40lbs gone!!!

It's been almost 3 months since my Lapband surgery and I'm proud to report that as of this morning, I have lost a total of 40lbs!!!!!!! I felt like I had been stuck at 37lbs FOREVER and I was getting worried that with the holidays and all the yum-tastic food around, I would gain a few but I guess with the amount of food I'm eating, even the extra cookies and pies didn't screw me up.

I am a little worried today after having my glue come off in the shower. It hasn't even been 2 weeks since my revision and I know that the doctor had said it should take 3 weeks to heal and that's when I'd see the glue come off. I had been using New-Skin and even more super glue to keep it on the last few days but I guess it didn't help after all.

December 17th

So I went in for my port revision yesterday. It went a lot faster than the initial Lapband surgery but then again, I was the only one scheduled for surgery too. They took X-rays to see just how my port was flipped so they could determine the best way to correct it and keep it from happening again. At about 11am I went in for the 30min procedure. Everything went very smoothly and once I was coherent, the doctor came by to explain what he found. The pocket that had been created for my port had filled up with fluid, which it was supposed to, but my body didn't absorb the fluid like it should have and it caused the sutures to give way and then my port flipped. To prevent it from happening again, they removed 10cc of fluid and this time to attach the port, they used staples that are located on the back side of the port. Why didn't they just do that in the first place you ask??? Well, there is one negative to doing that and it's this: once I lose 75-80% of the weight I'm going to lose, you may be able to see the port under my skin. I can always have it moved deeper into the muscle but I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. I also found out that I'm the 3rd patient with the Johnson & Johnson band that had their port flip. I'm just that lucky!

I was up and moving around by 12:30-1:00pm and ready for my fill. He started with 4cc but ended up only adding 2cc. My band is a 14cc band but the average patient only gets about 8-8.5cc total. I'll see how well I do with this fill and see if I need another a few months down the road.

So now I'm home and on my way to a full recovery. My stomach hurts like a bitch, I feel bloated, and I'm wrapped like I broke my ribs. They wanted to keep pressure on my port to keep the fluid build up to a minimum this time. I can "unwrap" my self at 9am and take a shower to wash all the orange off my belly.

Thanksgiving Food

Can you believe that I lost a pound even after all the yum-tastic food we had on Thanksgiving?!!!!! That brings me to a total of 36lbs lost. I was very happy to see I lost the 5 pounds that I gained back during my flu shot episode as well.

Today I plan on hitting the gym after work. My schedule is open from 3:00 - 4:30+ today so it's the perfect time to go in and get my sweat on. Tomorrow I have my second appointment with the chiropractor, which I'm looking forward to now that I know what's causing the sharp pain in my upper left & right butt cheeks. I hope our insurance covers it, we pay an arm and a leg for it so it better. Whatever bone is located below your lower back and connects your tail bone to your hip is what's messed up on me. Mine is popped out and is causing my right hip and upper thigh to be numb and makes my right leg 2" shorter than my left. It will take some time to get it back to where it should be, but I can't live with this pain in my ass (no joke) and it hurts to sit for long periods of time and that's a problem when it comes to my job.

I'm going to ask for a fill when I go in for my port flip on December 17th. I've noticed that I'm not staying full as long as I was before so that's a sign that I need to change something.

First Fill

I went to have my first fill today only to find out that my port had flipped. I guess this happen in every 1 out of 200 patients. They tried to flip it back with a needle, but no such luck. The only way to correct it is to surgically flip it and use different, stronger sutures that are guaranteed not to let it move again. I'm scheduled to go back in on December 17th. On the plus side, he said I'm doing really well with no fill so I may not even need one but we still have to get the port corrected. He had me drink that chalky, gritty white crap while he watched it move through my band via an X-ray. It's moving at a very good pace and he seemed happy when we left. I also found out that all the "liquids" I've been eating are now banned. No apple sauce, yogurt, or oatmeal. I need to chew whatever I eat, including snacks.

He didn't weigh me in but it looks like I gained 5lbs over night so not sure if it's due to the extra water I was drinking to keep myself hydrated while running a fever for 2 days so I'll weigh myself again in a couple days.

1 month 8 days

BEFORE

I've been on solids for a few weeks now and I've found out there are a few foods that I'm not into anymore.

#1. Coffee. Yup that's right the one thing I didn't think I could ever live without has made the top of my least desired food items. I've tried a few cups and I'm just not feeling it anymore. The flavor isn't bad, I just don't want it.

#2. Raw Almonds. I still love them but they hurt like a son of a bitch.

#3. Cottage Cheese. It just doesn't taste good so why eat it?

#4. Milk. I can't get past the smell of it. It always smells sour, even when I went and bought a brand new gallon of it because I thought the previous gallon was bad. I've poured out two half gallons so far, now I ask Ken to smell it before I dump it.

#5. Carne Asada Fries. I thought for sure this would be the one thing that I just couldn't wait to have once I could eat solids again but even when I've had the chance to get them, I choose something else. Maybe deep down inside I don't think I will be able to stop at half a cup so I've made myself just not want them? If so, it was nice while it lasted you greasy, carb filled bastard but it's time you find someone else to make fat(ter).


Now cheese on the other hand, anything but cottage cheese that is, is still on my "Most Wanted" list.

No weight change. That's good but also not so good at the same time. I need to get my ass into the gym but I find that I've had too much going on after work and before picking up Aidan so I haven't went. I did get my new FitBit so I can track my calories burned again.


AFTER

Day 28

It's starting to get easier to dish out portions for myself so I don't waste as much food but right now I'm not even worrying about what I throw away. Ken, Aidan, and I went to Chili's for dinner last weekend and I ordered the chicken tacos. It came with 3 tacos, rice, and beans. I ate 1 taco. That's it, just one taco. I tried a small bite of the rice but it wasn't very tasty and the beans just aren't something I usually like so they were just decoration in my eyes. I did box up my other 2 tacos but to be honest, I'm not going to want to eat a soggy taco so they will end up in the trash before Halloween.

I really have to start eating my lunch and not do anything else during. I was at work the other day and I was doing some internet browsing while I ate my lunch (half a turkey sandwich on wheat with a slice of cheese no mayo no mustard)and when I was done, my stomach hurt and I felt like I might be sick. It passed after a few hours but all I could think was I had no clue how big my bites were and if I was chewing enough. Maybe I'll start bringing a lawn chair and I'll set up shop in the back and enjoy some sunshine while I eat...plus I can work on tanning these ghostly white legs of mine. BOOOOOOOO!!!

I'm still trying to sell my costume, but no takers. I did buy a new costume ($12.99 for the dress) so I won't have to go to the party in my Birthday suit.


No weight change this entry

Day 22

Oh the brick that is my breakfast in my tummy. I ended up having an egg over easy and an english muffin with butter. It doesn't hurt, just feels like a lump just sitting, not moving, through my stomach. Now I have to figure out a lunch for myself. I'll be out of the house so it will be some type of restaurant food. I was thinking a Submarina/Subway sandwich turned into a salad???? It will have meat for protein and veggies, I miss veggies. This is gonna take some getting used to.

Day 21

So today is my last day on my all liquid/mushy diet. My first meal will be simple, one egg over easy and a half piece of wheat toast with butter. Doesn't seem like much but I've been eating 1/4 of a cup of "food" when I eat and that's been filling me up.

My weight loss should start to slow down some due to the addition of food but I also get to start working out again so I'm super excited to burn off some of those extra calories.

Day 18

I made myself a strawberry/raspberry vanilla creme smoothie this morning with a scoop of weight loss protein powder and boy am I hungry now :( My tummy is growling and I still have 30 minutes until I can eat my lunch. I had half a yogurt about an hour ago as a snack and even that isn't helping. Maybe it's the dairy based foods that aren't helping. Can't wait to get some raw almonds to snack on. YUMMMMMM!

I'm going to make some zucchini bread over the weekend and maybe some english muffin bread as well. I found a few recipes for crustless quiche that I also want to try and I'm going to try to learn how to make omelets on the stove and ditch my microwave omelet maker.

I've been looking for low calorie and/or low fat recipes that I can try out and I've found a few interesting websites.
http://fromapples2zucchini.blogspot.com/
http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/

While I was perusing the web, found this site and just LOVED it. Great Christmas idea for me *hint hint*
http://www.carolynskitchenonline.com/index.html
(I like the Dorthy Apron in Red. It's black and white striped with a red pocket)

Day 15

Week one of work is over and I'm glad to say the working helped to make me feel better. The pain I felt in my stomach while walking has vanished and it's much easier for me to get up from a sitting or laying down position.

Mom and Matt came over for dinner last night and it was very easy for me to sit down with them and enjoy my mashed spuds w/ gravy. I am finding that I need to eat slower though. It's getting easier for me to not have something to drink with my meals too, but I need to make a more conscious effort to drink between meals so I stay hydrated. The other day I had a cup of tea and about 6oz of juice when I got home.

I had to reschedule my first fill so now it's set for Saturday November 13th. Ken will be taking a projection class in Long Beach so he won't be home for 4 days/nights.

Even with the addition of mashed potatoes, I'm still losing. Down another 3lbs.

Day 12

Yesterday was VERY long and exhausting. It was my first day back to work and by 10:30am, I was ready for a nap. My back and sides were super sore and all I wanted was a nice back rub and some rest. I finally got it, the rest that is, at about 10pm.


I woke up this morning ready to take on the day, with some help from Tylenol of course, and so far I'm doing pretty good. My back is a little sore and stiff again, but not like it was yesterday. I did wear some very comfy "lounge" pants today hoping that would help since I'm sitting most of the day and the jeans I wore yesterday hurt my stomach whenever I bent forward.

I had a homemade smoothie for breakfast, half of an individual serving of applesauce for my morning snack, and 1/4 cup mashed taters for lunch. I weighed myself this morning and the scale said I was UP a pound :( It could be that I'm not drinking as much as I should or it could be that I've added some "real" food into my diet over the past 4 days. Either way I'm feeling lighter and my clothes are stating to feel loose so I'm still happy even with an extra pound.

Day 9

Went to Kory & Joesi's wedding and I'm glad I did. I had a good time even with all the yummy food that I couldn't partake in. We did stop at KFC on our way there and got me some mashed taters w/ gravy so I had something to eat during dinner. It went down nice and even hours later, still no problems. I'm going to go to the store tomorrow and buy some spuds to make my own mashed taters so I can control the salt and butter that will be in them. It will be a nice dinner to have instead of soup so I can join Ken and Aidan at the table while they have their dinner.

I did have some of the icing from the wedding cake and it was "sinful"!!!

Everyday is getting just a little bit easier but after all, it couldn't get any harder.....right!????

Day 8

Today started out the same as every other day this week; I'm sore, hungry, and wanting week 3 to be here already. But now as I get ready for bed, I find myself feeling incredibly good. I hope I'm not jinxing it by saying that, but I know a few people were kinda worried so I wanted to reassure them that I'm doing a lot better and everything will work out as planned. I still feel hungry, but not like I have been. I'm eating food with a little more body to it so that might be what did it. I ate 1/4 cup of cream of broccoli soup for lunch AND dinner and it sat nicely in my stomach, none of that "after" pain (the feeling I ate too much too fast). I had applesauce for dessert, just about 2 tablespoons and that also did good in the tum-tum. I might try Malt-O-Meal for breakfast and just make it with a lot of milk.

I go back to work on Monday and I hope that being more active will help me feel even more normal.....I hope.

Day 7

So even after barfing my guts out, not once but 3 times, I'd have to say that yesterday wasn't too bad. I slept until after noon, but I think that I deserved it after not getting to bed until after 1 am then having my last vomit attack at 3:30am. I was tender all day but not like I thought I would be. Ken crushed up 1/2 a Tylenol for me and I mixed it with 2 spoonfuls of warm tea, hoping that it would stay down......it did :)

I have 3 days left to get back to feeling normal, then it's back to work I go. Thank god I took the week off!

Day 6

Another 3lbs gone. I keep thinking "How is it possible to lose 3lbs in a day? Oh that's right, I'm not eating. LOL!!!"

I'm going to venture out today and take a trip to Vons. I'm going to buy cream of broccoli soup in a can and just blend the shit out of it. I can't stand to eat anymore broth and the creamed soups that come in the cartons are starting to taste like they just came out of Newkie's butt. Too graphic for you? Sorry, but just being honest.

Oh the tortue!

Tonight really sucks!!! Ken made tacos so the house smells sooooo good. I can't even stomach the idea of having beef broth tonight so I tried to make (heat up from a box) portobello mushroom soup. I tasted it and sorry but it tastes like vomit. I'm going to have Gatorade for dinner and just avoid the kitchen/living room for a little bit. I'm fighting the feeling of hunger and can't figure out if it's all in my head or if I'm really hungry. I haven't had solids since September 30th so I can only assume that I'm truly hungry. I know I can't cheat because that can lead to my band slipping and then this will have all been for nothing.

You know you're a true foodie when you can't decide what your first solid meal will be. I need to have protein so I'm thinking an egg either over easy or scrambled and a half piece of wheat toast with butter. The toast may or may not be a good idea. My other choice right now is Malt-O-Meal. It's got 5g of protein but it's too much like a liquid right now.

I can totally understand and relate to the people on the forums having such a difficult time eating less once they start back on solids. I think that mentally you are trying to make up for not having food for 21 days and you just eat everything in sight. I do have to say that I feel like I have the upper hand having that thought in my head and Ken on my side.

I get to have drinkable yogurt on friday!!!!!

Day 5

Down 2lbs since surgery! So far so good!!

Still have a slight rash around the largest incision but the doctor said it's nothing to get worried about unless I see an infection start. The incision looks like it's healing just fine regardless of the rash. I'm going to try to schedule my 1st fill for November 12th. It's a week before Ken's birthday and 2 weeks before Thanksgiving. Right now the timing on everything is working out perfect. I was laughing yesterday about if having my surgery right before the holidays was a wise decision, but I think that getting through all the family functions and not eating everything in sight will show what will power I never knew I had.

On a much sadder note....... I think that I might have to buy a new Halloween costume :( I'm going to try it on later but it was already a little big BEFORE losing the pre-op weight. I still have costumes from a few years ago so I won't have to go naked......maybe I'd win the scariest costume prize though. lol

Day 4

My battle scars, they totally look like stab wounds. A little bloated still, but that should be gone by the end of the week.
Yesterday wasn't such a good day. I took a pill for heartburn, which was prescribed by my doctor, and the damn thing got stuck. Oh the pain!!!!! I did what they said in case of such a thing but the walking and putting my arms over my head didn't seem to help pass it or relieve the pain. I just had to wait it out. That gives me a good idea of the size of food I'll be able to eat. I'm still on clear liquids but I'm finding that they just aren't keeping me satisfied. I did drink an Odwalla vanilla protein drink, which Ken gave me a hard time about but that's what he's here for, so I won't have another until after day 8. My incisions were closed with glue and now the glue is giving me a rash. I'm going to email the doctor later to see if there's anything I can do or if I just have to wait until the glue wears off.

I slept pretty good last night, I rolled over on my right side and it seemed ok. Poor Ken slept with one butt cheek off the bed cause he was afraid he might bump my tummy, what a trooper.

No change in weight just yet, but you can't rush these things.

The day after

I'm back home and starting to recover. Yesterday was the LONGEST day ever. We got there just a little after 8am. I had my blood drawn, my EKG done, my evaluation with the nutritionist and then I got to sit.....and sit.....and sit. They finally called me back at about 3:35pm. Ken went and grabbed a bite to eat while I went into the OR. I was in and out in 12 minutes. I didn't sleep very well but the bed was so uncomfortable. I woke up about 7am, went to the bathroom and washed my face. I talked to the nurse and she said that if I was feeling good, she'd send me to the hotel to meet up with Ken, so that's what I did. By 9:15am we were waiting for our shuttle to bring us back to our car. That was another hour wait. BUt I'm home, I feel pretty good, and I'm about to drink my dinner.

Thank you again mom for watching Aidan while we were gone. He always enjoys hanging out with you.

My nutritionist did change my goal weight to 174 but we'll see if I like that weight once I get there.






P.S. I still have both my kidneys

Tomorrow is the day!!!!!

I'm nervous and excited and I can't sit still. It's finally sinking in that this is really going to happen. I've thought about this for years and with Kaiser being such a circus with the "Jump through this hoop, ok now through this one. Ok, just one more....oh, and this one too", I never thought I'd ever get banded, but here I am!!!! My bag is almost packed and I think all my worries can now be pushed away and I can relax.

I'll arrive at the hospital after 8am and I'll have to have my blood drawn, an MRI, and a few other tests done before I can go under "the knife". I'm down 15lbs as of this morning so I'm past what the nutritionist wanted me to lose. A big pat on the back for me. It wasn't hard really, but drinking my meals isn't something I want to do for the rest of my life. Knowing what awaits me at the end of all this is what will keep me on track.

For all of you that have been here with kind words, thank you so much! Your positive support means the world to me.

My next blog update will be post-op, so CHECK YA LATER!

Monday

4 days until my surgery. I'm holding steady at 11 lbs lost, which is still in the zone that they want me to be in for the surgery, but I've gained a pound since I spoke with the nutritionist. She told me to tweak my diet to maintain the 12 lbs, but I think that adding the "meal" for lunch may have been a bad idea. I should have just stayed on the 2 shakes and a lean cuisine plan. Oh well, at least I'm still on track.

I started a new BCP and boy has it messed with my hormones. Week number 4 of my period and the breakouts are really pissing me off. I thought the pill was supposed to clear up your skin, not make it worse. Just one more reason I hate the damn thing.

I'm starting to pack for my stay in the hospital and don't know if I will want to shower in the morning. I hate not showering but I dont know how I'll feel. I have to go buy some juice before hand so I'll have it for when I get home. My soups are ready to go and I have frozen fruit for when I can start "eating" smoothies (no straws for about 6 months). I did find out that a glass of red wine isn't against the rules. I just have to sip it and it can't be carbonated or with a meal. I wish this week was over with so I could get on with the next leg of my journey.


By the way, I just weighed myself and I'm back at 12 lbs. :) Drink LOTS of water!
Aidan also got weighed. He's 36 lbs. No wonder I can't carry him for long periods of time.

Down by 12

I have 15 days until my surgery and I'm down 12lbs. Another 1.5 and I'm clear for lift off!!!!! If I go over the 13.5lbs just means my recovery may go smoother, or so I hope. I think the queasy stomach for the past week has helped with losing a few pounds, if you don't feel like eating, you won't eat.

My future used to seem so gray in my eyes. Being overweight can make you avoid having fun because of how you look and how others will look at you. You don't want to go to any function that is near water cause then people will ask why you aren't swimming. How do you explain to someone that you don't feel like showing off your fat ass for the whole world to see??? If I have to hear "No one cares how you look, they just want you to be happy" one more time, I'm gonna slap someone. If you're skinny, just don't talk to me and try to relate, you never will.

Things I'm going to miss......
Having a drink with my meal.
That's all, not any one type of food cause I can, for the most part, still eat everything I was able to eat prior to my surgery. The surgery will just limit my food intake and because of the little amount of food I'll be taking in, I need to make those meals count. No soda since they have so many empty calories. No deep fried foods, they have so much fat it makes my head spin. Not as much pasta or bread, LOTS OF CARBS!!!!!! I do feel like I'll be wasting a lot of food from here on out. Ken and I DO NOT have the same taste in food so if we ever go out to dinner, I'll either have to order off the kids menu or try to order something that I can take home and make 2-3 more meals out of. I'll probably end up throwing most of those meals out since I'm not the biggest fan of left overs.

Just another Friday

Went to breakfast with Ken this morning. I ordered pancakes, 2 slices of turkey bacon, 2 eggs over easy, and hash browns. I ate 1 pancake, 1 piece of bacon, both eggs, and half of the hash browns. The total calorie count was over 600 calories but I only consumed 350 calories. I feel sick to my stomach and it feels like there is a huge brick just sitting in my belly. YUCK!!!!! Guess I was used to my 90-120 calorie breakfasts.

Last Day

This is my last day of what I will refer to as "real food". I start my pre-op diet tomorrow and now that I weighed myself, I'm wondering if I might be starting way too early? I need to lose a total of 13.5lbs by October 1st and when I weighed myself tonight, I'm down 9lbs since my original weigh in. The plan is to start no less than 2 weeks prior to surgery and I was so worried that I wouldn't lose the weight that I was planning to start 18 days early. Then like usual, I freaked myself out and decided to start 25 days early. I guess I'll just look at this as practice for my new eating style and when I lose more than the 13.5lbs, It will just be proof to myself I can keep it going after surgery.

Uhhhhhhg.

Haven't posted in a few days, but really there was nothing to post. Went to the doctor yesterday and got back on BCP. Also had her check out my cold. She said it would just have to run it's course and I should be better by next week. Well......I lost my voice sometime in the middle of the night. I'm hoping it will be back tomorrow, cause it's kinda hard to work when you are on the phone most of the day but you can't talk louder than a whisper. I can say the positive to all this would be the unmeasurable amount of liquids I'm drinking to help soothe my sore throat and hopefully mend my raspy voice.

Still excited about the surgery and today is exactly ONE MONTH until I go under the knife. I've been trying not to think to much about it since I tend to over think things a lot of the time. For example, I've bought and tested a few different shakes so that I have one that I will both like the taste of but also be ok with the amount of calories it contains. I've bought the salad dressing I'm aloud to have while on my pre-op diet and I've researched all the "green" veggies I'm aloud to consume. We have now switched to a Sugar Free coffee creamer and I"m buying more fish. I'm still using my FitBit, I just have to be better at adding my daily food intake but it seems to be I'm staying under 1200 calories a day, some days under 1000. I haven't felt hungry and that's a good thing. I've had cravings but nothing so bad that I couldn't find something healthier to curb it.

Not in the mood

I'm not in the mood to workout today....but I'm going to. I think it's after 19 days in a row that you make something a habit? Am I right? I'll Google it.
I think I need a gym buddy too. Someone I can talk to and sweat with. I was bored the last time I was there and I never see anyone my age that I can workout with. At the time I'm going, it's all old people that are retired that spend 30 minutes on the bikes, not even breaking a sweat, reading gossip magazines.




FYI - Found that it can take 21 days to make something a habit.

Went to the gym again today and found that because I hadn't been there in so long, I forgot how to use a lot of the machines. My old trainer is in Switzerland playing baseball so I can't even get set back up with him a few times a month. Guess it wouldn't be too smart since I'm not sure what I'll be able to do after my surgery. I still don't know a time frame on when I can start an ab and core workout post-op, no one really has an answer.

I weighed in this morning and found that I lost 5 pounds. I also learned today, which if you think about it it makes sense, you can't turn fat into muscle. You just burn away fat and build a bigger, stronger muscle as you workout.

I wish today was October 1st. I'm not nervous, I'm excited and anxious to get this going.

FitBit

Went to REI yesterday and bought the FitBit. So far I like it. Found out that I woke up 9 times last night, not sure if that's normal or not cause it was humid here. From 4:30pm until I went to bed at 10:30pm, I only walked 2174 steps. The average person should walk 10,000 steps which is the equivalent of 5 miles. Today won't be a great judge of how much I walk either, it's sunday and I have a few loads of laundry to do. I guess that's pretty normal for at least one day of my weekend, I'll get in some Wii time to make up for not leaving the house.

I'm still excited about my surgery and have been researching what I'll be able to eat and when and what type of exercises I'll be able to do. I read no ab workout for 2, 3, or possibly 6 months. I'll ask my doctor which number is correct. I also read that no elliptical because it works your core. That will suck since that's what I own and can do that easily before I get ready for work. The hubby also got me P90X. He was burning it for some of my co-workers so transfered the files to our XBox so I could use it too.

FitBit or similar

I want to start tracking calories in/out and found something called the FitBit. It's a little device about the size of a quarter that you can wear on your clothing or on your wrist that monitors everything from when you go to bed to how many calories you ate then burned while just doing normal everyday activities. It's easy to keep track of your calories out while exercising, the machines tell you all that, but how many calories am I burning while I am at work? If anyone has some recommendations, let me know.

Off topic of banding and exercise, I decided to change my hair color. I'm no longer a blonde, I went back to dark auburn. It was always my favorite color :)

My new best friend

So I downloaded this application on my phone that keeps track of food you consume. Now what I LOVE about it is that you can scan, using your camera, the bar code on what you will be consuming and just adjust the quantity for what you will eat and hit save. Most people, including myself, don't want to spend tons of time keeping a food journal. This is quick and easy. For food that you can't scan or isn't found, you can manually enter it and save it so it will be available later. Just label it how you would look it up, and viola, there it is with all the nutritional information that you entered originally. It keeps a running total for meals and snacks as well as a break down so you can see what you consumed per meal. It will also keep track of exercise and calories burned for the day. I don't know how many calories I worked off this morning, my elliptical had a brain fart when I went to check my heart rate after 6 mins, and it reset. So far calculating my breakfast, my morning snack, and my lunch, I've consumed 631 calories. The sad thing is, I really haven't had much to eat or drink and it seems like that's kinda high. The only negative I see with keeping a food journal is when it comes to my husband doing the cooking, I won't know exactly what he put in/on the food unless I'm present. Might have to teach him to take notes so I can enter it later.

A good day

Got up at 5am today and did a nice 30min work out, gotta love Hip Hop Cardio:Old School. I want to get me some airbrushed high tops now too! After taking Aidan to preschool then working an 8 hour day, I hit the gym for a quick 45min warm-up and upper body work out. I'll be back at the gym on Wed to do it all over again. Next week I can go a a couple more days since Aidan will be in preschool full time.

I'm starting to confuse myself with my search for a suitable protein drink for my pre-op diet. It needs to be less than 225 cal per serving and high in protein. I have a weight loss blend powder and a protein powder that I can use, but I don't know what to mix them with to stay under the 225 cal mark. I bought Carnation Good Start and that's 220 cal, but the protein isn't very high. Not sure if I should really worry about that since it will only be 2 1/2 weeks that I'm on it. I just need to lose 13.5lbs before my surgery or they will cancel it and I will have to reschedule it.

Is it Oct 1st yet?

So all day today I felt anxious, I just want it to be October 1st already.

I have a calendar posted by my computer with everything marked so I know what needs to be done and when. I've started comparing protein shakes and even tried out a few so I can find the best tasting one with the least amount of calories. I can always buy Optifast again, but that shit tastes like.....well shit! I'm going to wean myself off of coffee the week before I start my pre-op diet to help reduce my calorie intake in the morning. It's only about 35 calories but if I'm limited to 225cal per meal, then I'd rather not waste them on coffee. Maybe I can just drink it black???

Tomorrow is Aidan's first day of preschool and I'll be back at the gym to celebrate. GO MOMMY!!!

First Step

I made my appointment for my Lapband surgery. October 1st will be the day my life changes for the better. I've struggled over half my life to try and lose weight, and it just seems that I can't ever get past losing more than 30lbs. I want this surgery to help push me past that point and keep me going. Do I have a goal weight yet? No. Am I thinking about it? Yes. I am going to make mini goals to start with. My first goal is to lose 40lbs.

I will start my pre-op diet 18 days prior to my surgery date. I have to lose 13.5lbs in order to continue with my surgery. I'll be drinking a protein shake for breakfast, another one for lunch, and then a Lean Cuisine or Weight Watcher meal for my dinner. I'll also be starting the gym on Aug 16th. Aidan is going to be starting preschool and I can now take time after work to stop at the gym and get in an hour or so of "Me" time. I've put others before me for so long, but that's going to change starting now!