The best of times...and the worst of times.

So, this has been the best experience of my life and although I have had such an amazing, relatively seamless experience; there are still those times that make you wonder, "Is this really what I should have done?" The answer to that question is yes, however the last 4 days had really been a challenge. So, here's how the problems started:

As stated previously, I had a .7cc fill 15 days ago. The first 10 days were great, didn't really have any issues, other than the normal "adjusting to a fill" hiccups. But then Sunday night wasn't so lucky. I have been fortunate as far as foods go, I can eat mostly whatever I want. I don't eat bread and I don't miss it. I can't do broccoli by itself, not heartbreaking. I absolutely positively cannot do tortillas but I can do chips and can do chimichangas, the only 2 ways I can enjoy the mexican delight. And bagels, don't get me started, 3 times tried...3 times died...almost! lol. Anywho, on that note, I have had steak. Both homeade and dine out. Never had an issue. I always chew chew chew and cut into small pieces, but with an even tighter band, the chewing gets longer and the pieces get smaller. Information I wish I would have remembered when I was eating Sunday night. Due to my unfortunately too large piece of steak I became stuck. Like, really stuck. So bad that well, I'll spare you the details, but let's just say it was unpleasant and there was much regurgitation!!

I took it easy that night and since I was still hungry I opted for a liquid dinner of coffee! The next day I couldn't eat breakfast. Not shocking. Lots of bandsters cannot do breakfast but do protein shakes or just coffee. For lunch I attempted to eat a salad. Two bites and partial stuck was enough for me not to try anymore at for the afternoon. After intermittently trying liquids and soft and still getting stuck on soft foods, I finally broke down and called Malley on Tuesday. She advised me to do liquids for 48hrs and then try to advance back to regular foods. If this didn't work, I would need to come and get a partial unfill...those words struck fear into my heart. I'd lost 5lbs since my visit and I wasn't tryint to change anything!! Luckily, when I advanced at dinner last night, I was able to eat my 3oz of tilapia and my green beans and some rice! It was wonderful.

The experience sucked but once again reminded me that this is a learning process and I am still trying to figure this thing out!! Thanks for sticking in there with me!!

On a really awesome note, I am officially down 7lbs in 15 days since my last visit!! So encouraging...after a plateau it was nice to lose some again!!!

Thanks for keeping me motivated!!

Jordan

Overzealous...then honest.

So, if you remember, I posted awhile back that I had reached my half way point. That was so exciting for me, but also inaccurate. The hospital scale here at work is about -8lbs different than the scale at Malley and since Malley is where my progress is tracked, we'll be going with their measurements.  This seemed like a huge disappointment at first, then I had to take a deep breath and remember that I have come so far! My fill was 10 days ago and my body is adjusting really well to it now.  The scale at Malley the day of fill was 243. As previously mentioned, that was only down 2lbs since I had been previously, blah blah, same as before. Moving on to today, and this is the exciting part. As of this morning, the scale said 230...add the 8lbs to get my Malley total (lol) and I'm 238lbs. Which means that now I'm officially 7lbs from my half way point!! Yahoo!!!

I HAVE to get back on my exercise routine tomorrow. I took off after my fill since for 3-4 days my calorie/protein consumption was drastically reduced. The only problem was that I only worked out 1 days last week...gasp!!! So, there was some missed opportunity but now that my calories and protein are back on track.  The good news is that I really enjoy my workouts, it's just a matter of fitting them in, which I made a priority a couple weeks ago, need to make it a habit!!!

So, the great news is that I feel wonderful, both physically AND emotionally. I feel like my life is in a really good place and I'm ready for the challenges ahead. I can't wait to start up with school, after the disappointment with MCCKC I decided to spend the extra money and get a better education at JCCC. So, once the spring semester rolls around, I will be a student again :) So many things are uncontrollable in life, so much that we have no say in, but everyday we can make a conscious effort to be happy and make little changes in our lives. Sometimes those changes can make a huge difference in someone else's life.  Remember that the next time you wake up on the wrong side of the bed.  And decide to make it a good day instead!

Peace, happiness and much love
Jordan

6.7cc's

So, went for a fill yesterday. Thought I would just break even since my last appointment on August 2nd but I had actually lost 2lbs. That isn't a huge loss, obviously, but it was still something. I also went through increasing my calories by 100cals/day so I think overall, it was a good thing.

This has been the toughest fill so far. The band works on a pressurized system so when they inject the saline they can feel resistance if your band is full. (If you're not familiar with how the band works, there is a silicone pocket which can tighten the band as the fat around your stomach melts away.) She said she was able to put a full cc in but didn't want to fill me too tight so she drew back a little to give me a .7cc fill.  After fills you do liquids for 24hrs then mushy food for 24hrs then back to normal diet. However since this will make 6.7cc in my 10cc band she wants me to really stick to soft foods this weekend to let my body adjust to the fill. 

This has been the most noticeable fill so far, without adding food. I started having left shoulder gas pain intermittently last night. I hadn't had that since surgery, but it makes sense with the tighter restriction.  And, I really didn't want to push it so I couldn't take my IBS medication last night which is making for an upset tummy today...the liquids aren't helping since it's been a ton of coffee and coffee is a diuretic, you get the idea. Anywho, I will be trying some mashed potatoes and soup for lunch and see if I can feel the restriction. Just like with every other fill, the first couple hours after the fill you can feel EVERYTHING going down the band. I was drinking coffee and it sounded like creaking stairs!! But the rest of the day was fine. It was easy sticking with warm liquids since it was so cold last night at the game!

Heading out to the game again tonight, going for 6 wins in a row!! Holla! Let's hope my tummy is on board with this plan, could make for a very interesting night! Fill you in later!

Peace and much love,

    Jordan

11 days and a plateau.

This morning the scale said 235...which means that I have only lost 8lbs since I saw Karen @ Malley on August 2nd. But, that's ok. I can't believe I'm actually saying that, but it's true. I have been kicking my own but for the last 5 months since surgery and my payoff is 57lbs lost! I decided last week that this isn't a contest. This is my life. And I haven't hit a real road block yet. How can I be upset about that? I'm maintaining my current weight which is spectacular since I increased my calorie intake by 100cals/day to make it 1400 cals/day. With my increase in activity plus if I need to cut calories in the future, I decided to do the increase now.

Speaking of exercise...I have been doing my cardio at least 3x/week, last week I did it 4 times!! Yay, I feel incredible!! And I only have to wait until Thursday to get my fill :) can't wait!! So many exciting changes are happening. I'm so excited to get started back with school in the Spring!! And all of my personal/body changes are incredible. This is also a good time to plug my other blog that is 365 Days of Awesome! It has really opened my eyes to all the little things taht make my life so full, blessed and amazing! I love it. Even the mundane can become amazing when you look at it differently! Anyway, that's what's going on in my life...what's going on in yours?

Peace and much love,
    Jordan

Batwings and Wii are motivated!!

So, as previously posted, I need a fill. I've only lost 4lbs since my last visit with Karen @ Malley on August 2nd. That is semi discouraging but also a great motivator!! I won't have another appointment with Karen until September 15th so what can I do in the meantime to at least maintain my weight? WORKOUT! I know for many people this is an easy task but for me, not so much. But something awesome happened. Yesterday I walked 1.38miles! Not much but enough to get me in shape for my 5k Light the Night and also The Kidney Walk for organ donation. Then something else awesome happened. I was super motivated to get up and do some cardio so I jumped on my Wii fit for 41 minutes and burned 246 calories!! So, I think I've found my fitness routine! Mon, Wed, Fri : cardio/balance/yoga with Wii fit and Tue, Thur: walk at least 1.5 miles! Feels so good.

On another note, I'm getting bat wings...(glamorous shot below) so I will be investing in *heaven forgive me* a shake weight!! I know, I know...but seriously, these babies look like they have sand in them!! I would like to have nice, toned underarms, so....shake weight it is!!!

Disgraceful picture of my saggy batwing!!

Ok, so...here is goes, an added part of my journey. This is gonna be the hardest thing to make into a habit. But I do love the sweat, the pain and the endorphins, just gotta stay motivated!