SIXTY SIXTY SIXTY SIXTY!!

FINALLY!

I've lost 60 pounds (as of yesterday)!!! This was three months to the day that I lost 50 pounds, which means it took me three months to lose 10 pounds. Let's not dwell too much on that, shall we?

As of this morning, I'm actually 61 pounds down, which means I'm officially more than halfway to my goal weight. I know the second half is a lot harder than the first, so I'm gearing up for a war against fat. I will win, because the Force is with me.

I'm pretty happy about all of this, and I know the fill really got things kick-started.

Our houseguests cooked dinner for us the other night, and I was all in a tizzy about what I should do because they were making pasta with truffle butter and crusty bread. Not super band friendly, and I didn't want to 'fess up because I've only known them for a few days. Oh, and I was supposed to be on liquids because I had a fill on Thursday.

Once again, the blog babes helped in a big way. While I loved Jennifer's suggestion that I have a stomach bug (complemented with the phrase "ass faucet") and Barbara's about taking an "emergency" phone call, I knew I couldn't pull off either of those. I'm a bad liar.

A couple of you mentioned that your docs don't require liquids after a fill, which made me feel better about having a few bites of the pasta. So I ate the cheese they served as an appetizer, a glass of red wine, some avocado from the salad and a few teeeny bites of the pasta. When I asked the Hubs for the avocado he wasn't eating, he said, "I'll trade you for some pasta," and took most of mine, thus saving me from sitting there with a full plate. Love that guy.

Hair Makeover

My hair is thinning (please, God, let it come back) and I've desperately needed an overhaul for a while.

Here's the result of today's cut and color:




It'd be swell if I was having gangbusters weight loss to go with the hair loss, but notsomuch. I predict yesterday's fill will help get things kick-started, as will my stepped-up workouts.

I was complaining to Hairdresser Amy about how much my luscious tresses have thinned out lately. She's been cutting my hair for seven years, so she was puzzled and kept asking what's going on. I told her about the surgery and she said, "Well, thank God, I was about to send you to an endocrinologist because I was afraid you're really sick."

Thanks for all the great dinner suggestions. I think I'm going to have a few bites, push it around the plate, slip some to the Hubs if I can, and plead an upset stomach if anyone notices. I bought wine, and I'm planning to keep refilling the chefs' glasses so they'll be too tipsy to notice that I'm not eating much.

Sorry I haven't been commenting and reading as much as usual. It's been one thing after another here, but I'm sure it'll calm down next week.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Trouble in River City

Hoooo boy, I need some help here. As we lingered over a dinner of leftovers and blended black bean soup (guess who had that), Houseguests mentioned that they are going to cook dinner for us tomorrow night.

Their favorite recipe: Pasta with truffle butter, and a nice loaf of crusty bread.

They're out at Whole Foods right now buying the ingredients.

Now, on a normal band day I could probably fake it with a few very small bites, maybe switching plates with Hubs halfway through. But I'm post-fill and supposed to be on liquids until Saturday.

What to do, what to do? Please advise. xoxo

Fill 'Er Up

Today I had my first fill since March. I'm a little nervous about it because the last time I was at this level (5.75 cc's in a 10 cc band), I could eat virtually no solids. It was difficult and a pain in the ass because it really limited where and when I could have a meal. After two months at 5.75 I had my surgeon take me down to 5.5 cc's.

But lately I've been dancing around the same numbers on the scale, and I'm feeling hungry within 90 minutes or two hours after my meals so I know it's time for something. My surgeon put me back up to 5.75 today and told me to take it really, really slow in going back to solids. I'm on thin liquids today, regular liquids Friday/Sat and mushies on Sunday, then transitioning to solids gradually.

The good news here is, I expect this will help me get through the plateau. And it's possible that I've lost enough weight since March that 5.75 won't be as tight now as it was then. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Our houseguests are really nice, and their kids are sweet and well-behaved - better behaved than mine, but that's another topic for another day - so all is well on that front. I made a big dinner last night (pastitsio, salad, wine and berry cobbler) for everyone so I can keep it casual for the next few nights. I'm hoping that'll make it less noticeable that I'm only on liquids.

In the meantime, I'm heading to the gym for a workout. Cue the Rocky theme song...

I'm Sore. But That's a Good Thing, Probably.

I went back to the gym today. I meant to go back a few months ago, but then I had a stuck episode and vomited all over the parking lot and in my car. It was awkward.

So I guess what really happened was, I finally got up the nerve to show my face at the gym again. And while I was there, I worked out with a trainer. He was good, tough without being ridiculous. I didn't cry. I can feel the muscle fatigue and I know tomorrow I'll be sore and Wednesday I'll be in pain and then I'll be OK again on Thursday. Which is good because I have another appointment then.

In unrelated news, Oldest Child starts second grade tomorrow. Cannot believe summer is already over.

Also, we have a family I've never met and know virtually nothing about arriving tomorrow to live with us for a week. The husband is a colleague of my husband, and they're moving here from San Francisco with two very young children. Hubs invited them to stay with us while their furniture is en route. Wish me luck.

The Verdict

As I said on Sherry's blog, I thought I was all badass because I walked a lot on vacation.

Then I came home and stepped on the scale.

Friends, it is tragic. Up four pounds from my recent low.

Fill on Thursday, Fill on Thursday, Fill on Thursday.

The End.

Vacation Wrap-Up

The suitcases are packed and we are heading home first thing in the morning. It's been a great vacation, filled with family and sand and food and chaos.

My band is at least partly responsible for the fun I've had this trip. I've eaten a lot of not-healthy food, and while I've had a twinge of guilt here and there, the difference between my general outlook on my life now and this time last year is significant.

I wore a bathing suit on the beach every day (thank you Amy W. for the suit, I got lots of compliments). I walked miles five of the six days we've been here. I went on a ride at the amusement park with my kids and didn't worry whether I was too big or would look like an ass.

Last year, as I hit my all-time high weight, I realized I was down to just a few things that would fit me. I bought an XL 'Ocean City' t-shirt, and it was tight. Like, sit down and pull it over my knees to stretch it out tight. This year, my XL shirt is pretty big. I'm shapeless when I wear it.

Tonight I went for a walk on the boardwalk by myself, and I stopped into the t-shirt shop and picked up a size L. It fits.

Good (Bad) Food, Workouts and Gambling - All In One Post!

I admire all of you who are so dedicated to exercise and regular workouts. I've been derelict in stepping up my workout game, which is kind of strange since I used to exercise pretty regularly.

This week I've walked - really walked, a few miles and enough to sweat - four days in a row.

This is partly to combat the deadly combination of a loose band and the delicious but nutritionally godawful food available to me here on the Jersey shore. Barb and Cindylew, you know what I'm talking about - cheese steaks, Rita's Italian Ice, Kohr Bros. soft-serve, funnel cakes, etc. I've had some of my very favorites, but a lot less than in years past.

Last night we had a grownup dinner at the Borgata casino in Atlantic City. Gambling isn't my thing, but there's a steakhouse that my brother likes, so six of us went. It was so nice to get dressed up and not feel awkward and embarrassed about how bad I looked. Because I didn't look awful!

I'm pretty sure my eyes didn't look demonic in real life but I couldn't swear to it. Isn't my sister adorable?

I have two full days of vacation left, and I intend to keep up my walking workouts. I like to quantify every single second I spend exercising - I have a heart-rate monitor and I've always logged workouts in a running diary.

I was so excited to use the Nike+ feature that's built into my new iPhone. I've used it before with iPods but I was looking forward to the ease of the built-in program. Well, guess what? It sucks. It doesn't record distance properly, and it's not a calibration issue - I hiked for two hours and it said I went 0.15 miles. Then the other day I walked 2.5 miles on the boardwalk and got the 0.15 miles thing again. Now the phone won't even pair up with the shoe sensor. Grrrr. Not happy about that. Get on it, Apple!

Crazy Family Times

I realize the title could be read with a couple different meanings. They're both accurate.

We're at the beach in Ocean City, New Jersey with my parents, siblings and assorted spouses and kids.
Here's the view from the family room of our (rented) house:
Beautiful, right? Notice how far the dunes stretch? Now just imagine trying to herd seven children ranging in age from four weeks to eight years, beach toys, boogie boards, towels, umbrellas, coolers and chairs alllllll the way through those dunes to get to the ocean. Where we then have to stand in the water to make sure the children don't drown. It's super relaxing. And luxurious! We've even experienced nature, in the form of overly aggressive seagulls stealing my niece's grilled cheese out of her hands yesterday.

But it's been fun. And funny too.

Around 11 o'clock last night, my brother-in-law, who almost never drinks unless he is peer-pressured into it by my brother, was sitting in front of the toilet waiting to throw up while my very very pregnant sister stood with him, alternately consoling him and laughing at him.

I was standing in the doorway of the bathroom, convulsed with laughter at the whole scene when we heard a thump. I walked into the boys' room to find my 5-year-old (the one who is always having some crisis or another when we're away from home) had fallen face-first out of bed onto a pile of Legos. There was a lot of blood, and this morning he looks like he was mauled by a bear.

The good news is, my daughter loves the beach! So much that I'm starting to wonder how much sand a baby can eat before I need to start worrying about a blockage or something.

My band is on the looser side here but I'm walking on the boardwalk every day and so busy that I'll be surprised if I gain.

Finally, is anyone else's hair still falling out? I took this picture yesterday and my forehead is getting alarmingly big.

"I'm Up, I'm Down, I'm Fat, I'm Thin"

Is anyone here old enough to remember that line from St. Elmo's Fire? The rich girl's mom - the one who whispers every time she says the word cancer - mentions it resignedly at the family dinnertable.

The line has stuck with me all these years, because it completely applied to my experience with my weight. Although in the last 10 years I can't say there have been more than a few months where I felt "thin." And by that I mean weighing less than 200 pounds. This morning I weighed 209.6, up from a low of 206.8 the other day.

I'd love to be out of the 200s by Labor Day, but I don't see it happening. I'd *really* love to be out of the 200s by the time I land in Chicago, and maybe that's a good goal to set. I'm on the slower side in my losing, mostly because I'm lazy and have slipped a bit from my model bandster ways. It's not a mystery to me why I'm not going gangbusters with this thing.

So I'm setting my goal: I have five weeks to lose either nine pounds or 6.8 pounds. That's a tall order given my recent patterns. But it's a good, solid goal.

I'm due for a small fill, scheduled on Sept. 1st. So maybe this is do-able.