Weigh-in Day & a Blog Vay-cay

I've given up that reedonkulous pipe dream that was my 135 lbs goal weight. 

Yep.  Not sure what I was smokin' when I thought up that cuh-razy idea.

It's just not realistic for me.  If I stopped working out, I could totally get there, but that would be muscle loss.  No thanks, I'll pass on that.  I'm stickin' with my goal weight of 145 lbs that I've been rockin' since December of 2010.

I also totally forgot how at about the 139/140-ish lb mark, the "ta-ta's" noticably get SMALLER. 

Let me tell ya how super fun it is when I'm jumpin' up and down at Jazzercise and one of my girls escapes DOWN and OUT from under my size SMALL Target sports bra. Yep, that was what went down at Wednesday night's class. Watch me run to the ladies room to fix that.  

This past week, I did learn that I was eating too few calories in previous weeks. I upped my calories by approximately 200 and voila! The scale did go down a little.

Anyways, without further delay:

Last week's weight: 140.8 lbs

Today's weight: 139.4 lbs

Look, I made you a pretty maintenance graph. 

Lastly, I will be taking a week long blogging vay-cay. 

Sometimes this girl just needs to step away from the computer for awhile.

Are You Bulimic?

"No." I responded.

"Hmmm...you have a lot of enamel erosion on your front teeth...are you sure you're not vomiting a lot?" the dental hygenist asked.

"Yes, I'm sure." I said.

"Do you suck on lemons or have acid reflux?" She asked.

"Nope, neither" I said.

She has a look on her face like she didn't believe me.

I welcome you to the conversation that started off my recent dentist appointment.

After the excitement that was my teeth getting cleaned, the dentist came into the room. I opened my mouth wide for her to do the annual exam.

Now it was her turn to ask:

"Are you bulimic?" She questioned.

"No, I'm not.  You guys are kinda freaking me out now.  Are my teeth really that bad?  You just saw me about a year ago and there was no mention of this.  What do you think could be causing the enamel erosion?" I asked.

She rambles off all kinds of things...acid reflux, rinsing my mouth with vinegar (ewww...who does that?), chewing on lemons/limes, excessive vomitting, etc.

WTF. I don't do/have ANY of those things. I thought quietly in my head.

Then I thought about what is something that is pretty much ALWAYS in my mouth and with me pretty much 24/7.

Sugar-free drinks!

It's no secret that I am a Powerade Zero and Crystal Light junkie.

I have six to eight packets of that powdered stuff and two 32 oz Powerades Zeroes EVERY DAY.

And what is the main ingredient (other than water) in all of those beverages?

CITRIC ACID.

Damn.

I asked the dentist whether she thought it could be the citric acid and she said she wasn't sure, but that could maybe be the cause. Thank you Dr. Helpful.

So I left the dentist office with my prescription flouride toothpaste, drove home, and immediately Googled the crap outta the topic of "Dental erosion and Crystal Light." 

And guess what?  This topic is ALL OVER the interwebs. 

I even found bunches of forum posts on LapBandTalk.com and Obesityhelp.com about others who have had the same issues with sugar free beverages rotting their teeth.

I went to my kitchen cupboards and started reading the labels on my Propel, Crystal Light, and beloved Powerade Zero: citric acid....EVERYWHERE.

So, guess what I've been drinking for about four days now?  Yep, plain water.

And let me tell ya, detoxing off of those sugar free drinks is NO JOKE.  The headaches remind me of when I gave up coffee for awhile. Craptastic. I've been pretty grouchy too.

But I still wonder...could I have severe acid reflux (enough to rot my teeth) and not even know it?

If you work in the dental field, please let me know your thoughts on excessive amounts of citric acid from sugar free drinks.  Pretty please?

I Feel the Need. The Need For Speed.

Ever since I was a teenager I  can always remember always saying, "When I lose the weight, I'm gonna go skydiving."

I would make plans in my head about when that day would be.

I would think about how much fun it would be.

What a rush it would be!

Well, yes.

It happened.

Finally.

I went skydiving last weekend.

Before heading to the airport, we stopped off for a Mexican lunch.  Everyone enjoyed large yummy platters of chimichangas and XL burritos and rice and beans.... and other tasty foods that I totally wanted too.  But I had a chicken taco with no sides of anything yummy. I couldn't help and wonder quietly in my head as we were eating, would all that food stay down in our bellies with a jump out of an airplane?

Anywhoozle, onwards to the airport!

Who needs luck?

After signing our lives away via a six page liability waiver, we geared up for the big show.  

We picked out really awesome flying squirrel outfits.  I chose this get-up.  It was either a patriotic extravaganza or a circa 1986 fluorescent yellow with purple accents. I felt like it was a safe bet.

Meet Dave.
He was my BFF for the next hour.

Wait, what does your shirt say about hesitation?

So, what your saying is that we're
going to jump out of an airplane?

Cheezy wave!

Heavin' my ass up into the plane.

Not the most reassuring or comforting of signs.

Off into the sky. Can you see me waving?

This is my totally freaked out on-the-inside face.

I'm going to pretend that I'm not about to sh*t my pants, so I'll just smile.

I am going to stop the photo montage right here for a minute.

How I was feeling as we took off and made our way to 10,000 feet up could be summed up in one word: ANXIETY.  

Extreme anxiety.  Almost dream like too.  

I kept thinking: "Is this really about to happen?" and "Am I really in a teeny tiny airplane over BFE Oregon about to jump out of an airplane?"

I have only felt this extreme level of anxiety once before in my entire life.  

That would be October 20, 2009 at about 6am.  

Yep, that was the morning of my Lap-Band surgery. Multiple nurses tried and couldn't get the IV for the happy/relax meds started before I got wheeled down to the operating room.  

SO i took that ride fully awake and aware. I can vividly remember that long ride down the hallways and then being put onto the O.R. table.

To this day, I'm still kickin' myself for not documenting my surgery day experience like many of you have done.

Anywhoozle, it was time for me, Dave, and my chicken taco to JUMP!

Shar Pei doggy face.  Bugs gettin' caught up in my teeth.  Close your mouth!

Effin' AMAZING! So fun!

Pullin' the cord for the parachute!

Dave let me drive.  A very smart man.

A soft landing in a grassy field.

We survived.

Chicken taco stayed DOWN, yet hair is now UP.

It was so quick.

Over before it practically began.

But so very fun.

I am so happy that I did it and had the opportunity.

Would I do it again?

Perhaps.

It was $260 for the experience. For that price, the amount of fun was LARGE, yet very, very short.  That's A LOT of money to spend for such a quick experience. I can easily swing an entire weekend in Vegas for that kind of money.

One last thing about adrenaline.

You know, adrenaline...that hormone that one gets a lot of from an extreme experience?  It's released when in a "fight or flight" situation.

Adrenaline makes you DAMN hungry.

Just two hours after eating huge Mexican meals, everyone in the group was STARVING. Me included.  And with my band at it's current level of restriction perfection. Crazy indeed!

Watch out for that adrenaline, it sneaks up on ya.

Weigh-in Day...

Since last weigh-in:

• I tracked/ate about 1100-1200 calories and 70+ proteins each day this week.
• I worked out (the kind of exercise where I sweat buckets, am huffy-puffy-out-of-breath, lift weights/squats/etc) for 300 minutes total for the week.

The result?

Pretty much a 'maintenance' result on the scale.  Which is great. Don't get me wrong.

Last week's weight: 141.0 lbs

This week's weight: 140.8 lbs

But I am still wondering about my new goal weight of 135 lbs and whether this is realistic for me?

Am I eating too little amount of calories?

I will aim for 1300-1400 calories each day this week and see if this shakes things up a bit on the scale.

Happy Friday!

My Lap-Band Speaks Up More Often Than...

...I do in meetings.

Yep, let me set the scene for ya:

Imagine that I'm sitting in a conference room at work at a table full of people who  laughingly  consider themselves big fishes  in a very small pond.

I'm sitting there and we're discussing current business matters at hand.  A.K.A. Playing Meeting B-I-N-G-O in my head.

I'm sipping my water quietly.

Then there's a pause in the discussion.

This is my band's cue. 

"Gurgle."

"Gurgle...gurgle."

It's loud enough that everyone at the table turns to look my way. 

I'm not sure if these fishes know that I have a Lap-Band.  So do they think that I just passed gas? burped? I could care less what they think.

I've actually started saying, "excuse me" on occasion or I'll just smile back at them.

Now THAT's something they never tell ya in your pre-op classes or the weight loss surgery informational seminar.

Gall Bladder Ultrasound

Lucky me.

I got to get up at o' dark thirty, arrive at the hospital at 6:30 AM, change into an oh-so-fashionable gown, and have warm blue gel spread all over my belly.

The last time that I was at the hospital that early was on October 20, 2009 for my Lap-Band surgery.

Good times.

The ultrasound tech guy almost didn't let me take any pics. What a meanie.

My fingers and eyes are crossed that all that this ultrasound will reveal is that I should eat less Dairy Queen and more vegetables. 

Welcome to the Land of Denial. Party of 1.

More Confused Than a Chameleon in a Bag of Skittles

Rant alert!

For the first time in almost three years...

...the scale is TOTALLY and COMPLETELY confusing me.

I weigh every morning because I am a scale whore.

Daily weighing works for me because I personally know how much damage I can do very fast if I don't see a number on that scale each morning. 

It's my "stop sign" that tells me, "Whoa there girly, all those nachos and cookies that you've been eating these past three days are starting to show, so quit that already." 

I've told ya before and I'll tell ya again: I can easily gain one pound a day with the Lap-Band.

I need that accountability of that daily scale visit.

When I was in my losing phase in 2009-2010: 14 months of strict measuring of my food, staying under 1200 calories each day, exercising like cuh-razy, etc, I would lose weight each week.

Now when I go back to those hard-core behaviors, like I've been doing for a few weeks now, the scale stays the same or goes UP a little. 

WTF.

Do You Know Joe?

Before we talk about Joe...yes, as you saw on Facebook this weekend, I did jump out of an airplane.  I'm waiting on the photo CD from the skydiving company that they'll be mailing me soon.  There will be a major blog post all about the blessed event with TONS of pics.

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

Anywhoozle...do you know Joe?

He'll Be Here. 

Soon!

Yep, Trader Joe's is opening a store in my town!  

Since I'm sure you all know exactly what the most band-friendly choices are at Joe's, I am asking you: What are your go-to items and must haves at Trader Joes?

But wait....let's just quickly review what are not good choices for yours truly:

Trader Joe's Peanut Butter cookies
(Chicago 2011 BOOBs pic!!) 

Trader Joe's Cookie Butter.This is my crack.

By the way...I don't need a large baby, but they do seem bargain-priced:

What are your go-to items and must haves at Trader Joes?

New Banded Blogger Alert!

Please stop by and say hello to Banded Ice Girl.

She lives in Iceland and will be going to the UK for her band surgery.

She could use your support.

Thanks!

Weigh-In Day...

Goal Weight: 135 lbs

Last week's weight: 140.6 lbs

This week's weight: 141.0 lbs

GAIN: 0.4 lbs

How did I GAIN 0.4 lbs this week?

Let's review, shall we?

I wish that I could tell you about fabulous and yummy middle-of-the-night trips to the ice cream grocery store aisle. 

But that didn't happen.

Or even tasty visits to the Taco Bell drive-thru. 

But that didn't happen either.

Here's how it did happened.  Since my last weigh-in, I:

• Tracked my food choices and ended each day around 1100-1200 calories and 70+ proteins.
• Drank 100+ oz of water each day.
• Jazzercised five times this week = 320 minutes of cardio and weight lifting.

Here's what doesn't show on that scale:

• Some of my fitted tops are starting to get lose on me...mainly in the abdominal area (yay!) 
• Jeans that I was struggling to zip up after Memorial Day weekend, have extra room in them now.

I will continue to press on.

There is no done.

There is no finish line.