, I have a staring match with that damn case of baked goods.  I usually start making deals with myself.  More like deals with the Devil. My internal dialogue of fantasies goes something like this:

"You could eat that croissant and then skip lunch. No biggie!"

OR

"You will totally burn off the calories in that chocolate donut at Zumba tonight. Go ahead, get it."

OR

"You could eat that muffin on the way to work in the car and it will be like it never happened."

Yep, these are the crazytown thoughts that go through my head.

But do you know what actually happens in reality? 

I order my Grande Skinny Caramel Latte and leave Starbucks with no donut, croissant, or muffin.  Sigh.

Hot Cabana Boys - My Lap Band Goes on Vacation

Sometimes I wonder if my lap band goes on vacation.  You know...to some tropical island where little umbrella drinks are served by hot cabana boys who have names like "Rico" and "Stephan".

When my band goes "on vacation" A.K.A I have reduced restriction (for whatever reason), I can eat all kinds of garbage.  A big ol' poppy seed muffin for breakfast? Absolutely!  An entire plate of nachos? Sure, why not.

But then when my band is on full time restriction duty, I can get the feeling like I might have my first stuck episode on Greek yogurt (this happened last night).

This band is tricky!

Therefore, I try to have visual and physical reminders of my healthy lifestyle that keep my food choices in check when my band is off on vacation or when I just need reminding of the HUGE decision that I made to get a Lap Band:

• My medical alert bracelet that says I have a gastric band.  I always wear it if I am out of the house, which is pretty often. Anytime I pick up food with my left hand, that bracelet is there reminding me of the band inside me.  It also seems to be an occasional conversation starter, which causes me to talk about my band, which therefore reinforces the reminder:
• My port. Do you ever feel your port when you wear tight jeans? I do on occasion.  It doesn't hurt, but just a quiet reminder of the band...I can imagine it's reminder would be "Seriously? I'm in here doing a job, so could you stop stuffing your pie hole with ice cream."
• My key chain.  This is the Realize band key chain that we got at BOOBs last year. I love to fish it out of my purse when people ask me why I have to chew my food so much. It's fun to see an imaginary light bulb appear over their heads, like they finally "get it."  It also helps to remind me of the band inside me. FYI-the pink part is supposed to represent the stomach opening that we have to get food past...pretty tiny if you ask me!

What visual reminders do you have or use that help you in your journey to improved health?

It's Time to Harness My Inner Britney Spears (pics!)

I have a "Trailer Trash & Cheap Wine" theme party to go to next weekend.  Costumes are required.

There will be crazy food choices there like cheese whiz, saltine crackers (one of my ultimate crack foods), twinkies, Slim Jims, etc....potluck style.

Anyways, it's time for this girl to trade in her sweater twin sets and pearls for something...ahem...more trashy?

So I need your help, I have decided on the following for sure, but I am still struggling with the top:

• Short denim frayed mini skirt (in the pics below).  I wonder if I'll be able to sit down in it? Hah.
• Fake tattoos
• Zebra print bra that shows (gasp!)
• Trucker hat being held together with duct tape
• Cigarettes in the back pocket
• Wal-Mart crappy house slippers
• Any other ideas?

Here are the two tops that I'm struggling with...which one? Or do you have a better top idea?

#1: I feel skinnier in this but perhaps not quite trashy enough?

#2: Neck cut out of a thin t-shirt....Sooooo see-through that I wonder if I'll be able to pull it off...but totally trashy

This is a major Non-Scale Victory (NSV) because I would never EVER would have worn these clothes when I was a fatty.  I can't wait for Halloween!

"Half-Assing" it in the Back of the Room

I sometimes know myself a little too well.  When it comes to exercise, I will always take the simplest and "cheater" way out....perhaps even the "easy way out".

Therefore, I try to build in accountability whenever and wherever I can.

One example?  I make myself stand front and center in my Jazzercise and Zumba classes.  Yeah, I would totally rather hide in the back of the room.

Here is a photo that I took just before Jazzercise that shows where I stand in class. Pretty much as close as I can get to the instructor.  No hiding from her! 

She is a high school P.E. teacher during the day...so I bet you can imagine her level of enthusiasm to make us work our tails off in class.  She is always telling us to jump higher, squat lower, and she generally kicks our asses.  It's great.

In Zumba class, due to the location and space limitations, I stand even closer to the instructor!  With in a few feet.  Sometimes, if I'm not careful, I could accidentally hit her when I get groovin' to the music and shakin' my bon-bon.

I know that if I choose a spot in the back of the class, I will do what I refer to as "Half-ASS Zumba" or "Half-ASS Jazzercise".  You know, not lift my arms and legs as high...or just not put as much oomph into it.  Therefore, less sweat, less calories burned, and less overall exercise.  

Also in the back of the room, not only am I far from the instructor, but there are no people behind me to see what I'm doing.  In the front, everyone sees me....from all angles. Talk about ACCOUNTABILITY!

So here's today's question for you: 

Where do you find accountability in your daily journey to improved health?  A workout buddy? or perhaps a weigh-in buddy? or maybe your own internal accountability?

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

Goal weight: 145 lbs

Today's weight: 141.2 lbs

HAPPY FRIDAY!

- Posted from my iPhone

If It Isn’t Any Fun, Then Why Bother?

For me, exercise has to be fun, otherwise I just won't stick with it.  I'll do it for a few days and then stop.

I hate those exercise machines at the gym. They are so BORING. The DREADmill.  The elliptical.  Ick.

In my entire weight loss journey of losing 111+ lbs, I have NEVER used any of those machines at the gym. NEVER.

That's why I love Zumba and Jazzercise. They make my brain work and it's FUN too.

Here's a video that proves that if you make exercise fun, people are more likely to participate.

The Outdoors are Weird (Hiking Photos!)

As a self-declared "indoor girl" that is now branching out into outdoor activities, I gotta tell you, the outdoors sometimes confuse me.

Here are some photos from my hike this weekend.

Sure, there are beautiful scenes of VOLCANOES:

But there are also weird fruit that hang on freaky Willy Wonka trees (bonus points if you can tell me what kind of fruit/trees these are):

The deer eat rocks and gravel:

Here I am at the peak/summit!

 I guess the deer eat grass too: