Back to School

So the problem with staying up late is that I get hungry. I always do. 11:30 or 12 roll around, and I'm hungry. And I can't go to bed, because I've got stuff to get done, but I'm hungry. Any ideas on a cure?

Anyway. I'm at a small standstill. I think I need to work out more. My plan isn't going as well as I'd hoped, mainly because of my crazy sleep schedule. I'm disappointed that I haven't had as much time. It bugs me.



I'm nervous about going back to class. I'm worried that my eating habits will get worse. I've got a plan though, I think. It's just going to be really hard to keep on track. But I think I've got this.

Slowing Down.

I've been bummed for the past few days because my weight loss stopped. I wasn't gaining an ounce, but I wasn't loosing either.

Today I forgot to weight myself before I ate breakfast. I usually would skip it for the day, and weigh myself tomorrow. But I didn't have time yesterday morning, so I got on the scale.

Amazingly, even with having eaten breakfast and had a drink with my medications, I'm down another 2.5 pounds to a total of 27.5 pounds lost.

My next goal? To get below 260. I'll be there in just over 2.5 pounds. I can do that.


And I've been using the exercise bike. I always enjoy bike riding and I ride the bike while watching TV, so it goes by very quickly. And I get to a good pace with it.

I did try an elliptical machine at Sam's Club the other day. I really liked it, but it was 600 bucks and HUGE. Other than the fact that I can't afford that, I don't know where you'd put it if you didn't have a room just for gym equipment. They're really nice though.


You know what I just realized? Today is 4 weeks from my surgery date. So that means, in 5 and a half weeks, I've lost almost 30 pounds. I think that's pretty freaking awesome.


Here's to my next 3 pounds and being in the 250's!


Oh, and I'm really glad, my scars have been healing well. Two of them you can barely find. It's great.

Sabotage Among Friends

Eating with my boyfriend's family is ALWAYS a challenge. His mom is really strange about food. She claims she's on weight watchers, but other than the fact that she spends money on meetings, there's no other proof. 

First off, they weren't going to invite me to dinner tonight since 'She can't eat'. I think it's really rude to make that assumption and decide for someone what they can and cannot do. Secondly, I can eat. Maybe not everything, but I'm allowed food. I'm not starving myself over here. I just don't need a lot to be satisfied. 

Okay. So, she's weird about food. Once, when I was doing the low-carb diet, I picked up ONE tortilla chip and she hit my hand. Wtf, right? I was highly insulted and was really upset about this one for awhile. Low-carb doesn't mean no-carb and I think I can decide for myself if I want a single freaking chip. 

Well, tonight at dinner, she was all 'Can you eat that?' I'm pretty sure she asked about 14 times, no lie. Then, after our meals arrive, I pull a piece of quesdilla onto my plate. Bill and I had decided to share beforehand. So, I start to eat, and she keeps asking 'Do you want some of mine?' I decline several times. She just doesn't let up. 

Bill's sister and niece decided to get a dessert. I didn't want any. Not only was I comfortably full, but I don't want to waste calories on that. I'm picky about what's allowed room in my stomach. Bill's mom and dad also decided to share a dessert. Bill was with me, he didn't want anything. So, when the dessert gets there, Bill and I are offered to try both desserts, we both decline. His sister doesn't ask again. His mom asked both Bill and I over and over again, only leaving Bill alone when he tried some. I wasn't let off that easily. Only when she had finished the dessert did she stop asking. 

Now, some people would try to say she was being nice, and that's not completely wrong, she was. But for her, it's not about that, not entirely. Yes, it's nice to share, but it's something else to harass people into sharing. Bill's sister offered and when I declined, she didn't ask again. When you ask repeatedly if someone wants something, knowing that they've just had surgery and are trying to loose weight, you want to see them fail. 

I'm prepared for people like this. Not everyone can just be genuinely happy for you. She's one of them. And I can't really get rid of her, so I'll have to deal. 

25 pounds down!

So here we are! I'm 25 pounds lighter! I'm down to 264.8. And that's 25.1 pounds from my top weight. I've gotta get that .1 in there, because it counts. 8.5 percent of my weight.

I went for my post-op visit Friday and the doctor told me he thought he was going to have to go back in and change the band originally, since I was having problems swallowing for the first two days and then, because of the anesthesia, I was nauseous and couldn't swallow then either. But then, I was fine. And the doctor was thrilled at how well I'm doing. I haven't vomited, I'm able to get foods down and it's nice. And he was happy with the weight loss progress. I'm thrilled. 

I can see the difference in my clothes already. My stomach roll isn't as prominent and my face has thinned out.  I feel better. I look better. And that helps make everything worth it.

And today, I'm going shopping for the first time in months. Even though my goal is to never have to set foot in a Lane Bryant again, I have a coupon for 15 dollars off a 15 dollar purchase. I'm all about free clothes. And I'm going to buy something that won't fit me yet. I want something really pretty that will fit, say, when I get down to an 18. Right now I'm still in a 22, but those pants are damn roomy and I can fit into a shirt that I loved, but had become too tight since the time when I bought it. Now, it looks great on me.

I did that at the Gap with my Mom MONTHS ago. She found a pair of size 18 pants (there sizes run small) and they were so cute and only 5 bucks, so we bought them. We knew I'd loose the weight and that when I did, I'd need clothes to get my through each stage of sizes. I'm pretty excited about those pants too. They really were cute. 

I actually gave a lot of clothes away to a co-worker of my Mom's. She had a by-pass over the summer and I gave her what I didn't want anymore. I knew they wouldn't fit me for long and most of them were things I was bored with. I feel like it helps to help others. 

One more thing. I'm going out to dinner tonight with Bill and his family. The challenge? Last time I ate at this restaurant (Blue Sage Vegetarian Grille), I got violently sick with the stomach bug when we got home. I knew it wasn't food poisoning, but it wasn't fun at all. I can't eat my favorite dish ever again after seeing what it looked like later. The second challenge is what to eat. It's a veggie restaurant, and they don't have a lot of protein, so what to choose? Anything with their cheese is going to be fatty, since they don't use low-fat cheeses. I've been looking over the menu and debating what to get. I think I'm going to go with the quesadilla. It has both black beans and mozzarella, so even if it's a little fattier, at least it's got protein in it, unlike a lot of the stuff. Bill and I will probably share, because I can't eat much of it anyway. 

I ate too much Saturday. We went to a diner for lunch and I had gotten an egg beater omelet with scrapple in it (no cheese). It was a small portion of scrapple, which is my favorite, and so I figured, it has protein. But then, I ate too much. I could feel a tightness in my chest and, although I didn't get sick, it was really uncomfortable. Better to learn early though, right? But now I know my limits. That had been my first meal off liquids. I was thrilled to have eggs. And I guess I just got carried away with myself. 

Wii Fit, Soup and Scars

I'm in LOVE with my Wii Fit. It's an amazing thing, even if you're not using it to exercise. Lately, because I can't do much more than walk, I've been using the Wii Fit as my scale. The wonderful thing about it? The graphs. I love seeing the line graph change and go down. I love that it automatically tells you your BMI and weight. 

It's a really great thing to have something to remind you of how well you're doing. I love seeing that I've lost 20 pounds. I mean, I know I've lost 20 pounds, but the reminder is a motivator.  And I'm not the only one, my Mom loves it too. It's a fun and easy way to monitor your weight. I'm not sure I'd rely on the Wii Fit as my sole means of exercise, but it really creates a nice aid in tracking weight loss and fitness.

In other news, I'm bored out of my mind. Three weeks off from work sounds great, and it is, but whoa. This was fine the first few days - I was napping half the time and drugged up, so I didn't realize I was bored. Now that I'm not in so much pain and able to do things, I'm bored. Bored bored bored bored. That doesn't mean I want to go back to work, I love being home. I just wish I were motivated enough to do something productive. I have writing to do and craft projects that are half finished. I just don't feel like it. 

Maybe tomorrow. Maybe I'll be motivated then.

But I did make soup today, so I guess I did something. Creamy Onion Soup. It's really close to the Walkabout Soup at Outback Steakhouse. I made it lower in fat by using Light Cream and Light Cheese. And it came out great. I'll have to post the recipe tomorrow. I think I'm going to make a Shrimp Chowder tomorrow. I found the recipe in a weight-loss surgery cookbook and so it's super high in protein (around 20 grams) and low in calories. 

So, on the medical front, I'm doing okay. The back pain is completely gone, I no longer need the bandages but there's still pain at the large incision and the port. Otherwise, I'm good. Still a little tired at points, but overall, good.

I'm having trouble keeping in mind when I'm doing too much. Over the weekend, I've done this several times. Friday, I went grocery shopping with my Mom and then relaxed for about an hour before running errands with Bill. By the time Bill and I got home, I was exhausted. Not even just exhausted, but in pain, drained and felt terrible. I'm working hard to make sure I don't continue to do that. It's not to over-stretch yourself when you're trying to heal.