Inching my way back to 40 pounds lost

The scale has been up and down a lot this week, but hey, at least it's going down as the general trend.

Daily weighing definitely helps me stay accountable for what I eat every day! Otherwise, today I might have just gone of the deep end, but now I've just been reminded, oh yeah, i actually want to lose weight! So that means don't pig out!

Anyone out there have posh NYC restaurant recommendations?

My boss just sent me this fab list of the NYC's most stunning restaurants, and I'm happy to say I've been to a few of them. Spice Market was particularly gorgeous!

One perk of my current job has been that it's enabled me to eat at some of NYC's finest restaurants -- given that my boss is a total foodie, we do posh things for sales meetings and we used to have vendors take us out for really incredible lunches.

Sometimes posh=small servings, so it doesn't even mean I have to totally over do it.

Sooo...I think I need one more fancy restaurant outing in NYC before we move to Austin.

Any of you guys have recommendations? I know Colleen recently went to Asiate and loved it. So that's on my list. Any other suggestions?

Time for a fill! Failed the protein test

It's 5pm and I'm super hungry, so i guess that means that I failed today's protein test and need a fill.

I actually started getting a hint of being hungry at around 3pm. Just an hour and a half in to the 4 hour test. But then at 4pm it was quite clear.

I had a mtg at 4pm so I was able to distract myself for that hour, and now it's 5pm and the stomach is all out growling and I'm all If-I-dont-eat-now-I'll-be-shoving-food-in-my-face-when-I-get-home-hungry!

So since I have an appointment with Dr. K on Feb 10th, guess I'll be asking for a fill while I'm at it!

Oops! Missed an NYU appointment

I just called about availability at NYU, and it turns out that I had an appointment Jan 13th at NYU that I somehow completely forgot about!

That's lame of me. I'm so flaky sometimes! These days with doctors if I dont walk out with a little card with my time, then I don't remember. I guess that has to do with putting all my appointments on my work calendar which i can't access out of work.

However, since we're moving, I thought it'd be good to see Dr. K before we leave (rather than Gaspar). Whether I get a fill or not. And surprisingly, she can see me early Feb.

Though I have to say Gaspar is just SO MUCH BETTER at doing fills. It didn't hurt last time!
But i need to see Dr. K because I want to ask her about getting pregnant and whether she has recommendations for doctors in Austin.

It'll be interesting to see whether i get a little lecture about my 5 pound weight gain. Fingers crossed I'll have taken off some of the weight and then some by the time the appointment comes around (Feb 10th).

AND that'll be just after my 6 month bandiversary. I really expected to have lost more than 50 pounds by this point. However, at this point I'm at 34 pounds down, just more than 25% of the way to goal.

My version of the protein test

So I am currently trying out the 4 oz. protein test. As you'll recall I mentioned that this will tell me legitimately whether I need a fill. Based on yesterday, I'm thinking that I do.

So between 1 and 1.30pm, I had a Morning Star Farms soy riblet for lunch. It's actually 5 ounces (rather than 4). It does have some bbq sauce on it that is rather sweet so hopefully that doesn't mess up the test. Just before lunch I had a diet coke so I'm hoping that isn't a problem either (the caffeine), but here goes. Will post later on the results.

I'm quite content and pretty much full now. According to the test, if I'm not hungry by 5.30 then I don't need a fill.

Do you guys think the bbq sauce or pre-meal diet coke will affect my outcome?

"Soldier On"

I got a real lift from this post from Amy on her blog, Once Upon a Time in the Land of Cheese and Sunkist. She was feeling down but at the end she says, "You cannot get depressed...You must be thankful...Soldier on!"

I love it! Thanks Amy. As I commented on her site, "Soldier On" will become my new mantra for 2010!

Gotta be honest here

I was just emailing with another bandster and thought I'd get some blog feedback as well.

When I signed up for this, I thought the actual being banded part would be harder. That I'd have more trouble with the band and that in general my day to day eating would be more of a challenge. What I can eat and how much and with other people knowing.

But with the exception of getting full a little sooner, I feel the same. Good and bad.

I expected this whole weight loss thing to just "click" into place rather than it being the same hard work as before. Sometimes (not always), it feels like nothing in my head has changed, so I don't understand why some people are able to lose it if they had the same eating issues pre-surgery as I did.

I guess, bottom line, if it's still all about hard work and "dieting" or "permanently healthy eating," then I find myself wondering, how is this different than without the band where i just had to use willpower. i guess the answer is that it takes less will power now?

I've read people talking about how its hard to get the calories in and I dont understand that. Mentally, I'm still that girl who wants to eat. How did other people get that to change?

I am still going to move forward and work the band. This isn't me bailing at all. It's just that the issue came up when thinking about this and why I haven't been as successful as I could be, so I have to just put it out there.

I'm going to work my tips and techniques, but mentally, how do I change my mindset?

Easier or harder with a spouse?

When I told people Alex and I were getting banded together (a month apart), we all thought it would make the whole process so much easier.

In some ways it did. I loved having someone else to go to the meetings with and the doctors appointments and someone to share the band experience with. Someone to advise and someone who gets it!

Alex is all that and mostly it's been really great doing this with someone else.

However, the challenge is that in doing this together, we do all of it together.

So when I'm doing poorly, I'm a bad influence on Alex. And when Alex is doing poorly, then he's a bad influence on me. Like today's cookie incident. I was being so good, then he gave me cookies!

However, I am just as often the bad influence. Like this past weekend when I was so stressed and wanting to completely veg (and pig) out! I ordered take out and had lots of bad food around when Alex was wanting to be good.

There are times when we're both good together, but mostly each of us has our ups and downs and the other has to figure out how to work that out.

I'm especially curious to hear from anyone else out there with a spouse or partner who has also had WLS?

Reducing Carbs and Counting Calories

I feel like I'm still catching up blogging since A) I was out of pocket a bit with the sales meeting and B) my home computer isn't working well so I'm having to borrow Alex's.

I'm sure I'll have a better laptop from work once we move, but for now, I prefer Alex's. He of course doesn't prefer that.

I mostly managed no carbs today with two exceptions. I was SO starving late afternoon that I allowed myself a small package of wheat thins and then Alex gave me a couple of cookies on the way home (I'll be posting about that separately).

In addition to "reducing" carbs today (hence increasing protein), I also counted my calories. I'll be counting going forward. I just need to in order to stay on track.

I'm actually hungry

I think I'm actually hungry, not just snacky!

My stomach is growling!

However, I'm holding off on my fill decision until the protein test. Despite having cut carbs, I had a light lunch as well as too much sugar and caffeine today which could have affected why I'm hungry this afternoon.

If it isn't really all about a cookie, then what is it that i really want?!?

Thank you all so much for your feedback on my last post about working the band or getting a fill.

I've decided to take a small step forward and cut carbs. Being a vegetarian, giving up carbs can be hard because many of my meals are carb based.

Since I am still in an "eeeaaaatttt" mentality, I decided to start small. Although no carbs is kind of huge for me, it's just one thing.

I've told myself I can have whatever I want within reason, just no typical carbs (bread, chips, rice, pasta, donuts (ha!), cooookiesss and cakes.) I have not yet outlawed sweets.

It's cold and rainy out this morning, so I grabbed a mocha decaf coffee and had some soy sausages. I'm not hungry but I'm snacky. It's just mental. So I decided to feed the urge with some nuts and skim milk.

And then I was just sitting here at my desk at work thinking of carbs and snacking and craving. But i am in no way hungry. My stomach does not want food. I in no way need a carb or a cookie this morning, I've eaten plenty. So if it isn't really all about that cookie, then what is it I really need to resolve? Because on the surface all I feel is a wee bit bored and a wee bit tired. But i slept plenty.

List of things you may not know about me

Following Cara's lead, below is my version of a list of things you might not know about me...

1. What time did you get up this morning? Not sure I should admit this. Probably like 11am. Letting myself sleep after staying up too late every night this week for our sales meeting.

2. How do you like your steak? No steak for me, I'm a vegetarian.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema? Sherlock Holmes. Not bad. Dying to see Shutter Island!

4. What is your favorite TV show? Hmm...Lost, Medium, House, The Soup, Law & Order, The Closer, Ghost Whisperer (guilty pleasure), and now White Collar.

5. If you could live anywhere in the world where would it be? About to move to Austin and am excited about that, but if I weren't limited by country, France would probably be on the list. Vancouver is definitely on the list!

6. What did you have for breakfast? Breakfast was more like lunch, but it was egg and cheese on a croissant.

7. What is your favorite cuisine? Love Italian and Mexican. Pizza is a weakness. Absolutely LOVE Whole Foods' salad bar. Could live on that. YUM!

8. What foods do you dislike? Meat! Unfortunately Ginger. Not a big fan of raw broccoli and raw cauliflower.

9. Favorite place to eat? I'm a sucker for really fine dining. I follow the restaurant scene here in NYC and have started following Austin's restaurant scene.

10. Favorite dressing? Newman's Own Oil & Vinegar

11. What kind of vehicle do you drive? Silver '08 Mazda3

12. What are your favorite clothes? Jeans I guess? I love a cute fitted blazer.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance? Still planning our honeymoon, so we'll have the opportunity. I've traveled a lot but haven't been to France or Italy or Spain. Fiji also appeals!

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full? Despite sometimes being moody, I am an optimist, so definitely half full!!!

15. Where would you want to retire? Retirement has never really entered my mind. I'll have to see where I am mentally at that point in my life!

16. Favorite time of day? Evening. Definitely a night person.

17. Where were you born? Los Angeles, California.

18. What is your favorite sport to watch? Not a sports person, but Alex is obsessed. However, if I had to go to a game, it would definitely be a basketball game.

19. Bird watcher? Their colors can be stunning, but no.

20. Are you a morning person or a night person? I can't stress this enough. Night.

21. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share? Mostly you guys know everything that's going on, but we want to have kids very soon. I hope to be pregnant before the year is out!

22. What did you want to be when you were little? A secretary! ha! In high school, a psychologist. But the science classes in college were too hard for me. (Or really just didn't hold my interest). I still think that'd be a great profession.

23. What is your best childhood memory? Christmases were always so special, going to amusement parks, our dogs...

24. Are you a cat or dog person? See above. Dog person!!!

25. Are you married? Yes, just. Alex and I had our wedding Nov 7th.

26. Always wear your seat belt? Yes, at least in the front seats.

27. Been in a car accident? Yes, no injuries though, knock on wood!

28. Any pet peeves? Lots! ;)

29. Favorite Pizza Toppings? Plain NYC cheese slice, folded.

30. Favorite Flower? Pink peonies or pink roses.

31. Favorite ice cream? Vanilla with chocolate covered nuts.

32. Favorite fast food restaurant? At the moment, Dunkin Donuts. Also like Taco Bell and Sonic since they have veg stuff.

33. How many times did you fail your driver's test? None, but I have to go get my NYC license now. Ironic since I'm moving. But it has to do with the registration and financing.

34. From whom did you get your last email? Some friends forwarding text messages from another friend (an MD) who is volunteering in Haiti right now. Very impressed!

35. Which store would you choose to max out your credit card? Love Macy's and Target.

36. Do anything spontaneous lately? Deciding to move to Austin was *relatively* spontaneous.

37. Broccoli? Cooked properly, yum!

38. What was your favorite vacation? That's a tough one. Banff in Canada, Key West with Alex, Hawaii...Santorini. I could go on and on!

39. Last person you went out to dinner with? My bosses and coworkers.

40. What are you listening to right now? Alex yelling at the football game. Saints vs. Vikings.

41. What is your favorite color? Teal?

42. How many tattoos do you have? None.

43. Coffee drinker? LOVE IT.

Get a fill or work the band?

I often recall my general practitioner telling me pre-band to be careful, because "you can eat right through that thing." He was extremely supportive of the surgery, just giving me some advice.

And I'm finding that to be very true.

I'm on the fence about needing a fill because I have some restriction. I get full. I'm guessing that if I did the 4-hour protein test that Jen posted about, that I'd pass. Problem is I'm not eating protein first, eating lots of carbs and sugar, drinking with meals, and I'm snacking even when I'm not hungry. Basically emotional eating rather than anything else.

I do get stuck more often these days and I get full, so I don't feel like I "need" a fill. I'm at like 7.1cc's out of 10. I guess I'm just thinking about it to help with the eating.

What do you guys think? I will try the protein test by the way.

The Sales Meeting is Finally Over

Twice a year I get heavily involved in our Winter and Summer sales meetings.

The last two were via the web with a small group of people traveling in. The web adds a whole other set of complications and communication issues.

I take it as a compliment that they've always wanted me to present so much, but it does mean the weeks before are always very stressful. Even when I work lots of overtime in advance, it never seems to be enough to avoid long hours during the week of the meeting.

In fact, it's a tradition for me to end up in the office after midnight one or more nights the week of. I pretty much ALWAYS have to go back to the office after our sales dinners which just sucks.

This year was a change too because of my new job. The presentations I did were more product oriented, meaning I had to do more research to become the "expert." This year I had 3 presentations and two workshops that I was in charge of.

I certainly feel like I've grown a lot professionally over these last few months. I was bored in my last job, so while it was a painful change in some ways (creatively), I am more challenged and am back in the swing of things and back to my old ways in regard to being very career driven.

I had a migraine for the tail end of the meeting however, so between that and working late/not sleeping and being stressed in general, I of course had my normal instinct to EATTT!!! Which I did.

I couldn't do too much damage at our sales dinner or at any of the meals, but the snacks and sweets completely did me in. Cookies seem to be a real weakness lately. And sweets in general.

Just reinforcing the fact that the band works (can't eat too much at meals) but you can cheat it (snack, snack, snack).

I'm looking forward now. I have a few calmer weeks I hope before the move.

We got our new apartment!

So we got official news today that we got the apartment in Austin we've been drooling over! We toured apartments downtown when we were there over Christmas and have had our hearts set on this specific place ever since.

This is the model unit from their website, but our apartment will be similar, minus the furniture of course. They are all super modern with stained concrete floors (great for two rambunctious little doggies), floor to ceiling windows overlooking downtown, a balcony, modern kitchen and bath, washer and dryer, and prime downtown real estate a block from the lake to walk the dogs and right by all the shops, bars, and restaurants so we don't have to give up too much of our NYC walking lifestyle if we don't choose to. (whew! THAT was a run on!)

There's even a place nearby called Jo's that has tons of veggie stuff including veggie hot dogs with veggie chili. (For some reason this *really* appeals to me.) AND a Whole Foods about a 15 min walk. (Or a super short drive). Plus the farmer's market around the block.

Being in a place where we can afford all of this was one of the major reasons we decided to move back to Austin. We've never been able to swing anything quite so decent in New York. And now, we're just frustrated with our old brownstone apartment with everything falling apart.

So we're going to give this new lifestyle a try and see how we feel. That last photo is the apartment pool. Since I'll be working from home, I'm thinking maybe I'll spend some days telecommuting poolside!

Veggie Chili & a Movie!

Yum! Just made some vegetarian chili tonight that even Alex liked. I've been inspired by Jen talking about eating chili on her blog.

The photo isn't great, but I took it with Alex's iphone.

This was a recipe I got from my mom in college. I added some soy meat to supplement it. Otherwise it's spinach, red peppers, onion, beans and seasoning.

I'll post the exact recipe later when I have some time. Watching The Hurt Locker right now. People are raving about it, and it was up for some Golden Globes last night. So far it's great, but tense and disturbing given that it's about bomb defusers in Iraq...

Grocery shopping with a car

For those of you in NYC, you know that grocery shopping here just isn't quite the same as in other cities in the US. My buying patterns changed drastically when I moved here. I tend to pick stuff up as I go, at the corner bodega, and make more convenience-oriented decisions.

This often leads to not having food at home and then, consequently, ordering out.

My buying habits also have to do with how many groceries I can carry home in a trip. And since we moved to our most recent neighborhood in Sunset Park in Brooklyn, our selection at the neighborhood stores is even smaller and less veggie-friendly than before.

When I make an effort, I certainly can schlepp all my groceries a mile back and forth from the really nice grocery store, or make special trips to Whole Foods as I do on occasion. But that takes advance planning, so when I'm busy, it tends to fall by the wayside, and instead I shop at our tiny corner market and then of course, at the bodega!

One of my favorite apartments was the place I had in Boston in grad school where Whole Foods was my local grocery store, just a block over! Then my convenience food was their salad bar. That's also during the time that I lost 100 pounds!

This weekend, in my quest to have healthier food in the house, we decided to go on a Texas-style grocery shopping mission. No more grandma cart for us, we took the CAR! And even found a really nice grocery store with a parking lot and everything.

I tell ya, it's still such a NOVELTY to be able to do these things I took for granted when I owned a car before.

What a nice store, wide aisles, TONS of vegetarian stuff, and a huge fresh produce selection. Yay!

We will be eating well this week. And by that I mean healthy!

Today's a day off

I'm lucky to get today as a holiday for Martin Luther King Jr's birthday. Despite it being a "day off" I'm happy to say I'm not using it as an excuse to eat. Usually, I'd be all "I'll start my "diet" tomorrow."

But after my little revelation early this week that I'd just gone overboard and was kind of over it, I've been eating okay. I did have some cookies last night but that was the worst of it.

I had promised myself I'd go shopping for healthy food, clean up the kitchen (so I felt more like cooking), and not order out. Which I did! I've also been good about more protein, less carbs. (The haircut hasn't happened though).

I did get an egg sandwich when we were out and about yesterday, but I'm okay with that. I needed to eat something and it was an okay option. Protein first!

Made myself some awesome butternut squash soup last night for dinner and added in some veg with just a little rice and some soy protein on the side.

More eggs for breakfast this morning and I'm psyched to make the vegetarian chili i have planned for later today.

The packing today hasn't really been happening though. Just five more weekends to get it all done. I feel like that's pretty manageable.

As for today, it's noon and all I've managed to do is sleep sleep sleep and read up on all the blog posts I've been missing lately. Which is always great for weight loss motivation.

As for getting myself going, perhaps a shower will help! :)

NYTimes article on hair loss

Since many of us who have been banded have concerns about hair loss, I thought I'd share this article from the New York Times. It doesn't discuss the band, but it does specifically address hair loss in women and its various causes.

Bottom line from them is that yes a bout of stress can cause hair loss (ie: surgery) as can vitamin deficiency, but that special vitamins and shampoos don't work. If you are vitamin deficient, a regular multivitamin will do the trick. The only medication or treatment they recommend is Minoxidil (Rogaine).

An alternate drug Propecia isn't as recommended, especially for women of child-bearing age.

Antidepressants and other medications can also be to blame. And of course in many cases, hair loss is hereditary.

Read the full article here.

Time to make some changes

I've been so busy making all these big changes in my life that I've been losing sight of the band and my diet. Getting married, work, and now this move have all gotten in the way. I need to take a few actions to trigger some sort of change.

Alex went out tonight and I decided to order a pizza while I pack and watch tv. And surprise, surprise, I ate too much of it. And now I feel gross and was thinking why am I just eating to eat. Thinking about food constantly but not hungry so eating just isn't as satisfying.

I'm thinking I need to do the following to change my attitude tomorrow:

* No more fast food / delivery!!
* Clean out the fridge, cupboard, and the entire kitchen so I want to cook!
* Stock up on healthy stuff to eat!
* Get moving, get walking to feel more energetic
* Less carbs, more energy! Protein first!

* Get a haircut for an attitude boost, so I don't feel so schlumpy

Just bought a car!

I'm super psyched because Alex and I bought a car last night! Given some of the cities I've lived in (Boston, NYC, Istanbul), I've spent more of my adult life without a car than with one.

NYC in particular isn't really all that car friendly, so to have one now, in preparation for our move to Texas, is just such a thrill.

When I did have cars in high school and college, they were older cash cars, so it was a new thing for me to negotiate with a dealer, deal with financing, etc. Since the buying process got dragged out all week and one person we dealt with was rather smarmy, buying the car was really stressing me out this week. But in the end, it was a positive experience. In fact, they messed up the pricing and gave it to us for $1000 less than we had originally negotiated. $3500 off list price! I am OKAY with that!!!

That's me above at the dealership, below is our "new" 2008 Mazda 3. Then Alex in his Facebook post pic saying, "I be ridin', they will be hating."


Finally, the photo our sales person took of us with Alex's iphone (below). It was really dark out and unfortunately she didn't get the car in the photo(!?!); however, it seems as though we have lots of time now to get photos of it. Even went out for a joy ride in it this morning with Alex and the dogs. Drive through coffee and a trip to the Prospect Park. We dropped off lots of textile recycling as we begin packing this weekend. We even found an available parking space right in front of the farmer's market!

Now I have to figure out how many little road trips we can take before we leave in 6 weeks!

This is ALWAYS where I get stuck, btw

A little addition to my last post, if I think back over the years, my current weight is ALWAYS where i get stuck and where i self sabotage.

I thought when I went like 1 pound under that magic number that I had somehow cured myself of that, but now I can clearly see how many months later that is so not the case.

I'm finding my goal right now is just not to gain. But with what I'm eating that might not be how things play out.

C'mon Heather! Get it together!

(my new nickname, get it together heather!) Or a new blog name! ha!

Not sure how many of you know this but I actually have 5 blogs (one for calorie counting that is private), so I'm always looking for a new blog name! In fact, my new food blog is *pretty much* a sign of my food mindset right now. Very much NOT a diet blog, more like a foodie blog so be warned. YUM!

Uh oh, I just got "hungry!"

Bummer update

Normally I feel so uplifted following the band blogs, but I have to fess up to feeling a bit down when I see other people banded at the same time as me who have lost a lot more weight.

Bottom line, they're working harder. And I definitely give kudos to everyone out there and all of their hard work.

However, I'm feeling a bit down on my moody, snacky self right now.

Even the thought of diet or exercise is completely non-existent and like a deal breaker some how. Since New Year's I just feel like EATING!

I went to the doctor this week (general practitioner) and the scale is pretty much where it was at New Year's. Up 5lbs from my lowest. Considering how FAT i feel, i thought it would be worse. I literally feel like how I did at the beginning of this process.

My hair is grown out, so it's back in a pony tail all the time. I feel fat, my jeans are tight (of course these are a smaller pair but still) and yet, i'm still just thinking about FOOOD!

This is how it was BEFORE the band!

I was thinking about my fears pre-band. What if I get all crazy because I can't emotionally eat anymore. And Alex and I fight and divorce and I'm super high strung and upset all the time since i won't be able to self sooth.

So the good news & the bad news is that the band doesn't really stop the emotional eating. Alex and I are very happy and believe it or not, I'm not cranky all the time.

The band definitely has lessened the amount i can eat when stress eating, but i can still eat! and cheat it with certain types of foods and lots of snacks! My worst cheat is just waiting til i'm no longer full and continueing to eat then.

The band can kill some of the appetite. But if you're like me on a bad day, eating despite no appetite, then you can still eat.

So the good is that i'm still "normal" and I didn't sacrifice too much of my self. The bad news is I can still stuff my face when I'm upset.

I'm back to working crazy-long hours in my new job and this week has been a week from hell. But i guess I'm kind of tired of using stress as an excuse because I've been doing that since October. I haven't seen any real weight loss since then.

A friend made me dinner last weekend (she doesn't know about the band). I'll have to do another post later on that because she had some interesting comments about "people with the band!"

Okay, time to leave the office. 8pm is too late.

I'm wondering what will change this mindset of mine?

Are we all struggling with restriction and weight loss?

I figured come New Year, I'd totally be back on the wagon. I'm doing well with positive change, doing great with my budget, and am back in the swing of things despite having been so disillusioned right before Christmas.

However, the thing that definitely hasn't fallen into place is weight loss / diet / healthy eating. I've got work and money working but am just eating all piggy.

Went to see the new Sherlock Holmes tonight. Can you guess whether I had popcorn, candy or soda? (Hint, hint, it's a trick question! ;)

HUGE news

We're moving to Austin! We have been thinking about relocating for a while, but over the Christmas break we decided on Austin. I can't tell you how excited I am.

The amazing thing is how quickly it's all fallen into place. The financing, getting out of our current lease (no penalties!), AND best of all, my company is going to let me keep my job, and I'll work from Austin. How cool is that!?!?! They couldn't have been better about it.

It's amazing that everything fell into place in the span of about 24 hours.

So now we have to pack and buy a car. Working on that today. It'll be SO much fun picking one out. I've so missed having a car in New York.

We're looking at early March, so lots to do!

The new apartment we want is pretty fab too. More on that later, but I can say the building is just to the left of downtown in the image above, so right on the lake and right downtown. We can walk to the Farmer's Market, the Lake with the dogs, or to any of the great bars or restaurants or coffee shops downtown.

Super excited!

Funny NSV

This also borders on TMI; however, I had to share. Today's NSV (non-scale victory) was that my underwear is soooooo big....HOW BIG IS IT!?!? It's sooooo big that it was sliding down my butt all the way to my upper legs as I took the dogs for a walk tonight.

So good thing I was just on my way back home, no biggie. Problem is, I bought a whole bunch of this same kind, so I guess I need to buy some new ones!

Stuck

Uh oh! Made Alex and I an omelet and pancakes this morning. Couldn't get it all down, but what surprised me was that the pancake wasn't at all the issue. It was the eggs. I think they were a bit dry so I gave up on them.

Was feeling fine but after about 4 hours felt a pressure in my chest. Weird that it took that long. Came time to eat again but I just wasn't hungry. Was thinking I was most likely stuck, but taking a sip of water definitely confirmed that! I felt a strong pain/pressure in my chest which radiated to my cheek weirdly enough. It was pretty strong pain, and then that water just rushed back up. But with enough warning for me to get to the bathroom. Needless to say, I vomited. First time. Just water.

I don't feel like I did any damage because it was mostly like all that water just came back up, projectile granted. Rather than there being much heaving involved. Sorry, TMI!

I can sip water now, but I'm not entirely sure whatever it is is gone. I'm not in any pain though and I don't feel any pressure. Definitely nervous about having anything for dinner. Guess I'll just have to see how it goes...