A month almost?

Sheesh! Has it already been almost a month since I posted that? Wow.

Like I said before, if I'm not posting, it's not because I'm doing well. At this point it's because I'm still struggling to make any progress. Up and down and up and down and up the scale. It's been rough. I'm back to the same weight I was when I got my last fill. Or at least that's where I was before Thanksgiving. I haven't weighed myself in a few days.

As of December 1st, I'm going to be part of a group health challenge. It's based on the Game on! Diet book. It's similar to the one I did a year and a half ago, but it's more structured and strict. I think this will be just the thing to help me get back into the swing of things. It will be great, too to have it go through this month of holidays and birthdays and anniversaries. It can be a dangerous month indeed!

Scale Tales

I think I'm making myself a little crazy with daily weigh ins. Still, it seems the best way to keep focused on what I'm doing.

I see fluctuations of as much as 7 pounds from one day to the next. I have had really great eating for the last two days. The morning after the first day my weight went up a few pounds. No worries. I know I'm doing the right things for my body, so I just keep going. This morning, my weight was down 7 pounds from that weight, for a total of 6 pounds lost since my fill. Hopefully I can keep things going in a downward trend.

It's working!

Down 4 pounds now, since my fill. Yay!!

The wonderful thing is that I think I can maintain this level of eating. It feels normal with effort made to make good choices.

:)

I did so well today! I'm really happy. I was able to not snack much between lunch and dinner.

I also had a victory of sorts with sweets. My girls are out of school today and wanted a snack. I decided to make them some no-bake cookies. I had two of them and then took a nap. I asked my oldest daughter to have them put away in a container somewhere hidden when I woke up so I wouldn't eat any more. It worked. I was totally in control of what I ate of those.

We also went for a walk as a family today. The weather was absolutely perfect. I've really been enjoying this beautiful fall here.

Doing well!

Things are going well since this last fill. I'm able to make better food choices and get full faster. I love it.

One area I need to work on is afternoon, between lunch and dinner. That's probably where I get the most calories of the day. If I can distract myself during this time, I think I'll be able to get fewer calories in.

I've lost one pound since the fill. Here's hoping for many more of those.

Still here!

You can pretty much count on the fact that if I'm not posting much it's because I am struggling. This last year has been so hard. It was about a year ago that I found out I was pregnant. Because of my choices and circumstances I have lost so much ground on the weight battle. I thought I could get the weight off fairly easily after Aaron was born, but not so. I have struggled and struggled and the weight I lost right after he was born is coming back on, slowly but surely.

I'm not going to say that I can't do this weight loss thing without the help of the Lapband, but the truth is, I haven't. I haven't, in my adult life, been successful at losing weight or let's be honest, even maintaining my weight without the band. So I'm going to stop being stubborn and wishing that I am the same as everyone else and just take advantage of the band and the knowledge I have gained from having it.

I have had two fills over the last few weeks. The band holds 10 ccs of saline. The first fill I got was 2 ccs. I had a little bit of restriction, but not much. This second one I was able to get 3 ccs of fluid in. (She suggested 1cc, but I asked for 3 and she agreed.) I have had one day of regular eating since this fill. I'm able to tell a significant difference.

I am not nearly as restricted as I was pre-pregnancy, but I'm at a good level. I can eat without a lot of trouble, but I do get full quicker and stay satisfied longer. I feel a great relief to some of the struggle.

I need to be careful about my food choices, or this won't make a lick of difference. I think I'm going to write out a food plan for the week. I'm going to plan my meals in advance so that I'm not standing in front of the fridge wondering what I should eat. That tends to lead to poor choices.

I have become lax on a few band guidelines over the last year. I'm going to recommit to following them better:

Not drinking with meals. I was so good at this before. I need to get back to it.

Focusing on protein. My food needs to be protein dense for the most part.

I made a yummy protein packed treat tonight. I blended a cup of 1% milk fat cottage cheese till it was smooth and then added it to 1 package of Sugar Free Pistachio Pudding and 1 cup of 1% milk. I divided it up into four servings. Each serving had nine grams of protein. It was like pudding, but thicker and creamier. I topped it off with a little light spray whipped cream.

My exercise lately has been mostly the basic T-tapp workout. I think I am going to add some walking videos to it. It's getting colder and it's hard to get outside with the kids. I've also had some ankle pain that has kept me from walking much. I hurt it about a month ago and it's still not 100% better.

I anticipate that I will be doing better than I have been, so I'm likely to post more often. Stay tuned!

Moving along

Well, after three different sets of family visiting, having a wonderful time with them and enjoying way too much yummy food, I'm almost back to the weight I was before the visits. It is crazy to me how fast I gain weight. Though, this time, as soon as I got back on track it has come off fast as well.

I'm still hoping to reach my first weight goal by September 1st. I've also exercised 4 days in a row, successfully. I can feel my stamina and my strength returning. Yay!