Not too much longer now

Just made my "last" doctor’s appointment for next week. After that, we can submit everything to my insurance for approval. I sure hope things go through smoothly. I have plenty of documentation, nice letters written by myself, my doctor, the psychiatrist, the dietitian, and my surgeon. According to my surgeon's office, my insurance company usually gets back within 2 weeks after submission, and if we followed the requirements (which we did) they have been quick to approve.

I am ready!

I am ready to see the scale move.

I am ready to have my clothes fit and get new clothes.

I am ready to bust those statistics and go for gold.

I am ready to be healthy.

I am ready for the struggles.

I am ready to CHANGE!

NSV list

I have been thinking more and more about all the non scale victories I could/hope to accomplish with the lap band and loosing weight. There are a few, so I thought it would be fun to write them down lest I forget. There will be more, I'm sure, and some I don't know that will happen till it does, but this is the start. See my collar bones Wear high heels Have regular periods Get a piggy back ride from my man Shop and wear cute clothes to work Get feeling back in my right thigh To not be the slowest runner on my softball team To jump high enough to block in volleyball To not be able to balance a bowl on my belly and eat from it LOL!! No double chin Cross my legs - even better... Cross my legs in an airplane! Not be afraid the trampoline will break with me on it To be under weight for zip lining To be under the weight limit for dog sledding to be able to purchase items from Victoria's Secret And to become governer of Alaska

Super excited, and even more motivated!

Do any of you out there like musicals? I wish every day that there would be some sort of break out song reflecting life stories.. HAHA. That's just me. I grew up on old musicals like Singin' in the Rain, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Little Shop of Horrors... you get the point. Well, last year I was in our local production of Sweeney Todd. It was a bit stressful since they recruited me only 5 weeks till opening night, and went from singing a few quintet pieces, to being 5 different characters, and learning the entire chorus music. STRESSFUL but a BLAST!!!
Yesterday I got a phone call for a part in HAIRSPRAY!!! I am soooo excited. I love the music, but the scary thing is... I HAVE TO DANCE! And in front of people... AAAHHH. I have rhythm, and I like to dance to Zumba and swing dance, but let's face it.. I'm a big gal.. and it almost looks like a whale trying to do ballet.. not pretty. So now I am even more motivated to continue shaping up, start stretching more, and shake what my momma gave me.
The production opens in November, so I do have time, but I also anticipate having my lap band surgery in late August or early September. How long did you guys have to wait after surgery to be active again? I hope that if I keep getting in shape before surgery, that afterwards, it will be easier to get back into. Thoughts?
I wish you all could come up here to see it. It is going to be amazing!!!

Finding a peaceful place.

We have been having a very crappy and cold summer. Maybe it has been up to 65 degrees, but usually stays in the mid 50's. Not a typical summer... global warming my A$$... :) But needless to say, I am still trying to get more active. I really enjoy walking, and hope to some day enjoy running.. definitely not in my near future.. my knees just can't take it. So this weekend I traversed a few new trails that I have always wanted to see where they go, and between Saturday and Sunday, I logged 9.2 miles. I was pretty proud of that, because it is 9.2 miles more than I did last weekend.

Me, my boss (and my friend), and my man.

The trails were flat, paved, and pretty. I really want us to invest in some good bikes. Any suggestions on brands? I am tall, and do not like to bend over to reach the handlebars, so I was thinking of a cruiser style????

Support is here (and no, not a bra)

I just want to give a shout out to the people that have found me and my blog. Thank you!!! I know life isn't too interesting right now pre-band, but I am sooooo looking forward to being on the other side, knowing that I can turn to all of you to whip any bad attitude out of the way, and encourage me to persevere. I think the support system was missing in all my other attempts at weight loss, so get ready to play the role!!!

yay for support!

Getting closer

Yesterday I had my second to last doctor's appointment before my surgeon can submit paperwork, which means I am getting closer! My normal nurse was out, and I had a new gal that was not familiar with what needed to be done, so I kind of had to lead her around, saying.. "I NEED to be weighed". In fact, I was kind of excited to weigh, because I had lost 6 lbs this month. Wouldn't you know it.. their scale only reflected 3 pounds :( I did have clothes on, and it was late afternoon, so I am not too worried about it, just disappointed.
My doctor is getting really excited for me, knowing what losing weight will do for me, so it is good to have her support. In fact, she is the one who really encouraged me to look into this option.

On a side note, CBP and I went for a beautiful walk last night. Here are some pics.

The flume trail



CBP and Me

 
We both look kind of dorky there, but hey.. we were on a hike :)

Feeling old, sore, and tired.

One of my favorite things about summer is SOFTBALL! I have played for years, and love the co-rec team I play on, love the sport, and I love that we play on a field with eagles flying above and a glacier in the background! How cool is that? Last night we had a double header(that lasted way to long due to an ump that seemed to have his head in space) and didn't leave the ball field till 10:15pm. That is 4 hours of softball that should have been 2. I was so sore last night and this morning!! My knees hurt, my back hurt, my feet hurt, my shoulders hurt.. I am too young to feel this bad! It never hurt before... :(
Needless to say, I am even more motivated to get this weight off, just so I don't hurt so much doing the things I love.
I talked with my surgeon's office a few days ago and I only have to meet with my regular doctor 1 more time before they send the paperwork to my insurance. They said it takes about 2 weeks to hear back from them, and if all goes well, I will have a surgery date in August!!! Yay!!! Cross your fingers for me...

Liquid diet or liquid success?

Soooo... This last week I decided I wanted to try the liquid diet that bandsters need to do pre-op and after fills, just to see how it is, and what kinds of foods I can have. I started on Tuesday and this morning I am 4.2lbs down!!!! How cool is that. I have been trying to lose at lease 10 lbs since my first visit with my doctor in Feb, and this pushed me to hit that goal (FINALLY!) Now I can't wait for my appointment on Thursday to show off my success. My doctor suggested "my fitness pal" app on my phone to keep track of my calories. I was pretty consistant at about 1200 a day with protein shakes, greek yogurt, soups, and V8 fusions. I even got my man, who always like to call himself Cinnamon Brad Pitt... AKA CBP, to try it with me. He is a funny guy! But it was nice to do it together. I prepared everything for us each night and brought him his "lunch bag" to work every morning. He only lasted till Thursday.. LOL. I am still going strong! I actually feel really good.