hey y’all! i wont continue to apologize for sucking at posting. you get it at this point.  not sure if anyone even actually reads this thing, but i figure i’ll post an update, anyways.

so! lap-band!  i’m about 2.5 months post-op at this point.  everything is going good, for the most part.  i’ve had one fill so far (which is where the add restriction to the band, so it takes longer for food to pass through, making me fuller, longer).  i had a check-up with my nurse practitioner a month later, July 14th, and she said i’ve been making such good progress, that i don’t need another fill for awhile.  here’s the thing, while i’m happy that she’s happy with my progress, i feel like i’m struggling on a diet.  i still dont feel much restriction as far as the band goes, but she assured me successful band patients don’t rely on the band to lose weight.  but, wait?  didn’t i have weight loss surgery to get HELP losing the weight?  anyways..

oh, and weight loss?  i’ve lost 48 pounds since my highest.  is it bad i’m not completely happy with this number?  i weighed in at 284 day of surgery and was 255, today. i’m losing more than 2 lbs a week, which is great!  but i want it to be more!  i know, i sound bratty, so i’ll just stop.  i just think of how much farther i have to go, instead of looking as how far i’ve come.

gym is going great! seriously!  i dont hate working out, which says a lot for the girl who skipped the gym for a pint of ben and jerry’s alllllll last summer.  barbara and i are good at pushing one another when one doesn’t feel like going.  i’ve been trying to get up at 4:15am to knock out workouts in the morning, but that doesnt always happen, and we end up in a gym packed full of meatheads.  seriously, we switched to a more affordable gym (we weren’t using the amenities at the more expensive one and their weight section sucked), and 5pm week days, you can’t move even though there’s so much equipment.  plus, i love being able to get off work and if i want to go home and veg on the couch, i can without feeling guilty if i worked out at 5am.

my eating has been going pretty good.  i’ve had 3 ‘cheat meals’ since surgery.  i hate to call them cheats, because this is a lifestyle change, but my doctor has recommended i keep things low-carb, so i still feel like i’m on a ‘diet’ at this point.  i went to a cook-out and grazed all day, ate buffalo wild wings, and had a piece of pizza w. some chips and dip.  nothing too crazy, but i did feel guilt after all 3 occasions.  for the most part, i don’t mind eating low-carb.  i like a chipotle burrito bowl without the rice or a cheeseburger without the bun, but sometimes, i do miss bread or ice cream or cookies.  ok, i’ll stop now, cause i’m making myself hungry.  i have found that quest cookies & cream bars curb my sweet tooth, when i’m really craving something sweet.  i cut down my intake of them, though, because it seemed to slow my weight loss for awhile, so now they are just a treat every once in awhile, instead of dessert every night.

other noteworthy items, lap-band related?  i did experience my first real ‘stuck’ episode and it. was. horrible.  getting ‘stuck’ with lap-band basically means food is stuck right at the stoma (where the band is placed/restricting) and it wont go up or down.  this usually causes ‘sliming’ which is basically just excess saliva produced.  the best way i can describe sliming is that feeling after taking one shot of alcohol too many and the back of your throat starts watering.  well, for a second, i forgot i had the band and ate 2 small pieces of chicken too quick.  and it happened. it got stuck.  i was driving in the car and had to pull over to spit out the saliva i had in the back of my throat.  then, i got to the destination, a car dealership, and ended up having to excuse myself in the middle of talking to the salesman, because i felt like i was going to throw up everywhere.  i got to the bathroom and spit up some more saliva, and then all of a sudden, it went away.  the chicken must have gone down, because i didn’t spit it back up.  this may be wayyyy TMI, but it was an experience i don’t think i can forget for awhile.  it reminded me to eat slow and CHEW.  i’ve felt an uncomfortable tight feeling a few times, which i THOUGHT was being ‘stuck’, but i was SO wrong!  moving on, i’m sure you know way more than you wanted to about that situation.

life outside of lap-band and exercising?  is there one?  just kidding, i’ve been enjoying life!  hanging out with family and friends and feel like summer is just going WAY TO FAST!  i’ve only had 1 weekend this summer where i had absolutely nothing to do, but i’m not complaining! plus, I GOT A PROMOTION!  i went from general accounting to my agency’s budget accountant.  yay, sounds so fun, right?! haha  our current budget accountant is retiring, so for the next 6 months, i will be training with him, continuing my daily duties, and training my replacement.  horray for 60-80 hour work weeks for the next few months.  hopefully this will all be worth it in the end!  luckily, i get my pay raise immediately, since i’ll be taking on so much more.

so, that’s my life lately.  i’ll leave you with a before and after i put together yesterday:

xoxo