One month with Clarence

Today marks the one month anniversary of my band. My husband kindly named my band "Clarence" shortly after my surgery. I like the name...some how it fits. So at the one month point I feel good. I am not sure if my weight has changed at all but I will weigh myself on Friday. All in all, 4 weeks out and 1 week pre-op, I feel good about my 22 lb loss. I feel healthier and stronger now. I work out 5-6 days a week and am proud of the changes I have made. I am looking forward to my first fill which will happen October 20th.

I am still staying full for quite a while but I still have cravings and deal with the emotional side of eating. When I got dressed this morning my pants felt loose and I feel like I look better in my clothes. I am not technically in a smaller size yet but I can start wearing some things that weren't fitting pre-op. I am very happy with my band and the success Clarence and I have had together.

Water drama

So, I have a couple kinds of water drama these days. First of all... I woke up this morning and we had NO water. I had worked out the night before and quickly showered but didn't wash my hair. I wanted to work out before work (I work 12:30 pm- 9:00 pm on Tuesdays). So I came up with this plan to work out and it worse came to worst I would melt ice cubes and use whatever water I could find to wash my hair and "sponge bath" myself. Well, fortunately, the water was back on by 10 and I got a really good hour work out in.

On to my other water drama. I am supposed to be drinking 72 oz of water a day, so says my Doctor. So.. how the hell am I supposed to do that when it takes me so long to eat and I have to wait an hour before and after eating. I am working on a system.. but sipping and waiting is taking so long.

Monday morning, and a new week

Happy Monday morning all. First off, I had some of that Weight Control instant oatmeal this morning and it was so gross. I hate the texture of that stuff. I had instant oatmeal in the past and remembered not liking it but I thought I could suck it up. Wrong, I got through 1/3 of it and was too grossed out to continue. O well.... save me some calories! I had a fantastic Sunday yesterday. I kickboxed in the morning for about 45 minutes and later that evening we took the dog to the park and walked for an hour and a half. The weather was absolutely beautiful and it was so nice to be outside.

We also visited my husbands family yesterday and for the first time since my surgery....... I had pie. I had a tiny tiny piece of chocolate cream pie and O MY GOD. It tasted so good. I was satisfied with the little piece and was happy I was able to join in and have some and not feel deprived. I am technically not supposed to have that stuff yet but I wanted it so bad and I didn't want to not have it and resent my band.

I felt in control for once, what a great feeling!

Saturday it is.

In my pre-band days, a Saturday work day would surely lead to a nice dinner out. It might be a steak with a loaded baked potato followed by some sort of cheese cake. It could also be some kind of stuffed chicken with pasta followed by key lime pie. It could even be a really good burger with sweet potato fries and a big ol' waffle cone of blue moon. But no.. not tonight. Instead I will make something healthy and have no regrets. However, I do miss those days of carefree eating followed by a comfy sweet. This is why I see a therapist! :)

It is cold here, and rainy, and a perfect day to stay in bed. Sadly, I am at work until 6 today. I am drinking my peach tea and dreaming of smaller pants. It is almost lunch time and I am getting hungry.

Blah.... today kind of sucks.

Weigh In Day

Today is weigh in day. I jumped on the scale and was pleasantly greeted by a loss of 4.4 lbs!! I can't believe it. I am so pumped. This has been a great week. I hope I can keep the ball rolling. In total, in just a little over four weeks, I have lost 22.4 lbs. I am so so pleased.

In other news, I have the day off today. That means I must get in a really good work out. I have no excuses not to. I am planning on making some turkey chili for dinner tonight and I am looking forward to that. Yum-O. Maybe a movie tonight... maybe not. I have to work tomorrow so nothing too crazy.

Happy Friday!

Pizza, and other distractions

So, as part of my job as a teen services librarian I lead teen book discussions. I had one today at 4 o'clock. I always order pizza for the book group and did so today. It smelled amazing! It looked delightful. But... it didn't make me sad that I couldn't eat it. I am not sure if that was because I knew I had my own dinner, one that looked delicious, or that I just really didn't want it that bad. I successfully avoided it, even the left overs. I had a great time with the book group and left the discussion feeling good.

In other news, I saw my therapist today. I talked to him about my food issues I am currently dealing with, as well as stress from family, work, and friends. It felt so good to just vent. He also said he feels I am doing a really great job coping with my new way of eating.

Tomorrow I weigh in... hope I lost something!!

Wednesday, my first real food day

So, yesterday was a sad day. There was a murder suicide at my place of employment. It was a domestic dispute and it just happened to take place in our parking lot. It was very sad and traumatic for everyone involved. We ended up closing for the day but are back to the grind today. We do have councilors on site for anyone to talk to. Normally a day like this would have driven me to eat. However, yesterday that was not the case. In fact, almost the opposite happened. I realized how much more important other things are than food. I guess that was a success for me.

So, today is my first day on real food, sort of. I still can't eat grain products or raw fruits or veggies and red meat is out for 6 months. But I can have meat, fish, cooked veggies, and mushy fruits. I put some pork chops in the crock put this morning and excited to be able to eat with my husband again (he and I have been making our own dinners).

I have been exercising regularly and have been feelings really good. I still love my band and am looking forward to my first fill on October 20th.