Fruit and Veggies

The crazy heat has subsided a little, but it's still ridiculously humid. I hate humidity. It makes me cranky.

Moving on... I want to thank whoever it was who advised me to put the chicken salad in the food processor. Maybe Cindylew? I don't remember, but I did and my lunch is so much more pleasant now. And I used Nicole's recipe (substituting chives for green onions because that's what's in my herb pot) so it's all kinds of power protein. Thanks to both of you!

The scale was down a little bit again today, so things are moving and I am delighted. I really have scaled back my eating, I keep trying to figure out what the difference is and I'm not sure. I still can't comfortably eat much before noon or 1 pm. But I'm going to keep trying to drink - water, Dunkin Donuts iced tea or Starbucks green tea - and maybe even go to the gym again. I still haven't been back since I threw up all over the parking lot and then again in the car. Kind of mortified. But I'd like to go back to Zumba (different place). That was really fun.

I keep reading about some of you eating steak and sandwiches. I haven't tried a single bite of steak since I was banded, although I've been tempted to have a bite of filet mignon. But I don't usually cook filet and I have zero interest in bringing on a PB in a restaurant. So you see the problem.

Of more concern is that I'm not eating a lot of vegetables. I've had a lot of tomato and mozzarella salads for lunch lately, so that helps. I eat avocado, some grapes and berries. And artichokes. Have I mentioned that?

What fruits and vegetables do you like that go down easily for you?

Also, I want to clarify my comment yesterday about capris: I have no plans to wear shorts. I'm just looking for lightweight summer pants. I have a couple pairs that work, but it's harder to find than you'd think.

FIFTY-SIX

First, I want to send out my best wishes to Kathy, Catherine's mom. I'm wishing you a speedy recovery. Feel better soon!

I lost 2.6 pounds over vacation, which brings me to 56 pounds down. Last night I weighed in at 211.6 but this morning two-ten!!! Really happy about that, and considering a permanent move to Utah so I can continue losing at a quicker rate.

I was certainly busier and had less time for snacking, but we ate at restaurants several times. I had some wine but not a lot, and I still did eat some M&Ms and birthday cake so it's not like I was forsaking sweets. I'll have to spend some time thinking about this and figuring out what the biggest factors were, and how to replicate them at home! I have not been a quick loser lately, so 2.6 in a week is a lot for me. (Joey and Amy W - ZIP IT.)

NSV: My husband stayed home with the baby while we were in Utah, and our little guy's 5th birthday was on Monday. We Skyped so the Hubs could chat with D on his birthday and watch him open his presents. When I saw my picture in the video window, I didn't cringe nearly as much as I normally do. I didn't look awesome, but I didn't look like Jabba the Hutt either. That was a nice change.

My pants are starting to get big on me. Also, Amy W was totally right: Capris have no place on short people. Alas, most of my summer pants are capris (I haven't worn shorts in years and years). They truly look awful on me, and I need to cut them out of my wardrobe forever.

I'll be spending a few days catching up on your blogs. xoxo

Picture Pages, Picture Pages

I went hiking today. Not incredibly strenuous hiking, but hiking nonetheless, up high in the Wasatch mountain range. It was amazing.

My parents and I took the boys on a geocaching adventure. A tour company set up a scavenger hunt for us, and gave the kids GPS units preprogrammed with six waypoints. At each waypoint was a box with some kind of prize - lifesavers, some stickers, juice boxes. It was SO MUCH FUN. The boys loved it, and so did I. We had gorgeous, gorgeous weather and they had so much fun playing around with the GPS's and discovering the treasures.

My parents were total rock stars, game for anything.



I wouldn't have had a good time doing this hike 50+ pounds ago. I'm not sure I would have been able to finish it, and I know I wouldn't have been able to do some of the climbs. I was so happy to be able to enjoy it and really be able to keep up. I mean, keep up with 5-, 6-, and 7-year-olds, but you get the idea.

The boys hung out with a sitter tonight and watched "Tooth Fairy." Mom, Dad and I went out for a great dinner. It was a spectacular day.

Can you see the reflection of our waiter taking the picture with my phone?

Also, do you see that little bit of light by my left hip? THAT IS OPEN SPACE, PEOPLE!!!

Incidentally, my port pain is gone. I didn't call my doctor because I won't be home till Tuesday so there's nothing he could do for me now anyway. I'll mention it at my next appointment, and I'll call if it pops up again. Thanks for your input on that.

Port Pain

Today I have pain in my port area. It doesn't hurt if I touch or palpate it, but it hurts when I'm walking, sitting, etc, and only in that area.

Anyone ever have this? Do I need to do something about it? My surgery was Jan. 4 and I haven't had any port pain at all in months, this just popped up this morning. I didn't do any strenuous exercise.

What say you, bloggers?

Checking in

Hello from Park City! I have to say, I do think there's something to that study from a few months ago that people have reduced appetites at higher altitudes. Between noon and 10 pm yesterday, I had not a single thing to eat. Not by design, just the usual madness of Day One of vacation - the flight, the drive, the grocery store, the unpacking, getting the kids fed and settled in bed. I was so tired I had some Doritos Munchies Mix and went to bed.

Today I had a Zone bar for breakfast, lots of water, some turkey, mozzarella and tomato for lunch and fish tacos without the tortilla for dinner. Almost no snacking, which is virtually unheard-of for me.

My parents and I took my two sons and my nephew (ages practically 5, 6, 7 and three quarters) to the Utah Olympic Park to check out the site of some of the winter Olympic games in 2002. The best part was definitely the freestyle ski jumping exhibition - the jumpers climb up huge ramps and then fly off into a swimming pool. There's a whole viewing area, and every time a jumper went a little further up the ramp the crowd would chant, "High-er, high-er, high-er," and then scream and clap as the jumper came hurtling down. Lotta peer pressure there.

We took the boys to dinner on Main Street, then let them run at full speed uphill after they finished their ice cream. Which turned out not to be the best idea, since my oldest threw up within 20 minutes of arriving back at the house. Sigh. Clorox Cleanup is my friend.

Up in the Clouds

The boys and I are midflight on our way to meet my parents and nephew in Utah for a week of hiking and exploring.

No seatback TVs on this flight, alas, but they do have WiFI so at least I can plug the boys into Hulu.com if things get desperate. There's a family behind us with a 15-month-old who is utterly miserable, kicking and screaming and having a conniption because she has to sit still for so long. I feel terrible for the parents, I know that stress well. It does make me glad I left the baby home with the Hubs, and it assuages my guilt a little bit.

The scale was down a little again this morning, to 212.2. I don't think the house we're staying in has a scale, so that may have to be my weigh-in challenge weight. We'll see.

I think the scale movement is at least a little because I've cut way back on wine. Bummer. I'll always have weekends...

The immediate challenge for me is to not eat my way through this flight. I tend to snack incessantly on planes. I'll let you know how it goes...

Weigh-In

Finally, the scale is moving! 213.2 this morning, thanks to leaving my cousin's grad party yesterday before dessert and arriving at last night's 50th birthday part after appetizers and missing the cake too.

Hallelujah!

MAGIC MIRROR!!

I was in Target today with my boys and glanced over at my reflection in a mirror. It was miraculous! I had grown a good five inches and dropped another 50 pounds! I looked AWESOME. So much so that I had to take a photo to show you.

It was a pleasure to see that hot version of myself, and kudos to Target for making everyone feel better-looking in Target merch. For comparison purposes, I had my 7-year-old snap a picture of reality. Please excuse the wet hair.

The differences are subtle, but boy do they add up.

In other news, I was down a pound today. Fingers crossed for weigh-in tomorrow. NSV: I wore heels tonight without feeling that my feet might explode.

Does This Happen to You?

I've had this problem for a couple years now: I get lots of tiny holes in my shirts, right where the shirts hit the button and zipper on my pants. I assume this is because my belly is so freakin' big (and it never did this before, so I may have some leeway to blame it on pregnancies). I WANT IT TO STOP. Perfectly good shirts have been ruined by this, and it's irritating. Plus, my 4-year-old is always saying, "Mom, why does your shirt have holes?" because it's right at eye level for him.

Anyone else run into this? It's better if I wear a camisole under my shirt, but it's summer and I'm not interested in layering.

We're road-tripping tonight and tomorrow to see family in PA and NJ, then rushing home tomorrow night for my husband's partner's 50th birthday party. I'm sure I'll be a barrel of laughs by the time we hit that shindig. However, the guy is a total wine lover, so I imagine the wine calories I've been saving all week will be well spent there.

The scale this morning showed 216.4. Not a lot of movement going on here. I don't think I need a fill because I'm really tight in the morning and at lunchtime I'm still not able to eat a whole lot of solids (hence the black bean soup I have most days). I haven't eaten steak since before my surgery, I've had hamburger meat a couple of times when it's really crumbled, and I occasionally have chicken salad, although that hasn't gone down smoothly all the time.

I'm getting a little more into exercise and trying to drink more, which is easier in the summer anyway. Trying to ditch calories from alcohol because they're unnecessary. I'm probably snacking too much, and I haven't given up chocolate.

Any suggestions?

ZOOOOOOOMBA

So I finally got around to taking a zumba class today. I can't dance for shit so I checked with the instructor ahead of time because it was held at a dance studio. She assured me I didn't need experience, and she was right. So were all of you guys: It was SO MUCH FUN. Small class, just five of us and the instructor. I loved it, I really did enjoy it enough that I didn't feel like I was working too hard. My right foot and right knee felt it, though, so I'll have to be careful. But I will definitely go back.

I am (mostly) over my snit about the tight band and PB yesterday. Thanks for the sympathy and compassion. I had a Zone bar for breakfast and some soup for lunch and all is going down fine. I'm having an artichoke tonight, come hell or high water, so I'm being really careful before then. We're supposed to be having Chinese at my mother-in-law's house tonight because some cousins are visiting from Houston, but I'm planning to have a little soup and wait till I get home to enjoy my delectable artichoke.

I just finished a great book, The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance by Elna Baker. It's a memoir by a formerly fat Mormon girl who's trying to launch a performing career and find the love of her life while remaining a virgin in New York City. It was great, partly because I moved to New York after losing a boatload of weight and some of our experiences were similar (minus the preserving virginity part). The books spends a lot of time talking about how Elna's life changed as she lost weight, how the world treated her differently and changed the way she saw other people. Anyway, I totally enjoyed it and wanted to pass it on.