Someone got a hair cut...

Not sure why I look like I have a black eye in the bottom left one, but I don't...

One Gym Visit + A Lot of Hurricane Parting =

A One Pound Gain.

It's simple math really, and I have no one to blame but myself.  I was lazy last week and did not care enough about my goal.  

Well, this ass is not going to magically slide into my size 16 GAP jeans - is it now?  NO!  So, I picked myself back up this morning and promptly dropped myself off onto the treadmill.  And how do I feel - GREAT, of course!  Ugh, I need to remember how amazing I feel on the mornings that I work out.  Oh, and I figured out how to use the machine I was afraid of last week!  I am so happy that I did, it's pretty awesome!

My fill is doing good and I made an appointment for next week to get a little tweak as I am still a little hungry in between meals.  For instance, this morning I made one scrambled egg and one piece of turkey bacon and ate it while getting ready for work.  So, I would say I finished eating around 7:45.  Well, now it's 9:40 and my stomach is GROWLING so loud!  Like starving growling and I am so hungry.  I am going to eat a Zone bar, but I really want to wait it out a little bit or else I'll be eating lunch too early and then that really leads me down a path of unfocused eating.

Well, that's about it kiddos, I will leave you with a few pictures from the last few days....

This was the calm before the storm, the pictures really don't equate what it actually looked like.  It was pretty amazing...

After the storm the weather has just been fabulous the last couple of days.  The nights are even better...

Week 1 Goal Reached, Yay!

I made it to the gym three times last week - it's so difficult to get back into the swing of things.  There is nothing more I would rather do than stay in my comfy bed and snuggle with my kitties and husband - lame, I know!

Anyway, I am at the same weight as last week, no movement.  Which is better than moving up, right?  I am starting a strength training program this week and adding that to my cardio.  Previously I was doing cardio and then some arm and ab work.  However, I really want to focus on the whole body.  Today was the first day of the program and it went really well.  Oh, except for the one machine that really just freaked the shit out of me.  There was of course an incredibly cute, fit guy standing by it and I wasn't quite sure how to work it.  So, what did I do - I walked away and skipped the exercise all together, such a wimp.  I WILL do it Wednesday, who cares if I look like an idiot.  Eventually I will figure it out and maybe look like I know what I'm doing.

These are the times I really miss having a personal trainer.  I get so frazzled because I have no idea how you are supposed to workout.  Like there is an order according to the muscle groups and stuff, it confuses me.  But I found this great app a few months ago that I have pretty much forgotten about lately.  It's called FitnessBuilder and it has a bunch of workouts already created.  Looking forward to using this app and really getting a great workout!

I am proud to say that I can do 50 push ups now.  Girly, modified push ups, but push ups all the same!  My right arm was paralyzed when I was born and I went through a lot of therapy and was lucky enough to gain some movement and strength.  However, it is still much weaker than the left arm and my mobility is not so great.  So, upper arm exercises have always been a challenge for me.  Sari, my trainer, was the only person who actually made me use my arm and really worked it.  Any other trainers I've had in the past would basically ignore it because they were afraid they would do more damage.  For a while she had me doing push ups on the exercise ball, which is much easier but at the time very difficult for me.  I really felt a difference in what I could do, she was really changing my body.  Then she moved away to Cali, so selfish!

She comes back to town every once in a while and I make sure I have a few sessions with her.  So, about a month ago she came back and we had three sessions.  The last thing she had me do in our final session was 5 sets of 10 modified push ups without the ball.  I did the first 10 and basically whined that I would not be able to do that 4 more times.  Guess what, I DID!  Oh, and then my body fell flat on the mat and I cried!

I am happy that I have continued to push myself to do these push ups on my own.  The one thing that I have learned is that it's fantastic to have a trainer, but really if you can do it with them - you can do it without them.  

'Cause We Rock!

Goals, Goals, Goals...

My appointment went really well yesterday.  Since Dr. Ren and Gaspar weren't available until the end of the month they wanted me to see Frank.  Well, Frank is the devil and leaves me bruised for days after an adjustment with him.  So, I texted our very own pretty lady Jen and she recommended Laura.  Laura was great, she had a little trouble getting to my port, but apparently I have some scar tissue that can be mistaken for the port entry point.  

I had an esophagram just to make sure everything is still okay.  There have been some pains in my port area over the last couple of months and of course I knew that the band was broke and more surgeries were in my future.  Yeah, everything was fine, I was open and needed a fill, but other than that everything was good.  

Since I am so sensitive to fills we did a whopping .1 cc and decided that we would just do smaller fills, but more often.  I think this is a good plan, plus it will really help keep me focused on my band, which has been a major problem for me lately.

I have posted new goals on the "Goals" page up top.  Motivation should not be a problem right now, I am going to California in five weeks and my best friend Kate is getting married in November.  The goals that I have listed are based on me going to the gym at least three times a week.  I have only dropped two sizes since my surgery and I would really love to be in a 16 for California.  It's only one size, but I'm not sure if that is too aggressive.  It's a motivator though, right?

I Need a Spanking!

Hello Lovelys!

I have been missing - again. But this time it has really been a LONG time - really ridiculous. I just wanted to send out a little post to say hi and let you know what is going on. I have been floating between 60 and 70 lbs down for the past year - incredibly annoying. I will be dreading celebrating my two year band anniversary in October and really don't have much to show for it. Now, I do know that I have NEVER been able to keep such an incredible amount of weight off for more than six months, so that is good, but it's really hard to focus on that sometimes. Why is it so much easier to be a Negative Nelly than it is just to be thankful for what you have, ugh?

Along with not blogging, I have not been to see Gaspar or Dr. Ren since March. I really think that between not blogging and not going to the doctor I am screwing myself up. Oh, and btw, not only have I not blogged since the day after my last appointment in March, I have not been reading. I know that I have missed so much in your lives and I am sorry about that. I truly miss you all and I realize now that I really need you all!

So, I am off to Dr. Ren's office this afternoon and will post again and let you know how everything went.