How long does it take you to eat?

When I was waiting for insurance to approve my lap band surgery, I started trying to stretch my meals out to 20 minutes. I despaired of ever managing it on a regular basis. Then, once I was banded, I thought I would never learn to chew slowly. Well, I think I have managed it. Since my meals easily take 30-40 minutes. Sometimes longer.

Today, for lunch, I timed myself. I ate 3 oz. of grilled chicken and a 1/3 cup of pinto beans. It took me 37 minutes.

So, I'm curious. How long does it take you to eat? Do you stop after a certain time? Does your surgeon have max time rules? Do your ears hang low? Do they wobble to-and-fro?

Six Month Update

Starting weight (6/8/12): 281 lbs
Surgery day (10/26/2012): 261 lbs
Current weight: 208.8 lbs

- 52.2 lbs since surgery
- 72.2 lbs loss overall

My lap band is six months old today! I'm 9 lbs away from Onederland! WHAT.

I've lost 11 lbs in the last month, which feels really good. Last month, I only lost 4 lbs. I have this weird bone that's started protruding near my neck that I can feel and sometimes see. WebMD says it's a collar bone, but I've never had one of those, so I'm not so sure. We had a really good lap band support group meeting last night. I received some good reminders that even though goal feels far away sometimes, I've lost over 70 lbs and that's AWESOME.

Next mini goal is Onederland by June!

I have a vivid imagination.

Last night, while I was finishing my dinner, my husband reminded me that I haven't returned a phone call from a parent of one our son's friends. I told him that I hadn't had time, was feeling stressed and overwhelmed, and just wanted to focus on my dinner at the moment. (Because what a freakin' chore that can be. Am I right, ladies?) He then said he doesn't understand why I'm stressed, since we don't have a stressful life. Oh, really? I'm so glad to hear that about us. And then he yelled a filthy curse word because he accidentally broke the coffee pot he was cleaning, slicing open his finger. While he went to deal with his bleeding hand, I tossed out the rest of my dinner and finished the dishes. His sliced hand probably saved him from many things.

I've been composing a blog entry in my head all day, all about the different things on my plate and the separate things that are making me feel overwhelmed. But honestly? Just thinking about all that was stressing me out even more. Suffice it to say that I'm having a rough week. This is also the beginning of the time of year when  I really wish that we could afford for me to quit my job and stay home. My kid is about to be out of school for the Summer, and I'd like to spend time with him, take him to the pool, the library, the Children's Museum, make a fun Summer of it. Instead of paying to send him to daycare every day. But I haven't been able to make our budget work for that.

My in-laws have been down for three months. They don't stay with us, they rent a condo about 40 minutes away. But we see them nearly every weekend, and spend far more time with them than we do with my family, since they're only here for three months. Now they've put in an offer on a house, and plan to sell their house in New York and move here. It will be nice to have them here, and have free babysitting whenever we need it. But I'm used to having them 2000 miles away, not 40 minutes away for most of the year. It's complicated.

Only five more weeks until we take two kids on a trip to Disney World!

Whew! So glad all that stress is just in my head.

Friday Weigh-In

Yes, I'm aware that today is not Friday. I was running around on Friday, getting ready for my son's 6th birthday party. Saturday was the party. Sunday was clean-up and recovery. But, I did weigh myself on Friday.

Starting weight: 281 lbs
Surgery day: 261 lbs

Today's weight: 210.6

-2 lb loss

-50.4 lbs loss since surgery

-70.4 lb loss overall

I would post a picture of my birthday boy, but he was too busy bouncing in the bounce house and not available for photos. Here's one of me with my college best friend.

Appropriately attired for a superhero party.

Things They Don't Tell You in the Seminar, Part 3

Y'all are the only ones who could appreciate this horror story. So I was out to lunch today at a BBQ place. Their lean turkey and a small serving of cole slaw hadn't been a problem before. But the turkey seemed on the dry side today, and the cole slaw was requiring a lot of chewing. Right when I decided I'd had enough, I got stuck. Of course. I was having a hard time on the short drive back to the office, bad chest pain. I never PB (at least I don't think so, I figure I'd notice) but I do slime. This time, it felt like I was going to PB. I was trying desperately to get back to the office and run to the bathroom to slime in semi-privacy. But, before I could even make it to my parking place, I coughed up a handfull of slime. Like everywhere. Oh, and did I mention my guy friend from work was in the car with me? Which was handy, when I needed someone to reach into the glove compartment to get me some kleenex. (As if mere kleenex would help? Why don't I have a towel when I need one?) Luckily, he knows about the lap band, but I don't think he was familiar with the graphic details. Well, he is now.

Mini Goal Achieved!

Posting a special Tuesday weigh-in! And sorry, the pics absolutely refused to load as landscape.
My husband's weight:



The husband goes on record
as stating he doesn't appreciate
being exploited for my blog.

 And my current weight:

I'm 5'7 and he's 6'1, so it makes sense for me to weigh less than him. But this is the first time it's ever happened. I feel daintier already!

Superfan Reward

Hope you all had a great weekend! I definitely did. Except for that part when I almost passed out a bar Friday night. And no, it wasn't because I was sloppy drunk. I'd only had a couple of drinks, but the line to order food was so long that we never bothered, plus it was standing room only, and I hadn't eaten since lunch. I had to sit down on the ground and put my head on my knees. It was embarassing, but I managed to pull it together.
And then, I met Jason Dohring! Unless you're a Veronica Mars superfan like me, or a Ringer fan, it's totally okay to say "Who?" But it was kind of the highlight of my year. If only we'd known he was going to be at the party, we would have dressed cuter!



Me, Jason Dohring, and my friend Meredith

 P.S. If you've never seen Veronica Mars, I'm going to have to insist that you remedy that right now. Go ahead, I'll wait.

Friday Weigh-In

Starting weight: 281 lbs
Surgery day: 261 lbs
Today's weight: 212.6

-3.4 lb loss

-48.4 lbs loss since surgery
-68.4 lb loss overall

3.4 lbs! I kind of can't even believe it. I took a picture this mornng, because I didn't think you guys would believe it either. 3.4 lbs! That's not a bad week.

My latest fill has been working pretty well. I don't seem to need to snack as often, and have been able stay under my daily calorie limit. Although if I splurge just a little, like 1500 calories? I can be up a pound immediately. It's super annoying.

I did get stuck three times in the last week. Two of them were clearly my fault, eating too fast, or too big of a bite. The third time, I'm pretty sure my meal was just too dry. But luckily none of the episodes were so bad that I couldn't eat for the rest of the day or anything. Just bad enough to have me kicking myself.

This weekend is the last time my snow bird in-laws will be providing free babysitting before they head back to New York. Guess I need to do it UP! Have a great weekend!

Before and After

Photo documentation is my least favorite part of this experience. But I know that it helped me to see other people's photos, while I was deciding whether to get banded or not. And it's a good illustration of how this can be a long, slow journey.


Pre-Op: 10/25/12     261 lbs



1/24/13     231 lbs



4/8/2013     215 lbs

How about that awesome farmer's tan I got last weekend? I may someday have to come to terms with the fact that I'm never going to like my stomach. All those years of being fat, plus that time I gestated a small human for 10 months, have really done a number on it. I don't see much difference between now and 15 lbs ago. But at least I can see a difference between surgery and today.

NSV: The Tiniest Zip Line in Texas

This weekend, at a cajun festival in a little town in Texas, I rode a zip line. It was a tiny zip line over a bounce house, just like this:

But I would not have done that 65 pounds ago. And that was the whole point of getting lap band surgery. I was tired of my weight preventing me from doing things I wanted to do. I don't want to exceed the weight limit anymore. (I made my mother-in-law go check and see what the limit was before I even made up my mind. It was 240.) I don't want my size, or even just fear of being fat in public, to keep me from doing anything. Even ridiculous stuff like a bounce house zip line. Next time, I'll make sure they take pictures!

Friday Weigh-In

Starting weight: 281 lbs
Surgery day: 261 lbs
Today's weight: 216

-1.8 lb loss

-45 lbs loss since surgery
-65 lb loss overall

I just love round numbers! Don't you?

I'm feeling pretty good about my new fill. Just trying to remember to chew, chew, chew and sip SLOWLY.

My husband finally got his vacation time approved and I just booked our trip to Disney World! I'm so excited! We're going the first week in June. (Ugh, Florida in June and crowds, I know.) We're headed out as soon as the kids finish school. We're taking my almost 6 year-old son and my 12 year-old sister. We're also going to Universal Studios and the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Butterbeer! I may be more excited than the kids! Seriously. I've already started planning my outfits on Pinterest. Hi, I'm OCD Girl! Have suitcase (and travel insurance), will travel!

Tightening The Zip Tie

So I put on my big girl pants (metaphorically speaking, since I actually had to get rid of those because they were too big) and went in to get an adjustment yesterday. I let them (seriously, I have to be talked into this) add .2, for a total of 6.3 in my 10cc band.. That may not seem like a lot, but I had a slight unfill when I was at 6.2, because I was getting stuck too often. But now that I know that every fill means bites need to get smaller. No really, they say that when you have surgery, but this time they really mean it. Maybe this time I'll remember it. Maybe.

Yesterday, immediately after my adjustment, I got stuck on a protein smoothie. Yes, I took too big of a gulp (I hadn't eaten yet and was staring down a day full of liquids - I was STARVING), but this is a beverage. Uncomfortable, but not as bad as being stuck on solids, I suppose. So, now I know. Smaller bites AND smaller sips.

So how good are you at following the rules of the post-fill liquid diet? Do you cheat a little? Maybe have some chunky soup at night, so you don't gnaw your arm off in your sleep? Asking for a friend.

Holiday Recovery

I hope you all had a good Easter! I was running around so much getting ready for it that I had no time for snacking or chai lattes. By Sunday morning, I was down another two pounds from Friday weigh-in! But Easter festivities (and leftovers) took care of that. SOMEONE GET THIS JUNK OUT OF MY HOUSE.

I asked my husband this morning if he minded if I brought the leftover pies (oh yes, plural) into work. He didn't understand why I wanted to get rid of them so fast. Dude. You're the one who drove me to lap band surgery. Considering how I never shut up about it, I'm mystified how he could forget that I'm a calorie counting fool and - do you KNOW how many calories are in a slice of apple pie? And that's not even counting the Blue Bell ice cream that you just have to put on top.

So, this morning I wrapped up one slice of pie (that he'd better eat tonight and not leave it there taunting me) and brought the rest of the pies and leftover rolls into the office so the breakroom vultures can go to town. I'm on my second giant cup of water and it is back on track time.

I have an adjustment appointment tomorrow morning. I'm paralyzed with indecision over whether to get a fill. I feel like I could be less hungry and maybe need to snack less (though I usually make good, protein friendly choices). But I loathe the idea of getting stuck more easily, or not being able to eat the occasional small servings of bread and pasta. I'm a Libra, so balance is vital to my life. And no, I'm not really a crazy lady. I just sound that way.