Time for another....PICTURE POST!

Hey friends....it is about time for another PICTURE POST!! But first...

Thank you for the support from my last blog! It has been a rough last month for me and my weight loss (or weight gain would be more appropriate). We all have those time where we let our eating get out of hand and we need an eye-opener to get us back into shape! For me it was just seeing those numbers on the scale go up...and up some more...and up some more. I wasn't feeling as healthy or as energetic and I knew I had to get back under control again. My lowest weight had been on April 19th...I weighed in at 219.5 and due to my new job and lack of a stable work schedule I let my eating get out of control and on May 15th I weighed in at 224.5! That goes to show that just one month of eating whatever I wanted put on 5 pounds! But on the flip side, the past few days since then I have been eating good and eating right and some of the weight has already come back off. I have been extremely strict about not eating past 7 p.m., tried to drink tons of water and stayed away from eating out andthis morning I weighed 222.5. It is a win-lose situation...you eat bad, the weight pours back on. You eat good, the weight comes right back off! Blah blah blah...enough about weight loss!

Some more exciting news....who loves American Idol?!?! Anyone anyone?! Well my cousin and I love idol and we have gone to the american idol tour for the past 4 years...and this year will make FIVE YEARS because I bought our tickets this morning! The concert isnt until August 1st in Atlanta but we cant wait! And the best part is....I found tickets on the 2nd row!! They were a little more expensive but its such a good show and so worth it :)

Now time for pictures :) These are random but all from the past month! Enjoy and have a good day!

My friend, Sam, and I at our friend Danielle's wedding. Danielle was one of my roommate at Auburn

Burch and I at Danielle's wedding...having fun with good friends and family!

Sam, Megan and I

On the way to the wedding...sorry these are a little out of order!

Some of my good friends at my birthday dinner at Stix! The best japanese place on the planet!

Vanity...I know

Samantha had some of us over for dinner and a movie....good times!

The whole gang :)

Sam and I...love this girl!

Burch and I going to Samantha's house :)

Burch and I on Mother's day!

S L A C K E R...That is my name lately

I have been a slacker in the blog world and with my weight loss.

To prove my point, I have gained....not lost....gained 2 pounds in the last month. This is only because of my laziness and bad habits. For the last month I have been eating whatever and whenever and it is because I havent been on a normal daily schedule that I am used to. I started a new job about 3 weeks ago and I have different hours and a totally different schedule than when I was at Anthropologie. At my old job I was used to eating a healthy breakfast in the morning before work, taking my break at noon everyday and eating my lunch I made at home and then getting home at 5 just in time for an early dinner. Now Im working some days 9-6 which isnt so bad and some days Im working 12-9 which completely messes up my day when it comes to eating good. Also right near where I work there is a mexican restaurant, McAlister's, O'Charleys and a chinese place so that is sadly where I have been eating for a majority of the past 3 weeks. Im not afraid to admit it because its my problem and something I have to fix.

Im actually surprised I haven't gained more than two pounds...that is one plus of this situation.

But after watching the Biggest Loser last night and getting my weekly dose of weight loss inspiration, I am starting over (for the 50th time)....but nevertheless....starting over.

I have been wanting to join a gym...badly. I have always just been the type to go work out outside...just run around the block or at a track outside but I want to join an actual gym. The gym by my house is Snap Fitness and its open 24 hours a day. Its only $30.00 a person per month which is pretty cheap for a gym. Im thinking if Im actually paying to use it, I will go more often.


Anyways, Im not down and depressed....just a little upset with myself for not trying.

Oh yeah...one more exciting fact. My mom got approved today by her insurance for the lap band! Ever since I had the surgery she has been wanting it and just recently got serious about it! And she got the letter today saying she is approved!! Im so excited for her...she is beautiful inside and out anyways so I cant imagine when she loses weight!


Have a good Wednesday night! Off to watch idol....not sure who I want to go home! I like Lee and Casey...sadly Crystal is my least favorite.

CHI town...here I come!

Hey lovely ladies!! I just did something really exciting!! I called and booked my hotel room for CHICAGO!! I can't wait :) I am rooming with Kim...her blog is Good-Bye Fatty McButterpants! We are both fellow Birmingham bandsters and we couldnt be more excited to meet all you ladies! We thought about going on Thursday night but because of our work schedule we decided to go Friday morning to Sunday night. I was also super excited about the $159/night rate! The normal rate is like $225 a night so we get an awesome deal! Thanks for all the hard work all you ladies that have planned it have put into this! From those of you who have been there...and I went a few years ago...Chicago is a great city to get together! There is so much fun things to do whether you are into shopping (MEEEE), sports, city tours, restaurants, museums...and so much more!

Anyways, just thought I would add our name to the list as BOOKED! Cant wait to meet you all! Have a good day!!

Looking back, looking forward

It's amazing at what losing 40 pounds looks like. I came across this picture earlier tonight on my computer and it was in a photo album from a few years ago. This picture is from 2006 on our family cruise and I weighed right around 260 pounds. This was my highest weight ever. I managed to lose about 10 pounds a few months after this picture was taken but my weight escalated right back up to 260 right before my surgery in October 2009.

The picture on the right was taken last weekend in Atlanta, 40 pounds lighter. Although I wish I had a tan right now like I do in the first picture, I wouldn't wish to look like that ever EVER again. It is easy to forget what we looked like and the state we were in before having the band, but pictures like this help us realize where we started and how far we have come! Go look through your old pictures...it is truly an inspiration!

I have put this picture on my blog before but this picture is one of my inspiration pictures. I printed this one out and it is on my desk for me to look at day after day. This picture was taken is 2004 when I was a senior in high school and I weighed about 180-190 pounds. I think it is great to have inspiration photos to look at because it reminds you of what you used to look like and what you are aiming to look like when you lose your weight. Everyone knows that I believe in being confident in yourself and proud of who you are whether you are 120 pounds or 400 pounds, but I remember how truly happy I was with myself and my body when this picture was taken. It reminds me of what I am working towards.

Have a lovely Wednesday everyone!

Pictures from my BIRTHDAY WEEKEND!

Hey friends!! Here are some pictures from my birthday weekend last weekend!! They are a little out of order but we spent the weekend in Atlanta with our good friends Joe and Ashley and their three kids! We went to a Braves game on Sunday and had a great time!
When we got back to Birmingham we went to dinner with some of my good girl friends from Auburn so it was a great weekend :) Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Also, I am like 99% sure I am going to Chicago!!! As soon as I finalize things with my work and make sure I can have off that Friday, I will know for sure! I am so excited about it! It will be awesome getting to meet all you ladies in person after talking to you for months and months! Is anybody looking into plane ticket prices yet? I need to look that up! And who all is going Friday morning verses Friday afternoon? I figured some people might not be able to go until Friday after work! Anyways, yay!! Cant wait!!

Headed to Atlanta!

Outside of Turner Field...Home of the Atlanta Braves!

Burch and Porter watching the game :)

Burch and I after the Braves big win!!

The whole gang!

Burch and I trying to entertain the kiddos!

The new little kitty!! Aww!!

Birthday dinner with my girl friends, Megan, Samantha and Lalane!

6 MONTH BANDIVERSARY!!

So let me start this blog out by saying where in the world have I been?! I have missed out on some good things in the blog world! First, the Chicago trip?! I hadnt even heard about it until Alexis told me about it on Facebook...other peoples bandiversarys I have missed...goodness! Im my life outside of the blog world I always like knowing what is going on in my families' lives and my friends' lives...so this is not normal for me to be so unconnected. I apologize.

Well I have had a busy life the past few weeks hints the reason I haven't been updating my blog. I started a new job Monday and this has had me busy busy busy. I am an auditor for a landscaping company and I love it so far. I also celebrated my 24th birthday this past Sunday and here in the south we like to drag that out for a week or so! I had a birthday celebration with good friends last night and I have a family birthday tomorrow night if that proves my point haha :) But I purposely waited to update my blog today instead of yesterday because today is my 6 MONTH BANDIVERSARY!! Yay!! Has is really been 6 whole months since my surgery?! Time sure does fly by! Even though I have hit some bumps in the road and had some weight plateaus, I couldnt be more happy that I made the decision to change my life and start living and eating right (most of the time hehe).

When I started this weight loss journey I weighed 257 pounds, with my highest weighted being 260 pounds a few weeks before surgery. As of this morning, I weigh 219 pounds. I have lost a grand total of 38 pounds since surgery. This is 38 pounds I will never EVER carry with me ever again. Goodbye...see you later...adios amigo! During this weight loss journey I plan to hit my goal weight of 160 pounds. 38 pounds down and 59 to go! Im not sure when I will hit my goal but I know I am enjoying the ride and taking it each day at a time. I celebrate with each pound lost and I think that is the right thing to do. I once would compare myself to everyone else and their weight loss but I learned that this will only get you down and depressed about the journey you are on. Because some people have lost 80 pounds during their first 6 months while others have only lost 20 pounds. It is all relative based on our beginning weight and how our bodies react and how well we do with the band. If you have lost 10 pounds, be happy. If you have lost 50, be happy. If you have lost 100, be happy :)

Here are a few things I have noticed since losing 38 pounds:

1. I can now cross my legs with no problem! You know the feeling when you cross your legs and you are clinching them so they wont fly apart haha? Well now there is no problem and as a woman, that feels good.

2. My fingers have gotten so much smaller. I would always have to wear a size 9 ring and now I am wearing size 7 for the most part. My mom's wedding ring is a size 7 and it goes on my ring finger with no problem.

3. I used to wear a size 22 in jeans and pants and a 2x in all shirts...I even have shirts in my closet that are 3x. I am now wearing size 18 in pants...I actually bought a pair of 18's from Target that are too big but Im too nervous to go down to 16's already. All the shirts I have been getting are 1x and I actually just bought a dress from TJMaxx that is a size XL...like not plus size XL, just XL!! This was a big milestone for me seeing that I am a shopping and clothes addict!

4. I do have a collar bone. I noticed this a few months ago but when I weighed 260 pounds, you couldnt find my collar bones if you tried! haha

5. I do have a truly girly figure. I have always been very proportionate with my weight...as in the top half of my body was proportionate to my bottom half. But my waist is getting more and more defined every day it seems. Before surgery I felt more rectanglar shaped because my waist had gotten larger and larger. But with weight loss I can really tell a difference. I think before surgery I measured 45 inches around my waist and as of today I am around 37 inches. My hips need to catch up but I can now see that hourglass figure....maybe a curvy hourglass haha!

But thank you everyone for your continued support! I appreciate it more than you know!! I cant wait for another good 6 months :) I feel like we are all family here and it feels good to have a great support system!!

Im hoping I can go to Chicago...can someone tell me the main details?? That would be so much fun to meet you ladies in person!! We would all be one wild and crazy group of girls!

One more question...can someone tell me how to do comparison, side by side pictures?! I cant figure it out!

Everyone have a great Friday and wonderful weekend!! Pictures from my birthday weekend coming SOON!

Nothing to do with weight loss...

Looks like it is time for another post seeing that I havent blogged in 10 days! Wow! Time just flys by these days...phew! But this isnt going to be too long since it is 1:30 in the morning :) I was reading everyone's blogs and thought I would give a little late night/early morning shout out to my blogger friends!

In some exciting news...I met a fellow blogger, Kim, last week!! We had a fabulous dinner together and had much to talk about! She is a such a nice girl and we discovered that we have so many things in common so that was neat! And yes, of course....we took a picture together (below) outside the restaurant! I have been meaning to post it for about a week now but I have been a slacker! She also had foot surgery last Wednesday, for those of yall who may not follow her blog yet, but it sounds like the surgery went well and I wish her the best of luck recovering!! Hope to see you again once you start to recover and learn to walk on those dang crutches!

In some other exciting news, I am starting my new job on Monday! I will be working as an auditor for TruGreen. If any of yall arent familiar, it is a lawncare/landscaping company. My boyfriend works in their marketing department and told me about the job opening. It pays more than my current job at Anthropologie and the hours are better and more consistent so I decided it was time to move on and take the opportunity. I had an interview last Thursday and the boss man called me Friday to let me know I was chosen for the position if I wanted to take it. I am not good with change and especially since I have been with Anthropologie for 2 years but like most retail jobs, it doesnt pay well and the hours are long and can be late into the night so this will be less stressful and laid back. Of course the huge HUGE downside of this is....NO MORE DISCOUNT :( When you have been shopping at this amazing store for years and gotten the great discount on clothes, home goods, furniture, everything....you get alittle spoiled to it. So because Friday of this week is my last day, my mom and I are splurging and having ourselves a little shopping spree on Thursday night! I am pretty excited about it but sad to be leaving such wonderful merchandise! Anyways....blah blah blah! I am taking this new job head on and I am thankful the opportunity has come my way and I will give it the best I have :)

PS-If any of yall know people that may work for TruGreen or have in the past, let me know!

I guess that is all for now. Hope everyone has a great Tuesday! Biggest Loser and American Idol tonight!! I will be tivo-ing it and watching it late tonight because I am going with some girlfriends to dinner and to see "The Last Song". Have yall seen that movie yet? Feedback? Like it? The boy in it is so dreamy so I am quite excited!


Oh yeah...Birthday countdown for me: 5 days!!


Ok for real this time. Bye :)

4th fill...

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!! YAH! The weekend is here :)

I never updated my blog on Tuesday after my 4th fill so here it goes. I had 6 cc's in my band after my previous three fills but I knew I needed a little more. I had been eating good and losing weight but I wasn't at my sweet spot as we call it. My previous "official" weigh in at the doctor was on February 2nd and I weighed 233.5 pounds. When I weighed in on Tuesday I weighed 221.5 pounds. That is a 12 pound loss in 8 weeks. That is good, not fabulous but not bad. I was pleased and so was my doctor. He seemed extremely happy and didn't understand why I wanted a fill. I finally talked him in to giving me a small, tiny little fill of only 0.5 cc's bringing my total to 6.5 cc's.

At least he gave me something, right? I thought I was going to walk out of there with nothing. And all day Tuesday and Wednesday I ate fantastic! Healthy, lots of protein, no sugary foods, no fattening foods and when I got on the scale yesterday morning I was 219.5 pounds!! BELOW 220!!! I got my mom to take a picture of me on the scale and everything....

Which brings me to this morning. I wasn't feeling too confident because of my dinner with my girlfriends last night. That plate full of chicken fingers and fries made me feel more guilty then ever after my last few days of fabulous eating. And dang it, if my dinner didnt come back and bite me in the butt!! The scale read 221.5 pounds!! So screw that 219.5...I guess it was just a brief teaser! Anyways...Im not too down and depressed. I will get there again soon! :)

Also thank you Band Groupie for my Stiletto Award! I LOVE IT! Someone who deserves the Stiletto Award must be classy, bold, ultra, exotic, sexy and funky so I am honored! Thanks again!

Have a fabulous weekend ladies and gents!!

Bathing Suit Challenge, one beautiful dress and BMI news!!

Happy Tuesday everyone!

I am enjoying my day off on this beautiful Tuesday. About to get ready to do a little spring shopping then going to get my 4th fill and then cooking dinner and spending time with my cousin, Lindsay (the one who just got married and got back from her fabulous honeymoon!)

I currently have 6.5 cc's in my band. My last fill was 8 weeks ago and I have lost about 10 pounds since then. So hopefully I am able to get the fill I need!

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So I havent been on the blog for about two days and it seems I missed out on participating for the Bathing Suit Challenge :( But I still want to participate with you lovely ladies! Kristen, if you are reading this, will you email me at fashionista0418@yahoo.com and let me know the rules/regulations/requirements? Or if any of you ladies reading this are participating, will you comment below and let me know how the challenge works? Thank you so much!

I have set my own little challenge up for myself and here it is....
I want to be below 200 pounds when I go on my cruise on July 15th. I started this personal challenge on March 19th and my weight was 226. This morning, March 30th, I weigh 221.5! That means I need to lose about 22 pounds more in the next 3 months and 15 days!

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In some fashion news, I found a new dress that I want! I NEED! I HAVE TO HAVE!! AHH! The only problem is the money...it is $470 from Bloomingdale's but it is BEAUTIFUL!! I cant justify spending $470 on a dress with all the other things I need right now. The designer is Tadashi Shoji and here is a picture of it! What do you think?! Beautiful, right?!

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Last but not least, I decided to recalculate my BMI because I havent done so since my surgery. On surgery day my BMI was 40.2. Today my BMI is 34.8! On my way to "healthy BMI"!


I will end on that fabulous note! Hope you all have a great day!! If anyone lives near Birmingham, Alabama area or even Mississippi or Georgia, a few of us are trying to get together next week for dinner! Let me know if you want to come join us! We would love to have you!!

Weight GAIN. Need healthy recipes. Naked picture (not quite)

So we have a lot to talk about tonight but let's first discuss how I seem to blow my good weight loss every single time! Ugh! And this is how yesterday went...

I WAS TERRIBLE AND ATE SO SO UNHEALTHY! I dont think I have eaten that bad in a day since I had my surgery! It started out with yogurt for breakfast which was the good part of my day. For lunch, I decided I was starving (which clearly I wasn't) but I talked myself into getting chinese. I ate an eggroll, fried rice and sesame chicken. To my defense, I only ate half of my chicken. I tallied up my calories and that meal alone was probably about 800-900 calories! WOW!

So that brings me to dinner. OMG. I was telling myself all day that I would eat my left over chicken for dinner. But no...Kristen got hungry and ate so much food. I had half an order of chicken nachos from the mexican place close to my house and my mom ate the other half. Then I downed about 30 tortilla chips with salsa and gaucamole. Seriously? SERIOUSLY? I think I ate about 2200-2500 calories yesterday! The day before yesterday, Tuesday, my weight was 223 which was the lowest it has been so far. I was so proud of myself...then yesterday happened. Well I got on the scale this morning and it read 225 after just one day of bad food. Dang.

So I made a radical decision and that was to do the "slim fast" diet for the next few days. I have a fill this coming Tuesday and want them to see some improvement from last visit. The last week of January is the last time I went to get a fill and that has been about 2 months ago. I weighed 233 pounds. So the liquid diet like I was saying...Today I had slim fast for breakfast and made myself drink it for lunch as well. I am eating a 350 calorie 6 inch subway sub for dinner tonight and that is it! I mean it...that is IT!


This brings to me how I have been feeling the past few weeks. First things first, you all know that I am a positive person and I believe in always finding the good in every situation even when it seems like the world is falling apart. I rarely vent about my weight loss issues because I am proud of my progress (for the most part) and I feel that my 32 pounds lost is 32 pounds less than I used to carry around.

BUT...I am sure all of you are currently feeling this way or you have felt this way before. I am frustrated with my weight loss plateau but what is more frustrating is it is all my fault. I haven't been exercising like I need to and I haven't be too strict on my eating. Don't get me wrong, I have been eating pretty good considering I only eat about 1200 calories on average a day and that is miles of progress from where I used to be. But I haven't been taking my vitamins and that is so easy to do! I only exercise once every other week, which is terrible. I still love mexican and chinese and eat it at least once a week, even if it is in smaller portions. I can't be eating sesame chicken and chicken nachos if I expect to lose all this weight. Are you with me?


Ok, I feel better now. Thank you for letting me get out my frustrations and to know yall feel the same way sometimes makes me feel so much better.

Another thing I want to know, especially for those of you how cook like its going out of style....what are some healthy, easy recipes you cant live without since your surgery? I am going to try and cook more (because I am NOT a cooker) and if you have any recipes you think I need to start to learn, please let me know! I dont like beans, seafood or mushrooms, but I pretty much love everything else. Does anyone have any recipes of popular, fattening dishes you improved and made better by switching in healthier ingredients? Anything would be much appreciated!


And more more thing...so most of you know I work at Anthropologie. Well we sell the brand AG which is an upscale denim company out of California that makes jeans for us. A few days ago we had an "AG Event" and several people came to our store and put on an event for us telling us about AG jeans and educating us on their products and they showed us a fun video explaining how they are made. I was an apparel major so I thoroughly enjoyed it. When they finished they surprised us each with FREE AG JEANS!! Each person who attended the event from our store got free jeans. They have to send them to our store so we wont receive them for a few weeks but they are their new cropped jeans and they retail for $190 and we got some for free! I had to share this exciting news. The largest size AG makes is a size 33, which is a size 16 in the United States. They wont be fitting me now but I cant wait to be able to wear them! Yay!!


And I can NOT believe I am posting this picture on here but some of you have done it, so I got up enough courage to do it as well. Here we go. This is me after as of a few days ago and all my glory. Down 32 pounds, 65 to go :)




Ok...for real this time....Bye :)