Restriction Confusion

I am a little confused when it comes to the fill that I received Wednesday.  Do I have good restriction or not?  I am getting stuck when I eat certain foods like soft breads and rice.  However, I still feel like I can eat more than I am supposed to.  What does restriction feel like?

Today is weigh in day and I am happy to say that I lost a half a pound.  Nothing spectacular, but after a two week plateau and a gain last week, I will take it.  Tonight I will do my measurements and take my progress pictures since yesterday was my two month bandiversary.  I have not posted my progress shots previously because I don't see much of a difference between the first shots I took a couple days after surgery and the ones I took a month ago.  Maybe I will be brave one day and post them!

Exercise has not been good as you can see from my Workout Log.  I have been working like crazy which has required me to go in early and leave late.  To top it off, I worked for 9.5 hours on Saturday!!  But it is all worth it - I had my annual review Thursday and it went extremely well.  I received a huge increase and that is a big deal because we are not giving out increases (with the exception of a couple of key players) or bonuses this year.

Dan and I went out Saturday night to play in the snow and to celebrate my review.  We went to Columbus Circle and walked around the Holiday Market and then went into the Time Warner Center to look at the beautiful Moravian stars that turn different colors set to the music.

Then we went to Lanmarc for a bite to eat and some wine.  We sat at the bar and ordered a couple of appetizers.  I had the Lamb Meatballs with Tomatoes, Whipped Ricotta and Mint.  Dan ordered the Smoked Mozzarella and Ricotta Fritters with Fried Zucchini.  We shared two half bottles of wine and great conversation <3  We were there for quite a while and decided that as the song goes "Baby, It's Cold Outside" and ordered another half bottle of wine!  So needless to say - I am actually very happy for the .5 lb lose this morning!

Here are a few pics from our adventures in Central Park Sunday morning.  You can click on them to make them larger...

Ouchy Ouchy Boo...

I survived my first fill!!  Wow, that was really uncomfortable and what a HUGE needle!

Okay, it really wasn't that bad, just some pinching and a lot of pressure, but she was in within a couple of minutes.

"Ouchy Ouchy Boo" is what I used to say to my mom when she brushed my long, long stringy hair when I was 5 years old :)

I am really glad that I decided to get my fill today.  I feel great and have been taking down liquids like a champ.  The NP, Chrissy, put in 2 cc's and I had 3 after surgery so I should be at a 5 now.  She wanted to do more, but decided that with the holidays this would be a good number.  She also said that I might be one more good fill away from my sweet spot.  I am very happy that my doctor is aggressive with fills.  I know that there are people who have doctors that are not as generous.  I feel like if I walked in there tomorrow and asked for more they would seriously consider it.  Chrissy also told me that if I were to stay on the clear liquids all day today and tomorrow that I might be able to nibble on some food at the holiday party tomorrow, I just have to make sure I chew very carefully.  We shall see.

Thanks for the little push girls, without it I probably would not have gotten my fill today.  You guys rock :)

To Fill or Not to Fill....

Hello, I hope everyone is having a great week!
So, I mentioned to the girls at brunch on Sunday that I have a doctor's appointment today and that I wasn't sure if I should get a fill or not.  Basically I can gulp water and I can definitely eat more than I could after surgery.  I am also getting hungry between meals.  My band was installed with 3 cc's and it has been almost two months since my surgery.  I was questioning getting the fill because of the holidays, I want to enjoy myself and not worry about getting stuck during family meals.  My family does not know about my surgery and I am not sure I am ready to tell them yet.  The girls all agreed that I should get the fill now and that I would be fine.  They also told me a little about what to expect when you get stuck.

So, what did I do after receiving all of this fabulous advise?  I called my doctor's office this morning and pushed my appointment back!!  You see, my real worry - if I am going to be honest - is that my office party is tomorrow and i want to enjoy it.  It is 4 hours of top shelf open bar and your typical bar food selection.  Also, we have Christmas dinner with my husband's family on Sunday.

I wanted to move the appointment to next Monday that way I could enjoy my party and dinner with my husband's family.  I felt that this would give me plenty of time to be comfortable with the adjustment before Christmas dinner with my family on Christmas night.  However, they only do fills on Wednesdays - that's only two days before Christmas, that is too close.  So, I had to move it to the 6th, that's so far away!  When I hung up I instantly felt scared, I ran to my bedroom and drug out the scale.  Guess what - I am no long at a plateau - I GAINED 1.5 lbs!!  At that point I grabbed my phone and called the office back - she must think I am insane!!  I will be going to my original scheduled appointment this afternoon!

I mean really - I didn't want to get the fill because I wouldn't be able to eat fried bar food at my office holiday party - really?!  There is a reason that I chose to have this device put in my body - so I can stay on track and lose weight!  Not so that I can chose to live in "Bandster Hell".  I may partake in a cocktail or two, that falls in line with the liquid stage, right?!

This will be my first fill and I am really nervous - I have read so many stories of rough fills!  I will be back later to let you all know how it goes...

NYC Bandster Brunch...

Yesterday was the NYC Bandster Brunch and I had so much fun!  There were five of us that could make it - Jen, Catherine, Heather, Carla and myself.  It was fantastic to have the opportunity to meet some of the bloggers that I follow.  I hope that we continue to do this, maybe it could be a monthly event!  We give each other so much support on our blogs, but meeting in person really was amazing.  I have never met anyone that was banded before yesterday! My husband and friends are extremely supportive and I am grateful for that; however it was so cool to sit down with other people who really know EXACTLY what I am going through!  Thanks for a great afternoon ladies!

Here are the brunch girls - what a fabulous looking group :)

Debbie Downer Warning!!

The good news is that I have been keeping up with the gym and meeting my goals in that department.  Spin class is spectacular, in fact, I moved myself from the very last row in the back up a few rows to the nice bikes!  I used to attend the spin classes pretty regularly about six months ago and during that time I was always the last bike in the back.  No one needs to see me huff and puff my way through the class!  The only downfall was that the back was where they put the dinky bikes.

I am also on track with my eating, although I did have two drinks on Sunday.  I can no longer avoid the temptation of glorious libations!  I am okay with this, I know what I have to do to make this work.  I am a strong believer in “Everything In Moderation”.

So, the bad news (read this in your head with an extremely whiny voice)  - I am working really hard at the gym and eating well; but I have been stuck at 239 for THREE weeks, WTF?!  Last week when I saw that I stayed the same, I felt okay – but this week I wanted to kill someone!  Is this normal?  I have 3 cc’s, it’s not like my band is empty and I’m in the dreaded “Bandster Hell”.  I feel like a disappointment, like I am not holding up my part of the bargain.

Then when I thought I couldn’t feel any worse my Old Navy jeans came in the mail yesterday and didn’t fit.  My jeans now are a size 22 in regular jeans and a 4 in Layne Bryant jeans, they are all pretty baggy.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I have a number of jeans that I saved from when I weighed less.  None of them fit me – they skip to size 18 – no 20’s in the pile.  So, on Cyber Monday I order a size 20 at Old Navy thinking that I should be able to fit into those.  No such luck 

I need to get out of this rut – any suggestions?

You Spin Me Right Round, Baby

Yay, I did my first Spin Class this morning in over six months and I didn’t die!!  It was not a pretty site, however.  It took everything I had not to drop to the floor.  I had to take a couple of mini breaks here and there.  Sometimes when the class was up in third position, I stayed at first or second in the saddle.  I did keep my resistance up, though so I was still getting my heart rate up.

This is such a great accomplishment for me and it comes at a really great time – I am soooo bored on the Treadmill and Elliptical, I can’t stand it!  I love spinning to the beat of some good music and the instructors at my gym are pretty good.