Crazy Busy and some new bandsters...

Hey everyone... I hope you're all doing well! I've been CRAZY busy at work, and honestly don't have a whole lot to update you on from the band front. I'm loose - I feel like I could eat a cow... I have an appointment on Friday to chat with the NP about that, so we'll see how it goes. Until then, the rest of this week and next leave little to be desired as they are packed full with appointments! Oh well... job security I guess. ~~~ Also, check out some new bandsters needing followers... Jennifer at "My Lovely Lapband", Kate at "Unleashing the Thin Girl",Brie at "Weight Loss Bandit", and Dalia at DaliaGarces.

Honestly?!?!? Yes.

This is the first month since being banded 15 months+ ago, that I have gained weight instead of losing it. I'm up 2.3 pounds from my lowest in June.

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There. I said it. I always told myself I would be honest with this blog, and I can't tell you how much it PAINS me to write this. I seriously contemplated ignoring it until those 2.3 pounds were gone and never admitting it to you or to myself. BUT, I need to, or else I just cheat myself. I have not done well this month. Why? Well, I could blame it on the heat, vacation, blah, blah, blah... honestly? I've been lazy...both mentally and physically... and cheating the system a little bit (i.e. drinking with my meals and sliders). Phew. It is out. Time to move beyond it... So here is my plan to fix it, 'cause the choices aren't okay.

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1. I have an appointment scheduled next week with my NP - yesterday I was able to eat an entire 6" roast beef hoagie (including the roll). That shouldn't happen... I'm hungry about 2.5 hours after a meal, and so I think I might need a little "tweak"...
2. I am reloading the house with lots of fruit, veggies and lean protein
3. I am re-starting my 10K training plan which I've attached as a picture... click on it to see a large, generic version... So, that means I am also starting to run again... Time to break out the sneakers and running gear, and start fresh. I have built up my schedule of races into the fall (I am signed up or will be for the following races) which will get me to my goal of 37 miles before (okay, 5 days after) my 38th birthday:

• 5K in Richmond, Sept. 18th
• Komen 5K - Chicago, Sept. 25th
• Ashland Harvest 5K - Ashland, Oct 16th
• Wicked 10K - Virginia Beach, Oct. 30th
• Run-A-Latke 5K - Richmond, Nov. 21st
• Busch Gardens 8K - W'burg, Dec. 5t

That is a start... I'll keep you posted!

Just can't beat friends and family...

This past month has been hectic... our trip to FL, lots of little visits with friends here and there, and then last weekend we went to my girlfriend's family beach house in MD. Yesterday, my cousin and her girls came to visit on their way back to VA Beach then Japan (they are moving there for the Navy)... I'm glad that the rest of the summer is QUIET - i.e. nothing major planned - I need some down time to get back on track with weight loss and exercise. But when you get to see people you haven't seen in a while, there is something wonderful about that!!!

Den & Lu -- Ocean City, MD

Me and Ali - Fishtails, Ocean City MD

The Fogler Clan (a bit sunburned) outside Fishtails

Ali, Ed & the kids on the dock

Me and Lynn last night... being "served" by the girls!

Jaime, me, Peyton, Lucia, Lynn & Sydney

Lucia and Jaime snuggling

Lynn and her girls are moving to Japan - I hate to think it could be another two years before we see them again... definitely have to figure out how to go over there to visit!!!

17 months ago...

I was banded... February 20, 2009... It was, by far, the

BEST. DECISION. EVER.

Here are some ramblings about realizing this today... My numbers may not be as high as some others, but you know what? I'm still successful. It's interesting, because the first year I used to track every month's "bandiversary" and really look at the pounds. Not so much anymore... so what is different now? Well, here are some thoughts in no particular order...

• I feel great. I am running and walking. I am exercising in ways I never did 17 months ago. And it isn't as much as it could be, but it happens... and will keep happening.
• I went back and checked some goals from one of my early posts... guess what? I've met them!
• I am getting closer and closer to ONLY being considered overweight by BMI standards. When I started, my BMI was 47... now I am at 32.
• I can shop in the regular stores / sections now. No plus sizes needed anymore.
• My weight loss is A LOT slower... I've been at the same 10 pound range for over 6 months, and that is my own fault. But I am also not gaining. That would have been different 17 months ago.
• I find myself forgetting that I have the band - it used to be an all-consuming thing, and I would feel my port alot. I still feel it, but not as much. And I do forget sometimes about "the rules"... i.e. drinking with my meals (not too), not choosing sliders, etc... but all-in-all, I go with protein first and make a hell of a lot more healthy choices than I used to.

I went back and looked at my weekly weight loss... taking the first two weeks (liquid diet) and last couple weeks of this stall out of the equation, I'm looking at an average of 1 pound per week / 4-5 pounds per month. Fantastic. I'll take it slowly and steadily, because that means I am less likely to fall back into the old habits. I do wish I had kept better track of my body measurements - I think I'll have Dennis break out the measuring tape sometime this week... and I do want to get over this hump. BUT... if it takes another 6 months to get through it the right way, that is okay too. I'm not scared about my health anymore. I love living. I look forward to doing things with my family and don't think about what I can't do first... When I find myself facing something physical that would have deterred me in the past, I'm willing to try it now - and have succeeded at it every time. This lapband is a great tool, if I choose to use it correctly... which I am proud to say that I am choosing the vast majority of the time. Yes, I've made poor choices. BUT, more often than not, I make the right choice. And I can't wait to live the rest of my life with this tool, and use it to continue being successful!

A few HHI & FL pix, including one of Jacquie & Me...

Hey everyone... back from an awesome vacation... what a blast - I could put up 100's of pix, but I'll just put a few of my favorites. I'm about two pounds up - need to work it off... Look forward to catching up with all of you soon!

One of my favorite pix... a live starfish in a tidal pool...

Meeting Jacquie in person - SO FUN! Behind us, "Lucy Ho's" - we just giggled at the name!!!

Lucia and Me in an Ice Cream Scooping contest (more details on that later)

Lucia and Den - St. Augustine (Crescent Beach)

The three of us at the Oldest School House

My Mom & Dad and us... Crescent Beach

My God-sisters and God-Mother at Michael's Memorial... the best god-family in the world!

Officially "met" my first blogging bandster buddy today!

Hurray! What a great way to finish up vacation... Meeting a new friend in person! I just had a great hour chatting with Jacquie (I can't wait to lose it with the Band) and her delightful hubby Steve at the Prime Outlets north of St. Augustine... I felt like I knew her forever! The picture will be coming after this weekend when I can upload my photos (thanks Steve for taking it for us)... If this was anything like what Chicago is going to be like, prepare yourselves for a weekend full of non-stop-chatter, about the band (of course) and also just about life in general! I had a great time - can't wait to see her again in a few months in Chicago! Thanks Jacquie!!! And thanks too for (a) the iced coffee and (b) being one of my first 5K team members! We're getting a full team going! I think we're up to around 8-10ish!!!

I guess it is a good thing...

That I am way tighter than I've been in a while, here on vacation... Last night I got stuck on a bite of bbq rib at the pirate pool party / bbq... Given the amount of temptation (i.e. not great food choices), I am glad that the band is kicking in! Oh, and BTW - we tried those "Late Night Cheeseburger Doritos" that were mentioned last week on someone's blog???? OH. MY. GOODNESS... they taste EXACTLY like a McDonald's cheeseburger!!! Clearly these will be a vacation-only-treat (NOT allowed in the house).

Am I in Heaven???

No, Disney's Hilton Head Island resort for the next 36 hours... (wish it were more)... Then to St. Augustine. 5 hours in the pool today with Lucia - she is going to CRASH tonight... Off to find dinner - something seafood and high protein as I've been pretty tight today! I love vacation... even when I DO have to log-in once or twice to check email...

Not sure what I did, but too late now...

What did I do??? Well, I signed up to be the Team Captain for the Komen race for the Cure at the BOOBS Weekend in September! I guess I'm committed now!!! ~~~ So to all of you in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Bandits, please check out the BOOBS site and sign up to run or walk with me! There is also a 1 mile / 5 K walk for those of you who don't think you can do (or don't want to do) the 5K run!!! The link to our team is here.

Before & After Pix (painting / house)

3 posts in one day! Amazing... Well, The painting is done... YAY! I am SO EXCITED - the rooms look completely different... so here is the grand unveiling... just know that I haven't put anything back on the walls or even cleaned up much... I am planning to take my time putting things back, and while I'm doing that, also weed crap out. The only thing left is that eventually we're going to tile the backsplash and around the marble on the fireplace. Oh... and I'm excited to say that my butt is a lot smaller now too since last October! (see that picture below)

BEFORE PIX

Family Room

Kitchen with the original color cabinets / old paint & big butt

AFTER PIX

Same Kitchen, Cream (yes, very light cream) Cabinets, "Clary Sage" paint

view from the kitchen into the family room

New Family room colors... (Artichoke on the Bottom and Tan on top with white trim)

View of the fireplace trim

View into the hall & laundry room... used to be yellow

View into the bathroom... used to be red & yellow

Verdict? No fill

And I'm okay with that. I've lost 3 pounds since the last time I saw her (5 weeks-ish or so) according to her scales... She wants me to keep on with the veggies and protein, and when I mentioned how tired I've been in the afternoon, she wants me to add a PM snack to see if that will help (yogurt, cottage cheese, apple, etc...). She also wants me to monitor how tired I am next week to see if being on vacation helps - and thinks that the headaches are weather related AND probably induced to some extent by all the painting we've had done lately... next appt in 2 months unless anything changes!

To fill or not to fill, that is the question

OK - Shakespeare I'm not... I have an appointment at lunch to see the NP at my doctor's office. Last time I saw her, about 5 weeks ago, she wanted me to be under 200 pounds. I am by my scale, but not sure what hers is going to say, especially with all the water I've been drinking the last few days. When I went in last time, I was having a bit of acid reflux, so she took a "smidge" out - literally a few drops... however, although I have restriction, I'm kind of feeling like I need one or two of those drops back in. I can chug water like there is no restriction at all - and I thought that there was supposed to be that "draining" feeling a little bit - I guess we'll see what she says! If nothing else, maybe she can suggest something for the headache - I've had it since Tuesday morning and have taken Tylenol, etc... for it - just sits there dully, behind my eyes... GO AWAY HEADACHE! Hoping that it is just the heat and maybe (although not sure how) being dehydrated. Update'cha later!

Excited for the kitchen makeover to be done...

OK - this is totally a non-weight-loss related post, but as I've mentioned, we're having some pretty major painting done in the kitchen... so, just as a "tease", here are a few pictures of the new hardware we're putting on the cabinets... The "twig" drawer pulls go on all the drawers, including in the bathroom and laundry room... and then the The fork-knife-spoon openers are on the cabinets in the kitchen. They make me SO happy when I look at them!!! Little silly things, you know... And the best part is I got them on Ebay (and they were CHEAP but great quality - satin nickle)

Once the painting is completed and I can get back to uploading my pictures, I'll post a different kind of "before" and "after"!! However, it might not be for a while though as we're going on vacation next week...

~*~*~

Oh - and as usual, thanks to all of you for your kind comments on my last post - this is such a great community we're a part of!

IT'S TIME!!! Honesty, slacking, running and a BOOBS Challenge/Request...

Time to bust out the I-pod, headphones and sports bra. Time to start running again. I just read Jen's (A Southern Girl's Journey's) post today, and her goals are INCREDIBLE.... 10K's, half marathons.... all before the end of the year. I remember when I used to get posts about how I inspired people to run. That still blows my mind. Honestly, me?!?!?! Haven't you people figured out that I'm somehow a poser, or a slacker, and somehow not really worthy of bandster recognition?!?!? (BIG, BIG sigh... for those of you who have followed for a while, I think mean Sarah is visiting tonight.) Honestly though? Sometimes I feel like I really am not worthy of this. I feel like a bandster failure, in that even though I've lost 80 pounds, I still don't love exercise, and don't want to do it every day (yes, my sane side knows this is nuts). And I find myself falling back into those old habits (Glass or two of Chardonnay, anyone?!?!?). Somehow though, I feel like I'm not living up to being a role-model to others, although damn-it, I AM HONEST with myself... and with you... So, it's time to be keep on being honest. Why stop now, after 15+ months, right?!?!

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So, here goes. I haven't run a race since March when I did the Ukrop's Monument Ave 10K. And I honestly haven't run much since mid-April at all. Chalk it up to laziness, vacation, school ending, any excuse possible. And yes, it is HOT. 76 degrees this morning at 5:30 AM. 104 degrees when I got home from work. And yes, I still haven't actually RUN (i.e. all the way) a full 5K.... well, it is time to re-start and re-focus. I WANT TO RUN A 5K. Not have to walk part of it - not even 2/10 of a mile. I want to run it all. SO.... I walked 2 miles this morning, and will be out at 5:45 to meet my amazing running buddies, Chip & Ali, who haven't stopped running (unlike me) tomorrow morning. Yes, it will probably be a lot of walk-run-walk-run-walk, but it is better than nothing. And this week, I'm signing up for my races to get me to my goal of 37 miles before turning 38... And for you new bandsters? The "Head-Games" don't stop just because you get banded... just a thought...

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So... the Challenge/Request: Who's in for RUNNING whatever 5K with me in September at the BOOBS get-together?!?!? AND WHO IS IN FOR KICKING MY ASS TO FINISH IT ACTUALLY RUNNING?!?!? I will be running something on Saturday morning in Chicago, even if it just the Miracle Mile by myself (not Sunday - my plane leaves too early to have to figure out showering after a race). And I need something to work toward!!!! And BOOBS committee?!?!? If you're reading this, I need an update please!!! Let me know what 5k to sign up for to have people to run with... or what the updated plans are - I'm SO excited to meet everyone!!!

Great Weekend... & Bra excitement

(Dad - if you're reading, proceed at your own risk - but you're watching Lucia this week so you shouldn't be reading my blog anyways!).

We picked Lucia up from camp Friday night... we had a bit of time to kill, so grabbed dinner on our way to camp and still had about 1/2 an hour. We were right next to Nordstroms, and I have desperately needed to be fitted for a while, so I popped on in, and managed to find an available clerk - wha-la... got fitted. The verdict? I'm down 7+ inches and at least a cup size from my highest... Back in the day I was measuring a 44D... now I'm a 38C. I'll admit to being a bit confused as she said I measured a 36 (do they go a size up?), but regardless, the bras felt great. Their semi-annual sale starts in a week, so they let me pre-order some Wacoals and a Spanx bra (OMG - SO Comfy!)... they'll ship next week. Yay! I knew that I needed new bras - LOTS of room in the cup and also they were on the tightest hooks and not tight at all... So yay! Haven't been under a 40 in a LONG time.

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We headed north to NJ on Saturday morning, and brought Lu to my folks house... had a nice weekend... Got to see my Grandmother who turns 92 next month, spent some good time with my folks, and yesterday we went over to PA to see one of my best-friends, Kristin... We hung out at their pool and bbq'd all afternoon - SO fun! She has a little girl that Lucia gets along with wonderfully, and we were able to spend about 4 hours just catching up on each other's lives. Not nearly enough time, but I'll take what I can get. When we got home, we took my GM out to dinner with my parents, then decided to brave the fireworks. Got a great place and really had fun. The worst part was going home - lots of traffic, so Dad decided to take go another route to avoid the backup, and we ended up going thru Camden, NJ (think the worst parts of the Bronx or Jersey City and you get the picture)... at any rate, it was interesting. Got to see a WHOLE other kind of firework display (i.e. gunfire)... glad we got home in one piece! This morning, Dennis and I headed home, leaving Lucia up there at Camp G&G (Grandma&Grandpa) for the week (sniff!). I miss her already, but I know she's going to have a great time. Food-wise, I have NO IDEA how I did... I tried to make decent choices where possible, but it isn't always a reality for me up there. I'll see tomorrow AM...

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The painting in the kitchen/family/mud/bathroom should finish up in the next few days. The trim is done (Thank God - Oil Paint - the smell is finally starting to go away). I can't wait for it to be done so I can get my house back in order! We're going to start installing the hardware (got fork/knife/spoon door pulls) tonight. Also ready for it to be done so I can upload pix and show you the results because everything has been unplugged and shoved in my living/dining room area...

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That's it for now - have a great week back to work for those of you who aren't on vacation!

A few things before the long weekend

Just a quick post... Up 0.5 this week... Will keep on plugging away at the goals I listed. I tried on a few things in my "grow-in-to" stash, and I can get some 14's on, BUT they do NOT look good (picture an over stuffed sausage). So, I think that it is a good goal for me! ~~~ We pick Lucia up tonight at camp... I've missed her and can't wait to hear all about it! Then tomorrow, we're heading to NJ for the weekend and Lu will stay up there next week for Camp G&G (Grandma & Grandpa). She is excited about that - I know she'll be fine, but I'm kind of sad that she's leaving again! At least we get the weekend together with her. I'm looking forward to seeing one of my best friends who I really haven't seen in a while (at least 50 pounds)... looking forward to the reactions! ~~~ Side note - not sure if others of you got an "annonymous" comment with random links embedded on your last post, but I wonder if it is a virus of some kind? At any rate, I deleted it (trash can icon below the post)... sorry if it was legitimate, but the content wasn't relavant and I'm not taking any chances!

Almost 200, Mini-goal check in and new goal to add...

I am 1, count it, ONE follower away from having 200 followers!!! I never thought I'd get there when I started blogging - hopefully someone will get me OVER that number!

~~~

So, I'm checking in on my short-term goals today, and I give myself an average score of a B / B-. I guess I've done okay overall, but some areas are not great... however, I also have not failed completely. Room for improvement, which I will re-focus myself on! Because in needing to be completely honest, here is where I am with the mini goals (my end date is July 4th):

1. 72 ounces of Water per day. Score = A (I've hit this goal every day)
2. No alcohol. Period. Score = B- (I've had the equivalent of about 3 drinks in 11 days. That is pretty darn good for where I was prior to June 19th... But it isn't none. However, I also didn't drink more than 3 sips with my SIL the other night which is a HUGE accomplishment.)
3. Run 10 miles / 6 hours of exercise. Score = D- (only done 2 miles / 1 hour or so to date)
4. Take better care of me, especially while Lucia is at camp. Score = B (went out to dinner with some girlfriends last night and hopefully will have food porn to share next week when the painting is done and I can upload pix... tonight is dinner with Dennis on the porch and just getting my stuff together in the house - quietly - or loudly - doesn't matter!!!)
5. Protein First, but also get in the fruit & veggies. Score = B (I've really been focusing on getting those veggies in!)

Clearly, I need to work on the exercise. Big time. It's been beautiful here, with no humidity, so I think I'll go for a walk tonight and/or run tomorrow morning since Lucia is still at camp. At any rate, I did have another point, and that is what Jen pointed out today on her blog... Specifcally, as we get lower on the scale, the weight loss is slower... and maybe instead of getting frustrated about that, we should be thinking in a parallell manner about another non-scale-number goal. So in taking a cue from her, I'm going to state that my next goal (which the above mini-goals will help me get too) is the following: to fit in a solid size 14 pants. I am wearing 16's now... some skirts fit in 14, but because they are "flowy" (i.e. don't fit tightly on the hips)... I'm going to dig out a size 14 from my "grow-in-to" clothes, and hang them up as motivation! ~~~ Happy 4th of July to everyone - hope you all have a great long-weekend!!!