Get down, Get down

So I am down the 4 I was up, plus another 2 for a total of 67. Right on! 3 more away from 70! Also, my BMI (body mass index) is now down 10 points! Tonight I am going to the gym with Steph and Carolyn - finally! I'm hoping D will join us if she's feeling up to it too.

XO

Thanksfattening

I have learned that even with my shiny new lap band, I am not immune to gaining weight over the holidays. ;O) I was up 4 lbs today! I had been so busy cooking and entertaining, that I had not entered my daily calories into fitday.com. I caught up on the past few days this morning, and I was averaging 1900 calories the past few days. Normally, if I did not have a lap band, that would be on the low end of what an adult female should eat in one day, so it's not a huge amount. However, when you compare that to the usual 1100 calories per day I had been eating (almost always unable to reach the 1500-1600 I'm supposed to), it's quite a spike!

At first I wondered how that was even possible, since on normal days, I have to struggle to even get to 1300, but I realized I didn't eat more food than usual, I just ate food that wasn't as healthy. I normally cook everything light, and for Thanksgiving, I didn't. So just eating the meal on Thanksgiving, and then leftovers all day yesterday, even in small quantities brought me to the high calorie realm and into a gain. I also think the gain is due to bloating, since I have had a lot more salt/sodium these past few days then I am used to.

I am not discouraged, and I am sure a few days of being back on track will not only allow me to drop these 4 lbs, but hopefully more as well!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

KC

A hop, skip and a drop

Today I was down 3 lbs from 2 days ago, to make a total of 65. Normally, I only lose one lb at a time, but 3 at once was a treat! :) 5 lbs until 70!

This should be an interesting week with Thanksgiving and all... I'm making about five different desserts, and it's a good thing I don't like desserts because I'm a good cook!

Actually, I am a good cook, but I'm not the worlds best baker, so this will be tedious work for me. With cooking, you can estimate and make it up as you go. Baking is a science, and I am an artist, and we do not get along. Baked goods do not react well to my added flair. I pity them, and their conformist nature. ;-)

I have tomorrow off, and I will spend the whole day baking and preparing for Thursday. Why do I spend so much time on something I do not like to do and I do not like to eat? Because you gotta give the people what they want! Wish me luck with this endeavor.

KC

And another one...

Today I was down a total of sixty two pounds. I'm eight pounds away from 70, and for some reason, that sounds like a LOT to me. Anything 70 or over sounds like so much more than the amounts I have already lost. I'm not sure why that is, but it's definitely going to be a milestone. (Technically - prize wise - my next "milestone" is 75, and that's now just 13 lbs away!)

I still haven't been doing as well as I should with the calories. Friday I had 1200 and yesterday 920. I am much hungrier in the morning and first half of the day than the second half, so I need to try to eat more from morning to mid afternoon and just have a light dinner.

I made a very succulent port butt yesterday. I massaged onion powder and garlic salt into it, and then seared it and cooked it in the crock pot with pearl onions, potatoes and beef and chicken bouillon all day. The meat just fell right off the bone, and it was SO tender. Yum - try it! So easy and SO good.

XO

KC

Chipping away

I'm down 61 lbs today. The past 3 weeks, I've been on the track of losing 3-4 lbs each week, which is double what I am supposed to be doing. (I'm not complaining!)

I am still struggling getting enough calories in. Yesterday I was at 1000, and the day before 1375. I'll keep plugging away!

I haven't been to the gym all week: Monday was a holiday, Tuesday I didn't get home until 9, Wednesday I was exhausted because I had a hard time sleeping on Tuesday night, but Thursday is a new day, and I'm ready to hit the gym tonight!

Steph and Carolyn: you said you were joining this week! Where are you???

That's all for now; have a great day!

KC

977

Yesterday I had 977 calories. I had the day off and I was out and about and Christmas shopping and running errands, and I just ate when I was hungry, and I landed at 977. Getting to 1500-1600 per day is going to be a big struggle it seems. Who would have thought that I would ever say that?!

Today I am going to try harder to reach 1500. It would probably be a lot easier to do if I didn't make my food so healthy. ;-/ Yesterday I bought myself a new crock pot, and I made corned beef, which I looooooove, though I know it's disgusting. I had two choices: one cut was 19 fat grams per serving, and the other was 5. I knew that for corned beef to only have 5 grams of fat in it, it was going to be some kind of shoe leather, but I chose that one, and I was right. It still has (kind of) that corned beef taste, but it's dry and tough. If I picked the fattier one, I probably would have been closer to my goal of 1500 calories yesterday, and I may have even lost weight in addition to actually enjoying my meal. :)

Now I know that I should not reach my calorie goal by eating unhealthy foods...I'm just saying it would be easier to get there because I can eat smaller volume and get there sooner. With healthy foods, it takes a lot!

Wish me luck today!

KC

60 lbs gone forever!

I like that I can say that because when I dieted in the past, I always knew deep down that I would probably regain the weight, even though I really hoped I wouldn't. With this band, it's a new chapter in my life, and the weight I lose is weight I lose forever.

Yesterday I ate 1539 calories, and today I was not only down the water weight I was up yesterday, but I was also down an additional 2 lbs, to make a total of 60!

It's funny that eating more makes me lose weight, but I get it because my body must have been in starvation mode. I just don't want to get used to eating this much, and then feel deprived when I get down to 1200, but I'm sure I'll be just fine. I'll be smaller then anyway.

Today is a holiday, so I have it off. The boat ride was a blast yesterday, and I'm hoping I will use today to finish my house cleaning and do some more Christmas shopping, but I kind of want to do something fun too. We shall see...

75 lbs is my next milestone goal (when I get myself a prize), and I wonder when I'll hit it.

So far, I lost 35 lbs before surgery, 22 in the month after the surgery, and 3 in the week following. I'm really only supposed to lose 2 lbs each week, so at that rate, it would be around the end of the year. That would be great!

Have a great day!

KC

Calories per day

As I mentioned, I started tracking my calories per day on fitday.com, in an effort to reach the 1500-1600 calories per day I am supposed to be consuming. Yesterday I reached 1250, and it was an effort. Today I will try harder, if I can. This morning, I was up a few lbs on the scale. I know it's just water weight, and that happens from time to time, and I'm always fine the next day, but I can't say that I like it. I realize, if I increase my daily intake from 600-800 to 1500-1600, it will be natural to gain a few lbs before I start losing again, but again, I don't have to like it!

Today we are going on the last boat ride of the season. I am really looking forward to that! We set sail at noon, so I want to finish cleaning the house and get to the gym (if there's time) first.

I added a new recipe to lowphatcooking.blogspot.com - it is yummy and vegilicious! Check it out! Thank you, BS, for inspiring this creation!

I think that's it for now. Have a wonderful day!

KC

Smart Ones

Now that I have started to eat soft foods, I am noticing I am getting full faster than I was before my fill. I realize this could change soon, since I am not really supposed to feel the effects from one fill, but it's interesting! I feel like I have a preview of my future when I finally get to the right restriction point.

I had a smart ones weight watcher meal for lunch. I used to think those things were the biggest joke. Of course you can eat whatever you want if it's the size of a thimble! When I was dieting, if I had a Lean Cuisine or a Smart Ones for lunch, I always had to have snacks with it to try to get full. I probably could have eaten 10 of them at a time if I wasn't concerned with the calories.

Today, I couldn't finish my meal! I tried, and I got SO full. I had to eat it in two sittings. It is going to be tough getting to 1500-1600 calories per day if I get full this fast, but again, I don't think my appetite will stay like this. If it did, I probably wouldn't need any more fills!

In an effort to consciously raise my daily caloric intake, I have registered on fitday.com - it's cool - it tracks everything you eat! It also tracks your exercise and your weight loss, etc... I recommend it.

It's time to go to the grocery store! I look forward to planning meals with real food for this coming week!

KC

Oh yeah

And I'm still down 58 lbs. I know these next two are going to be tough because it always takes longer when I'm close to a big number! To cheer myself up, I have included a picture of Bessie (to your right) to show you what 58 lbs looks like.

Not a bad loss!

;-)

Mush it good

Today I am on mushies!

Technically, I was supposed to wait until lunch time today, but I figured breakfast was close enough. I had scrambled eggs.

I am taking my nutritionists advice and having four small meals each day. At 10:15 I had my first lunch, which was a small serving of the chicken casserole I made. I know it's not mashed potatoes, but trust me - it's mushy! At 12:30, I had lunch # 2, same thing, and I am full! I think it's possible I may have started to feel some restriction, but I'm not going to start dancing in the streets quite yet.

It is probably just a result of my new fill, and within a few days, I will probably be back to normal. For now, however, I will enjoy it.

I went to the gym twice yesterday. Once by myself for cardio and tanning, and then later to Hampshire Hills with the girls. We played basketball (I was painfully terrible last night), and then I did laps in the pool. I love doing laps. I can't believe how much more of a cardio work out it is for me than the bike!

I am hoping to hit the gym for a bit this evening as well.

2 days of mushies and then I'm back to normal. Mushies rock compared to liquids, though. Let me tell you... !

:)

Enjoy your day!

KC

Not lovin' the liquids

I have to tell you, after a full month of a liquid diet (with a few delightful exceptions), and then another 2 weeks after surgery, going back to this liquid diet after my first fill is not really fun for me. I didn't mind the diet prior to surgery because I was so focused on being as healthy as possible for surgery, and I didn't mind the diet after surgery because I could hardly get anything down, but after my first fill, I don't really feel any restriction, so I'm sure I could eat something if I wanted to. If I have 5 instant breakfast shakes per day, as I am supposed to, that's 900 calories. I'd rather eat 600 calories of real food! Oh well, I know that in the future, when I do feel restriction, this liquid diet will be necessary. It's not hard for me to do or anything like that, because it's old hat for me, but it's just boring.

Enough of the whining...jeez... you're not reading this to hear me whine!

I'm down another lb to 58 lbs. 2 more lbs and I'll be at 60!

My nutritionist told me yesterday not to freak out when I change my diet to 1500-1600 calories per day, because I will probably go a few weeks without a loss since I've been eating so little, but in the end, it will help me lose faster and healthier. I know that's true, but it's going to be hard!

I think I'll work out even harder and longer to make up for it. We'll see.

Tonight we are going to Hampshire Hills with Steph and Carolyn, so that will be fun! I didn't get to work out yesterday, so I need to get to the gym today!

Have a great day, all!

KC

Fill 'er up

I had my first saline fill last night. It wasn't anything like what I had read about. It was not bad at all. It took a little bit for my MD to find the right spot to inject the saline, but I am tough with that stuff...

I feel no difference at all. My MD said I probably won't feel much of a difference from the first 1-2 fills. Of course, I'm on liquids for the next three days, so it's hard to gauge what I'm comfortable taking in since I'm not eating real food.

My MD said I looked great, and that I was doing a fantastic job! That made me feel good. :)

Today I met with the nutritionist, and she said I should be eating 1500-1600 calories per day at this point. Wow! I had no idea. I've been keeping it to 600-800 calories per day. She told me that for my height and my muscle mass and the amount I'm working out, I really need to take in about double or more what I have been consuming.

I was surprised to hear that. She said that as I lose weight and as the band gets filled, they will reduce the amount I eat bit by bit. It's all part of the process, and I won't lose weight as well if I'm not eating enough at this stage. She wants me to eat four meals each day to get to the 1500-1600.

I was probably eating 3000 calories per day before I started this process, so it's not like it's going to be a huge amount of food for me, but it will be a big adjustment, since I have been eating so much less than that for the past 2 months.

This should be interesting! I will keep you posted.

Have a wonderful day.

KC

Back by popular demand

I don't have as many changes and updates, so I haven't been updating my blog as frequently as I was before. However, the people have spoken! You want to hear from me often, and I can't say I blame you!

Here I am.

D and I went to Hampshire Hills yesterday, and it was sooooo great to work out again. I did 7 miles on the bike, but my foot kept going numb (totally annoying), so I stopped at 7, and then I did free weights and some nautilus and worked on arms/shoulders.

After that, I did laps in the pool, but probably only for about 15 minutes. Talk about a cardiovascular work out! It was harder for me to catch my breath than when I'm on the bike! By far!

After that, we went in the roman tub which felt wonderful and then we just floated in the pool for a while. It was great.

We had a great time at Billy's yesterday afternoon, and a few people mentioned what a difference they can see in me already, and that was very nice. :)

I have not been getting in as many fruits and veggies as I should lately, and that's because I desperately need to go food shopping. I had a salad with my lunch today, which was delicious.

I should have something good for dinner, since I'm back on liquids tomorrow, but we'll see. I made a casserole that I really liked, and it was very easy. I will post the recipe on lowphatcooking.blogspot.com

I think I'll just have that for dinner.

Talk to you soon!
KC

One Month Out

Yesterday was not only a special day because it was my dear father's birthday (Happy Birthday, Dad!!!), it was also the one month anniversary of me and my band. We have grown very close this past month, and I'm looking forward to her getting filled on Tuesday!

I didn't have a chance to weigh myself yesterday, but as of today, I'm down 57 lbs. That's 35 in the 4 weeks pre-surgery, and 22 in the month post surgery. My BMI (body mass index) has gone down 8.5 points total as well.

I don't know what to expect for a loss in the months to come, so I guess we will just see. I want to lose in a healthy way, and that is my top priority.

I haven't worked out in a week, and I miss it! I was sick for much of last week, and I didn't want to push it, but today we are headed back to the gym! We will be working out at Hampshire Hills today. I want to do it all: cardio, weights, basketball, tennis, swimming - you name it. I have really missed it. I kind of even missed doing cardio. I'm sure I'll kick myself for saying that 30 seconds into the exercise bike today, though.

Hopefully D will get up soon, because I want to work out now, so that we are back in time to do some housework and then relax for the Pats V Colts game at 2!

GO PATS!!!!

KC

Protein Bars

I know I'm not supposed to overuse protein bars in place of meals because "real" food is better for me, but they are just so convenient. I have been eating the Zone bars, which I think are fine, even though Alison thinks they taste like compressed saw dust, and she does have a point, but I decided to try the South Beach Diet bars.



I bought the Chocolate Crisp. It has 210 calories, 19g of protein, 5g of fiber, and a ton of vitamins and minerals. I could only get through half of the bar in one sitting - they are filling! The taste isn't phenomenal, but it's not terrible either.



What I don't understand is why protein bars have to be so dry or just so wrong in consistency. Power bars are like melted tootsie roles that are half way back to solid. You can't take a normal bit of them, you have to bite and tear. Cliff bars are kind of okay, but they are still a bit weird and they aren't as good for you as some of the others. Special K protein bars are more of the same...just like the Slim Fast bars and the Atkins bars. I never realized how many protein bars I've tried in my life until just now.



I guess my point is this: is it really food if it's so hard for them to make it taste and feel like food? What in the world is in protein bars? In the South Beach Diet bars, it's a bunch of different soy products, fish gelatin, milk, a few different oils, and the rest is just a bunch of blended up vitamins and minerals.



I suppose I understand why my nutritionist wants me to get my nutrients from real foods that are high in nutrients, rather than some lab room cocktail of stuff that is supposed to be good for me. I do like getting all that protein in just 210 calories, though...



I will keep you posted if I find a magical protein bar.



Today I'm down one more lb to a total of 56. Keep it comin'!



KC