Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Getting Back to the Basics

It has been time for me to get back to the basics for a while now.

Today was the day.

I am going back to eating the way I was eating when I was in my major losing phase.

I am tired of maintaining when I still have weight to lose.

Breakfast:
1 Hard Boiled Egg 70 cal
2 Light String Cheese 100 cal

Lunch:
Half Sandwhich-95 cal
1 Hard Boiled Egg-70 cal
1 Banana-90 cal
1 String Cheese-50 cal

Snack:
1 Hard Boiled Egg-70 cal

Dinner:
1 lamb burger-180
1 1/2 cup green beans-20 cal
1 String Cheese-50 cal

795 calories
81 Protein

Then I ran 3 miles.

If this routine doesn't get the rest of the weight off, I don't know what will.
I guess if nothing else, it will produce a lot of gas...happy day everyone!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Sunday, July 14, 2013

Random Sunday Night

I feel like I need to blog tonight since it has been too long since my last post. So I'm going to do this TTT style on a Sunday!

1. My new class I am in is Advanced Human Resource Management. I have been enjoying it and it is not taking up too much of my free time.
2. Friday I am going on a shopping trip with a friend who is in town for a few weeks. We are both really excited!
3. I have gotten back into leisure reading and am loving it. Almost obsessed with it. I am worrying about typing this post up quick so I can get in at least a chapter before falling asleep. I am reading Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin.
4. I have recently started using the site "Good Reads". Anyone else use this to manage your books?
5. It has been hot and humid out and that makes me not as excited to go outside and exercise. Remember when I was running in the snow and waiting for nicer weather??? Yeah, I think I want to run in the snow again! I just can not ever be happy with the temperature I guess.
6. My house seems to be half way picked up and clean right now. Laundry is also caught up. This makes me feel like I'm on top of my life :-)
7. This weekend went way too fast. I vote for 5 day weekends and 2 day work weeks.
8. I have been working with a personal trainer. Lets call him Kory, because that is his name. Well, it has happened once. The plan is to work with him on Tuesdays. Then repeat the workout myself on Thursdays. This is supposed to get me into strength training and help me get the last 15 pounds off. After one week, all is well. I'll update more on this Tuesday after workout number 2.
9. We have started harvesting goodies out of our garden that we planted. So far we have had lettuce, peas, and some peppers. Lettuce has always been a food that I would not eat. However, I am making myself eat this stuff out of the garden. It's not bad....and it's not killing me. So I hope if I just keep doing it, someday I will be able to say I actually enjoy it!
10. I got a new car this weekend! I have seriously talked about a Toyota Prius for years! Ever since I very first had a ride in one. You know those commercials where the Prius is driving down a road and singing music?? Yeah, mine does that for real! It is such a happy car!

Friday, July 5, 2013

4th Bike-Run

Yesterday I did an awesome bike-run event to celebrate the 4th!

How it worked:

You have a partner. Can be female-female, male-male, or co-ed.

You have one bike.

One person starts running and one person starts biking.

You as the team decide how long you are going to go for.

Then the biker drops the bike at the decided mile marker, when you run to it, you pick it up and start biking while the other is running. Then you keep switching. At the end the biker has to slow down because you have to finish as a team.

We started with 2 miles each of running and biking then did one mile segments.

We did this for over 11 miles!!!!!!!!! Wow, I know. I am feeling it today!

I ended up running 6 miles and biking 5 miles.

Our time was 87 minutes, not too shabby!

Here are some pictures from the day!

 This was all of us after the run! Still smiling!
 This was Dan and his partner Cole
Me and my partner Dawn!

Tuesday, June 25, 2013

Talking to myself, about myself

Did I tell you all I have started training for a 10K?!?

Well, yes I am!

I found a program like the C25K, it's a bridge type program from 5K to a 10K.

I am on week 3, so it is set up like this:

Warm up walk for 5 minutes

Run for 17 minutes, walk 1 minute.

Repeat for a total of 3 times.

Cool down 5 minute walk.

The running intervals increase throughout the 6 week program.

This was what my stats looked like last night!

So, last night when I was running, I was talking to myself the whole time. In my head of course! I maybe a sang a few song lyrics out loud...other than that I don't want others to think I am completely crazy! 

I have to give myself encouragement along the way with these longer runs. I tell myself things like. 

"Slow down, you have to maintain running longer distances!"
"You are completely fine, your breathing is totally under control, your legs feel great!"
"Relax!"
"Don't panic! You feel good right now!" 
"You are just sweating, everything else is totally fine!" 
"The wind will be at your back in just a little bit"

Crazy? I don't think so, it keeps me going. I can get myself really anxious when running. When I start to panic my whole body starts to shut down and wants to stop. I need to do something to calm me down so I can keep going and not panic. 

My last 2 runs have been amazing! It is what keeps me running. 

Anyone else do some positive self talk when they are working out?

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

Sliming Virgin No More

It has been a little over a year now since I have been banded.

Today marks the first time I have been stuck and had this "sliming" episode that I have heard others talk about.

YUCK!

So, I was eating my lunch like normal. Same foods that I eat all the time.

I felt a little stuck so I stopped eating. Normally this feeling passes on it's own. So I get up to go and unload the dish washer and wait so I can finish eating. I get very nauseated. Now, this has happened to me before. My mouth waters for awhile and it goes away. Which it did again today. No biggie, right?!?

Zoe is getting groomed and during all this the clinic calls and says she is finished and ready to be picked up. I feel safe to leave the house at this point. I drive across town, and about half way there I realize things are maybe not "fine". I am miserable again, nauseated, mouth watering. I'm looking around my car for something to spit into. Nothing...I can't find anywhere good to pull over for quite a while. Anyway, I ended up having to stop. All that was in my car is a paper bank envelope. Yes, you know this is not going to end good. Ended up sliming about 2 cups of that crap semi-into this bank envelope which then lopped on the floor of the car. Yes, I know this is sexy.

I did not know that this is how this goes down. Where does all this slime come from??? Seriously! Who knew?!?

Anyway, this took care of the problem. Picked up Zoe, went home and finished eating lunch!

--------------------------------------

On a brighter note, I got my hair chopped off today.
I think I love it!
Keep in mind this was after my shower and with no make-up. I will post a better picture next time!


Friday, June 7, 2013

One year Ago...

Today marks one year since everything changed.
Last year at this time, I was home from surgery and beginning my recovery.
Munching on full liquids and pain medications.

Before the Band


 1 year later

I am living proof that if you follow the rules and work hard...the lap band works and works well!
No Regrets
I would make this same decision again in a heart beat.
Onward to lose the last 20!

Thursday, June 6, 2013

Pizza Eating and Pop Drinking

I just wanted to check in with everyone tonight to flash back to one year ago.

Last year at this time my husband and I drove 2 hours away and were checking into our hotel room.

Preparing for my last meal.

Stuffing myself with pizza, breadsticks, and pop.

It was my last night of going to sleep without my band.

So many things have changed since that night.

I will never be this girl again:


Tuesday, June 4, 2013

1 Year Doctor Appointment

Today was my one year doctor appointment.

I am 3 days from my actual one year bandaversary.

I thought today would have went down differently than it did.

I figured at this time, I would be at my goal weight.

I am not.

I still have 18-20 pounds to go depending on the day.
These last pounds have proven to be harder than the previous 100.

So, I found out today that I am at a "plateau".  Apparently most people hit them, my time is now.
I was like, what do I do now? How can I get past this? I weighed exactly the same this month as last month at their office. I do not want this to happen again.

The advise I got. Amp up/change up my exercise. Including adding strengthening with my awesome kettle bell  here. (That I have been using as a decorative piece in my living room).

When I got home I was trying to decide how I was going to increase or change up my exercise routine. The only way I get a good cardio workout is from running. But, how do I change running? I have been running about 2 miles daily and participating in 5Ks. I actually have one scheduled this weekend.

There is only one way run.
So, then I decided....I will begin training for a 10k.
I loaded a new app for my iPhone that is a bridge program from 5K-10K in 6 weeks.

This will increase my run time, increase my run intensity, and all willing...get me off this plateau.

Saturday, June 1, 2013

I'm BAAAACKKKK!

Yep, we got home yesterday late afternoon from vacation!
We had a very fun and active time in the Black Hills. I would highly recommend this as a vacation spot, there is so much to do out there and beautiful landscapes.

Now, be prepared for photo bombing from our trip! I can't just pick 1 or 2 so you are getting like 207 pictures!!


Dan in the badlands
 Me on a rock, if you couldn't tell ha!
Mount Rushmore is to the right of my head. 
That awesome Harley sweatshirt was left in my hotel room. 
I realized this morning...
Luckily they had it and will mail it to us!
 Mount Rushmore through the trees
 My fav, the burros in Custer Park, they were trying to bite Dan so he wouldn't go near them.
 On our hike to Harney's peak. The highest spot in South Dakota.
 We had an old time Western picture taken!
 Another hiking view
 Buffalo very close to the road
 We rented a paddle boat for a half hour. 
Dan: Why are you wearing that orange vest???
Me: I don't know, the guy gave it to me so I put it on. Ha!
 4 wheeling--Probably one of the best things we did there!
 We also rented bikes for a morning and rode 16 miles on their trails. The first 8 were all up hill.
 Just a dinosaur Park on a hill in Rapid City

 Another hike!

 Spelunking at Rushmore Cave
 The rules for the hike to Harney's Peak and Little Devils Tower
 More hiking!

So getting to my point...
Yes we had fun! It was a very active vacation. Lots of miles walked and hills climbed. 
Did I mention we packed most of our food for the week???
Only ate out a few times. Made fairly good choices when we did eat out. 
I did have some ice cream a couple times. But with the amount of activity that was being had, I figured I had some room to splurge. 
I ended up LEAVING MY SCALE HOME! It was kind of nice taking a break from it for a week also.  

So how bad was the vacation on my weight. I was hoping to have lost some weight. 

"0"

I lost nothing. I gained nothing. 
Pretty disappointing considering all the exercise. 
I'm hovering right around the 100 pound lost mark. Give or take depending on the day.
Oh well. Onward!

What I can take away from this vacation is I could have NEVER done any of these things 1 year ago. I would have never made the hike to Harney's Peak, which is over a 6 mile moderate to strenuous hike. I never could have climbed up on rocks or rode a bike 16 miles up hill. So even though the scale didn't change during this one week, I know that I have. 

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Vacation Scale Stress

We are leaving to go on vacation tomorrow for a whole week!
We have not been on vacation in over a year and a half.
Sooooo overdue!

There are however lots of stressor preparing for vacation.
All the packing
Laundry
Preparing food for our trip so we don't eat out the whole time
Getting the car ready
Etc....you get the point.

My biggest stress right now has nothing to do with that.

We are traveling 8 hours from home. Without my scale.

Yes, I am stressed about this. All the potential food eating, lack of structured exercise. Sweet temptations. And nothing for me to monitor this with!

I am considering taking it along.

Is this cray cray?

I am a daily weigher, if not 2 times a day.

What do you all think? Take it or leave it home?

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Huge Scale Victory!

Yes those NSV are awesome....

BUT! This scale victory feels pretty amazing today! I have been waiting for long time to see this number.

Every day this week, patiently taking my phone with me to the scale incase it decided to show up!

Today was the day!

100 pounds down! My starting weight was 258, today's weight was 158!

That leaves me 18 pounds to goal. Completely do-able!


Today I had planned on blogging about my stomach fat along with detailed pictures. I thought this was more exciting though. So you'll have to wait for another day to see those riveting pictures!

Hope you all have a great weekend! I am going to get a pedicure with my mom today, and celebrate my 100 pounds gone!




Friday, May 17, 2013

Free Allergies to Anyone Who Will Take Them!

I have never really considered my self someone who suffers from seasonal allergies.

This week has been horrible for me though.

Nose running, sneezing, coughing from more nasal drainage, more sneezing.

Puffy red eyes

Horse voice

Did I mention sneezing?? Yes I am!

I think the worst symptom of all has been my TIGHT BAND!

I can't eat a meal without something getting stuck and being uncomfortable until it goes down.

I mean painful!

I have not ever gotten sick or PB'd with my band.

...And I do not intend to let allergies be the cause of this happening. I just plain won't let it.

I have been taking Zyrtec, and that helps with the allergy symptoms.

Not so much with the band tightness.

**sigh**

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

11 Month Appointment

Today was my 11 month follow up appointment.

I had a loss of 5 pounds since last month.

My weight loss is slowing down and becoming a fight for every pound I get off.

My total weight loss according to their scale is 97 pounds.

Today's appointment was different than any other appointment.

Any guesses why????

Today was the first time I have been there and did NOT get a fill.

I am adjusted perfect, and it has stayed perfect for a whole month.

This was a huge deal because we just have not been able to catch that perfect spot this whole time. I have felt like I was doing the majority of this on my own. I finally feel like I have some help from my band.

Any regrets yet?? Nope, not one! I would do this over in a heart beat!

Onwards to good health, fitness, and my goal weight!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Personal Best!!!

Saturday was my 5K
It was windy
It was cold
But I still ran the whole thing without walking
....and had my personal best time!

Total time: 30:15
Average pace: 9:44/mile

I placed 34th out of 88 women!


 Me and Zoe eating breakfast before the run (Hard boiled egg)
 I give these shoes 50% credit for my great time. They are so light and comfortable! My chip was on and ready to roll!
Dan and I before the run! We were really cold and glad we wore long sleeve shirts!

I just have to put in a throwback from last year. This was the same run, Dan's 1st 5K! I did the 1 mile walk. This was pre-band for me last year. I started the C25K program shortly after this run because it inspired me!

Thankfully my mom came to watch and brought her camera, so we got some great pictures! Here is Dan finishing! He is fast and came in a few minutes ahead of me.

This is my personal favorite picture because I had a burst of energy at the end and passed 2 girls. She was looking at me like "whoa, where did she come from" 
Can you spot me? This one I like because my legs look small.
Dan helping me get my chip off my shoe after the run.

This was a lot of fun! I would highly recommend doing an organized run. I am really looking forward to my next one! To think, last year I could not even run for 1 minute without stopping, now I can run 3 miles without stopping! Our bodies are amazing if we let them be!


Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Running Playlist

Finished my playlist for my run Saturday!
Had to download some knew stuff to listen to.

Here is what I have: (In this order)...
Ps. It took me about an hour to figure out how to stop the "shuffle" on my iPhone!
Pss. This has irritated me for a long time that it kept shuffling.

Mirrors-JT
Alive-Krewella
Bugatti-Future and Rick Ross
Feel This Moment-Pitbull
I Love It-Icona Pop
Rich as F$*k-2 Chains
That Power-will.i.am
Radioactive-Imagine Dragons
I Made It-Cash Money Heroes
No Hands-Roscoe Dash & Wale

This should be more than enough to get me through my 5K!

I have a broad taste in music--obviously !!!

I'm just hoping I don't have to stop running to do a dance.
Am I the only one who has ever really had to fight that urge while working out?
I have seriously almost stopped running on the trail to dance.


What do all of you like working out to?

Sunday, May 5, 2013

Personal Best

I had probably my best run today.

Total Distance: 3.43 miles
Average Speed: 10:15
Duration of 35:09 minutes

Mile 1: 10:27
Mile 2: 10:04
Mile 3: 10:10

These are some of my best mile times.
My goal this summer was to get in the 10 minute range, and I'm already there!

Gearing up for my first 5K next Saturday that I will be able to run the whole way!

My plan is to run a small run Monday, 5K Tuesday, and another small run Wednesday.
Then I will rest until Saturday so my legs will be nice and ready to run fast.
If I can repeat my times from today I would be VERY happy.

I bought myself a new pair of running shoes yesterday. I was way overdue. I had been running in the same pair all winter.

Check out these sweet babies!

These are the Brooks Ghost 5! They were very comfortable! My first pair of Brooks! Makes me feel like a real runner now! Run happy! 


Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Dedication

I just finished running.

2.43 miles
27:00 total time
11:07 per mile average

This was me when I finished:


Notice the snow on the ground and snow flakes falling in front of me. 34 degrees.
I was soaked from wet heavy snow.
But did a regret getting my run in when I was finished, no!
Today I felt dedicated to running, and dedicated to continue my weight loss. 

I have been struggling with my food choices lately and eating out too much. 
I have not been losing weight. 
I even gained about 5 pounds and am now working it off again. 
I need a little dedication again to get me to my goal. 
So if that means running in the snow, I'm running in the snow...on May 1st!

Let me just remind you what the weather was like here a couple days ago:


Yep, 70 degrees and sunny. Craziness! 

_________________________________________

On another note, I got my Bariatric Advantage Chewable Calcium in the mail today! 
Can't wait to try them! 
I have my others to finish up, but will give you all a full review when I get to dig into them!


Sunday, April 28, 2013

Vitamin Time!

I am running low on my vitamins.
I have been taking random brands of vitamins since surgery from which ever store I happen to be in.
I ALWAYS get the chewies for both a multivitamin and calcium.
I am just tired of the lack of options.
So...today I went to my trusted source...Lap Band Gal. I raided her blog to find out what she uses.
Came up with 3 different brands she had talked about.

I ended up buying:

Multivitamin from Unjury. I liked how it was for the band, and all the reviews say how great it tastes. The benefit for me was it only requires you to take 1 tab a day. Many of the chewy vitamins I have been taking I have to take 2 to 4 a day! That is craziness! I'm excited to get these in the mail!



So that was the easy choice. 

I had a harder time choosing the calcium that I wanted to buy. I ended up choosing the Bariatric Advantage 500mg Chewables. I liked that you can chew them or have them dissolve in your mouth. I liked that it came in chocolate. Also liked that I only have to take 2. Some of the others you needed to take like 4 a day. That is just too many times to remember. 

So anyone tried these? Thoughts? Comments? Likes or Dislikes? Tell me what you use!


Saturday, April 27, 2013

Weekend Adventures

Today has been beautiful outside! Windows open, breeze coming in!

My husband, Zoe, and I also caught some outdoor activities of course!

Earlier this afternoon we hit the trails for some bike riding! I think we ended up riding 9 miles.



After I saw this picture my husband took, I really couldn't believe this was what my body really looks like...cRaZy! Last year this time I was still waiting to hear insurance approval! Life has changed so much compared to last year this time!

And I made it up this HUGE HILL that I have always had to walk my bike up because I just couldn't do it, TODAY I COULD! I was out of breath and moving slow, but I rode up the whole thing without stopping or walking! NSV!


So before we went out for the bike ride we were working on a motorcycle project. I assisted in changing the pipes. We had to get louder ones, ya know! I even used a real ratchet and everything! I am a handy girl like that!

I think I did a great job helping!

Then to wrap our night we took Zoe out for a wooded walk, she enjoyed it very much!

Dan is now outside fertilizing the yard and I put bird food out earlier. Finally a beautiful weekend!

So what is everyone else doing to enjoy their weekend?



Thursday, April 25, 2013

Oh Yes! It's nice!

Today was officially nice out! It was in the 60's and today was the first day I was able to go out and run with capris and a t-shirt on! I did not have to be bundled in 372 layers of clothing, hat, and mittens! This was so exciting I had to capture the moment. This was before my 2-mile run. As you can tell by the smile on my face and lack of sweat.


I just so happen to have random frames laying around the house for photo opportunities just like this. No not really, I have an antique booth. I have to work there 1 day a month and today was the day. Can't work for the day and not buy at least 1 thing to bring home! So today was a vintage yellow frame. Will surely find something cute to do with it to hang on the wall. Will have to browse Etsy and Pinterest. 

Last Saturday we had a wedding to attend. Was wearing an aborbs dress that I found. It was very vintage inspired and I loved it! 


Are any of you inspired by vintage decor or clothing?

What did you do for activity today?

How warm is it where you live?