Comparison photos...

This is a self-portrait that my husband & I took of ourselves at a baseball game last year.

We took this one last night.




















The end.

And also, WOOT! WOOT!

i don't understand what's happening with my Bo0b$...

BO0BIE$

8 years ago when I started dating my [now] husband, I wore a 36C.  At my highest weight of 245, I was busting out of a 38DDD.  I have recently been bra shopping again, and am the proud owner of 2 34DD's.  However, I'm still 30 lbs above where I was at 36C.  I understand the cup size, but I don't get how the strap size has gone down.  I have NEVER been a 34 in my life (even as a teen weighing in the 130's).  WTF?  I mean, I'll take it--I just don't understand it.

VITAMIN UPDATE

I am proud to say that I have taken ALL of my vitamins EVERY day for the last 2 weeks.  What changed?--I started using my pill minder again.  Simple, huh?

WEIGH IN

I have officially lost 50lbs!!!  Only 20 pounds to go until I'm no longer "obese" and 30 pounds until my "I'll call myself successful" goal of 165.  Once I reach that goal, I will re-evaluate to see if I'm comfortable there or if I want to try to lose 10-20 more.

5 months!

...and almost 50 lbs!

I had my 6-month checkup with my surgeon yesterday (even though it's only been 5 months...we got a little off schedule when I got sick in October).  He is pleased with my progress overall.  But, he did tell me that it was well past time for me to start using weights at the gym.

I've only lost 10 lbs in the last 3 months.  My excuses were:  Thanksgiving, 2 Christmas celebrations, a 3-day New Years extravaganza and 4 birthdays.  The truth of the matter, though, is that I haven't really been putting forth an effort.  So, while it's great that I lost 10lbs over the holidays without really trying (which means that the sleeve is doing its job), it's time for me to start start do my job.  And, that means exercise & meal planning.

My vitamin levels were all within normal ranges.  This also is good news especially if you consider that I haven't been taking my vitamins.  Whew!

ice cream & sammies...

ICE CREAM

I have finally accepted the fact that I can no longer eat ice cream.  One of the "side-effects" of the Sleeve Gastrectomy is that many people find they can no longer tolerate certain foods.  The type of intolerance is random and cannot be predicted.  My NUT said that one of her patients cannot tolerate vanilla ice cream--any other flavor is fine.  I, however, can't seem to tolerate ANY flavor of ice cream.  One bite and I start feeling nauseated; three bites or more and I am bent over the toilet (or the garbage disposal ala Tina) for a while.  Bad times, my friends.

SANDWICHES

I met my mother at one of our favorite local lunch spots yesterday.  Since I can now eat some breads, I ordered the chicken salad sandwich (toasted to dry out the bread).  I have now eaten three meals off of this sandwich (lunch, dinner & even breakfast this morning) and still have over 1/2 of the sandwich left!!!

My weight is holding steady between 199.0-199.9.  Still under 200!!!  I have been terrible with the H20 lately and am hoping that getting back on that wagon will help get me back in the losing game.  Plus, it's the week before 'The Crying Time' and that never helps with the scales, either.

Happy Weekend, Y'all!

i'm claiming it...

I've been weighing in under 200 for over a week, so now I feel comfortable declaring permanent residency in Onederland (I don't love that phrase in general, but it fits the circumstance).

I went shopping yesterday and am also claiming residency in the regular size women's clothing department.  I didn't try on pants, but all of the tops that I bought were size L (and even one M)!!!  I also can't wear any of my 16W pants anymore--too big!

On a whim, I dug into my closet archives and tried on the stack of size 14 pants that I've been saving since 2007.  Every single pair zipped and buttoned!!--although, the eyes of the world will thank me if I lose another 10-15 lbs before wearing any of them in public. ;)

I am having blood drawn on Monday in preparation for my checkup with Dr. Steinburg on Feb. 4.  He will be checking all of my vitamin levels, cholesterol, etc.  I will admit that I haven't been taking all of my vitamins lately AND I haven't been tracking my food so I have no idea how I'm doing on nutrition & calories.  Fingers crossed!

Cheers!

1-month behind schedule, but...

199.2 !!!

2013 Unprocessed

In keeping with our blogging community tradition, I have chosen a word for the new year...

UNPROCESSED

The theory behing living an unprocessed life (as it relates to food) is to eat food that is as close to it's natural state as possible.  It's not about being "good" 100% of the time and there is no such thing as "failure."  It's really about making the best choice available at the time.  When making decisions about what is and isn't considered unprocessed, I will be using The Kitchen Test devised by Andrew Wilder over at Eating Rules.

Unprocessed food is any food that could be made by a person with reasonable skill in a home kitchen with whole-food ingredients.

I call it “The Kitchen Test.” If you pick up something with a label (if it doesn’t have a label, it’s probably unprocessed), and find an ingredient you’d never use in your kitchen and couldn’t possibly make yourself from the whole form, it’s processed.

It doesn’t mean you actually have to make it yourself, it just means that for it to be considered “unprocessed” that you could, in theory, do so.

I have been leaning toward this type of eating and cooking for many years now and was thrilled to find the Eating Rules site that so closely mimics my own views on food and eating.   

When I cleaned out my pantry last week, I was shocked at how much processed food I was keeping around...sugar, white flour, canned soups (loaded with preservatives), etc.  Once I started really examining the labels, I was again surprised to discover the less-than-natural ingredients in things like a can of Chiles en Adobo (I have since found an acceptable substitute at Whole Foods) and even my sliced water chestnuts.

If you are interested in a lengthy & detailed explanation, you can find it here.