This Little Light of Mine...

The inspiration for my title today is provided by my 4 year old! He was singing that song in the car on the way to school this morning.  It just melts my heart - love him so!!

Today is Friday, Sept. 30th.  Where has this month gone??? I cannot believe that tomorrow is October! It's been 6 weeks now since my banding and things are going so great!!! I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to get my band and get healthy!! I am well on my way! :)

Today is weigh day and I am down another 2.4 pounds! Yippee-Yay!!! That brings my total since being banded to 10.2 pounds and my over all total since starting the process in April to 20 pounds lost.  Let me put that in perspective for you.... It took me 6 months to lose 10 pounds before my band and only 6 weeks to lose 10 pounds after my band! Isn't that WONDERFUL!!!!! I heart my band!

This is gong to be an excellent weekend! Tonight is Allen's homecoming and we are going to the game - GO EAGLES!!! Tomorrow is a Bengal's football game and I'm excited watch my favorite player - #4. Following the game I'm off to Southlake to see my best friend and celebrate a sweet lady's 30th birthday. It doesn't get much better than football, family, and besties!! Have a blessed weekend bloggers!

Happy Dance

I'm doing my happy dance today.  Today is weigh day and I'm at 339.2!!!  Little victories friends - that's what I live for!!

I ordered a dance workout video on Amazon.com and it should be here today or tomorrow.  Planning to get started on that and hopefully I'll see those numbers drop even more! Still working towards my goal of 30 pounds by Christmas - I'm getting there!

Thoughts on Zumba??

What are your thoughts on Zumba? I don't mean in a gym or class with 30 other people...I mean the at-home, in the privacy of your own living room, personal DVD version? The 30 Day Shred kicked my but all over the house for a week and I only did it one time.  I can't muster up the gumption to do it again.  Plan B is to try something fun! I know nothing about Zumba, but I did watch some You Tube videos on it.  Looks interesting! I'm thinking of buy a DVD and giving it a try - any suggestions??

Not a good idea....

I made a decision last night and it did not turn out so well!! I am a belly sleeper - always have been!! I love to bury myself into my blankets and pillow and snuggle down in the bed.  I remember the point during my pregnancy when I was unable to sleep on my stomach anymore and I was so sad.  Since being banded, I have not slept on my stomach because I feared that it would hurt.  Last night I thought, it's been over a month, SURELY I can sleep on my stomach now.  WRONG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Oh my stars!!! I woke up in the middle of the night and the spot where my port is was hurting so bad!! :( Is this normal?? Is it because it isn't completely healed inside?? Will I ever be able to sleep on my tummy again??? Ugh...if you know the answers to these questions, please advise! I know that sleeping like that is not good for your back - yeah, yeah, yeah! Hahahha.  I will tell you this....this chick will be waiting a while before trying that again! Boo!!! Dislike!! Hiss!! :)

Other notes....
I got on the scale Monday morning (yesterday) and I am at 340.0.  The 330's are lurking just around the corner - I can see them!!!! So hoping that I am there on Friday - can you see me crossing my fingers?  I am still feeling a difference in my clothes.  I would say most noticeably in my bra - sorry if that's TMI!! My husband is not liking that part!! :) Also noticing a slight difference in my pants - like in the leg and the seat.  They are droopy and saggy....both good things if you are trying to lose weight. I keep telling myself that it's designed to be a gradual process.....
waiting........................................................................

One Month Band-iversary

Today marks one month since I was banded.  It's a happy day for me.  I am feeling wonderful - no pain, have my energy back, and feeling great.  It's been a week since my last post - sorry about that! You may notice my fancy new blog design.  Thanks to my bff, my blog now has style! You rock LN!! There has not been much to tell this week other than I have noticed myself being hungry, a lot! I am going to call today to see if there have been any cancellations for my first fill - I have two and a half more weeks to wait! Today I weighed, I was disappointed to see that I had gained 1.2 pounds.  I am back up to 342.  While I am disappointed in my gain of a pound, I am feeling like I have lost some inches.  I have had a couple of people tell me that they can tell a difference in my face, my arms, and my legs.  It seems weird to me that you could not lose much weight, but tell a difference in your body.  Whatever it is, whether it's their mind playing tricks on them or if they really can tell a difference - I'll take it.  Who doesn't love hearing - "Hey, you look great!"??? My very wise best friend told me to take my measurements before being banded...did I listen??? That's a negative....well, I did listen to her, but just never got around to doing it.  I guess if I had done so, I would be able to compare those numbers.  Anyway, what's done is done.  I do have a picture update to add...it is included below.  I still need to kick my rear into gear and get to exercising.  Ugh...I so hate it!! Looking forward to a lazy, relaxing weekend at home with my hubby and kiddo.  Have a great Friday bloggers!

Weigh Day - 21 Days

Oh, Happy Day!!!! So many things to add to my Book of Awesome for the day!!

     1. It's Friday - obviously awesome!
     2. The weather today is beautiful!
     3. Our friends from Lubbock are here for a visit
     4. Aivry has his very first flag football game this Saturday
     5. I'm getting my hair done tomorrow
     6. It's weigh day and I lost 2 pounds!!

My weight today is 340.8 - I'm hoping to see a number in the 330's next week. (Seems odd to hope for that!) Oh how wonderful it will be to see a number on the scale that doesn't begin with a 3!!! That day will come, I know - just need to continue to be patient and diligent!!

I have scheduled my first fill appointment.  I was very disappointed to find out that they can't get me in until October 4th!!! Hello....that's like 4 weeks away!!! She did say that they have cancellations all the time, and that I should call and check often for openings. Trust me, I will be doing that!

I need to get back on my Shred bandwagon - I still have not done it since the first night. :( I'm so bad!!!! I won't make excuses this time - I was going to do it last night, I even put on my clothes, and then I conveniently found something else to do instead! What was that other thing you ask??? Clean - yes, I said clean.  I would rather clean my kitchen, floors and all, than to exercise for 20 minutes.  Isn't that ridiculous!!! I need to get the booty in gear and do it again - maybe the pain in my legs and arm will go away if I do it like I'm supposed to! :)

Happy Friday blog world - this chicka is out!

My legs are falling off!!

I told you that I started the 30 Day Shred last night...my legs were sore earlier, but as the day has gone one it has only gotten worse!!! I can barely stand up/ sit down!! I feel like an old woman!! Now my arms are sore as well and my abs are definitely joining in on this party.  Tonight, my little guy had football practice so my friend and I walked around our school while they were practicing.  We were walking at a pretty fast pace - I was sweating and panting.  We walked probably close to a mile and a half.  So, I've made an executive decision.....there will be no shredding tonight!! I seriously don't think I could do it if I tried tonight with the pain in my legs.  Plus, I feel like I got a good walking work-out in....I'm trying really hard to justify it - is it working??? Someone please tell me it's okay!!! LOL

Not sure why or what the difference was today, but at lunch time I was not a bit hungry.  I ate a little bit, because it was lunch time and it was my one chance to eat before 3:00 but I truly wasn't hungry.  I hope that is a good thing - especially since Dr. Marsden said that this would be when I started feeling hungry all the time.  We'll see...maybe I'll just take a banana for lunch tomorrow. 

For now, I'm am going to drag myself to my bed and crawl in it!!! Good night blog world.

Setting a Goal

I decided last night that I need to set a goal - a first step to reach towards.  I have been thinking about this for a while and I've had a goal in mind, but I feel like I need to put it in writing for it to be "real".  I'm a nerd, I know!! So....while I was trying hard to go to sleep last night, after I finally put my phone down and left Pinterest alone, I made up my mind.  So here it is.....this just in.....my goal is to lose 30 pounds by Christmas.  I guess I was expecting some trumpets and streamers to fill the air, but I got nothing! Hahahha! I'm hoping that this is a managable goal, I want to push myself but I also don't want to set myself up for failure!! Being a math teacher, I had to do some calculations before setting it in stone. I figure there are 15 weeks until Christmas; I will shoot for 2 pounds per week; and I've already lost 5.4, so I have a few (very few) pounds to buffer.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.........

That brings me to my other thought to share....I know I should have waited until Friday to weigh, but the curiosity got the best of me! I weighed this morning and I am back down - yay!!! Today's weight was 341.6.  It's not a huge change....but it's better than a gain!!! I will take it.  I will still weigh on Friday for my official 3 week total, but I had to share.  My legs this morning are really sore!! The Shred did me in and I'm not looking forward to tonight!! :(

More to come......until next time!

30 Day Shred ....WHAT WAS I THINKING???

Okay...so it's been several days since my last post. I meant to sit down and post on Friday and I got busy at work.  So here's the recap.....

Friday morning I weighed - twice! I weighed on our new scale at home and I sure was hoping that it was wrong! I weighed again on my nurse's scale at school and it said the same darn thing!! I had gained .8 pounds.  I know, I know...you are reading this saying "that could be water weight", "it's nothing, don't fret" etc....but I did fret! I was so disappointed to see that I had gained - even just that little bit.  It was good motivation though.  I tried really hard to make good choices this weekend.  We were out of town for the first Tech game of the season, with friends all weekend, and traveling Friday and Monday.  I have stayed away from carbonated drinks and sweet tea, I have really tried to make good food choices, and drink lots of water.  We'll see what the scale says this week. In addition to that, I decided that it was time to quit being a baby and get off my butt!!!

That brings me to tonight.  As I type, I am sweating, panting, and feeling like death!!! I just finished my first workout on the Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred.  HOLY MOLY....that crap is hard!!!!!! I was dying for the entire 20 minutes!!! I watched it first, to see what I was getting in to.  During the "viewing" I was thinking - cool, I can do this! Jumping Jacks - sure, jumping rope - no problem, crunches - eh, maybe a little harder, ...BOY WAS I WRONG!!!!! My arms feel like jelly and I couldn't even get my butt off the ground for those darn reverse crunches.  I'm going to stick with it but this chick is a wimp and I'm going to really have to dig deep to follow through with it.

I'm really kind of sad that I am almost 3 weeks into my Lab Band life and I can't really see a noticeable difference.  I'm really trying to be patient and that is a struggle for me! I can tell a difference in my eating for sure, but I am ready to see a difference in my clothes.  Time, time and more time will tell......I hope!

Thanks for reading....I will try to update more often.  And I'll let you know how the Shred goes on Day 2.

Post-Op Follow-up

Tomorrow marks 2 weeks since my surgery and I just got home from my post-op appointment with Dr. Marsden.  He is so nice!!!! I love that he makes me feel good about coming in and good about my decision to have Lap Band.  He's so genuine and non-judgemental. Basically...I <3 my Dr.! :)

My incisions are healing nicely and itching like crazy!!! He removed the steri-strips, so my belly is naked again. :) I'm supposed to schedule my first fill appointment for the middle of September - little nervous about that! I know that I have the access port, but what is the shot going to feel like?? I guess I will find out soon enough. Dr. Marsden also said that within the next week or so, the swelling inside my belly is really going to subside and with that comes hunger.  He warned me that I may be grumpy and hungry all day - yikes! I'm interested to see what the next week will bring me - I'm hopeful and optimistic.

Tomorrow I will weigh again - hoping for good numbers. :) I need to get by booty in gear and get on an exercise plan.  I have never been good about exercising....if only it was something that I enjoyed! More to come on that topic!!