Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Haven't posted in a while...but I'm back!!

Hello my fabulous bandster friends! My life has been crazy busy for the past week or so and I noticed I haven't posted a blog since November 6!! I finally have a day off so I am back and ready to blog again :) So much has been going on from work to boyfriend to family to friends so I will update everyone!

First of all, as many of yall are getting ready for the holidays at your work, so am I! I work at Anthropologie which is the best company I have ever worked for and the coolest retail place ever! If you have never shopped at an Anthropologie, you need to! Its such a fun experience! Visit the website if you havent before (www.Anthropologie.com)! But because our store is extremely crazy from the middle of November until New Years...I have been working my butt off! I work the normal 8 hour shifts and I am on my feet the entire time! There are no seats to sit and rest for a minute...no chairs behind the counter to take a break and sit down...nothing! Although post band I am thankful for this because I probably walk anywhere from 1-2 miles at work everyday no problem. I tell myself I am losing calories everytime my feet get tired.

Secondly, I have posted before that my boyfriend lives in Dallas. He is from Atlanta but moved to Dallas to be closer to his family. The entire time we have been dating he has lived in Dallas but we have made frequent trips (at least once a month) flying back and forth to see each other. It has been fun and exciting but at the same time hard and expensive. He has been wanting to move her for the past 6 months but hasnt been able to find a job here :( Unfortunately he found out last week he was going to be laid off. He was distraught and so shocked and a little angry. He has been such a great asset to the company but because the company isnt doing so well, more than half the company was laid off. The worst part about it was they told him last Tuesday that his last day would be Friday!! Isnt that awful!! Barely no warning or anything! But the good thing that is coming out of this is he is finally getting to move here! He decided it would be a waste of time to get another job in Dallas and that maybe this happened for a reason for him to be able to move here to be with me in Birmingham. He has been packing up all his stuff in Dallas and applying for jobs like crazy in Birmingham. I know its so hard on him but exciting on the other hand. The entire year and 5 months we have been together we have done the long distance thing so it will be so surreal to have him here all the time! I am grateful for him and hope this only strengthens our relationship in the end! More details on his situation to come....so stay posted :)


As for my band...things have been going really well!! I feel almost 100% back to normal with very little pain. The only pain I feel is when I strain my abs and my port site gets a little sore or aggravated. And amen to all of you who told me the first 6 weeks is the hardest because this couldnt be more true!! I have had my band for officially 3 weeks and 2 days!! The first two weeks weren't as hard as I thought it would be just because my stomach was swollen and I didnt feel like eating as much. But this last week or so has been rough! I have been wanting to eat everything in sight. I have a few food confessions to make and I need everyones opinion on if I messed up or if it is not as bad as I think. Last Saturday we had the family over to watch some football games and we ordered pizza! I seriously miss pizza so much :( I had only had soup and crackers for lunch so I figured I still had about 1000 calories to eat for dinner, right? So my confession is I had two pieces of pizza for dinner! I told myself I was only going to have one but I was so hungry I had two! AHH! So then the next day after lunch, which I ate healthy, I had a glazed donut for "desert"! Seriously?! What is my problem? I guess I figured because I had a healthy lunch I could treat myself with a donut! Goodness, I felt bad for that one! Anyways, those are the only mistakes I can think of for the moment but besides that I have been doing pretty well with the diet. I have found that I love salsa and baked scoops for a snack :) Pre surgery I was a huge snacky eater...like not so much I loved to snack but I loved snack foods like chips, cheese dip, cookies...etc. So salsa and baked chips is a perfect "snack" for me! I started this journey at 256 pounds (it was 257 at my doctors office and 256 on my scale) and I weighed this morning at 239. I have lost 17 pounds in 3 weeks and I am proud of this. The past week I have been anywhere from 237 to 241...but this morning I was right in the middle. I forgot to mention I went "working out" for the first time yesterday since my surgery. I went to the gym and walked 2 miles at a pretty steady pace. It took me right at 30 minutes so I was proud of that as well. I need to start walking more often outside of work...it makes you feel so good!

Lastly, I saw Mary had completed a bandster quiz and I thought it was fun and informative so I wanted to do it too!! Thanks Mary :) Hope you guys enjoy!

The Bandster Quiz....

How long have you been banded? 3 weeks and 2 days!


What was your highest pre-band weight? / Current weight now? / Total lost to date? 261 is my highest/ I am currently 239 / Total lost since surgery 17 pounds!


What is your best "go-to" food to get in your protein? I love Yoplait Yogurt and anything with chicken!


What is your favorite protein brand/shake? Well I havent found one I really love but the kind I have right now is Nectar and the flavor is Tropical Paradise


What food do you miss the most now being post-band? I love pizza and I miss it! I also miss eating every week at my favorite Japanese restaurant called Stix! It is ok to eat small portions there but nothing like eating it all the time like before!


What was your favorite "mushy" food? I would have to say chicken salad! I am obsessed with it and an currently trying to find the restaurant or brand that makes the healthiest kind

What was your worst PB experience? I havent really had an PB experiences yet thank goodness! I have had a few things get somewhat stuck though. Last week I got a flatbread sub from subway and the bread went down as slow as Christmas and kept getting stuck in my chest. Its such an odd feeling!


What has been the hardest part of this journey so far for you? SLOWING DOWN EATING! I get so hungry so I take a couple bites in a row to fast and I have to stop so it will go down.

What is your best NSV to date? Well I have only had the band for 3 weeks but one random thing I noticed is my fingers are getting smaller! I have worn as size 9 ring but a while but I just bought a size 8 ring a few weeks ago and its starting to get loose. A few days ago at Anthropologie we got in the most beautiful ring that is a size 7 and it fit on my ring finger!! I couldnt believe it! More NSV's to come in the future!


What is your top non-weight goal for your band? I agree with Mary on this one! Because I am such a huge fashion lover, I want to be able to go into any store or boutique and pick up something I love and it be able to fit! I dont want to have to worry with "do they carry my size" or "hope their clothes run big" or any of that! Just being able to shop wherever I want and not worry if things will fit me.

What is your goal weight or size? My goal weight is 160...17 pounds down and 79 pounds to go


What band "rule" do you live by (i.e. don't cheat on)? I have not had any soda or caffeinated drinks since October 21st so it has been about a month now! I dont plan on cheating either :)

What band "rule" do you not follow as much or aren't so good at? I agree with Mary again here...I don't pay as much attention as I need to when it comes to chewing. I really need to slow down and chew chew chew.


What is your goal "reward"? I want to go on a huge shopping spree and pack my closet out with the cutest clothes and shoes! I might just have to throw a vacation in there too...Ill go vacationing in my cute new clothes :)


In the spirit of Thanksgiving being right around the corner, what are you most thankful for, post-band? I am thankful for everyone who has been so supportive of me throughout this journey. I couldnt ask for a better family to be beside me the entire way through to help me and encourage me! Also my friends and co-workers have been super supportive and motivated me with hugs and kind words! I love them all!



5 comments:

  1. That is so funny you posted something cause I was just thinking this morning of Facebooking you to see how things were and tell you to update us!!!

    I'm so glad to hear everything is going well and how exciting for you to have your boyfriend be closer. It's awful that he was laid off but what a great opportunity for you guys to become even closer.

    You are doing amazing so far and don't worry about the pizza! We all have had those moments, it's best to just learn from them and move on. Plus, once you get some great restriction you won't have the desire or want to get in 2 pieces of pizza :)

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  2. Enjoy the fact that you got to eat pizza after your surgery b/c I am sure that your surgeon has probably told you by now that bread will be the first thing to go. I ate pizza in the third week and now 3 mths later I cannot eat it at ALL. I've had two fills already and let me tell you, if you haven't gotten something "stuck" yet, heed my words! SMALL BITES, chew, chew, chew!

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  3. I cannot eat Pizza AT ALL anymore. I use to work at Dominos Pizza and thats where honestly I gained all my weight, I would eat pizza all day every day Like it was going out of style, thank god after I stopped working there I couldnt stand pizza anymore and so I really didnt eat it anymore. if you are on FB you should find me, my email is seylenas_mommy@yahoo.com [since there are a million Mary Thompson's] it would be awesome to have another bandster on my fb to know what Im talking about! lol.

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  4. you know the pizza thing is not awful! I'd say that is within an OK range for eating crappy. I say this b/c I LOVEEEEEEEEEEEE pizza and post op at some point (can't remember how far out I was) I ate 6 pieces of pizza! Not a good move, obviously. But it did not destroy me and I haven't done it since then. So I think 2 pcs every so often is a reasonable thing. But hey, someone jus tpointed out to me I could still eat pizza if I just ate the topping off. I'm soooo gonna do that next time family orders pizza w/o my permission.

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  5. You are doing so well. If pizza and a doughnut is all you've done wrong you're perfect in my eyes! I got my band a week after you and there was one day where I ate fudge for breakfast, lunch, and dinner...you're doing great :)

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