Weigh in day

Boy - It seems like these weigh in days are coming so close together. Here it is.

Starting Weight - 291
Last week - 259.4
This week - 258.6

-.8 lbs. Okay... at least it's not a gain. Still in the 250's... I'm thankful for that.

I need to do a comparison picture.. and measure myself.. That's my goal for the week.

OH... And only 1 more week and we get to fly away to be with my family for Christmas!!!!! Sooooo uber excited!!!!
I miss my family like crazy, and I get to meet my 7 month old neice! Can't wait. I am a proud Auntie, so here is a picture for your viewing pleasure.

Don't you just want to pinch those cheeks?!?

Trucking right along

Good morning Blog World.

Things are going busy on my end. I have noticed that many blogs are getting less each day, probably like me..very busy during this time of year.
I have taken some good ideas from some people I have reached out to in my journey, and I feel like it is really helping. Hollee gave the great lunch idea of cottage cheese with meat sauce. LOVE IT! It keeps me satisfied, while keeping the calories low, but protein high. I too like to have mostly the same thing every day. I prepared everything last weekend,so it's easy in the morning to scoop a 1/2 cup of cottage cheese with 1/2 cup turkey meat sauce, sprinkle with parmesan, and head out the door lunch in hand. For breakfast, I have 2 eggs at 7:30am and that keeps me satisfied till about 11:30am. I usually have a morning coffee with a dash of vanilla soy milk around 10am.
I also reached out to one of my mom's friends that had lapband in 2007. She lost 80lbs in 9 months. I asked her what she did to keep from getting stuck. She said she gets back on the original diet, walks, and (the most important to me) keeps her band a little tight. She says she always does better like that.
I feel like I am a tad loose. So close to that perfect spot, but I feel bad going to the doctor just 3 weeks from my last appointment for yet another fill without much weight loss to show for it... however... isn't that why we get fills?

Is it okay to get fills so close together?

On a side note, last week when I was feeling crappy about my weight loss, I talked to my boss at Curves. Even though I am a coach for any and all programs Curves offers, and I rock at helping others break their plateaus and mental blocks, I suck at doing it to myself. My boss called the club when I was working, and she said I was on her mind about my weight loss. I tell her everything, so she know how upset I was. She asked why I self sabotage myself (which I fully admit I do) and I said I didn't know.. then she said she thinks I am so afraid of failing, because I had failed at so many other diets and programs, that my mind blocks me from thinking I can succeed.
Ha... I was like.. um... who do you think you are? Bob from the Biggest Loser? But she must have hit the nail on the head, because for no apparent reason, I started tearing up. I am used to failing at weight loss. I have failed for 20 years.

Not this time! I refuse! I'm gunna keep trucking right along, enjoy the journey, and keep going.

Good news is, now that I buy and cook all kinds of healthy meals, my man has also lost about 10 lbs. He doesn't really need to lose weight, but he is noticing he feels much better. Me too.

Weigh in

Starting weight: 291
Last week: 260.4
This week: 259.4

I broke the 260's finally!!! A loss of 1 lb? I will take it. It sure can be a long journey huh?

I was thinking before surgery that my mind was strong, by body was ready, and I was going to rock it like others on the blogosphere. Guess not. All I can do is my journey. But it does suck when I compare myself to others that are having better success.
Sometimes I have this fear, like I did before surgery, that I will be one of those people where this "last resort" weight loss method doesn't even work.
SLOWLY, but surely I am heading in the right direction.

That's all I can do

Keep pluggin right along.

Make good, healthy choices.

And stop self sabotaging myself!

I probably could have done a lot better than 1 pound, but I ate late at night, I didn't watch my carb intake, I only got 2 days of exercise in, and I blamed it all on a "crappy" week. That's what I get for eating 2 bowls of rice.

Sometimes I wish I had those painful experiences others have when they eat rice or bread.. the kind that makes you never want it again. I could really go for some negative reinforcement, but that hasn't ever happened.

It's time to change my relationship with food (not that I haven't been trying).

JUSTifications

So, I want to brag about my Curves biggest loser competition. My team is in the lead with 62 pounds down in 4 weeks. Our competitors have lost 54.85 lbs. 2 more weigh-ins.. and the prize is nearly mine. If my team wins, they all get Aqua Zumba passes, tanning sessions, and Circle Farms baskets (organic produce). My prize is that I get to do the next radio commercial for Curves in Juneau. Looks like you all will be knowing someone famous real soon. :)

That is great motivation for me. I am lucky to have such supportive women in my life. Especially this time of year when it's easy to fall off the band wagon. There are so many treats lurking in the halls, the kitchen, and around every corner.

I have to say no to that little voice saying.. "It's Just a cupcake." I'll JUST have a bite of that holiday morsel."

I am done with my JUSTifications on getting off track.

Sure there will be days when I crumble, but I am learning that it doesn't have to de-rail me.

Keeping it going!

Weigh in day

Starting weight - 291
Last weeks weigh in - 262.8
Today - 260.4

-2.4lbs this week

That's what I'm talking about!! Even though I am where I was last month, I think and hope I am on a roll now. My body is just holding on so tight to the 260's and not letting go. I will be thrilled to death to see the 250's on the scale.. and that it never goes back up again. It seems my body did that with the 280's too, but once my body was on a roll, I pretty much skipped the 270's. Boy oh boy would that be freakin' awesome if I skipped the 250's. But I'm not holding my breath.
Goals for this next week -

Work out at Curves 4 times, and do stairs at lunch 3 times. Zumba on Saturday, and walking to the glacier on Sunday.

Log my food in MFP every day. Still not sure what kind of calorie range I should shoot for though. Maybe 1000?

On to the next great week!

Happy Friday Everyone!

My wonderful Fill

So in my last post, I gave a little description of my fill. After all the pain and a couple days of liquid diet, I really feel a difference. A great difference!!! I am never really hungry at all, and that has really helped me make and keep good choices going.
Here was my food yesterday:
7:30am - 1 "fried" egg
10:30am - Green tea with splenda, gummy vitamins and calcium
11:30 - half of my spinach and chicken salad with balsamic vinegar (half of 1.5 cups = 3/4 cups eaten)
4:00 - half of my fruit and veggie smoothy I made (recipe below)
7:00 - Veggie and Chicken stir fry - 1 cup

65 grams of protein
97 grams of Carbs (a bit high for what I prefer for my body, but it's the fruit)
823 calories
How many calories do you usually stay around?
The thing of it is, I wasn't hungry, so I didn't force myself to eat. I focused on protein and wholesome foods, and I didn't have a desire to eat more or crave the things I usually do. This was the first time since 2 weeks after my surgery that I have felt like this.. AND I LOVE IT!!!

I'm not going to lie.. I was feeling discouraged that I haven't been able to lose weight consistently, and I voiced that to my doctor. She said that sometimes it happens that way for a bit, then all of a sudden, your body let's go, and you get on a roll. I sure hope she is right and not just saying that to make me feel better.

I do not ever regret getting the band. Even though the scale hasn't been so nice to me, the band has really made me aware of my body more. Aware of when to stop eating (even though I didn't always listen). Aware of my calories in and out. Love my band.

So my fruit and veggie shake was given to me by a friend. I think she got it from Dr. Oz or something. Maybe this is a rendition of it.
I have a magic bullet, so I put everything in at once, blend, and enjoy (or refrigerate it for later... it turns funky colors).

1/4c spinach
1 cup frozen mixed berries
1 banana
1/4c kale
1 TBLS Almond Butter
1c water
1 TBLS ground flax seed
2 TBS Lemon Juice

Surprise, surprise....

Thanksgiving was great! I took Lap Band Gal's advice and wore my "skinny jeans". That, plus my band, kept me in check. According to my scale yesterday, I even went down by a smidge. That has NEVER happened. Yippeeee

Saturday, my honey and I took a "road trip" to the end of the road. I know, I know... the end of the road??? Here in Juneau, there are no roads out to the real world. The roads just end. period. WEIRD!!!

Here is a view along the drive

We were in search of our Christmas tree. After a few hours of toodling down the road, looking at the scenes, I spotted one down the ditch towards the water. We parked the truck, hopped over the guard rail, shuffled down the hillside, and got our tree.

Such a fun adventure, and it's perfect!

And of course, I decorated the house this weekend. It looks great, and makes me reminisce of the Christmas' with my family.

Here it is all decorated with snow in the back yard.

I also went in for a fill today. It was a very interesting experience. According to my doctor, my port is a bit sideways. It took her 20 minutes, 2 needles, and the threat of going to radiology to find my port. I was a human pincushion. It didn't hurt, she numbed it before trying, but it was difficult keeping my abs tight while she struggled to get the needle in the port. Success finally happened, and I was filled with 1 more cc. I think that takes me up to 7.5cc's! I am really hoping this one will do the trick. I need to see the scale move down more!

Happy Monday!!