Prepared for the week!

Nicole gave me a genius idea this week, she found these cute little bowls @ target that were 6/$1.99! They provide the perfect serving size, about a cup of chili if filled to the brim. I made 2lbs of ground turkey chili tonight with low sodium chili mix to bring for lunch this week. I love being prepared, it helps me not get off track. Rick and I went to costco today and got lots of goodies, we got chicken breasts, ground turkey, flank steak, and pork loin to make some of Gen's famous pulled pork! They were doing samples today, not a good thing...I tried some apple straw crisps (sooo good) and for 38 of them it is 130 calories and 7 gms of fat. I had them for a snack tonight and was satisfied with about 10 of them! I also sampled a small portion of pulled beef on a piece of bread (bad idea) got stuck and had to run to the bathroom. I'm not sure why whenever I get stuck I have to spit up..why can't I just wait for it to work its way down?

On a non-band related note, household renovations SUCK! Is anyone willing to adopt/kidnap me for the next month or so?? Rick and his dad are re-doing our entire bathroom...We are getting an extra deep jacuzzi tub with a heater so the water doesn't get cold, a comfort height toilet, new tile on the floor and in the tub, a double sink vanity....like I said ENTIRE bathroom. Don't get me wrong I am sooo excited for everything, it is going to look amazing and make our re-sale value skyrocket but the anxiety of the mess might kill me. We took before pics today, and I will post them at some point. Anyone who watches HGTV, we are looking forward to submitting the pics to Rate my Space! Anyways enough about that, just wanted to put it out there I'm willing to run away if anyone wants me! :)

*6th Fill*

I just want to thank everyone for your kind and caring responses to my dark depressing post Wednesday evening...I slept it off and felt MUCH better on Thursday. It was so reassuring to read everyone's comments and realize everyone makes mistakes, and we learn and move on.

I went for my 6th fill today, I got .5cc's bringing me to a total of 7cc's in a 10cc band. For some reason I had forgotten about one of my fills and only thought I was at 6.5, but nope I am indeed at 7. I hope this does the trick! I was good today and did liquids only for the most part. I had a protein shake for lunch, beef soup broth for dinner, and a bite on rick's pizza, but just a bite! I weighed in @ 204 today on the hospital scale which was ok with me. I hosted speed dating last night and had a cranberry apple martini (yum!) and a few nachos, so I expected to be up a little from my norm.

Everyone who wanted something from my clothing post last weekend: I sent it all out today so keep an eye out!! Hope you guys like everything!!

I got a hair cut today, it feels soooo much better! I will try to post pics tomorrow once I look half decent. I asked my hairdresser if she noticed any bald spots from all my hair loss and she said my hair was thinner, but definitely no bald spots, that was reassuring! That's about it for updates, hope everyone has a great weekend!!

Hi, My name is Kristen

and I may or may not have been a bandlemic tonight :(

I went out to dinner with a friend (non-banded, but knows I am) we went to an Italian restaurant, bad news from the beginning....Now lets take a quiz on what we think made me sick:

A) 2 Pieces of Bread before my meal
B) Big yummy juicy chicken
C) String Beans
D) Half of a chocolate chip cannoli
E) All of the above

If you picked E, I think your right!! Now I know 2 of the 4 things I ate are a no no (bread, dessert when full) I think the chicken and string beans caused it because they were so good, and I forgot to chew. Now you ask, why bandlemic? Because I knew not to eat the bread, yet I did...I knew I should slow down and chew, yet I didn't. I had already PB'd twice, yet still ate dessert! What the hell is wrong with me?!?!

One thing I can say is, I learned from this experience...as good as it looks, smells and sounds ITS NOT WORTH IT! EVER! The pain of my 4 PB experiences in the restaurant, all the way home WHILE driving (into the takeout bag) and for awhile once I got home was not worth the yummiest food in the world.

I just took 2 benadryl and I'm hoping to pass out soon and forget tonight happened and have tomorrow be a new day.

My name is Kristen, and I was NOT a model bandster tonight....

All for you Alexis!

I saw these today and immediately thought of you and your Jacob plate! So freakin cute!

Update on Sisterhood: I still have a bunch of stuff if anyone is still interested. I plan on doing a massive shipment on Friday, so let me know! Bandita Senorita, I need your addy!

I have my 5th fill on Friday morning, I weighed in at 204.1 this morning, I'm hoping to be 203 on Friday (fingers crossed). That would only be a 6lb loss in 6 weeks, but I figure since I gained and lost 6lbs from the holidays it's really like I lost 12...right? whatever makes me feel better! I'm thinking that after doing my post-fill diet, it might bring me to onderland?? maybe?? That would be incredible! I'm really confused on what to do Friday, I'm hoping my nurse pract. might have some advice. I don't know if I should go with a .5 or .25 fill. I PB about once every other day, (usually my own fault from eating too fast or the wrong things) but I also get really hungry in between meals. I am at 6cc's as of right now, and feel like I am at a really hard place, I feel so close, yet far from my sweet spot. I can no longer eat pasta, and I can eat bread in moderation. Hmmm any advice?

Hope everyone's having a great Tuesday!!

Sisterhood Continues

Tops:



White- Ribbed tank top, lane bryant 18/20

Pink- Ribbed tank top, old navy XXL Taken

Blue- Scoop-neck sweater, old navy XXL petite Taken

Purple- Ruffle short sleeve top, maurices XL

Black- Jersey knit skirt, Lands End 18/20
Tops:


Black/purple- jeweled shrug with tank, Lane Bryant 14/16 Taken



Teal- ruffled babydoll, Lane Bryant 18/20



White- Flowered babydoll type shirt, Lane Bryant 18/20 Taken



Skirts:


Blue pinstripe- seersucker, Merona (target), 22



Plaid Skirt- olive toned, Old Navy, 20 Taken



Blue- Peasant skirt, Gap XL Taken



Denim- Skort, Lane Bryant 22




PJ's:

Black- Lace trimmed leggings, Macys, XL



Purple- purple/orange nightie, Lane Bryant, 18/20 Taken



Red- red/gold stripped flannel, Lane Bryant 18/20 Taken


Navy- Scrunched bottom sweatpants, Lane Bryant, 18/20
Taken



Capri's:

Black- Gaucho wide leg, Old Navy, XL



Khaki, Elastic Waist, Merona (target), XXL



Brown, Elastic Waist, Lane Bryant, 22



Khaki, Elastic Waist, Style & Co. (macy's) 18W


Capri's:

Dark Denim, cuffed, Lane Bryant, 22

Light Denim, Torrid, 20

Khaki, green belt, Merona (target), 20W Taken

Dress:


Teal- Maxi long dress, Old Navy, XL Taken













Dress Pants:



Dark Gray, Khaki, Black, cuffed, Lane Bryant, 20P








Blazers:



Blue Plaid, 3/4 sleeve shorter length, Lane Braynt 14/16



Darl Denim, short sleeved, Torrid, 3









Dress:

Black- with purple satin trim, Deb 2XL Taken

Dresses:



White- White tulle with black flowers, Macys, 20W Taken



Teal- Smocked collared shirt dress, Lane Bryant, 14/16


White- Brown and Blue flowered, JC Penny, 20 Taken


So there is is everything I found that either doesn't fit or I don't want anymore. Everything is up for grabs, just let me know what you want!! You can leave me a comment or email me at knwitham@gmail.com Let me know if you want any more detail on anything and I'll do my best to describe it.

TGIF!

IT'S FRIDAY!! Wahooo! I don't have anything too exciting planned for the weekend, but I an pretty pumped for some sleep!! Last night I went to see Avatar, I think I may be the first person to say this...but I didn't like it AT ALL! It was a 3hr long movie about blue aliens. I went to see it at Imax so it was 3D which was pretty cool, I really enjoyed all the graphics but the plot was just not up my alley. After the movie we went to Fuddruckers a burger place, (not sure if they are around the country) and for the first time I ordered a turkey burger instead of beef and I wasn't disappointed, it was very tasty!

Tomorrow my best friend is moving out of our home...she's been living with us since September, it's going to be strange not having her but it will be nice to have our place back to ourselves! The best part is, I use our spare bedroom as my closet so for the past few months I haven't had much closet space since Rick and I had to share but tomorrow I get my closet back!! This is going to be a great opportunity to go through all my clothes and hopefully be able to contribute to the sisterhood! I can't wait to organize everything pretty and to be able to get my all of my shoes out of plastic totes!

I am also going to be giving zumba a second shot tomorrow. I had a good time last week, I just didn't feel like I got the best workout. It's a good time though, and it at least gives me some laughs if nothing else. I was HORRIBLE about going to the gym this week, I only went twice! But to my defense Wednesday I had a physical and my Dr. gave me a tetnus/whooping cough vaccine which hurts more then any other type of shot I've ever had. I can't move my arm! Speaking of going to Dr. she hadn't seen me since 3 months before surgery so she was really excited and complimentary about my success. I weighed in @ 204.5 on their scale which was awesome! The scale seems to be on my side lately! Hope everyone has a great Friday!

Coincidence

The other day Rick and I were having a discussion about me hitting onederland, and he said something that I didn't really think about until today. He is around 305lbs right now and mentioned that him getting into the 200's will feel like it will for me to get into the 100's. I think its really neat that even though he doesn't have the band he is doing a great job loosing weight. When we did weight watchers together last year he was in the 330's so he is down almost 30lbs on his own. I am really pumped that we are on this journey to better our lives together. I know that to some of us it is taboo to weigh ourselves everyday, but I am one of the people that does. It helps keep me on track, and I try not to let the #'s bother me unless on weigh in day. Today something big happened though...I broke down the wall! I weighed in at 204.8! I don't know if it's here to stay or not, but just seeing it let me know I can get past this 205 plateau!

I'm on a chili kick right now, I've never been a chili person but thought it'd be a good time to start. The only thing is, I don't like beans so I'm making bean-less chili, not as much protein but still a low fat meal. I used ground turkey, tomato sauce, and low sodium chili mix...simple easy! I made 2lbs of turkey today and portioned 1 cup servings in containers for the week for lunch. YUMMO!

I also got stuck and PB'd tonight :( Rick made a chicken dish and pasta. I tried 1 forkful of angel hair and immediately got stuck and up it came. I know I don't do pasta well, but thought 1 forkful wouldn't hurt. Oh well, learned a lesson!

Checkmark.....Zumba!

I DID IT! My first zumba class is complete! I went yesterday @ 10am with no idea what to expect. I was one of the first people there and mistakenly stood in the back of the class. People continued to swarm into the class, and we actually met the occupancy limit of 45 people, so the instructor had to start turning people away! The class ranged from the average sexy latina woman to an elderly morbidly obese man, and everyone in between, so it was a great mixture. We started the class with a pair of light hand weights and did about 10 minutes of warm ups with those, and then put them away and the class began. My mistake of being in the back kicked in now...I couldn't see the instructor very well, so I had to follow what the people in front of me were doing. Our dances included everything from the meringue, cha cha, a greek dance, a dance with maracas and a routine to grease lightning! Lots of movement. I could follow probably about 50% of the moves without problems, the other 50% I looked ridiculous...I just kind stood there and wiggled to the beat. But keep in mind I have NO rhythm or coordination!

I wore my polar heart rate monitor and it said I burned 640 calories in this hour long class! WHOA! It did not feel like a 640 calorie workout in the least! I didn't think I would be sore or anything today, but I was wrong. My quads and calves both hurt! I defiantly think I will attend another zumba class, I think once a week with be enough for me....it's a great mix-up to the standard work out routine!

On a side note, last night was my night out with my friends and like I said was worried about what to drink...well, strange story. I drank 2 glasses of red wine before dinner, 2 glasses at dinner, got stuck twice @ dinner..once on rice, and once on steak...oops. Well figured that was enough calories (guessing 400 liquid calories) and I was having a good enough time that I just drank water @ the club!! Such a strange concept, I would have never thought to get water @ a club/bar before my band. I actually was having a great time dancing and having fun with my friends that I didn't need any alcohol. I will make sure and post pics later, there were some ridiculous ones taken!

My lack of (if you can call it that) drinking paid of for the love to love myself challenge weigh in today! Last Sunday I weighed in at 207.5, and today I was 205.2 WAHOOOO. That's a 2.3lb loss this week! 205 seems to be the wall that I can't break, so here's to this week being a wall breaking one! xoxo

Jumping on the wagon

I just looked up my gym's group class schedule for the weekend, and they are offering zumba @ 10am tomorrow. I think I am going to try it. I have read a few bloggies who have tried it recently and loved it, so its worth a shot. I just hope I don't make a fool of myself, I'm not very coordinated!

I walked into a wonderful surprise at work today....the table in front of my desk now has 6 bags of chips, 15 cookies, and a pan of brownies....wow thanks guys! I'm just thankful it's Friday and it's a long weekend for me, I need some R&R and 'me' time.

I'm really excited this morning Chelsea Handler tickets went on sale for her Boston show in April and I was able to get tickets. For those of you who don't know who she is, shes a comedian that has a nightly show on E, and is hilarious!

Thank you for all your responses to my post yesterday, I decided to take a risk and take the advil...I'm still alive, and no damage done that I know of :) My neck is feeling a little bit better, but still stiff. As for my drink of choice I think I am going to go with flavored vodka and soda. It should be a nice night out with my friends, I just need to try and keep it under control since I weigh in for the valentines challenge the next day! Don't want to ruin a weeks worth of hard work, with one of partying!

Hope everyone is having a happy Friday!

Bandster dinner and thoughts

Last night I got to meet Jenny and Nicole for the first time. We had such an amazing time, and it was like we've known each other forever. Nicole brought my 7 pairs of pants, which was AMAZING. They were all gorgeous work pants, that fit like a glove. Jenny actually gave me the pants off of her! Nicole had brought her some new pants, and the ones she was wearing were too big on her. The best part about the pair she gave me, is that they were once Catherines!! How inspiring to have jeans that were once Catherine and Jenny's, 2 of the most inspiring bandsters! It really is the sisterhood of the traveling pants, and I can't wait till I have the chance to share. The only bad part is, how short I am! I'm going to have to find a bandster that is around my height (5ft 1), so I can share my shortened pants. One of my favorite parts of the night was, I have NEVER tried ANY seafood...so Nicole and Jenny were determined that, that would be the night I would. With much hesitation I tried a bite of Jenny's bake stuffed shrimp, UH-OH! I started gagging, and as much as I tried to get it down I couldn't...the smell was too much for me. Out it came into my napkin...we died laughing. I'm glad no one was grossed out by this episode and they found it as funny as I did (at least I think they did).

On a good note, the scale gods are on my side finally! I am back down to 205lbs (my pre-holiday's weight). It has taken me awhile, but I am finally there! I have ranged from 211-207 since the holidays, so to finally be back where I was feels AMAZING. I have really been rocking my water intake and I think that is what gave me my extra push I needed.

Unfortunately last night was one of those nights I slept on my neck wrong. It is SOOO stiff, I can't turn without moving my entire body. Does anyone know any tricks to help loosen it up? Also, pre-op I was told to never take advil again, but that's all we have @ work. Has anyone tried taking advil since surgery? Will I do damage to my band taking it once?

This weekend my best friend is moving back home to Connecticut from Boston (this is going to be very hard for me) My friends and I are all going out to celebrate her last night here. We are going to a bar, and I'm in need of a new favorite drink. My go-to has always been cranberry and vodka, but that has just to many calories. I don't want to do beer or wine, I want some type of a mixed drink. What is everyones favorite band-friendly drink to get while out? I am up for anything!

Hope everyone is having a great day!

Yummy Recipe and other random thoughts

Tonight I decided to steal Gen's Recipe for BBQ pulled pork, and I must say it came out PHENOMENAL! It was soooo good, anyone who like pulled pork mus try this recipe it is super easy and worth it! Tomorrow starts the Valentine Challenge and I am pumped! I think this is just what I need...like weight watchers it will be a weekly weigh in to hold me accountable.

Sometimes having an IT nerd for a fiancee comes in handy....tonight he downloaded Lovely Bones (which isn't even in theatres yet) and It's Complicated and we stayed in and had a movie night. We had a very nice and relaxing evening.

Guess who I get to meet this week?!? JENNY and possibly Nicole (if she can change her shift at work) I am so excited! Jenny is one of the first persons I followed in blogworld, and she is so inspiring. She is coming up to Boston for work, and we're going to go to dinner Wednesday night. It's such an amazing thing to get to meet people who's blogs you follow. It feels like you've known these people for such a long time, that actually meeting them in person is the icing on the cake (sorry for the bad metaphor)

Alright that's enough of a scatter brained post for tonight, hope everyone is having a good weekend! xxoo

NSV of sorts

This morning I was having a woe is me kinda day, feeling fat and discouraged. I didn't think it was going to turn around until I made it into work. It was really weird, coincidentally everyone in my office wore grey and black today . We all thought this was pretty humorous and decided to take a picture. When I got the email with the picture the first thought in my mind was "hey I don't look like the overly obese person anymore" Looking at the picture I think I actually look like a normal sized person. This is what turned my day around, and made me realize that I have come a long way, and will continue to do so. It's little reminders like these that can change your whole mindset.

On another note, I think I'm ready for a fill! I feel like I could eat a house...nothing seems to be filling me up. Last night we made turkey pie, and I was able to eat 2 slices and mashed potatoes! eeeek. My next fill isn't until the 29th though, maybe I should call and see if I can get in earlier. It's such a strange feeling, just 2 weeks ago I thought I was at my sweet spot, I was slimming often and feeling full...now NOTHING. I went back and was reading past blog entries last night, and I think that's what put me into a funk...I read that back in October I got down to 215lbs @ one point, and today I'm 207lbs. Really? 3 months have gone by and I've only dropped 8lbs? I have had a lot of ups and downs with going on vacation and the holidays, but I really just want to get the ball moving. I want onederland so bad I can taste it!

Sell Out?

Now I hate to say this....but I am very disappointed in Jillian Michaels. I feel she is someone a lot of people look up too, and I was outraged when I started hearing commercials for her weight loss pills! Forgive me if I'm wrong, but doesn't she preach to her contestants and to everyone in America how behavior change, educated choices, and hard work will help you to achieve the results you want? Also to make things worse, her new product is based on bitter orange extract which isn't even a regulated herb...I feel this is so hypocritical and gimmicky of her to do, what is she thinking?

What do you guys think? Do you even care? I feel we can all relate because we've all been there. We've all tried multiple diets before, maybe even some diet pills here and there promising to make you lose 2 whole dress sizes in a month. None of them worked for us and that is why we made the decision to get banded. What about the other people out there though that aren't banded, and are still looking for that magic diet pill? They see one of their role models endorsing a new product and there goes another $40 down the drain. Shame on Jillian! I don't see her handing this product out to the contestants on the ranch...coincidence? I think not!

Measurments and Movies

I took my 5th set of measurements tonight, I try to do them every 4-6 weeks. They moved so much faster in the beginning then now :( Here are my first ones taken on 7/25 vs. today's:

Bust: 49.5 vs. 45= 4.5
Waist: 46.5 vs. 42=4.5
Hips: 55.0 vs. 45.5=9.5
Neck: 15.5 vs. 13.5=2
Bicep: 16.5 vs. 14.5=2
Thigh: 26.5 vs. 25=1.5

All of my measurements counting both sides of my body equals -28 total inches. Not too shabby! How crazy is it think I have eliminated over 2 feet of excess inches from my body!!

On a different note have you guys seen the movie Julie & Julia? It's a true story about a woman who is bored with her life and decides to start a blog and cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook and document all her trials and tribulations through her blog. It was really cool to watch because she would talk about how many followers her blog had, and some of her blogger friends would send her different goodies in the mail. It made me smile because it reminded me of all of us!

Hockey @ Fenway and Tubing

Hi Everyone and Happy New Year!! I hope everyone had a safe and fun new years eve, I know I did! I may have had a few too many pickies, but nothing compared to if I didn't have my band! I ended up losing 3 of the 4 holiday lbs I gained from the holidays so that's a success! :) It's back to the gym this week, so I'm setting a goal of onederland by February 1st. That is 6 lbs this month which is definitely doable if I set my mind to it!

Yesterday me, my mom, rick and his uncle went to Fenway Park (where the Boston Red Sox play for those non-baseball/Boston people) and got to see the Boston Bruins Legends game. It was AMAZING and a once in a lifetime opportunity. The winter classic game where the Bruins played the Philly Flyers was the day before and Rick and his sister went to that game. The Bruins won in overtime so it couldn't have been a better game!

Today a bunch of my friends and I went tubing at a sports park nearby. It was so much fun! We had huge snow storm yesterday and got about 10 inches of snow, so it was nice and fluffy! Here is a pic of me on my 'ride' to the top of the hill, and then a pic of me coming down. It's activities like this these that make me remember how lucky I am to live in New England.

Tomorrow it's back to work for me for the first time since the 22nd, eeek. I'm ready to get back into the routine, its just going to be hard at first.