Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone in blogland!  I love Halloween, it is a lot of fun.  Had some trick or treaters, about 20 as I live in an apartment complex so we don't get a lot.  The best costume of the night had to be the cutest little green dinosaur.  He couldn't have been more than 3 years old.

Spent most of the day watching scary movies with my boyfriend.  Well ok, Spooky Buddies isn't exactly a scary movie, but The Thing was. 

Tomorrow is my last day of leave.  I miss everyone at work, but I do not want to go back!  I know work will be stressful as always, and I tend to be a stress eater.  I need to plan, plan, plan in order to make sure that I have the right foods with me, and that I have time to eat them.  Getting used to food at work is going to be really hard.

Well, I hope everyone had a frightfully great day!

Frightful workout

My boyfriend loves Halloween, scary movies, and anything of a scary nature.  While I love Halloween, I'm not a big fan of the scary stuff.  Of course he insists on me watching scary movies with him and going to haunted attractions this time of year.  He is never scared at these things, and I inevitably scream myself hoarse. 

This year was no exception on the being scared and screaming myself hoarse.  However, being that I am a bit lighter and can move a bit better, I was able to run from the scary stuff this year.  I was actually pulling my boyfriend along with me to keep up!  By the end of the haunted woods we went to last night I was out of breath, sweating, and had quite the workout!

Happy Halloween everyone, and hopefully you can scare some weight away!

Frustration!

I am 3 weeks out of surgery now and in the last week I've gained 2 pounds back!  This is very frustrating.  I've been eating all the right foods (I am on pureed currently) and getting all my protein, but I do have trouble getting 1000 calories in.  I have been walking every day except for yesterday.  Yesterday it was rainy, and my left foot has been hurting, so I skipped my walks.  Excuses I know, but I really didn't think it would result in my GAINING a pound. 

I had lost 13 pounds after surgery, but after the first 2 weeks I gained one of the pounds back, and held steady at the weight for a week until I gained another pound this morning.  I know this is a time of healing and not weight loss since I don't have a fill yet, but if I am eating roughly 1000 calories of nutritious food how is it going to get better with a restriction???

I'm guessing at this point that my body is just adjusting to everything.  I'm not used to this because in the past when I've been on track I've lost weight.  I fully expected to hit plateaus on my journey, but not this soon!

Ok, gotta go walk now.  Don't want to "find" anymore of the weight that I've "lost"!

Walking Proud!

Every day I am walking 2 times a day around my apartment complex.  At first it was once around each time, then 2 times around each time.  Today I did 3 times around!  Each time is a 1/4 mile, so I've worked my way up to 3/4 mile 2 times a day!  I know that doesn't seem like a lot for most, but for me it is huge.  It wasn't that long ago that I couldn't make it half way around, much less once around.  My plan is to continue to walk every day and increase as I go.  I figure if I do it every day then it will be a habit, and habits are hard to break right?  I want to finally have a good habit that I can't kick, and that I don't want to kick!

Happy walking all!

A dilemma and a NSV!

So today I was over in Jersey visiting my step daughter with my boyfriend.  I had brought a protein drink to have during our travels, thinking I would be good.  Well after we had gone Halloween costume shopping everyone was hungry.  They both wanted a sit down dinner, and I was slightly panicked!  I haven't eaten out since my surgery, and I'm on pureed, so what to do???  Could I really just there and watch them eat and sip on water until they were done?  I didn't really think this was the best solution.

My boyfriend came up with the idea of a diner.  He figured there would be something liquid like I could eat.  I figured diners usually have tomato soup, so off we went. 

We got to the diner, and being an older diner of course it only had boothes.  I haven't been able to fit into a booth in quite some time.  I figured I lost a decent amount of weight, let me give this a try.  Well low and behold I fit!  It was snug, don't get me wrong, but I fit into a booth!  It was wonderful.

No tomato soup on the menu, so I had some plain mashed potatoes.  Crisis averted, and a discovery made!

Cleaning out the closet!

So today I decided to clean out my closet.  I have many clothes that are too big for me now.  I currently have 5 bags of clothes for donations, and I haven't even gotten to the drawers yet!  I go back to work on 11/2 and I have nothing to wear!  I'm thinking this is a good problem to have though!  I'll just be forced to shop for new clothes.  I just won't get a lot, because I'm hoping they will be too big soon too!

I'm excited because I will have several stores to shop at and that hasn't been the case in a very long time!  It is pretty bad when you are too big for even the fat stores!  For many years Catherines has been the only brick and mortar store I could shop at.  Now I'm in a size that is carried by several plus stores, and I'm excited about the possibilities.  Gonna break out the credit cards and put them to some use!

First day of pureed foods

So today was my first day of pureed foods.  It was so wonderful to have something almost real to eat!  I had egg beaters for breakfast and pureed lentil soup for dinner.  It was wonderful!  I can't wait to try some pureed chicken tomorrow.  I'm trying not to try everything pureed all at once to give my stomach a chance to adjust.

I ate eggs, protein drink, tomato soup, lentil soup and a sugar free pudding cup.  All told I had 830 calories.  I thought it would be easier to get up to at least 1000 calories once I started eating pureed food.  Did anyone else have trouble getting enough calories in at the pureed point?  I am increasing my walking every day and want to make sure I'm getting enough nutrients so my body doesn't go into starvation mode and hold onto all my lovely fat cells.  I'm getting more than the 60 grams of protein a day thanks to the protein drinks and the powder I add to my soup.

When eating the right foods do any of you struggle to get the correct amount of calories?  I'm told that once I am on solid foods they want me on 1200-1500 calories a day.

Thanks for the support all!

Wow, you guys are great!  I feel the support and I love it!  I know you all are going to help me on my journey.

So I had some more contemplation on the weight that I've gotten rid of.  In my mind weight that I've kicked to the curb is like an abusive ex-boyfriend.  It is a psychotic stalker waiting for me to be weak and give in and take it back.  Like an abusive boyfriend it will treat me bad and potentially shorten my life span.  I've said goodbye to that loser for good, and my band is my restraining order!

Blogger note:  I don't have and have never had an abusive boyfriend.  Most of what I know about abusive men comes for the Lifetime Movie Network.  In fact I have a wonderful boyfriend who is supportive and good to me and whom I love very much!!!!

Thanks Maria!

Maria is the best!  I tell her I've decided to blog, and she shouts it from the rooftops.  I'm so fortunate to have reconnected with her after all this time.

So not for the first time I've been contemplating the term "losing weight".  When you say you have lost something, doesn't that insinuate you want to find it?  I'm not losing weight, I'm getting rid of it!  It isn't something I'm looking for, it can stay lost!  Here's to telling those pounds to get lost and stay lost!

My very first blog!

Hey there blogosphere!  This is my very first blog.  Although I told my friend Maria I wouldn't be blogging, she seems to be having so much fun at it that I thought I'd give it a shot, so here I am.  Don't know that anyone will ever see it, but I will!

Today is 10/15/11 and I am a week and a few days out from my 10/6/11 lap band surgery.  I am still in the healing stage but feeling good and excited to be started on this journey.  Check with me at another time and I'll be less excited and more scared, but for the moment I'm excited!

I started this lap band journey in February 2011 when I went to an information session for the lap band.  I was so impressed that the actual surgeon, the head guy of 3 great Philly hospitals, actually ran the information session himself.  I had my first consultation on 3/31/11 where I weighed in at 378 lbs!  My highest recorded weight was 386.  I had a long journey ahead of me.

Many dietician and testing appointments later and I had a surgery date.  Because of my high BMI I was highly encouraged to get the sleeve, but I stuck to my guns and my research and felt and still feel the lap band is the right surgery for me.

The morning of my surgery I weighed in at 313 lbs.  I figure if I can do that much on my own, just think how much I can do with the lap band!  This morning I weighed in at 304 lbs.  Still a long "weigh" to go, but getting there.  Soon to be under 300, can't weight!!!!

Ok, I think that is enough rambling for my first blog.  Hope I keep this up....but don't have a lot of faith that I will!