1 YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!

**SORRY I HAVNT POSTED PICTURES YET***

WELL I JUST REALIZED MY YEAR ANNIVERSARY WAS TODAY! I cannot believe I didnt even realize it until 1030 tonight! I have been waiting for this and am a little disappointed I forgot! things have been crazy for me lately, I received a promotion at work and have been working really hard, my husband and I are building a home and its coming down the home stretch and we have been very busy. So please forgive me for not being able to post my before and after anniversary pics:) I am going to have my husband take a picture tomorrow and try to figure out how to put the pics side by side to post..if anyone knows, let me know! My final year anniversary weigh in this morning was 229.0 even. That is a total year loss of 73lbs! a little less than what I wanted, I wanted at least 80lbs but I will take it:) Oh yea did I say 229??? Why yes I did......I FINALLY lost a couple pounds and got into the 220's. How did I do it? well I joined Weight Watchers online last Sunday. I really had a tough time with making that decision because I felt like I got the band so I wouldnt have to diet anylonger and the fact that I spent so much money on the band out of pocket I was bummed I was turning back to Weight watchers again....BUT even though you have the band you still have to watch what you eat ....or should I say "dieting" is a way of life no matter what your mean is and I was doing something wrong if I wasnt losing weight. I was eating "easy" foods that were higher in calories and fat, I wasnt tracking or watching what I eat and I wasnt following the band rules like I should have been. I was at a stand still for 3months..I didnt lose anything and was beyond frustrated. My sister just had a baby and she joined so thought it would be a good time for me to join too and do it right along side of her. I think its what I needed. I wasnt paying attention to what I was eating as much as I should of and now with tracking using the weight watcher site I really keep an eye on what Im putting in my mouth and tracking my calories ect. I am pretty much able to eat my points everyday so it worked out...and in the first week I lost 2 lbs. Im gonna keep up with it since I think it will help me. I have to keep telling myself that the band will help now in the fact that it wont allow me to over indulge or "pig out" like I used to do, and it will keep me away from things like soda, bread, fast food and some junk food because I just cant eat that stuff now without that stuck feeling. it will also help me from gaining weight at warp speed like I used to. Its hard finding that perfect sweet spot with the band. when I had too much I was miserable and not losing and now I feel like I can eat more again. I go back at the end of September and hopefully if I lose a few more lbs I might losen up a bit to get another fill so that I can eat less again. My next short term goal is hitting the 80lb loss marker. That is 7 more lbs and I think If I stick to both Weight watchers and the band rules I will hit that in a month or month in half. My workouts have been suffering too...with starting this new job I have been working later and its hard to get out of work by 5pm to make my 530 classes. I only got to the gym 1x last week for spin class than I walked for 30 minutes another day. so only 2x total last week. I need to try to fit more exercise in, I dont want to back track after working so hard to get into shape and show some muscle definition. I have my boss's wedding sept 3rd so I want to step it up a notch and try to lose those 7lbs by than. I need goals to look forward to in order to keep me motivated no matter how small they are. So...that is the most up to date info I have. I will get some pics taken tomorrow and post. I am also going to measure cause even thought I have only lost a couple pounds in the past 4 months I am hving more and people, people that see me every day ,say that I am shrinking before their eyes. I even had a guy the other day at work call me the incredible shrinking lady..lol...I thought that was pretty funny!! promise pics to come!!!

What a difference a year makes!!

A year ago this week, I was miserable!..I was on our yearly vacation to the Outerbanks, NC with my whole family...I felt like a beached whale, I was lazy, out of shape (big time), never walked the 100 ft to the beach, had a hard time getting out of my lounge chair. I drank mostly sodas and eat like a PIG. What a difference a year makes! I am approaching my year anniversary on the 30th, I just arrived back from our vacation this year...70lbs lighter and in pretty good shape and not a pound gained might I add:). It was a completly different vacation for me this year. I rented a bike and biked along the shore several times, I drank nothing but water or v8 juice, I felt good, looked so much better in a bathing suit and had so much more energy!! I had no problem waking to the beach, hands full of stuff, every day. I felt like I barly eat anything while I was there, we only went out to eat twice and cooked in most of the time. I had a hard time with my eating and gravitated toward easier foods like ice cream. I did manage to lose a couple pounds but over the past couple of days I have gained those back. Iv been making up for my eating. Since I got out the half of a cc a couple weeks ago I can definitly eat more but I feel so much better and have had no issues. I just need to re-group now that vacation is over and get back to the gym and following the band rules. I need to start losing again! Iv been at around 231 for a couple months now. I really need to get down into the 20's enough is enough:). I had a really nice time on vacation and am ready for my year anniversary. I re-read my blog from last year and remembered how crappy I felt this time last year preparing for surgery..I am so glad I dont feel like that anymore and that I made the decision to have surgery. I would have never lost 70lbs in a year without the surgery. I needed to have it. I had lost the momentum to do it all by myself. I had gained too much weight to ever have the stamina to lose it all. I really feel like I took charge of my life. I have going to the gym for 10 months straight now..that is the longest I have EVER stuck with it. I have had my little week breaks here and there but I just have to tell myself its ok occasionally but I cant let it last any longer than that..I dont want to go back to where I was..and even though I have lapband that person can be right around the corner at anytime! I am going to post pictures of me in my bathing suit:) and some side by side pics of me from last year to this year..if I can figure out how to do it:) coming soon!!

Slight Unfill ...

Hey everyone! I went to the doctor yesterday morning and he took out a half of a cc from my band. He thinks I had some irritation from being too tight. The heartburn and bringing up my food at night are signs of irritation. Ya think?..:) He told me only mushies and liquids for a week. I have to admit that I didnt follow that order yesterday and I know I should have but it was my husband and I's anniversary and we already had plans for dinner and a full day out to the the Baltimore Harbor so I did eat a couple wings but for the rest of the day and today of pretty much stuck to mushies. Im going to try and stick to that all week. I leave for vacation next week so Im glad it doesnt impact that. I dont really feel a difference yet but I didnt bring up anyfood while laying down in bed last night like I have been so thats a good sign. I loaded up on buying some soup today and plan on following the doctor's orders. I weighed in at 230.5 so I ended up losing a couple pounds over the past week and half. I am hoping being on mushies and liquids that I will lose another pound or so this week. Im glad I went yesterday and didnt wait until my appt in august. I dont want to cause any issue with my band! I wasnt expecting to be put on mushies all week so that took me by surprise but what he said does make sense. He said that its not unusual to hit a plateau like I did for a couple months. he said to get my band back to working condition and keep the exercise up and it will start to come off agains so I am hoping that is the case! I was down another 16lbs from my March 1st visit, so that averaged out about 4 lbs a month..which isnt as much as Id like but they said Im still losing it the way it should be at almost a year out. they ordered me to get some blood work done to check my vitamin levels so I will be doing that next week! So I will keep you all posted on how things are going!!