Protein Bars

Which is your fave?

I'm working 9pm-5am for 6 days in a row (Postpartum Doula work) and I need to keep something in my bag just in case I start starving around 2-3a.m .. :0)

I've only had Pure Protein Bar (cookie dough or something like that) ..and it wasn't horrible..but I'd love to try other ones out there..

I know I could post this on lap-band-talk-dot-com ..but thought I'd ask my bloggy ladies..

Thanks!!

Ouchie!!

Dear Leenah-


You have been a very quiet guest in my body for the past 2 1/2 months.. so I guess you thought it was time to make your presence known and make some noise!? That's great ..I'm really glad to hear from you but I have one small question..and my question is ..does the noise have to be so PAINFUL!?

-xoxo me


My 3rd fill was last Wednesday and I started to really "feel" the fill over the weekend .. that seems to be the norm for me.. to feel it start and kick in a few days afterwards..

Yesterday I had trouble with a hamburger patty (with cheese on top) and no bun.. cut it up in to tiny bites and after a bit of time it all went down.

Last night for dinner was grilled chicken and pasta ..took one breast of chicken with some BBQ sauce and one spoonful of pasta ..and had some trouble with the chicken (a little bit to much time on the grill) ..but took my time and got through that.. thanks to the BBQ sauce for making everything a bit smoother to get down.

Today I had lunch at Panera and had soup/salad.. which I finished exactly 1/2 of each .. thought I would have this brilliant idea of dunking my son's grilled cheese crust in the soup at the very end.

Ouchieyaahyahh that hurt! I had to get up from the table ..I walked to the bathroom ..did some deep breathing and felt better.

I feel like just having a protein shake for dinner.. to make sure I got enough protein in for the day and to just have something "easy" to "eat" :0)

Anyways.. my band has shown up ..which is great.. just need to start playing by the rules now.. I haven't really needed to before ..but it's time to start.

Yummy Snack

My husband is making yummy lemon/raspberry bars this afternoon ..and even thought i'll have a bite of it ..

I don't want to go crazy and thought I could make my own yummy dessert to have with little guilt..

-A box of 'Cheesecake' flavored pudding :0) Yum!!

-And then some crushed up Graham Crackers

-A sprinkle of fresh raspberries (I would have used more,..but he needs them for the bars!)

and a drizzle of chocolate syrup ..because it makes it just that much more yummy..


Happy Sunday!!

30!!

Oh hi there #30! I've been waiting for you for a longggg time now ..

225-194.2 = 30lbs!!

almost two months of being sooo close to 3-0 that I've said that I've lost 30lbs..but knowing in my heart that I was about 1-2lbs from actually hitting the 3-0 #..

Hitting this number means that i'm:

-safely out of the 200's
-closer to 190 than 200
-4lbs closer to the milestone of 190
-fitting in my clothes easier
-energy is up/mood is up
-feeling like this whole thing is possible..

Just 10lbs more and I'll have the weight of my son off my shoulders/back/knee's .. that's my next big goal .. 184!!

It's crazy to think I've been carrying "him" around with me all this time.. he's gosh-darn heavy and it's not a fun thing to carry him far distances.. like on vacation when he wanted me to carry him across some rocks (he didn't have shoes on) to our cabin.. I was struggling to get him that far .. so it really puts into comparison what I carry around everyday..


Here's a pic of what I was doing at the gym yesterday .. I just wanted to go and walk/jog ..and left in a puddle of sweat .. It was a good feeling to not struggle like I usually do after taking a few days off (vacation)..

i know it's super hard to read (took the pic while cooling down)

50.51 minutes

2.26 miles

417 calories

Off to make a protein shake and figure out what me and my dude-a-rama are doing today on this fun friday!

Yay Bonnie!!

It's about to be her big 'band' day!!!

I wish you lots of the *good drugs* to ease you through the day! ;) You'll be fine and we'll see you on the other side..

((hugs))

www.wishingandhopingandprayingforaband.blogspot.com

Keeping cool and other things..

relaxing in the "pool" with my sister in laws .. :0)

our little beach (my mother in law and our friend the duck we named rhonda)

sunset on the beach

my little dude,husband and brother in law..helping him with his 1st mini golf game!

and he won!! can you believe the luck!?? ;o) or small amount of cheating..

the way we made it through outlet shopping..a big ol'lollypop!

he's never had one like that and wasn't sure if he should just stare at it ..or eat it..

the set up on our beach..notice the dd cup..my inlaws/hubby are dd coffee addicts

febuary+june+july

could i have my boobs hanging out anymore in pic #3??

i know you secretly like it! ;)

So I'm back!! Back from Maine ..and back from the land of no wi-fi.. yikes..not sure how I could live in a world not connected to the world-wide-web at all times.

I have a million-buhzillion blogs to catch up on and i'm trying to slowly but I'll get there..

Band news: Went in for my 3rd fill yesterday and she gave me my 'Big girl' fill that I wanted at fill #2 but couldn't have before going away on vacation. I'm now up to a solid 5cc's in my 10cc band. My doc likes to give big fill in the 1st few visits because they're covered under insurance and hopes to have success without to many trips in to have an adjustment. I'm still on mushies ..but I think I feel a difference this time.. we'll see. I also think I have that whole "don't feel the fill till day 3' thing going on .. so I'll try and take it easy for the next few days.

I'm actually *down* after my week away on vacation which is a miracle ..that's when I know this band is kickin butt..when things like that happen! This week it's back to the gym and I'm going for the 2nd time this week in a few minutes.

Only a few more oz's till the big 3-0 .. :0)

Non-Band news: Vacation was awesome!! Loved having our own little beach right out our front door and I think my son went swimming more than 8 hours a day. I got to sit and soak up the sun and read trashy magazines while he was doing that ..so it was a win-win. We went mini golfing, outlet shopping, ice-cream eating, and lots and lots of hanging out.

I'm kinda stressed out.. I'm in between jobs and looking for something long term. I'm feeling thankful that I have a Postpartum doula job coming up next week..which will take care of me money-wise until the start of August.. so that's a bit of pressure off my shoulders. But I know that's not a big fix..just a quick one.. so the search is on..

And that's really it for now.. I hope everyone had a great 4th of July and I'm looking forward to reading all these blogs ..

Lata bloggy peeps..

A little bit of everything..

and even two bathing suit pics at the end.. :0)

6.18.2010 five years of marriage..and moving on to year #6 looks possible since chris sent me flowers that day..it wasn't looking so great when he told me he was going to a concert on our anniversary night..We're going to Boston on 8/18 and so I tell everyone we'll be celebrating our 5yr and 2month anniversary..

my nephew Keegan ..aka Mr. Happy! :0)


my boy..who thinks playing his nintendo is wayyyy cooler than smiling at my iphone camera..silly goose!!







are you ready for this..



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doing the toe point..(Thanks Amy W.!!) and i had to do these out in my hallway because my bedroom looks like my clothes basket threw up all over my room..not pretty.




i used to think black bathing suits were for older ladies (like great-grandma old) but now that i'm just about there (30!!?!?!?!?) i'm kinda diggin the black..and it hides things that need to stay hidden..

okay, back to packing .. try not to come back here to look at my bathing suit pics to many times..the ultra-white of my skin might start to blind you..

:0)

Fill #2

Was easy-peasy .. just like the first..

Two interesting things though..

-I have 3.5cc's already .. I thought she only put in 3 last time ..

-She said that she could only give me .5cc's today ..(and I really shouldn't have had one at all) because I'm going out of state on Saturday a.m .. so I'm a little bummed that it wasn't a full strength fill.. but happy she gave me something.

I so need this fill.. and I'm hoping that it gives me a bit of restriction ..and if not.. it's back to the dr's on 7/7 at 9a.m for a big girl fill ;0)

I'm excited for Vacation to be right around the corner.. need to start packing, get my eyebrows done and my toes done before we leave..

This is the 3rd year of staying on Brandy Pond in Naples Maine.. a very pretty/relaxing/quiet time.. My little dude puts on his life-jacket right after breakfast and then spends the rest of the day in the water.. and I'm going to park my booty on the beach and watch him play!

The house we rent sleeps a whole bunch ..so we go with my inlaws(Chris's parents, 2 sisters and their significant others and now my brand new nephew) ..it's great to be with everyone without anything else to do except hangout for a whole week.

I'd really like to take an a.m walk since the house we're renting is on a really long dead-end street..I'll let you know how that works out ;0)

Hope everyone is good.. I'm off to make a protein shake for lunch..

And then jeans go to..Colleen! :o)

over at 'This Time I Mean It'

http://www.colls-thistimeimeanit.blogspot.com


yay for the sisterHOOD and yay for this bloggy community!!


((hugs))

In the hood ..the SisterHOOD!

who needs a few pairs of jeans in size 18?? anyone??

they aren't all that new or fancy ..but if you need to throw a pair of jeans on in a pinch..these will do!


i went out for drinks on Sunday with a girlfriend (who's inspired by my surgery and now looking into it for herself) and put on that pair of dark jeans.. I ended up wearing them because that's all I have ..but yowwza they were baggy in the butt! i love a bit of room in the waist/thighs ..but i love my booty to be hugged nice and tight!

so now i'm past that size and want to pass on my pieces of clothes to the sister-HOOD..

i'm able to go out to the post office tomorrow ..so give me a shout out if you want these (i know it's not really jean weather in the u.s ..but...maybe your planning ahead for the fall?) :0)

so hi there size 16!! oh heeey 16!! haven't seen you in about five years.. happy i saved 'one' pair of 16's from the skinner days of my life..

i love this tea!!

i don't know what it is about this stuff..but i'm lovin it! and at only a few calories.. it's an easy way to get almost 40oz of "water" in ..i know it's not really "water" but in my book it counts okay? :0)

in other news .. eight more days until fill #2 and i need it ..because..


i'm STARVING!!

and it's driving me nuts! like my stomach is rumbling already and I just had to slices of deli meat with a slice of cheddar cheese..

okay, so lets run down the list of not so good food choices ..

today:

1/2 slice of toast with cinnamon and sugar/butter ..which I made for my son and then he didn't want it .. so on the way to the garbage can it went in my mouth.

a slice of cheddar cheese and salami rolled up..did this twice ..

two cookies

a carnation instant breakfast

wheat-thins ..(at least they were the low-fat kind)


yikes.

must.stay.away from the kitchen!!

yesterday I had two cupcakes with frosting ..and a peanut butter cookie.. left over from a cookout we had at the house on Sunday..


I feel like I was so "good" in the few weeks after the swelling went down from surgery ..and didn't gain ..kept losing .. and not that i've started gaining out of control ..but I'm pushing my luck..



Last week I got 3cc's put in and I'm wondering what she'll suggest for my 2nd fill.. I'm leaving on vacation two days after that.. so I don't want a huge fill ..just incase it's a little much and would need to have some come out..

I'm feeling so ..bleh.. because I was losing (slowly ..but losing..) and I feel like I don't want to let myself down or others around me down.. I know that things will get better after I get to the 'sweet spot' ..but that seems like it's far and out of my reach right now..

Maybe fill #2 will put at least a little dent in the hunger..


Lata bloggy peeps!

This is yumm-o!

Had this the other day for lunch: except my meal was just one enchilada and it came with corn and black beans.. Oh mama was it good! Very soft and band-friendly..so if anyone is in need of a good quick lunch.. Just grab this! Has anyone tried anything else by 'Amy'?

(supplies for my 1st fill)

I was a little bit nervous this a.m .. as I drove out to my appointment I was trying to imagine what this would feel like. I've heard some people like to have the numbing shot and others just take the one injection.. decisions decisions! I opted for the one needle and was pleasantly surprised at how it didn't hurt!?

It felt like the pinch you get when you get your blood drawn .. I think the creepiest feeling was feeling it go through the port ..you could just tell it was going into something hard/plastic..crazy!

She filled my 10cc band with 3cc's and I was able to sit up and drink my little cup of water with no trouble.. I'm on protein shakes for the rest of the day and mushies for the whole day tomorrow.

The best news of the day.. I can go in every 2 weeks for a fill!? I think that's great.. let's get this whole restriction thing figured out asap! ..So my next fill is June 23rd.. right before we leave for a week vacation in Maine..

Went to the gym today (2nd time this week) and did a mile on the elliptical and then another mile on the treadmill .. 2 miles and 300+ calories gone.. plus a little stretching and ab work before I went home..

A very productive Wednesday..

Till later bloggy-peeps!

I'm starting to really like 'me' ..

well, .. i've always liked myself ..

but when i think about it .. could I have really liked myself for the past ten years.. as I watched myself gain the excess weight ..and not really do a whole lot about it.. i'm not sure..

what i do know .. is that i'm in a different place in my life this year and made a choice back in October 2009 to make year #30 my year .. the year i put myself first and thought about the lasting effects of my overall health and how it would eventually catch up to me ..and my little family..

i can't believe that it's been almost 6.5 weeks and i'm almost down 30lbs!? i know that was effort before surgery and 11lbs have been after surgery.. but really? 30lbs?!! if i had never started this whole thing and gone through the surgery.. i know i wouldn't be where i am right this second..

the most i've ever lost 'on my own' was about 20lbs back in high school ..doing weight watchers and then slowly gaining that back +80ish lbs.. yikes.

Recent NSV:

Going swimming at my friends house ..which means getting in a swimsuit in front of others!? and even though I didn't like the walk from the deck to the pool ..i did it..

My Mother-in-law (someone that see's me all the time) ..noticed my change and told me that I looked great! xoxo love her!

Going to a play-date with my little dude yesterday ..with two other moms and kids ..and I wasn't stressing about what to wear (how to hide my fat) to this little outing ..

happy weekend everyone!!

Oh Cigna..I love you!

We are not in the financial spot in our lives that we would be able to come up with 14,000$ for this surgery and for that ..I'm very thankful that I have the insurance that I do .. and that it covered this surgery 99.99% ..

Happy friday bloggy peeps!!

I'm still a loser..

which is a good thing! ..

1.2 lbs

I guess since I'm in the middle of that 'special time of the month' ..my body has decided to not hang on to excess water or anything crazy like that.. and my PMS-type cravings have gone down quite a bit already..

I decided to break out my tape measure the other day and was happy (and surprised) to see -7 inches have been lost on my body since the middle of March..It really should be a rule for all peeps out there in bloggy land to take their measurements before surgery.. it's a great NSV!!

On Tuesday night I went to the monthly support group that my hospital holds ..I went over to where I thought it was being held and then it ended up being a different building ..so I walked down the block with a women that just passed her year anniversary.. I love chatting with people that are farther ahead in this process.. (duh! that's why I blog and read others blogs) ..it's always a learning experience..When we were sitting around in the Post-Op group (after the bigger group meeting with pre/post op's mixed in) ..she said she was struggling with losing the weight and dealing with the compliments/attention and she wasn't sure if she was sabotaging herself to avoid those situations..

And after hearing her talk about that ..and reading other peeps blogs on this type of subject..I wonder how this might effect me ..and the peeps in my life.

I hope that everyone can keep up with growing energy .. I feel like I have this untapped reserve of energy deep underneath all my chub.. and with the 1st 25lbs I've lost.. I can see that it's right under the surface..and can only imagine what I'll feel like after a few more sets of 25lbs come off..

Till later my little bloggy peeps..

For the ladies out there..

Okay..so this is my first time going through ..that oh-so-special-time of the month-that makes ya feel so gosh darn great about being a woman! .. yeah.. something like that..

I'm head STARVING! I want sweet ..I want salty and I want to shove it real fast in my mouth!?

Oh good god I hope I can keep this under control this week ..without doing to much damage.. I don't think I really paid attention B.B (before band) or B.L (before Leenah) ..on what I was eating before this time of the month..

Well I'm paying attention and it's possibly the source of all the years of me gaining weight like a crazy fool..

I'm off to the gym before dinner .. this will be #2 this week .. I'm trying to wrap my head around the though of doing a Thanksgiving race that we hold in my town (Yes I do know that's months away) ..and maybe after building up enough endurance ..I'll be able to fast walk/jog/run?? ..

Happy Tuesday bloggy peeps!

it's ONEderful here..

in the 100's .. 199.8 .. it's a few oz less than 200.. but still seeing that 1 vs a 2 .. huge boost..

thanks for letting me waa waaah waaaaaaah yesterday.. i really think i'm PMS'ing .. i was an emotional mess all day yesterday.. like crying at a commercial-type-mess.. love LOVE being a woman .. ;)

things that make today a happy day ..

-it's sunny! oh thank GOD it's sunny ... and it's going to be almost 84ish .. nice and warm..
-i bought a cupcake book today <--- what!? .. not really to eat ..but i have this crazy idea of starting a cupcake truck one day ..and thought who else to get recipes from ..but the baking god herself.. martha stewart..
-family picnic at my son's school .. another reason to be happy about the weather ..he's going to be so excited to see the 'bounce' house that they're setting up for the kids!!

and the best news..

i'm getting my hair done today!!

2ish hours of sitting at a salon that i love.. with ladies that love to chat about all kinds of things..

someone washing my hair and scrubbing my scalp in to pure blissful oblivion ..

getting rid of the few gray hairs that i have..

showing my hairdresser my 25lbs weight loss.. she hasn't seen me in months ..and i was 25lbs heavier then .. i hope she can see a difference! :0)

off to read some blogs before i'm off to my appointment.. happy thursday peeps!

it's gloomy out..and i'm feeling sad..

waaa waaa waahhh...

bandster hell is not a fun place to be .. and i've been trying so hard to stay on track with a few minor slip ups.. (a cookie here and a cookie there.. in my mouth) ..

today i had two squares of thin crust pizza (with chicken on top) and a mini cheese cake the size of my palm .. i'm feeling so bleh ..and full to the brim.. like I just ate thanksgiving dinner.. and it's almost been an hour since I ate..

i taped the biggest loser last night and i'm watching it this afternoon.. and someone (forgetting who..) was talking about daris and how he 'sabotaged' himself before the weigh in .. and that's almost how i'm feeling right now..

i've been so caught up in the fact that my *one month* with Leenah<---my band..is coming up on friday ..and i'm so close to losing 10lb ..but more than likely i'll be at an 8lb loss..that it's almost like saying to myself:

hey ..your not going to make that 10lb mark.. nice try ..but maybe some other time .. so you want that pizza.. go eat it .. and your full.. but want that cheesecake ..why don't you go for that too..

what the heck.. these are the time that i feel that i'm going to rock this band..

and it's so crazy because the other part of me .. knows i have rocked this band so far.. i've lost 25lbs since the first of the year.. and that's given me some self confidence back .. some energy back ..and a few NSV to feel good about..

i'm so hard on myself..and i'm trying to work on that .. because it doesn't do positive things for me.. it pushes me backwards ..and that's the opposite of where i want to be..

i'm going to go to the gym in an hour .. (third time this week..) and then i have to go out and help a new mama with her brand new baby.. so i'll bring a protein shake for dinner..

and i'll just hope and pray that i haven't fallen to far off the losing path..

New Shorts, New Bra..good weekend!

here's a new pair of shorts i hope to wear as soon as it's hot out around here

..long enough to cover my leg dimples! :0)

thought I was a 42D ..nope i'm a 40DD

thanks lady at Victoria Secrets for measuring me and telling me about a great bra!

here's a pic of the new bra.. love it! and love how my
incisions have lost all of the surgical glue!



just me, on 5/5 ..got to my 2week appointment early
so naturally that means a self portrait time in the car..

i'm really loving the whole shopping thing.. window shopping.. online shopping.. shopping at the mall..shopping at the outdoor mall..

who is this girl and why does she want to spend all of my husbands money!? :0)

today I got a bra (actually got sized for one and i've never done that before) ..and i'm a 40DD instead of a 42D like I thought I was .. who knew!? I also got a pair of bright pink shorts ..for gym and just hanging around the house..a new candle for the kitchen and got my eye brows done.. it was a great afternoon! it helped that my little dude is away for the weekend (camping with my mom&step-dad) ..so I didn't have to worry about taking him to a million and one stores..he wouldn't have liked that as much as I did..

on the food front ..i'm feeling like i'm slowly crawling into bandster hell..i'm not staying full for long'ish periods of time ..and i'm eating a bit more at each sitting..i'm looking forward to my early june appointment and my 1st fill..

i'm still working with my band to help the weight loss continue or at least not gain.. i had a protein shake for breakfast this morning and then went out to lunch and only had three triangles of a quesadilla..not to shabby..

Saturday Dinner- A Buffalo chicken burger (no bun) and a little bit of ranch dressing for dipping

Saturday Night Snack- Ice cream (2 scoops with a big heaping tablespoon of hot fudge)

Sunday A.M- The rest of my lunch from Saturday (3 triangles of quesadilla)

Sunday Lunch- Handful of Tortilla chips and homemade salsa

Sunday Dinner- 5 "Chicken" nuggets (vegetarian chicken nuggets) :0)

And I went to the gym Sunday afternoon ..walked on the treadmill for 30min ..slow walking..but walking on a high incline.. burned almost 300 calories!

i do have a question.. do you ever get a cramp feeling on your side if you've eating a little to much? not to the point of getting stuck ..but it almost feels like a runners cramp..? maybe it just me..but i was a little worried that it was my pouch or something being angry at me.. ;)

hope everyone had a great weekend.. and that the weather in your area was just as b.e.autiful as mine over in Connecticut!! :)

ps- only 2lbs from leaving the 200's in the dust ..forever..

all kinds of T.M.I in this post..

so if it's to early to start talking about poop.. please move to the next blog.. :0)












Okay, I've heard the stories.. Pooping is different for the peeps that have the lapband ..but I guess I thought I was always a Poop champion and didn't think this would be one of my band side effects.

It is..

I only Poop tiny little bits ..it's really frustrating! I'm not looking for a filling up the entire toilet with poo.. but common .. two little poop twigs are just not enough to feel like it's all out ..

And then today when I actually felt like I pooped out enough and did the 'look of shame' into the bowl .. I almost wanted to take a pic with my iphone (but don't worry) ..I didn't! :0)

I know logically it works like this ..less in = less out..

but it just doesn't seem right! ..oh well, I guess it's something I'll get used to..


In other TMI news ..not as scary of the poop TMI! :)


I'm 2lbs away from the big 2-5lbs of weight loss.. and wow! i'm feeling like with every pound that I lose .. a little bit more of my sexy mojo is added on .. I'm really enjoying that fun trade off :0)


Yesterday was a NSV ..

I love my Old Navy jeans ..and usually I'll get the 'Sweetheart' kind(classic rise) ..and a few months ago I picked up a pair..looked at the size and left..

Well the ones I took home were the 'Flirt' (Mid rise and they sit below the waist)..and even though they were a size 18 ..I could barely zip them up ..and oh when I could..the muffin top practically oozed out of the room..it was sooo bad..

Yesterday I decided to try them on ..they zipped and even though they gave me a bit of a poof on top ..nothing as bad as back in October when I first bought the jeans.

I wore a not-so-tight shirt yesterday and they looked great ..

Of course I told my husband about the NSV and he just didn't 'get it' ..he thought since they were the same size that it wasn't that big of a deal..men ..sheesh! :0)

Love these guys!!

my son and my brand new nephew!! i love these guys ...and i hope they'll always be close & become great friends through the years..

don't hate me!!

i feel like i'm having a hard time catching up with my own life these days.. and i'm hoping for a really boring and un-eventful week to make up for this past week full of craziness.

that little dude that my son is holding.. kept me waiting at the hospital at almost 1a.m ..on Monday night..still feel like I'm catching up on my sleep from that..

i've been helping a new mama that's having a little bit of an adjustment period after having her baby last week ..i love my Postpartum doula job ..it's just all kinds of exhausting sometimes..

my husband has been out late three out of the five week days last week from all sorts of things ..and that means dinner/bath/bedtime has been my responsibility ..which isn't a huge deal..just tiring..

i'm hoping that since tomorrow is Mothers day .. it kicks off a really quiet week..that's my Mothers day wish!! :0)

Oh and speaking of this past week .. I passed my two week surgery date and had my two week appointment..

Just a lot of chatting on how I'm feeling (which is great!!) .. and how to make this band work to my full advantage.. making good food choices and chewing properly and avoiding bread/pasta/rice (which I'll ad hear to at least 84% of the time) ..

She said my incisions look great and I'll be able to come in for a fill at my 6 week visit. She told me not to get discouraged and to expect a slow down of weight or even a gain.. (duh that's bandster hell!!)..so I'm just trying to hang on till that date.

I'm happy to be almost five lbs since surgery and that isn't a huge number ..but it makes me feel good ..and it's almost a bit over 2lbs a week ..

Must work on getting more liquid in during the day .. (maybe if I type this out enough it will really happen) .. and I bought a box of protein bars to keep in my bag ..just in case i'm in a pinch and need some band-friendly food..

Happy mommy day to all of you all out there with children.. it's a hard job ..but it's the best hard job I've ever had..

ps- got the green light for cardio at the gym ..just no lifting for another 4 weeks.. back to the gym tomorrow afternoon..

all sorts of random news..

my sister in law and her baby boy!!

what I had for lunch the other day..
tuna, cheddar cheese, crackers

I've been so darn busy ..

Yesterday I sat at the hospital waiting on my first nephew to come in to the world.. he took his sweet time ..but since he's cute ..I think we'll keep him :0)

I'm working for a woman that just had a baby last week ..she's hired me for some Postpartum work and I'm heading over there for a few hours tonight..

My son had his four year physical yesterday afternoon and took his three shots like a champ!

...

In band news.. I'm down another 1lb (even thought I was up 3lbs yesterday!?) ..

I really think that my 'swelling' has gone down ..and I'm guessing that i've entered in to the zone ..Bandster Hell zone! I feel like I'm eating more ..but I could just be a 'normal' amount after barely eating for weeks ..

I'm glad that I have my two week appointment tomorrow morning ..and maybe we can talk about making an appointment for a fill in about a month from now ..since I think he'll do one 6 weeks out..

Things I've been eating:

-Garden Burger w/a slice of cheese

-Scrambled eggs

-Cream of Wheat

-A handful of dry cereal (a quick snack)

-Carnation instant breakfast

-Tuna

-Crabcakes (yum)

-Chili

-Egg rolls from chilis! (for takeout on friday!) was able to eat one whole egg roll..it was yum!

I'm still having trouble getting in all my water.. I'll forget ..and then want to wait an hour after eating..and then forget after that too..it's not good..

We did pick up 1/2 a watermelon at the grocery store this weekend.. I think I might cube that up and snack on that today .. get a bit of water that way..

Hope everyone is doing good.. I haven't read blogs in a few days.. off to catch up now..

Cupcake Truck..

do you see that yellow truck over on the left ..

and this long line of people?

all standing in a long line for these little puppies..well not puppies..but cupcakes..

I decided to take your advice about not pushing the physical activity just yet..and haven't gone to the gym yet..instead I walked to get a cupcake! That really was the better of the two choices right? ..gym or cupcakes..

I've been following a Cupcake Truck for the past two years ..but it's about a 40min drive from where I live ..and even though I'm a foodie..I just never made it down there..Well..now there's one about 10min from where I live and ..I had to try it out!

I wasn't really all that impressed ..but I'm hard to please ..and I felt like a food critic picking them apart ..looking for flaws.. Thanks to my band I only had a pinch off the top (of all of them) ..not even really equalling a whole bite.

I would love to do something like this .. it made me daydream about my own cupcake truck all day yesterday! :)

In Band/Food news: Yesterday was #1 day of Mushies ..and I had a Bacon/Egg/Cheese Sandwich at Panera Bread ..minus the bacon and the bread.. :0) Just egg and cheese ..and a hot chocolate.. I know I'm not supposed to drink after eating..but I did just a sip or two..but it didn't really affect me and I waited till lunch to have anything else..

I had a protein shake for lunch and then I had four mini meat balls for dinner ..cut in 1/2 and chewed and chewed veryy slowwwlyyy.. felt a little 'traffic jam' ..but it passed.

Today I had a Carnation instant breakfast and a handful of dry cereal..

and for lunch my son requested French Toast (he's strange) and I made that for him ..and then I made French Toast scrambled eggs for me..(cinnamon/vanilla/milk) ..two eggs and I was able to eat all of them ..slowly..i used my son's plate with his left over syrup ..and they were very very yumm-o..



It's nap time around this house.. so I'm going to read some blogs and watch my soaps for an hour.. very housewifey of me ..

One week ago..

oh heparin shot..we are sooo not friends..ouch
oh hi there!! ..looking pretty 'normal' a week after

(sorry about the droopy boob in the right corner)

my incisions are looking great and the glue is hanging on tight..

you can see all five incisions and my hand bruise from my iv
and under my left boob area..some sort of skin irritation after surgery..

looks worse than it feels :0)

I'm so glad that this week is behind me ..after months of anticipation and then having to go through the pain of surgery and recovering this week.. it feels good to start moving past this stage..

Hungry did decide to show up and seems to be just in time ..because I get to start 'mushy' food tomorrow and might have something in that category tonight for dinner..hopefully that will keep Hungry away and I can keep Leenah happy while trying out this new food stage..

I'm still only down three solid pounds since surgery day ..and hope to get back to the gym this weekend.. I was going to head over to the gym last night, ..but it seems like by the end of the day i'm tired and a tiny bit sore.. Gas is gone ..but the "port" area is kinda painful .. seems like I have a tiny bump (almost feels like the point of my elbow) ..I'm going to ask my doc next week what that lump really is..it's still kinda hard to bend over at the waist (like to shave my legs or pick something off the floor) ..must bend with the knees.

I'm going to head over the LapBandTalk and look for some "mushy" food recipes ..I'm actually looking forward to grocery shopping this weekend for some different things ..well, anything tastes different and better vs. protein shakes :0)

Nothing else new going on .. off to catch up on other blogs...

The 5th day and some thoughts..

Here are some thoughts:

I felt really good yesterday .. too good that I think I over did it a little bit and felt kind of sore by the end of the night. I'm down to taking paid meds right before bed and that's it..

I'm having trouble remembering to eat..(c-r-a-z-y) and it seems like all hunger has packed it's bags and went on a small vacation ...

Yesterday I had a hot chocolate from starbucks (not sugar free) but it tasted so warm and soothing to my angry little belly. I also had about three bites of mashed up potato salad (mostly took tiny bites of the egg) ..and about a 1/2 cup of soup that I found over at Lap Band Living's Blog (I'd link it ..but I have the hardest time with links..) and some vitamin water..but not enough..

I swear more water today..(I think I said that the other day..but I really mean it today)

Today I've had a protein shake and for lunch another 1/2 cup of soup.. (oh and three salt and vinigar chips aka bad bad bad) ..

My port area is the only area that's bothering me today .. it's hard to bend over ..or when i'm sitting up and leaning forward ..I seem to lean right on it..hoping that goes away soon..

And I'm still having some "gas" pain ..like kind of feeling like I need to burp (but can't) and it's a pain in my chest area.. a little bit annyoing.. :0)

Cream of wheat has been a great friend to me (after the first time trying to eat it) and really fills me up for a while..

I'm down to 205 which is 3lbs less than surgery day ..which is great..and that makes it 20lbs since starting this whole crazy journey. I hope Leenah continues to help me out and I hope she's being nice to that big organ called my stomach .. I can't see her ..but I know she's doing all she can right now.

Happy Monday everyone!

ps-Thinking of you Cindylew Who!! :0) It's your big day!!

Day #3 with Leenah

Here's a few pics from the last couple of days..not the best quality..taken with my iphone because my hubby didn't think it was 'safe' to bring my good camera ..

the second pic is semi-graphic of my incisions .. scroll fast down the page if you want to skip that part..

flowers that my hubby picked and put near me in the living room..

five little incisions and one bloated belly

my set up at the hospital

view from my bed

looking out my hospital room window..

I last took pain meds around 9:30 last night and I think that helped me stay asleep in my bed all night long.. and that felt really good. It's starting to get annoying to lay on my back (i'm a side sleeper) and hope I'll start feeling a bit better to lay on my side ..at least for a little part of the night.


I started out today with a protein shake ..made with about 6oz of milk and it took me about 10min to finish it. I'm not sure if i'm drinking things to fast.. but I feel fine as I'm doing it ..so it should be okay.


Today for "lunch" I made more cream of wheat and was able to finish it all in about 15ish min ..I made it with hot water and added a splash of milk .. made it nice and smooth.. I did notice a little bit of pain in my back if I didn't slow down a bit.. gas or band pain?


Sitting on the couch with my heating pad and sipping on vitamin water ..happy that everyday seems to get a bit better..