More energy!

So i got back on track today, and I found it amazing that my energy came back pretty much immediately. I'm doing shakes and soft healthy foods to get myself back in gear, and although i was kind've hungry today, I felt great and have lots of energy!

Definitely energized and motivated to make my next goal. Only 8.5 pounds in three week. Everyday I make the right choices, it gets closer!

The band must be working

Because despite last week's pig out, I still lost a pound and a half.

It's all about the smaller portions!

More reasons to keep going

Just reminding myself of all the reasons I have to get back on track despite the pig-out week I just had.

I have more energy than before and my moods have evened out without the sugar highs and lows. And what I'm most excited about are all the old clothes I'm fitting into. It wasn't actually just a top or two this week, but a bunch of clothes. It's like I have a new wardrobe (almost).

And I went shopping this weekend and fit into a smaller size. Yay!

Doing the Math

So I just did the numbers and in order to make my next mini-goal, I have to somehow either eliminate or burn 1384 calories per day between now and Sept 26th.

Aggressive but possible. Either I eat 1000-1100 calories a day (which the lap-band nutritionist would approve), or I eat 1300 and guarantee I include enough exercise to make up the difference.

I think having to get back on track to make my next goal is perhaps just what the doctor ordered.

This goal is quite important to me as I haven't seen some of the ladies who will be at my bridal shower for years, so it'd be nice to look good!

Revised goals

Based on my experience getting to my second goal of 25 pounds lost, I realized that my forthcoming goals were just too unrealistic. I made my first two goals, but the second was tough, and that was while I was on the post-op diet.

So going forward I just don't think that 15 pounds in 3 weeks is reasonable. So I've updated and included my new goals both below on in the right hand column.

15 pounds lost
by surgery date (8/4/09)

25 pounds lost
by end of post-op diet (8/25/09)

35 pounds lost
by bridal shower (9/26/09)

40 pounds lost
by 35th birthday (10/16/09)

50 pounds lost
by wedding! (11/7/09)

65 pounds lost
by New Years 2009

75 pounds lost
by honeymoon (Feb 2010)

85 pounds lost
by our big work conference (3/23/10)

100 pounds lost
by June 2010

110 pounds lost (my high school weight!)
by August 2010 (my band birthday)

125 pounds lost
GOAL!
by 10/16/10 (my 36th birthday!)

Make me stop!

I've kind've been taking a break since I hit my goal on Tuesday. I had a bunch of plans that involved eating out this week and ended up eating out a whopping five times!

In general, I hadn't really eaten out post band, so that was a new experience. I didn't at all have trouble getting anything down. I've had bread and greens and rice, no problem.

I'm such a foodie that I love eating out, so I was quite thrilled to go and try new things. I'm sure since I hadn't eaten proper food in a while (beyond soft foods) I was making up for lost time!

However, the whole point of the band is that it doesn't let you overdo it, so I found that my eyes were waaayyy bigger than my stomach!

So i filled up easily and did ooookay at dinner. But the trouble came when i kept thinking about my leftovers and as soon as I could get a little more down, I finished the rest!

This happened every time almost, and I just ended up feeling gross!

This definitely can't continue. I'm eating for my old appetite. Going to try and get myself back on track by having some protein shakes again.

My other new rule is that I'll no longer be taking leftovers after a meal!

A "funny story" from the gym

I was shocked when I read this story from The New Me. I don't want to give it away but it has to do with overweight people at the gym.

http://thinspiration4me.blogspot.com/2009/08/fat-people-deserve-to-work-out-too.html

New Before & After Pics, 25 pounds down!

I feel fabulous today. I was so excited when I met my goal this morning, I was dancing around the apartment. It inspired me to pull out an outfit I haven't worn in forever, and I was in a fab mood this morning on the way to work.

Unfortunately, these before and after photos don't quite show how different i *feel* before and after. And when i first looked at them, I didn't really see the difference actually. (Esp after those super flattering headshots from last week!) I of course see how much further I have left to go. I'm probably one of few who would actually like to see my chest significantly decrease in size. ASAP!

In regard to seeing the before and after difference, it's actually hard to photoshop the before and afters sometimes as the perspective is different (matching up similar points, like elbow, chin, etc), but somehow in one pic I'm shorter? It's all the angle the pic was taken from I'm sure.

I am wondering if my upcoming goals are realistic however. I think the next two aren't. So I'm reserving the right to edit them in the near future. Don't want to set myself up for failure!

Woo hoo! Mini-goal accomplished!

I've now lost 25 pounds, and more significantly to me today, I met my second goal on schedule!

Woo hoo!

A new profile pic is coming, especially since I fit into some clothes I haven't worn in a long while!

25 pounds is a relative thing

I was mentioning to someone my weight loss, and she was really excited about 25lbs (tomorrow i hope) and how much that is.

And if I were smaller, that might be a lot. As in, almost all of it!

Not that I'm not satisfied with my accomplishment. I'm fine with where I am in the process, but it's only about 20% of what i want to lose.

However, I'm getting to the part of the weight loss where you say how much you lost, and people can see that you still have lots more to go, and it becomes obvious just how bad the weight problem was to begin with!

I know this is why some people don't like to say how much they've lost because then people can do the math and know where you started!

uh oh!

Now I'm getting obsessive

I have just 1/2 pound to make my goal tomorrow. So i took a long walk at lunch and am going light on the food today.

In fact, I'm so distracted by this need to make tomorrow's goal that I've entirely forgotten about the fact that I can eat normal foods tomorrow. Except those that are off my list entirely as a lap-band patient.

Can't wait to have a piece of toast!!! I'm specifically thinking bruschetta. Or a grilled cheese sandwich...

More on all that later. For now, liquids and soft foods and half a pound to go!

The dogs will be getting a LONG walk tonight!

My clothes don't fit (including a before pic!)

The positive side of my last post is that when I went to get dressed yesterday, two of my favorite tops didn't fit. Despite them being my faves, I am perfectly okay with that! Yay!

One of them is the coral colored shirt in my pic on the upper right-hand column! The other is what Clarissa called my blue milkmaid shirt. :)

Or more accurately, I was "The Milkmaid" when I wore it. Shown above!

I miss eating!

In contrast to my last post about being only 1 pound away from goal ( i have to keep perspective), I also really miss eating. I don't mean literally eating but eating like I did before.

This morning, we took the dogs for a walk, and I missed going to the bagel shop for a weekend breakfast. Went to the movies yesterday and I just really wanted a diet coke! Not to mention candy and popcorn.

And last night, after a long day, I would've LOVED to have ordered a pizza.

Usually this change is affirming and positive, but on occasion it's just a total bummer!

One more pound until my next goal!

I'm happily shocked that I've gotten so close to my next goal so soon.
Now it seems so attainable!

One more pound by Tuesday and I'll reach my second mini-goal of 25 pounds by the end of the post-op diet! Yay!

I'm going to try and walk my butt of this weekend (literally)!

My stomach is full...

...but my mind is still hungry.

Even when I'm Thanksgiving-full! It's so weird!

New pics

Haven't done a recent full body comparison in terms of before and after pics. I've only lost another 3 pounds since the last one. I was going to do one, but at this point, I may just wait until I've reached my 25 pounds lost goal!

It's crazy because I'm still higher than my average weight. And yet, I'm getting so many compliments, and I've noticed the difference so much in my clothes that I feel really confident and I feel like I'm lighter than my norm.

So while I will wait for the full body pics, Alex snapped this photo of me above on the subway on the way to work this morning, and I thought I would share. (Sorry to all my Facebook friends, as this photo is old news already!).

Alex has been so sweet and supportive during this whole thing. And he's been super enthusiastic about my weight loss too (Of course he was supportive even at my biggest too!)

The photo below is my new Facebook profile pic, taken with my web cam at work. It's a bit of a cheat, because I can see myself on screen and pose accordingly! So I got it to be super flattering, and made myself look a bit skinnier than I would've otherwise. In fact, someone contacted me privately and was like, have you lost weight!?!

Mmm...Edamame Hummus

I was wandering around Whole Foods today after a doctor's appointment and discovered "Edamame Hummus" in their prepared foods area.

I've been on the lookout for new soft food options. This one is particularly good since the lap-band diet requires high protein.

AND it's really good!

Image via the Food Network. They also have a great recipe here.
It just happens to be from Ellie Kreiger.

Overcoming Stress

How to Turn Stress into Success -- powered by http://www.livestrong.com
[Had to remove the video, as it kept autoplaying. However, click above to watch it!]

Alex has been completely overwhelmed lately, and this surgery and weight loss experience has been stressful for me as well, so I tuned in when I saw this video that other times I might have dismissed.

I like what the woman in this video is saying about how once you overcome an obstacle, the body reacts to stress differently and what once might have been perceived as stress, instead becomes an achievement and an obstacle you overcame and can be proud of. You're then ready to tackle the next hurdle.

At the end she compares it to exercise as well. Some people might freak out at the thought of say squats (guilty!) and a crazy hard workout; however, once you do it and have accomplished it, you're bolstered and more confident.

Check it out.

Video via the Livestrong website.

Slowly but Surely

So a part of me wants to jump on the scale and see 5 pounds gone all at once; however, it doesn't really work that way when you weigh yourself everyday! ha!

Slowly but surely, the weight is coming off however. I lost another pound this morning. I'm up to 22 pounds lost and now I only have 3 pounds to go until my next major goal (See the right-hand side bar). That's three pounds in 8 days.

Can i do it!?!

Eating

So it feels like the band is serving its purpose. Yesterday, for example, I still had calories left for the day and had exercised tons and wanted to eat something, mentally.

However, my stomach just said no.

Today, I feel like I pigged out. Today was a low-key day, and I just hung around the house and ate. I'm tired and overdid it yesterday, so today I chose to rest.

However, at the end of the day it was only 1300 calories that I did eat, and feel a bit ug, like I ate too much.

Teensy Tiny Silverware

So one of the tips I've come across a handful of times is to use tiny silverware when eating. I tried it today with the teensy tiny silverware shown here and was surprised how effective it was. It made me feel like I was eating more than I was.

I went smaller than even a typical teaspoon which is recommended. I've included a photo of our regular silverware too so you can see the comparison in size.

I just happened to find them here in NYC at Fish's Eddy.

New hair! (I Cut It All Off!)

On a whim today, I decided to get my hair cut. Here's the before and after...

It's been ages, and it had gotten so long that I almost NEVER wore it down. The one day I did want to wear it down, it was awkward and I hated it. Usually I love my hair when I bother to wear it down...

So I asked for it to be cut below my shoulders. She overdid it a bit, but I do really like it. I'm just concerned that it won't be long enough for this come our wedding date. My hair grows fast though so fingers crossed.

At the end of the day, the hairdresser took off like 7-8 inches! Crazy!

Subtle color change to come too, although based on the color in the photo, you'd think I already did color it! I think the bottom was darker than the top, so now that it's gone, it looks lighter (it's really my gray hair though... ;)

Gmaps Pedometer

So I'm revisiting using the Gmaps Pedometer I posted about previously since walking is my main form of exercise right now.

It tracks your walk, the exact distance, and if you turn on the feature, it'll also show calories burned based on your weight.

I'm thrilled to see that my evening dog walk burns off 120 calories! My daily commute burns 150 calories a day (75 each way). And my walk back from Whole Foods today burned 130 calories.

All in all, 400 calories! I'll take it!

I really like how much lighter I feel. Having lost 20 pounds makes a difference in my mobility. I had really started to notice things being harder this year physically, and I really think it was that extra weight.

I feel SO MUCH BETTER

By the way, for those of you who knew how bad this week was for me, I FEEL SO MUCH BETTER!

Whew!

I just pigged out on humus

Okay, so control is going to be an issue.

Since it's pretty soft, I decided to allow myself some humus after I went shopping.

OMG! YUMMMM!!!!

I'm going to have to control myself. I've decided to limit my calorie count to 1300 calories per day, plus exercise of course. I'm already walking quite a bit between my commute and the dog walks. Will join the gym once my stomach is healed up a bit more.

I got that recommended calorie count from livestrong.com which has lots of great diet stuff.