O.M.G!!!!!!

I had the BEST DAY in a looooong time! I don't even know

where to start...today was the final weigh in for the love myself challenge, and I weighed in @ 197.8! So down about 10 lbs in this 8 week challenge, not too shabby, I'll take it!

Now onto this picture...I went to the mall today, for some reason I wanted some skinny jeans. I went to New York & Company and tried on a pair 18 long and lean skinny jeans, wait for it...too big! I ask the sales associate for a 16 loud and proud, she comes back and hands me a 14 and says they were out of 16's, I laugh but say thank you. I decide, what the hell let's try on the 14's....and look THEY FIT!!! I don't remember ever having a pair of 14's in my closet, the last I remember was being a 16 in high school.

It's hard to get over all of these scale and non-scale victories I have been having lately...I can remember about 9 months ago crying in the lane bryant dressing room because the size 22 pants were too tight, and now I'm crying in dressing room's because I am so happy that 14's fit.

I was always a confident bigger girl, and was never ashamed of my body, but lately the confidence is sky high. Thursday night I was hosting speed dating, and was short about 3 guys. I decided to walk around the bar (by myself) and flirt with boys to try and get them to join. I picked up 3 guys!! I didn't and think twice about, I just went up to a big group of hotties, and laid the old college charm on them and it worked!

Hope everyone had a good weekend, and I'm glad our Hawaii bandsters are safe! You were in my thoughts and prayers!

Successful trip to the Dr's!!

I am so excited right now! My new ob/gyn was AMAZING! He was super flamboyant and very animated and sincere. I immediately felt at ease with him, such a relief! I told him about my band, and my concern for a high risk pregnancy. He said he has had many band patients, and never had any issues. He said that he'd like to see me lose another 50lbs or so before trying to conceive, which shouldn't be an issue since we don't plan on trying for a few years. He also mentioned that a lot of times with overweight patients he tends to have to do c-sections because of the fat distribution?? Not sure what that meant, but I know I will not be an overweight pregnant woman when the time is right, so I am happy! We also talked about all of my spotting issues, and he doesn't think it is due to the nuva ring, he said um hello you just lost 50lbs...your body is in shock and adjusting to the changes...makes sense. He also said if it doesn't clear up within 2-3 months to go back and they will do a little more investigating on the issue. I feel so relieved and confident.

Thank you so much for all your comments yesterday, it helped to know that everyone else was told pregnancy shouldn't be an issue!!

stuckities and girly problems

So today was not the best band day I've ever had....For breakfast I have a new obsession that I am not so happy with: Dunkin Donuts, Iced Mocha Coffee with skim milk and splenda. It is basically an iced coffee with chocolate syrup mixed in...SO GOOD! A medium has around 150 calories, so if I budget my calories wisely for the day it doesn't kill me, but isn't the best decision. I also had some plain oatmeal with brown sugar and almonds around 10ish. Here is where it gets bad, I bought chicken teriyaki for lunch, I had about 2 bites and felt stuck...I ended up sliming/PB'ing for 4 HOURS! By far my worse stuck episode ever...I got really scared that I was going to have to go get an unfill. I ended up talking to Angie and explaining how I was feeling with tightness in my chest and constant sliming. She too felt I might need to get an unfill, she told me one last thing to try...sick my fingers down my throat. I'm like WTF....I've been sliming for 4 hours, I highly doubt this is going to help, but feeling hopeless I gave it a whirl. I go to the bathroom @ work, get on all 4's and give it shot...All of a sudden a chunk of chicken comes flying out, and I feel immediate relief!! I can't believe it worked, crossing my fingers I didn't do any band damage. I feel like I should get an upper GI at some point just to check on things..my clinic doesn't usually do this test for no reason, but I feel like with all the PB'ing I've done I should get things checked out, just to make sure. We will see. I have an appointment on March 8th and I will mention it and see what they say. I know you all must be thinking that I am too tight...but I actually feel I need a small fill but am not sure. I have a hard time eating and PB very easily, but I never stay full for long and feel like I'm always hungry. Not sure what that means.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with a new Ob/Gyn, I have just been seeing my PCP for that stuff up until now, but for the past 3 1/2 weeks I have been spotting, which is very un-like me. I use the nuva ring for birth control and have for about 4 months and never had any issues, but maybe this spotting is due to that, or maybe it's due to losing 50lbs?? I don't know, I just want to be fixed! I was also told during pre-op that when I get pregnant it will be a high risk pregnancy due to the band...not sure if that's true or not, but I thought it would be good to find an OB that I'm comfortable with, who knows my history so when it is time there aren't any surprises.

So many wondeful bodily functions to deal with lol. Hope everyone is having a good night! xxoo

New low and good times!

Yesterday I weighed myself for the love myself challenge and was pleasantly surprised that onederland decided to come out of hiding! I weighed in @ 199.1! YESSSSS! I didn't have the best week exercise wise, but I tried my best to make up for it with my food choices, and low and behold, it worked!

I need some advice, I have been having a really difficult time waking up in the morning and getting myself to the gym. Are there any tricks or things you guys do to motivate yourself to get out of bed?? Going at night is out of the question, so I really need to learn to wake up! I'm thinking it has a lot to do with the weather, and how cold and dark it is...but I really don't want to make excuses up for this.

Saturday night I made dinner for Rick and I. I tried this new recipe that came in this month's cooking light, and it was DELISH! It is called Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Buffalo Sauce, here is the link to the recipe. I definitely recommend trying this...I was feeling a little loose the night I made it, and was able to eat about 1 1/2 breasts....oops! But it was so worth every bite!

Also for a NSV this weekend I did a little shopping, I went to Old Navy and Target. At old navy I was able to buy 4 tops, all is size LARGE! The XL's were actually swimming on me! I don't remember the last time I was able to buy large's and feel comfortable in them, 2 of them have buttons, and they all close! At Target I saw a cute pair of jean capris, and I tried on a pair 16 and THEY FIT! Shopping is becoming more and more fun, I love it!

To all my pretty ladies....

I am so happy right now, I am smiling ear to ear. Colls nominated me for the Beauitful Blogger award, and I am touched! It feels so good to be able to make a difference in somebody elses's life, as many of you have done in mine. So here are the rules to the award:

Here are the rules:

* Thank the person who nominated you for this award;
* Copy the award and post it in your blog;
* Link to the blog of the person who nominated you;
* Tell seven interesting things about yourself;
* Nominate seven bloggers and;
* Post links to the blogs of your nominees

7 'Interesting' Facts about myself:

• I still sleep with my childhood stuffed animal, a bunny named foofy


• I changed my major 4 times in college, it went from advertising to accounting to communications to hospitality....and now I'm a administrative assistant and couldn't be happier


• While on spring break my junior year of college I fractured my ankle by trying to pee off the side of a boat (I was a little intoxicated, needless to say) I ended up in the ER of a hospital in the Bahamas and had to call home and tell my parents what had happened.


• I am one of the pickiest eaters EVER....seriously I won't eat any vegetables other then corn (not even salads), no eggs, no seafood, no berries.....I NEED to get over this!!


• I played tennis since I was 10, and was on the varsity #2 doubles team for my high school...I haven't played in awhile but I still enjoy it.


• I have 2 pet bunnies name cupcake and pancake, they are both girls and LOVE to hump each other all day long. I love them to pieces.


• I am an only child, and still have only child syndrome from time to time.

My Beautiful Blogger Award Nominees:

Nicole: I don't know where to start....Nicole is quickly turning into one of the most amazing friends I have. We only live a short distance apart so it is easy to catch up with one another....I would say on the average day we share over 50 emails back and forth...she is such an inspiration to me, and is one of the most selfless people I know. She has given me bags upon bags of clothes, even when I can not give her anything in return. It's not only for the tangible things that I love her for, but for all the advice she gives me whether it be band, wedding, career, relationship etc. related.

Amy: What is there to say about amy?!? She is the Oprah of blogging, the girl we all look up too. She shares the good, the bad, and the ugly of not only her band life, but her personal life as well. She is beautiful, a true blogger celebrity in my eyes. I think like most everyone I look forward daily to seeing her posts whether it be foaming out of her nose, sunkist temptations, progress pictures, or a temper tantrum.

Breanne: I found Bre on LBT when I first started looking into surgery, she stood out to me because she was having surgery the same hospital I was looking into. I sent her a message, and we shared email addresses. We emailed back and forth daily, and she had surgery about 2 months before me with the same surgeon. She was able to prep me for everything I needed to know, and we were even able to meet up before I had my surgery. She calmed my nerves and I am so thankful to her. We try to meet up about once month, and although she had a little bump in her band journey, she is back on track and kicking butt!

Nikki: Nikki is new to being banded, just as of this Friday to be exact. She is an army wife and lives in Hawaii. This is just one of the many reasons I respect her so much. She jumped into the blog world and immediately fit right in like shes been here for years. She is candid and not scared to ask for advice when needed. I can't wait to watch her progress.

Angie: Angie is one of the first blogs I found. I always kind of idolized her, I'm not sure how it happened but one night we started chatting on facebook, and talked for hours. We have so much in common, and she can always make me feel better about whatever it is that might be getting me down.

Sarah: Sarah is approaching her 1 year bandiversary and is down almost 75 lbs! She is doing phenomenal and always has fun posts to read. She is now an avid runner, and is training to do various races...I think about 1 a month! She gives all of us C25Ker's a light at the end of the tunnel

Alexis: Alexis is my fellow Twi-hard. She is one of the only people that I know that is more hardcore then I am. She is GORGEOUS and exudes such confidence in all of her pictures and posts. I love reading beauty tips from her, and seeing all the gorgeous outfits she finds.

Well there you have it....probably one of my longest posts ever...and worth every minute! Love you guys! xxoo

Happy Valentines!

Happy Valentines Everyone!

Rick and I went to a nice dinner tonight @ the Capital Grille, it was super yummy! We got mozzarella wrapped in Prosciutto for an appetizer, and for my entree I got Dry Aged Steak Au Poivre with a Courvoisier Cream Sauce, and a Berry Cheesecake for Dessert. I was only able to eat about 1/4 of the steak, but it was soooo yummy!

Onderland was hiding today for my weigh in for the love myself challenge. I weighed in at 200.1, but that's OK I know I had ton of sodium yesterday, and it will come out of hiding soon. That means that I lost a little over 3 lbs this week though! woo-hoo!

I am loving the Olympics being on TV, they are so fun to watch. Rick's sister is actually in Vancouver working at them, and has sent me a ton of pictures. She does Tech. Support for USA Today newspaper, so she is there to support all the reporters, how cool is that??

I desperately needed to buy new works pants this weekend, since mine were becoming very saggy and inappropriate. I went to kohls yesterday and wasn't able to find any 18's or 16's in petites that looked good, so I was very frustrated. Tonight after dinner, I was able to run into New York & Company and they were running a fantastic sale, Buy 1 get 1 free pants! I was able to get (2) pairs of 18 petites that look great! I should be all set for a month or 2 now!

Another cool thing that happened today was I was able to meet one of Rick's cousin's for the first time. She had gastric sleeve surgery about a month before I was banded. She lives in Ohio, so we don't get to see her much. She is doing AMAZING, and is down about 90 lbs so far! It is sometimes hard for me, because his grandparents don't understand the difference of our surgeries, and compare our loss and wonder why she has lost so much more then me. It's OK though, I know they are older and just want the best for the both of us. We are both doing super, and are doing what we needed to do to better our lives and will both get there in our own time.

ONEDERLAND and 6 month bandversery!!!

I DID IT!!!! and on my 6 month bandversery, how monumental!! I truly cannot believe this! This means I have lost 4 lbs since this Sunday!! My body is finally catching up with my healthy eating and gym habits! Here are a few thoughts that have also been occupying my mind with this all this excitement!

Restriction: I have been REALLY tight lately, if my restriction level stays like this, I don't think I will be needing a fill for awhile.

Discouraged: As happy as I am with my weight loss, I get easily discouraged with my clothing size...I know everyone's bodies are differently shaped and what not, but why am I still in an 18 when it seems like everyone else is getting into 16's??

Total Weight Loss: 199 brings me at 49 lbs lost, 1 more and I hit 50!! This also means that I have been averaging an 8.1lb loss per month WAHOOO!

Goals: This has been my first goal that I have set and made! I wanted 199 by valentines day, and it happened. I need to set a new goal, not sure what I want it to be yet though. Maybe 190 by my birthday, April 8th. I'll have to think about this one!

I think that's about all that is going on in this hamster wheel mind of mine...I want to thank EVERYONE for all of the encouraging words, through all my hard times and good times. We will all make it, and a big reason why we will is because of each other! Love you all, XOXOXO

Delish Recipe!

I am stealing from everyone else, but I just thought the need to validate this recipe even more! Sarah and Cara posted a "dinner pancake" type recipe called easy cheesey pancakes, and Rick and I made them last night. SOOO GOOD! I think it'll be my new go-to meal when I don't have anything planned or feel like cooking much. Here is a link to the recipe, I followed Sarah's version exactly, but also dipped mine into sour cream to help moisten it up a bit. You can also check out Cara's version here. I ate about 3/4 of this serving and was satisfied for the rest of the night.



Also, I need to be completely honest. I was planning on attending spin class this morning, but just couldn't get my butt out of bed! I could go at another time, but Tuesdays @ 6am is the only time they offer a 30 minute class vs. the normal 60 minute. I really want to do to the 30 minute for my first time. There's always next week I guess.

Uh-Oh

I feel the need to retract something from my last post....although I managed not to PB last night while stuck, I couldn't control it today :(

Please note: Roast beef is no longer my friend!

Weekend shananagans

I had a really great weekend, between meeting up with blogger Nicole and lots of parties it was an awesome. There were lots of temptations, but I did my best and I don't regret any of it!

Friday: Rick and I decided to stay in, since we're broke and were exhausted. When trying to decide what we wanted for dinner, I got the brilliant idea of homemade baked mac and cheese. I found a recipe online and we made as many low-fat substitutions as we could such as: I can't believe its not butter, skim milk, and low-fat cheddar cheese. I ate about 3/4 cup of this and it was DELICIOUS! Not sure of the calorie content, but it was worth it, and I got the craving out of the way.

Saturday: We attended a family members 1st birthday party, this was a catered event and they had chicken fingers, chicken, broccoli alfredo, baked ziti and meatballs...band nightmare! I was good though and only had 2 meatballs and a chicken finger. Dessert was cupcakes, mmm yum! I did the best I could and wiped off most of the excess frosting and ate the rest, it was yummo! OOOO and the best part, guess what the party favor was?!?! Cupcake scented candles! I gratefully declined one haha. For dinner, we went to my cousins house and we had a taco night! Rick and I brought tortilla soup, that I had found on a band friendly recipe site. Here is a link to the recipe, it was DELISH! I also had some ground taco turkey and a few too many tortilla chips, and maybe a chocolate chip cookie, or 2 or 3.

Sunday: Weighed in for the love yourself challenge...down .1 (203.2) from last week. I only went to the gym once last week, and from my eating patterns the night before, I gratefully took this number. That afternoon, I met up with Nicole and we went to Starbucks. She had 2 huge trash bags of clothes for me, I couldn't believe it, the clothes were so nice! There were some things from banana republic, arden B, old navy, gap, kohls, macys...and everything I could ever need including sundresses, work pants, gym pants, sweaters, tank tops, going out shirts, button downs...seriously everything! I am so grateful for everything she has given me! Last night we went to Ricks dads house for a superbowl party. I was pretty good with eating there...I had about 2 oz of ham and 2-3oz of au gratin potatoes, got stuck but no PB YAY! I really wanted to PB but I told myself I had to learn to let it work its way down without always spitting up, and I did it! After dinner they put out some snacks including cheese and pepperoni, bbq shrimp, buffalo chicken bites, and chips and salsa. I had a few pieces of cheese, 2 buffalo chicken bites, and a couple chips with salsa, overall not too bad. For dessert they had a 5 layer chocolate cake, I had a small sliver..I couldn't turn it down, totally worth it!

This morning I woke up @ 5:30 and went to the gym. I did a 40 minute muscle class and felt great afterwards. I can feel myself getting stronger every week. I have been attending this class almost every Monday and Wednesday since November, it is such a fun way to get in some strength training. Tomorrow I plan on attending my first spin class since being banded. I went to one 2 years ago and had to quit half way through....here's to hoping I make it through this one!

Sweet craving cured!

Lately I've been having sweet cravings at night and couldn't figure out why....The other night I finally came to the conclusion. It's my stupid new candle I got for Christmas! It's CUPCAKE scented! I need to outlaw any sweet smelling candles from our place, its driving me crazy! No wonder I've been having all these cravings lately, our place smells like a damn bakery LOL