Weekly Wednesday Weigh-In

Beginning Weight (12/20/2012) - 330.6

Last Week's Weight- 303

Today's Weight- 301.2

Total Weight Loss- 29.4

OMG!

All week long I have felt very...blah....about my weight loss progress. I don't mean the entire journey I just mean the last week.

I just didn't feel like I was doing...enough.

I am down 1.8 pounds from last week. In 1.3 pounds my weight will no longer start with a 3...that is EXCITING!!!!

It has been FOREVER since I have been below 300.

YAY!

Look what I found

Found a random post-it in a drawer in my desk. I almost crumpled it up and tossed it but decided to read what was written on it before I did.

I have to admit that I am glad I did!

I remember sitting down to write this list when I started my pre-op diet. I had meant to have more items on it, but I had gotten sidetracked.

This also explains why this important (a determination I only made yesterday) piece of paper was never put where it should have been. I mean I even used the thing to test my new ball stamper...lol

I found this list at just the right time. I am pretty certain that I am not going to have the weight loss results I want for this week or even this month. When I found this list it reminded me that I am simply three months out since I had a life changing surgery. I am not at my green zone and I have not mastered this. I have to remember to give myself a year to "Adapt to life with Lap-Band" I can't expect to have it perfectly figured out in three months. I may not even have it completely figured out in a year.

Holy crap...I gained 90 POUNDS!!!

Pretty good looking ninety pounds if I do say so myself!

There I was just minding my own business when all of a sudden my lap became the place to be! In an instant my chair was magically holding ninety more pounds then when I was sitting there alone!

I have to take a minute to point out that I still can't believe the change in my face since I started this journey!
The other thing I love is that if you look at my left hand (the one with the bracelet) you will see my engagement and wedding ring...I haven't been able to comfortably wear my wedding set for almost a year. It has been pretty embarrassing but I am excited to say that they are well on their way to being too big!

This has been an awesome weekend...Better then most weekends I have had in the past few months...

Saturday started off with me playing hookie from my weekend volunteering. I am normally the over responsible one, but I SO badly just wanted to have a day with my husband!

The kids went off to Grandpa's house and my hubby and I took to some much needed errand running. Our first stop Shane Co. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is a very nice high end jewelry store. They have some of the nicest stuff I have ever seen. Seven years ago we spent an afternoon (me VERY pregnant) picking out my engagement ring. A year later, we spent a few hours picking out my husbands wedding band.

This time wasn't supposed to be a shopping trip. My husband beats the crap out of his ring to the point that the lovely white gold ring eventually looks yellow, so we brought it in to get refinished. He has also lost 40 pounds and the ring would just fly off. This is not great when you work at UPS and are constantly running though yards having a ring that falls off at a moments notice..It is something that has to get fixed!

Anyways...we went in to drop off his ring and have them inspect mine, to keep the warranty current. While we were waiting we began to check out the men's bands and the anniversary bands. I feel bad that D had to compromise on his ring because of our budget at the time. We are planning on buying anniversary band for our ten year anniversary, in about 5 years, we like to plan a head so we wanted to get an idea for a budget.

My husband found this ring that he loved. It has a Celtic knot design on it and it is REALLY cool and very him. The best part, it isn't a precious metal. It is a fashion ring made out of stainless steel, so the total cost is $87!

Here it is curtosy of ShaneCo's website

He already knows that I bought him the ring, and I am sure he has figured out that I bought it for our five year anniversary  which is in April. He even knows that I got it engraved...he doesn't know what it says so that is the only surprise that I am working with...lol When I have given it to him, I will share the engraving. He doesn't usually read my little blog but I figure I will keep this secret for 26 more days... Anyways, it isn't going to be a replacement band, but simply a right hand ring that he can wear and know that I bought because I love him.

While I had sent him away he found me a little something, once I approved the budget and all. He won't even give me a hint...it is driving me NUTS! I assure you I will live but still, it is going to be a long month!

Today, it snowed like crazy. We got about 12 inches which is practically unheard of in the Saint Louis area. On top of getting the snow, we had to venture out to go to my father-in-laws birthday lunch. It went well and was nice catching up with my sister-in-law and her husband but the roads were down right scary. I am VERY glad that we are safely home now and with school cancelled tomorrow we shall remain here.

Diet was pretty good for this weekend. I could have been a little better with my carbs yesterday but all in all wasn't anything that should hurt my long term chances...lol

I think I have rambled on for long enough...look forward to some more life changing posts this coming week...lol

Wednesday Weigh In...Week 13

Beginning Weight (12/20/2012) - 330.6

Last Week's Weight- 305.4

Today's Weight- 303.0

Total Weight Loss- 27.6

Well, I tried and failed at moving my weigh in day. I just can't. When Tuesday night comes around I can't wait to wake up on Wednesday and weigh in.

That same was VERY true for last night.

I am excited. This is the lightest that I have been since March of 2012. I have tired so many times to lose weight. Gaining is ALWAYS so much easier! The lightest I have been since I had my daughter is 288. I can guarantee that when I get down too 287 I am practically going to throw a party!

I had a goal for this journey, I wanted to average a loss of 10 pounds a month. Well today it has been 3 months since I started my pre-op diet and I am down 27.6 pounds that is an average if 9.2 pounds a month. Typically I would be sad and down about not reaching my goal...but I feel AMAZING. I can do Jazzercise for 60 minutes with no breaks. I can do jog/walk intervals for 30 minutes.  Over the last 30 days I have averaged 3092 calorie burn a day and my average calories in take is 1943 with an average deficit of 1149 calories a day. Also I have lost 18.8 inches since I started this journey. Part of that is four inches off my waist and four off my hips. Even if the scale doesn't show what I want it to I am making progress and I won't be upset about that.

I can't wait to see what next month brings!

One of those days....

Ever have one of those days where you just feel a whole lotta "Blah"?

Well that was my day!

I had no desire to go work out, but I did it anyways.

I hung out with my daughter and her best friend at Chick-Fil-A and all I could think about was taking a nap.

My husband thinks it is because the sun has been hidden behind the clouds for three days straight now. Who knows, he could be right.

I didn't even get in my run...which kinda bums me out but the rest of me doesn't care all that much.

I had better get out of this funk or I will NEVER lose any more weight!

K...I am going to bed and going to wait until a new day...hopefully I will have some more energy tomorrow!

Kid free saturday night

We had a rare occurrence at our house yesterday.

Both of my children spent the night at Grandma's house.

From about 6:30pm on it was just the two of us.

We went to dinner at a restaurant called Ya Ya's Euro Cafe. It is an upscale restaurant with AMAZING FOOD!. You can always tell the nicer places because the prices don't have change involved (ie .49 .99). I got the Sea to Table special with was a wonderful grilled cobia fillet over creamy polenta with sauteéd string beans While I had really wanted the Brussels sprouts I assure you that I was not disappointed.

The only draw back to the evening was my husband being a butthead. While I will admit that I get a little overly sensitive during my time of the month he needs to think before he speaks some times. My fish was a tad bit under cooked on one corner. I didn't bother complaining about it or sending it back because I was fairly satisfied. We had also ordered a chocolate souffle for desert. I made the statement, "It is all good I have a souffle coming." His response, "It is my souffle...I said I would share a little." Hurt, I responded back. "Fine I won't have any of it." And I didn't...Not one spoonful, not a single calorie from that dessert touched my lips. The husband even pulled the "I would enjoy it more if you would try some." That didn't work and just made me more mad.

Anyways...After dinner and the whole souffle debacle we went to go see The Great and Powerful OZ. It was a pretty good movie. James Franco is SO not my favorite actor but in the long run the movie was good and I wasn't disappointed that we went.

We got home after midnight and now I am going to crawl into bed!

First Friday Weigh in

Beginning Weight (12/20/2012) - 330.6

Last Week's Weight- 304.0

Today's Weight- 305.4

Total Weight Loss- 25.2

Well I gained...I would like to say that I based on my lack of activity and my appalling eating that it was expected...This is not the case!

My diet was perfect...I mean there was not a day in the last seven days that I ate over my calories. My carbs were in perfect check (As perfect as a flawed human being can be) and I burned at least 500 calories a day working out for six of the seven days...Damn you evil scale!

Ok it isn't the scale...it is this blasted "time of the month" I hate it. One thing I don't always tell people is that I suffer from PCOS...The short story for the people that don't know what that is...Basically my ovaries are all gnarled and don't function correctly. Since they are a MAJOR supply of your bodies hormones it causes major issues when they don't work correctly.

Despite the fact that I have my tubes blocked I am going back on the pill. Yasmin to be precise.  It is known to help treat the symptoms of PCOS and I am hoping it will help with this stupid period weight gain that I suffer from. That and keep the "Crazy Lady" at bay...I am sure my husband will appreciate that...

We shall see in a month if it makes a difference!!!

Thursday

Not all that much to report today...so I figured that I would FINALLY do my TTT on an actual Thursday!

1) Being a female sucks...I stepped on the scale yesterday despite the fact that my new weigh in day is Friday....I was merely curious. Low and behold my weight was UP!!...My hubby all cool calm and collected looks at the calendar and says "Don't worry about it...your period must be about the start." Man I just wanted to punch him in the face. I miss the days of being on the pill when I KNEW when it was coming...Never the less, it started today. One of my many goals for this weight loss journey is to figure out how to combat this stupid cycle gain!

2) A continuation of number 1- I have a standing prescription for Prozac that I only take during my time of the month. We are talking like 3-4 tablets a month TOTAL...This month...I didn't notice the tell tell "Crazy Lady" signs that I normally get. I wasn't snapping at people...I wasn't crying at E V E R Y T H I N G!...I didn't want to stab my husband any more then usual...lol...According to my awesome "Brother from another Mother" an increase in exercise can do that for you!...So that is AWESOME! and I play on exploiting that...

3) Parental Pride - My daughter learned how to read a calendar over the last few months in Kindergarten. Today she used it to her advantage to realize that she had TWO weeks of spring break with ten days remaining until she returns to school...Apparently this means that her relocation will be extended until March 24th. I am SO glad she is having fun and that makes me smile.

4) Couch-to-5K - Well today I DID NOT run on the treadmill. Do to complications from item #1 on my list I just didn't feel like it. I am all icky and tired. I totally could have but decided that I could take one night off and not die...So and I did and I am still here...Kinda wishing I had gone though with it but at 11pm there isn't much time left for regretting things like that!!

5) My husband sucks - Well not really, but still. I am aware that this is yet another complication from #1, but I stand by my theory that if I have to acknowledge my emotional neediness for the next four days, he could ALSO acknowledge it and be nicer to me. Just saying...

6) Word Searches - I am addicted to word searches. I buy books of them. I buy the super hard puzzle ones the stupid easy ones...I even help my daughter with the ones that come on her kid's menu at restaurants  L loves them too...Granted she doesn't do well with the backwards words but she is learning. Anyways...I can spend most of my hours a day doing them and not even noticed!

7) Treadmill vs. Jazzercise - So...I loved Jazzercise...I love dancing to the music...I love the strength training at the end...But lately, I am finding myself...bored! I watch the clock...count down the songs PRAYING it to be over...I have no idea why. On the other hand, when I run on the treadmill (Not something I ever thought I would do in general let alone like) despite the fact that I am an exhausted, sweaty, panting, barely coherent pile of gooo...I want to keep going. I am relieved that it is over as well as sad. I just feel so GOOD when I am done...Something I don't get from Jazzercise any more

8) UMSL - I love school, but I am SO totally done. I came to the sad realization that if I get all B's in my remaining nine classes my GPA will drop down to a 3.2. That will mean that the only Latin honors I will qualify for is Cum Laude. This...makes me sad...Putting to much pressure on myself you may ask? Why yes I believe that you are right...but it is what it is and I am how I am...lol

9) Cheap romance novels - I love reading books...all books...pretty much anything with words. I can waste as many hours reading a book as I can doing word searches. I love them and I adore the fact that Amazon.com offers free ones pretty much all the time. I particularly love the "Victorian era" romance novels. There is something about reading a story of two people that shouldn't be a match falling in love...not sure why...I am sure some psychoanalyzing could tell me A LOT about what this says about my subconscious!

10) I gots my nails did - My mom typically buys me clothes when she comes to visit. Following my Lap-Band surgery she has decided that this would be a waste of money and I have to agree. Instead she sponsors  me getting my nails done on a regular basis...Something I LOVE but can never justify the $16 to get it done. It falls under the heading of not taking care of myself. So she pays for it. I compensate by only getting them done every two weeks. I keep them short and I let the color choose me...Like todays...

St. Patty's Day? Great excuse!!

Ok That is my ten...and boy was it fun...Just a few more days of posting everyday...what wonderful things you/I will learn about me...lol

Wednesday

Today was AWESOME!

With L on Spring Break and having decided that she gets to live at Papa's house until she goes back to school I decided that we needed to spend some time together.

So Mother/Daughter Day was born!

We went to Sweet and Sassy to get her hair cut!

Went to Build-A-Bear (The greatest and most evil store EVER!)

Went to lunch @ Emperor's Palace...Her choice because it has a chocolate fountain.

Went to see Daddy on his lunch break...Something we have NEVER done! I haven't spent lunch with my hubby since before L was born.

Rode the Carousel and had cookies with Daddy @ the Mall

L wanted to go play...but HAD to have her brother...so we went to the park with "Buddy"

AWESOME DAY!!!!

Had so much fun...spent WAY too much money...Wouldn't change a thing

I even got in a 30 minute run!!!

Two post in one day...but I couldn't resist

LOOK AT WHAT I NOTICED!!!!

March 2013 - 304 pounds

November 2013 - 330 pounds

   














The first photo is from November 2012 about a month before my Lap Band Surgery

The second one is from today...It is featured in my other post from today but look at the difference  I mean other then my HUGE change in hair color!!!!

This is the first time ever I have noticed a physical change!

Tuesday...

Well, I as promised I am blogging again today...

Today has been a good day...School was boring which isn't a huge change. I am so done...I just want to graduate. I have been in school since my daughter was 6 months old...ugh!

Food wise I did great today. I am not sure when the change occurred but the torture that I used to go though when I was making food choices seem to be gone. Making the "right" choices don't feel like a sacrifice. They feel like choice I want to make. I would much rather have a protein shake then an order of frys.

Physical activity is also going well. I had a kid free afternoon so after eating some lunch I went to Jazzercise where I burned 679 calories (according to my Body Media band). After which I had to run out to my dad's to pick up one of my children. Apparently my daughter has figured out that spring break means she doesn't have school during the week and has decided to live at Grandpa's house. So my little man and I came home.

After I put him to bed I did Week 2 Day 2 of my Couch25K program, burning 418 calories according to my band. Keep in mind these numbers include the calories I would have burned had I been sitting around doing nothing. I burn on average 1.6 calories a minute at rest. So that is 96 calories an hour and 48 calories in a half hour. Anyways...I am pretty proud of myself...sore but proud.

My awesome sweaty goodness after my SECOND workout of the day!

Off until tomorrow!

Many things Monday

1) Mobile- I am typing on my tablet/phone. My lack of desire to move the eight feet to my desk is going to be my spelling downfall. ...Fair warning!!!

2) The Biggest Loser- I have to admit that this is one of my guilty pleasure.  I have been watching it for the last seven years. Last season I was SOO disappointed in the show and almost didnt watch this season. In some ways I am glad that I did and in someways I think I could do something better with my life.  Anyways...I am sitting here watching this weeks episode with the finale coming soon and my only thought..."Why are the all still fat?" I mean if you are doing something like the biggest loser shouldnt you be thin when it is over if you have been on "The Ranch" the entire time?

3) Fish Tacos- OMG... my obsession with this particular entree started after going to Ruby Tuesday last weekend. I plotted for an entire week about making them at home...and I did! Four times actually...The best part about this is that for one taco with four ounces of fish, mixed greens, shredded cheese, baja sauce, and a carb balance tortilla is only 247 calories with 26 grams of protein.

4) Couch to 5K- Well I started over...I didnt take the time to run any the last week so I just decided to start from scratch...Hoping to get up and do it tomorrow before school.

5) Spring Break- not mine, my daughter's. She is spending her third night at Papa's house...I am pretty sure she will live there for the rest of break.

6) UMSL- My university is trying to kill me. I have two semesters left until I graduate with my Bachelor's in Accounting and I have the most jacked up schedule for the fall. I am going to have class five days a week, versus the two I have now, two nights two days and one online class.. F@#$!!! I will not let it get me down...I am so close to being done!

7) Goals- For this week: Blog every day. Workout every day even if it is a short one. Keep my carbs low and my protein high.  Appreciate how far I have come. Survive my Finance midterm

Ok...that is about all I can think off.. until tomorrow!!!

All carbs are not created equal

Or are they?

This is the question that I have been asking myself since I purchased my first Atkins TV dinner a few weeks ago. I remember when I was a kid and my dad was following the Atkins diet (back in the late 90's) he used to constantly tell me that Ranch dressing really only had 1 gram of carbs because it naturally had 3 grams of Dietary Fiber which counteracted the 4 grams the dressing held

To be honest...I never understood this...

I never really bought into it to be honest.

Until today that is...

When the FDA made the requirements on how the nutrition label on food should look and what information it should contain they decided that while total carbohydrates are required it also lists dietary fiber and sugar separately  They both attribute to the total number of carbohydrates in that particular food.

It is the difference of how they affect the body that is key...

Sugar is easily digestible. It spikes your over all blood sugar and raises insulin levels...higher insulin levels lead to fat storage...That is why we should strive to keep our sugar intake low.

Dietary fiber is a carbohydrate...however, unlike the easily digestible sugar...it can't be digest. It simply travels though the stomach, small intestine, and colon and out of the body. Not calories or glucose are processed by the body.

My conclusion, and this is only my opinion, Dietary Fiber doesn't count...at the end of the day you can take the total number of carbohydrates and subtract the total number of fiber to determine the carbohydrates that have affected your blood sugar levels over the day.

Do with this information what you will but I found it interesting...

Keep an eye out for my Many Things Monday...it will happen I promise!

Week 11 redo...

Beginning Weight (12/20/2012) - 330.6

Last Week's Weight- 305.0

Today's Weight- 304.0

Total Weight Loss- 26.6

Thanks to all the people that commented on my Wednesday weigh in. That is the one thing that I love about this blogging community is that we all support one another.

So to explain, my husband and I have been on this weight loss journey together. Granted he is significantly smaller then me but had some extra weight that he wanted to lose and just as he supports me I support him. Ok so now that I have explained out lovely supportive relationship...lol...The reason for my day change is that my husband and I both use our weigh in day as our higher calorie high carb day. Well this doesn't bode well for me when I eat high on Wednesday and on Friday. So I am changing to weigh in on the same day as my wonderful hubby.

So in order to do this right I need to log what my weight is as of a Friday. So here it is!

Lack luster week 11

Beginning Weight (12/20/2012) - 330.6

Last Week's Weight- 305.0

Today's Weight- 304.4

Total Weight Loss- 26.2

Well I lost .6 this week. According to my calorie burn/nutrition it should have been 1.2 pounds...But if there is one thing I have learned in the last year is that calories in DO NOT equal calories out.

Possible reasons for this lack luster result:

GIRL SCOUT COOKIES!

I haven't had any in three days but I did eat them. While I am 99% sure I recorded 99% of the cookies I ate I have little doubt that they were the main culprit.

Thank god I didn't gain this week. With my kinda down attitude (a side effect of me feeling under the weather) it would have just made it worse.

I have a fill today so hopefully I will post again later!

Thanks for reading!!!

Many things Monday!

• Well over the weekend I began to feel lousy... Apparently I am getting my little boy's cold which I personally think is unfair. Moms with small  children should have like a 10 year immunity to any illness...just saying...
• I woke up this morning feeling icky. Didn't even get out of my jammies until 5pm when I had to go to L's parent teacher conference. She is awesome as usual if only a little talkative, but then again she is my daughter so that isn't a real big shocker!
• Despite my feeling icky I decided to start my Couch-to-5K program. I bought this cool app on my phone. It is almost dummy proof. I just run when the trainer lady tells me to run and I walk when I am supposed to walk. I was pretty proud of myself. I went jogging while my daughter was at Dance class. I typically sit in my car and read a book. Instead I did the following:
• Activity time: 30 minutes
• Walked: 1.13 miles
• Jogged: .55 miles
• Burned: 459 calories
• Pace: 17:53/mile
  
• This is almost an NSV for me today...I DID NOT eat a single girl scout cookie today! That is pretty self explanatory but AWESOME!
  
• I also set up a Facebook page for my lovely blog. I am pretty sure that 99% of my friends and family are getting tired of seeing all my weight loss stuff being posted so I figured I would set up a page for anyone that wanted to keep in touch and what not. You should totally check it out and "like" it we can be buddies on Facebook too!!!

Holy Moly

OMG....That lovely white board you see above is my home made "Slide Board" also known as a Laterial Trainer. (I mentioned it in my FFF post) I have been looking forward to using this for the first time since I had decided to make one.

The while thing was once again the brilliant idea of my wonderful hubby.

It is FUN!...but good lord my inner thighs are all shaky and already sore...It is going to suck tomorrow morning!

For those of you want one but don't want to pay $175 here is what I did.

1 - 7'x2' melamine board ($31 at home depot in the aisle with all the specialty boards)
2 - 2"x3" boards each 2' long. ($1.92 for an 8'piece...Just like the melimine board Home Depot will cut it to size for you
2 - 6' pieces of pipe insulation for 1" pipes cut into a total of 4 2' pieces ($1.67 each)
Screws, drill, and staple gun
Non skid drawer liner

Cover 2"x3" board with foam (I used the staple gun and put two layers of foam). Screw into melamine board (pre drill with a bit the same size as the screws you use. If you don't you will crack the board and have to start over)  Flip over board and staple drawer liner, this keeps it from sliding across the floor when your foot slams into the stopper.

Flip over, coat with a thin layer of Pledge, don your wool socks and get to sliding.

Calorie burn - 160 calories burned for 15 minutes on slide board.

FFF

1a. Hard to believe it is Friday already. It feels like I had just done one of these...ok that doesn't really count as one so I will do another one.

1b. Made myself a "Slide Board" also knows as a Laterial Exercise Trainer. I am excited to have something to do that will work my lower body more. I hate my hips and legs they are far too large for what I would like. This should solve that problem.

2.  Girl Scout cookies are EVIL! The saddest part about eating them is that while they weren't horrible like eating a dog biscuit or anything but they weren't an awesome treat worth the carbs I consumed. I can't make any promises that I won't eat more but I am going to try and keep it to a minimum.

3. Starting Monday I am going to begin training for a 5k. Not sure when I will run one but it WILL happen. I don't that saying "Starting Monday" sounds like one of those procrastination phrases but I actually have a good reason. The Couch 2 5K program is a 3 days a week program and I plan on doing it Monday, Wednesday, and Friday...So I am waiting for Monday...Let the abuse begin since I have no intention of giving up Jazzercise.

4. 26 hours and counting...I only have 26 credit hours remaining on my bachelors program. I am SO running out of steam on this endeavor. I went back to school when L was six months old and she is now 6 years 5 months old...lol. The sooner I graduate the sooner I can start my Masters Program...I am going to be in school for the rest of my life.

5. Lap-Band...Number 4 is one of the main reasons that I finally chose to get my wonderful band. Between my two kids, my wonderful husband, and school my life is nuts. I need all the help I can get to be healthy to take care of my family. It is nice to know that I have something in my corner when the shitty days hit and I want no part of dieting or being "on track".

Away we go!!