Sick & Sore

Ok so my Memorial Day Weekend has not gotten off to such a great start......Thursday and Friday I worked out really hard and yesterday my back started hurting really bad and it was like running down my leg. I think that it is a nerve or something. It is better today but I'm still a bit sore. Anyway in addition to the back thing, my throat started to become super sore and it's just gotten worse. So yeah my back is sore and my throat hurts I have a stuffy nose yatta yatta yatta. Great lol. The only good thing is, I'm not really in the mood to eat that much. I really wish I could be working out though. I might do pilates later and see if it helps work out my back. I don't know if it will help but I'll give it a try. I hope you all are enjoying your weekend!!

Mint Attack!!!

You know those life saver wint-o-green mints?? Well I have this JUMO bag that is calling my name. I have hid them from myself so that I forget and that has been working with the exception of right now!!!

I’ve been so super good today I am under 1000 calories right now and I don’t want to ruin it by eating tons of those because you know I’ll never stop with 1 serving. I’m trying to relax and tell myself that I am not hungry, which I’m not but I’m struggling lol this sounds so ridiculous but this is real people I want the darn mints!!!

So I am chewing my gum and concentrating on my 1 year goal that I have set for myself…..199lbs. I can do it!

I don't know what to Title this lol

Hi!!!
I feel REALLY good today; I just had to start off by telling you that. I have been doing soooo good eating. I have not been doing the whole Atkins 20 carbs per day thing, but I have been cutting the amount of carbs by a lot.

I LOVE my Bike. I’ve been doing just over 2 miles about 5 times a week; sometimes more. I think I am going to experiment with the Kayaking next weekend after Memorial Day weekend. Memorial Day I am actually going to Lahey to get all my blood work done for me 1 year post op visit so I don’t have to take time out of work to go. I’m so excited to get 13 vials of blood taken again, NOT! Haha. I’m terrified of needles, blah!

Thank heavens for this blog, I don’t think I would have made it through the year without it. Who’s the genius who invented these things???

Low Carb

Anyone familiar with Atkins?? It's a diet that consist of limiting your carb intake. For the fist 2 weeks you only eat 20 carbs per day and then every week after that you add 5 more carbs until you get back to a normal amount, somewhere between 60-90 carbs per day. Anyway I'm not sure of it's long term affects but I know it has worked for me in the past. Right after my surgery I was on it really unintentionally.....trying to get all my protein in, terrified of carbs because I didn't know how my band would deal with them.

I've decided to do some carb limiting again. I'm doing the 2 week 20 carbs per day. I've noticed that I'm less hungry already in just a short amount of time, probably because I am getting a good amount of protein.

I'm frustrated with the weight loss.....I'm workin out 5 times a week, I am just consuming way too much food - slider foods. My food addiction is getting the best of me. Darn it all. I'm learning to cope but its hard. I don't know why I thought the band would "fix" it all but thank God for it because it's helped alot and instead of down in weight I know I'd be up without it. Geesh that would have been awful!

C.H.O.I.C.E

Hi my lovelies!!

I received an email from Laura right after I had vlogged about running. She contacted me on behalf of Allergan (the people who make the band, in case you aren’t banded and don’t know.)

She wanted to tell me about a campaign called C.H.O.I.C.E. (Choosing Health over Obesity Inspiring Change through Empowerment) that Allergan has launched! The campaign is designed to help address the adult obesity epidemic by creating a platform for patient advocates, LIKE US, to speak out and share our weight-loss journeys with legislators and the general public.

We need 250,000 signatures for a petition that will be shared with legislators to advocate for policies supporting both obesity prevention and treatment. Please sign the petition at

www.mychoicecampaign.com/petition.

Also, Allergan is hosting a patient contest, where winners will have the opportunity for a paid trip to DC to tell legislators their personal weight-loss story. To enter: www.lapbandchoicecontest.com

To show their ongoing support and commitment for obesity prevention and treatment, Allergan is donating $250,000 to Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance.

She also sent me the press release that Allergan sent out if you want to see if just email me and I’ll forward it to you. ladylapband@verizon.net

I think this is a really AWESOME campaign and I hope you all will support it and pass the word along!!


Other Helpful Links
C.H.O.I.C.E. Campaign Web site: www.mychoicecampaign.com
Sign the Petition: www.mychoicecampaign.com/petition
Facebook Cause: www.causes.com/causes/464207
Patient Contest: www.lapbandchoicecontest.com
Twitter: @CHOICECampaign

I pulled my bike out on Sunday!! I am so happy. Some of you must remember me obsessing about getting a bike last summer until I actually got it. I was so sad when winter came and I had to put it away. I rode it so much on Sunday that my rear end hurt so much the next day haha. I bought this really cool "bike computer" that you attach to the handle bar and it calculates your speed and distance ect....I attached it yesterday and I have to program it today. I am such a dork I am so excited about it.

I have so many plans for new outdoor adventures this summer.... I live really close to a lake but now on it....I wanted to kayak last summer but one I don't live on the lake, and if I bought a kayak it would be pretty hard to transport it to and from the lake...BUT I found this awesome place just a couple towns over called Nashoba Paddlers. You can go there and rent a kayak for the day and go down the Nashua River. I am so excited I can't wait to go!

I also want to get some Rollerblades but I want the really expensive k2 Rollerblades so I don't know how soon I will get those....

Oh and this place where I use to go horseback riding as a kid called Bobby's Ranch....well I found out there weight limit it 250 but clearly I am under but I decided that as a gift to myself when I finally get under 200 I am going to go horseback riding!

I'm trying to come up with FUN ways to loose weight, hence my outdoor adventures. If you all have come up with anything fun that I am not thinking of I am all ears!! I'm looking forward to a fun summer!

Triggers

I want to dedicate this post to Trigger Foods.

Before being banded I was totally addicted to Diet Coke – love my DC. I had to give up soda for the surgery so it has been almost 1 year since I have had Diet Coke. I would say about 5-6 times throughout the year on a special occasion like Christmas and vacation I have had a glass of another diet soda here and there but I can’t touch Diet Coke. People told me it would get easier the longer I didn’t have it and that eventually I wouldn’t crave it anymore, but that didn’t happen. I want it all the time, but it has become second nature to say no which is a nice change.

Lately I have been thinking about my other triggers that I need to give up. I have 3 that I am aware of. One is Coffee; I’m totally addicted to the cream you put in and the caffeine. Another is, Chips. I love the crunchy salty and I crave it A LOT! The third is chocolate. I think it is pretty bad when you feel like you NEED something in order to feel better and I tend to be like that with chocolate. I think I’d loose my mind if I tried to give up all three at once…….I think I can cut out coffee pretty fast and at the same time perhaps cut WAY back on the chocolate and then move on the crunchy salty chip like items once I’ve “mastered” that. What do you think??? I'd love to hear about the ways you guys have given up your trigger foods.

Running Update

Hi my lovelys!!!!!

First off, I was to say thanks to those we gave me some REALLY GOOD advice about running after my last vlog. It really did help me alot!!!

So that vlog was from Wednesday and then I had Thursday and Friday go by without the opportunity to work out...I had plans right after work both days and didn't get home until well after the time that I am usually in bed. It's all good though because I was pretty sore anyway and needed a few days to feel a bit better.

This morning I was back on the treadmill though!! I was able to add 2 more minutes of running so 13 minutes which is almost half of me workout! I did a lot more speed walking this time as well. Oh and I was able to do 2 miles in 30 minutes like I had said I wanted to. I was able to run 8 minutes consecutively which I am siked about!!!! I am going to push myself for 10 next time....hopefully tomorrow but we will see if I can walk.

There are a few things in my life right now that I am trying to deal with emotionally and it has been really hard. Running has been a bit of a release for me. While I am doing it I feel better and if feeling sad gets me to run than I am all for it. I am just so thrilled that I am not going to food instead!!!

Oh did you guys see that I am down another lb??? I've never seen 214 on the scale before, I am wicked excited!!! I cancelled my fill appointment for this month, I don't need it I have lots of restriction. I do have a 1 year follow up on June 30th. I hope to be down to 199 by then. That way I will be out of the 2's and will have lost 53lbs which is 1lb per week and I think that is just right for me. If you get technical though I didn't loose anything for 6 months so if I am able to get down to 199 that is like loosing 53 in 6 months.....not too shabby haha. Thanks for listening!!

Vlog 00002

I'm back!!

Hello!!!!

So I had a great time in Florida!! Lots of sun, I have a bit of a tan which is very abnormal for me. Speaking of sun I think a combination of that along with all the vitamins I have been taking has really been helping me to feel better. Actually while I was in FL I grabbed some iron supplements and have been taking one or two per week along with my multi vitamin to help me out a bit. I don’t need a blood test to tell me I am anemic, I just know.

We didn’t really do much in Florida. We stayed at a HUGE resort that had a bunch of awesome pools and we basically just sat by the pool all week. Well, one day we went to Hollywood Studios (previously MGM) but we were only there like 3 hours…we just aren’t into the parks that much anymore is what we have figured out. So vacation was very relaxing, and I can in no way say that I ate good but lol I didn’t eat nearly as much junk as I have on prior vacation. Like maybe I ate 1/3 of the crap I’ve had before.

I bought this book yesterday “Mastering Your Metabolism.” it is by Jillian Michaels, you know the trainer from Biggest Loser. It’s hard to explain there is a lot of science behind it but in a nut shell all the recipes are filled with natural ingredients that that level out your hormones. From how I interpret it, eating like this makes it easier for your body to loose weight and keep it off and you also don’t have to work as hard. Not that I am looking for a way to slack off but everything she says in the book makes sense. I am glad I found her book because I had the notion that I wanted to come home from vaca and start eating organically and cut out all the processed junk but I didn’t really know where to start. Thank goodness I picked up that magazine in the airport on the way home with Jillian on the cover otherwise I would not have known anything about the book.

I will give you guys reviews on the recipes as I try them out!!!