4 Month Update

Let's be honest, shall we? You guys aren't judging me, right? The fact that I had lap band surgery indicates that I have been (and continue to be) a big girl. What's funny is that I don't mind strangers knowing how much I weigh, but don't like the idea of my own husband knowing how much I weigh. There's something weird about that, right? So I'm going to stop hiding behind vague numbers.

Hi, my name is Kay (Well, sort of. It's more of a nickname.) and I used to weigh 281 pounds. That's my highest weight (not counting pregnancy) and how much I weighed when I went for my initial lap band consultation in June. And I hope to never weigh that much again. But I've decided to stop being embarassed about that number. Because it's not who I am anymore. It just represents where I've come from. Four months ago, when I had lap band surgery, I weighed 261 pounds. And today, I weigh 224 pounds. And hopefully next week, it will be even less.

I've gone from a size 24 to a size 18. I feel lighter and healthier, and have fewer headaches and less acid reflux. Sometimes, it feels like this all happened in the blink of an eye. And sometimes, it feels like it's taking forever. I guess I'm just excited to get on with the rest of my life.


Starting weight (6/8/12): 281 lbs
Surgery day (10/26/12): 261 lbs
Todays weight:  224 lbs

-37 lb loss since surgery
-57 lb loss overall

Friday Weigh-In

Pre-Op Weight-loss = 20 lbs
Since Surgery 10/26/12 = 37 lbs
Total Weight-loss = 57 lbs

A -3 weight loss from last week! New fills are the best! Until they stop being the best. But I've only gotten stuck once in the last week, and I choose to believe it was the dry chicken, and not me not following the rules.

I feel like I made some pretty good choices this week, taking my breakfast and lunches to work, and eating out less. Then I made some bad choices that involved sugary cocktails and a dessert bar. But luckily that was just one happy hour.

I'm taking the afternoon off to run some errands and get a much needed pedicure. And this weekend, I'm going shopping! My mother-in-law said she'd buy me some new things, since so many of my clothes don't fit anymore. I have a stressful Monday coming up, so I'm going to try to enjoy the weekend. Hope you do too!
 

Baked Egg Cups

I used to eat english muffins with peanut butter or almond butter every morning for breakfast at work, and maybe some cereal on the weekends. But as I've gotten my band tightened, that's less comfortable, plus it doesn't provide quite enough protein. I was never that much of an egg eater, but I've been working on it since being banded.

Pinterest has been invaluable for finding awesome new recipes, and this is one I now use every single week. Every Sunday, I bake 12 egg cups, put them in ziploc, and take them to work to be microwaved in the mornings. The original recipe I used came from here, but I've experimented and made some modifications. And now I'm sharing it with you!

Baked Eggs Cups

3 Eggs
6 tbsp Liquid Egg Whites (equivalent of 2 eggs)
1/2 c. 1% Milk
2 tsp Grated Parmesan Cheese
4 tbsp Salsa
1/2 c. Shredded Cheddar
12 strips Turkey Bacon (I alternate between that and Jimmy Dean Turkey Sausage Crumbles)

Mix everything except the turkey bacon in a bowl and set aside. Spray muffin tin, then rip each strip of bacon in half and layer criss-crossed across each cup, then pour in egg mixture. Cook in preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.

Using the above recipe, each egg cup contained about 72 calories. I usually eat 3 of them, which appears to be about 3/4 cup of food.

3 egg cups = 215 calories, 18 grams protein

If you opt to use the turkey sausage, you can simply measure it out and toss it in the egg mixture. I've also added bell peppers sauteed in olive oil, or chopped mushrooms. It changes the calorie count minimally.

Once cooled, I put them in ziploc bags, three to a bag. Then I microwave them on a plate, covered by a paper towel, for about a minute.

Friday Weigh-In

Pre-Op Weight-loss = 20 lbs
Since Surgery 10/26/12 = 34 lbs
Total Weight-loss = 54 lbs

I forgot to record my weigh-in last week, but it was pretty much the same as the previous week. TOM was a bitch this month. So I'm down 2 lbs since then. I was on liquids yesterday. Translation: I was hungry all day, despite having some high calorie protein shakes/smoothies. And I didn't have a single bite of Valentine's candy. I may be making up for it a little today.

For our monthly meeting at work, they bring in breakfast tacos. Some months I've been able to eat them, some months it doesn't work out. I successfully ate a breakfast taco (tortilla and all!) this morning, without getting stuck, despite the 6.1 cc's in my band. Prior to the lap band, I would have eaten two of them. So I'm pretty happy today.

Adjusting

I had a fill appointment this morning. They added back .2 cc for a total of 6.1 in my 10 cc band. You may remember that I was at 6.2 cc when I was getting stuck on salmon and had them do a slight unfill. So we'll see how this goes.

This was a pretty rough adjustment. It took at least 10 minutes of jamming the needle in my abdomen with me trying to do a sit-up before she could find my port. Apparently I have a lot of scar tissue in that area, that makes it harder to find the port. But this was my roughest appointment by far. At one point, the NP stopped and asked if she should get one of the others to try. But I told her "no, maybe just some lidocaine?" And boy did that ever make a huge difference. I COULD HAVE BEEN DOING THAT ALL ALONG? We agreed that from now on, I'd be adjusted under the fluoroscope.

Happy Valentine's Day! Wish me good soup.

P.S. The NP said I don't have to wait an hour after eating before I can drink. She said the food has passed through the band within 15 minutes. Which, of course it has. But I can now officially drink 15 minutes after eating. I can't even believe it. It's like a whole new world has opened up. It's called cocktails.

NSV: Jewelry

My grandmother was given a lovely costume jewelry bracelet when she graduated from college in 1951. She tried to pass it on to me last Summer, but it didn't really fit. Was a little tight, and barely closed. When I went to visit her yesterday, she tried to give it to me again. This time it fits. Can't wait to wear it somewhere fancy!

I'm having a really rough week.

Last weekend, I took a few days off from My Fitness Pal, ate and drank whatever I wanted, didn't worry about grams of protein, or whether I'd exceeded 1200 calories for the day (I did). It was glorious. But ever since, I've been up a pound, and it will not budge. I've been hungry all week, and Aunt Flo is in town, so all I want is cookies and ice cream, and to wallow in being a failure.

But I'm wearing size 18 jeans today, which I haven't worn in over ten years. So I'm going to try to relax, and not beat myself up too much. Maybe things will be better next week.

Chocolate counts as a liquid, right?

Moved up my next fill appointment, to prevent me from attempting to eat the entire city. The next available one? February 14th. Happy Valentine's to me! Good thing the husband and I did not have epic dinner reservations. Guess we'll be getting take-out that night. From some place that has really good soup.

"YES, TACOS IN THE MORNING. Tacos all the time."

I know y'all thought I was exagerating about how it's harder to be banded in Texas. But no, it's totally a thing. Witness how many of these are about food - and my beloved and severely missed, Dr. Pepper.

50 Sure Signs That Texas is Actually a Utopia

Mistakes Were Made

I've been starving lately, and this is PMS week, which already makes me want to EAT ALL OF THE THINGS. I'm feeling like my last unfill, while not a mistake, was maybe more than necessary. I was getting stuck too much at 6.2 cc's, so she took me down to 5.9. But now I feel like I can eat anything. For lunch, I had a salad the size of my head. I can stick to appropriate portions, but I'm getting hungry sooner than I'd prefer. And if I get hungry between meals - watch out junk food, you're in danger!

Which brings me to tonight, which is my monthly outing with a girlfriend. We always go to Girlie Night at the Alamo Drafthouse, where they show slumber party classics, rom-coms, chick flicks, you know, the best movies ever. (Tonight is The Notebook if you're in Austin and like me, willing to do the ugly cry in public.) The Drafthouse, being a theater that sells booze and food, is my kryptonite. Yes, they have salads and wraps. But who wants to eat those at the movie theater? But buttered popcorn, nachos, chips and queso, fried pickles? BRING IT ON. Okay, so I'm still working on this one.

What would you order?
http://drafthouse.com/austin/lake_creek/lake_creek_our_menu/

Things they don't tell you in the seminar.

Is the Lap Band for you?

This remains my favorite post about the pros and cons of lap band surgery. Although some of the things she mentions, it's like GIRL, get you some Miralax and Gas-X and life will be 200 times better.

Jen's Lap Band Journey: Things they don't tell you in the seminar.