Better, much better

Thanks for the advice. I took a few easy days and got things settled more with my band. But things are going much better now.

Work life has been extremely stressful. Long story short, we're doing this software conversion and it's taking mass amounts of time. I was told by my boss to expect to work late every night through the week and to work every Saturday for an indefinite period of time. As of now, we're not going to work Sundays, but that is always a possibility. At first this made me very angry -- I have a 3 year old son, my husband travels each week for work (he's gone Monday through Thursday nights) -- how could I possibly do this? But, I'm managing. I don't get alot of time with my son or my husband, but we're trying to make the best of this situation. And even though I'm working insane hours right now, I'm just thankful I have a decent job with decent pay and great benefits.

To help relieve some of the pressure, I've been going to the Y alot. I go on my lunch hour and sometimes I'll even go back when I get off work for an extra workout. That seems to be helping me quite a bit -- at least in terms of stress relief. And it's also starting to help the numbers on the scale go downwards as well.

We are taking our son to Disney World in September. This is a good benchmark for me. I already know that fitting into the rides will be no problem -- a year ago, I would have been worried, but I've lost significant weight since then. However, I'd like to lose more by then. I'd like to set a goal and work towards it....I need to start thinking what I think would be realistic. I'll report more on that later.

Hangin on....

It's been a while again. I just haven't felt like sharing much lately. My last fill was around the end of March and it brought me up to 5.5 ccs. I was pretty happy with things....up until a few days ago. Wowza....the thing is tight. I haven't been able to keep much down lately. Hell, even ice cream came flying back up. Slime, slime, slime....that's a constant state these days. How could it be fine for almost two months and then all of a sudden be so stinkin' tight. I don't get it. My hubby suggested that maybe it has to do with the change in weather (it's recently warmed up quite a bit and it's been wet/humid/stormy). He's thinking along the lines of barometric pressure (his sinuses give him grief with the weather is crazy). Who knows....maybe he's on to something?

In spite of all of the hacking going on, weight is staying constant. No ups, no downs....just hanging. And that is beyond frustrating.

I need to step back and really evaluate things. Yes, I did eat ice cream....but I hadn't kept anything down that day and I was determined to get something to stay in my stomach (but that failed). I find myself eating only crunchy foods these days (and even in that, I'm very selective). I have found that by eating crunchy foods, I have to chew-chew-chew and I can do a better job of chewing and not have the PBing afterwards.

So, there are a few possibilities....
1) My hubby is right and the changes in weather have affected my band. Possible. Any thoughts?
2) I'm not eating enough or not keeping enough down. Quite possible.
3) I need more exercise. Definitely true, but I'm not exactly inactive either.
4) I am eating too fast.

I have some soul searching to do and I need to be honest with myself. I am frustrated....hell, even right at this moment, I'm contemplating going to the bathroom to relieve some slime issues. And that would be my 3rd trip to the bathroom today....and we're only approaching 11 am. My diet so far today? A protein shake for breakfast at 6:30. Around 9:30, I was hungry, so I decided to eat some cheese/crackers I had in my desk.....and those bloody things are not playing nice in the belly. Thankfully, there are no more cheese crackers in my desk and I will not be getting any more of them -- they are gone. But seriously people....even the sides of my cheeks are puckering from this slimage!!!! What-the-hell????

Any thoughts/advice....please?????

Finally!!!!

I think I have busted the 220s for good. This morning I weighed in at 216.6. Still up a bit from the overfill loss that I saw around Thanksgiving, but I have found a good level of restriction and have lost 6 lbs since my last fill.

Work has slowed and life is getting back to 'normal.' My hubby is working away from home for the next several weeks, so life will consist of me and my favorite 3 year old -- who by the way, has turned into the typical three year old. Oh dear lord, give me patience!!!!

There isn't much else to report.....I'm happy with the level of restriction I have going on and I'm seeing steady declines in the scale. Go me! I'm hoping to be under 210 by May 2 -- only because we have a wedding to go to and that would just simply R-O-C-K!!!!!

Have a great weekend!

Starting to lose again....

Finally, I think I have found a good level of restriction. Over the past few months, I lacked a decent restriction, so some of my bad habits creeped back in.....mainly, eating way too fast and not chewing well enough. Well, HELLO little fill from Monday. Who knew that .5 cc could make such a big difference????? WOWZA. It's totally a good thing -- I'm thrilled with this. I'm down 1.5 since Monday morning -- which is pretty cool considering I've worked non-stop this week again and haven't had a chance to exercise.

So, I'm really excited about the level of restriction. Probably a bit on the tight side, but I'm not PBing -- just a bit of heartburn after meals. Nothing too major.

Once this work stuff calms down, I'm going to get my butt in the gym again. I've been working 12 hour days for the last several weeks (and last week, I worked all seven days...SUCKED). And that just doesn't allow much free time. What free time I have, I feel like I have to give to my favorite little man.

For those of you who have kept up with Ryne....he's doing great. He's all 3 year old now, but if you ask him, he's still 2. lol Kind of young for an age crisis, but that's his story and believe me, he's sticking to it. He's talking up a storm and he's using his neglected side much, much more these days. I really believe that he will start to use his hand one day -- he's so close. That's my dream for him....that he'll be able to use that hand. He got a new leg brace a couple of months ago and while it's great for his leg (his walk is so much prettier now), it's hell trying to find shoes. The brace requires an extra wide shoe...OK, fine, but his foot that doesn't wear a brace is very narrow, so I have to balance the two needs....or buy two pairs of shoes. I finally found a pair of New Balance athletic shoes that tie up, which is better for the foot without the brace.

It is good to be back to blogging......I haven't gotten caught up on the blogs I was reading yet, but I'm working on it. I need to get back to signing guestbooks so you all know that I am in fact still around!

Better get back to the grind!!!!

Just a bit of a fill...

I went in to the doctor today and got a small fill of .5 cc. That brings me to 5.5 ccs. I was up to 6 ccs in November (around Thanksgiving), but that was way too tight. The doc thought at the time that it was too much of a jump up to 6 (he gave me 1 cc to bring to 6) -- I found that out when I went to have that 1 cc taken back out -- too much, too soon. I am sure I wrote about it on here....

So, I got a small fill and I am at 5.5 cc.

Work should be calming a bit. We've been working mad hours the last four to five weeks. That is great for all the hourly people here, but for me and my salary, not so great. I'll be happy to be able to enjoy some of the wonderful spring weather that is starting to "bloom" around here. Plus, I have that adorable little 3 year old boy who is starting to think that I don't live with him any more.

And once my work schedule doesn't require me working 13 hours a day, I am going to get my butt back in the gym. There is far too much of my butt still around....I need to bust my arse and work it off.

I have become kind of bored with my food lately....I'd love to hear what you all like to eat -- looking for some new ideas from my fellow bandsters.

Long time, no read.....

Hello readers -- I hope that this message still finds some of you checking in on me periodically. I am doing fine, just extremely busy with work these days. I've been working until 7 to 8 every night, plus weekends. We have a huge project that kicks off next Monday, March 30. And I'm hoping that after that, my life will resume it's "normal-ness."

Things with the band are slowly moving. I have an appointment next Monday to get a fill. I am going for a small one -- right now, I have 5 cc in my band and I know that 6 is a danger zone, so I'm hoping that I can get .5 -- which would give me more restriction than I have now, but not too much like I had back around Thanksgiving.

Even though I haven't been posting here or in guestbooks much, I have been trying to keep up with you all. I promise to get back into the blogging grove once my workload lightens up!

Hugs to all!

Simply irresistible....

I wanted to share this picture of Ryne.....