My Sad Boot Tale

I had a shopping adventure on Monday at Saks Fifth Avenue, and I'll post some photos just as soon as the tailor finishes with the new clothes.

One of the things I got was a really cute black dress that would look great with knee-high boots.

{Cue dramatic music here.}

Naturally, the Saks ladies' shoe department, which famously has its own Zip code and takes up an entire floor of the department store, has not a single pair of boots to fit a lady with, um, athletic calves.

I bemoaned this to a friend of mine, who reassured me that I'd have no trouble finding extended calf boots on JCrew.com. She was right!

I found this cute pair and ordered them and they arrived and I tried them on and... well, it was very sad. They did not pull up over my calves. The extended-calf pair, that is.

So I'm back to square one with no boots and kind of bummed out about the whole thing. Is there anywhere else I could find boots that might work? Maybe a zipper would be better? I don't know.

Tummy Tuck

I've been talking for years about having a tummy tuck. I want a flat stomach, and no matter how much weight I lose, a flat stomach will require surgical intervention. With perhaps a bit of pixie dust added for good luck.

I saw a plastic surgeon last week for a tummy tuck consultation. I got this surgeon's name and number from a girlfriend who had four kids in quick succession and was in otherwise excellent shape but had a pooch that wouldn't go away. She loves him and was really happy with the way her tummy tuck went.

My main question was, how much more weight do I need to lose before I can have the surgery? Because while I haven't completely given up, there's a part of me that suspects I may never get all the way to goal. My surgery was 20 months ago. I've lost exactly 50 percent of my excess weight, which is what Allergan's studies say is typical for band patients. My weight has essentially been the same, give or take eight pounds, for the last year.

My tummy is floopy and floppy, and in addition to being a pain with clothes, it creates some awkward moments when I'm exercising and in other, similarly physical, situations. If you catch my drift. I usually wear fitted yoga pants with a long t-shirt to work out, but even then sometimes I can hear it flap-flap-flapping around in there and it's awkward.

The surgeon said he could do the surgery anytime, but that the more weight I lose, the easier the surgery is for him. He also suggested that I check with my band doc to get his go-ahead first. I see the band doc in another 10 days so I'll get his input and also ask for a couple more names so I can meet other surgeons. I'm not sure this guy has a lot of experience with lap-band patients, which I guess isn't a big deal but I'm not sure. He didn't seem worried about the port, which I assume is one of the practical issues.

I know a couple people in blog world who've had tummy tucks (Draz and Angie), and I've followed their posts on this. I know the recovery is no picnic. I know I'll have two grenade-sized drains for a whole week, and it'll take several weeks, maybe a few months, before I feel back to normal. I've heard about the binder garments that have to be worn during healing. I'm trying to figure out how I can fit this in with minimal disruption to my kids' and family's schedules. It's all a little daunting.

If you have any advice, I'd love to hear it.

Unfill

I guess the biggest band-related news is, I went for an unfill last week. Just kept having vomiting episodes, even though at 5.2 cc's my band was less full than it's been for most of the time since surgery. My surgeon was great about it, took out 0.2 cc's and I immediately felt better. In fact, we both heard the little POP when he took out the fill and things opened up and all the gunk went through instead of sitting there in my esophagus waiting to come back up.

That's a nice image, isn't it?

Anyway, for the most part I've been feeling OK since then. Tight tonight, but I attribute that to a stressful and busy day. Which hopefully will offset the pretty bad snacking spree I had yesterday.

Tomorrow marks three weeks until Hubs and I leave for our 10th anniversary trip to Italy. I've kind of fallen off the exercise wagon, so I'm setting a goal of doing 15 workouts between now and takeoff on October 5th.

Can she do it?

Stay tuned...

Eating Less, Sweating More

Well, look who fell off the blogging wagon? It wasn't because I didn't have anything to say - I kept thinking to myself, "That would make a good post!" and then not doing anything about it.

Anyway, the end of the summer has been busy in a great, end-of-the-summer way. We spent 10 days in the Adirondacks, swimming and tubing and kayaking and camping (well, Hubs and the boys camped). And because I am the mom, doing piles and piles of laundry, grocery shopping, cooking and cleaning up after endless meals, etc. The usual.

My 9-year-old worked on his dive:

After 10 summers of sitting on the sidelines, I finally learned how to drive the boat!

Hubs took the boys canoeing while my 2-year-old and I paddled behind in the kayak.


I'm still trying to catch up on everyone's blogs, but let's wrap this post up with a few bullets:

* Last time I posted, I was rocking the exercise but not so much the eating. While we were vacationing, I was so busy trying to tire out the kids that I didn't eat as much and actually lost weight despite being in a cottage with multiple packs of Hershey bars (for s'mores).

* I fell off the exercise wagon a little bit while I was away. I did a three-mile run/walk once but otherwise it was so busy that I didn't take the time for other formal workouts.

* Hurricane Irene threw a wrench into our plans, so we ended up staying an extra couple days in the mountains (and lost power up there from the storm!) and then bobbing and weaving our way home past downed trees and a couple washed-away bridges. Lots of adventure.

* We came home late Monday, the kids were supposed to start school today. Because we still have storm damage and some roads are still closed, they've pushed the start of school till Wednesday. I don't think I can handle this many more days of summer adventure. I'm exhausted.

* Yesterday morning I got a call from the Big Time Newspaper asking me to work on a storm aftermath story. I dropped everything and spent seven hours reporting, and they didn't end up using any of it. That's never happened to me. They didn't even call to tell me! I knew because I didn't get a call from the copy desk last night with questions. To add insult to injury, the story ran on the front page and they put my name in the "additional reporting by" box even though none of my reporting made it into the story. I told Gilly it's like a pity f**k. Ugh.

* I went for a tiny fill on Tuesday, went from 5.0 cc's to 5.2 cc's. Was so busy yesterday that I had nothing but iced tea until 7 pm. Can you believe that? Because people, I cannot. believe. that.

* I went back to the gym this morning, first workout in a while. TOUGH class, but I made it through and felt decently strong. YAY me!

* Oldest Child and I are road-tripping this weekend. My old roommate invited us to an airshow at her husband's military base. My son is reallllly into everything military and pilots and airplanes, so we're making the trip to see the Blue Angels perform and check out the Naval Academy.

If you're traveling this Labor Day weekend, be sure to look for me on the Jersey turnpike!

Dear Food: Why Must You Taste So Good?

Well, I'm eating too much. We've had houseguests, lots of them, and I've been using the occasion to cook and eat all my favorite things. With the results you'd expect: 213.4 this morning.

Sugar is tough, but the carbs are really killing me. I have got to dial it back in a biiiiig way with crackers, pretzels, etc. Should I just go cold turkey? Probably.

The workouts have been as consistent as they can be with the inconsistent schedule (we went to visit my family for four days last week, arrived home Sunday, more family members arrived Monday and left yesterday and we leave Saturday for a week in the Adirondacks). I've been shooting for five intense workouts a week, and I've managed to hit four or five for each of the last four weeks. Some of those workouts have been walk/runs that are part of my training program to get back into running. So that part is going great, at least.

I haven't been commenting, but I've been reading a lot of your blogs. Theresa and Jen, I sooooo feel your pain, and could have written your blog posts for you. But you did it so well, I don't need to!

Finally, I'm loving everyone's excitement about the upcoming BOOBs adventure in Chicago. So bummed I can't join you, but I know it will be a fabulously good time. Remember to thank your local planner: They're working HARD to make sure you love every minute.

Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

My band is playing games with my head. As far as I know, I have less fluid in my band right now than I've had in ages. I've even gained afew pounds, despite efforts to sidestep sliders and stick with lean protein. And exercise a lot.

Last night wasn't a great eating night: I met a friend for dinner and ended up having lobster risotto. Went down fine.

This morning, I had a cheese stick wrapped with a slice of turkey and could only eat two bites before I had to stop. Tonight, I made roasted shrimp over spinach and had to stop after two shrimp. I know shrimp can be tricky with a band, but guess what: MY BAND HAS LESS FLUID THAN IT'S HAD IN AGES.

It's just weird.

In other, happier, news, I'm kicking ass with the workouts. Went to an interval training class today and I'm feeling it. That's my fourth workout this week. Yay for that.

Wherein Gilly & Catherine Push Me Along

I have things to discuss, but I'm having weird writer's block lately when it comes to blog posts. I'm sure there's some deep psychological reason for that.

So let's do bullet points:

* My Sunday weigh-in was so abysmal that dear, sweet Gilly told me we will be accountable to each other. I started logging using LoseIt and was perplexed about the weight gain until I hit today, when I have eaten everything in sight. Sigh.

* Catherine posted her secret to getting to goal and it made me sit up and pay attention. Consequently, it's been an awesome exercise week for me. Boot camp on Monday, lap swimming Tuesday and a kick-ass Powerstrike (it's as scary as it sounds) class yesterday. Today, I rest. My muscles can't take no more. Tomorrow I'm planning another class, rest on Saturday and then on Sunday I start my training program for a 5-mile race I'd like to do in October.

* Speaking of the October race, I'd really like to run a five-miler in Central Park on Oct. 30. My knees are hinky, though, so I'm going to start the training program and see how I feel. The program only calls for three days a week of running, so maybe it's do-able.

* Because I only have 5 cc's in my band - less than I've had at any other point since just after surgery - I'm having to relearn band rules. I had been relying on sliders like soup and chili way too often. For the most part, I really can eat solid protein now so I need to step up my efforts to back off the crackers and soup and stick to the protein and veggies. Last night I had red snapper and sauteed artichoke hearts for dinner. Fabulously delicious.

It's a BRAND NEW BLOG!

Well, a new blog design, courtesy of the fabulous Jen at Just Foolin' Blog Designs. The woman is brilliant. Hire her for a little tweak or a total overhaul. You won't regret it.

I have lots to say but have been too lazy to write. Back soon to talk about boot camp, a not-so-filled band, summer adventures and preparing for a fun fall.

A Better Day

I'm rehydrated. Ahhhhhh.

My surgeon took out 0.5 cc's yesterday; he wanted to take a full 1.0 cc but I asked if he would do the half and he agreed. When I couldn't get much down for lunch yesterday, I was kicking myself. But I think the problem is exacerbated by hormones - I ovulated, so that always makes my band tighter. Oh, and it's 103 degrees today. That may have something to do with it.

I also have a barium x-ray scheduled for Monday. (Is that the same as a fluoro? No idea.) Dr. M said he thinks the band placement is fine, based on the symptoms I am describing to him, but was happy to check and make sure. I go back Wednesday to have a little bit of fluid put back in once the stomach swelling goes down. Thanks for your comments and concern, it really means a lot to me. Your suggestions are really helpful.

In other news, I am plugging away here, 205.2 today. We have a couple social events this weekend - dinner tonight with friends who are going bicoastal. They are some of my favorite people, and they have the most absolutely awesome New York City apartment I've ever been in. I could go on vacation there - every single thing is in its place (no kids, obvs) and is beautiful and meaningful. They're selling the apartment, and I'm mourning that I'll never get to see it again.

It's funny, when I moved to New York at 26 I figured most people lived in modest apartments, but I really didn't have any idea just how modest. When I met Hubs, he lived in a one-bedroom box with his grandmother's old furniture and packed IKEA bookshelves, and that was pretty impressive since he was able to live by himself in a decent neighborhood. (I rented the living room of a one-bedroom apartment from another girl, who lived in the bedroom and we shared the kitchen and bathroom in a semi-remote part of Manhattan.) Anyway, I'm sad to see our friends go, although it sounds like a great adventure for them.

Tomorrow night we are venturing into the sweltering city for dinner and to see The Book of Mormon with some other friends. I'm looking forward to seeing this show, I've heard great things about it. Was planning to wear a dress but I'm concerned I may rub my thighs raw walking from the restaurant to the theater in zillion-degree heat. I guess it's going to be a black linen pants kind of evening.

Dehydrated, And Lighter

We survived the flight, but the sipping I did on the plane came back to haunt me and I slimed my way through baggage claim, running back and forth from the claim belt to the bathroom, trudging through an under-airconditioned JFK outside to find my husband, who was waiting in a different terminal because Delta switched us at the last minute but neglected to tell anyone.

I slimed into garbage cans, sweating and trying to keep the kids on the sidewalk and the luggage cart from rolling into traffic. When we finally found Hubs, I sat miserably in the car for 45 minutes until I finally threw up into an airsick bag I nipped from JetBlue a few months ago (Delta didn't have any). It was awful.

Last night I sipped a couple - literally, a couple - ounces of tea before bed. This morning I've had a few sips of tea again, but it's not going down easily. Thank God I have an appointment today.

The thing is, I'm at 5.5 cc's, which historically has never been a problem for me. I'm sure the combination of elevation, flying and ridiculous humidity at home is exacerbating the situation. I wonder, though, if I should ask for a fluoro just to make sure everything is OK. I haven't had one since my first fill.

I weighed in a 205.4 today, which is a recent (but not all-time) low. On one hand, it's nice to be back in shouting distance of Onederland. On the other hand, I am exhausted, starving and irritable. All I can think about is being able to eat again.