Stopping the regain and a whole year has passed!

 



Hello blogland.  I'm past my 5 year band anniversary and I haven't blogged in over a year!  I still read blogs, but pretty much follow people on social media and keep up with my band buddies that way.  On my last post, I was fired up and losing really well.  I have gained some weight back and want to lose 25 pounds to get back where I like to be.  It's was a crazy holiday season that rolled into the Mardi Gras season and then my youngest child graduated from high school!

 

My husband was a Duke this year in our Mardi Gras Krewe, he is an avid deer hunter, so we went as deer hunters and deer.  The picture below is our group.  My husband is front and center and I'm on his lap.  This is me, up 20 pounds.  I don't think I look bad, but I am not comfortable and I know what a slippery slope it is when you start to gain.

 

 

I have been following several bariatric sites on social media and one in particular Bariatriceating.com has great advice on getting re-gain under control.  I like it, it's very to the point and blunt.  There is a plan to follow that is pretty restrictive, but a good plan to get your weight loss started quickly.  The author doesn't play around, she calls it like it is...she said it's a great place to get motivated and get back on track, but don't talk about how you couldn't help yourself with the Doritios, just don't buy them, period.  I need a little more of that in my life.  I wanted to get the winter 15 off before my son graduated from high school, but that turned into the winter 20....and so on  I just have to refocus my efforts.  So much has happened this year, my step son and his wife are expecting a baby boy in July!

I hope you guys are doing well.
 
What are you doing to maintain if you are where you want to be... or to lose if you need to?
Hugs!
T

4 years banded!

 

On March 25, at the end of the day, I realized it was the 4th anniversary of my surgery.  I must say, that having the lap band has been a real blessing in my life, in so many ways.  Today, I weigh 178 pounds, that is 99 pounds down from my weight at my surgical consult 107 down from my highest recorded weight.  My goal has long been 175, I'm 3 pounds from my goal of 175.  But I think I want to get to 165, maybe even 160.  I won't know for sure though, until I get there.  I am a size 12 in most things, a 14 in some pants, because...well I have hips and they don't lie! I feel better and more confident today than I did when I was 21.  I thought I'd share of few of the most important things I've learned about life with a lap band in the last 4 years.  So here goes...

• The band is a tool! It will not make you loose weight magically.
• There is no easy way to get thin.  If there were....everyone would be thin.
• Food is a DRUG!
• You are the only one who can change your circumstances.
• Pain in your feet, hips, knees and back are not just part of life.
• Bath towels did not get smaller, I got bigger.
• I can have fun and keep my weight down.
• It is not feasible to lose 100 pounds without ever being hungry, or dieting.
• Being hungry won't kill me!
• I deserve the effort it takes to get healthy
• Sometimes, "good enough" is not good enough.
• The closer I've gotten to my goal, the more difference 10 pounds makes.
• I am stronger than I thought.

 

I know I rarely blog anymore, but I still read yours and occasionally comment here and there.  I feel like this blog was instrumental in my success and the support I've gotten from the people I met here is nothing short of amazing.  I have gained real, true friendship from women I've met through this little corner of the web and for that I will always be thankful.  It's become much easier to keep up with a few of my close blog friends through email or Facebook, so my blogging has tapered off because of that too.  But, I'm so very glad that I have gotten to a point in my journey that I can look back and say, wow...this wasn't always easy, but I can see the progress I've made and I'm happy with where I am.  And, as I wax nostalgic....let me thank you for the part you've played in my happiness!

 

I'll leave you with a few pictures that I think show how far I've come.

 

The picture on the left is what spurred me on to get to my goal, I'm at 215 there and I was shocked when I saw that picture, that at 62 pounds down from my surgery weight, I was still pretty damn fat!

The pic on the right is me in January at 185, this is after I started doing Medifast, which I credit for getting me over the hump and getting me started losing again!



 

The picture on the left is me, the night before my LapBand surgery, at 277 pounds, the one on the right is me in December in my cute new winter coat, feeling good under 200 for the first time in ages,  weighing in at 190ish.

 

 

And finally, this was a real shock to me.  When I got my driver's license renewed, they gave me my old one back.  The one on the left is January 2010, 3 months before my LapBand Surgery and the one on the right is January 2014.    I'm 47 and really fat on the left and 51 and much thinner and happier on the right.

 

Happy Friday y'all!

Big Hugs,

T 

Blog post # 440...

Wow, I've been blogging on and off for a really long time now! I had no idea that I had so many posts.  I will say that they have gotten progressively more boring over time.  I don't have too much exciting to report.  I suppose the holidays are upon us, like it or not, and I'm going to have to get busy shopping!  I'm still doing Medifast. Still liking it.  This week I was down another 2.5 pounds, bringing me to 32 pounds down.  I'm at 181 pounds, so close to the 170's, I just can't believe it.  I still am not sure what my goal weight is.  I'm thinking it lies somewhere between 165 and 175.  I'll let you know when I get there.  I hope every one is doing well.  Take care....
Big Hugs,
T

Week 11 on Medifast

Hi there, I've just finished week 11 on Medifast and this week I've lost 1.4 pounds.  That brings me to 30 pounds down, and weighing in at 183.  I'm pretty darn excited about my progress still.  I went to New Orleans with some of my girlfriends and indulged, I ate, drank and was merry! And still managed to lose a tiny bit of weight that week.  But the most impressive thing of all is that I got back on track, I went to a wedding over the weekend, I drank some wine, but did not overeat and had a loss. 

Some NSV's to share: I bought 2 size 12 dresses and a Medium sweater.  I have gone down a half size in my shoes even.  I also am now wearing a size 14 jeans.  I feel great!

Some of you asked that I give the pros and cons of the Medifast program to share with you, so, here you go:

PROS                                                            CONS
fast weight loss                                              expensive
easy to follow                                                first 3 days are really hard
food taste good to me                                   
lots of choices for food items
cravings go away
good support from health coach
food delivered to my house
no meetings
weigh at home
online support
app for phone

As you can see, for me there are more pros than cons.  And even the cons are not that bad. For me it was money well spent. I feel like I'm actually going to reach my goal, even though I'm not quite sure what exactly my goal is going to be yet.  I know for sure I want to get to 170, but I won't be at a healthy BMI until I get to 166.  I guess I'll see how I feel when I get there.

Anyway, thing are going great for me. And here I am in a size 14 pants.

Big Hugs!
T

3.11 pounds per week

Hi there, sorry that I didn't post last week.  I had a 2 pound loss last week, this week only .2 loss.  That's okay though, I'm not concerned.  In 9 weeks I'm down 28 pounds, that's 3.11 pounds per week.  Not too shabby. 

My hubby is better, he had to go back in the hospital for 4 days, had additional surgery for infection.  But now he's good.  That was so scary! I'm so glad that is finally behind us.

I've got an exciting weekend coming up, meeting up with some wonderful girlfriends out of town.  I cannot wait to see them and have some much needed R & R! I'm planning to have fun and cocktail while I'm there, but I'm not planning to go overboard.  I hope I don't undo any of my hard work.

Have a great day!
Big Hugs!
T

25 pounds really does make a difference

Well, as I've blogged about,  I've been doing Medifast and have lost 25 pounds in the last 7 weeks.  I've really been getting a lot of comments and compliments on my weight loss in the last couple of weeks. It's difficult, however, for me to see much of a difference.  So, I decided to do a side by side comparison.  The one on the left is me the day I started Medifast (213 pounds), the one on the right is me this morning (187 pounds)...technically that's 26 pounds down, but my weigh day is Tuesday.  I can see a difference, and it makes me happy. This brings my totals to: 79 pounds down since my surgery date, and 98 pounds down from my heaviest.  Excuse the fact that my leg is positioned funny on the pic from this morning.  I feel good and wanted to share it with you!

 

Have a great weekend!
Big Hugs!
T

Week 7...update

Well, I did not get to post last week, because my sweet hubby had emergency surgery for a ruptured appendix.  Needless to say, it was an eventful week.  I had a lot to share too! My week 6 weigh in was -5.1 pounds and this week's -3. For a 7 week total of: -25.6!!  That's an average of 3.65 per week.  I can't tell you how much this pleases me!! I am in the 180's! I have not seen the 180's since 1989.  Wooo hoo! Can I get a holla!

That's about it...
Big Hugs!
T