Ramblings

Had to work both Saturday and Sunday this week -end but when you own your own business and staff dosen't show up to work, you have to fill in ..... the joys of being an employer !

After work, I went to weigh in (I joined a weight loss club last year in August and have gone every week since . I was hoping that my insurance company would see that I was serious about loosing weight and they would cover the procedure but it was a no go! ) even though I am also following my Nutritionist's program  and weighing in with her every two weeks ... I gave my scale to my daughter to hide .... any way to make a long story short.... this scale said 225.6 - which is a  according to them a 3.4 loss - how great is that.... so I should change my ticker but I think I will wait until I  weigh in at Dr. P !... cause that's the weight I used to start my ticker.

I spent a couple of hours reading a new blog today .... The Weight Loss Rollercoaster.....  I really enjoyed reading it and also learned a couple of things I hadn't known before.  She's very funny and very open and alot of the things she says remind me of myself...... actually I find a lot of myself in all the blogs I am following ... I am amazed at how open everyone is and it is so motivating to a newbie - to belong to a group who really get you and feels your pain because its the same pain for them......thank you all so much. I hope someday to motivate other people with my blog too.

The next blog I am going to read is "Lap band girl" -

Thank you Jessica for telling me about these blogs in the first place!



  

Quiz

WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE?
     My fathers ex girlfriend

 WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED?

      Yesterday

 DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING?
Yes

 WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCH MEAT?
Turkey

 DO YOU HAVE KIDS?
One – a girl

 IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU?
Depends, sometimes, maybe,  sure – why not !  

 DO YOU USE SARCASM ALOT?
Guilty  but not alot 

 DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS?
Yes

 WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP?
Never

 WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL?
Fiber 1

 DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF?
None of my shoes have laces – even my sneakers !


 WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE ICE CREAM?

    the question should be …. what flavour is not your favorite !

WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE?

Their eyes and smile

 RED OR PINK?
Red

 WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF?

      Snapping at my husband

      

WHAT COLOR SHOES ARE YOU WEARING?
Pink and white sneakers

 WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE?
apple

 IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE?

      cranberry

. FAVORITE SMELLS?

       choclate

 WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE?

       my husband

 MOUNTAIN HIDEAWAY OR BEACH HOUSE?
Mountain hideaway

. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
ice skating and swimming

 HAIR COLOR? Silver

 EYE COLOR? BROWN

 DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS?
    No

 FAVORITE FOOD?
bread of any kind

 SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS?
       happy endings

. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED?
      The Hereafter

 WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING?
Black

 SUMMER OR WINTER?
                   Winter


  FAVORITE DESSERT?   cheesecake  

  STRENGTH TRAINING OR CARDIO?
Cardio but have to start strength training

Physic exam/work/adjustments and massages

Received an email from Sam this morning confirming an appointment for Friday - only opening she had - with Dr H to have my physic exam done.  That's the day after I see my surgeon but I am sure he will still go ahead and confirm a surgery date even without that report - if she says I am crazy or something.... that won't matter, right :)

What with employee vacations and sickness - I end of having to work Saturday and Sunday  this weekend ... I am looking at it in a positive way ... at least I won't be thinking of food all day and being tempted to eat ... so every cloud has a "silver lining" - my darling daughter will come and relieve me for lunch both days ... so I will not faint from hunger, lol. 

I am going to treat myself with an adjustment and a massage on Tuesday (the massage is the treat)  - I'm looking forward to that .... because of my weight I tend to have lower back problems so need to get an adjustment every 2 or 3 months but this month I have decided to add a massage - she is having a special.... so I figured why not .  Because of my size, I am not really comfortable getting a massage.... all that fat hanging  out all over the place.... but I have to get over this self hating..... I figure, she has probably see worse!

Fitness Evaluation

I went to Dr. P to weigh in and get my fitness evaluation explained to me.

I have now lost 14 1/2 pounds since I started the 1,200 calorie plan - in four weeks - that's about 3 1/2 per week - I am very happy with that.

I now know what areas I have to work on extra hard - my push - up test and curl up test proved that I have marginal and very poor core strength - anyway, I have decided to do their 12 session training program so that I will know exactly how to do and how long to do each exercise - both arobic and muscular training.  You never know I might end up with a "beach body" lol -

Dr. P is going to get the report off to Dr. D saying that its a go from her regarding having the lapband for me.

I see Dr. D on the 4th and he should then confirm by surgury date and then I will see Dr,P on Friday and will gear up for that date.  Then all I have to do is find out what deposits I have to make and if they will give me a break (the hospital) since I am self paying - as my insurance company will not cover it at all.  Oh well, I'll deal with it - its an investment in my health !

The first time I was called fat

I was just thinking about how I have been dieting all my life and I was remembering the first time someone called me fat.

I was in grade 2 and these two girls who didn't like me for some reason ( I was a little mouse and never did or said anything to them) and they called me "fat slob" - which really hurt me .... well I guess it must have because here I am over 50 years later and I can still remember the incident like it was yesterday.  I also remember that same year .... when we use to play "Red Rover, Red Rover let so and so come over" - if they ever called my name which was seldom, they would immediately drop hands ... even before I could break thru.... children are really cruel .... some are just born mean!

Looking back at pictures of myself at that age, I can see that I was a little plump and then about a year and a half after that I got my "period"  - as I got older I read somewhere that you usually put on weight 1 to 2 years before your first period  ... they have a name for it, but I can't remember right now what it is called.

And so I got on the diet "Merry-Go-Round" and never got off but now I am going to get a second chance to finally get rid of the weight and keep it off with the help of my band and that little hurt girl inside me will finally smile.

One more step but almost missed it !!

Went for my physical this morning - I wasn't allowed to eat after 10pm yesterday (I never eat after 10 !) so that was no problem and the only thing I could take in the morning was my blood pressure pills and lots of water cause they wanted me to come with a full bladder - that wasn't any problem either because within 5 minutes of getting up every morning I have already downed 20 ozs of water  - the only problem was no eating,

So I left around 7:50am and drove to the clinic which is about 30 minutes away in good traffic and luckily there was only a couple of traffic tie ups and it took about 40 minutes.  So that made me happy !

Went in,  gave my name - to a very nice gentleman on the reception desk , sat down filled in the paper work and then about 15 minutes later  he came to me to say they did not have an appointment in the computer for me... so we talked a little while, I said yes I did, that the Patient care advocate had done it for me and called me last week with the times and date.  Anyway, a little while later the office Manager came to me and said that they could not fit me in as they had appointments booked back to back and I would have to come back as they would extend office hours and could put me in for 4 pm but I said no that wouldn't work - I had taken the day of work - left the other young lady all on her own and I needed to have the appointment today.
I asked if I could call my Patient Care Advocate and she could talk with them.... so I call and got Sam right away and told her what was happening and she said yes she had made the appointment with that same, very nice gentleman last week, so she spoke to him and after the conversation, he said he would see what they could do.  Anyway, the long and short of it was they did fit me in and got my physical with Dr. C and I really liked him, he explained everything about the tests and agreed that he thought getting the lapband was a good idea for me.

So now, Sam, is in the process of making an appointment for me to have the physic exam done - ..... I am getting closer !!!

What is BOOBs ???

Can someone tell me ... what is "Boobs" - I have seen it referred to in many blogs but no explanation of what it is.  I  googled "boobs" and it took me to a bunch of "porno" sites.... so.... I am sure that's not what it means !

My nutritionist does not want me to use any artificial sweeteners or eat any type of food  with artificial sweeteners in them .. now my habit was to make tea for myself and coffee for my husband each evening around 8 pm and I love my tea but I always added one packet of Splenda and 1 to 2 tsp of non dairy creamer.  So since I started following her rules I haven't had any tea because I don't like herbal tea and I can't drink unsweetened black tea.... but tonight I just had to have a cup of tea , the old way,  (as a treat) it was sooooo good!!  

Lazy Sunday

Its a beautiful day today and I have just been enjoying it and  relaxing -

I went to see the movie "The Hereafter" yesterday - it was good but it wasn't what I was expecting - I would have liked more "physic experiences" on the part of the main character !

You know I love the popcorn you get at the movies but haven't had any for over a year now cause there are far too many calories used up for a few minutes of pleasure.

I have two weaknesses - bread (of any kind) and seasonal candy - so right now going into stores and seeing and smelling (I can smell it, right through the wrappings and about three feet away - I swear !)  the Halloween candy is very tempting - I can't believe that I haven't actually given in and bought some... shows how committed  I am in sticking to eating healthy so that I can loose as much weight as possible to shrink the fat around my stomach and liver.

To Tell or Not to Tell

Through my reading the different blogs I see that some have come out and told others that they were getting banded while others only told just those close to them, like a husband/boyfriend, daughter/son , a best friend.. someone they felt would be a support to them.

Right now my feeling is that I will keep this to myself - other than my husband and daughter (of course Jessica) and all you ladies here but no one else.  My husband's family would not understand ( a lot of negative responses would come from them . they tend to be negative ... not all of them of course but....) and I won't tell my family because my mother would worry (she is a natural born worrier) and I just don't feel its necessary.  Maybe later on down the line.

I put on slacks today that I have not been able to wear for many, many months and they fit wonderfully - it keeps me motivated to stick to this reduced calorie food plan (1,200). I know that is a lot of calories for all of you who have been banded , but up to 4 weeks ago, I was eating 1,800  per day soooo.....600 calories less is a lot :)

 When I go to see Dr. P (Nutritionist)  on Thursday it will change, I'm sure !

Internet was down

Could not get on the internet earlier today - the modem got fried , somehow !  Was told no one could come until Monday and of course both my daughter, grandson and I couldn't have gone the whole week end without our internet. So my daughter and I went to the telephone company - took the burned out modem - and 2 hours later we had a new one.

Now we got back home and we still couldn't get the internet - luckily the young man who helped us put in our wireless/security system came and within a short time he discovered that the phone company did not configure the new modem correctly (can you believe it) so he was able to do it for us and finally we were on line - thank the lord !!

Had housework to do (forced myself to do it cause I knew if I got on my laptop... I would have done a thumbs down on the housework) - so here I am housework done and posting away.

I spoke to Sam (Patient Advocate) about scheduling a physical  - they were waiting to get the ok from the Nutritionist ... anyway she just called me back and I have been set up for Wednesday and then maybe later in the week to go and get my physiological exam - (thank heavens for the spell check cause I never would have spelled that word right).

So I'm a little closer to a confirmed surgery date - Yipee!

Again, a great big thank you to all of you have signed up as a follower - I am trying to go to all your blogs to get to know you but I am kind of slow at it because these last couple of  days have been so hectic that I haven't been able to get much time on my laptop. But I will :)

Thank you

First, thank you Jessica for writing in your post about me and asking people to check me out - I really appreciate that .

Now ... I would like to thank all those who have listed as my followers (how great is that)- I am looking forward to reading all your blogs and hearing your advice and comments on my blog.  I am learning so much from all of you and really enjoying reading about all of you - you all are dealing with your experiences with humor and strength..and wisdom  !

As soon as I learn how, I am going to list those blogs that I follow ... :)

Fitness evaluation

Today I went to see the Fitness Instructor or do you say Personal Trainer?  Not sure.

She put me through all kinds of stress tests, on the treadmill, step, floor, balancing ball - I was breathing like no body's business but I think I passed the tests :)  Almost 2 hours.

I will find out next Thursday just how fit I am and she will then let me know what exercises I should be doing in what time frame and what intensity.  So I am looking forward to that.  She was so nice and kept telling me I was doing good - I felt like the " Teachers Pet" ... nice feeling!

My daughter's friend is getting her first fill tomorrow - wish it was me - but my time will come :)

So many different experiences

It is so interesting to read other people's experiences with their lapband - some seem to breeze right though the process and others have minor to major problems.  But all of these people are willing to share their feelings with all and I am so happy to read what they are saying.  It is giving me lots of positive feelings and helping me so much.

I go tomorrow for my fitness evaluation ... I am looking forward to that.... cause I want to do my exercises in the best  way possible so that I can get the best benefits out of them.

I am trying to get all my office work done tonight so that I don't have to rush back and complete it tomorrow.

Hungry Sunday

Yesterday was a day of trying to figure out if the hunger I was feeling was real hunger or just mental.  I kept my self busy, took a very long bath and got to the end of the day without going over my 1,200 calories.  So in the end I guess it was mental hunger !

I went to the Whole Foods website and downloaded two soup recipes - minestrone and spicy  cabbage - both turned out really well - my husband liked the minestrone but not the cabbage.  The website gives 100 recipes which are completely healthy - the website address is  www.whfoods.org. . I am trying to get some variety in the way I eat my "allowed" foods so that I don't get bored and eat something I shouldn't.  It is so easy to reach for those comfort foods and it takes so much more time to prepare interesting foods rather than just grab something and slap on all the high calorie sauces, etc.

Trying to post comments

Well as I said I am a complete preschooler in regard to posting and blogging and making comments


Tried this morning to comment on a few blogs.... but it would not accept my password... I have to find out what I am doing wrong.


Anyway....


Went out last night to our favorite restaurant ... they took forever to bring us our food ... so by then I was starving which is not good for trying to control my eating.  what I did as soon as the food came, I eyeballed about 4 oz of the fish and pushed the remainder over to the side of the plate.... cut the mashed potatoes in half and moved the rest over with the fish and of course I kept all of the broccoli - did not touch the sauce which was meant for the fish and gave my husband all of the breaded fried onions that the fish was sitting on.   As soon as I had eaten , I covered up the remainder of the mashed potatoes with my napkin and put the remainder of the fish in a plastic bag and put that it my purse to take home to eat for breakfast.   I must say I am proud of myself because a few weeks ago I would have eaten it all and then gone home and had tea with toast and nutella !


Only thing - I forgot about the fish being in my purse until this morning when I got up so had to throw that out - that hurt because it was soooo tasty last night.

Weight Loss meeting

I joined a weight loss plan last August because my weight was climbing back up to my highest weight which was 285.   It was then that I decided to try again and I had heard such  good things about this group and I knew the young lady that was running it and knew that she would care about me as an individual.  I remember the first day I weighed in .. got on the scale .... and it said 258 .... and I started to cry... such a feeling of failure.

I lost 23 pounds by the end of the first 16 weeks which equaled about 9% weight loss .... I would have liked more but it was okey and I looked forward to the next 16 weeks because I was sure that I would surpass that amount but ..... my weight started to go up and down up and down once again ..... it certainly was not from my lack of trying and her soothing words and good advise and encouragement.  To make a long story short... after a total of 13 months on the program I had regained 6 of the pounds and was only at a 17 pound loss ... again that feeling of failure.

 I had seen the ads for the lapband over the past year but I thought if I did that ... I would be the biggest failure of all time but then it all just came into focus for me ... several events happening one after the other ... made me finally decide that this is what I needed and now I feel such a sense of peace with the decision .... I can actually see a thin me at the end of this journey and I had given up hope on even thinking that this would be possible.

I have been reading up on the subject by reading about  other people's experiences both  bad and good ... and I am taking it all in ... I have a wonderful daughter who supports me completely.... a husband who is also very supportive and didn't even make a face of horror when I told him how much it was going to be.... all he said was...". if this is what you want ... then I am 100% behind you "  I know my daughter's friend will be there to help me along and also the medical term are so caring - Dr. D, Dr.S and Sam - I feel like I am in the best hands that anyone could wish for. 

My first time blogging October 15, 2010

 I have never done this before but here goes

My name is Margorie .

After many, many years of dieting, loosing and gaining it all back, I have decided that the lapband is my final solution to loosing the weight and keeping if off.

My daughter's friend has had this done and so  thankfully I have someone who I can ask questions and get first hand knowledge from - she has a really good head on she shoulders and looks at things clearly - I have already had a talk with her and she helped me so much.... not only with the things she said but also because of how wonderful she looks already.

I met with a Nutritionist two weeks ago ... she  took her time with me and we came up with a food plan to follow for these two weeks ... she told me that if I followed just as she told me to do ... I would have a good weight loss ..... and she was right ..... I got on the scale and I almost jumped for joy - 10 1/2 pounds ...  Wow in 14 days  !!!

start weight :  241 1/2

todays weight : 231

I have set up an appointment to see the fitness instructor next week to have a fitness evaluation and from there   she will tell me how much time I should be exercising, what intensity, etc. .. so I am looking forward to that.

Also I go back to see Dr. P on the 28th of October for my second weigh in - I am very motivated to do this right because I want to begin this journey right

I go to see my surgeon , Dr D. on the  1st of November to hopefully schedule my surgery.  I am excited about that.

The only thing I am not excited about is that I will have to pay for everything myself - my insurance company will not cover anything - the biggest cost is the hospital which is unbelievably high .. but I will try and see if I can get them to give me a cash discount since if the insurance company did cover it.... they wouldn't pay the full price anyway.  So I will find out who I have to talk to .... and see what happens.