Before/After Photos!!

I decided to do some before/after face comparison photos because people are always telling me they are noticing my weight loss most in my face.  I don't see a difference in the mirror, but these photos BLEW.ME.AWAY.

Disclaimer: 
Before I show you the photos, please excuse my really bad hair in the "after" photo.  I just got home from work where my office stays at a sweltering 85 degrees all day long.  Plus, I'm letting my hair grow out and its in that weird "in-between" stage.  Also, I'm not wearing any make-up.  I got up 30 minutes late this morning and FLEW out the door.  But I digress...

BEFORE (taken May 10th, one month pre-op)

 

 

AFTER (today, nine days shy of three months post-op)

I almost fell off my chair when I saw the "after" photo!  Is is possible that my face really looks that skinny!  Do I see a hint of a collarbone?!  IS THE WORLD COMING TO AN END?!?!?!

No really though... I am beyond thrilled.  Next week I'll take my three-month post-op piccies and if they look half as good as these do, I'll post them here!  Wheeeee!!

Long Time No Blog...

I have been totally MIA lately and I'm sorry about that.  School started back up for the kids two weeks ago which means I am also back to work.  The back-to-school schedule is hectic, to say the least, but we're all starting to get back into the groove of things.

In weight-loss news... I'm down 36 lbs!!  I got stuck at -27lbs. there for a while, but finally broke through and these last nine pounds have come off quite easily!  I'm currently weighing in at 260.8 lbs.  I wanted to hit 250 by Sept. 1st, but it was a lofty goal and I'm happy with where I am.  I've lost a total of 5.5" in my waist, 3.5" in my upper thighs, 3" in my hips/butt, and 3" in my bust.  That's 15" total!  And I'm not even counting my upper arms, calves, or neck!!

In exercise news... I've been working out twice a week with my bff Liz.  We bike or hike on Saturday mornings and do Zumba on Tuesday evenings.  We really loved Zumba the first time we did it, but the next week we went back, the "regular" instructor was there and she was NOT good.  She fumbled around, missed steps, and was just an all-around weirdo.  We're trying to find another Zumba class STAT!  This week we're going to walk around a local outdoor mall (3 miles once around) and then cool off in the barnes and noble coffee shop.

In Lap-Band news... I went in last Thursday for a fill.  I only got .5cc which is ok with me.  I prefer to be conservative with my fills (I got 2cc last time) rather than aggressive.  I don't want to do anywhere near "overfilled" land, kwim?  I can tell a difference in restriction with the .5cc, but I don't expect it to last for very long.  But for now I'm enjoying the restriction.  The R.N. did my fill this time and it was a total breeze!  When my surgeon did my first fill last month, it took him forever to hit the port!  I think I'll keep using the R.N. from now on. 

In food news... I've been have a wonderful time with food!  I feel like I've really found my groove with what I know I can/cannot eat.  Right now my favorite foods are spinach salads with tuna, apples, walnuts, craisins, and raspberry vinagarette, egg-substitute and turkey bacon breakfast burritos on a whole-grain tortilla (Mission Life Balance are my fave!), broiled tilapia, avocado broiled w/ mozzarella cheese, and steel-cut oatmeal with stevia and raisins.  YUM!!

Ok, well I think that's it!  I'm going to try to get some before/after face photos up soon because everyone is telling me that I'm losing so much weight in my face!  I don't see it, but that's because I look at my face every day, kwim?

So stay tuned for some piccies...

I'm back, baby!!

So I went through a bit of an emo stage, band-wise.  The scale wasn't moving, I was making some poor food choices, and I was just in a funk. 

But I snapped myself out of it and told myself that gaining all this weight took a long time, and losing it is going to take a long time too.  And giving up will only keep me miserable and fat and I do NOT want that!

This morning when I got on the scale, I almost fell over when I saw the number!  266.2!!   2-freaking-66.2!!  Not only did the scale move, but it pushed me over the 30 lb. mark that has been taunting me for the last couple of weeks!!  I'm officially lost 30 lbs!!

Then, while I was on my bike ride this morning I had another amazing realization!  Losing 30 lbs. means that I've lost 10% of my body weight!!  29.7 lbs was my magic 10% mark and I made it!!  WOOT!!!

I'm feeling renewed and energized and motivated to keep going!  Thirty pounds in a little over two months feels so amazing and I can't wait to hit that 40 lb. mark!!

I'm Pissed

Nothing much to report.  I'm stuck at 268 lbs. which is 28 lbs lost.  I can't break the 30lb. barrier despite the Zumba and the hiking.  As a result of the plateau and all the bad emotions that come flooding back with this perceived "failure", I have been making some poor food choices the last few days. 

I'm pissed. 

At myself.  At my scale.  At my band.

But mostly at myself.

The Learning Curve...

I've heard it said many times before, but I am saying it again.... there truly is a learning curve with this surgery. 

I'm still suffering from the occasional "my-eyes-are-bigger-than-my-stomach" problem.  Like tonight for example, I grilled hamburgers for the family while I prepared baked tilaipia with dill for myself.  I was starving by the time I started to cook dinner (forgot to take my pre-dinner snack to work with me) and one little 4 oz. tiliapia fillet looked so tiny.  So I made two.  And ate them both.

*cue intense hiccups and "that feeling" of impeding PB*

I didn't throw up (yay!) but I felt grossly full for at least an hour after dinner.  I am still learning to STOP when I feel full rather than forge ahead.  My brain tells me "Surely you can't be satisfied with that little food.  Eat just a few bites more.".

I need to stop listening to my head and start listening to my stomach.  Because either way, my stomach is going to let its presence be known.  And I really don't want to get on it's bad side.

I've been ZUMBA-fied!!

Well, ladies, I did it.  I went to a Zumba class.

Last night my bestie, Liz, and I decided to get together.  Rather than doing what we normally do, which is sit around a coffee shop drinking our weight in latte calories, we decided to go hiking.  Except it started to rain.  So we changed our plans and went to a Zumba class at the local rec center instead!

Ohmyword, it was so FREAKING FUN!!!  There were approximately 30 other people in the class with us, ranging in ages from early 20's to early 70's.  No joke, there were people there of ALL different ages, weights, and fitness levels.  There were even a few women there with those belly-dancing hip scarves with bells on them, a la our pal Gilly!!  The instructor (who we later found out was a sub and WAY harder than the normal instructor chick) was super perky and lots of fun and SO positive!  She really made the class fun.

So the Zumba-ing (or whatever you call it)... was pretty intense.  I am NOT coordinated in any way, shape, or form and I was terribly clumsy during the class.  BUT... I did better than I expected.  I even surprised myself with how well I kept up most of the time!  Liz and I decided that only 25% of the people in the class were doing all the moves the "right" way like the instructor.  The rest of us were just trying to keep up, doing the best we could to not fall on our asses.

It was so much fun!  We giggled and sweated and Zumba'd ourselves into a frenzy for 60 minutes.  When the time was up, I couldn't believe how quickly it had passed!  I knew within the first few minutes of Zumba that I was addicted.  But I wasn't sure if that feeling would stick at the end of the hour.  But it did!  I totally want to go back as soon as possible and do it again!

So, yes my bandster friends, I have been officially Zumba-fied!  Halleluia Glory Be!!  (((insert southern church choir singing here)))

OUCH!!

I think I did something to my port and I need feedback from my fellow bandsters.

Here's the low-down...

A few days ago my port area was feeling a little... sore.  And by little I do mean a little.  I only felt it if I moved "just right" and it wasn't painful, just a little sore.  I did nothing in my recollection that could have injured or irritated my port, so I didn't think anything of it.

But then yesterday I was at my mom's house and we were on her bed flipping through catalogs (one of our favorite activities).  I was laying on my stomach and I pushed myself up to sit up and felt a very distinct pulling/burning sensation at my port site.  It was painful enough to make me gasp. 

And ever since then I've been feeling a constant pain at that site.  It ranges from a dull soreness to a painful (but not excruciating) burning/pulling feeling.  Anytime I have to flex my abdominal muscles, the pain intensifies.  Its nothing I can't handle and its certainly nothing that I feel is an emergency call-the-doctor-this-instant situation, but I was just wondering...

Has this ever happened to anyone else?  Did I just go away after a few days of healing?  Is there a chance I tore a stitch or two from my port?  Do I need to call the doctor and get checked out right away or just wait a few days?