How did I let it happen? How did I wake up one day to find myself at 286 pounds and completely miserable in my own body? It happened, I can't blame anyone but me. And only I can fix it. So I am. On December 23, 2009 I had Lap-Band Surgery with Dr. John Marsden. I'm down 100 pounds so far with about 25 to go.

Friday, July 29, 2011

What A Day!

I have been up and going for about 15 1/2 hours already today, whew!!

Our team at work had some fun planned for this afternoon and that meant leaving work at 1pm. Well, we had a big update to our website coming on Monday which means I'd have to have it all done before 1pm and there was no way that was happening if I arrived at my normal time of 9:30ish. So, I decided I would get to work reallllllly early and get a lot done before people started showing up.

Which brings us to 5am this morning. I got up and showered and dressed and left the house at 5:30. Since there was so little traffic on the way in (ha!) I got there at 5:45 and went to my desk. It was blissfully quiet for 2 whole hours. I got a lot done and then some. They are starting some construction on my floor at work (adding new cubes) and they will be removing a wall that is right in front of my current cube. That is going to be very noisy, dusty and distracting. So I will be moving - temporarily only (boooo) - into an office for the duration, approx 4-6 weeks. However, I have a feeling it might take longer ... I bet some of the workers tools go missing which will set them back some time looking for them and then maybe replacing them :) Hahahahaha! Not really, but I wish I could do that! I got the majority of my stuff done, plus a few other things, AND had to pack up my cube to move on Monday, all by about 12:30. I was astonished!

We all left and went bowling! It was a lot of fun and I am happy to say that I won the prize for having the lowest score!!!!! I am very pleased with my prize and will cherish it always :) After we bowled and chatted it up for a while, everyone started heading out but it was still kind of early. So, I walked my happy little butt next door to the Movie Tavern and saw Captain America! It was really good, I enjoyed it a lot!! I was hungry since I hadn't eaten anything since about 9am (and it was 4pm now) so I had some chicken tenders and a few french fries. I also had a piece of cheesecake. I marked it all down in my food log and am still within my calorie goal for today, so it is all good! Now I am at home, doing a little laundry and playing games on the computer.

Tomorrow I am going to go back into work for a little bit to finish up a few little things that I didn't get done today. Then at 10:30 I am going to yoga!! I'm excited about that. No longer scared, so yay me! I'm not sure what I'll do after that, maybe lounge in the pool, maybe go see another movie, maybe hang out with my BFF. Who knows!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend :) Bye for now!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Yoga!

I did it! I faced my fear and went to my very first yoga class ever.

I

LOVED

IT!!!

It was great! It was hard, I won't lie, and I had to modify a few of the poses to make it through. I sweated up a storm (and it wasn't even a heated class) and my muscles are all wobbly now. But it was fantastic and I can definitely see myself doing this regularly. I despise lifting weights so while I have a great cardio program going with the elliptical and treadmill, my toning was lacking. However, now that void will be filled with yoga!

Thanks to all my friends who encouraged me :) I couldn't have faced my fear without you all!

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Challenge Weigh In Day

Good morning friends!

Yesterday was a great day for me. I felt good, I ate well, I exercised, I made good choices, I had fun. What more can you ask for?

The only issue I had at all yesterday was that we went to the grocery store to get some things and they had my very favorite flavor of Blue Bell ice cream in the world. It is only available a couple of times a year and I used to buy up the stock of it when I found it - but that was before I was banded. I haven't had any in almost 2 years. I was super hungry when we got to the store (which is usually a no-no) so when I saw that ice cream (Tin Roof for those wondering) I reallllllllllllllly wanted some. I forced myself to walk away and go down the aisle to pick up a box of the sugar free Blue Bell Moo Bars I've been having instead. Still delicious and only 100 calories for a bar. Vanilla ice cream with chocolate coating. They were out of them. I nearly cried! But I kept telling myself that it was only ice cream and not the end of the world. I kept in mind the weigh in for today and held strong. I can do this. And all my hard work paid off.


That is a loss of 2.2 pounds this week! And after my hiccup of gaining 3 pounds the 1st week of the challenge I am now 1.4 down from my beginning challenge weight!

I am super excited for our DFW BOOBS lunch this afternoon. I hope you all have a great Sunday!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Saturday!

I got up before 7am this morning. It was not on purpose. My cats woke me up. Need I say more? Oh well ...

I fed them and cleaned their box then hung out and played on the computer for a while. A little after 9am I left to head to my hair appointment. It wasn't until 10:15, but I wanted to stop and get a smoothie first. I did just that and it was delicious! I got my hair all fixed up (will try to get some pictures tomorrow to post) and chatted w/ my hairdresser about my upcoming yoga class. She said that she understands my fear, that everyone feels that way the first time. She said not to worry and that everyone there is super nice and they love newbies so that made me feel better.

Then I went to Target to pick up a few new pieces of workout clothing. I grabbed some things and then headed to my office to hit the fitness center. I had it all to myself again, I love that! I got up on my friend the elliptical and headed to town. After 30 minutes there I went to the treadmill and went for 20 minutes there. I alternated between high incline/walking and no incline/running. Most of it was walking, which is fine! I did snap a pic for posterity today, you can see my friend the elliptical behind me!


That's about all for now! Have a great day :)

Friday, July 22, 2011

Is it 5 o'clock yet?

I did pretty good yesterday. I managed my 500 calorie deficit (plus a few for good measure) and pushed myself with the elliptical and felt really happy with my workout yesterday.

That being said ... I'm ready for today to be over :)

I got to work and went right in to a 2+ hour meeting. A software demo from a company we are considering purchasing a new system from. This is the 3rd one of these in the past 2 weeks and while they are interesting and cool, they are also a big time suck and I'm glad they are done now.

I decided I am not going to the fitness center after work today. I might do some Just Dance when I get home but I am worn out and think I deserve an evening off from that place. As I look back at my blog from Monday I see that I said I would go Wed-Fri but that is because I wasn't planning on going on Tuesday. Since I did, I am still hitting my planned 3 days of the fitness center after work.

However, next week I am stepping COMPLETELY out of my comfort zone and trying something I have been wanting to try for a while now. I am terrified, but am going to do it anyway. I signed up for a trial 10 day membership at a yoga studio. My hairstylist also teaches yoga at this studio and has been encouraging me to try it for a little while. They were having a special, 10 days for $20. I figure even if I hate it and only go to 1 class I'm only out $20, right? So far I've signed up for 5 classes during those 10 days. Starting next Tuesday evening with my friend/hairdresser in a Raw Beginner class. Specifically tailored to people who have never done yoga before (i.e. me!). What if I can't do the moves? I am not very strong or flexible. What if I fall over? What if I make a fool of myself? What if I'm still too fat to bend myself into those positions????? These are the things going through my head. That is why I am terrified. But, I'm going to try it anyway. That's what this is all about right? Stepping out of our comfort zones and just trying.

I am getting my hair colored tomorrow morning (from above mentioned friend/hairdresser/yoga instructor) so that I will look spiffy for our DFW BOOBS lunch on Sunday afternoon! I am excited to meet some peeps in person before Chicago, yay!!!

I hope you all have a great weekend :)

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Wonders Never Cease

I don't know if I've mentioned this before or not, but when I go work out in the fitness center here at work I watch TV on my phone. It helps to pass the time and that way I get to watch something I'm interested in and am not subjected to the horrible things they play on the TV's provided,  i.e. News (boring), Food Shows (seriously?), Reality TV (kill me now), etc.

I've been watching Doctor Who and am loving it. Yesterday I got on the elliptical and set it all up for 15 minutes and started my latest episode of Doctor Who and went to ellipticalling. Before I knew it, those 15 minutes were up but I wasn't tired ... so I put in another 15 minutes! For those of you keeping track that is 30 MINUTES OF ELLIPTICAL! And I wasn't even dying when I got off! I couldn't believe it. I am so excited about this! I can't wait to go today and do 30 minutes off the bat, I am loving it! Now, mind you I am still working on the lowest resistance, but seeing as how a few weeks ago I was panting like a dog after 10 minutes I think I'm doing great :) After my elliptical fun I did 20 minutes on the treadmill, then some stretching and went home.

That's all the excitement I have for today friends. I will be working out again this evening and might even try to push up the resistance a little, we will see how I feel.

Have a great day!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

It's a good day :)

This is an odd feeling for me. I am actually looking forward to working out tonight. I'm not sure where it comes from, but I'll take it. I didn't get in a work out on Sunday or on Monday so I guess I'm craving it. Who would have ever thought. :)

I've done fairly well with my eating the past 2 days. I was below my calorie intake goal both days, but I did not meet my calories burned goal either day. Either way I had a deficit of approx 430ish each day which isn't bad. I am going on the assumption that today will be excellent!!

On a completely unrelated note, I finished the bag I was making! Here it is in all it's glory :)

Front of the Bag Back of the Bag
  
Inside, with Pocket Giant Button!
  
Kitty Girl giving it her approval :)

Have a great day everyone!

Monday, July 18, 2011

Happy Monday!


There it is folks. Down 1.6 pounds for the week! You can also see my awesome new pedicure. I don't remember the name of the color, but it is a turquoisey blueish color. I love it!

Harry Potter was incredible. And I did REALLY good at the theatre! I had the fruit and cheese plate to eat. Pineapple, grapes, strawberries, some whole grain crackers and some kind of soft cheese with garlic in it. It was delicious and very low calorie, woo hoo!

I did not work out yesterday, which I'm kind of bummed about, but it will be alright. Except that I don't think I can do a full workout today either. And tomorrow I have plans after work, eek! I will do some Just Dance after I get home tonight and then Wed-Fri I will work out each evening after work.

Here is what I was doing after seeing Harry Potter yesterday. It's not quite finished yet, have to make the inside lining which will be the striped fabric. I should get it finished this evening over at BFF's house, she is helping me decipher the pattern but I am doing all the cutting and sewing.


I hope you all have a fantastic day :)

p.s. Only 10.5 weeks til BOOBS in Chicago!

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Weekend Wawesomeness!

Yes yes, I know that isn't a word ... but I don't care!

Last night after work I went and had a pedicure. It was wonderful as usual. I even met a very nice lady and we chatted it up the whole time. I'll post a picture tomorrow for my weigh in on the challenge :)

Today I woke up and got the urge to go and work out. So I did! I stopped and got a Smoothie King on the way, they have a new smoothie called the Lean 1. It is pretty good and a small chocolate one is less than 300 calories and 22 grams of protein. Then I headed to my work to hit the fitness center. It was awesome, completely empty! I did 15 minutes on the elliptical, 15 on the treadmill with some incline and some running, then 20 on the bike. I watch TV shows on my phone with Netflix while I work out which makes the time go by really fast!

Then I went home and got in the pool for about an hour. It was great, except it is soooooooo hot! Plus our neighbors right behind us are having a birthday party for one of their kids complete with trampoline, giant blow up water slide and lots of kids screaming. Oh well, they sounded like they were having fun and that is what counts :)

I'm not sure what else I will do today. I hope you all are having a great day!!!

Friday, July 15, 2011

TGIF!

Happy Friday my friends!

I worked out again last night and accomplished my goal of 14 minutes on the elliptical, woo hoo!!! I also did a turn on the treadmill (including a little bit of running) and the bike as well as my stretching and sit ups. There were a few more people in the fitness center yesterday but I didn't let that deter me. I just went about my business as if they weren't there and made myself not care if I looked silly running or doing my sit ups. Who cares what they think right? Some of them looked kinda silly with their exercising anyway, so who are they to judge :)

I'm going to get a pedicure after work tonight. Bye bye to the 4th of July stars. Not sure if I'll do another design or not this time, I'll have to see how the mood strikes me when I get there. I'm not sure I will get much working out in today, but I might do some more Just Dance when I get home. It is fun and you can do as little or as much as you want. So that is awesome. 

I don't know what my plans are for tomorrow, but I'm sure some working out will be involved. And possibly some pool time! Then on Sunday morning James and I will go see Harry Potter and I'm so excited! Then after that I am going over to my best friends house and she is going to help me sew up a super cute purse/bag. She made one for herself the other day and I just love it so I'm going to make one for me!

Are any of y'all doing anything fun this weekend??? Share!!!

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Dance Dance Dance!

Yesterday I decided to do something different to work up a sweat. I got out my Wii and played some Just Dance 2! They have this section called "Just Sweat" where you aren't really competing with anyone, just accumulating sweat points. You get to a certain number of sweat points every day. I chose the Hard program which is 1000 points a day. I was on a roll though and went til I hit 2000! It has super fun songs like Girlfriend by Avril Lavigne, Call Me by Blondie, Jump by Kriss Kross ... so fun! And it really doesn't feel like working out. Until you are done and all sweaty :)

I just realized that the previous paragraph has the word (or derivation thereof) sweat in it 5 times!

Today I have my workout clothes again to hit the fitness center after work. I'm pretty excited about it, I'm going to try for 14 minutes on the elliptical today. I'll see how I feel on the treadmill today as to whether it is a running or an incline kind of day. I don't think I'm ready to run at an incline yet though, ha!

Also ... tomorrow is the premiere of the very last Harry Potter movie. I am excited and sad all at the same time. A friend of mine at work got special passes and went to see it on Monday and said it was fantastic. I can't wait! Who else is a Harry Potter fan out there? When are you going to see the movie?

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Better and better

I worked out again last night, and this time I went 12 minutes on the elliptical! I didn't run as much on the treadmill but did a higher incline and walked for a longer period of time. Then more bike and more stretching and sit ups/leg lifts. I felt pretty good about it all.

Thank you all so much for the words of encouragement. They mean so much to me! I am having an easier time resisting the foods that aren't as good for me right now too. I won't say "bad foods" because nothing is supposed to be bad, as long as it is in moderation, right?! Since I'm having trouble with moderation right now, I'm choosing to abstain from some things while I'm working this challenge.

Have a great day everybody!!

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Whoa Nellie

A week since my last update? So sorry friends!

I had a B.A.D. Sunday. I got on the scale for the BOOBs challenge to find out that I had gained 3 pounds.

Gained.

Three.

Pounds.

What is up with me?!? So after a few hours of crying and whining about it. I decided to suck it up and admit that I have been less than stellar on the choices and the activity. I immediately remedied that by going to work out at my office's fitness center - which is blessedly empty on a Sunday afternoon! I managed 10 straight minutes on the elliptical (an amazing feat for me) plus some actual running on the treadmill and some biking as well as stretching and some sit ups. I felt much better after I did all of that and have been doing very very good since Sunday.

I went to my support group last night and confessed all. That was really hard for me to do, but I did it. And I have my work out clothes with me to hit the fitness center again today after work. Yahoo!!

I sure hope everyone else is doing better than I am :)

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Happy 5th of July!

Heh :) I like to keep the party going .. who says we can only celebrate on the 4th??

I am so excited about the BOOBs trip I can't even stand it! I think all the travel plans are squared away all that is left is the packing and the waiting!

I am doing the challenge, I sent in my $10 and my picture proof of starting weight. I will share it here as well:


So, there is that. I love that we have to send in a picture as proof! And you can also see how patriotic I was being with my pedicure :) I love the stars!!!

Anyhoo ... I am excited, and I am ready to challenge, and I am positive. What else can I ask for??

Friday, July 1, 2011

I'm going to BOOBS!

I'm so excited! I got my plane ticket this morning and am counting the days til Chicago to meet all of you :) Still trying to get the details worked out on the room situation but I'm sure it will all get sorted out in plenty of time!

I'm arriving on Thursday evening, I don't want to miss a minute of the fun! Is anyone else arriving then? My flight arrives at 7:05pm, I guess I'm going to take a cab to the hotel. Unless anyone has a better suggestion. Maybe someone arriving around the same time would like to share a cab with me?

I can't wait!!