B-I-N-G-...

E.

Hey, nobody's perfect, right?

Shopping & Scale Woes & Meal Ideas

Some of my clothes are getting too big (yay!) so I went shopping on Saturday.

Ladies, I am in between sizes. I'm not an 18W anymore, all of those and my 18s are too big, but the regular size 16 pants I have are too tight. I bought a 14W skirt and it's pretty loose in the waist so I don't know what's going on.

The skirt is a pretty blue silky flowy thing (I'll try to post a picture) and I wore it with a white t-shirt for Date Night with the Hubs. He likes it.

In other news, the scale is up two pounds from my low on Friday. Which is particularly irritating since I had a nasty PB yesterday (on brownie crumbs!) and ate very little and am on liquids now till dinner.

But my fingers are swollen and it's really hot and humid here, so I'm trying to relax and blame water.

Also, my basil plant has gotten ginormous and I need to use it up. I'm making some pesto but I'm not eating any pasta these days. I can drizzle it over tomatoes and mozzarella, but what else should I use it with? Ideas?

Totally Missed My Six Month Anniversary

Just realized July 4th marked six months since my surgery. I *knew* those fireworks were for something awesome.

I've lost something like 56-57 pounds. I had hoped I'd be at 60 pounds down by my six-month anniversary, but I'll happily take what I've got.

I've lost the weight with virtually no exercise. I say this not proudly but matter-of-factly. Imagine where I'd be if I actually burned some calories! This is particularly interesting to me because through my 20s and early 30s I was an avid exerciser, even when my eating wasn't good. Running, kickboxing, swimming, biking - I did them all, frequently. I'm not sure how I fell so far off the wagon with that.

I was leaning against a wall last night updating the Hubs on the day's activities when he interrupted me to say, "You're looking lean!" (I almost jumped him, but I hadn't had dinner yet. Old habits die hard.)

I'm fitting into clothes I haven't worn for years. I still can't walk very well in heels or fancy thongs. Wedges I can sort of maneuver.

I can cross my legs now.

I am below the high weight for beach chairs, even the cheap ones. That doesn't mean I don't get scared sitting on one, but it's a comfort nonetheless.

I'm still mostly avoiding the camera but I see that slowly changing.

Upcoming goals: At 60.5 pounds down I'll be halfway to my ultimate goal, and I am less than 10 pounds from the mythical Onederland.

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Also, I've never done it before, but here's Drazil's BYOC:

1. Love or money? High salary or job satisfaction?
Love, hands down, but definitely high salary. I had great job satisfaction, I loved loved loved it. But I could not have supported my family on it, and that scared me.

2. Favorite time of day?
Night.

3. Do you have a will? Did you tell anyone your wish to be kept alive or not?
Yes. We did our wills a few months before we got married, and have updated along the way. We both have living wills, and we are each others' ultimate deciders on that front.

4. Pick one thing you will do next week to aid your health.
I will go to Zumba. Maybe even twice!

5. Whose comment or blog stuck with you this week?
Barbara's comment that I am close to Onederland caught me by surprise. I hadn't thought of it that way - it has always seemed so far off - and it almost literally jolted me when I read her note. In a good way.

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!