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!