New Job, Mom's Rock & 8 Weeks Post-Op

Tomorrow is my 8 week mark post-revision to the sleeve.  I am still chugging along.  They say, slow and steady wins the race right?  (I keep telling myself that hoping I'll believe it one of these times)  Things are progressing, albeit slow.  I've been about 210 for a little bit now.  I admit, I haven't planned nearly as much as I should lately.  I KNOW that I do better when I plan, but that hasn't been the case much.  I have some non-scale victories to report though!  My mom is super sweet and the cutest thing ever.  She sent me $100 to get a few new items to wear to my new job (I'll get to that in a minute...).  In NYC, $100 doesn't usually go very far, so I took my ass to Target and hit the mark down racks, then to Old Navy and hit up whatever sales were going on.  Here is me 8-weeks post op, taking a pic to send to my mom to prove I was buying clothes with her money and not making student loan payments:

Now here is my victory.  I am wearing size 16 pants in this pic (don't mind the crazy hair day I'm having, I think I used a fork for a comb or something), and the pants are actually a little too big!  Not only that, both the top and the sweater are size large and fit just fine!  NO XL's or XXL's here!!  That's a first!  I don't know how long it's been since I was able to be totally out of the XL zone.  I'm shrinking before my very own eyes!  Even though the scale isn't screaming "you've made it to the 100's!" just yet, my body is whispering (...you're almost there!).  I am committing in the very moment to go walking a minimum of 3 lunchtimes this week.  

I mentioned a little while back that I was interviewing for a new position in my hospital where I work.  Well I got the job!!  Woot!!  I gave my 2-week notice and will be starting my new position on October 14.  I am very excited to move on to something more challenging.  Of course this means tons more work, with not a huge pay increase, but I'm hoping that I will be able to prove myself important enough very soon to get a promotion that my new boss said we will have to get the compensation department to note and pay me accordingly.  All in all this has been an excellent couple of weeks.  I have been totally distracted from meal planning and school because of all this new job business, but I'm prepping to have a great fall season.  Squash recipes await!

Ten Things Thursday aka Coming Out of My Slump

1. I'm NOT crazy (and neither are you Dawnya!).  I spoke to the doc and nutritionist and both agree that I have been experiencing Dumping Syndrome on occasion.  This is usually due to poor food/beverage choices.  Funny thing is, I don't make them often, but when I make em, they're pretty bad and the symptoms SUCK ASS.  At least now I know what the heck is going on.  I had thought this only happens with bypass patients, but they assured me that it is now becoming evident that VSG patients also experience this too.
2.  Took a quiz in my Spanish class Monday.  Had no idea about it since I took off class on 9/11, so I quickly learned all new material 10 min before class and still rocked an 88%!
3. Saw my doc/nutritionist for my 6 week follow up as I mentioned before.  I've lost 16 pounds since my surgery date.  I was concerned with a recent stall but I am encouraged by my visit.  I think all will be ok. 
4. Exercise needs priority.  I need to get on this!  Feel free to hold me accountable!
5. I'm still waiting to hear the "official" news on the job I interviewed for.  Seems like it's a Jewish holiday every other day this month.  I'm on hold again. lol.  Keep your fingers crossed.  It's pretty official that I got the job, just all the kinks need to get worked out.
6. I still really want to get a bike.  Just a beach cruiser or something not too crazy difficult to manage.  Anyone got an old one they want to donate to a fat girl, feel free to speak up! ;)
7. The weekend is only 24 short hours away.  I'm stoked.
8. I got volunteered by my fiance to cook dinner for his family for Thanksgiving.  This NYer is going to be cooking a big southern family a Thanksgiving dinner...  IN ALABAMA.  No pressure there!  Not to mention, I'll probably not even have dinner, as we all know that just taking bites to test for seasoning etc will likely be enough to fill me up!  Is it weird that I'm already planning and it's 2 months away?
9. I miss my mama and want her to come visit, but I know it's expensive to fly and that she's saving to come to the wedding in Alabama next summer, so I feel bad even considering asking her to come.  But I miss her.
10. I'm excited to see the Harvest Moon tonight!  The man and I are driving to a nice lookout point tonight at the very south end of Brooklyn to get a nice view.

And there you have it!  Whew... didn't know if I would get through that one!  I'm def in a good mood today.  Hoping nothing knocks it down.

Big Changes

Yeah... That's pretty much how I feel (and quite possibly look too!).  The past couple months have been tense to say the least.  Lots of good, and some bad, and some just plain old changes.  I officially have a boyfriend these days!  I am so lucky to have this amazingly supportive guy in my life right now.  I can't ask for a better partner.  We met over a year ago, kept in touch long distance for about a year, then took the leap.  A GIANT leap! 

Addiction

My name is Ivy and I am a food addict.  I have fallen off the wagon recently.  Due to a necessary unfill I have been able to eat way more than I should.  I need to get back to being accountable.  I have been out of the gym for nearly 2 weeks and need a kick in the ass.  Feel free to start kicking (or encouraging) away.  Calling all fellow banded buddies.  I'm attempting accountability.  Help a girl out here!

BMI 40...

I was looking at my BMI on one of those calculator things on lapband.com.  I saw that my Body Mass Index is down from a 48 to a 40, which is still considered morbidly obese, but I am just 0.1 point away from slipping away from "Mobid Obesity" and into the plain ol' "Obese" zone.  I guess I should feel good about this, as I am one step further from being classified as one who might keel over from fatness at any moment, to now just plain ol' fat.  Ha! 
I guess we take our victories where we can find em right??  Happy hump day errybody!  It's all downhill to the weekend. 

Filler up!

It's been a hectic and stressful couple of months around my way.  Thankfully I can say it is starting to ease a bit.  A few weeks back I had gotten an unfill to ease up my band.  With the stress at home, my apparent race to keep up with the speed of others eating around me, and will my lack of chewing skill I was getting stuck left and right.  Then I would absentmindedly chug some water on top of that... No Bueno.  So an unfill to take off some of the stress while I got myself back on track.  It was useful for a while, but as time went on, I noticed that I was able to eat most anything and I found myself pushing the boundaries while stress eating or when I was looking for comfort foods.  I needed to get with the program and realize that I HAD SURGERY FOR CRIPES SAKE.  So I booked an appointment with the nurse practicioner and headed off for a fill.  We decided to put in 0.5 mL.  This is the same amount that we had taken out previously when I felt too tight while under stress.  I was on clear liquids yesterday and today onto soft foods (though I only had a protein shake and a bowl of pea soup so far). 
Basically I had abandoned myself in my journey for a while in persuit of helping a friend.  While it's good to help the people around you, I think it's important to stick to my personal commitments to myself.  THIS WAS A HUGE COMMITMENT!!!  What the heck have I been doing?  So I'm officially back on the wagon.  Go me!

Kick My Pants!

I've been stalled out on my losing for a couple weeks.  Only losing about a pound a week.  I haven't been exercising nearly as much as I should.  I've had some added stress for the last few weeks as well.  At one point I was losing rather quickly and I had been very motivated.  I had set a goal for myself to lose 75 lbs by Thanksgiving (my birthday).  Well needless to say

Devil Inside...

Man o man have I been bad about updating.  I have been really pretty busy the past couple weeks.  I have a close friend going through a personal crisis, and as per usual, I extend myself to those in need around me (almost to a fault at times).  It has been an emotional couple weeks for him (and couple weeks to come for sure as well).  Though his woahs have nothing to do with me really, they definitely have been having an effect on me.  I am seeing that I need to use some of this pent up energy and get more exercise in.  Tonight I plan on

Side by Side??

 I am attempting to do a side by side comparison.  What should be on the left in the blue dress, just 6 days post-op.  I was still a bit swollen. And on the right is me just yesterday, 9 weeks post-op.  I don't know if I see much of

Ah... The Lovely Green Zone...

I will admit, I have been a bit lax on posting compared to usual.  I have been reading other blogs and what not, but being that I was feeling pretty badly, I have slacked up a bit.  I had my second fill of 1.5 on August 1st, bringing me to 4.5 mL.  At first I thought, well wow, this is different...

Fill #2

Today I saw my NP for a second fill.  He was saying, you seem to be losing just fine, but I had to admit to him that I had been at the same weight for a few weeks, and up till my teenager-esque drinking binge on Saturday night,

Falling Behind, Losing Momentum

It's been a pretty busy month, but I can't seem to figure out how.  Ever feel like you're running in place?  Working really hard, but not really going anywhere?  Yeah...  It's kind of like that right now.  I'm trying to find balance, but not doing a very good job of it.  I'm not going to make this post about bitching and moaning though.  I just need to reflect a little.  

I got my first fill on July 13.  I haven't experienced any of the dreaded sliming or PBing that I have heard people talk about.  I have experienced the "stuck" sensation though.

Tequila Meltdown

Well last night I finally had my my meltdown... My tequila meltdown.  I haven't done much drinking since my surgery, and I surely hadn't yet gotten drunk.  For some reason yesterday I got the bug.  I was extra bad with my eating and my boozing.  I had more total calories for one day yesterday than I had at all for one day since May.  My Nurse Practitioner and I had a discussion before my surgery, and we were talking about how just because you have surgery, it doesn't mean that you won't slip up.  You might not be able to have an entire pizza, or package of cookies, but you can definitely find yourself making extra poor choices and feeling a bit like you've fallen off the wagon.  Well yesterday I found that I fell off the wagon, on the ground, run over by the wagon, and chasing after it as I watched it rolling away as I cried "wait up!!".  Gio, my NP warned me that there'd be days like this, and

Daily Changes

This week I hit the one month mark after surgery.  As I am here having my Sunday morning coffee, I started to think about what is different now about my day to day from before I started this journey.  

• I drink tons of water.  I go out of my way to drink as much of it as possible.  Since my surgery, many people have commented that my skin looks so clear (was it not clear before??).  

Stuck!!

I have officially just experienced my first "stuck" moment. What was the cause you ask?? A bite of French Toast. I had one bite, then went back to my oh so healthy plate of poached eggs and as I was about to take a bite I had this sensation of ugh, then ouch, then thought "am I gonna puke?", I didn't feel like wrenching or anything just as though I had something... Well, stuck! I was trying to figure out what to do at this point as I hadn't even had a bite of my own plate. I knew if I tried to eat anything, tree was no chance I could swallow it down. So I figured I'd try and sip something warm. Coffee to the rescue. I sipped little sips and could feel things adjusting and after a minute or two the sensation passed. I was dreading te whole 'sliming' or 'PBing' that I have heard about. I desperately did NOT want to experience that. I'm glad that I have figured out so early that this is a "no" food for me. Buh-bye French toast. It was nice knowing you.

It's Friday... BYOC!

It’s Friday so that means it’s BYOC – Bring Your Own Crazy! We answer questions today in an effort to get to know each other better and to give our blogging brains a break. Copy and paste to your own blog if you so desire…and ENJOY!!  I've never done one of these but figured hell, why not.

1. Let’s do something crazy….I’m going to list the rainbow colors and you type the first FOOD item that pops into your head that symbolizes that color for you…..here’s mine:

Red – Strawberries
Orange – Navel Oranges
Yellow – Polenta
Green – Fatoush Salad (the peppers inside)
Blue – Blueberries (I'm freezing a bunch now that they are in season, great for smoothies!)
Purple – Pomegranate Juice
Brown – Chocolate Ice Cream
Black – Blackberries

2. What is on your kitchen table right now?My unused crockpot, some green placemats, mail, and a serving tray.  Don't eat at the table much.

3. What movie do you watch again and again and again? Not like what movie have you seen 5 times…but like what movie have you seen 30 times or more?
Grease.  I have been watching it since I was a little girl and will watch it every single time it's on TV.  That and Pretty Woman.  No idea why, I just watch it over and over and over.

4. If Satan had a last name – what would it be?Ketchup

5. Repeat question: Summarize your week in blogland and in real life.
Got my first fill and I'm adjusting to the feel of it.  I am trying to stay motivated with my exercising and not get discouraged that the scale seems to have gotten stuck recently (couldn't have anything to do with me right??).   I have been pretty good at blogging and learning to break up topics into multiple smaller posts.  Bite size pieces if you will.  

1 Month Bandiversary!

Ladies and Gentleman, I am proud to say I have survived an entire month of being banded!  Tah Dah!!!  It seems like just yesterday I was in tearful conversation with my sister-in-law discussing how I was feeling about my physician's suggestion to be banded.  It feels good to have taken the leap and gone for it.  I am proud to say that I have lost 25 pounds thus far on my journey and after yesterday's fill, I'm sure things will be picking up after a small lull.  Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive so far.  I appreciate you.  I appreciate the readers that have been so kind to comment and leave words of advice and feedback.  Thank you for helping me get this journey going with more support and confidence than I would have, had I decided not to blog.  You guys rock.  

Intimidation

Today I have a confession.  There are so many things that I avoid due to intimidation.  I know it's probably ridiculous, but I am intimidated by a lot of things.  People who know me and who are reading this are probably thinking "yeah right, Ivy intimidated?", but it is true.  My mother can tell you that in childhood, I was afraid of EVERYTHING.  

Jogging for the First Time!

So I've been back on that Brooklyn Bridge again.  Sunday I got up early, threw on my sneakers and hit the bridge and did 2.7 miles.  I had to explore a bit to find a place to park near there, but once I finally did, I was off and walking.  I have a NSV to report.  I actually JOGGED.  

BOOBS Challenge

Hey gang.  I'm creeping up towards my 1 month bandiversary!  For those of who don't know what BOOBS is, it is a group of Banded Bloggers who have formed a community on these here internets.