Double Dog Dare

I'm going to take the challenge.  This will be my first challenge since being banded. 

Goal Weight: 145 x 11 = 1,595 calories per day

Today's weight: 194

 

Breakfast:  Protein bar - 280 cal,  29g protein

                 Coffee with 2tbsp fat free creamer - 60 cal

Lunch:  5 grilled bbq chicken wings from home:  330 cal, 37g protein

             1  light string cheese stick:  60 cal, 8g protein

Supper:  1 cup ham & bean soup:  150 cal, 13g protein

              cornbread w/ butter: 162 cal, 1g protein

Snack:  Two bites (one from each kid's candy bar) Milky Way:  76 cal, 1g protein

Water:  64oz

Total for today:  1060 calories and 91g protein

        535 calories short

I was not hungry for snack...I just wanted chocolate.  Yes, AF is on her way to town so chocolate, salt and ice cream are all I really want.  So, if I was truly following my band rules, I wouldn't have taken those two bites.  In reality, the second one was only taken due to the mommy factor.  I took a bite of Monster's and then Munchkin saw he had one...so to prevent Monster Meltdown I had to take a bite of hers too.  <---and it's little things like that that made me fat!

It's the Little Things

that make life worth living with the band, right?

Like finding a super delish meal replacement bar at a store just around the corner from your office.
Or finding they also carry a super protein shake that has 32g of protein and can keep me full the rest of the afternoon.
Wearing a smaller size work uniform.

It's also the little things I miss most.

I miss being able to have a PB&J sandwich.
I miss being able to enjoy a chili cheese dog without using a fork...don't you know the bun adds a major part to the enjoyment of such a thing?
I miss real hamburgers...again...it's the bun that makes it, right?  (although Cracker Barrell offers a bunless bacon cheesburger (that makes two meals for a bandster)).
And who doesn't miss a fresh hot KK doughnut?  Heck some days I'd even settle for a Pillsbury Toaster Struedel.

I also ran across a blog where someone apparently eats out every meal and while what this person eats is healthy, this person tends to really knock others who can't follow this plan.  Yes, this person eats great tasting food that is great for you and we could all do this
*If we were chefs with our own restaurant and tons of ingredients at our fingertips
*If our grocery budget was the same as a gourmet restaurant
*If we weren't working a 9-5 where mornings involved getting everyone in the house up and ready for the day and time allowed only for a protein shake for breakfast.
*If one wasn't stuck using their1 hour lunch trying to run errands because everything is closed by the time one gets off work. So lunch is another protein shake or maybe a yogurt and string cheese.
*If, once off work,  one is picking up the kids and shuffling them from practice to church to wherever.
*If on the few days the above wasn't happening, one has to cook something everyone, including the bandster, can and will eat.

This other blogger needs to realize what works for them is not going to work for everyone.  We are all individuals as is each of our lives.  If this other blogger wants to live the rest of their lives on a diet than good for them.  However I know I chose to be banded to get off the diet roller coaster and take control of my hunger and portion size.  To say those who choose to use the band to be able to restrict themselves to "everything in moderation" are weak or fooling ourselves is insulting.  Just because that person can't have one of their former weaknesses in the house because that person will completely binge doesn't mean everybody else will. 

I myself was a former binger.  Example: Pre-band I ordered some divine homemade toffee from a fellow military wife with an etsy shop.  I ate the entire order within 24 hours.
Post band:  I ordered some white chocolate raspberry caramels from same person and oh they are so good!  I ordered them weeks ago and still have over half the order.  Why the change?

A) When I focus on getting my protein and making the right food choices, the less healthy ones aren't as appealing.
B) I'm not as hungry and therefore not as apt to eat just to eat.

The band is doing it's job.  It's allowing me to lose weight and make changes in my eating habits so that I don't have to always deprive myself.  And if I don't have to deprive myself of everything I love the more likely I'm going to keep doing the things I should.

Besides, is it really fair to deprive the rest of the household who don't have food or weight issues of things because of my lack of self-control? I do to an extent when Hubster is deployed or in school because then I'm the only one buying groceries and the kids actually do like fruits and veggies. There is much less junk in the house when Hubster is gone...but when he spends a year at a time in a place most of us hope to never step foot in, I'm not going to say he can't have the things he's been deprived of for that year when he is home.

I think everyone needs to do what works for them.  Yes, sometimes we have setbacks, but it's a matter of taking responsibility for those setbacks and making better choices tomorrow.  It's a matter of supporting all those in this journey because in the end we're all working toward the same goal...being a healthier version of ourselves!  Being smaller and opening up the shopping avenues is just an awesome perk!

And it's good!!!!

Isn't that what they say when football players make a field goal??

Well I made my first mini goal!  I am officially 25 pounds down!  That fill last week is doing it's job.  5 pounds down in a week....SUH-WEEEET!!!!!!

I also loosened back up over the weekend.  Friday was still a little tight and I stuck to mushies.  Saturday regular food was okay and has been since. 

I think I might still be eating a bit more than I should, but I am definitely eating much less than I was before the fill.  I'm kind of amazed at how little I can eat (compared to what I was eating before) and feel full.  For example, on Friday when I was doing the mushies, a value menu cup of chili from Wendy's was almost too much.  Tonight, I had a few bites of pizza topping, two wings, and a couple bites of salad did it.  Pre-band, that never would have cut it.  It would have been at least 2 pieces of pizza, half an order of wings, and a full plate of salad.

I really need to find some protein shakes around here that I like.  They don't carry Amplify and I'm not sure I want to buy it online.  But to get my protein in, I'm going to need to start drinking one in the mornings...I'm too tight to really eat anything until 10:30 or so and I don't have the time to eat then.  Lunch is at noon and I've been taking a yogurt and string cheese.

The other thing I need to work on is water intake.  Really need to boost that.  That may be my morning meal....after my coffee to get in 20 oz of water before lunch and another 20 oz after.  I know that's still short of the recommended 64 but I'll work on getting another 20 oz between getting off work and going to bed.

I also have a mini goal of reaching a solid size 14 before December.  I'm a size 16 now, so I think it's totally doable.  I'd also like for these size L scrubs pants to be a little looser in the butt and thighs and the scrub top to be looser around my upper arms.  Hopefully my "Jiggle Free Arms" and "Jiggle Free Buns" will help with those goals!

Need some Bandster help

I think I'm tight today....I haven't been able to eat ANYTHING today without pain.  The pain is in the area where your collarbones meet...you know, that softspot at the top of your sternum?  My coffee this morning was hard to get down.  Lunch was a protein shake and I could feel it with every sip.  I managed to choke down 3 slices of deli-sliced ham at dinner.  However, it's now 9:10 at night and I still feel like something is trying to cut it's way through my throat.

So....is this what being tight is?  How long til things loosen back up?  I've been fine since the fill last Thursday.  Maybe it was the chicken and rice I made last night.  I tried to eat it but noticed at bite three I was getting stuck and quit eating.

Also, because I knew I wouldn't be able to eat anything today at lunch time, I stopped by this local little health store (kind of like a GNC) and that's where I picked up the protein shake.  I was asking if they carried the Amplify that I really liked but they don't.  They recommended a brand called Nectar.  She gave me a couple sample sized packs (one in strawberry and one in cappucino) and was wondering if any of you had tried it and liked it.  What's your favorite flavor?  If any of you are interested in trying it, it has 23 grams of protein, 0 carbs, 0 fat.  Sorry, can't remember the calorie count off hand.  Anyhow, it looks like I'll be drinking my meals tomorrow, too based on how I feel tonight.

And................................

I got an office job!!!  Yep, no more nasty nursing home!!!  I think I scared Monster when I got the call because as soon as it ended, I was screaming for joy and dancing like a crazy person.  LOL  Anyhow, I've been there 2 days and so far, so good.

Tomorrow is weigh day.  Can't wait to see how the fill has done....because I can't claim credit.  Excercise has not been a part of my routine the last couple weeks, but I'm hoping to start getting it in in the mornings before work.  I'd love to take the dog for a walk, but afraid to leave the kids home alone in case something happened here or to me while I was walking.  So next pay day I'm going to go ahead and get the Zumba DVDs as I can't think of a better way to wake up and get going in the mornings!!!