a quick update

called my insurance today (my husband told me they are open 24/7) .. and I found out that I only need 2yrs weight history!


crisis avoided.. phewwwwwwwww..

part of me still wants to call around to other dr's/weight watchers to get that missing weight in 2007 ..but I guess I'll just let it go..


it's been a lazy weekend.. all three of us are fighting a cold and we haven't really left the house.. which would be nice and relaxing if we weren't sick! :)


hope everyone out there in band-land had a nice weekend.. i'm going to go catch up on some blog reading..

A quick question ..

to the ones that have been around the 'band' block..and are farther along in this than me..

my insurance company needs a five year weight history ..and i'm missing a year! i guess i didn't go to by obgyn in 2007 ..so ..i'm scared.. did i do all of this for nothing! just because there's one year missing. i guess i'll be making a phone call to my insurance company on monday to be sure..



march 11, 2005 195lbs

june 12, 2006 200lbs

did not see patient in 2007

february 26, 2008 212lbs

may 15, 2009 215lbs



there is a small chance i was at WW in 2007 ..but would that even count? ...boo. ..bummer. darn.

greek yogurt: the verdict!

okay.. here i go..

a tiny peek inside and a quick sniff ..not to bad..

before i mixed it up..

made sure all the fruit was distributed evenly

scooped some up on my spoon..and looked at it..

and looked at it some more..

took a lick off the spoon ..(wishing it was brownie batter instead of yogurt)

lick #2

decided that i liked the creaminess of it..but the strawberry/banana was a bit tart..so i put a dash of splenda in it ..i think i'd pick a different flavor the next time..

and then i had a few more bites..and saved the rest (didn't want to get full before dinner)

i'm pretty surprised that i liked it. i wasn't in love with it..but liked it enough to give it another chance with a different flavor. and maybe grab some granola to mix in the next time too. not sure if granola is band friendly? anyone know the answer to that question??

and i can't fairly compare it to other yogurts because i couldn't tell you the last time i had a regular ol'yogurt..

so those ladies out there.. just grab one and try one out.. i think it's worth it..

my other thought is this: i think it's easy to dismiss it and move on to another food.. because i'm not banded yet. i'm wondering if it will be different when i'm banded and looking to eat something 'easy' and full of good-for-you protein..?? it could be an easy option for lunch or a snack..?? i'll report back on that verdict after my surgery..

and ps-

thanks to all my new followers.. i'm loving the love out here in band land! :0)

67% sure that I'll try it..

NO!! Not those.. Those are in my cabinet! And I've already tried those ..a whole handful!

Oh

THE SHAME!!

What I need to try is the photo below:

in my fridge: the dreaded greek yogurt..

I know I should just try it .. I will.. I swear.. okay well I .. 67% swear that I'll try it ..

but you know what.. i'd rather eat what's in the first three photos.. but I put them up on a high shelf and since i'm really short ..it will take lots of effort to get them down..

ten on tuesday

a top ten list ..you guessed it.. on a Tuesday.. and since I'd really like to go into the kitchen and make myself a snack .. this is going to be a food related list.

1. I never EVER ate mayo before meeting my husband.. hated it.. now I don't mind it at all and I swear that's added some lbs over the years. He also got me into ice cream..before I was a sherbet girl.. boo to him! :0) in the most loving way..

2. I really wish I could love yogurt! I mean .. really..I love everything in the world that has to do with dairy.. and yet I just can't get into yogurt. I bought a 'Greek' yogurt to see if that would be different tasting .. my nutritionist swears it doesn't taste like American yogurt. Yeah.. okay lady..

3. I love Mexican ..for the tiny fact that it's always cheesy and sour cream filled and spicy..mm good!

4. Dinner was always a family event and I hope that's something I can keep as a tradition in my own little family..

5. My sister Ali ..she doesn't like Chocolate.. (i think she might be adopted) and when I say doesn't like. .it's almost as strong as my hate of yogurt..

6. Quality over Quantity any day.. except try telling that to all the extra lbs on my body.. but really.. I'd rather have a small yumm-o meal vs. a big huge fast food dinner ..

7. When I was pregnant with my little guy .. I craved fruit punch and fruit cups like it was going out of style.

8. I'm learning how to cook.. slowly but ..it's getting better.. And I love to bake.. I have a kitchen aid named 'Ruby' ..she's red and b.e.autiful! :0)

9. I can't have soft baked chocolate chip cookies (you know the ones in the red bag) or Nesquik Chocolate milk powder in the house. I can't!!! Because if I do.. it's bad.. like binge eating and making up excuses of why those things aren't there anymore on a Tuesday ..when you went food shopping on a Sunday kind of bad ..

10. I wanna meet up with the ladies in NYC on 3/7 and have brunch at a Mexican restaurant and talk about the band. The band I've yet to meet.. :)

soon to be ..before pics..

i guess i could have smiled bigger.. but then you can't see my eyes! :) .. that will have to be something i work on in my 'after' photos!!

just a quick post to put up some pics.. because everyone needs to start somewhere..

and isn't it fitting to wear an 'phish food' ben&jerry ice cream tshirt while taking these pics today!?

oh life is so .. ironic!

I went. But didn't want to. But glad I did!

Okay.. so imagine this little scenario ..

a very busy weekend full of fun and family events .. has left your house a little less tidy than it usually is .. so your sweet husband takes your son to your mother in laws house early (we always have dinner over her house on sunday nights) and you just want to run a quick vacuum then hit the gym and meet up with them later on..

then..

your standing in the empty house and you've done a quick little clean up ..and feel pretty good.. and think of the other one million things you could get done in an hour alone..

but..

nowayjose am i going to slack off on the gym ..so i got my plastic jug of 32oz of water/ipod and headed out the door to the gym..

bye bye house all nice and quiet..

and i walked on a high incline/slow pace .. for 2.25 miles in 45ish min.. not great ..but it left me sweating and feeling full of energy! and then i stretched and did some ab work before i joined up with my little fam at the inlaws house..

thanks to Liz over @Mine & Betty's LapBand Journey ..her post on working out and running really made me want to sweat my bootie off too..

i also posted two lists of ipod music i listen to while at the gym. i know everyone has different taste in music ..but just in case you need a new tune to rock out to.. check it..

felt sad ..now i feel motivated..

is the quote to small to read.. ? i made it the other night in photoshop and i'm having trouble making the font bigger..



anyhoohoo.



i was feeling sad for myself today at the grocery store.. my son ..oh sweet boy that he is ..asked me if i had a baby in my belly. waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! no i do not .. and i'm fine with that!



i just don't want to look like i have a baby in my belly..



i'm going to get my ipod tunes together and walk out my chubby frustrations at the gym later this afternoon..







happy sunday everyone! :)

motivation found at old navy

I have a gift card to Old Navy and I was looking around there today for some 'after surgery' clothes.. Something nice and comfortable and stretchy..

And I saw these tank tops and they seem very appropriate for 'us' going through the WLS journey!! And even though I wouldn't wear them right now .. I think they would be fun to wear proudly at the gym later on down the road.

Happy Friday everyone!

i love to win!

Thanks to Carmen for this award!!

Please check out another great lady from Connecticut fighting the good fight!

http://mywittyblogtitle.blogspot.com/

The rules:

1. Thank the person that nominated you for this award

2. Copy the award and post it in your blog

3. Link to the blog of the person who nominated you

4. Tell seven interesting things about yourself

5. Nominate seven other bloggers

6. Post links to the blogs of your nominees

Okay .. so seven things about me .. little ol'me.. could I possibly come up with a list of seven things?! Well.. let's give this a shot..

1. I don't drink coffee and never have!! My idea of a good wake me up ..is a cold glass of chocolate milk.. or hot chocolate on a cold day..

2. I miss Dawsons Creek and I'm sad that they don't even play the re-runs on tbs anymore! :(

ps- I would have totally picked Pacey too.. and if you don't know this reference ..just move to #3

3. I'm a Hallmark snob. I check for the crown when I get a card.. I'm sorry!! ..but it's true..

4. I'm always listening to Pandora Radio on my computer.. I love: Counting Crows, Pearl Jam, Tori Amos, Ray LaMontagne, John Mayer, Radiohead, David Grey, Damien Rice, Ryan Adams, Tool, Deftones, The Grateful Dead, ..and I'm lovin Camera Obscura .. + the occasional gangsta rap song or country song thrown in for good luck!

5. I love reading my horoscope and believe in physics .. I'm a Capricorn and my hubby is a Leo and my son is a Taurus..

6. I love a fresh pack of crayons.. oh the possibilities..

7. (same as carmens!) I want to have Pin-up-type pics taken of me once I reach goal and start to love what I look like on the outside..

Okay ..now for my nominations.. in no real order..

1. Amy: http://cheeseandsunkist.blogspot.com/

She was one of the first blogs I started reading when I was considering having this WLS ..and with her humor and her ability to share the ups and downs.. I knew then .. that I would have the strength to do the same. Thanks so much Amy for all that you share with us .. and I hope you know how many people you've helped! Go Amy/Oprah!!

2. Gen: http://ihearttheband.blogspot.com/

How can you not love her before/after pics! Her dedication to exercising and her cute choices in bathing suits! Another person that writes from the heart..

3. http://dinnerland.blogspot.com/ oh her being real is great for someone that's a few steps behind and wants to know what it's going to be like after surgery! the ups and downs!!

4. http://catchytitlehere-elise.blogspot.com/ Oh yeah! We rock the same name (just spelled a pinch different) and we're both from the great state of Connecticut!! So yay us!!

5. http://redmokr.blogspot.com/ Again with the same name thing!! Kristen's of the world!! We must band <---- ha ha ha together and win this chubby war!! And she is .. she's rockin it! I'm a new reader but I love reading your blog!!

6. http://janellody.blogspot.com/ One of my first 'followers' and she's getting so close that I check her blog almost everyday to see how she's doing!! Can't wait to hear all about the 'after'!!

7. http://chroniclesfrombandland.blogspot.com/ Another one of the blogs I started out reading after Amy's and Gen's .. and she's a foodie! Loves good/quality food.. I love reading about her underground food clubs experiences and wish I could live that cool of a life in NYC!

I have almost 30ish blogs that I'm keeping up with right now and I love to 'get to know' all of us in our great bloggy community! And a big thank you to the handful of followers I have.. it's great to know I'm not alone in this!!

Thanks!!

Thoughts on food..

I mean ..what else could I possibly think about! .. Well that statement isn't 100% true but food is on my mind a lot.

I really wanted to loose the 20+ lbs and be an even 200 for surgery ..but that isn't looking like it's going to happen right now. I'm not beating myself up about it ..but I do recognize that I'm having a hard time getting out of the 'this is my last real good meal' mentality..

I weighed in at 223 today at my physical ..It's so hard to see that number and think that I've had all these months and I didn't do anything about it. I didn't gain weight ..so maybe that's a small victory? A victory that I haven't gained weight since Oct.. I guess that's not so bad when I think of it that way.

I almost want the band to use it as an excuse to why I can't eat that much anymore.. does that make sense to anyone? I feel like everyone knows that I never say no to going out to grab a bite to eat and I'm not the first one to order up a small salad either. Or feeling like I have to finish something/take enough on my plate at dinner or my husband will ask if I'm feeling okay or do I like what he made.. I just want to use the band in those ways.. even if it's just in the beginning.

I feel like I've been so calm/cool about all this up until this point .. and now I just want to wrap everything up and get a date so that I can move forward.

I'm going to order a 'Try Me' pack from Inspire and try a few flavors of their protein shakes.. I want to make sure I like my meals that I'll be enjoying for 10 days before surgery! :)

and those are my Wednesday afternoon thoughts on food!

Ten on Tuesday!

I'm avoiding all things that have to do with house work today!! The dishes in the sink.. the two piles of clothes in my bedroom..the wash that needs to be switched over to the dryer..

So let's do 10 on Tuesday instead! Here's a list of 10 random things ..you guessed it! On Tuesday!

1. I love Etsy! Have you been there yet? I shop there I think once a month..etsy.com check it out if you never have..I got my little dude this vintage moon poster on there and he's loving it! He was pointing out where he would land his rocket..

2. The two dudes that have my heart..working on valentines cards for little dude's class..

3. I made and then ate way to many sugar cookies last week.. this being stuck inside and not going out to play is really wrecking my plans on losing 10ish lbs before my surgery..

4. I can't stop looking at Old Navy and The Gap ..and thinking of the clothes I will buy..And I'm not even a shopper!?

5. I'm excited that at my next hair appointment I'll be a few weeks past Surgery and my hairdresser has been a great cheerleader for me! I can't wait to show her some progress!!

6. Excited for the one week vacation we just booked to Maine.. a cute cabin, our own little beach and my sister is coming to play 'nanny' with my little dude sometimes when we want to go out on our own.

7. Wondering what to stock up on before surgery ..I've been looking around bariatriceating.com today for some good ideas..

8. I've started to plan little dude's 4th birthday party.. this is the first year that we're having a 'friends' party and inviting his buddies from his preschool class! We're going to have it at a local children's museum and I'm ordering cute invites this week.

9. My cousin and her two kids are up visiting and I wish they lived closer.. my little guy and her cutie girl are only three months apart and it's sweet to see them playing together..

10. I'm excited for the new 'Teen Mom' on MTV tonight.. I'm a junk tv junkie!!

A small bump in the road..

was successfully avoided today! ..

last week we had a tiny little snow storm (it was supposed to be HUGE!) and I had to cancel my nutrition appointment and rescheduled it for this Wednesday. Great. Fine. No prob!

then at some point in the day .. I was standing at the sink and turned around slowly to read my calendar on my fridge and saw that I had .. double booked myself! WAAA WAAA!!!

I have my physical for surgery on Wednesday too!! So I called up my nutritionist and tried to make another appointment in feb and she said there was no way.. she was all booked up for the rest of the month.

Called my doctor to see if I could get another physical date ..and she said that the doctor was taking appointments for the middle of May! ...MAY!? AHHH!! That's wayyyy to late..

Moral of the story! There was a cancellation at the nutritionist office for Friday A.M and I'm soo very very happy!! I didn't care what time/what day.. as long as I could squeeze it in Feb! WHOOO!!

Now that i'm getting so close to the end of all this work,.. I didn't want to push it back by another month because of a little problem like that..

2nd Support Group

I just got back from my 2nd Support Group meeting (have to attend two as a requirement) and it was really good.

It was alot about Heart health (so clever since it's almost valentines day) but the part that I always like is at the very end someone comes up to the podium and tells their story.

I wonder how my journey will play out and if 1.) I'll have an interesting enough story to tell and 2.) If I'd be brave enough to get up there in front of everyone..

The other thing I've been thinking about ..and it might be really silly ..almost as silly as my undies post..I'm excited for events that happen all the time ..but with a slightly different body..

Let's say I have my surgery on May 1st..

- 2/3 months out: will I loose some weight this summer and feel like I can wear a tank top here and there.. or maybe even shorts?!

-5 months out: we always go to this big party on columbus day weekend ..where my mom and step dad camp and I wonder what I'll feel like by then.. will I want to get all dressed up and show off my results to people that haven't seen me in a while..

-7.5 months out: my annual family christmas party .. seeing people that I only see once a year..maybe some that haven't seen me since before surgery or just right after surgery..

-at some point next year my sister in law is going to get married..and this is the first wedding in a long time .. that i'll actually be excited to pick out a dress to wear..

..so many things to day dream about ..to pass the time in this waiting area..

I want colorful undies!!

Does anyone remember a few weeks back on Facebook when they were doing the 'what color is your bra' for breast cancer awareness. I shouted out that I had on my trusty light tan bra..Ooh go me! And my crazy fun undergarments... not..

Oh how I wish to fit my tush into little Vicky undies!

I would love to just walk in and pick up a bunch and throw out all my granny pants! (well..maybe keep a few for the fun time of the month) and walk in and buy a pretty little'ish bra.. Right now my bra's are either white or that really exciting tan color.

Wooo!

I want color and polka dots and lace and pretty little bows..is it silly to day-dream about these kinds of things?? I haven't bought a pretty bra since my high school days .. when I was sporting a 'C' cup size. And even though I know they make pretty bra's in big girl sizes.. it's just not the same.

So add that to another NSV!! to my ever growing list of wishes!

Oh what a week!

Sorry for the lack of posts/being MIA!! It's been one of those weeks ..my little dude just was getting over having a double ear infection ..then got hit with a stomach virus (just imagine lots and lots of laundry) .. I'm just hoping that he didn't share those lovely germ with his awesome parents ;)

I had an appointment with my surgeon yesterday and we just went over some results of appointments that I've been too (cardiologist, upper GI test, psych, ectect) and I learned that I have a "hiatal hernia" ..a small one, but it's still there. The good news is that when he goes in for the lap-band ..he'll also fix the hernia and my reflux/heartburn will disappear! Yay!!

And everything else looks great! I have my 5th nutritionist appointment next week and then my 6th one is scheduled for March 11th ..and after March 11th.. my paperwork goes to the insurance company!! Woooooohooooo!! I can see the light! He said that after March 11th ..to expect a two week wait and then when we get the thumbs up ..we can make a pre-op appointment and pick a date for the big day!! So I'm looking at an end of April or very early May for my surgery. I just want to get past the waiting on insurance and get a date.. and some of the anxiety over doing all of this might subside..

I haven't done so great as far as doing WW .. :( boo on me .. but I guess I'm still in a 'last dinner' mentality and even though I don't over do it and haven't gained any weight, ..I'm not seeing numbers drop either. But I'm not feeling that down on myself.. help is right around the corner!!

I just started seeing a therapist and I'm excited to have some extra support as I get ready for surgery and the 'after' too.. He has lots of experience with lap-band patients ..so that's encouraging. I'll post more as we dig deeper into some of my weight issues.. and all that fun mental stuff!

Okay, I'm off to catch up on all the blogs .. I've missed reading everyone this week and can't wait to see how everyone is doing!

Happy Friday!