food journaling success...traveling...and an apology... (not necessarily in that order)

APOLOGY:

First, I'd like to apologize for my little outburst yesterday.  As it turns out, I'd forgotten to take my Lexapro for 3 days and, as my husband would undoubtedly confirm, extreme and undue grumpiness is one of my biggest symptoms.

FOOD JOURNALING:

Now onto the main event.  It would seem that my food journaling is having a positive impact--and after only 4 days!  I think the biggest benefit is that it makes me aware of EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth.  I am also more aware of how much water I am (or am not) drinking.  I have discovered that if I eat purposefully and mindfully, then I come in right around the 1000-1200 calorie mark and have no problem meeting my daily protein goal (more about this and hair loss in another post).

As you may notice from my graph, my weight has started moving downward again.  YIPPEE!!!  And, I am going to set a fairly aggressive goal...10lb loss in the next 4 weeks.  That's 2.5 lbs/week and something I haven't achieved since the first month after surgery.  Why so aggressive?--I'm turning 40 on January 6 and really want to be under 200 lbs.  I think I have the food and water under control.  But, in order meet this goal, I absolutely must exercise!

TRAVELING:

Here's the part where I need your advice and recommendations.  Darrell and I will be staying with friends in Fort Collins for about a week at the end of the year.  Everyone there knows about the surgery and has been extremely supportive.  However, since my last mega-fill, I have had to be "picky" about my eating--especially with my morning smoothies (regular breakfast is an absolute NO for me these days).

How to you maintain Band-appropriate eating while also being a gracious house-guest?

Cheers!