my little orange headband..

well it really is more orange'ish then red in real life.. i got it off of LLBean the other day when i had to get my husband some work shoes.. thought i'd throw something in the order for me too! ;)

it's going to be my workout staple.. and i'm not really sure why ..but here are some rambling thoughts.. and this could be so ridiculous that you un-follow me from this little blog..but just chalk it up to a bit of c-r-a-z-y..

-i thought to myself that i never remember who's at the gym or what their wearing for that matter..but i wondered to myself that if i wore this headband every time ..someone might notice my weight changing or my hard work/dedication to working out..

-plus it keeps the sweat out of my eyes!

is that silly? ah well ..it's cute at least..i love polka dots!

and speaking of the gym.. i'm not sure if i posted this or not..but i ended up finishing 8 out of 10 miles last week.. my step-dad couldn't go on Sunday and I skipped as well..didn't feel all that great about it..but didn't dwell on it either and we were back at it last night..

this week i'm going for more calories/higher intensity on the elliptical and not miles.. just to switch it up a bit.. it really felt like i was walking in quicksand on that thing last night.. and haven't had a sweat like that ..in ..um.. my whole life..

yesterday i got my Jillian M's 30 day shred and gave it a shot this a.m .. well..it was more of a 20ish min shred for me.. level 1 kicked my butt..and i need to get some hand weights.. wowza.. i hope doing this for a few days in a row will make it easier! PHEW..

and now that my T.O.M has packed her bags for this month.. i've lost a bit of lbs .. which is always a perk..

1.) Here's a pic from yesterday.. and I was pretty excited about this .. being all under the 220's and such..

2.) fast forward to this a.m ..and i'm in the 215's?? did i give birth last night and not know it?? i'm not going to ask to many questions ..just taking that number and running..

maybe getting down to an even 200 will be in my reach for surgery day after all..can't wait to get my big date this friday!! :)

i'll post a quick update after my 11a.m apointment ..

wake up call..

took some more "before" pictures.. and wow.. it was upsetting and necessary at the same time..

this past month ..more than anytime in the six months of nutrition visits.. i've really examined how i've left myself get to this point and some of my troubling eating habits..

-i definitely eat when i'm happy ..i'm not a sad/depressed eater

-i'm fast! i've been paying more attention at the dinner table (we've eaten at the table for almost a year and this is something that we'll continue to stick to) and i always finish way before my husband and start making my way for a 2nd helping as he's finishing up.

-i gulp down whatever i'm drinking to almost push my food down faster as i'm eating..what am i rushing for? why must i gulp? it's not like i'm starving..

-eating lunch might help with this whole eating fast/gulping down my dinner..and i've started to eat some lean cuisine meals for lunch..and that's helped..

-it's so hard to get in my 80ish oz of water a day ..no matter how i jazz it up! vitamin water zero's have been popular this week and last..but it's still a struggle..

some things i've done that i'm proud of .. saying no to ice cream .. twice! my husband and his sister & her fiance like to come over at least one a week and we almost always got dairy queen. this week i've said no twice and had a skinny cow instead.. and that wasn't hard to do. surprisingly.

i've stopped eating anything my son doesn't finish..and stopped the "one for me and one for you" mentality!

i tried weight watchers (again).. because i was so determined to get the 18lbs off to start my surgery at an even 200..but that's not working out so well.. i seem to over think food on those days and feel hungry when i'm really not.

so it's been an up and down week..

and here's a vain question..

the belly pooch/fupa(spelling?) that hangs over my lady area.. has that gotten smaller for anyone that's out there in bloggy land..? i feel like it's going to hang out there forever ..and it's the one thing that i'm the saddest about..so ..just curious..


i'll share these before pics (well..some of them) when i have some comparison pics!

BYOC and other thoughts..

1.) If you could change your first name- what would it be?

I can honestly say I'd never change my name .. I love it.. it fits me and I don't know a lot of other ladies with the name "Kristen".. well .. that is until I started blogging and it seems to be a pretty popular name in our circle of blogs!? :0) And that's great.. more Kristen's (however you spell it) the better!!


2.) Why are man hole covers round?

This seems like a simple question with a simple answer .. but is it? Did you know that Microsoft used this as a job-interview question..just look it up on Wikipedia!


3.) What's one of your biggest pet peeves?

Oh I don't even know if I have enough space to type them all ..Here's the top three that I'm thinking of right now ..

-people that cut in line! in traffic or at a store ect..
-nose picking in public (like when you look over at someone driving and they are digging for gold)
-people that forget to put on deodorant (like the man working out next to me at the gym last night ..wwoooooweee stink-o)


4.) If you could be a car- What would it be?

a 1950's hot rod.. because they are vintage ..classic.. full of style.. unique ..been around the block..and really pretty to look at ..



5.) What's the biggest thing you learned from a blog this week or which blog spoke to you the most this week off the top of your head?

On Wednesday I read "I think I'm BEAUTIFUL" by Mary over at:

www.bandmeimready.blogspot.com

Top Five Reasons this week has been GREAT!!

1.) I got approved for Lap-Band surgery

2.) Had a 4/23 Pre-OP date ..which got moved up to 4/2

3.) Went to the GYM two other times since Sunday ..and only have 4 miles left in my 10 mile goal I set for myself this week.

4.) I realized how much I love how I feel after working out..My energy has been up this week and my overall mood has been up too .. which even my husband has noticed..

5.) My husband booked us a weekend away in Newport Rhode Island for our five year anniversary and that's so very romantic of him ..

Happy Friday!!

Post Whore today..#3

Third post..oh jeeezus! :)

but it's important.. really really important..


ready for it...



my pre-op appointment has been moved from 4/23 .. to ...wait for it ... it's really good...


4/2!!!



that's in almost a week from this week ..well you know what i mean.. a week from friday!!

it's practically shaving three weeks off what i was originally quoted for a pre-op date!?



c-r-a-z-y..




thank you to the stranger that had to cancel his/her appointment and let me have it..


**happy dance** **happy dance**




okay. that's it for today.. i swear!

just a little something..

so instead of treating myself with a snack .. after getting the 'thumbs up' ..the 'green light' ..the 'go ahead' ..

i bought myself a workout video. *saaay whaaat???!!!*

i've been looking at this for awhile and after reading some great reviews and talking to some other mommy people that use it (and love it) ..i thought it's worth a try..

i've completed 4 out of 10 miles in this weeks personal gym challenge .. and i'm feeling great!! i even beat my sunday time by a little under five min .. and that's all i'm looking for ..not a specific time to do two miles.. but to shave a little off the time.. each time..

and now that i've gotten over my lacking self confidence to actually get to the gym.. i've hit another hurdle .. and that's working out on the 'machines' ..after i do my cardio ..i'll usually go to the little room off to the side and stretch out and do some crunches .. then go do a few laps on the muscle machines..work my legs/arms/ect ect..

but these machines are right in front of the ellipticals and treadmills.. and it makes me feel like i'm on stage..

so for now .. i'll go and do my miles ..and my stretches/ab work ..and then on my 'rest days' from the gym.. i'll have these videos to turn to..

i'd really like to shoot for at least 30min a day..


so give it to me jillian michael's ..

OOOHYEAHBABY!!

Just hanging out this a.m...watching the Today show.. and my surgeons office # comes up on the screen..? Strange? I hope everything is okay.. so I pick it up on the second ring ..

Me: "Hello?"

Receptionist at Surgeons office:
"Hi this is --- can I speak to Kristen?"

Me: "This is her"

Receptionist: "Good morning.. I'd like to set up a time for your Pre-Op appointment"

Me: "Oh? I thought we had to wait to hear back from the insurance before we could set that date up?"

Receptionist: "Yes that's correct, but they called yesterday and said that you were approved.."

Me: "Whaaaaat! NO way" <----- could of handled that a little bit smoother :)

Receptionist: "Congratulations..now he's pretty booked up so his first appointment isn't until April 23 at 1pm .."

Me: "I'll take it".."But if something opens up between now and then, no matter what time/day I'll take that too" :)

Receptionist: "Okay great, I'll add you to the cancellation list..and give you a call if anyone cancels."

Me: "Thanks so much"

Receptionist: "No problem have a great day"

OOOH I SO WILL!!!!!! BEST DAY EVER!!

No more worrying/stressing/over thinking the hoop that's called insurance..

YIPEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!


okay.. carry on with your Tuesday!

Skinny Cow and other thoughts..

Ice Cream.. something I never really liked before meeting my husband.. I was a big fan of Orange Sorbet ..and then after meeting my husband ..it was a slow love affair with the cold creamy goodness.

After running around with my darling boy all day .. when he's upstairs for the night..all tucked in and having sweet dreams.. I'm indulging in sweet yummy ice cream..

THIS MUST STOP!!

I know I'll be able to have ice cream after the band.. but that's so extremely counter-productive..I'm starting to make a slow change to low fat or fro-yo ..and today while food shopping I came across this little box of gems!

It's 100cal/2grams of fat/3grams of protein.. and that comes out to be 2 weight watchers points.. all in all ..not to bad of a treat.

Had one tonight ..you know... to test it out for you all ;) And it wasss sooooo yummmyyy!! Creamy (not icy) and a light caramel flavor with a little drizzel of chocolate.. ahh.. so good!

So if your a lover of all things Ice Cream like me .. Try these.. the other flavor is "White Mint" but I'm not going to try those out..I'm not a huge Mint fan..so you'll just have to try those out for yourself if it sounds yummy to you!!

And the other things/thoughts..

With surgery almost (wishing/hoping) a month away .. I really want to do my part and get down as much as I can before the liquid diet and then hope for a nice loss during that time too. I was ambitious a while ago and really wanted to do Weight Watchers full time ..and it was just to far out/away. My revised "plan" is to do Weight Watchers during the week and not count points on the weekends.

I made sure to buy some Weight Watchers appropriate foods this week while food shopping and will work hard to get all that water in! :)

My exersise plan this week is Ten Miles!

Today I did 2 miles on the eliptical in 42mins .. I feel great/happy/upbeat when I come home from the gym and have 8 more miles to go before next Sunday. .I plan on going to the gym tommarow night with my step-dad and then skip Tuesday for a rest..

I hope everyone *well at least in the north east* got to get out and enjoy this weather.. I love this time of year and it's so nice to let my little dude "out" of the house and run off some of his extra engery.