YAWN.....

All dressed and ready to go to the gym... BUT I am having a hard time getting motivated to leave the house. Would rather crawl back into bed...

wanna help? give me a little "mind nudge" and maybe I'll actually make it there.

Whew....

It's been pretty crazy over here... all I want to do, is veg out and read a book. Won't be this week... maybe the following?

On a good note, my foot is feeling better. Not perfect but much improved. I'll take it!!

Been eating pretty good but I keep hunting down chocolate. Is there something wrong with me? I'm serious... I am an addict! If you have a secert to staying away pplleeeaaasse share it with me.

Haven't gained any weight (whew)... still losing. I did work out Mon-Fri last week, for at least 45min a day. It felt good to be back in the work out zone.

Let's see Mon & Tues - I did elliptical, Weds - I did full body weight trianing, Thurs - elliptical, Fri - full body weight training.

I would love to do a class but until my foot gets completely healed I am only doing low impact work outs. There is a spin class that I could try but I don't' know if my booty can handle the pain of sitting on a bike seat.

I think of it like this... putting 260 lbs on a 5 inch wide post up the rear = pain. Tell me it get's better for you thin folk?

Hmmmmm... maybe I'll sneak into the spinning room and give it a practice run before committing to a an actual class. Better yet, maybe a FEW practice runs just so I can callous that *cough* "lower area".

Well, hope you are all doing well. I made it through a Garage Sale today... can I just say... why do we do that to ourselves? Of course I ask that question after every garage sale I do... but then a few years go by and I get this crazy idea to do it again. Come to think of it, I do the same thing when it comes to having children. LOL!

Night my friends..... yawn.

Water? (Just drink 30 min before and wait 1 hr after eating...)

Study Shows Drinking Water Helps People Lose Weight and Keep the Pounds Off

By Bill Hendrick

Drinking water before each meal has been shown to help promote weight loss, according to a new study.

Brenda Davy, PhD, an associate professor of nutrition at Virginia Tech and senior author of a new study, says that drinking just two 8-ounce glasses of water before meals helps people melt pounds away.

The study is being presented at the 2010 National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Boston.

"We are presenting results of the first randomized controlled intervention trial demonstrating that increased water consumption is an effective weight loss strategy," Davy says in a news release. "We found in earlier studies that middle aged and older people who drank two cups of water right before eating a meal ate between 75 and 90 fewer calories during the meal."

She tells WebMD that many people substitute sweet-tasting calorie-containing beverages for water.

"If you look at research on beverage consumption trends, our average intake of sugar-sweetened beverages has increased dramatically in the past three or four decades," Davy tells WebMD in an email. "So, likely we are drinking other beverages in place of water."

Drinking Water and Weight Loss

Her study included 48 adults between age 55 and 75 who were divided into two groups.

One group drank two cups of water before meals and the other didn't. All
participants ate a low-calorie diet throughout the study.

After 12 weeks, water drinkers lost about 15.5 pounds, compared to non-water-drinking dieters, who lost only 11 pounds.

Davy tells WebMD that the study participants drank about 1.5 cups of water per day prior to joining in the study.

Not only were those who drank water before meals more successful after 12 weeks, but they also kept "the weight off for a full year after the weight loss study."

Even better, most water drinkers, followed for an additional 12 months, not only kept weight off but "even lost another 1 to 2 pounds," she tells WebMD.

The message, she says, is clear: "People should drink more water and less sugary, high-calorie drinks."

How Water Aids Weight Loss

She points out that folklore and everyday experience both have suggested that water promotes weight loss, but little scientific information has been offered on the topic.

This doesn't mean that good old H2O is a magic potion, but that drinking water may help people shed pounds for the simple reason that it has no calories and fills up the stomach, making people less hungry.

Davy says water makes people feel fuller, inducing them to eat less food. She also offers good news for those who prefer diet sodas and other drinks with artificial sweeteners, saying such liquid refreshment fills people up, too. But she advises against drinking beverages made tasty with sugar and high fructose corn syrup, which are high in calories.

Davy says no one knows how much water people should drink daily, and that the federal Institute of Medicine says healthy people can let thirst be their guide.

However, she recommends that women drink about nine cups of fluids every day, including water and other beverages, and men about 13 cups.

It is possible, she adds, to drink too much water, which can lead to a rare but serious condition known as water intoxication.

The study was funded by the Institute for Public Health and Water Research,
a nonprofit, independent science and education organization.

This study was presented at a medical conference. The findings should be
considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the "peer review"
process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication
in a medical journal.

SOURCES: News release, American Chemical Society.

2010 National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, Boston, Aug. 22-26,
2010.

Brenda Davy, PhD, associate professor, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

C2010 WebMD, LLC. All Rights Reserved.


Note from me: I really find that if I am getting hungry and it's not "feeding time" then I can go and drink some water and for the most part keep myself from snacking.

Also, I often have to ask myself... am I hungry? or am I thirsty? So many times... I have eaten only to feel unsatisfied... and DYING of thirst.

Gotta love calorie free water! -H

50 lbs lost

Whew! It took me 2 months to lose the last 10lbs but I finally made it to 50 lbs lost since surgery!! 51 lbs to be exact...

It's been a tough two months.. for most of the time, I was sick with hormone issues, iron issues or dealing with my foot pain. I haven't worked out as usual and I have been eating a lot of comfort food. blah....

I have gotten my iron issues under control and I am no longer dizzy all the time. I just had another migraine on Sunday and my monthly "visits" are ALL out of wack so I my hormones are still completely messed up. Had another coritsone shot in my foot yesterday and my foot is feeling great today... so up and down, up and down. Isn't that what life is about. sigh.

The point is... I haven't gained any weight.

Having the lap-band is not a magic weight loss process but at least I am making positive forward weight loss progress even with a few "not so good" months.

I am re focused and ready for the next month... 60 lbs here I come!!!

Status Update 8/24/10

313/262/180

Pre-Op Weight/Current Weight/Goal Weight

DOWN 51 lbs!!!!!!!!

FREE Vitamins - Give Away (Multi)

(Multi-Vitamin)

Need some Vitamins... I can't get these down anymore.

For obvious reasons... I 've gone to chewables for all my pills.

I have one unopened container and a container 1/2 full if you are interested leave a comment and then send me an email at lapwithme at gmail.com with your address and I will mail them out to you.

See pic for more info:

FREE Vitamins - Give Away (Iron)

(Iron)


I have one unopened container if you are interested leave a comment and then send me an email at lapwithme at gmail.com with your address and I will mail them out to you.

See pic for more info:

FREE Vitamins - Give Away (Calcium/D)

(Calcium/D)


I have one unopened container and a container 1/2 full if you are interested leave a comment and then send me an email at lapwithme at gmail.com with your address and I will mail them out to you.

See pics for more info:
(Click on the pic to enlarge the photos...)

My Favorite Things - Panda Express Entrees

I love Panda Express and pre band I ate my fair share of rice and sauce. ; (

I don't necessarily crave Panda Express but occasionally I like to treat myself (but I can't eat rice or noodles anymore)... I just found out that you can buy the entree from Panda Express by itself... I think it runs about $3.50, the little box fits in your hand.

It is the perfect size for a bandster meal. If you grab a "wok smart" entree they are all under 250 calories. It's not the most food for your buck but for a fun lunch out, I think it's great. (no noodles/no rice)

Enjoy!

P.S. Just watch out the Orange Chicken Entree it is 400 calories.... check out this link for more nutritional information:

http://www.pandaexpress.com/menu/nutrition.aspx

Tomato, Basil & Mozzarella - YUM!

Chopped Basil
Sliced Tomato
Sliced Mozzarella Cheese
Olive Oil
Chopped Garlic Clove
Salt & Pepper


Lay the cheese slices on a plate and top with the tomato slices, drizzle lightly with Olive Oil. Salt and pepper to taste, sprinkle garlic on the tomato & then top with chopped basil.

I'll eat this for lunch or dinner. Enjoy!

My Favorite Things - 100 Calorie, Cottage Cheese

Pros: Yummy, pre-portioned, easy to grab and go, .88 cents at Walmart

Cons: Has high fructose corn syrup

Absence makes the heart grow fonder? LOL!

A huge sorry to my followers and lurkers... I have been out of the blog hemisphere for way to long. The last two weeks have been incredibly busy...

Here are the cliff notes:

- Niece birthday Party
- Sick
- 6 hour Plein Air Painting class - fun times!
- Me, Sick as a dog.... weakness, fatigue.. iron?
- 6 year old son, has play rehearsals every night and all day on Saturday
- Still sick... dizzy when ever I move to quickly
- Trying to take Iron Pill but it gets stuck and I have my 1st throwing up episode since being banded
- My dang foot is killing me... having trouble working out... it hurts so bad! (but still making my personal training appointments - dizziness, hurt foot and all) Yeah, I rock!
- Order Chewable Iron pills
- Still sick, and dizzy
- Go to Fill appointment... not sure I want a fill but I need to talk to someone about being sick and out of sorts.
- Don't get a fill but am told to up my iron to 3 x a day for a week and to take Claritin because my dizziness could be caused by allergies (water in the ears)
- Drug up
- Stupid foot is KILLING ME!
- Did I mention play rehearsal... sigh.
- Feeling better but still not normal
- Finally it's show time!! Go, Go Joesph!
- Foot appointment, Cortisone shot in my heel
- Mother-N-Law flies in from California.
- Another Show night
- Matinee and another evening show... hurt my foot running a child, who was on the wrong side of the stage, to the other side before the curtain opened.
- Oh shoot... I have a book design deadline for a client. (haven't felt good enough to do it... and now I am out of time)
- Up until 4:00am
- Church
- Nap
- Feeling loads better but dang that foot (I think I jacked it up again)
- Spend 10 hours at Lagoon (an amusement park) with Mother-N-Law and family
- Ouch, my poor foot
- Say good bye to Mother-N-Law
- Get proof back from client spend all day making changes.
- Decide that i am over due on a blog update, so here I am. : )
- Foot still hurts.

My dear husband and I, in all our end of day, sweaty amusement park glory!

Just my speed!
1st car - my son, Mother-N-Law - next car - my youngest son and me letting out a very girly scream!
(click on pic to make larger)

Cuddlebug and Joseph (aka Dayne), from Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

My little Actor (cough, cheerleader?) lol!

Who would have thought that such a small pill could cause me SO much trouble.
YUCKY, nasty tasting iron pill... blah!

Yummy, my new CHEWABLE Iron pills!! You should have these!