**FIRST VLOG**

Hi Everyone, I had lunch with Breanne today and it was amazing as always! Here is a pic of the 2 of us. Also above is my first vlog, try not to judge too much I had to keep re-shooting it like 8 times because I felt stupid in all of them lol. Hope everyone is having a great day!

Bandit Get-Together and NSV

Yay for bandit get togethers! Tomorrow Breanne and I are getting together for lunch and to catch up, I haven't seen her since October and her un-fill so I can't wait! We'll make sure to take a pic for everyone! :)

Also, today I went shopping and had an awesome NSV! I went to the mall and bought a pair of pants that were size 18 petites from New York & Company. I haven't fit into a pair of pants from there FOREVER! I remember going into that store when I was in high school and trying pants on and they never fit. I looked up the size chart online to see how they ran and it said waist 34 1/2 and hips 45 1/2, not too shabby! When compared to Gap this is right between a size 16 and 18, which is right about where I am. I also went into Nordstroms and looked at all the designer jeans and got excited....I can't wait till I can get into those size 32 premium jeans! Only a couple more inches!

Christmas and Etc.

Hi Everyone! I just got back from having Christmas @ Rick's dad's house, my Christmas(s) are finally over! We had 3 different one's this year, my parents, his mom's, and his dad's....very hectic! My food choices weren't the best, but not the worst..I am up 3lbs but it is also my TOM so i'm blaming some on that :)

I had an amazing time at home in Maine with my family, I miss them so much! I got amazing presents, some Ugg clogs, Victoria's Secret undies and PJ's, a gift card for nordstroms for when I'm skinny enough for designer jeans, and one of the best gifts of all....A WEBCAM! I get to be an official vlogger! I need to open it up and set it up and then I will do my first offical vlog, I can't wait! I opened it up @ Rick's mom's Christmas yesterday, it was a gift from his sister. Everyone was interested in why I wanted it, Rick took the liberty of explaining my blog and support system, and how I was jealous of all the vloggers and wanted one of my own. Everyone was just as excited as I was.

Tomorrow Rick is going to the Patriots vs. Jacksonville football game, and his sisters and I are heading to the outlets to find some good deals and also do some exchanges. I can't wait, there is an awesome Gap outlet there and also a great Banana Republic. I can't wait till I can fit into a pair of pants at any store I want....I'm guessing 20 more lbs or so until I'm a 16.

I hope everyone else had an amazing holiday. We're almost past all the holiday temptation food, only new years and we all should be good! xxoo

6.5CC's is doing the trick!

I had my 5th fill last Friday and got another .5CC's bringing me to a total of 6.5CC's in a 10CC band. I think I am pretty damn close to my sweet spot!! I can no longer eat bread or pasta without getting sick, and I think I am OK with that. Don't get me wrong, I love bread and pasta, but I think it will really help with my weight loss if I give them up. Also if I really want one or the other, then I'll have a little bit and just deal with being sick, its not the end of the world! I have gotten pretty clever at being sick and taking care of it.

Funny story, this weekend Rick and I went to costco and we were both starving so decided to get something at the food window thing...normally I would have gotten a giant slice of pizza or HUGE hot dog, but decided to get a turkey wrap instead. BAD IDEA, this is how I found out bread is now a no-no. After 2 bites, out it came...Rick grabbed me a ton of napkins and I took care of it, or so I thought. We got up and started to walk around the store, and all of a sudden I felt a big lump in my throat, I had nothing to spit into, I covered my mouth with my sleeve, but it wasn't enough...I throw up those 2 bites of sandwich all over the aisle! Eeeek, Rick was mortified we didn't know what to do! I found a roll of paper towels and quickly tried to clean up my mess, and then we had to leave because I looked like a HOT MESS!

Product Question!

Since surgery I have kept to greek yogurt and string cheese for my daily breakfast, but recently the yogurt is becoming a little to sweet for me, and I am getting hungry before lunch time. Yesterday while @ costco I saw a box of Zone bars, it came with the Fudge Graham and Chocolate Peanut Butter flavors, and I decided to give them a try. I'm not very good @ looking at a nutrition label and knowing whats good and bad in the sugar and carb department. What do you guys think of this? Do you eat protein bars for meal replacements often?

Nutritional Information:
Serving Size: 1 Bar (50g)
Calories: 210
Calories from Fat: 60
Total Fat: 7g
Saturated Fat: 3.5g
Trans Fat: 0g
Cholesterol: <5mg
Sodium: 200mg
Potassium: 90mg
Total Carbohydrate: 23g
Dietary Fiber: 3g
Sugars: 15g
Protein: 14g

Thanks for all your help in advance! The bar was super yummy, and it is keeping me full so far so I hope I made a good choice!!

5th Fill and Xmas Goal!

Morning Everyone and Happy Saturday!

So I had my 5th fill yesterday, and it went well! I got .5cc bringing me to a total 6.5cc's. I'm feeling pretty good after this one. I have decided to stick to a liquid diet like I am supposed to for a full 24hrs, I usually sneak food in, but I want to be good this time! When I weighed in yesterday morning I was 207, which was my goal for my fill, but when I got to the dr.'s @ 4pm I was 209 :( making it a 6lb loss since my last fill a month ago. Not too bad, and I know it was just water weight throughout the day. Best part is, this morning when I woke up I was 205!! OMG I am soooo freakin close to onederland I can taste it. 205 was also my goal to be at for Christmas, so I really want to try and maintain it. I am down 43lbs total and feeling great!

I'm going to head out to the mall in a few minutes and do some last minute xmas shopping, it's probably going to be a zoo there! We have a huge snow storm coming in tonight and tomorrow, they said maybe a foot!! eeek!

At work, my company gives us a Christmas bonus of having 12/23-1/4 off paid, so I'm really looking forward to that. Rick and I are heading to my parents home in Maine on Wednesday morning and staying there till Christmas's morning, then heading back to Mass. to spend Christmas day with his family. It's going to be a busy week, but I can't wait to see everyone!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend so far. xoxo

When the dog bites....My 10 favorites!

I saw Alexis's post earlier today and it got me really excited. I think this is a great way to get to know one another a little bit more, and also to get healthy and beauty ideas from people who use the products first hand. I think the best thing I learned from her post is the Dior Mascara, I have heard nothing but great things about this product and can't wait to try it!

1. Premier Protein shakes from Costco. They have 30g protein in only 160 cal, and are the best tasting shake I have found.

2. Tootsie Rolls: I love these things. They satisfy my sweet craving and I can have 6 minis for 140 calories, 3 gms of fat.

3. Camel Back Water Bottle This is my favorite water bottle, I have the classic style top since my dr. doesn't recommend straws. It holds 24 oz of water and I try to drink 2 full bottles throughout my work day. 4. Menage y tros red wine This is one of my favorite red wines. I buy it @ costco for $10 and it is delish. The name makes me smile too :) 5. Crocs: Working in the city I have to have comfortable walking shoes. These are my favorite for the fall time, they keep my feet comfy and warm. 6. Chobani Greek Yogurt: This is my breakfast every morning. I prefer the strawberry flavored, it has 140 calories and 14 gm of protein. Yum Yum.

7. String Cheese: I like the Stringsters reduced fat mozzarella, which have 4gms of fat, 70 calories, and 8gms of protein!

8. Coach Bunny Keychain: I got this keychain for my birthday, and it was my favorite present. It's like I have a little piece of my babies with me at all times.

9. MAC tinted Lip Glass in Nymphette : This is a really versatile shade, I always get compliments when I wear it. You can buy it at any department store for around $14.

10. Starbucks Skinny Cinnamon Dolce Latte. A grande size, skim milk. no whip has 130 calories, and 12 gms of protein.

I have no control :(

I am so mad at myself right now....We got a gift basket delivered to the office and it had a 'cookie tower' in it....Guess who ate 5 Cookies?? This Girl! GRRRRR who does that?? Why couldn't I just had 1, maybe 2 and been satisfied?? Nooooo, I had to try every single one!

I was off to such a good start today too. I went to the gym and did Day 2 of C25K and was feeling good! I had WW Soup for lunch, then the stupid delivery came!

Tomorrow's a new day.....

Sucess!

So my work holiday party that I planned was a success, new band (music) and all! Everyone was really happy and pleased and I got lots of compliments!

I went for the cellulite reduction wrap I wrote about, and it SUCKED! I had this mud that felt like vicks vapor rub 'painted' all over my body, I was soooo cold! And the worst part was she didn't put it on my butt or tummy...um hello those are my WORST cellulite areas! I didn't notice any difference, except maybe my skin was a little softer. She did give me a nice massage after the wrap, which was awesome. I was just happy I didn't have to pay for this, or I would have been real disappointed.

Eating wise I've been doing pretty good, even with all the holiday festivities I weighed in @ 210 this morning, so I managed to stay within my 207-210 range that I'm currently at. I went to the gym this morning and did my first C25K workout. After watching the biggest loser finalists run the marathon, I really got inspired to run. If they can run 26 miles, I think I should be able to run 1! I completed the first workout successfully, and my HRM said I burned 400 calories!! wahooo! I'm going to try again tomorrow, hopefully I get into the swing of things and will someday like running.

I'm going for my 5th fill this Friday, and I want to weigh in @ 207. My last fill which was a month ago I was 215, so this would give me 8lb loss which is exactly 2 lbs/week. I should be able to manage this, this week if I stay on task with the gym and eating! Hope everyone is having a good weekend! xxoo

Stuckity Stuck

This is what I feel like right now :(

Tonight for dinner we had chicken romano, which is basically just chicken cooked in balsamic vinegar and tomato puree, we also had pasta with it too. I had about 3 bites of chicken stuck...did some laundry came back to it, 5 more bites, stuck, did the dishes, few more bites, stuck, then I gave up. I decided I was thirsty and took a big gulp of water, BAD IDEA! I got a big pain in my tummy, then out it came, STILL COLD!

So today was officially the biggest FML day ever...you know how I am planning our huge holiday party for work?? Well I called the band to confirm they received my payment today, good news they did, bad news he said "see ya Thursday" (our party is Friday) I signed the contract for THURSDAY! I can't believe I made such a huge mistake! I immediately started balling, and ran to my bosses office, we brainstormed ideas and decided to call the band leader and see if he had some recommendations for other bands, he said he'd look around. He eventually found someone, but he is taking our deposit and now we have to pay the new band too :( Good thing my boss wasn't mad at me, she was very calm and reassuring. I just felt like such a complete ass, how could I screw up my job sooo badly?

Other than that my weight is being pretty consistent between 207-210, yuck. I got up and went to the gym this morning which felt fantastic. I just need to break this...my goal is to be 205 for Christmas. Lets cross our fingers! I know it's totally doable, especially since I have a fill next week :) Not sure if that's the best idea, but I'm thinking .5cc's should be ok. I just might need to accept I can't eat pasta or bagels anymore!

Restriction, Spas & Water

Ahhh I feel like I have so much on my mind that I want to write about...First off, I know a few of you mentioned you wanted to see how I would feel with my 6cc fill. Well at first I was feeling really restricted, and thought this may be the one. Now....I can eat just about anything! Last weekend I had a WHOLE bagel both Saturday and Sunday, now I just don't think that's right! Both Monday and Tuesday night I had pizza for dinner, I did good though and only ate 2 slices, but still I didn't get very full. I was supposed to go for my fill next Wednesday, but I realized my companies holiday party is Friday, so I had to postpone it. Our holiday party is a big to do...we rented out a hotel & spa in NH, have a band coming, a HUGE meal, open bar, the whole 9 yards. I definitely didn't want to be on mushies for that! The best part about the holiday party, is anyone who comes gets a $150 spa credit for the spa at the hotel. My friend and I are going to be getting the Cellulite Compression Treatment! WAHOOOO! I'm not expecting big results or anything, but it sounds fun, and it's FREE! So now my fill is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 18th.

So I know a few of you have mentioned that you have difficulty getting your water in throughout the day, and I have been rocking this so far so I thought I would share how I do it. When I go to the gym in the morning I bring a 20oz water bottle and drink that from about 6-7am. When I get to work I have a 20oz bottle on my desk and drink that from about 9-12, have lunch 12:30-1, then fill the bottle back up and drink another 20oz from 2-5pm. So by the time I get home from work for the day I already have 60oz down, and usually manage another 20oz throughout the night. This system has been working great for me, and although at first I was running to the bathroom every 20 minutes, that has definitely cut down as my body has become accustomed to it.

I hope everyone is having a fantastic week, happy HUMP day!

Comparison

After reading Jenny's post, I decided I wanted to do a side by side picture of myself. Thanks for showing me how to do it!! Here it is, this is 2 weeks pre-op and 3 months post-op.

Super Yummy Dinner!

Since I was home from work sick today, and Rick was beginning to not feel so hot, I decided I wanted some yummy home cooking. I found a low-fat chicken pot pie recipe, and went shopping. I followed this recipe to a T, using chicken from the rotisserie @ the grocery store. Rick and I were both really pleased with the results, and the best part is how super easy it is! Here it is:

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups chopped cooked chicken (white meat)
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
• 1 10.75-ounce can 98% fat-free, reduced-sodium condensed mushroom soup
• 1 cup reduced fat all-purpose baking mix
• 1/2 cup fat free milk
• 1 egg

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine chicken, frozen vegetables and undiluted soup in an 8 x 8-inch baking dish. Whisk baking mix, milk and egg together until blended. Pour over chicken and vegetables. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is golden.
Serves 4.

Per Serving: Calories 280, Calories from Fat 52, Total Fat 5.9g (sat 1.7g) Cholesterol 89mg, Sodium 793mg, Carbohydrate 36.1g, Fiber 3.8g, Protein 21g

*40* Pounds!!

I hit the 40lb loss this morning! **YAY** I did the calculations and it has been roughly 14 weeks since surgery so this equals a 2.85lbs loss per week. Wahoooo. 208lbs, getting so close to onederland!

So I've decided that my body hates me, I am sick once again! I stayed home from work yesterday and today, I am feeling much better today though so that's good. Is anyone else's immune system shitting the bed since surgery, I'm wondering if there's a correlation?

So I'm thinking I am going to attempt Black Friday shopping this year. I've never gone before, but there are things I need that will be on sale. Rick busted his laptop the other night, so I think I may get him a new one if I can find a good deal. Best Buy has an HP for $199, we'll see if I get there early enough to get one. His sister needs a GPS, so there will be plenty of good deals on those. We'll see, should be an experienced at the very least!!

Happy thanksgiving everyone, and I hope everyone who is traveling is safe! XOXO

Ramblings and such

I just realized I never updated on how my amazing my jam packed Thursday night was! Speed dating went OK, not too many people showed up so it was a little disappointing but I think there was one real good match! YAY! New Moon was Phenomenal! I liked it so much more then the first. There was less cheesiness, and a lot more action! My slumber party with my friend was also great, more of those are needed!


I've been to the chiropractor twice now, and think I may be addicted. It feels so good! He has gotten so many snap, crackle and pops out of me, I can't believe it. OOOOOO he also took xrays on my first visit and we went over them on Wednesday, guess what we saw?!?! MY BAND! I was pumped, this was the first time i've seen it! The dr. was like um what is that? you have a button in you! I guess chiropractors aren't all too familiar with banding. I told him, and he was like ooooo ok!

Today has been an awesome day! Ricky made homemade sauce, stuffed peppers and Italian Wedding soup with turkey meatballs. It is going to be a fantastic lunch week this week! Lots of leftovers and goodies to bring!

On the weight front, I'm doing pretty good! I am at around 212 right now and feeling OK. I feel a little sloppy, and like I could be making better choices (damn those peanut butter m&m's the other day) but we're all human and can't be perfect ALL the time. Last night I did have an awesome NSV. My family and I went to the north end Boston for some yummy Italian. I really wanted to get the pasta carbonara aka heart attack on a plate, but realized that was a PB waiting to happen. I ordered the chicken saltimbocca and ate one chicken breast and none of the pasta. I was really happy about this! Alsoooo today I went shopping for some new work pants, and guess what size I bought?? 16W! WAHOOOO! I can't remember the last time I bought a pair of 16's! They are a little snug, but definitely wearable. I also bought a dress for my companies holiday party that is on 12/11, this was an 18W but looked AMAZING on me. As soon as I shower and look halfway decent I will take a picture of it for everyone!

One last thing, yesterday Rick and I ordered our holiday cards, they are adorable! Here is the pic of what they look like, I can't wait to get them!

Call me a nerd...

But I am SOOO excited! My friend and I got tickets for the midnight showing of the new twilight movie 'New Moon" tomorrow night! WAHOOOO! I can't wait, is anyone else as excited as I am?

So Here's the schedule for tomorrow: 9-5 work, 6-10 Speed-Dating, 12-3am then slumber party! It's going to be a busy day, but sooo worth it!

I still haven't noticed much difference on the restriction, although today will be my first day back on solid food. I brought pita chips and hummus for lunch, and I can't wait to eat it, yum yum!

Today I went to the chiropractor for the first time. I was at an event last month and the chiropractors office was there, offering free evaluations so I signed up. He took x-rays and felt around my back and neck today. I heard a lot of hums and hahs, and have a 2nd appointment on Monday to go over the results and see what the plan of treatment is. It was really strange, I've never thought of myself as having much neck or back pain, but everywhere he was applying pressure I would gulp and yell ouch! He also had me step on 2 scales, one foot on each to see if I stood evenly, I don't! I apply 15 more lbs to my right side then my left, he said normal was 2-3lbs. Pretty interesting, have any of you ever been to a chiropractor? I'm excited to see how it will all turn out, and if I will notice a difference.

HOLD UP!

I got THE cutest new undies today, I am soooo excited about them, and need to show everyone!

In case you can't read them, they say "unwrap me"

On another note, I had my 4th fill yesterday. I got .5cc bringing me to a total 6cc's. I don't feel much of a difference yet, but I hope I will soon. The best part was, when they weighed me, I was actually down 1lb from my last visit....I guess those 10lbs were really just from being bloated and flying!

Today is my first day back to work in 2 weeks, since I had the flu and then went on vaca. I feel so left out, and played the catch up game all morning. I'm glad to be back though! Hope everyone is having a good day! xoxo

I'm backkkk

I got home from Aruba late last night, and have been trying to catch up on all the blogs I missed while I was gone! I feel so left out lol. The trip was amazing, I've attached a few pics. On a happy note, I can notice how much thinner my face looks compared to just a few month ago, on a sad note, I gained 10 lbs total on the trip! I can't believe it! Oddly enough I am not too upset, I know a few of those were just making up for when I was sick and not eating much the week before. The food in Aruba wasn't what I expected, it was mostly Mexican type (quesadillas, fajitas, nachos) I did OK with my choices, but usually ate to fast and would slime for a bit. I have a fill tomorrow, so that should help get me back on track. I think that's about it for now...I'm going to post more pics on facebook, friend me if you'd like to see them!! You can find me under Kristen Witham. Hope everyone had a safe week, fill me in on any good stories!

Guess who's feeling 100 times better already??

ME!!! YAY! The chills and hot spells are over with, and no more fever! Just a cough and some small aches! Anddddd guess who loved me having swine??? THE SCALE!!! It read 211 this morning! WAHOOOO! I am glad I got to lose a few lbs before leaving, so hopefully I won't gain too much while away, since my fill is 2 days after I return!

So I'm leaving tomorrow @ 6am, and won't be back till the following Saturday the 14th. This is my offical sign-off from blog land. I expect many updates when I return, and I of course will post lots of pictures!!

I hope everyone has a safe and happy scale week! XOXOXOXO

So my biggest fear came true, I was diagnosed with H1N1 yesterday :( I have the chills, and then get really hot and sweaty the next minute. My fever was 101.5 yesterday, but is down to 99.8 today which is a good sign! They said it usually runs it's course within 6-7 days and since it all started Sunday night, I should be ok for Aruba on Saturday. They gave me a really sexy mask to wear on the plane lol. Keep all the blogs coming, its really helping to keep me company while I'm home! xoxo

Little bit of everything

This weekend was so much fun, maybe a little too much fun! My mom was here visiting, and I ate like crap! Just to prove to you how badly I ate here is the list: Friday: PF Changs fried chicken for lunch and nachos and pasta from cheesecake factory for dinner. Saturday I had chicken fingers and fries for lunch, and pulled pork for dinner. And yesterday I had a hot dog for lunch and 2 big slices for pizza for dinner. OOOPS! Oh well, back on track this week! Needless to say, I think I am ready for another fill! I don't want to be able to eat this much, I never got stuck or even un-comfortable after eating any of this.

I used my new heart rate monitor for the first time this morning at the gym and was pleasantly surprised. My heart rate maintained between 125-140, which is great! The monitor also told me my actual calories burned was 306, vs the 422 the elliptical told me!

So, one of my biggest fears right now is that Rick or I will get sick before leaving for Aruba in 5 DAYS! Last night I got the chills, like never before and a little bit of a fever. I started balling my eyes out, saying this is it....I have swine. To my surprise I woke up this morning feeling fine, just a small cough. I come to work this morning to find out, that a woman who was out last week (I thought she was on vacation) had swine! I just want to live in a bubble this week and have no people interaction :( It's fine if I get sick after the trip, I just don't want it now! I am going to continue taking airborne and my vitamins and hope I can fight if off for a few more days!

*woof woof*

Happy Early Halloween everyone! Today we are celebrating Halloween @ my office, and were told to dress up and for anyone who has kids to bring them in and we would pass out candy. Well come to find out, I am the only one who took advantage of this and dressed up. REAL CUTE! And to top it off, there is only 1 kid coming in, and she is not coming till 4, I hope to be long gone by then! Oh well, I love my cute little puppy dog costume and am leaving it on all day and barking at people. When else will I get the chance to do this haha.

As for the weight loss front, this has NOT been a good week. Along with a few other bloggers, I must confess my eating habits have not been that of a good bandster this week :( I only went to the gym 3 days, and Wednesday night we ordered a pizza for dinner, and I had 2 slices of cheese from a large pizza. Yesterday for dinner I had a buffalo chicken wrap, which wasn't too bad for me, but not the best choice either...but then @ 11pm the leftover pizza was calling my name in the fridge and I had a slice :( Totally not needed, but SOOOOO good! Let's not even get started on the Halloween candy...I've probably had about 3 fun size kit kats, and 1 reeces PB cup. Thank god when I went to dunkin donuts this morning they were out of the Halloween sprinkled munchkins...that could have been disastrous!

My mom is coming down today to spend the weekend with me, I am so excited. I miss having her living close. We are going to a Bruins game tomorrow afternoon, and since I live about a mile from Salem MA (the Halloween capital) we will probably walk around there tomorrow night. I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe weekend! XOXO

Weekend Update

Hey everyone, I have been pretty busy these past couple of days so I haven't been able to update my blog at all. Let's start with Friday.

Friday I was on mushies due to my fill, I had greek yogurt for breakfast and got full off of 2 oz wahoo, soup for lunch and able to eat it all. Dinner consisted of more soup and a meatball. I was able to eat half the meatball, and was then full.

Saturday, my parents came to visit and to take a look at Rick and I's top 2 wedding venue choices! I had an English muffin with PB for breakfast, everything was fine. Lunch was a cup of chicken noodle soup and half a turkey sandwich. I had about 2 bites of the sandwich and started to slime..ick! It was a quick episode though, so that was great. Dinner we went out for Chinese, this made me a little nervous but I did great! I had 1 steamed chicken dumpling, 1 scallion pancake, 1 piece of beef and 1 piece of chicken...we had a ton to take home :) As for the wedding venue, it's OFFICIAL, I will be having my reception @ Atkinson Country Club on May 21, 2011!! http://www.atkinsonresort.com/ My mom was shocked when she saw me, she hasn't seen me in about a month, and said she could really tell a difference and that I was "tiny" She also kept talking about how much fun it was going to be to go shopping for my wedding dress and how excited she is. It was great to see how happy my progress made her.

Sunday: I had 2 slices of peanut butter toast for breakfast and for lunch we had a family birthday dinner @ Outback steakhouse. I ordered the 9oz teriyaki sirloin with green beans cooked with no butter. I ate about 3-4oz of my steak and all my green beans. I brought the remaining steak for lunch today, and it was delish. I did a great job eating slow and chewing lots and didn't have any issues. yay!

Today: Today I woke up nice and early and went to the gym for muscle class again. It was a lot different then last week's muscle class, she said she tries to mix it up. We did a TON of lunges, OUCH! After the class I did 15 min on the elliptical. It was a really good workout. I checked the status of my heart rate monitor and I will receive it tomorrow, I am super excited to see what it has to tell me! Who knows what my heart rate actually is and how many calories I am actually burning! Today I actually received the best compliment about my weight loss that I have gotten. I was standing my our copier at work making some copies and my boss walked by and said "krissy, your not allowed to stand sideways anymore, I can't see you when you do" I was so excited! I feel like I look really good today, I am wearing a new pair of Old Navy jeans size 18, and a cute red shirt from express size L!!

Also today my car went into the shop to get fixed, and I got to pick up my loaner car. I went to enterprise and the guy showed me a bunch of different cars that I could pick from, and then he said "oooo I have the perfect one for you, come here" we went to the back out the lot, and it was a 2009 Mitsubishi eclipse 2 door sport! It is AWESOME! It is such a fun car, so not practical for what I need, but definitely fun for a few days! I wonder if I got this car, because of how cute I'm looking today?? lol

*Third Fill*

I went for my third fill today, and I must say it was a success! The one thing I had been really worried about was gaining weight since my last time there, and for some reason the scale gods were on my side today and I was actually down 5 in 3 weeks! The nurse practitioner who does my fills said I was doing an awesome job, and doing everything perfectly. I asked her about my heart rate at the gym and she told me to never trust what the machine gives for a #, and to think about getting a heart rate monitor. I think I am going to get the Polar F6, does anyone have any experience with these? I found a website online, that is offering free overnight shipping and 20% off so it'd only be like $85.

As for my fill, she gave me another 1cc bringing me up to 5.5 total. She read in my file how the dr. had a hard time accessing my port last time, and how he had to stick me 4 times....she said she promised to do better, and she did! She got it on the first try and didn't have to fish around at all once inside. We were both super pumped!

We scheduled my 4th fill for November 20th which should work out well. I'll be in Aruba from the 7th-14th, so it'll give me time to come back home and get back into a normal schedule somewhat, and it's not too close to thanksgiving!

I've been eating soup all this week for lunch, and I remember being told during pre-op classes that it wasn't a good option because it's a "slider food". It has been working out really well for me though, and it's so easy to bring to work. I've been getting the Progresso Light which have about 10gms of protein and 160 calories. I think this along with a string cheese (8gms protein) is a pretty decent lunch.

Workout Barbie!

This was my dinner last night, it was really good! It was an old weight watcher recipe that I had.


Ingredients
2 spray(s) cooking spray
1/2 cup(s) plain fat-free yogurt
1 Tbsp paprika, sweet-variety, divided
15 item(s) saltine crackers, crushed into crumbs
1 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
16 oz uncooked boneless, skinless chicken breast, four 4 oz thin pieces

Instructions
Preheat broiler and coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Place yogurt and 1 teaspoon of paprika in a small shallow bowl; mix to combine. Combine cracker crumbs, salt, pepper and remaining 2 teaspoons of paprika on a large shallow pie plate; stir to combine. Place each chicken cutlet in yogurt mixture and turn to coat. Next, place chicken in crumb mixture, turning to coat both sides and pressing lightly to make crumbs stick.
Place coated chicken on prepared baking sheet and lightly spray with cooking spray. Broil 3 to 4 inches from heat source until golden brown and cooked through, flipping once, about 4 to 5 minutes per side.


On another note, this morning I woke up super early to go to the gym and I did my first group class! It was called muscles and I really liked it. This is the class description: This class uses hand weights, resistance bands, resist-a-balls, and other equipment to tone and sculpt the entire body. Concentration is on toning all of the major muscle groups of the upper and lower body. I feel like was a great workout and that I got to work a lot of muscles that normally don't get much attention. I will definitely be going back for this one, the first one is always the hardest because you don't know anyone in the class or know what to expect. It is offered M,W,F so that will perfect.

Tomorrow I get my 3rd fill, eeeek! I am excited and nervous. I have a list of questions to ask the Dr. My heart rate was up to 180 today on the elliptical, pretty sure this isn't safe lol. I think they will be doing blood work also so they can check up on my levels. That will be a good thing to get done, since I haven't had it done since surgery. I wonder how everythings looking?? Let's all hope for some restriction and happy vitamin levels!! Have a great day!

I'm a Star!

I made it! I completed my first 5K yesterday at the Making Strides for Breast Cancer in Portland Maine. It was actually a lot tougher then I expected, I'm not sure if this was due to the hilly terrain, the disgusting weather, or me being really out of shape lol. It was a great family activity though, and I got lots of compliments for planning it. The best part is, I made it on the news! Here is the link http://www.wmtw.com/video/21333958/index.html)http://www.wmtw.com/video/21333958/index.html if you are super bored you can watch it and look for me. You can see me around the 1.25 mark I'm in the pink coat :)

So everything got straightened out with my car. It will be going into the shop next week, and insurance is handling everything. Yipppeeee.

I did pretty good eating this weekend. Saturday night Rick and I ate in, and he made chicken parm. I had one small piece and was satisfied. Sunday morning I had 2 pieces of low cal bread with PB for breakfast, then for lunch after the walk we went to a pub and I had a cheeseburger without the roll, and last night I had my first ever Sonic experience!! They just built the first one in New England about 5 miles from our house, and the line is always 30 min or longer. Rick had been out all day, and decided to try and go on his way home, and for the first time since they opened there wasn't a line! I had no idea what to get but wanted everything! I had a few chili cheese tater tots, about half of a grilled chicken sandwich, and a diet cherry limeade slush. I loved the slush and tater tots, the sandwich not so much. I'm glad I've finally got this Sonic urge over with! Today for lunch I had leftover chicken parm and got stuck :( I was really hungry and excited for it, and guess I ate too fast. I had about 3 bites and then slimmed for the next 30 minutes. I even had to change my shirt cause I made such a mess :( OOPS! I go for my 3rd fill in 3 days, hopefully that will help the scales move. I was good this morning though, and went to the gym and did the elliptical. It really helps now that Rick has joined with me, it makes it so much easier to get out of bed in the morning. Hope everyone else had a great weekend!

Christmas came early!!

Today Rick and I had an early morning, we had to get up and go to our church to meet with our priest and take a compatibility test. I was really disappointed because once we had gotten settled in the testing room, our priest came into the room and announced he has been transferred to a different church about an hour away! I really liked Father Jim, and was really looking forward to him marrying us, so this wasn't the best news. He said that if he is still in the area on our wedding date he can perform the ceremony, so hopefully he doesn't get transferred again! The test went well, the questions were silly and awkward. Their were about 10 about sex which was weird! Hopefully we get the results soon!

After the test we ran some errands, we went to costco, and dicks sporting goods. I got a cute new nike sports bra which I was happy about. After running the errands we came home, and to my surprise there was a box outside our door. When I went to pick it up I noticed it was from Gen!! I got really excited and ran into the house and tore it open. The dress is GORGEOUS, I can zip it but it's a little tight under my boobs. 10 more lbs or so and it will fit perfectly! There were also about 5 jersey knit skirts in the box, these all fit perfect and will be amazing for our trip to Aruba in 3 WEEKS!!! Thank you so much Gen, this was so thoughtful and generous of you. I cannot wait until I have lost enough weight to be able to help people.

I hope everyone is having a great weekend. I have the 5K tomorrow and it's supposed to be a nor' easter! Good Times!

boom boom POW!

Last night I got to go to my first bridal show with my best friend, my maid of honor Stef. We were really excited to go, and to find out what they were all about. On our way there (it was about 45 minutes away) we hit a little bit of traffic. I slow down, look in my rear view mirror, think to myself hmmm this guy behind me doesn't look to me slowing down, then BAM! we were hit :( This was my first accident I have ever been in, and hopefully my last. We are really lucky there wasn't much damage and neither of us got hurt, just really shaken up. We were able to pull over the breakdown lane, and I immediately get out of the car and start yelling at this guy (probably not the best idea, but it was the hear of the moment) He apologized and said he didn't notice us stopping quick enough. I called the police and they came, and handled everything, his car was totaled and had to be towed, but mine was drivable. Stef and I decided we had come this far, we might as well still go to the show so we went. It was a good time, I think they are best if you have a specific vendor in mind and know they will be at the show. They were offering awesome deals for signing up at the show. We got to try a few samples of cake mmmm yummy, I counted this as my dinner lol.

The scale was in a good mood this morning, yay! My lowest I've weighed so far was 2 weeks ago @ 215, and for the past week I have been going between 220 and 218 well finally this morning I was back to 216. I have been doing pretty good eating, haven't gotten stuck since Monday so that's a plus! Tonight I am hosting speed dating, it should be a good time. The group is for 35-45 single adults, I've never done an older group before, so it should be fun!

This Saturday Rick and I have to take a compatibility test with the priest that will be marrying us. I guess it takes about an hour and there are about 150 questions on it. After we are done the scores will get sent to the priest and then we will have to have another meeting with him to go over problem areas. Needless to say neither of us are too excited about this haha. I think we'll do OK though, we have discussed all major areas of concern I think. We will see.....

Sunday I am doing my first 5K walk! My mom, 2 aunts, 2 cousins and I are doing the Strides for Breast Cancer Walk in Portland ME. I am really excited for this and think it will be a great family day. On of my aunts was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and will be having a mastectomy the day after our walk, so it couldn't have come at a better time.

I think that's all I have for an update, I hope everyone is having a good day, it's almost the weekend WAHOOO!

Heart Rate

I have a question for everyone....When working out and doing cardio, what is your heart rate normally? Yesterday I noticed mine was in the 160-170's and Rick's was only at 130. I pointed it out to him, and he said that mine was way to high and it was bad. What's going on here, why is mine so high, and is it bad? I think we've all seen the charts on the cardio equipment that show the ideal heart rates for the fat burning zone and cardio zone, I am above the cardio zone, I'm a little worried now. An example of my typical workout is the elliptical for 30 mins, and this usually equals 250 calories burned and 2.30 miles....is this normal? Thanks in advance for any advice!

Here I am!

So it has been a few days since my last post, I have been super busy! I'll try to catch everyone up!

Friday: Worked 9-5, I forgot a lunch so I bought chicken teriyaki and white rice (brown wasn't available) BAD IDEA. This got stuck and I slimmed for a bit. It was my own fault though and I realize this, it was too yummy to stop. It was also Rick's bday, so I had planned a family dinner out to a nice restaurant on the ocean. I ordered roasted chicken, which came with 2 sides....dare I say I got the truffle mac and cheese and mashed potatoes?? They were sooo good, I did a really great job with my portion control, I ate all of the mac and cheese which wasn't much, and about half of the chicken and no potatoes. I know these weren't the best choices, but it's over with and I'll move on.

Saturday: Saturday I met up with my friend Breanne http://www.ladylapband.blogspot.com/ who I met on LBT. We went to lunch @ unos and had a great time! We talked for hours, about our lives and surgery. It was so nice to talk to someone going through the same situations as me. We hadn't seen each other since before my surgery, so it was well overdue. She is such a great friend to have, and I am so happy we met! Saturday night Rick and I went to an Italian restaurant for dinner, I wasn't very hungry so I just ordered a side dish of meatballs. I ate one medium sized one, got stuck and slimmed for an hour, AWESOME. Then once I recovered we went to see Couples Retreat, we both really liked it.

Sunday: Rick, and my friend Stef went to an apple farm. We did a corn maze (see the pic above) This was my first time doing one of these, it was super cool...especially since they made it family guy themed! We also picked pumpkins, went on a hay ride, and shot apples out of a cannon lol. Good ole New England! It was a blast, and it made me appreciate fall in New England.

Today: Rick and I woke up nice and early and went to the gym. I did 30 min on the elliptical and it felt great! I went and got a couple tank tops like Amy's from Old Navy that she showed in her blog last week. It was super comfy, and didn't ride up at all! I had to work today despite the holiday, but it is super quiet today so it has been a good blog catching up day :) I brought my lunch which was the 100 calorie deli flat bread, low sodium turkey, and reduced fat swiss cheese. I made an open faced sandwich out of it, and toasted it in the oven. It was DELISH, and I got pretty full of it. I think this will make it into the lunch rotation. I also wore some black pants to work today which are lane bryant 20's, they are really too big to be wearing and I have the waist folded over multiple times. These are my only nice black pants though so I decided it was time to order more. I went on lane bryant.com and didn't see any I liked, so I tried old navy. I ended up ordering 1 pair of black 18W's and a pair of 18W jeans...I'm excited to see how they fit. I will def. post pics once they come in, if they fit that is! Hope everyone is having a great day!

Funny Story

This is random, but I kind of got a chuckle out of it so I thought I'd share. A couple of week's ago I ordered special shampoo to get chlorine out of my hair, because the pool was wrecking havoc on it. Today at the gym when I was in the shower, I went to use the shampoo and when I squeezed to dispense it into my hand the bottom of the bottle flew off and shampoo exploded everywhere. Not the top where the cap is, but the bottom! I thought this was so strange and random, but was pretty pissed since I just bought this. Rick told me I should email the company and tell them what happened to see if I could get a new bottle. First thing this morning when I got to work, I emailed the company and told them what had happened and that I was disappointed in their quality of product. 2 hours later and I just received an email with a shipping confirmation....they are shipping me a new bottle! *YAY* It totally pays to voice your opinion. Even though this was just a small thing, it all adds up. Hope everyone is having a good day, it is really rainy and windy here, GROSS!

Complete 180

Today has been a really good day so far. Rick and I woke up @ 6AM today and headed to the gym. I did my usual pool routine, and he tried out the gym. He said he really liked it, and thinks he will like going with me a few mornings a week *yay* The only part he didn't like was the showers haha, I guess in the men's room they just have 1 giant shower for everyone, not stalls like the girls. Oh well, he can deal with it!

I had yogurt and string cheese for breakfast, and then brought left over chicken for lunch with sliced apples. YUM YUM. Steak is on the menu for tonight's dinner, I'll just have to remember to chew lots and eat slow. I should be OK.

This is a pic I took this afternoon. I thought I looked cute today. This is a new sweater dress I got at old navy, size XL wahooo! Hope everyone else is having a good day. XOXO

it's one of those days....

All I feel like doing is crying, and I don't know why :( It all started this morning, Rick and I were supposed to go to the gym @ 6, but apparently he set the alarm for 5:50pm instead of am. I woke up around 7:30 screaming OMGGGGG. Then I was rushed getting ready and a half hour late to work, which sucked.

Now I'm thinking about what I want for lunch and am clueless. I got stuck twice yesterday, once from a potato and then from mac and cheese. I made shitty food choices all weekend, and am frustrated. I feel like I'm in a food rut. Nothing sounds good to me, and I need to make a list of healthy things I can start bringing for lunch. I was doing turkey rollups for a while but got sick of them. I wish I wasn't such a picky eater, then I would probably have a lot more options. What do you guys do for lunch? I'm thinking maybe I'll get a 6in turkey sub from subway on whole wheat with just turkey and a little cheese, and then remove the top piece of bread to make it an open faced sandwich. Is this a good choice? I don't even know :(

Please help me think of better choices!

FIRST PB!!

AHHHH I had my first PB episode tonight!! I can't believe it. Serves me right for eating real food the day after a fill! I should have known better than to test the limits. It happened tonight @ dinner, my friends and I went to a chinese restaurant in chinatown. The plan was for me to just get egg drop soup....but then the poo poo platter and chicken lo mein came. I had my soup and it was terrible, so I tried some white rice, then some lo mein, then a chicken finger.... BAD NEWS. I immedietly felt this feeling like something was stuck in my throat, I announce to my friends OMG I think I'm stuck! All of a sudden I projectile PB into my napkin! I run to the bathroom and continue to get everything out. It was such a weird feeling, not like puking, just like whole food being stuck in my throat.

As sucky as this was, I am glad my first PB episode is over and I know what to expect when it happens again.

2nd Fill

I don't even know where to start with this one....Alright, so I was scheduled to have my fill @ 4pm today, which meant I had to leave work @ 2:30 in order to catch a train and get to the hospital on time. I arrive @ the hospital @ 3:55 and check in. The receptionist says "oh didn't anyone call you, Corrine called out sick today." My eyes start watering and I say "um NO!" She then says "oh I'm sorry, we have rescheduled you for next Wednesday" I reply with "I don't think you understand....I just took UN-PAID time off from work to come here, this is not acceptable, there has to be someone else who can do it!" She agrees and tells me to stay put and she'll go check around. She comes back 5 minutes later and says that there is no one that can do my fill. I continue to have watery eyes and be irritated, she then says "OH, there is a surgeon here, maybe he can do it!" She goes and explains my situation to him and he agrees to do my fill!

I thank him profusely, he tells me no big deal, it was there mistake. I lay down and he asks me "so, how much do you want today??" I say EXCUSE ME?? How much do I want?? He mentioned Corrine had written 1cc for a fill today in her notes, he said that if I wanted more he would give it to me. So he put the needle in, nothing....trys a second time, nothing....trys a third time (I start whimpering), nothing finally he says "sweetie, please let me try one more time, I know I can get this" I agree, in goes the needle for the fourth time and I scream F@CK!! He starts laughing, and in goes the needle into the port! He ended up giving me 2.5 cc's making my total 4.5. After he said OK I'll see you next week probably right? I said um for what? He said well you'll need another fill. I said that I've always been told I need to wait 4-6 weeks before coming back for another. He starts laughing and says its a load of crap, and that I will know by next week if I need another fill and theres no reason to wait. This puts a HUGE smile on my face, I drank some water and off I went.

So liquids it is for today, and mushies tomorrow. I'm not feeling any difference as of yet, but hoping once the swelling goes down, I will feel something! I hope that I can make my future fill appointments with the same surgeon, he was awesome!

Anyone want these?

If anyone wants these, please let me know. I have these in both khaki and white size 22 from lane bryant, they are stretchy so a little on the bigger side.

So many thoughts!

Ahhh, I feel like I have so much to talk about with everyone!

First off, I get my 2nd fill tomorrow and am super excited. I am hoping to get 1.5 cc's I got 2 on my first so that would put me @ 3.5!

Second, sometimes I think how horrible it is living in Boston and having such a crappy commute. Well today is one of those days when I love Boston. Every once in awhile I get a phone call to do a focus group. For those of you who don't know what focus groups are, its when marketers of various products have an agency get a group of random people together to ask questions to about the product and pay the people for their time and opinions. I've done them for razors, blackberry's, computers etc. Well today I got a phone call to do one, and guess what it was for?!? LAP-BAND! How cool will that be?? This one is a little different then ones I have done in the past though, it is a telephone interview and will last about an hr. I will get paid $100 for it though, which is the best part!

Third, I got my lap band ID card. For those of you who aren't banded yet or haven't gotten your ID card I've attached pics! When I went for my first fill, the nurse gave me the information kit to send away for the card. I guess it's just an ID card to keep with you in case of emergency so that dr's know you have the band. You can also use it at restaurants to order smaller portions or off the kids's menu. woo hoo!

Fourth, I have done such an awesome job getting my ass out of bed every morning and to the gym! I am so proud of myself. For the past 3 weeks I have gone 4 days a week before work! This is huge for me! I'm just hoping I can keep it up!

I think that's about it....sorry for such a random post!

Allergy Question

I have a question, and am hoping someone can help! I have wicked bad allergies and have always taken Claritin for them. This weekend when I was about to take my pill, Rick mentioned that they were time released and asked if that was OK for the band. It made me think, is it OK to take with the band? I take the Claritin D 24 hr, the ones behind the pharmacy counter. Does anyone know anything about this? Thanks so much

Inspiration for surgery

I wanted to share with everyone, the picture that made me realize

how out of control my weight had become. This picture was taken on New Year's Eve of this year, Rick and I were invited to a "gold party" the only gold shirt I could find on short notice was this silk, shiny one. I had thought I looked great that night. A few days later pictures were posted from the night, and all I could do was cry. I was so embarrassed that I had let myself go out of the house looking like this, thinking I looked good. After I got over the initial shock, I decided to print the picture out and post it on my desk as my "inspiration picture". Everytime that I didn't want to go to the gym, or wanted to eat something horrible for me, I would look at this picture and it would help me to make the right decision. It was April when I finally decided that going to the gym wasn't enough, I needed more. I made my appointment with my lap band surgeon, and the rest is history.

I just wanted to share this with everyone, because I think it's important everyone has a picture that they can look back to when they get discouraged. There are days when I feel I look huge and disgusting, and all I have to do is look back to this picture and realize how far I have come this year.

Watch out Michael Phelps!

Bright and early this morning @ 6am I woke up and went to the GYM! I am soooo excited and proud of myself. I always wanted to be one of those people who could get up in the morning and work out, and I did it. I did this because tonight Rick and I are going to check out a wedding venue and I knew I wouldn't have time to go afterwards. I swam a mile, then got out and showered and did my hair and makeup and off to work I went. I am feeling really good so far, not too tired yet.

I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but about 3 times a month I host speed dating as a part-time job. It is sooo much fun and I absolutely love doing it. If anyone has ever thought of doing it but is too nervous to try, feel free to ask me questions about it. If I was single I think I would definitely be a regular lol. The company I work for is Date and Dash, google them and see if there is one in your area. Good times, I swear!

Hope everyone is having a fantastic Tuesday! xxoo

Down 31 and our 2 yr anniversary

I have FINALLY broken my plateau, and boy did I break it! Yesterday morning when I stepped on the scale I was down 5lbs!! I went to the gym 4 days this week, and swam a mile each time. I found out this week that a mile swimming equals 32 laps in a 50 meter pool. I mixed it up by swimming a few laps with a kick board and some freestyle. I went and bought some hot new pink goggles this morning.

On another note when Rick and I started dating 2 years ago, I weighed 217lbs, when I went for surgery I was 248lbs. This means that on our 2 year anniversary I am finally back down to the weight I was when we met. My goal is 199 by Thanksgiving, this is a very aggressive goal but if I can keep up my exercise routine I'm hoping it's achievable.

This pic was taken last night before we went out to celebrate. I'm wearing a new dress I bought @ Target, in a size 1! Apparently it's the new trend to size plus sized clothing in sizes 1-7 lol. It does make me feel pretty good to be able to buy a size 1 though!

Hope everyone had a fantastic weekend!

Getting my butt in gear

So I am still at my lovely plateau, although it is my TOM I am not happy and want the scale to keep moving. Yesterday my friend and I went to the gym, this was my first time going since surgery. I did the cybex (the elliptical type machine but with the moving arms) for 15 minutes, and then walked a 17 minute mile on the track. I was happy with this, for it being my first time back. It's going to take a while to build up some endurance, and that's fine.

Today we're going to go swimming, they have an indoor pool with open swim @ nights. I will try to swim for 45 minutes. I wish I was a morning person and could work out in the mornings rather then at night. It sucks not getting home till 7:30ish.

What is everyone else doing for exercise? I don't want to get bored so I am trying to think of way's to mix up my routine. My gym offers a bunch of classes, I just don't know which ones I want to try.

Also, they have personal trainers, I want to know my body fat %, do you think I need to make a personal trainer appointment for this, or they would just do it? Thanks in advance for the help! xxoo

*YAY* I did it!!

I just had my first fill this morning and it went great! She gave me 2 cc's which was fine with me. So in case anyone wants to know the whole process I'll fill you in. When I first got to the hospital I had to fill out a form, it asked questions about how much water I've been drinking, how many protein shakes, what my diet consisted of, how many snacks a day, my hunger level, and exercise routine. I didn't lie, and said that I had been eating small amount of chicken and beef. After this form was complete the nurse called me in and weighed me, down 25lbs on their scale! wahooo! I then sat in the procedure room for 15 minutes waiting for the nurse practitioner. She finally came in and asked how I had been feeling, any pain etc. She noticed that I had written chicken on the form, and questioned me about it. I told her that I was really good the first 2 weeks post-op, but after that I started to get really hungry so I introduced the chicken gradually into my diet. She just told me to be careful. I then laid down on the table and she felt around my tummy, she said she wanted to get a good idea of where the port was. She took a marker and made a few marks around the edges of the port, and then got the cleaning stuff and wiped down my stomach. She then got the needle, (i didn't watch any of this) and put into my stomach about a half inch below my incision. Once in she wiggled around a lot, and kept saying things like hmm and ahhhh, this took about 4 minutes, which I think is a lot longer then normal and then she finally hit the spot and filled me up.

She told me I could come back in 4-6 weeks for my next fill, and that they will need to do some routine blood work @ this visit and to make an appt on my way out. When I got to the scheduling person I asked for it to be closer to 4 weeks if possible. She said how about October 1st? In my head I'm thinking hmm I think that's only 3 weeks away, SWEET! So my 2nd fill is in 20 days, wahoooo!

First Fill tomorrow!

So tomorrow is my big day, my first fill! I am very anxious/nervous. I have read everyone's stories, but I feel like it's one of those things you don't fully understand until you go through it. I am excited to see what the hospital scale reads, this week has been really hard. I have hit a plateau and have been gaining and loosing the same 2 lbs. I am OK with this though because I know it is to be expected until I feel some restriction. I have been doing great with getting my water in, it has been between 60-75 ounces each day! I keep a 24oz water bottle next to my desk @ work and try to finish 2-2.5 bottles before going home each day.

Not much else is new...my fiancee and I went out to eat the other night, we went to a Mexican restaurant. It was really hard to make a good choice...I decided on chicken and cheese enchiladas. Definitely not the best choice, but it came with 3 enchiladas, and I only ate 1, and made 2 meals out of the other 2. Before the band I would have eaten all 3 no problem, but after eating just 1 I felt completely satisfied. That was a good feeling to know that I will not always make the best food choices, but as long as I can control my portion size it won't be too bad.

Tonight I am going to visit my little cousin who just started her first year of college. She is about 3 hrs away from home and is really homesick, I am just about an hour away from her so I'm hoping I can cheer her up a bit. We are going to go out to dinner....lots of tough choices again! I'll try and make the best decision. I will let everyone know how the fill goes tomorrow, wish me luck!

Drum Roll Please......

I am officially down 26 lbs, and have lost 12 inch's overall! This feels frigen fantastic!

I will post my measurements and maybe a pic real soon, I am at work and don't have them handy. My fill is only 8 days way, wahooo!

I have been eating really yummy food lately, I feel good so I have been testing the limits a little bit. Yesterday for lunch I had half of a cheese quesadilla, and for dinner I had 3oz of turkey and about 3 spoon fulls of mashed potatoes. Everything went down really well and I was completely satisfied.

AMAZING WEEKEND!

YAYYYY I finally feel myself! This weekend has been absolutely amazing! I am 16 days post-op today.

So.....I ate REAL FOOD this weekend and had a glass of WINE, and it felt sooo good!!

So I know I looked as if I was being really strong with all the temptations, but I finally caved. Rick and I went to a wedding this weekend at a fancy Boston hotel. They had an open bar, and delicious food. I helped myself to a glass of Chardonnay and it went down no problem! For dinner I had a caprese salad and ate just the mozzarella. This was followed by chicken and mashed potatoes. I ate about half of the breast and gave the other half to Rick. I had no problems with this going down and no discomfort! We danced the night away and today I am still feeling good.

Friday started my week 3 diet which is supposed to consist of mashed potatoes, apple sauce, oatmeal, ricotta and cottage cheese and everything else from the past weeks. I just couldn't take these mushies anymore! I wanted real food so bad! I am going to try to stick to the mushies for the rest of the week though. I want to make sure I am healing up nice and good.

My first fill is right around the corner, September 11th. Hard to believe!! I hope everyone else had as good as a weekend as me! xoxo

Just when I thought I was in the clear :(

I've mentioned that my incisions has been itching a lot lately, and thought it was just the healing process. Whenever I showed anyone though they would cringe and say "omg is that normal to look like that??" So last night I emailed a lapband friend a pic asking if hers ever looked like mine and she said never. So then I got to thinking OMG maybe mine are infected! I had my friends mom who is a nurse take a look at them, and she said since they were all really swollen, hard and hot that it might be an infection and to go to the ER to get them looked at. So, last night around 9pm I had my fiancee bring me to the ER to get them looked at. The Dr. examined me and said that I was having an allergic reaction to the adhesive glue that was used to bandage me up. They gave me benadryl and told me to not put any kind of cream on my stomach and to just wait for it to go away. GROSS! My stomach looks like I have hives all over it, it is bright red, puffy and very blotchy. I can't wait for this to go away. The benadryl knocked me out last night though which was fantastic. It was funny though because I woke up almost 4 hours after I had taken it from all the itching and needed to take more. I can't wait for this to go away :( It seems like just one thing after another for me. Seriously who the hell gets allergic to adhesive?? GRRRR!

Check-Up Appt.

Goooood Morning!

I am feeling so good today! I went to the hospital this morning for a check up with my surgeon, he said everything looked great!! He took all the tape off my incisions, and also took out a loose stitch that had popped out of one of the small incisions. I am so happy to have all the tape gone, so hopefully now I can get some of the gross adhesive gunk off! When I weighed in I had lost 22lbs since my last visit, wahooo! My bathroom issues are finally gone, and I have been keeping everything down really well! My diet right now consists of protein shakes, yogurt, pudding, jello, and creamy soups. I feel ready to progress but am too scared too. Next week I can have mashed potatoes mmmm yummy! KFC has the BEST mashed potatoes lol.


Last night I had to worst temptation night EVER. My fiancee had a business dinner party to go too, and I went along. The thought never even crossed my mind, that this might be awkward and difficult for me :( We get there and there is an open bar, and someone handing me a a glass of wine which is my first temptation. I ask for water and sparkling is given to me, which is another no no, so then I have to ask for flat. Then the appetizers start coming out, pulled pork sandwiches, all kinds of cheese and crackers, goat cheese tart, asparagus, salads....ehhh I felt soooo bad having to say no thank you to everything. I didn't know these people though, so I didn't feel like I should have to explain myself....I said I had a stomach bug and was on anti-biotics. Dinner was prime rib and dessert was some sort of cake.....I was so strong and said NO to everything! I was really cranky when we left and starving, I broke down and balled cause I was so upset. We finally got home around nine and I dove into the gallon of sherbet in the freezer. I had 2 scoops and that made me feel soooo much better!

Back to work today, and feeling strong. All done with appointments until my first fill on 9/11. Now if only this itching would stop!

Getting There!

I never heard back from the hospital about my tests yesterday so today I gave them till noon, then came stalker mode! I finally got a hold of the nutritionist and she informed me the tests came back negative...no quite sure what that means, but it's a good thing! Then I got to thinking well if you didn't find anything wrong with me, what the hell is going on then?!?! She told me she wasn't quite sure what was going on, but to go ahead and try putting yogurt, apple sauce and sherbet into my diet and see if that helps. I went to store and bought Activa Light yogurt and raspberry and orange sherbet, YUM! I ate the yogurt about 10 minutes ago, and so far so good. Lets keep our fingers crossed this is what does the trick!!

As for my weight loss so far I am down 21 lbs total. 13 of these were from my pre-op shake diet and the other 8 are since surgery. Pretty damn good! I won't be discouraged though if I gain a few back once I stop going to the bathroom all the time...that's to be expected.

Update

So the diarrhea has continued, I have tried whey protein, soy protein, sugar free carnation instant breakfast, and even from my soup broths. I called the nutritionist and she said that she thinks it may be from the antibiotics they gave me during surgery. She said that sometimes they wipe out the good bacteria and this is a result of that. She talked to my surgeon and I guess the best thing is for me to come back to the hospital today and give them a stool sample :( How frigen gross! But I guess I need to do what I gotta do to get better. I will update later on when I know more! xxoo

Doing OK

So today makes my 3rd day post-op. My pain is subsiding a little each day. I have tried weaning myself off of the percocet during the day and only taking it at night because it makes me so tired. I have gone to the store with my mom and ran a few errands, which went well.

The only negative I'm having right now is severe diarrhea. I have had no appetite for any protein supplements, but know that I am supposed to be getting 60 gms a day in so I try to get them down. Every time I drink though I end up in the bathroom. I called the hospital today and talked to the nurse practitioner, she said that maybe I had developed an intolerance to whey protein and to try a soy based protein. So off to GNC I went to get a soy based mix. I just drank 8 oz of that and within 5 minutes I was in the bathroom. What the hell is going on with my body?? I'm worried about this and don't feel its normal. Oh well I will keep trying and hopefully it gets better, if not I will be calling the hospital again tomorrow!

on the wagon

Yippeeee it is done and over with! I was banded this mornig and am laying here in the hospital getting ready for bed. I must say I think I am one of the lucky ones, and am not in very much pain. It honestly feels like I did way to many situps lol. Everyone here at the hospital has been great! As of right now the plan is for me to be discharged between 10-11am tomorrow. I will let everyone know of my progress somepoint this weekend. Lots of love and thanks for all of the support! <3

I want a hot fudge sundae :(

Only 2 more days! These past few days have been super rough! It seems like all anyone is talking about is ice cream, seriously I dont think i've ever heard so many people talk about getting ice cream. I am being strong though, I can do it! I've made it 12 days without caving in, 2 more should be simple. I am down 15 lbs since starting this whole process, woo hoo!

Tomorrow I can call the hospital and see what time my surgery is scheduled. Keeping my fingers crossed it's 7am and not 4pm! I will update as soon as I know. Also, today I get to start washing my belly with the special soap, yay it's so close!

5th day: Liquid Diet

Sorry I haven't updated in a few days...I started my liquid shake diet on Saturday. This consists of 5 HMR shakes and clear liquids. It's been pretty rough, but I think I am getting the hang of it. I haven't had starving hunger pains, just mostly head hunger and thinking "oh it's noon, lunch time!" I have been more tired, and falling asleep earlier and also a little lightheaded but nothing that has interfered with my day to day activities. I have found that the only way I can enjoy the shakes is by using my Magic Bullet mixer. This has been a pain, because I have had to lug it to and from work each day haha. Who carries a blender in their purse?? O wait, I do!!

Saturday I got to meet a friend for the first time, Breanne. Breanne is someone who I met on http://www.lapbandtalk.com she went to the same hospital and had the same surgeon as me. She has been such an inspiration to me, and I don't know if I would have gotten this far without her help. She has answered all my silly questions from "hey do you think I can wear a bra afterwards" to "can you feel your port" Questions that I needed answers to, but didn't want to call the hospital and ask of course lol. You can check her blog out at http://www.ladylapband.blogspot.com/

Other exciting news is, I bought a bike on Saturday! I love it, its sooo pretty! I went for my first bike ride last night, and it was fun! I felt like everyone was staring at me, I don't know if it was my hot pink helmet or the fact that I haven't ridden a bike in 10 years so I looked like a 5 year old.

Only 9 more days, wahooo single digits!

Skills Class

Tuesday night I attended my skills class. This class focused on what we need to do pre and post up regarding nutrition, medicine, and getting our bodies ready for surgery and also what to expect the day of. This was probably one of the most beneficial of all the classes I have been too, but it also was the most realistic and scared the shit out of me. One thing that I was told that I didn't realize was that I need to stop taking my birth control for 2 weeks before and 2 weeks after, apparently it thins your blood. I've been on it for over 10 years, so I'm a little nervous about how my body will react to this, should be interesting. We were also given this soap solution called hexa-cleanse. We need to wash our tummies with this 3 days prior to surgery twice a day. This is supposed to get rid of normal bacteria and germs that we carry on our skin.

During the nutrition portion of the class is when I really got nervous. I knew that the post op diet was going to be tough, but seeing it laid out on paper was really scary. It said for week 1, breakfast- jello or broth, lunch- jello or broth, dinner- jello or broth. Week 2, slowly add in yogurt, pudding, cream based soups and oatmeal into your diet. Week 3, slowly add in cottage cheese, ricotta cheese, and apple sauce. Week 4, continue week 3's diet. Then finally week 5 you can start adding soft mushy REAL food into your diet. It just made it all seem so real seeing it all written down like this. I can do it though, and I WILL do it....

Last night Ricky asked me if we could go grocery shopping today, I started laughing and said why, I won't be eating anything for the next 2 months lol. I forget that I will still need to take care of him though, I just don't know how I am going to find the power to cook for him some nights and not nibble on this and that.

Well on a happier note, I am still smiling ear to ear about my engagement! Everytime I get discouraged I just look down at my finger, and that brings a smile to my face. I have been keeping myself busy looking up wedding ideas, and making a wedding website. I know its still far away, but its a great distraction. The website still has a way's to go, but if you want to sneak a peak the address is http://www.mywedding.com/rickandkristen/

Hope everyone is doing well! xxoo