Five Day Pouch Test...I give myself an 80% so far

I am back with some five day pouch test updates. Keep in mind, today is day four so it isn't over yet. I am sorry for not updating sooner. I told yall I was going to try and get on each night and give you an update for each day but unfortunately my long days didn't allow time for any blogging at night.

So let me put it this way. If a 10 means I have done extremely well with the diet and not cheated whatsoever and 1 means I have done terrible with the diet and cheated every chance I could, I would give myself an 8. And here is why...

My last post was a recap of day one which in my opinion, looking back at it, was a piece of cake. I got in tons of protein, plenty of water and I felt good. On the other hand, day two (Friday) was killer for me! Oh my goodness. I started out the day and felt pretty good. I ate some greek yogurt in the morning and got ready for my day of running errands with Burch. About noon is when I started to feel sick, nauseous, weak...and I was away from home with no food or snacks that were "five day pouch test" approved. My boyfriend kept saying "If you don't feel good, lets just go through the drive thru and get you some food to hold you over until we get home" and to this I said "No, sir!" I wasn't about to give up that easy. So I actually laid my head down and fell asleep in the car while Burch finished our last few errands. When I got home I just felt so weak. I knew I had to eat something soon before I passed out. So I grabbed some pudding hoping that would hold me over.

And the pudding and all its 60 calories did nothing for me. So I had to give in. I grabbed for some plain saltine crackers and peanut butter and about 30 minutes later I was good to go (little cheat #1). I know peanut butter is loaded with calories but it also has about 10 g of protein. Friday night, my family, Burch and I went to my cousin's football game. I took a protein shake and two bottled waters and called it a day.

Saturday, day three, was pretty easy compared to day one and two. My sweet dad made me eggs before we left for the Auburn game. He made me 2 scrambled eggs with a little salt and pepper. They were delicious! I had several bottled waters and didn't eat again until around 2:30. We went to a local burger and wings restaurant in Auburn and I was so happy they had chicken salad on the menu. I ate chicken salad over a bed of lettuce and I did add a little ranch to the lettuce to give it some flavor (little cheat #2). I finished the day with another protein shake for dinner.

Today, day four, I haven't been bad necessarily, I just haven't followed the diet step for step. I didn't eat breakfast which is a no-no. For lunch everyone wanted to go to Jason's Deli. I knew I didn't need break of any sort so I stayed away from the sandwiches and wraps. I decided to get the salad bar. I got a good helping of lettuce with some tomatoes, shredded cheese (for some added protein and flavor), cucumbers, onions and low-fat ranch dressing. So far, that is all I have had for the day.

Tomorrow is day five and I want to finish out strong with lots and lots of protein. As of yesterday, I am happy with my weight loss from day one!! That is until I got on my sorry scale earlier this afternoon! Here is how much my scale hates me apparently. I get on the scale (with clothes on), it reads 218 but the battery light keeps flashing. I put in new batteries and get on the scale and it says 225! HA! At this point I nearly choke on the gum I am chewing! I tell Burch to come weigh himself to see if his weight is high as well and it was. He said it seemed about 5 pounds more than normal. So I give it a minute to let it rest. It says 219....then 221....then 216. Clearly something is wrong when it goes from 216 to 225. I started day one of my 5DPT at 216 and it isn't too heart warming to see 225 on your broken scale after day four! Do ya'll HATE when this happens as much as I do?!

This makes me so frustrated. So I start researching on google "What are the MOST accurate scales" because I am on a mission to find one. Apparently there are scales that are $200 that people report to have inaccurate readings and their weight is between 3-5 pounds different each time they get on the scale! Obviously the same thing happens with scales that are cheap. I guess it doesn't do me any good to go spend a ton of money on a scale that is just as inaccurate as the cheap scales. Do any of you have a scale that you love and swear by? If so, I would love to know!

Ok, that was my venting for the day! Thanks for letting me rant about my lovely scale! But seriously though, I am out to find a better scale so if yall have suggestions I would love to look into it! Hope everyone had a great weekend!!

Today starts the HOLIDAY CHALLENGE!! YAY! Good luck everyone :)

Pouch Test...Day One Recap!

Five Day Pouch Test: Day 1

So today was day numero uno of my pouch test. Thank you to those of you who commented on my last blog and wished me luck! I have to admit...it hasn't been as hard as I imagined it would be. Tomorrow may be a different story but today was tolerable. My stomach is growling at me as we speak but it's not an unbearable feeling of hunger (not yet anyways haha).

Here is my tally of what I ate (or drank), my calorie count and protein count:

Breakfast
Carnation Instant Breakfast Essentials
Calories: 150
Protein: 13 grams

Lunch
Cream of Potato Soup
(I drained the soup and removed the chunks of potatoes)
Calories: 285
Protein: 14 grams

Dinner
Chocolate Fudge protein drink (2 scoops of mix)
Calories: 315
Protein: 47 grams

Snack
Sugar-free pudding
Calories: 60
Protein: 1 gram

Water
44 oz.

Total Calories: 810
Total Protein: 75 grams

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So that is how my day has gone so far. I purposely mixed in two scoops of protein mix with my protein drink because I wanted to make sure I got in at least 60 grams of protein for the day. I am not a lover of protein drinks so I pretty much had to hold my nose and down it. I feel like I could have eaten (or drunken) more calories today but with all the protein I felt somewhat fulfilled for the day. I have had to go to the bathroom like 7 times since this morning so I guess that is a good thing. I need a little bit more water for the day. I might go downstairs after I finish this post and get a 20 oz. water bottle to finish off my day. Overall I feel good after day one. I feel like I am flushing my body out of impurities and that is a great feeling.

I also went to the doctor today for a fill! I thought I had 7.5 cc's in my band but come to find out I only had 7.25 cc's going into today. The doctor gave me .25 cc's making my total now 7.5 cc's. I also got a print out of my weight chart since the first visit to my doctor. Back in September 2009, a few weeks before surgery, I weighed 259 pounds on their scales. I consider my starting weight to be 257 because that was my "day of surgery" weight. Today I weighed 216 at home on my scales but 218 (with clothes on) at the doctor. According to the hospital scales, I am down 41 pounds from September 2009!

Self control and will power are powerful things. Today after my fill, my boyfriend wanted to go to McDonalds to get a sandwich. Your mind plays tricks on you and says "Don't you want a McChicken? Are you sure you don't want a double cheeseburger?" but saying "No!" feels so much better. Then for dinner my mom made a fantastic meal. Delicious pork tenderloins with sauteed veggies and seasoned bread. The aroma of the food filled the house and everyone sat around the table together to eat. I sat with my protein drink. It was ok though...it still felt good to say no. Your mind plays tricks on your stomach but you are much stronger than you think.


Day two...I am coming for you so get ready!
Have a fabulous Friday :)

5 Day Pouch Test...Wish me luck!!

So it all comes down to the next five days. Tomorrow I am starting the five day pouch test. AH! I am excited, nervous, anxious, already starving (not really). It sounds like I am making a life decision or something...

I have read blogs of many people who have conquered the five day pouch test but I have read an equal number of people who didn't succeed for one reason or another. This is why I am nervous. But I have made a promise to myself that I am going to do it and do it right. I am not going to cheat. I am going to follow the rules and eat exactly what it tells me to eat (or drink). I really do owe it to my body to give myself five solid days of being healthy and getting back to the basics.

As I said before it was hard for me to find five straight days when I could make the pouch test happen. I had to call it off the first time a couple of weeks ago when I went to Cade's Cove. It seems like I always have dinner dates pop up or birthday parties and in the next 2 weeks I have bachelorette parties and a wedding to be in. So I have a small one week window to take advantage of this test! I am starting tomorrow, day 1, with liquids and I have to continue to do liquids Friday, day 2. This includes the following: low carb protein drinks, broth, cream soups and sugar free pudding and jello. Day 3 will be interesting because I am going to Auburn for the football game and we will be gone from 9 in the morning until probably 9 pm that night. Day 3 is supposed to be soft protein such as eggs, tuna and soft fish like tilapia. I don't eat any kind of seafood and I can't scramble eggs on the road....so we will see what happens on day 3. Stay tuned :)

I also have an appointment for a fill tomorrow!! My last doctor's appointment was September 20th but my doctor wouldn't give me a fill because she thought I was right on track with my weight loss. I haven't had a fill since July 28th which brought me to 7.5 cc's in my 11 cc band.

So here it goes!! I know a few other girls messaged me and told me they also wanted to do the pouch test! Good luck to yall!! We will do it together. I want to know how those five days go for you...what foods you ate, how much weight you lost, if you thought your band felt tighter, what day(s) you struggled with, etc. That would be awesome to compare our experience!

Anyways, wish me luck!! I will try to get on each night and give you a recap of the day. Thanks again for the support :) Yall are the best!

Pictures from the weekend, 5-day pouch test and a gym membership!!

Hey friends!! How are yall doing today? Hope everyone had a fun Halloween!! I know I did! My family and I sat outside around our fire pit Halloween night, ate chili and gave out candy to the kids. Apparently we bought WAY too much candy and we still have like 3 huge bags leftover. Great...I have to restrain from snacking on chocolate every time I pass the table in the foyer.

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Weekend in Oxford and meeting famous people:

This past weekend my family, Burch and I went to Oxford for the Auburn vs. Ole Miss game! We had such a great time. The Ole Miss campus was beautiful and I think there were as many Auburn fans as there were Ole Miss fans! Someone said on TV the Auburn fans sounded so much louder! I helped contribute to that.

So are any of you Braves fans?? While we were eating at a restaurant before the game, Burch turned to me and was like "OMG that is Braves pitcher, Tim Hudson, sitting over there!!" We weren't sure if it was just a Tim Hudson look-a-like until we saw a bunch of girls go over and get their picture with him! Burch is like the biggest Braves fan you will ever meet. He was so excited he almost couldn't eat his food. We waited until he was done eating and we rushed over to his table and ask to get our picture made with him. He was super nice. My dad remembered he was an All-American baseball player at Auburn and he told us he tries to come to as many Auburn games as he can around his baseball schedule. My favorite quote during lunch was from my mom! Burch said "You know he makes $15 million a year with the Braves" and my mom responded "Well he needs to pay for our lunch then!" haha! Love her!

Eli Manning and Archie Manning were also at the game as well as Michael Oher (the "Blind Side") with the Touhy family. We got to see all kinds of athletes :)

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A Gym Membership exclusive:

In some other exciting news, I am signed up for this website that sends me amazing deals and coupons from places around the Birmingham area. I'm sure you have heard of these type of websites but they send you one deal a day and you can buy it if you choose. Well today's deal was amazzzing! There is a fitness club here at the Ross Bridge Resort that is considered the Four Seasons of gyms here in my area. I have called the gym in the past and the cheapest package for one month is like $80 for the bare minimum. And guess what the deal was?!?! A three-month all inclusive membership for $20!! I called the gym as soon as I saw the email and asked the poor man on the phone 50 questions about this deal to make sure there was no catch. He said they have never done anything at this low of a price before but the deal is only available for 12 hours online. There are no contracts, no start up fees, no fees at the end of the three months and best of all, I can go to any of their classes for free as well!! They have yoga, ab classes, aerobics, body pump, spinning, etc. I bought it as soon as I got off the phone and the three months starts tomorrow!! With all the inclusive services, it is like getting a $350 package for $20!! This gym is small with state of the art equipment and pretty much exclusive to the rich locals. I like that it isn't huge with hundreds of people walking around. I am so so excited and this is just the motivation I needed to get my butt back in the gym!

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5 Day Pouch Test:

Last but not least, after talking about doing the 5-day pouch test of a couple of weeks now, I went to the store yesterday and bought foods I can eat during those 5 days. I think I am going to start the pouch test this Thursday, November 4th. It is hard to find five solid days to participate because I have lunch dates with girlfriends, dinner dates with Burch and I go to Auburn almost every weekend for Auburn games. It's not like I can order tuna and scrambled eggs at the concession stand! But this Thursday I am going back to the doctor to hopefully get another fill. Usually on fill days I do liquids anyways. Next weekend I have one of my best friend's bachelorette parties and I'm not going to be the only one eating chicken broth and turkey patties. I have to do it after tomorrow and before next Friday. Tomorrow I am going to Christmas Village with my mom and cousins and they tons and tons of samples of soups, dips, drinks, you name it! I want to do the pouch test right and not cheat. I think Thursday will work just fine! I am committed to doing this and doing it right. I know that any weight I lose is just an extra bonus. I am hoping this gets me back on track with eating healthy and my body will get a nice little detox for five days! Have any of you done the 5 day pouch test? What was your experience?

My grocery list: Chicken breasts, turkey burgers, ice popsicles, sugar-free pudding, vanilla greek yogurt, mozzarella string cheese, eggs, turkey deli meat, cottage cheese with strawberries, chicken and beef broth, potato soup, low-carb protein drinks, dry unsalted peanuts, shredded lettuce for salads, flavored drink mix, broccoli and cheese soup, fruit and yoplait smoothie mix.

I know some of these things aren't on the menu like bananas, grapes, smoothie mix and peanuts. BUT the instructions do say if you need a spike of sugar you can eat some fruit. And I know peanuts are a good source of protein. So I figure in very small amounts this should be fine.

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Enjoy the pictures!! Have a fabulous week!!

BOOBS Reunion!! Picture Post!!

Today was fantastic!! I had a BOOBS Reunion with Kim (my local BOOB) and Maria (my BOOB visiting from Orlando)!! Maria's sweet husband, George, came along with us and we had the best time spending time together!!

I met up with Kim, Maria and George and we ate lunch at the Irondale Cafe, which the movie "Fried Green Tomatoes" is based on. It was a cute little southern restaurant. Of course we laughed and took plenty of pictures together!

Then we headed to the mall a.k.a. my obsession. We went in some shops, got in some exercise and laughed the whole time. Hair extensions, gold aviators and a makeover later, I had to say goodbye :(

I am lucky enough to have Kim close enough so we can spend time together whenever we want! So awesome! And I am so so happy I got to spend time with Maria and George! They are a freaking adorable couple!! George was sweet enough to be our photographer for the day and he did an amazing job! When Maria and I show up with our cameras, you know our photographer is going to stay busy! Maria and George, PLEASE come back whenever you can and we will do it again. Next time, Kim and I will have to come visit yall in Orlando!

I posted our pictures we (actually....George) took! Hope you enjoy! Everyone have a fabulous Friday!!!!

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The Fab Four at the Irondale Cafe!
George, Maria, Kim and I

Me and the girls! Take #1...

Take #2...

Take #3...

See no evil, speak no evil, hear no evil!

We are....Charlie's Angels. Yes ma'am!

Love these girls :)

Home of the famous "Fried Green Tomatoes"

At the Galleria, after our makeovers :)

With our makeup artists! (Who also gave us about 50 free Bare Escentuals samples HA!)

Showing some Christmas spirit with the biggest wreath ever!!

A picture with the hat I almost bought....George tried to talk me into it but I was strong!

Our nerd glasses! Love them!

Kim and I representing our teams :)
Auburn vs. Alabama! The biggest rival around!

Burch and I on the way to dinner at a cute little Italian restaurant! Delicious!

Picture Post!! One year BANDIVERSARY and finally home from my vacation extravaganza!!

Home sweet home!

Friends!! I have missed you all!! I am finally home from traveling the world...well more like the southeast...for the last week and a half! It's been fun and amazing and I spent wonderful quality with my family and friends!

Here was my agenda:

Saturday, October 16th:
I went with my family and Burch to the Auburn vs. Arkansas game in Auburn! Usually we take the camper and go for the weekend...but we only went for the day. It was a whirlwind trip but we won the game so that is all that matters!

Sunday, October 17th:
We headed to Cade's Cove up in the mountains in Tennessee which is about an hour outside of Gatlinburg. We took our RV so it took about 7 hours to get there. I went with my mom, dad, brother and our puppy, Simba. My aunt, uncle and cousins went as well. About five other families who are friends of my aunt and uncle went as well. So we had about 30 people with our little group. Every October for like the past 20 years my aunt and uncle and all there friends have camped in the mountains in Cade's Cove. This was our third year to join the group :)

During the day we hiked, went sight seeing, went on bike rides and a few days we went into town and enjoyed the local shops and restaurants. One day we went to this amazingly awesome antique mall. It was one of the best I have been to. It had a really eclectic mix of vintage and antique finds. A bought this really neat crystal decanter from like 50 years ago. I also bought this gorgeous glass perfume bottle that will go perfect on my bathroom counter. Haha and...while I was there I decided I wanted to start collecting old antique cameras. As you all know I love photography and what better to collect than old cameras!! There was a booth at the antique mall and all they were selling were old cameras so........I bought three and I love them!! I have a bookshelf in my room that has my coffee table books and photo albums on it so I will put my cameras on there!

For dinner each night we would all cook together and eat together...grilled out burgers, soup, chili, barbeque, etc. and then sit around the fire together. My uncle, who is hilarious and the best story teller in the world, would entertain all of us until midnight each night while we roasted smores in the fire.

Another fun thing we did was go to a place called Elkmont, an old deserted ghost town that hasn't been occupied since around the 1960's. It was old logging community established in the 1800's but when the last grandchildren grew up and died off, the town became abandoned. It's a small town that is off the beaten path. You would never know it was there unless someone had told you about it. Even the people that live in the surrounding communities won't tell you about Elkmont. If you ask how to get there, we figured out that the locals will act like it doesn't even exist. It's pretty eerie and creepy. I went with my brother, mom, dad and two cousins and we explored the town for several hours. Some of the houses are completely in ruins and the roof is caved in. Some of the porches are fallen in making it impossible to get to the front door. But the houses that were more in tact and not falling in, we explored...carefully of course. It was like people just up and left in the night. There were cabinets open, refrigerators with old food still inside and mattresses in some of the bedrooms. Seriously some of these houses could have fallen through at any minute...we are dare devils I guess. Haha not to mention there were signs on each of the doors saying "No trespassing" and if we are caught inside any homes we would have to pay fines! We were law breakers for the day but believe me, there was no one in sight at least for 10 miles!

So Cade's Cove was amazing. We headed home on Friday, October 22nd!

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Saturday, October 23rd was my ONE YEAR BANDIVERSARY!! I could contribute an entire blog to this but I will try to keep it short. On October 23, 2009 my life changed. It changed for the better and I couldn't be happier for making the decision to get the band. Like all of us, we are happier, healthier and more beautiful versions of ourselves. If it wasn't for the band, I wouldn't have created this blog. And if I wouldn't have created this blog, I would have met all of you amazing, gorgeous, thoughtful, fabulous people! I am grateful for each of you and your words of kindness that have helped me through my journey. As of October 23, 2010 I have lost 41 pounds. Those stubborn pounds will never be seen again...thank goodness!! I have about 52 more pounds to go until I get to my goal weight so as for this next year, I hope to meet this goal! I am hopeful and I am determined to make the right decisions to get me there. Thank you again for all the sweet words! I love you all!

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Saturday night my cousin and I drove to Mobile! When we got there we quickly hurried to the nearest Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the Auburn vs. LSU game with the rest of Mobile apparently. It was packed and we rooted our team on until the very end! What a fantastic game and for those of you who keep up with football, my Auburn tigers are #1 in the BCS!! Amazing!!

Then we got ready and went to the Carrie Underwood concert with two of our friends who live in Mobile! It was my second time to see her in concert and all I can say is fabulous!! Probably one of the best concerts I have ever been to. She is even more gorgeous and sounds even better in person. Such a natural raw talent unlike many other artists out there. I would pay to see her again and again and again.

Sunday morning breakfast and a quick shopping spree at the local mall, we were headed back to good ole Birmingham!! What an action packed last 9 days! But now Im home and glad to be united with the blog! I haven't been reading blogs or been able to update mine since I have been gone but I have lots of catching up to do!!

Have a fabulous Tuesday! I have lots of laundry and cleaning to do :) For all of you Ole Miss fans, my Auburn tigers are coming for ya!