Saturday, November 21, 2009

Jumping on the "band" wagon - bandster quiz

  1. How long have you been banded? 4 years and 5 days. (OK, I don't really count the days, but it was just 4 years for me and I thought it was kinda funny.
  2. What was your highest pre-band weight? / Current weight now? / Total lost to date? 234 lbs / 138.5 lbs / 135.5 lbs
  3. What is your best "go-to" food to get in your protein? Any meat that is not overcooked. It does the best job of keeping me full for the longest period of time. Hmmm, ya think that's why they want us to eat it? ;)
  4. What is your favorite protein brand/shake? I use low carb Slim Fast - chocolate - in the can. I only use liquid when I have to. For example, had a bad pb experience, tight following hormone patterns, etc.
  5. What food do you miss the most now being post-band? None. I can eat anything I want in a small amount. The key is to make 'good' choices most of the time and when the choice isn't the best (and can bypass the band which the yummy stuff usually can) I am sure to watch portions.
  6. What is your favorite "mushy" food? Soup, but I've always been a soup freak. When I have it, I make sure that it is either one of those healthy canned ones (Obsessed with Progresso Sante fe Chicken) or I make it myself.
  7. What was your worst PB experience? The most recent one is here (a year ago!), but I bet there are others somewhere in my blog.
  8. What has been the hardest part of this journey so far for you? Honestly - I think it's all hard. You have to want it and no matter what anyone tells you, you earned your success. The band is not magic. (Maintenance is also hard!)
  9. What is your best NSV to date? Hmmmm, there are so many. I'll go with the cliche answer of looking good in my wedding dress.
  10. What is your top non-weight goal for your band? Man, this quiz is kinda hard. I can't think of an answer to this---maybe it's just from being at goal for a while.
  11. What is your goal weight or size? My goal weight that I set with my surgeon was 149lbs. I stayed there for a while and decided that I wanted to go to 139lbs. I am considering at the beginning of the year when all the weight loss insanity starts to consider seeing if I can get to 134lbs (100 lbs lost and see how that goes). I currently maintain between 138-142 lbs.
  12. What band "rule" do you live by (i.e. don't cheat on)? There isn't one because I'd be lying if I said there was. Sometimes I eat more than I should and sometimes I have soda - (alcoholic drink mixer, but I stir it well with a straw to get a good amount of the fizz out)
  13. What band "rule" do you not follow as much or aren't so good at? See above.
  14. What is your goal "reward"? You know - I didn't set one for myself. Or at least if I did, I forgot and don't recall getting anything. Maybe I should get one NOW! : )
  15. What are you most thankful for? All the other band bloggers out there and the comments that are left now and then on my blog. I enjoy reading everyone's journey!

Thursday, November 19, 2009

FOUR YEARS!

Wow, I just realized that I missed my four year banding date! It's hard to imagine that it's been that long. Feeling better, but chest crap takes a lot out of you and makes exercise tough - direct path to fits of coughing.

So, I'm not going to hit my workout goal for the month. My attitude is good though - it's oh well, out of my control. Oh, oops - not my posting goal either. : (

I'm within my goal range though (139 lbs), so some good news. Man, I have over 600 entries to read! I'm off to catch up on everyone else.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Sick!

Really bad bad chest cold and sinus infection. All bets are off at this point. Dang it! But I feel like crap and am giving into it. : (

Sunday, November 08, 2009

Bad Case...

Of the "I don't wannas". I have now been sitting here reading for two hours dressed in my gym clothes. The problem is that I haven't been to the gym. And, unfortunately just putting on the clothes doesn't count as exercise. Man, what a great thing if it did though!

As of right now, I can't say one way or the other for sure if I will go to the gym today. It may or may not happen, but what I have decided is that I am not going to stress about it. I am using today to 'veg'....heck, I really don't even have anything to post, but at least I can check the box on the daily posting activity for November.

What I need to put in perspective is that I set a goal for 20 workouts for November. It's still reasonable that I will attain it, but it's also reasonable that if I end up close that is (and should be) good enough.

Exercise so far for November:
1 - Off
2 - 65 mins - 4.6 miles
3 - 65 mins - 4.6 miles
4 - 65 mins - 4.8 miles
5 - Off
6 - 65 mins - 5.3 miles
7 - 65 mins - 5.3 miles
8 - ?

In looking at this, I think I should consider a week to start on a Sunday. Therefore, for 'last' week, I totaled 5 hours and 25 minutes of exercise for a distance of 24.6 miles. Back to vegging in my workout clothes!

Saturday, November 07, 2009

Do you ever wonder...

if banded people that used to blog, but don't anymore achieved their goals or maintained their loss? I can tell you that I sure do. Many say they are 'too busy with life' or that their life 'no longer revolves around the band'. I'm not sure if I buy into either of those.

Am I busy? Sure, but I was busy before. And, I don't consider that my life ever 'revolved around the band'. I'm not saying that I wasn't focused on my goal, etc., but just like everyone my life is and always has been busy and full.

Maybe I am just being b@tchy this morning and this is a b@tchy post, but I do wonder. I wonder if some *disappear* because they have re-gained. (I hope not as I want everyone to achieve their goal and maintain!) Going back through my blog you can see that I gained something like 12-15lbs at one point. It was a major funk, but I got out of it and learned from it, got focused, setup my weekly weigh in, and my range that I had to stay in.

I'm not saying in any way shape or form that somehow I am 'better' than the people that no longer blog (and good grief, I hope this doesn't read that way), but I can tell you that I get reassurance and motivation from the blogs I read (regardless of whether or not they have a band). The consistent theme that underlies all the blogs when you sit back and think about it is that regardless of how you get healthy getting there and staying there takes a helluva lot of hard work.

I also find that my blog helps me to keep *me* and my *health and wellness* a priority and I like to think that those that have started or are in the midst of their journey are somehow helped by my stumbles and successes along the way. So, while there may be breaks in my blog, I will continue to share my struggles, frustrations, and successes.

To anyone out there that was blogging and isn't anymore: HEY, give us an update! Even if it's once every couple of months, we'd love to hear from you! We hope you have been successful and wish you well, but if you weren't - remember we are also here to help and support you!

Off to the gym!

Friday, November 06, 2009

What is it...


About Broccoli Slaw?!?! Yep, it's my recent addiction. All I do is take the slaw and mix it with Maple Grove Farms of Vermont Fat Free Balsamic dressing. The dressing is super awesome (yes, I am a valley girl tonight)! It has 40 calories for the ENTIRE bottle. Yep, 40 calories. And it tastes great!

Anyway, broccoli slaw in a bowl, add some dressing, and instant healthy salad. The other reason I like it vs. regular salad is that I can't eat much at a time. It keeps well for days. (If you are banded and can't eat broccoli slaw, couple things to consider: Are you chewing enough? If you are, then you can nuke it to essentially steam and soften it, then cool, add dressing, etc.)

Exercise:
  • 65 mins - 5.3 miles - 16 more days to go

Accepting Reality

Well, I did NOT get to the gym yesterday. A friend of mine called and she was really down and stressed. She asked me what I was doing and I said nothing - which at the moment was true - and she asked if I wanted to go grab some dinner. Yes, I could have said I need to go to the gym or that I needed to go to the gym first, but she was coming from work. She's a good friend, so I decided to say come over.

Since last night I have thought a lot about this. Working out at varied times wasn't so much of a challenge when I was younger. So what has changed? I have a varied group of friends - sizes and fitness - so, it's not that they 'just don't workout and are unfit'. But what is different in my opinion is that as you get older there is just more 'stuff' going on: more work obligations, spouses, kids, friends with limited time/availability, etc. And, in the end, 'sacrificing' yourself is just the easiest one to go with.

All that being said, I don't feel like I sacrificed to be there for my friend in this case. I did the 'right' thing. But it is just one of many examples of what comes up that gets in the way of me going to the gym. So, I have to accept the reality: if I don't make going to the gym in the morning a priority, it just isn't likely to happen that day. Accept it and move on.

I think there are many other 'realities' that I should take the time to jot down, but right now - I'm heading out the door to the gym! : )

What realities have you had to face on your journey?

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Weekly Weigh In

I was pooped last night and thought I'd be able to get up to go to the gym first thing this morning. The alarm went off and I could have forced myself, but I decided that it would likely just carry over to Friday morning. So, after a long discussion in my head about am I *really* tired or am I on 'gym avoidance', the conclusion was truly tired and I slept in.

I WILL be going to the gym later this afternoon though or during Survivor to ensure I get to my 20 workouts for the month.

After candypalooza I decided it was not in my best interest mentally to get on the scale until my 'standard' Thursday weigh in and to just focus on eating right and exercising. The last weigh in I show is from October 21 - I was at the low-end of my range at 138lbs. Today - I'm at 140lbs which is right smack in the middle of my goal range (138lbs - 142lbs). So up two lbs from that last weigh in I show on my blog, but still within my range.

I'm relieved that I am within my range, but still feeling like I am detoxing from all the sugar. My pace has definitely suffered and I need to work on that. When? That'd be later today when I go to the gym! ; )


Tuesday, November 03, 2009

I love my Keurig!

Early this week, I got a new coffee maker. It's a Keurig Special Edition Gourmet Single Serve Coffee Maker. (How's that for a mouthful?)

Here's their description of it:

The Special Edition Brewing System is our mid-luxury home brewing system that offers a blend of styling and convenient features. The Special Edition features chrome accents, a blue, back lit LCD display and three brew size options.

Programmable features include a Digital Clock, Adjustable Temperature and Auto On/Off. The 48 oz. removable water reservoir holds up to eight cups before refilling and for the removable drip tray allows for easy cleaning and the use of travel mugs.

Here's mine - You put in this thing called a 'k-cup'. It really looks like an oversized creamer container. It has coffee in it, but they also have tea, hot chocolate, chai latte, mocha, etc. Put down the handle, press a button, and voila! There's my coffee.

I used to have an addiction to venti lattes from Starbucks. Then I got married and just had a problem rationalizing spending 4 bucks a day on coffee---the 'my' money vs. 'our' money; please note though he had no problem with it - he's a good husband. I had thought about getting something that would make a latte, but I decided that coffee made more sense and that I could have a Starbucks on special occasions.

This thing will have paid for itself in a month. From that point onward, I will continue to save 100 dollars a month by replacing my Starbucks.

A k-cup works out to $.60 each, but that is not getting them on sale (which you can a lot of the time) or from Sam's. If I get them at Sam's, they go down to $.40 each.

Exercise:
65 mins - 4.8 miles - 17 more days to go.

I am finding that my goal of posting every day is helping me get to the gym. This morning I almost did the 'I'll do it later today' thing to sleep in, which for me never happens, but I had committed to my daily posting and it really did help get me out of bed!

Biggest Loser - OK, for the record, I was not a big Tracey fan. She just bugged me with her wide-eyed 'what do you mean' looks and stuff, but WOW did she look good! I think there are going to be some shocking reveals at the end of this season.

Monday, November 02, 2009

I will not be a statistic!

Well, at least a bad one! I can't remember who's blog it was that posted this (sorry), but he or she (sorry again!) was having the psych evaluation in anticipation of having surgery and one of the things that was brought up was that after 2 years of hitting goal weight that *most* people gain back 20% of the weight that they lost. (Dang, I sure wish I could remember the blog, so I could get it right and ask about it!)

Anyhoo, seeing that has helped me to recommit (the funniest things seem to trigger me) and motivate me to keep on track and within my goal range of 138 - 142 lbs. I have not been on the scale since 'candypalooza' as Thursday is my official weigh in day. I figured I might as well just stick to that and *maybe* I'll luck out and be within range when I weigh in on Thursday. : ) And - note to self - If I am not, I only have MYSELF to blame from candypalooza.

(Yikes, my goal weight was 149lbs. If I gained back 20% of what I lost to get there (85lbs), that would be 17lbs to bring me to: 166lbs! Uh, no way jose.)

So, my immediate goals for November (thanks to all the people that have been posting monthly goals - that also has triggered me!) are as follows:
  • Post a blog entry once a day.
  • Workout at least 20 days this month (5 days a week).
  • Workout a minimum of 60 mins each time.
  • On Thanksgiving (November 26), target weight is 138 lbs - low-end of target range.
  • Setup a cool virtual route like Julie.
Exercise so far:
  • November 1 - uh, none (Not a good start! But Sunday is usually a rest day for me.)
  • November 2 - 65 mins (4.6 miles - in anticipation of setting up virtual route.) - 19 workouts to go.
  • November 3 - 65 mins (4.6 miles) - 18 workouts to go

Candypalooza!!!

That's right. I started on Friday and kept on eating a TON of frickin' candy through last night. I am still trying to figure out why it turned into such a binge of crap, but once I had all that stupid sugar it just kept on keeping on. I said to myself, "OK, eat it. You can keep on eating in through Sunday night, but you are going to have to live (and accept) with the repercussions."

Whoa, am I feeling it today! I'm also sure it's going to continue for a couple days at least while I detox from all of this. Sugar - as in candy and crap like that - has a double whammy for me as I am hypoglycemic.

So, as far as the why. I'm stressed and missing my hubby. If I am honest, it got to a point where I was medicating how I was really feeling. Oh well, I'm human.

Good news - I did get up and go to the gym today. It would have been really easy to continue 'the funk' and not gone. It's amazing how badly 3-days of crap eating makes me feel! Oh well, the first step in getting back on track completed. Detox has begun!