What I've been up to lately...

 This is me and my step daughter Emily, enjoying some beautiful afternoon sun.

 My friend Amy and me sitting under the pergola, enjoying wine and lots of laughs.

 My silly youngest son, figuring out what to do with a 45!

 My brother in law and sister.

 My sweet hubby John and my bestie Ginger!

 The gorgeous grapes on our pergola, they provide lots of shade and will make a huge mess when they are overly ripe.

My oldest James and his girlfriend before Prom.

I'm having trouble with the new an improved Blogger, so, excuse the fact that I can't put this text at the beginning of my post. And that it's smack dab in the middle.  OY! Anyway...this weekend was Prom, I cooked for 22 kids and had them all over for dinner before the Prom, it was fun.  It's been a really busy time with the kids and school.  I can't believe that the year is winding down, they only have about 20 days left of this school year.  Then, my oldest and my step daughter will be Seniors! OMG, I'm not ready for that!  Things have been great on the band front.  My tightness has resolved itself and I'm feeling good.  I'm able to eat and all is right with the world.  I'm still holding steady at the same weight.  I guess that's no big surprise.  I'm still waiting for my mojo to kick in, no such luck lately though.  I hope you all have a great hump day!

 This is the whole group of kids.

 My youngest and his friend....the prom pose...they didn't want to be left out, lol!

Finally....I leave you with a pic of the sweetest man and sweetest dog in the world.  John and Runner Dog!

If I don't get around to posting again....happy weekend.

Big Hugs!

T

Things I used to know...

Hi, my name is Theresa and I used to know some things, that I forgot. Today, I'm going to try really hard to remember at least a few of them:

• I used to know that when I'm really tight and struggling that I actually have some power to do things differently. I can choose not to eat solids, no matter how hungry I am. By making that choice, I will not pour gas on the flame...it will get better much quicker without the added irritation.
• I used to know that being hungry, even really hungry...well...it won't kill me, even if I think it will.
• I used to know that the band is just a tool. I have to really do my part or I'm not ever going to get where I want to go.
• I used to know how much I really do love my band. Not just on the days of the month when it decides to play nice.
• I used to know how good it feels to eat food that keeps me satisfied.
• I used to know that I have made real progress.
• I used to know that every time I looked in the mirror I would feel disgusted and ashamed and I used to know what a wonderful feeling it is to no longer be disgusted!
• I used to know that one of the things on my list of reasons why I wanted to get banded was to wear a football or track shirt to my son's events and not be out of place. I actually wore my son's shirt to the last 2 events...a plain old size large. I used to think that would feel divine!
• I used to know that I would get to my goal no matter how long it took me.
• I used to know that I was worth the effort.

These are the things that today....I know I'm going to work on knowing again. Thanks for all the support guys, it means so much to me. I think this must be the 2 year itch and it's going around. It's time for the 3 year slide into goal! I hope you have a great weekend. Things are much better on the band front. I'm not feeling so tight. I'm able to eat better and that always makes me feel better.

Big Hugs!

T

Mary...present, Sue...present,

Theresa....absent! I have been such a negligent blogger. I'm wondering if it's time to try blogging about something other than my band and weight loss journey. I'm still here. I'm struggling right now with band tightness again. I'm afraid I'm going to have to get an unfill again. I'm feeling a bit sorry for myself actually because I'm struggling to eat. It's all about the hormones. I started today, so I know the tightness will ease up, but I threw up so much over the weekend, that I start to freak out and think that I've done some permanent damage to my band or my esophagus. Does anyone else start getting like that too? I'm just really afraid to gain any of my weight back and my last unfill, even though I just got 1/2cc out didn't seam to last that long, I was tight again in about a month. So, I'm open to suggestions. I'm literally only too tight about 9 days out of the month, other times, I feel fine or even too loose. You see my dilemma. I feel like this weekend was the worst episode ever of tightness though. I'm so sore and irritated. Today I've just done soup and mushies, I'm really going to try to give myself some time to heal. I just get so hungry when I can't eat and I feel sorry for myself, and when that happens, I want to eat! Oy!
Other than that, things are good, Easter was really nice. I'm still reading even if I'm not blogging.
I'm still ever grateful for all of your support!
Big Hugs!
T

2 years banded!

2 years post op 60 pounds down.

An old before, my sister just found this picture of me and shared it with me...

what could make me think flowered pants were a good idea?

Howdy! First of all, I'm having technical difficulties today, I can't get a side by side thing going with my pics, blogger won't let me write above my pics, it's making me mad. But anyway, I am glad I got my band. I'ts been 2 years on Sunday since I was banded. Here are a few bullet points to summarize my time with the band:

• It really was a good decision for me, I'm glad that I took this step.
• I thought that I would be 100 pounds down in one year, that did not happen for me.
• My first year I lost 55 pounds, the second year, I bounced around a lot and lost a total of 5 pounds. Is it what I thought would happen? No, but I'm still happy that I did not gain back any weight in the second year.
• I am stubborn and it has been a real adjustment learning to make peace with my band and learning my limitations. Very challenging.
• I have a 10cc band and only have 2.5cc's in it. Most days I think I'm too tight even though my last adjustment was an unfill.
• When I see pictures like the ones above, I realize how far I've come and I'm really pleased. Other times, this is the new heavy for me and I have trouble concentrating on the positive and really just think about the fact that I have more to lose.
• My skin has held up pretty good. I'm 49, so I'm no spring chicken, but considering how much I have lost and gained over my lifetime, I think I don't look too scary.
• One of the best things to come out of getting banded is that I've met some of the most amazing women. I went to Chicago twice and really consider myself so lucky that this little piece of plastic brought so much to me!
• I no longer have to scoot my butt all the way over to adjust the seat in my car and I can fit in the patio tables at one of our favorite patio spots. The list of NSV's are long and 60 pounds, well that aint too shabby either.

Thank you all for sharing this journey with me. I'm looking forward to getting to my goal weight, whatever that might be. I do know, that I'm not there yet, but I'm not that far off. I hope you all have a great day!

Big Hugs!

T

Spring has sprung!

As promised here are a few pics of the springtime splendor in my yard. John has the greenest thumb around and I love when everything is in bloom. So...enjoy!

So lovely! Now, thank you all for your comments and suggestions about my thyroid pill dilemma. Sandy, I read the article and have put a call into my doctor, but in the meantime, I made an executive decision and took it last night instead of this morning. All went well. And, Gilly, I know it seems crazy that I'm so tight in the morning. It's really bizarre, I only have 2.5 cc's in my 10 cc band. I wake up so tight in the mornings that if I drink water without thinking, I get stuck and sick, but by 10 in the morning, I'm usually loosened up quite a bit. My band is very fickle, hormonal fluctuations wreak havoc on my tightness. I would say on some days that I feel like I should get an unfill again, but then again, more than half of each month my restriction is just right. I have started logging my restriction to try getting a better idea of a pattern. It's frustrating some days, but if I'm careful, things really go okay. I really do want to take care of my band and don't want to be too tight.

This is such a great community of support and information. How cool is it that we don't have to wait until a monthly support group meeting to get input from others?

Happy Wednesday! I'm still alcohol free!

Big Hugs!

T

My Nemesis...

Yep, this little bitty pill is causing me so much trouble. It's my thyroid pill, that I have to take first thing in the morning, on and empty stomach. Okay, well first thing in the morning, I have trouble getting water down, but lately, I've been even more tight than usual in the morning. I have gotten stuck on this little pill 3 times in a week and thrown it up. But then, what do you do after that? I don't know if some of it may have gone down, I don't want to take another one. I wait for about 30 minutes before I give in and go throw up. It's frustrating and so...I'm more nervous than usual about taking the pill in the morning, which in turn leads to more tightness, you get the picture...it's frustrating. My doctor says to take the pill on an empty stomach and take it with plenty of water. Here is my compromise. I break the pill in half, take a tiny, tiny sip of water, I wait ten minutes, then take the other half, then wait ten more minutes, then drink a cup of warm water. If all that goes down, then I drink another cup of water and wait thirty minutes and have my coffee. It's really getting on my nerves. I take a few pills during the day, all of which are much bigger than that one, all of which don't present a problem for me. Oy!

My weekend went well, still no drinking. I have been having a delicious mocktail instead, I have sparkling water, lime and diet cranberry juice cocktail. It's refreshing and I have it in a fancy glass and don't feel like I'm missing out on anything. Still, my weight is hanging at the same spot. I would like to see some downward trending, but no such luck, yet.

Friday my son had a track meet and placed 1st in the 300 Hurdles and 3rd in the 110 Hurdles, it was very exciting, he gets his athletic abilities from...Hell, I don't know where? His Dad is the least athletic man on the planet and I am good at watching sporting events and eating at the concession stand, does that count for anything?

I hope you all have a great week and for those of you still fighting the cold, it's HOT down South and it's only gonna get worse, but it's beautiful, tomorrow I'll post some pics of my Hubby's fabulous flowers and shrubs, all a bloom!

Big Hugs!
T

I'm over half way there!

I am 22 days into my no alcohol for Lent stint. I'm not joking when I say it hasn't been that bad at all! I'm pretty impressed with myself. I am looking forward to enjoying a glass of wine at Easter, and I'm pretty sure that after this much time, it won't take much to make me feel it, lol!


I'm surprised I haven't really lost any weight. I think my pants fit better, I don't have a muffin top with my smallest jeans. My weight is so frustrating, it fluctuates daily, this morning it was 206. I just really want to get below 205. I haven't dipped below that in a year at least! Although I'm happy with my weightloss and the fact that I haven't gained any weight in a year, it's frustrating, because this is not the place I want to stop. I don't know what I want my goal weight to be, but I'm certain it starts with a 1 instead of a 2. How hard should it be to lose 7 pounds? Evidently, pretty darn hard for me. I've cut out alcohol and thought, hey, I'm gonna lose 10 pounds...not. I know I need to exercise, that part of this sucks. I do log my food, and most days, I'm between 12 and 1400 calories. I need all of you BOOBS to form a circle, hold hands and chant, or something. I really want to lose 7 pounds. That's all I can think of right now and that's my immediate goal. I want to lose 7 pounds. After that, then I'll re-assess things.


Okay, happy Wednesday, now start chanting!


Big Hugs!


T