9 Month Bandiversary

Nine months has come and gone. I have been procrastinating at taking my 9 month pictures. But here they are... finally...

                    Before                                 9 months

Man, I love this Lap Band!

In other news - Christmas has also come and gone. Santa was very nice and brought me lots of goodies. I also got to see some people who I haven't seen in a long while and who had not seen me since before I had surgery. I got A LOT of compliments. It was kind of weird actually. It was a little hard to take at first but I figure the compliments will definitely decrease over time. I'll take what I can get!

8 Month Bandiversary (2 weeks late)

My 8 month bandiversary was on November 19th. I'm just a little late with this post. Hell, I'm almost at 9 months now. But I knew that I would kick myself if I didn't do pictures, so I went ahead and did them late. Better late than never. And I also got my hair cut yesterday too, so I'm showing off my pretty new haircut in the new pictures too. 

Not much is going on right now. Weight loss is steady, but slow at this point. I don't know if I would benefit from a fill or not. I think if I had any more I wouldn't be able to hold anything down. I'll keep you posted. Here are the 8 1/2 month pictures...

I ran... and no one was chasing me!

I actually got off my butt the other day and walked/jogged around the track at a middle school down the road from my apartment. I wanted to walk/jog on a track so that I could jog the straights and walk the curves. Yeah, I know, most workout routines involve sprinting the straights and jogging the curves, but I'm just starting. This is quite an accomplishment for me... this coming from a girl who does not run unless she's being chased (by someone with a weapon, etc.). I ended up walking/jogging 2 miles at the track. I like that the weather is cooler now, so I may be more apt to get my butt off the couch and go outside.

I was walking around the track and spotted a spectator. Check it out...

It's Bambi. It was just hanging out, chowing down next to the football field.  The picture is kind of crappy since I took it from my cell phone (that was stashed in my sweaty, way too big sports bra) from a ways away. Oh yeah, the big bad mamma jamma sports bra that I bought a while back has a lot of room in it now. It's not quite as supportive as it once was. I guess I'm in the market for a new one now.

The Big 1-0-0 & Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure

It's official... I have finally lost 100 pounds!

Holy crap! I can't believe it.

Also, I did the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure this past Sunday as well. I was the team captain for my team at work. My friend was visiting from Alaska and did the walk with me. Here's a few of us from our group: my friend Jacque from Alaska, my friend Lana, my sister Lisa, me, and my coworker and friend Jessica. My team raised $1,055 that was donated to Susan G. Komen for the Cure!

7 Month Bandiversary

Yesterday was my 7 month bandiversary. Wow! How time flies! I can't believe it's already been 7 months. I am about 97 pounds down. I kind of wish I could have said I had lost 100 in 7 months, but the time will come soon. I'm still amazed that I have lost so much so quickly. I would have never imagined!

A lot has changed in 7 months. Here's a list of some of the good things that have changed:
I have had to take a link out of my watch;
I have also had to take a link out of a bracelet;
My rings are too big - I am wearing them on other fingers;
I have dropped 2, sometimes 3 shirt sizes;
I have dropped 3 to 4 pant sizes;
I have dropped countless bra cups; and
My feet have even shrunk a bit too, about a size.

And the bad thing - I am noticing a lot of excess skin on my upper arms. I'm glad the weather will get cooler soon and I will be able to wear 3/4 or long sleeve shirts. I think I will soon be sporting 3/4 sleeve shirts year round!

Here are my before and 7 month photos -

Before                                  7 months

Anywho, that's it for the moment.

The Little People's Section

I did something the Friday before last (sorry I'm a little late in this blog post) that I never thought I would do... I shopped in the little people's section at WalMart. (The little people's section is what I call the regular size clothing section.) I was looking for some wear around the house/workout pants and found that I fit into... get this... an XL! (GASP!!!) I know! I was just as dumbfounded. I went straight to the plus size section as usual, but to my surprise the pants were too big. So, I moved into the little people's section. I tried on the XXL. A couple of those were even too big. So, I tried on the XLs and they fit! Granted they are a little snug in the tummy area, but these kind of pants stretch out with wear. I didn't want to buy a bigger size and have them falling off while I'm walking on the treadmill or something. Another great thing about shopping in the little people's section - clothes are cheaper!

Tomorrow is my 7 month bandiversary. Pictures to come....

The Dreaded "P" Word

The time has come for the dreaded "P" word. Plateau. Yuck. I have been stuck at a 90 pound weight loss for the past couple of weeks. I suppose it's time to step up the exercising and pay more attention to what I am eating. I really don't want to have to journal all my food intake. That is such a hassle. But I will do it if I have to. I've gotten my happy butt to the gym at my apartment complex a couple of times lately. I've also walked around the complex a bit too. It's a lot nicer now that it is starting to cool down a bit. It's sad that 80 degrees is cool, but it is.

In other news, it's time for a new bra. My boobs are getting smaller and smaller. They're still big enough that I have to go to a specialty shop though. However, when the lady at the store fit me, I had lost 4 inches around and went down two cup sizes. This new bra is the same as the last one but it is so new that it is squeezing the life out of me. My bits are coming out all over the place. It is totally not comfortable. At least not now anyway. I suppose after a little while it will get broken in and feel more comfortable. I can't wait for that to happen.

6 Month Bandiversary

Sunday was my 6 month bandiversary. I am pretty much down 90 pounds. I can't believe that I have lost so much so quickly. I would have never imagined that I would have lost so much already.

I haven't posted much lately because I don't have much to say. Things are going well. No big challenges really. I'm just steadily losing weight. Only occasionally will I "productive burp." For those of you that don't know what that is - that is when I gag repeatedly like I am going to throw up but nothing comes up besides saliva. I never really know when this will happen as it has happened when drinking my protein shake. But I can usually feel it coming on after the fact. Anywho... here are my 6 month pictures... Enjoy!

                                                                     Before                                            6 months

Free Protein Bar Samples!

Quest Protein Bars are giving away free samples of their protein bars which come in Vanilla Almond Crunch and Peanut Butter Supreme flavors.

Follow this link to click your way to two free protein bar samples. The free samples will take a while to get to you, but it's worth the wait.

I bought a few of these last week and let me tell you... they are yummy. They have absolutely no sugar and are very low in carbs. They are also very filling too. Should you choose to purchase, use the code "SAMPLE" for free shipping.  And if you don't like the taste, they will refund your money. Happy eating!

5 Month Bandiversary and Photos

My 5 month bandiversary was last week. I am officially down 80 pounds. I haven't lost much in the past two weeks, if any. But at least I haven't gained any either.

Here are the latest pictures -

                                                                Before                                       5 months

Lauren's Hope Medical ID Bracelets Deal

Fellow bloggers,

I just found out about a great deal from Lauren's Hope. They make very stylish medical ID bracelets. Here is the deal - Go to their website, click on Create a Link and put a link/image to their website on your blog. Send them a link to your blog confirming that you downloaded a link/image to your website/blog, send an email to them and  they will send you a $50 gift certificate.  (It's a few emails back and forth, but it seems worth it).

I have been tossing around the idea of getting one and may just get one now. Perhaps some of you may need one for other reasons as well. It seems like a pretty good deal. Check it out...

Hot Summer Meltdown Challenge

The Hot Summer Meltdown Challenge is finally over... and I came in 2nd place! I lost a buttload! (Well, not literally, my butt is still there).  However, I have already gained back a bit. Isn't it funny how that happens? As the second place winner I won a $75 gift card to the store of my choice. I think I may choose Target. I can buy clothes as well as all sorts of other things there. I am moving to a new apartment next week, so I could also use it to buy curtains or a lamp or something. What do you think?

4th Fill

I went in for another fill on Thursday. He gave me .5 ccs. So now I am at a total of 7.5 ccs. That fill wasn't particularly fun because he couldn't find my port for a second there. He said that since this fill had the most potential for me to feel restriction, that I should stay on liquids for 48 hours afterwards instead of the usual 24 hours. The 48 hours are up now, but that was tough. Things went fine drinking protein shakes on Friday, but on Saturday morning I barfed up my protein shake. Lovely! And I held down some pureed soup for lunch. So, I'm waiting to see how the protein shake will go this morning and wonder if it's just that my band feels tight in the morning. I really don't want to throw up anymore. I hate throwing up. My protein shake tastes good going down but is not so good coming back up.

The Hot Summer Meltdown Challenge ends next week and I'm ready for it to end. I lost about 5 pounds this past week, but it was a hard 5 pounds to lose!

4 Month Bandiversary Photos

Monday the 19th was my 4 month bandiversary. Holy crap! It's been 4 months already! How time flies!  Well, here are the latest photos...

 Before                                           4 months

I'm getting the hang of inserting pictures, huh?