These are a few of my favorite things...

I just thought I would share a few of my favorites right now...

My new kicks! I have always been a New Balance girl...but I decided to break out of my comfort zone and try a different brand. These are Asics and so far so good!

My tervis tumbler...when I gave up my 5 a day diet dp habit (I know, awful right?) this cup saved my life. It gave me something to focus on when I wanted to pop open a dp. It was a new ritual, and now I have one at home and one a work and you rarely see me without it.

Now you may be asking what is that pink elixar that my cup is filled with?

Why it is none other than the fabulous Crystal Light....I LOVE this stuff. It gives my water a little kick and helps me get down those 10 glasses a day.

And life wouldn't be complete without my sugar free popsicle. MMMMMM....15 calories of goodness. I would have taken a picture with an orange one but....I ate them already!!!!!

BTW, have you ever tried to take a picture with a popsicle? It took a few tries to make sure that I didn't look like I was auditioning for an adult film... :)

Currently I am still holding steady on the scale. I have worked out twice this week and am thinking about starting the C25K program. I have picked out a 5K for a little over a month from now. It will be my first race in about 5 years. I may have to do it by myself, because I am kind of emotional about it and if I cry when I cross the finish line, I don't really think I want anyone there with me...is that weird?

Anywho...I hope you enjoyed my poem yesterday. I was just so excited about not having to shell out the money for a new sports bra...and just so you know, the girls were sufficiently reigned in this morning. Now if I could just figure out a way to keep my butt from jiggling so much. Thank goodness the mirrors are behind me, I don't think I would be able to run otherwise. Goodnight all!

New Blogger Alert!!!

My good friend who got banded a week before me has started a blog! I told her about how awesome this community was and all the support you guys give. So she decided to start a blog as well! Please go check her out and give her some love!
http://queentaskinny.blogspot.com/

Ode To the Old Ragged Sports Bra

To my dear ragged sports bra,

Who ran with me on my very first race.

 

I found you in the dresser drawer,

Tucked behind a bra with lace.

With trembling hands I thought I’d try

To see if you still fit.

And with disbelief I slipped you on,

And the seams they did not split.

I’ve missed the way you held me tight,

You kept the bounce at bay.

And that my friends is how I share

My NSV today!!!!!!!

Burritos and Boobs

Well, I haven't lost all 5 of those pounds....YET. I didn't work out Thursday or Friday last week but I did workout on Saturday and again this mornring so yea! I need to update my ticker because today is my official weigh in day and I need to be honest. :) I was soooo close to the 50 pound mark but I am certain that I will get there soon.

I need to add bean burritos to my list of foods I can't eat now. Wow, was that unpleasant. Has anyone ever PB'd bean burrito in their hand because they couldn't make it to the bathroom fast enough?

No? Oh ok mean neither then.

On the workout front, it is time for me to get a new sports bra. I almost gave myself a black eye this morning so I would love some suggestions. Hope everyone has a great Monday!

Welcome to the Magic Show

Wanna see me pull a rabbit out of my hat? NO?

How about gain 5 pounds in one day? No, I didn't want to see that either but it HAPPENED!
How? How does that happen?
Did I go to El Fenix last night? Yes.
Did I have some chips and salsa? Yes.
Did I have one and only one cheese enchilada? Yes
Did I avoid having a margartia? Yes.

So how does all of that equal 5 lbs?
I have even started exercising and have done 4 out of the last 6 days.

Dang, dang blankity dang.

Well the good news is that tomorrow is Friday and payday. Hallelujah!

PS - I really wish I could join the B.O.O.B.S. in Chicago! Can I stow away in someone's suitcase????

It's All in My Head

So I am sitting here...stuck...absolutely stuck. And all I can think about is when I am going to get unstuck so I can have another bite. What is WRONG with me? I literally cannot swallow one more bit of food and I still want to eat? I am really going to have to work on this. I really wasn't even crazy hungry to begin with but it was 6:30 and I had only had about 600 calories today so I knew I needed to eat something...and now...stuck. Ugh!

I guess the silver lining is that I really do have restriction! Now if I can just use this power for good.

Oh crap...let the sliming begin.

Day 2 of the 5am workout...

DONE!

Let's hope that today goes as well as yesterday. This is probably one of the hardest weeks stress wise and I am going to do my best to avoid all the back to school sweets in the lounge and my cravings for a big 'ol Chipotle burrito for dinner. My band is pretty tight in the mornings so here's hoping my restriction holds and my will power! Have a great day everyone!

Day of Firsts

So today was the first day of school and my goal as the principal is to "get 'em in, get 'em fed, and get 'em home." And I have to say we were successful. The 108 degree heat didn't help much but we all got through, although I am pretty sure I was almost a puddle on the sidewalk. Let me tell you ladies, I got sweat in places there should not be sweat. I think I am going to have to put deodorant under my boobs tomorrow...did I go too far?

Anyway, as promised here is a picture of the dress that I wore, and this was another first. I have never worn a dress to school! Can you believe that? I have worked in the same building for 10 years and this is the first time ever!

And since I forgot to take a picture before I left the house, this was taken in the clinic restroom. Please excuse the toilet and the emergency wheel chair in the mirror. :)

And my final first of the day is.....

I GOT UP AND WORKED OUT BEFORE WORK TODAY!!!!!

Don't believe me????

This is what 5 am looks like at the track, and nope that is not a street light shining in the sky. It is the  moon. It was a blazing 85 degrees even at 5 in the morning. However, I felt really good all day and I am going to try to go again tomorrow morning....because if you ladies think I am even setting foot outside in this triple digit heat with the intention of participating in some physical fitness you have got to be smoking crack. :)

Dripping in Dallas,

Angela

PS - Thanks to Jen I had a great new playlist to listen too!

My Neighbors Think I'm Crazy...

and you may too after you read this blog. So as I mentioned before, I got a fill on Friday and I have to say that although I don't think this is my sweet spot, I DO believe that I am finally at a point where I can work my band and it makes its presence know during meals.

Case in point: I had a coupon for a free pizza from Papa Murphy's (they are like a take and bake pizza place, really, really good) So I picked up my thin crust vegetarian, brought it home and baked it. After one piece I was full. Not I'm going to PB full, but full. So what did I do? I went and got another piece....and ate it. Then I thought to myself. OK, it's time to stop and I didn't have another piece until 45 minutes later. When I started for my fourth piece I decided I had better do something about this situation...

Oh no she didn't!!!! Oh yes she did!!! I threw that pizza away. Restriction only works if you can STOP FREAKING EATING. And I was pretty sure I wasn't going to stop. I could have gone on eating one piece every 45 minutes or so until I had made myself sick and then what would have been learned? Although throwing the food away maybe only taught me that I should never cook a pizza just for me. I hate wasting food, but it was either me or the pizza, and I choose me.

(And my neighbor saw me taking pictures of my trash, hence the title of my post)

Tomorrow is the first day of school, although I have been back to work since the middle of July. I am excited to get the kiddos back in the building and get down to business. I have new dress for the first day and I will take pics and post them soon.

Music that Makes You Move

I have been trying to put together a playlist for working out. The last one I made was like 5 years ago...sigh. So as I was going through the songs I have on iTunes I came across this one. It always makes me happy and want to get up and dance. :) You may remember it from the movie Love Actually. It is one of my favorite scenes ever! I hope you enjoy!



What songs make you move? I am open to suggestions...

Seriously?!? Seriously!!!

So yesterday I was driving to the doctor to get my 4th fill (more on that later) and my mom called to ask me a question. It went something like this...

Me: Hello?
Mom: Hi honey...can I ask you a question?
Me: Sure...(Had I known what she was about to ask me I would faked a traffic accident and hung up)
Mom: Do you feel comfortable talking to me about our (my mom and dad's) sex life?
Me: (After some mental freaking out and trying not to have an actual accident) Ummm....sure?

Now I have to give you a little history so you can understand why she would probably even bring this up with me. My dad was diagnosed about 5 years ago with a disease similiar to Parkansins but it has several other mental and physical complications that are slowly eating away at his quality of life. So my mom and I are kind of going through this journey together and we talk about EVERYTHING that is going on with my dad so that we can make sure we are meeting his needs and staying on top of his symptoms as best we can....so keeping that in mind, as much as I wanted to say "My eyes are burning with the mental pictures this is creating and I will be forever scarred if this conversation continues!!!!!" I said "Ummmm...sure?"

We then proceeded to have a very clinical, well as clinical as I could make it, conversation that included but was not limited to the following topics: vibrators, lube, oral sex, and sex toy catalogs. Now keep in mind that my mother is a prude...very straight laced and does NOT talk about sex. She won't even talk to her own sister about it...which just leaves me. It was horribly eye opening and I don't know if I will recover...or if my mom will because she sure learned some new stuff about me too. ;) OMG!!! Ok...I feel better now that I have shared that experience...kind of.

Now about the fill. This was my fourth fill and it brought me up to 7cc in and 11cc band. I have been doing liquids all day yesterday and will try some mushies tonight. Here's hoping for some better restriction. I can kind of tell a difference already with water. It definitely goes down slower so maybe this is it! Hope everyone has a great weekend. I am working on a more detailed post about me and my history with food, fat, and weight loss but it is taking me a while. I really am trying to take my time and reflect on where I have been so that I will never go back there again!

And since I like pictures...

Here is a picture of me the smallest I can remember. It was about 6 years ago and I believe I weighed about 200 lbs. Can't wait to get back there.

I can't believe my fat a#% fit in that....and a heartfelt thank you!

So every year for work we gather together as a whole district to celebrate the beginning of another school year (I am an elementary school principal) at a local events center. And every year I get anxious about sitting in the stadium seats. I can never slide all the way back, end up having permanent indentions on my hips from the arms of the chair and am pretty much miserable. If I wasn't the principal and therefore the "role model" (if you knew me, you would how ridiculous that sounds) then I just wouldn't go at all but....it is what it is.

And so, just like every year, I roll up to the events center early and start roping off rows of seats so my staff can all sit together. I have of course saved myself a seat at the end of the row and wait to sit down until the very last minute, so as the preserve my hips. Now imagine my surprise when I sat down and was able to sit all the way back in the chair!!!!! Total NSV that I wasn't even expecting!!! Now, I have to clarify that there was NO wiggle room in that chair but I definitely fit. Yea me! I can't wait to start going to concerts again.

And now for the thank you...

I have been plugging along on my own for the last 5 months of this journey. I have been on the fringes of blog land, not really committing to writing down my experiences and quietly "lurking" around other people's sites. I finally decided that I would really be upset with myself if I didn't document and validate the changes that I am making in my life, and decided to start updating my blog again.

Last night I stumbled upon Amy over at Babbles of a Bandster, and I was so moved by her writing that I spent the whole evening reading through her blog. I was so inspired by her, that I posted a little comment to let her know that I thought she was great. Cut to this evening, I log into my account and find that I have comments where there were none before, and I have followers, where there was only one before...and I started crying. Isn't that crazy? Sweet, sweet Amy posted my site on her blog and told people to check it out. And I know that this happens all the time but I guess I didn't realize how it would make me feel, which is pretty damn good. So thank you AMY!!! You exemplify what this whole support system is about. Even if I don't get anymore followers or comments, the ones I got were wonderful and mean a great deal.

It's just nice to know I am not alone...so thanks. :)

Weight Loss on Fast Forward

Ok...being new here I had read many of the blogs out there from beginning to end. Most of them I read before surgery, which means I was delirious from hunger, and some I read right after surgery, which means I was delirious from pain meds. And just recently I found another one that prompted me to read it from beginning to end and as much as I am inspired and in awe of these awesome ladies...I inadvertently created a false sense of reality. I read these amazing journeys which lasted in reality months and months but in my own little world, they all lost around 100lbs a couple of weeks. Go lap band right? Wrong! I know that that kind of weight loss is not possible but reading about others successes makes me want it that much more and it makes me wish I had started that much sooner. Ahhhh...it makes the plateaus that much harder. It is crazy the little games our minds play...huh? Does this even make any sense? It is kind of late and I really should have gone to bed about 2 hours ago but frustration is keeping me up...and hunger. I am trying to avoid the kitchen....just go to sleep...just go to sleep....don't even think about the cookie dough in the fridge...why do I even have cookie dough in my fridge? Just more questions to keep me up. Thanks for reading...is anyone reading?

Photo Op

I was looking at some of the blogs out there that had some comparison shots and I tried to find some pictures of me at my heaviest so I could do the same. It was kind of hard to do since I have avoided the camera like crazy for the last few years. But I managed to find one that I had to take for work and the comparison shot is from last night before my cousins and I went out to do a little karaoke.

And since I couldn't resist, here is a picture of us in action. American Idol here we come!

Have a great weekend!!! Have my 4th fill on Friday and I am sooooo ready.