O2BThinAgain

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So I was terribly excited yesterday and went home to have my son take pics last night.  I was terribly let down.  All the great stats and measurements and I don't see much difference in the then and now.  Jeremy said he doesn't understand it but it's something about my arms.  I am now looking for some kicked up arm exercises to try to get these things reduced.  I'm just going to have to bump up all of my workouts and incorporate some new exercises into them.  My problem is when I get to the gym I don't remember what they are when I look in my journal.  I need to add some pictures in here so I can just go straight to it.

I've added some new goals and they are reasonable for normal people just not sure about me.  I'd like to be in the 170s by my birthday.  With me going from 187 to 191 and back I'm not sure how I'm going to do that but I'm gonna try.  I am also kicking up the workouts and trying to lose an inch in my arms in the next couple of months.  If I can't do this with weight loss I'm going to have to do it with intense exercise.

Here's to kicking it up another notch.   BAMMMMMMMMMMMM

Today is my bandiversary.

While I'm not a shining poster child for lap band "weight loss" success I think I should be for being in the best physical condition I've been in since I was in the Marine Corps.  In some ways I'm in better shape than I was then.  I might have been a skinny person then but I smoked so I probably in better cardiovascular shape and I didn't lift weights then so I know I'm more muscular.  Hmmm is it possible I'm in better shape even though I'm about 60-70 lbs heavier?

Weight wise I'm 52 down since I walked into the surgeons office,  37 down since my surgery.  I'm 21.25 inches smaller.   I started at a size 22-24 and I'm in a large shirt and 18 pants (getting baggy). 

1 year ago I could make a trip to the grocery store and have to sit in my chair for 1-2 hours till my feet and back stopped throbbing, now I spend the entire weekend shopping, standing, moving, I feel like a slug when I don't get some form of exercise in each day. 

1 year ago I had to grab the stair rail and pull myself up the stairs, now I run up the stair and don't use the rail at all.

1 year ago I waddled.  Not anymore!

1 year ago I could use my stomach as a shelf.  My boobs used my stomach to rest on.  Today I look down and see boobs and feet...no stomach!

I could go on and on but we've all heard it before.  I'm freakin happy to not be 240 lbs.

If you had told me 1 year ago that at this point I'd have only lost 52 pounds I don't know if I would have opted for the band.  Thank God no one told me that.  Had a gone with the other surgery I was considering I would never have started exercising and I'd be a flabby mess right now fighting to keep the weight off.

Meds?  Well I wanted to be off all my meds but that's not the case.  My doctor wanted to take me off my blood pressure med but it's protecting my liver and kidneys from the diabetes meds.  I know once I hit 160 the diabetes will go away.  That's about 20 lbs from now.  : )  Oh the day I throw that suitcase full of prescriptions in the trash will be a happy day indeed.  I fully expect to see that day this summer. 

Was it worth it?  Would I do it again?  Oh you betcha! I can't begin to tell you how nice it is to feel like a female again, to walk tall and be proud to be seen.  I'm sure people still only see the fat that remains but for me I'm completely different and happy to be me.

I am going to try to get some pictures today.  I didn't think about it this morning.

New people.  The band is totally worth it even when you wake up from surgery and you're not 100 lbs lighter.  Even if you have to work to make it work.  Don't go in expecting it to be easy because for many it's not.  Go in expecting to succeed but make sure you don't base success on the scale alone.  My Mom always said anything worth having is worth working for.  This journey has hammered that fact home.  It's so worth it.  Shannon  --  I'm not a doctor, I  just play one on OH                  7.7cc in 10cc AP Band
      

I posted the other day about exercise and not losing weight.  Well today even with a raging headache and full blown TOM action, back ache heavy flow etc., I decided to go on a short slow walk.  I took the short path, got off the sidewalk (no one was coming anywhere near where I was) started to walk in front of the other building and this car came FLYING behind me and almost ran me over.  I hear the 2 assholes inside just teeheeling and chuckling.  I saw them park, kept walking around the building then decided, "Oh hell no", turned around got the license plate and went straight to the security guard.  He moved the camera around and honed in on the car and I confirmed that was the one.  I don't know what they are going to do about it but something needs to be done.  We have lots of temps here right now and they friggin fly thru this pkg lot. 

I will ignore and keep doing my exercises but seems I'm getting lots of warnings lately.

I posted this on the main board but wanted to put it in my blog for future reference.  Here's a copy of what I posted.

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Every time I think I've figured this thing out it comes back around and does something different.  I have NO idea if I should get a fill or stick with what I have.  My assumptions that I'm tight 2 weeks of the month and then loosen up the week before and week of my period have now been dispelled.  I was very loose last week (week before) then on Friday my band clamped down like a vice.  I did not exercise on Friday.  I was off work so I didn't get my 2 walks in and I also didn't make it to the gym. Again on Saturday I was very tight all day.  I went to the gym that afternoon with my son and he worked me pretty hard.  Saturday night I loosened up.  Today I started my TOM and I am loose (no exercise today).  Now the lazy part of my brain says "hey this means you exercise too much and should stop", the sane part of me realizes this is bologna.  I have no idea what to say to my doctor next week.  Do I get a small fill so I'm eating properly again and risk not being able to get anything down or what.  Still not losing weight.  
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Is it the exercise affecting the tightness of my band?  I know I've been eating more than 3 oz protein and 1/2 cut veggies.  Not a great deal more but more and I seem hungrier.  Friday and Saturday were miserable, I could not get or keep anything down.  I seem to go from too loose to too tight.  Where's the middle ground?

I decided last week to bump up the calories to see if that would spur on some weight loss.  As I suspected it spurred on a 4 lb gain.  So this weekend I cut it back and did fine only getting in the 900 calories.  This week, however, I can't seem to get below 1000 calories.  At night I just keep eating.  Today at lunch I almost finished off 3/4 of my lunch.  That's ridiculous.  This same place I can normally get in 1/4 TOPS.  Today I just kept eating and eating and eating.  I know this is my time to loosen up but this is really loose for me.  Maybe I should get a small fill but week before last I was sliming with every meal.  I'm really at a loss.  I told them I'd log my meals but this is an unrealistic view of what I'm eating.  I never eat this much.  I hate to walk into my dr office next week and say "here's my food log, yes I'm eating like a pig".  Come on band pull your weight please.  I can't picture myself exercising more than I do now, I suppose it's possible but should I have to?  Shouldn't the weight come off at 1000-1100 calories?  It's still far less than I was getting pre-band.



               AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH



Make this damn thing work.

Well I am just really tired of this.  I have been at around the same weight since December I guess.  I'm getting compliments daily on how much I've lost but I haven't lost much!  It's all inches, which I suppose is good but I am really getting frustrated that I can't lose any weight.  I called the dr today and have an appt scheduled.  Im going to log religiously and take it in with me and see if the nutritionist can offer some advice.  I don't think I need a fill, I spend a great deal of time stuck.  I'm just not sur ewhat to do anymore.  They need to figure out why this isn't working for me.  I know what I'm losing is due to the exercise. I need this to pick up now. 

I have posted recently that my weight loss is just starting to be noticed.  I have had so many compliments in the last 3 weeks my head is spinning.  Well yesterday a co-worker came up to me and commented on my weight loss and I was actually on my way out the door for one of my walks.  Today she stopped me on my way back in from a walk and told me that I'd inspired her and she went home last night and attempted a walk in her neighborhood.  

Later that day one of my cube mates said that people are talking about my weight loss and how much I'm walking.  I have been trying to get this guy to walk for a couple months now.  My other co-worker will walk with me and actually he and I walked to lunch one day while the other guy drove.  Anyway the non-walker said he admired my determination.  I responded that he should bring up some walking shoes (that's his excuse not to walk), he actually said he'd been considering it and even talking to his wife about it.

Wow!  This has always just been about me but it's actually helping others.   This might be a new dawn for the band.  Not only does it help the people it's implanted in but it actually is helping those without it.  Powerful little pal.

This year started out sucking and just continues to get worse.  At this point I don't remember half the bad crap that's happened but within the last month I was rear ended and ended up in pain with whiplash, my son ended up getting a stomach virus, then he ended up in the er from dehydration, then my Winkie just suddenly went blind.  I thought things were going to start calming down. I've finished the chiropractic care and I'm turning it all over to a lawyer cuz I don't want to deal with it.  So things appeared to be looking up.  I went to work this morning and got a call from my son that the downstairs had flooded!  Great.  Another day off work home mopping floors and trying to dry out carpet.  Now I get to deal with my insurance company.  I've had my fill, it's time for things to get better.  I can't do anymore.  

Totop that off I'm tight as I can be and not losing weight.  Eat very little and don't lose an ounce.  Enough 

Well I haven't blogged in a while so I thought I'd update a bit.  My last fill was a good one.  I believe I'm finally at my sweet spot and I'm learning to manage it.  I'm eating completely different now.  I do have to chew, eat very slowly and I eat very little.  I'm working out between 30 minutes to 2 hours a day.  I try to walk twice at work (30 minutes each) then hit the gym for 1.5 - 2 hours.  40 minutes to an hour of that on the treadmill, the remainder is crunches and strength training.  Now with all that I've lost about   8 lbs since 1/9/09.  That FINALLY puts me in the normal/average expected weight loss range.  I am a bit surprised it's not more since I generally get around 700 calories a day in and so much exercise but I won't complain.  I think I need more calories as we ate Mexican food the other night which slides right down and bumped up my calories for the day to 1200.  I expected to gain a bunch but I only gained 1 lb and the next day was down 2.  I'm upping my protein as that's been low as well.  The only way I can get that in is smoothies and protein shakes.  I can only eat a few bites of good dense proteins.  I'm coming into my 2 weeks period where the band loosens up.  Hopefully it will remain tight enough for me to continue to lose.  I won't be at the 188 by valentines day which is what I was hoping for but if I can get to 190 I'll be happy.

I'm hoping this continues.  Even with the minimal weight loss my body has transformed.  Don't get me wrong, I'm still fat but my body is shrinking and I can feel the hard muscle developing under the shrinking layer of fat.  Things are firming up a bit.  I have no clothes left from pre-surgery that fit.  I've packed it all up and will be taking it to the consignment store.  I'm enjoying the new clothes I've had to buy and enjoying more that they are starting to get big on me.

I now enjoy the exercise and have talked myself into just knowing it's a part of my daily life now.  It's so ingrained that I feel really sleepy when I don't get some exercise in.  I try to take at least 1 day a week off just to let everything rest.  Some days I go two.  I will continue to switch up the exercise I do, when I do it and what I'm eating will hopefully keep this train on the track.  I have an appt next Friday but I think I'm going to cancel it since things are going well.  

So I got another fill .3 yesterday. I started noticing later in the evening that liquids were starting to move slow.  Gulping stopped!  This morning same story.  I was afraid to try to eat so I'm sticking with liquids and will see how I feel in the morning.  I made a big ole pot of broccoli soup and it's delicious!  I do notice I'm filling up now..even on liquids so that's good!  Tomorrow if liquids move a little better I'll try to get some soft foods down.  I sure hope weight starts dropping off.  Seriously 29 lbs since april is not good.  That's 3 lbs a month .80 of a pound a week.  Not happy with that. 

I am going to set a goal for myself to be at or below 188 by Valentines day.  Thats 2 lbs a week for 5 weeks.  That sounds like a good number.  If this fill holds steady and isn't too tight forcing me to get an unfill I think I can do this.  I start south beach Monday (fill permitting).  I will also be incorporating my daily shakes back into the mix for breakfast so my protein will shoot up, I know I've been way too low on protein lately.

I was going to go to the gym and just swim tonight but I think I would like to run again.  I'm going to do some stretching here at home then go to the gym and try to do a 20 minute interval routine.  That will give me 10 minutes of running, then I can go to the pool and swim for a bit.  I don't really feel like I get much of a workout in the pool though I know I do.  I know if I can continue to run 2 lb a week is doable, I seem to drop quickly when I run.

Crossing my fingers that Felicia is happy with this fill.