Light headed

So yesterday morning I gave blood when the blood mobile came to my work. I knew that I hadn't been at the gym Saturday and Sunday so I packed up and headed there. For some weird reason I was dreading it. I just didn't feel like being there. I get going on the treadmill. When I hit about 1 mile I get lightheaded but it passes fast. I have 2 more occurances before I finally say ok enoughs enough and get off. I only did 1.7...

I realized it was because I gave blood how stupid was I to go run after that. Uggh /fail at the gym.

KFC to give away free grilled chicken again on 10/26

KFC Link to free chicken article

So KFC is going to make a second attempt to give away a piece of free grilled chicken to people... Love to see how this one goes over.

Feeling good

So the scale isnt moving.. Not one bit. Holding steady despite all this exercise. I would of thought it would of shocked the hell outta my system... Guess not.

I went back to the gym last night and did a run. I was doing the interval running on the couch 2 5k. Instead of moving on to other weeks I have been working on increasing my speed when I do run that way when as I move on I will have further distances. Last night I ran at a pace of 5.1 when I ran! That's like sprinting for these lil legs haha. I was only running 1 minute at a time though... I got 2 miles in. I am hoping that when I move on to another week that I will get 2.5 miles in.

Got my ass kicked at the gym this weekend

I did a bootcamp at my local gym this weekend.. WOW that was hard. I kept up though and finished the class.

I have to say though that I did my standard 30 minute run and got through it with flying colors.. Then I thought I would play on the rowing machine as this is the first time I have tried it. I was on it for 20 minutes and did about 26/27 per minute. I got off of it not feeling like much had been worked.

This is 2 days later and my shoulders and upper arms feel like jello... OMG they are so sore. I shouldve listened to Lulu when she said it works ya hard.

I plana to do it again though once my arms are back to normal.

Today I run though.

Running

Last night instead of going to the gym I hit the ground running with my border collie. Since I wasn't able to gauge how far I went with the route I took I tried to push myself and go faster so hopefull I met my goal of atleast 2.5-3 miles.

Today is my off day. I am worried about tomorrow though I am going to try and get to the gym at 10am .... For boot camp!

Keep on Keeping on

I went to the gym last night. I did a lifting class but since I was a newbie and never weight lifted I got to do the baby weights just to go through the motions. I felt really stupid while the others lifted the real thing. But that's ok because they too once was having to do what I did.

I have to say I was a very lazy bandster and I would contribute MAYBE 10lbs of my weightloss so far to exercise.. the rest was due to changing eating habits. I have only recently found the motivation because I have a trip to go see Glou, lab, Laura, and KC in December and I would like to feel like I tried a little to get where I am... which definately isn't goal. I will also be the first to admit my plateau mostly is from snacking and liquid calories MOSTLY my love for salty bloody marys and over abundance of wine haha.

I recently decided No goody drinks for me (last week) so I have been good since Saturday and have yet to see it reflect on the scale. However, I am trying to not get dissapointed and keep on keeping on.

There's my confession!

Well aren't I bunch of jibber jabber today.

Back in the game!

Alright so woke up today feeling like a million bucks... too bad I don't have the million bucks.

So Anyway yesterday I went for a run while still feeling crappy. I did 1.6 miles... much less than I wanted to. I sweated far more than usual I believe because I had a temperature.

It will take me a few days to build the endurance back up but I have drank more fluids in the last 3 days than I have in a month I think sheesh...

Today though I put on the big girl panties and signed up for a weight training session for tonight. OMG I must be insane! I hope I can move tomorrow... since tomorrow is run day.

A very good article to go along with my weight training

Feeling a little better

Well I made it to work... With that much said I feel slightly off today still. Might have a little fever not sure...

I would like to exercise today so we will see how I feel later today.

Feeling Sick

Today should have been my day to run... Not going to happen. I woke up feeling a little off but still I got up and did 30 minutes on my exercise bike. By the time I was done I had a fever, shaking, and a headache.... Uggh Hope it's not the flu.

I have been pumping the water into me so I will hope for the best when I have to get up for work in the morning.

Run Huge SUCCESS!

I <3 the couch 2 5k! I have never WANTED to run but now I look forward to it.

Back to Running after knee pain!

Call me a wimp but I am starting all over on c25k because I was out 2 weeks with some serious inner knee pains.

So joined the gym and went last night for a measley 2 mile run. Doesn't sound like alot but I sweated a ton so I was working it. Running on a dreadmill is a learning curve but I got the hang of it quickly.

I will say that when I run outdoors that I have a tendancy to not push myself and only run slightly faster than a quick walk. I have super short legs lol.. I buy petites and cut them off... So me running at 4.7 MPH is quick to me haha. I would love to be able to do a 9 minute mile but I am guessing I would fall on my face trying to run at 6.6... Maybe eventually but that might be a sprint for me!

Last night I did interval walk/run W1D1 of 3.6 walk 4.7 run.

Back to Running TODAY!

My knee is all healed up and I am back at it. Today is the day.

Yay it's Friday!!

So today is my daughters 17th bday.. Wow time flew by! Were off to play some mini golf, some laser tag, and cosmic bowling!! Gotta dig out the all white cloths for the black lights.

Darn I forgot I am suppose to say something negative..... oh wait 4-5 is -1 :)

Lap Band Talk

So it's really no suprise that Alex at LBT wasn't willing to make a change and have Susan step down as mod. That's ok Karma bites you in the ass everytime. I obviously won't be going back to LBT along with many of my friends.

I would like to let everyone know a little something about the site. When you're new and researching the band the place seems great. Although once you begin to look at the inner workings of the site, the mods, how things are handled, and the favortism it's very child like.

The main mod in question is Susan. Susan has made herself an open book. While on the boards she has made it clear that...

1. Her husband was bumping uglies with his ex wife
2. Her daughter in law hates her
3. She logs in as her husband on his facebook
4. She isn't able to fight her own battles
5. Doesn't take responsibility for her actions

Theres many reasons that alot of people at LBT have issues with her. Mine is mostly because she decided to pick on a friend of mine. After having a 'bad week' she decided to post things on her facebook such as "She was going to have to put the smack down" and Telling Rhonda to shut up and have another glass of wine. As an adult and a mod her emotions should be left out of it.

The other reason I have a problem with her being a mod is she doesn't even have a god damn lap band. She has a sleeve. YAY for you Susan.


My recommendation to you Susan.. Get off the computer, spend time with your family, and work on your self esteem. Running to a forum where you know no one to spew your life about your family is wrong. Fix it... To do that you're gonna have to step back into reality.


Oh and PS Alex over at LBT makes coinage off the ads he has on his site.. They aren't places he endorses because he believes in them. They are just willing to pay the most to be on there.

LBT

Seriously consider joining this group...

I had to remove the link.. Boo hoo :(

/run a SUCCESS!

This morning I completed yet another run on the week 2 c25k Run. This was my 2nd run of the week. I am trying to get 4 runs in this week with a run every other day.
I plan to redo week 2 next week... But I did breeze through the entire run today without many problems.

Week 2 of the C25K

So last night after trying to find every possible excuse for not running.... I decided nope wasn't going to cheat myself like that. So last night I downloaded Suzs podcast her version of the c25k week2! I rocked it. I thought after about a 1/4 of the way through it that I didn't have to finish the whole run since it was the first time working on week 2.

NOPE I though why would I want to /fail at this? Push yourself Brandy.

I did and I reaped the rewards. Today I have tons of energy and a sense of accomplishment. I can feel the workout in my muscles!! YAY!

This is my 3rd week of going back to running and I have made sure to run every other day to avoid injuries but it is 1 extra run per week and I am loving it. This week I should get 4 runs in.

I love my Lap Band!

So no I haven't lost anything since starting to run again 2 weeks ago... That's ok I feel a sense of accomplishment. This morning I was up and out the door at 430 am for a run with my dog. I had to sneak in a run this morning so I didn't get off track as I am leaving town this afternoon! I can do this ;)

I am setting a goal for me to meet so I am working towards something other than a number on the scale... 10 runs at a time.

YAY ME!

So yesterday was my 2nd run of my 2nd week of couch 2 5k. However, I am repeating week 1. I want to be very comfortable before I move on. I do not want to set myself up for failure.

I am contemplating finding a local 5k that I can do at the end of this year that will make me have to keep going.. Wouldn't wanna be the last across the line...

Couch to 5k

So I met up with my lil running partner Angi who ran me into the ground. Props to her omg I gotta lot of catching up to do. I have one more run this week but I am confident that I can do it.

I haven't weighed myself and don't think that its feasable that I would have lost anything by now. Plus I haven't been religously weighing myself to see what my average fluctuation is.. After a week or so I should know what my highs and lows are.

Plus there are some new running shorts I want that are so cute but I am not getting them till I go down a size the ones I have are on the verge of being just a little too loose.

I hope to run right outta my shorts!

I did it!

I put on my big girl panties and running shoes and hit the road last night. I did a short brisk walk then did intervals of running / walking. I didnt have a timer with me so it was an impromptu version of the c25k. I did it for 26 minutes.. Not bad I got a good sweat goin and my legs felt it so I am workin it!

On track!

It's hard to live like a bandster again when you slipped... During my hiatus I didn't gain anything but I didn't lose either.

I am down to no alcohol, only water, exercise 3x per week and get lots of sleep.

I am semi tracking my calories which oddly enough doesn't look like it is enough so I might have to watch that more especially if I am exercising.

Need to get to kicking ass again!

Well I have been stuck for months and months it seems. I am going to go get a fill as I think I can eat slightly too much... I am going to try to commit myself to 3x a week exercise and minimal alcohol.

Help my friend win

Hey guys I have a friend that got bumped to 3rd place on Mycurves.com most amazing member contest. I need you help... Like we helped Susan win her phone :)


Ok go to www.mycurves.com and register
U will need to use code TSPL68
Click on Contests on the top tab and vote for MELISSA O IN JUNCTION CITY, OR


Lets bump her back to the top :)

HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY!

Well not only is my mom kicking ass and doing alot better!!!! BUT I LOST 1 pound.

Ya, 1 pound you say? hahaha


I don't care it's worth celebrating I was so tired of not losing that finally I dropped something. Anything, something, I take it so nananananana

Mother

They removed the ventilator tube from my mother and her breathing was very out of sync until her lungs began building up strength again. She is finally able to speak some and she is breathing on her own again. Unfortunately the doctors say she isn't out of the woods yet and that her liver is only barely functioning :(

Please keep sending good thoughts her way it must be working.

Family

Well nothing to report on the weightloss front. I am holding steady.. Unfortunately.


However, my mother is in ICU with her kidneys and her liver shut down and is fighting for her life. Please send well wishes and good thoughts her way. She is much too young to go.

KFC Oprah and Rainchecks

KFC has announced atleast on a commercial I saw that they will be honoring the http://www.unthinkfc.com/ coupons that were printed... By giving you a raincheck for a later date. It seems the demand was much too high and they had to put a stop to it for now.

Free KFC unfried Chicken from Oprah

Free 2 Piece KFC Grilled Meal with printable coupon - from Oprah show
http://www.unthinkfc.com/

Free 2 piece meal with two sides and a biscuit
Valid from 5/5/09 to 5/19/09, excluding Mother's Day

Free Chicken from KFC and Oprah

Free 2 Piece KFC Grilled Meal with printable coupon - from Oprah show
http://www.unthinkfc.com/

Free 2 piece meal with two sides and a biscuit
Valid from 5/5/09 to 5/19/09, excluding Mother's Day

Super Whack

Seriously... I scheduled a fill that I was going to pay $150 for without batting an eye for 5/13. I wake up this morning and have only had liquids since I got up 4 hours ago because I am not hungry and if I ate it would come back up..

So why? WTH why is my band being a pooper scooper? Sorry I should act my age lol


Anyway so if this continues more than 1-2 days I will cancel my fill because if I had more in my band and this happened I would be screwed.

I will update when I wait it out a bit.

Fill

Well I haven't had a fill since October... My weight halted over a month ago now. I ate a whole lot o food out of the blue somehow for no reason. I was sitting here thinking ok I am gonna be full any second....


I ate the whole burger... granted it didn't have a bun but thats not normal for me. Fill time.


If for some miracle reason I wake up and can only eat my 1/4-1/2 cup again then I will cancel appt. Till then I get a fill on 5/13. Period.

Watermelon Spritzer. You can actually use any fruit.

When I made this I used a diet lemon/lime soda. The recipe below is the virgin version of this. I lowered the amount of soda and substituted some rum in it :) Just mix it up and have fun.



Ingredients
2 cups seedless watermelon, cut into cubes
1/2 cup ice cubes
2 cups lemon-lime flavored soda, divided
1 lime, cut into wedges
Directions
Place the watermelon and ice cubes in a blender and blend until liquefied. (Once you add the lemon-lime soda, it will thin out even more, add more ice cubes if you want it slushier.) Slowly add 1/2 of the lemon-lime soda and blend until smooth. Pour into glasses, garnish with limes and serve.

5 Day Plan is working... Today is my 1 year Band anniversary too!

Alright so for the most part I stuck with all my rules... I have had a total of about 10 of the M & M's in the break room in the last 4 days so that's good enough I suppose. I would like to kick myself for not being able to avoid them completely for just 5 days..

I also cheated and made a watermelon spritzer with with Rum in it this week lol. I saw the recipe for the spritzer on the food porn network and she gave the optional rum part of it and I ran out the door for the store like a shotgun went off.

It was good tho!

So... TODAY the scale moved in the downward direction! It wasnt a full pound so I wont change my ticker but it motivated me to keep going.

Unfortunately tomorrow we go to my inlaws (Whom I absolutely adore!) and were having a family dinner. That means lots of goodies to snack on so I have gotta watch it.

Hubby said he would go for a bike ride with me on Sunday I want to do atleast 7 miles on a trail and pray for good weather.

My 5 day plan

So I have hit a brick wall for a while now. I need to jump start it. Unfortunately its that TOM. I will try to work through it. The rules of the week and the ones that I should ALWAYS live by and dont are:

1) Atleast 70 0z of water
2) Protein first when eating
3) 3-4 small meals (no grazing)
4) Stay AWAY from the M&M machine in the break room
5) 1 snack per day must be protein based
6) Atleast 30 minutes of exercise that is non household chores
7) No alcohol or any other liquid calories
8) 1 cup of coffee

Think I can do it? Well I am gonna try.

Lazy Sunday

Well I am still stuck at the same weight. I was able to eat alot more the last 2 days maybe I need a fill. My 1 year anniversary is coming up this week and I haven't had one in 7 months so it's quite possible I needd to have it 'refreshed'

Were going up the mountain today to check out spots for downhill mountain biking that will be fun!

Back to the Basics....

Well so today since the scale isn't moving I have went back to definite bandster food. I am sipping a cup of reduced sodium broth right now. I have greek yogurt for breakfast after broth...

I have a 10am snack of a cheese stick and lunch is going to be cottage cheese. Dinner is shredded chicken with some salsa.

I just decided to atleast do it for a day to get back a little motvation. I am not ok with the weight I am at forever and I don't need a fill. So it's something I AM DOING WRONG! I am going to fix it!

Oh and for the love of God I have to skip my nightly glass of wine :(

Band Disclosure

I think there should be a disclosure for the lapband that says Massive amounts of Apple Martinis and Tortilla Soup coupled with the lapband does not lead to weight loss. In fact it causes you to have a large water retention of 4-5 pounds!

I am so back to flushing myself with water. I had about 1/2 of my required water intake for the last 3 days. Am I stupid... Umm yeah.

I am being good today though. I had a yogurt for breakfast and couldn't quite finish it all.. I LOVE the Yoplait Banana Cream and Boston cream pie flavors. I don't normally like yogurt but these are almost like I am being good/bad all in one they are only 100 calories.

Just for Fun Pictures

Still on a Plateau

Unfortunately I don't have anything to report on the weight loss front. I am still stuck at 90lbs lost. Eventually I will find the motivation to actually get over this hump. For now though I feel like I have lost inches or toned up or something because clothes are looser even though the numbers aren't moving.

Last night I went and picked up my Escalade... It's pretty! Now my Doggies have alot of room in the back to run around.

Dreaming

I had the weirdest dream last night... I have no idea why but I had the most hideous pants that I wanted so bad in my dream but I couldn't find a shirt that I liked with it. I seriously woke up from the dream 3 times and resumed the same dream each time I went back to sleep. I remember thinking in my dream wake up you retard you're dreaming.

Oh and I finally got off my ass and did an exercise... I rode my bike to work so all together I will get about 5 miles in. YAY go ME!

Monday-Restrictions tight

I wish it wasn't Monday... I am so not ready for the week to start. I guess I can't do anything about it because it's here now.

This weekend we went to visit family down south for the day. I played Bingo at the casino and lost my butt. But I did well on the slots so I earned back all the money and broke even.

We looked at a Ford Excursion too while we were there. That thing is huge but I liked it. I think were gonna wait till we have the other one paid off first.

My restriction is tight right now but my weight is holding steady. I feel like I have lost inches though the last few weeks. I have tightened my belt and extra notch and it feels like my pants get looser on me throughout the day. If so that's great but I can't wait for the scale to move again.

Nothing is happening

I am not losing WTH! Alrighty I gotta breath.... Yeah ok so I have bounced between the same few pounds for a few weeks now. Why?? I haven't done anything different.. Or have I? I have induldged now and then on my whole freaking 1/4 cup of goodies here and there. I haven't done anything extreme.

Well today I have head hunger. I say head hunger because I haven't felt a hunger pang in about 9 months. I would faint if I could feel what my stomach really feels I am sure lol.

So to combat the head hunger I have now already consumed 52 oz of water and it's 10:30am... I am gonna lay off the water for a few hours before I end up OD'ing on it.

I will get through this plateau and get it moving along again soon. I hope. I don't think it helps that it's 38 degrees outside and raining.. Wanna go for a walk? HAHA I don't think so.

Eat, Eat, Eat

Could somebody please tell me what the hell is going on!? With the restriction I normally have I cannot eat bread or pizza… I can almost count crackers out unless it’s just a few nibbles.

Yesterday it was like my band was wide open. I shoved in bread, a cheese stick and Jalapeno poppers.

No I didn’t do it all in 1 sitting but it’s a lot more food than I could ever eat before. I was worried then this morning I woke up and couldn’t eat more than 1 slice of cheese with some turkey breast… This is so confusing. I guess I should just view yesterday as a bonus and now I have to work that much harder to get all that crap out of my system 

I did take the dogs out and throw the ball and such to burn off some of it… Maybe 50 calories lol.

Air Supply

I had alot of fun this weekend! We went to Lincoln City and stayed in the hotel there at the Casino and saw Air Supply! ya, I am stuck in the 80's.. what's wrong with that?

We were totally suprised that he could still belt out a tune like that ... Very good show.

The hotel was pretty run down though. They had just installed new windows but yet they were dripping water inside the window constantly while we were there.. I don't think the installers did a great job.

My Dog looks like how I feel

My dog looks just like how I feel after this REALLY LONG week... 1 hour till I am off work!

Carrots for breakfast... No no

Normally for breakfast I have something like Greek Yogurt, soup, cheese, milk, cottage cheese etc.. This morning I opened the fridge and julliene sliced carrots jumped out as me. I love carrots! So I pack about 20 small slices of those and a cheese stick. I sit down to eat at my desk and after the second carrot slice I could tell it was going to take a long time to go down.. it's not painful and it's going to come back up.... I can get sips of water through so it should be going down soon :( I wont be eating that cheesestick for a few hours now though!

TGIF! I leave for the casino tomorrow with my inlaws to stay the weekend there and see Air Supply... I know I am stuck in the 80's. It's fun though.

Feeling good!

Ok so the last few days I have been getting my water in I think.. I feel like I am going to float away! I have purchased a larger water bottle for my desk 34 oz and have been making sure that I have 1 before lunch and 1 after lunch but before I leave work... that should keep me from dropping below my required water amount.

I also went to bed last night at 815! That was awesome and I slept sooooooo Good!


Btw I am in love with the Smokehouse almonds... The Jalapeno ones are super good too. I gotta watch the grazing with them.

Need more sleep

According to studies the body needs adequate amounts of sleep to function properly.. That includes to be able to efficiently burn fat. That's just another excuse I can use to sleep more :D

I have been going to bed around 9 and getting up between 445 and 5am... I am tired. I don't realize when I say I am going to bed at 9 that I am asleep that minute. I brush my teeth and get ready for bed... By the time I was laying down to close my eyes last night it was 927 :(

Tonight I am going to try and catch up on some sleep and go to bed around 8-830 :)

Blah blah blah!! I stopped losing!

I am just here to whine and bitch today I think. So I haven't lost anything in almost 2 weeks so I am getting grouchy. I don't 'diet' so I guess I can't expect to have a constant loss and I am sure it has to do with the liquid calories that I have had recently.. Those 2 apple martinis and 2 bloody marys Friday probably didn't help.


Well back on track now.. I hope! I stockpiled a bunch of greek yogurt to help me get back in the swing of things.

Sashimi AHI!

So well umm ya... SUPER GOOD! Like I knew it would be. I went to a fish house last night. I had the Sashimi Ahi it was very very good. I mean why the hell would anyone ever wanna good a fish? I dunno... Oh wait maybe because of the deadly parasites that they might possibly contain! Man I have those DUH should've had a V8 moments once in a while.

But no seriously... if I didn't have to and wanted to risk dying everytime I ate fish I would eat it raw.

So my dinner came with Rice, coleslaw, bread and cottage cheese.

I was only able to eat 1 slice of the sashimi and a few bites of coleslaw and cottage cheese.

I brought a slice of sashimi and cottage cheese in for breakfast. I can tell I am gonna get my moneys worth from this meal and then some.

Fish house

Well my mom is coming to see me for a couple hours today... We don't spend alot of time together. It's because of her loser husband who I umm hate. I don't need to say more.


Were gonna take her out to a fish house here in town. She is from the south so she loves anything that lived in the sea that you fry! So fish and chips it is. Luckily they are an upper scale fish house and not a skippers... so I am dying to try their sashimi :D

Crappy, Crabby, Cruddy!

I am super dooper crabby the last 2 days... Lots of stress, a new job, lots of learning, having an overly dramatic teenager (girl) , and my son going on his first date.


Jesus I need a break from reality! Well not really.. I just need a bit o time to relax.

I have an overnight trip planned with no kids in about 10 days so that will give me a bit of a rest... Plus a chance to go gamble at the casino :D

Happy St. Patty's

Well today I am back to running. I am not gonna let this crappy Oregon weather keep me in the house. Today when I get off work I am gonna hit the ground running. My border collie isn't gonna know what hit him.... He is gonna be a happy dog though I am sure.

10 Months and 3 weeks after being banded

I love love love my lapband! This is me 90lbs down at 10 months 3 weeks after being banded. I am still wanting to lose atleast another 20 and possibly another 40.. But 90lbs WOW!

A Big thanks to all the folks on LBT and especially my April Avengers on there.. Were doing awesome :)

Oh the weather outside is frightful :(

Well somehow mother nature has managed to find a way to go from 40's and sunny to snow... Rain back to sun. How could this happen all in 5 minutes? It's been like that for 3 days....... SOMEONE make it clear up I am going insane. I have never seen it snow in Oregon in March.. Atleast where I live.

Sucks.

Catching up!

Alright.... so I am here to do a catch up post.

I did start my job about a week ago so 1 week under my belt... YAY me. I like the job it's not that bad. Alot of learning when it comes to new software but I am sure I can catch on fairly quickly... take notes, take notes, take notes.... I do alot of that. It's already saved my ass a time or 2.

So I got back from 2 vacations back to back and I managed to lose 7 pounds between going to Kauai and going to California. I am at 182 right now. Thats about 22 pounds from my initial goal. 160 is where I originally wanted to be and thats what I told the surgeon.... that's still overweight by about 10 pounds. The surgeon being skeptical and thinking that no one loses more than 50-60% of their excess weight thought I would be about 180.. I am about there and dont feel like I am done. I can claim success to the number he threw out there in 2 pounds but I plan to keep goin.

My new jobs pretty tempting cause they have free candy all the time in the break rooms along with free espressos and cappucino... I will be good though. I have 1 cup a coffee per day and then stick with the crystal lites and flavored waters the rest of the day.

I have some serious restriction so I don't see much changing soon. I hope that it continues to go this great!

Trip to Cali

I found this mask at a TJ Maxx store somewhere in California. Makes me sexay eh?

This is the happiest couple on earth. After 9 years we decided to finally tie the knot! We have 2 beautiful children too. Brittany and Brandon :)



This is me posing in the International Market Place at Wakiki Beach.



I love trees.. What can I say. Guess that's why I live in Oregon!



The Lava Lounge was the bar we went to in Wakiki. We met the nicest group of Japanese kids from Sapporo... They couldn't speak a lick of english but we had so much fun it didn't matter.



This picture amazes me. I am still 180's in the picture but there is a defined waist and you can see space between myself and my husband. This was taken at the Beach House in Kauai. The food there was absolutely amazing and we had whales jumping out of the water in the background of the sunset. Breath taking... Once in a lifetime.



This is my husband and I also eating at the Beach House. I loved the Sashimi here it was to die for.

Just some fun pics

We had dinner at Dukes Canoe Club in Lihue, Hawaii.. Each time I had a drink I had to put the umbrella in my hair.. I ended up with quite a few lol. While in Hawaii we rented a convertible and did alot of sight seeing.

The picture of me in the mirror is while I was out shopping for a new swim suit to go surfing with.

Made it

Ok so here is the whole scoop.

I left on 2/5 for the hotel in portland at 5pm. We left for the airport at 6am on 2/6. Upon arriving im lied to and told that the plane was delayed because pilots had to sleep. So now the plane would leave at 2pm.

We go back to the hotel... all 11 of us. We return at 2pm to find out that they lied! The plane flew in on 1 engine and that it was all over the news and wasn't repaired. Now we would have to wait till 1130 pm for the next flight... a red eye. There was no guarantee when we arrived what our connecting flight from Oahu would be either.. we were just told we would arrive in Oahu at 330 am.

We finally get to Oahu and have to wait till the 530am flight... another delay. We land in Kauai and make it to our rental house well after 7am. I had an appt for the license agent at 930 am, the cake was delivered and the wedding was at 430.. Omg what a day that was.

It's all over now its all about the honey moon. Jeez it was a mess but very happy now.

Delay of flight... will that create a delay of wedding?

I am pretty ticked off atm. I wake up at 450 am at my hotel. I catch the shuttle to the airport.. All 11 of us.. we managed to get 11 of us on the same flight.

This hawaiin airlines man comes up to us and said I have horrible news. So we all freeze. He smiles and says oh it's not that bad. Phew I breathe a sigh of relief cause it's not gonna be bad. He proceeds to tell us that our flight is now delayed till 2pm. NOT THAT BAD!?! 6 freaking hour delay oh it's not bad at all. My ass.

I have my panties in a bunch right now. Not only that the flight now lands at 555pm instead of Noon but now I have to find another flight from honolulu to Kauai.

Thanks for ruining my day Hawaiian airlines... flight 25.

Heres what's keeping me company.. cheers

Hawaii!

This is my last post till atleast the 15th! I will be leaving for Hawaii and I can't freaking wait. I am Glowing with a tan and weighing 189! I am so happy haha. We have a total of 14 friends and family going with us. We rented this super awesome house from VRBO.com that will fit all of us... so much cheaper than 7 hotels a night.

I will be sure to post lots of pictures when I return. I can't wait to see the pictures that everyone else takes. I get to see myself from all other angles. I don't know why I find that interesting.... before I would of hit from the camera..... Now I wanna be in all the pictures!

Gonna get movin!

Today I wake up and I can't even grasp the reality that I dont have somewhere I have to be... My eyes pop right open at 445. I layed there for another couple hours dozing on and off. I am up now though. I just had some salmon and rice with Yumm sauce it was super good. I couldn't even finish the 1/4cup of rice more like an 1/8 cup of rice and about 1 oz salmon.

My plan today is to clean the entire upstairs of my house in preparation for my trip. I am gonna where my pedometer and see how many miles I can rack up running around cleaning today!

Where is the weight going?

I am super excited but seriously puzzled... Where is all the weight going? In January I lost almost 10 pounds! I didn't exercise at all so whats going on? I wish I knew what I did cause I would keep it up.

I will have to take another full body picture and do a before/during soon.

Economic Slow Down

Well I guess the economic slow down finally caught up to me! I am not panicking... Yet. I was called into HR and was told that they were going to restructure the jobs and that my position would no longer be required.

I will get unemployment and will be just fine. I am just worried about not having health insurance. The insurance I had was wonderful and paid for my lapband... what now!? I am at good restriction so I will hope that I find another job that will cover fills... That's gonna be tough I think. I will have to research that one.

I leave for Hawaii next week so I don't wanna stress it too much I have been looking forward to this for so long.

80!

Well well well.. GO ME!!! YAY TEAM! no.. serious. I made it to 80lbs lost. I am so shocked. How did this happen? The band worked for me!

When I first started this journey I was like I am the 1/1000000 that this will not work for. I was wrong. This adventure is definetly a learning curve and I still seem to test the waters with foods I probably shouldn't but I am doing alot better.

Bread is a NO NO for me and I still convinced myself last night at Costco that I could eat just 1 sample of pepporoni pizza bites. 1 nibble im good... 2 nibble...3 nibble... run for bathroom to purge the slime fest. That was horrible. I instantly felt better though and moved on with my shopping trip. I can't believe I did that because I never usually try to eat a bread product.

I leave for Hawaii in 1 week and I am so excited. I can't believe that I hit my short term goal of 80lbs lost by the time I get married in Kauai.

Monday, Monday, Monday

Yay me ... 1 more pound down. I think it's weird how I go 2 weeks without a loss then lose a couple pounds... It's a viscous cycle but I love it!

So ya.. I have a bruise still on my face it looks alot better today though. I am sure it will be gone by the time I go on my trip next week. Especially since I dont' leave until Thursday.

I can't wait to see how I fit in the seat I am hoping that I will have a wonderful NSV to report... Losing 78 surely has to help with fitting into the seat right?

9 Month Anniversary

I am late doing my 9 month posting but that's because of that stupid tooth they pulled. I only have 11 days till I leave for Hawaii and 13 till my wedding... so I ask the nurse assisting with the removal of the tooth if I could have external bruising from it. She said it has never happened... either she fibbed or I am the very first to have bruising. It's not too bad and should be gone by the time I go... I hope. Otherwise alot of makeup will be called for.

So at 9 months I have lost 77lbs. I am happy with that. I wish that I was a steady loser of 2lbs a week though.. Oh well slow loser is still a loser. I can't really too upset about it since my exercise has decreased to nothing. Uggh I can't wait for the weather to warm up. The most I do in a day is walk 2.0 miles.

Stupid wisdom tooth

I get to have a wisdom tooth pulled at 8am this morning. I can't wait! :(




Uggh just got back and I feel like Joan Rivers.... Am I smiling!?!?! I can't feel my face omg!

Rice

Ok 1 scoop of rice would've done me in before today.

I still have awesome restriction but today I tempted fate by scooping up 1/4 cup of jasmine and a tblsp of Yumm Peanut sauce!

1 tiny bite.. Wait for it wait for it... HOLY $HIT I DIDN'T PB!

Another bite, another bite, another

30 minutes later I ate 1/4 cup of rice.

I am in heaven as long as it's not more than that!

Princess

Did I mention that I am a pretty pretty princess? haha Nothing like being sarcastic eh? I feel ornery today.

Confessions of an obsessive scaler...

Since I have began losing weight I am addicted to my scale. My name is Brandy and I am a scale addict.

They say it's a bad thing to focus on the numbers. To me that is the biggest way to reassure yourself that you're going in the right direction. I don't do alot of the measuring and such as I should. I measure the inches I have lost with the amount of pant sizes I have went down.

So I have tried really hard the last 24 hours to stay off the scale. I have succeeded so far. I don't think I could possibly make it more than a couple days. I would probably eat standing on the scale if I could LOL.

Determined

I am tired of being at 194.. I know it's only been a week but I am ready to move on to bigger and better things! Plan today:


Stay on Plan
Drink, Drink, Drink
No carbs!
All proteins here I come

I plan to kick ass this week!

No news is good news?

I have been holding steady at 194. I was really hoping to dump those before I go to Hawaii. I would like to be 189 or 190 but we will see.. I guess holding steady is better than nothing.

I have an NSV.. At the height of my weight I wore a size 10 ring. When I became engaged last summer the ring he picked out was a size 7 (the only size it came in) I thought no biggie I will just go get it sized. HAHA It's a platinum set so the jeweler told me it would be 200 for each of my rings because of the amount of platinum it would take to extend it out that far. I decided to wait and see what size I was right before the wedding.

I took my rings in last week to have them sized and my ring size is a 7.5 and it cost 75 bucks to size both!!!

YAY me!

Dress pic

Wedding Dress

Well, my wedding dress is complete and back from being altered. It's down to the wire and I am worried I am forgetting something or that something is going to go wrong.. It's so hard to plan a wedding that is happening on the other side of the ocean!

I will try to get a picture of me in my wedding dress tonight. I have to box it up tomorrow and ship it to Kauai so it will be steamed and ready to go when I arrive.

To do list today and tomorrow:

Box up and ship wedding stuff off
Finish ordering and paying for the cake
Pick up rings that are being sized

Can't wait to be done with it all! I had fun while it lasted now I am just ready to be on a tropical island and stress free!

1 pound at a time...

Well I lost 1 more pound. Down to 194. I will breathe a sigh of relief when I get in the 180's. I don't like being dangerously close to 200's haha. Even though I am on the losing side of it and HAPPY to be there.

I have a goal of hitting 80lbs lost before I leave for Hawaii on 2/5 I HAVE to make that goal. Although I would prefer to have 80 pounds lost at my 9 month band anniversary of 4/23 we will see.... That gives me 9 days. I am a kinda slow loser so that would be a miracle!

Well its 552 guess I better hit the dusty trail for work :( Oh well atleast todays my Thursday since I don't work Fridays!! WHoo hoo.

Virtual weight loss pics before and after

So I got my virtual pics back! Here I am!

Uggh HEAD Hunger!

Ok so today I just want to eat and eat and eat. Well, lucky for me I have a band and eat, eat, eat consisted of 1 slice of cheese, an egg, and 16 oz of milk so far today haha.


I do have some super yummy almond / cashew chicken I have been eyeing. I know if I start in on it I will end up too full. So back to the onward head hunger fight. I will just have a cup of tea and deal with it.

So I checked out my friend Colorado Chicks blog today and was super excited about the pictures you can submit and have them digitally changed! I have already sent mine in and I will be posting it as soon as they are back :)

www.weightview.com


Thanks CC!

Size 12 Jeans.. Well kinda

Ok so I have 2 pairs of Abercrombie jeans here that are size 12 (The largest size they make.. But hey who cares!!)

Today I put them on and ZIPPED THEM UP!! I am no super model in them if I really want to wear them now though I could. The thighs are too tight so I will try again in a couple weeks.

Holy Crap I lost another pound

I was so good since January 1st. This week I lost another pound so far.. I am so freaking excited. If I cana be good and avoid those liquid calories I think I am at my sweet spot!! I have a weakness for a nice glass of wine though. But I have curbed that this month and have had a 4lb loss in 9 days that is insane!! I be u can tell im excited :)

Ok and on a side note.. I declare Friday "Brandy Day" Well atleast in our house that is decided. Starting this week I have changed my work schedule to work Monday-THURSDAY! No more Fridays for me at work.... So Fridays are whatever I want to do :) How sweet is that? Today my schedule is .... Lay around and talk on LBT, have lunch with a friend, go shopping for new clothes for hawaii trip, go tanning, get my nails done.

Omg it's gonna be a hard day!! I deserve it though!

Getting Closer!

Well I didn’t post any losses today but that’s ok I feel really good. I can’t quite figure out why my ankles are swollen up so freaking bad. I can’t think of anything I had that was so horribly salty.. Maybe I need to drink more water. I am at 64 oz already today tho and it’s only 130. I haven’t peed a lot either so that’s a sign I need to up the water intake.

I am getting pretty excited and anxious to get this Hawaii trip going. It’s really hard to coordinate the minister, the location, the cake, the guest housing, the flights, the dinners, receptions, the EVERYTHING you name it from a million miles away. I think I have all but the cake part done. I just don’t have a lot of custom cake makers to choose from there lol. I only have found 1 and he is 45 minutes from the house we rented… so we would have to transport a 3 tier cake all the way across Kauai that spells disaster to me.

I have a friend that lives there so she is going to get my dress and such in the mail ahead of time to have it cleaned and such. I have my fingers crossed that all this goes well!

Still sick and still in shock

Well even after staying in bed ALL day yesterday and only getting up 2x... 1 for the doctor and 1 to go downstairs.. I AM STILL SICK.
Atleast I can finally hold down food. I haven't really tried real food.. But I did hold down part of a soup at hand and a jello cup yesterday. Today I have only had broth but have other stuff packed to try snacking on throughout the day.

I am still kinda in shock that I have been able to achieve a loss of 75lbs. I have been super lazy and it's still coming off. I should feel guilty and get off my ass and go work out.. Instead I complain when it doesn't come off fast enough as if it should just fall off :( I have been wearing my pedometer though and have done a little better each day.

According to the the sites I found on the internet most people get about 5k steps in a day. I have been over that everyday and still climbing so I will hope I am taking a step in the right direction... Lol good pun!

So far at 75lbs lost thats the equivalent of an irish setter and a chihuahua.

OMG the flu!

I think I have the flu... I feel like someone beat the crud out of me... Not to mention the puking that happened in the middle of the night.

Liquids for me.

Down 74 lbs after just 8 months

Down 74lbs at 8 months post op! New Years photos... Butterfly in progress.

Ramblings

So I am down another pound and I am super excited! I have made it through all 3 holidays while still losing weight. I feel like I did get off track though... I have been having chips alot lately. I only eat one of those snack bags a day.. But it shouldnt be a daily treat. I will make a resolution now to decrease the chip intake! This is the first time in years I don't have to make a weightloss resolution.

I tried to the pouch test and failed miserably. I have decided to drop out of the actual pouch test and just try to get back to healthy eating instead of doing a liquid diet that makes me completely miserable.


Oh btw I had the best shrimp and lobster sauce ever last night at pf changs! I only ate 6 of the small shrimp but I ate for once. I am so glad my band loosened up a tiny bit. I think I will reevaluate if I need a fill after the wedding in February.

Kuaui >200 here I come!