Exercising. At Work.

Today was my first day at my new job.

I was pleasantly surprised to hear that my new employer has Zumba classes during lunch in one of the conference rooms.

Pretty cool right?

I think so.

Being New

I walked into a new Zumba class in my new town last night and I didn't know a single person there.

It can be tough being the newbie.

It can be a little awkward.

How similar this was to my first Zumba class on January 12, 2010.

I remember that I weighed about 221 lbs at my first Zumba class.

I wore sweat pants and a big T-shirt. 

I stood in the back of the room.

But I still figured out the moves (it took more than a few classes with my two left feet).

And it turned out that I made some great friends in that class back in early 2010.

So, let's fast forward...

Fast forward to last night.  Here I am after Zumba class.

The workout clothes may be a little different now.

And I chose to stand in the front of the room this time.

...but I still know what it's like to be the newbie.

Not Weigh-in Day Today Because...

My scale is somewhere inside a box inside this big truck. I won't see all of my life's possessions until Wednesday next week.




The good news: Pemberley is liking hotel living a little too much.




She's been asking where her chocolate mint on her pillow is.
Don't tell her, but I ate it.
- Posted from my iPhone

I Want To Be Able To See When I'm Old.

Meet Gummy Bear*.

The Bear likes to rock out. 

I've been friends with Gummy Bear for a few years now.  

He's been my hiking buddy on many occasions...here and here are old hiking posts.

The Bear used to be diabetic and on two types of diabetes medications.

He used to weigh over 280 lbs.

But in the last year he started to wonder about how his obesity was affecting his life.  

He was worrying about how obesity would one day affect his independence.

"I want to be able to see when I'm old and not have vision issues due to my diabetes," he told me.

"I want to be able to be independent and walk when I'm old." he said.

He was worried.

Then...

Gummy Bear changed his ways.

For about three to four months now he's been doing Insanity. The food plan and the workouts.

He's been using his food scale.

He's been doing portion control.

He's been avoiding drinking beer...one of his faves.

Take a look at the Bear now. 

215 lbs!

Well done Gummy Bear!

And just in case you were wondering...what do two former fatties do when they get together? They eat fro yo!

* = Not his real name, 'cuz that would be weird.

PlanetGear.com Giveaway!

Instead of telling you about how the movers showed up today to pack up my entire house, I will tell you about the next Lap Band Gal giveaway!

Have you checked out the cool stuff over on Planetgear.com?

OMG. I love it when I can find workout gear, clothes, accessories, and other neato goodies at a discount.  

This girly sure loves to pinch a penny!

They also have a kewl blog that I follow too. Check it out here.

So how about a giveaway?

Yes?

OK!

Here's your chance to win a $25 credit to use on Planetgear.com!

There are FOUR (yes, 4!) ways to enter this giveaway:

ENTRY #1- Leave a comment below by answering one of these questions: What is your favorite way of gettin' your sweat on? What do you do workout and exercise? I wanna know.

ENTRY #2 - Become a new fan of Lap Band Gal on Facebook and then come back here and LEAVE A COMMENT 

ENTRY#3- Post about the giveaway to your buddies on Facebook or some other social networking or support forum you frequent or pin this. Then come back here and LEAVE A COMMENT

ENTRY#4- Blog about this giveaway and include the link to the contest (tell me the url so I can enjoy your post!)

VERY OFFICIAL RULES:

• PRIZE: A $25 credit to Planetgear.com. 
• Contest periods ends: Tuesday, September 18, 11:59PM (Pacific time)
• On Wednesday, September 19,  I'll draw a name using a random number generator and announce the winner here on the blog.
• I will also email the winner at the email address provided. 

Saying Goodbye Isn't the Hard Part...

...it's who I leave behind that's tough.

I've had a weekend full of goodbyes.

I finally had to say goodbye to all of my Jazzercise ladies last night.  

It was hard. 

I will miss them.

Here's the after-class pic:

As usual, Julie our instructor hamming it up in the front!

Zumba may have gotten me to my goal weight, but Jazzercise has kept me at my goal weight.

The Honeymoon (Again)

I've learned that there is a time for weight loss surgery patients that is lovingly referred to and nicknamed, "The Honeymoon Phase."  

I'm guessing this is the phase where all the compliments and comments about our weight loss are coming from everywhere and everyone.

I remember what that was like. 

It was fun.

But since I've been at my goal weight now for about 22 months, the comments and compliments ended long, long ago about my new appearance.  

And that's totally cool and OK with me, because I lost the weight for me and my health. 

The change in my shape and how I look is just the bonus (icing on the cake) in this journey.

I think I'm about to enter a second honeymoon phase (a rarity) because I'm moving back to an area where a lot of people remember me as being 258 lbs.

So, I'm starting to get texts and Facebook messages that look like this:

The honeymoon will start up again I suppose.

Perhaps this will motivate me to stay below my goal weight of 145 lbs?

I think that I'll also have to go through a few awkward moments when people don't recognize me.

Now that is a totally weird experience.

Fun, but weird.

Weigh-in Day!

Goal weight: 145 lbs

Today's weight: 138.6 lbs

I can definitely feel the difference in my band with one full cc removed.

I can eat more.

I get hungry sooner.

...And that's OK.

- Posted from my iPhone

Making a Choice To Make A Change

When I first moved to Oregon over five years ago, I didn't know a single person here.

No one.

I've been very lucky to have met so many people here who have been very supportive to me and my journey. 

Not just my journey with my weight loss, but career, and in life. As I've said before: "It takes a village..."

Recently, I've had to make some pretty big choices about where my career path is taking me. 

Someone's gotta go to work and earn a paycheck to keep Pemberley in the lifestyle she's become accustomed to.

I've had a GREAT opportunity present itself and I've chosen to make a move.

I've accepted a FABULOUS new job with a new company.

The big news: I'm moving back to CALIFORNIA!

I'm so excited!

Yep, I'm going home.

In about 10 days, I'll be a Northern California resident again.

Do you live in the 707 area code?

I'll be your new neighbor.

We could hang out.

I have many friends and family waiting for me in California.

But, I've also made friends here in Oregon that I am starting to miss already.

The goodbyes will be difficult.


Now let's quickly review what happens when yours truly has moved in the past:

• Move from college to 1st job (300 miles away) 11 years ago: gained 65lbs in the first 14 months.
• Move from 1st job (California) to 2nd job (Oregon) 5 years ago: gained 30 lbs in the first year.

Do you see a trend here?

Therefore, moving away from my support system, routines, and structure scares the living crapola outta me.


Here I am trying not to show my control-freakness last weekend: 

Spreadsheets, floor plans, and to-do lists! Oh my!

When things get me stressed out, my band feels super tight. Sigh.

So I've made a plan (would you expect anything different from moi?):

• There are no excuses not to eat well during this transition. I have learned lots of behaviors that can and will help me be successful in staying below 145 lbs.

• There are no excuses to not to exercise. Period. None.

• Since stress is the main thing that causes my band to feel much tighter (and quick!), I'll be going into see my favorite nurse practitioner today for a "pro-active" unfill. I'm guessing I'll ask for about 1 cc to be taken out. This will take my band from 7.8 ccs to 6.8 ccs.  We will see...

I'm so excited to move on to this next chapter in my life!

Ruffles With Love Giveaway - Winner!

Winner, winner, chicken dinner!

There were 22 official entries and the random number generator chose comment #11.  

The winner is: Chris from Banded in the 'Burgh! Congrats Chris! I can't wait to see a blog post with you wearing your new shirt.

Chris: Please email me for details on how to collect your $25 credit to Ruffles with Love!

Don't forget:  Ruffles with Love is offering up a COUPON code too! Use "LapBand10" for a 10% discount on your next order.

Coming up tomorrow on the blog: Big, exciting, life-changing news will be revealed about yours truly!