Manic Monday's Measurements {April | Week 4}

Good Manic Monday to all our followers, and to my Has Been Girls ;)

I'm feeling especially great this morning after having to get up, and out, for a meeting with Allies teachers concerning Kindergarten next year. Very exciting :) When I got home, I suited up for my walk even though it's rather unpleasant outside. I didn't want to pass it up because I hadn't worked out for 3 days.

This morning I decided to change things up a bit, because I think my body is keen to what I'm trying to do. So instead of walking a full mile, I decided to only go a half mile and jog a quarter of it .... AND I COULD!!!!!!!! :) :) :) I mean yeah, of course it was more than challenging, but it wasn't a factor of if I could do it, and that was the greatest feeling. So that's my change to my routine for right now. I will keep doing the Wii workouts, and switch those up and keep it interesting, hopefully this way my body won't get into a comfortable state of BLAH.

My other big decision this week was deciding to start eating cleaner, fresher, just all around better for you foods. I will be buying fresh poultry, and cooking it in the crock pot to instill natures goodness, and steaming veggies for the same reason. I've found quite a few fresh markets around me, and I'm going to be checking them out this week. I will report back on what I find, I promise :) Charlie and I made fresh bread last night, and honestly it was the best freakin French bread I've ever had. Knowing this is the outcome of hard work, and feeling great about it is so rewarding, so I intend to keep it up :)

Since I hadn't lost anything last week I decided it was time to whip my Thyroid back into shape, so I made an appt. for that and will go in the middle of May. I always have to consider this as a rebound effect because my thyroid is a dastardly devil, and can pack the pounds on like no ones biznass. Soooo, I'm making sure to keep myself healthy on ALL levels. Which reminds me: DO A BREAST SELF EXAM, and make an appt. with your OB to get in and get a yearly physical including a papsmear!!! Your kids will thank you ;)

Without further ado, here are the images for this week. I'm happy to say that I'm wearing the size 18 shirt my mother in law sent me and not only does it fit, but it's slighty BAGGY!!! WOOOT! So no weight loss, but definitely losing inches :)

It is 12:26pm, and I am still waiting for images, but will post them as soon as I get them!!

>>>UPDATE: 4/27/10 - 2:23pm Just added Em, Jen, & Mistie! :)<<<<<<<<













And as of today 4/29 ....

“The reward of a thing well done is to have done it.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

You work hard, you watch calories, you run, jump, do aerobics and do your best to keep from "giving in" to your cravings. It would mean you've fallen off the proverbial weight loss horse, and that you've failed. I beg to differ ...

I think a reward is a powerful thing. It motivates you to stay the course, it provides a small amount of cheating in a calorie counting world, and gives you the slight satisfaction of curbing a craving. Without rewards, what are you working for? Do you want to go the rest of your life never having ate a piece of chocolate, or indulged in a decedant dessert? That's just ridiculous. When you make the effort to change your life, eat right, exercise regularly, and just be in better overall health, it's important to keep living. You want to find that happy balance between new healthy life, and not so healthy life. You can't just completely cut-off one, and think you have the faith or discipline to NEVER think of snack food again. That's just ridiculous ... too.

So my theme this week is how to reward yourself, keep your spirit up, and make sure that you aren't going "without" enough that you don't find yourself gorging at the fridge at midnight. Happy balance, that's what we want here. It's a scary idea, though, right? How much can I eat, what can I eat, when can I eat? I see a Dietician regularly and she makes sure I'm "rewarding" myself when I can. Of course the idea of a reward isn't blowing through an entire bag of Cheetos in one night. That's being a fattie with no control, and we're not those type of girls ;) A reward is in moderation, it's a handful of those Cheetos when you're watching TV at night, or a fruit smoothie after that hellacious workout. It's making sure you aren't going without. Do you pass on that ice cream trip with the family? Hell no, you just make sure when you get there that you eat out of a cup, and go light or fruit friendly ... sans the toppings, sorry! Going out for a night with girl friends? Worried what that drinking will do to the waistline? Fear not, have a glass of water after every glass of what you like, and you'll find yourself backing out on that extra glass before you leave, problem solved :)

See, this is a life style change, it's making things work FOR you instead of laying the guilt AGAINST you. Guilt leads to turning down the rewards, then you feel bitter, you lose your spirit ... and everyone pays for it in the end. So use moderation, use those brains I know you have, think about what you're putting in your mouth, and just make sure you don't go without!!

It's 7:25pm, and I don't have all the images from the girls as of yet, but I will post the ones I do have. So here goes, and make sure to leave some love!!

>> UPDATE << It's 1:55pm and I just added both myself and Alexis :) Still waiting on Adrian, Emily & Mistie :)

Snazzy Danskin Gear

Snazzy colorful sports tank: $7

Snazzy colorful sports cutoff shorts: $8

Buying a size 18 and having it actually go on: MOTHERFREAKIN PRICELESS!

Yes, this was my first official clothes purchase today :) I really needed something to work out in at home, and my clothes are a bit ridiculous, so I went all crazy and stuff and spent $15 at Wal-mart. Why the cheap route, you ask? Because I don't intend on them being able to fit for a great length of time. So instead of being a tool, and buying all this expensive shit I don't need ... I'm going uber simple and just buying one or two things to get me by. Motivation? Yes, please, and thank you.

Today was also my first Lap Band adjustment. For all of you who are not savvy with the bariatric lingo, that means they put me in front of an x-ray machine, sprayed me with this stuff called freeze away, jabbed a ginormous needle filled with CC's of some stuff into my abdomen (no, I did not feel this AT ALL), then I drink this vanilla concoction, Dr. Curry made sure I had just enough to get it through, and VOILA! I was done. The purpose of the Lap Band is to have a device attached at the beginning of your stomach lining, and by a series of "adjustments" it restricts just how much food can be allowed into your stomach. Because the stomachs little nerves that tell you when you're full are at the top of your stomach, the Lap Band being in place tricks your tummy into thinking it's had enough, and then it eats up your stored fat cells ... thusly unfattening you. Genious, right? I thought so too.

So, all in all an eventful day ... hope everyones was awesome, and get your butts out there and purchase some badass Danskin cheapies, you'll be glad you did :)

Manic Monday's Measurements

It's Monday, yet again, and time for us Has Been Fat Girls to measure in, and let the world know what's going on with our ever changing bodies. I will let each girl leave their own comment in the section below on how they feel they're doing, what they think they're weakness/strengths are, if they're on target to hit their goals, and what they're looking to accomplish this week :) I'm short one girl right now, but as soon as I have her image I will edit this and add it!!

And introducing Miss Alexis ...



Alexis and I have been friends for a long time, and when she told me she wanted to join us I was thrilled :) She's a super crafty, fellow "tog", who is one of the greatest people I know :) I will let her comment and tell us what her goals are ... although I'm sure by looking at her you can see she's into the "Toning to be a hottie" phase :)

WELCOME ALEXIS!!!

Welcome Emily to the Blog!!

Good Friday to everyone!! Miss Emily has asked to join our ranks, and we welcome her with open arms. A round of applause for Em :) I will let her dance into the comment area and leave her goals and personal expectations for her journey :)

So everyone wave to Emily and enjoy your Friday!! :)

Can I get a WOOT WOOT for Jennifer!?!?!

That's right people, I am INFECTIOUS. So I have Miss Jennifer to introduce. She has a wonderful little boy who is her Mini Me, and Jen has decided to take on this challenge and join our little clique on the journey of healthy shit and all that stuff. So I will leave the podium open for Jen to leave her comment about her goals, and all that jazz :)

Shiny love for Jennifer!!! YAY!!! :)

Give a Shiny Smile for Miss Mistie!!

Mistie is the ballsiest of all of us so far, and she's rocking the work-outs like a super star! Mistie and I share a passion in photography, except she's a pin-up specialist, and you should see some of her work .... can we say "HOTTIES!" Mistie is already a looker, but she's caught the get fit bug and decided to join us Has Been Fat Girls. I will let Mistie talk a little but about her goals, herself, and her expectations in the comments section.

Welcome Mistie to the blog!!!!!! :) :)

Let's Give a Round of Welcome to Sherry!

Sherry contacted me after seeing my other beauties join me in my quest. I will let Miss Sherry use the comment section to tell us her goals, and aspirations. For anyone else this is wondering if they want to join our little group, please feel free. Every Monday I will post the most recent pics of each lady, and then give them the chance to comment about how they are meeting their goals, positive things they've had happen, and where they are at getting close to each personal goal.

So please, give me a round of applause for the lovely Sherry!! She's joining us to trim and slim and tone and groan ... :)

Welcome Meg & Adrian

I take my losing weight very serious, I've applied myself with determination and apparently I'm rubbing off on people LOL Two of my very good friends have decided to join me in this trip, and I welcome them with open arms :)

In the spirit of opening ourselves up to everything that a weight loss adventure may contain, both my girls have bestowed me with starting images for them. I will post the images here, but I will let them share their current stats and goals in the comments section below:

Say "Hello!" to the beautiful MEG!



Raise your hand in Welcome to the Gorgeous ADRIAN!

These two beauties are going to be busting it out like mad cats to lose their weight. I accept nothing less, and I can be quite pushy ... ask anyone who knows me ;) They have both already said goodbye to soda, which is an impressive achievement all in and of itself, so applause for that!! I will be making sure to get images from them at the start of each week so we can see everyone's progress. This is going to be freakin fun!!!

Here is my current image for today ... please excuse my appearance, some of my clothes are looking a bit ridiculous, and I worked out pretty much on/off all day LOL:

In Awe of My Prowess

So today was the two week post-op check-in with Dr. Curry. As per the norm I walked into the office and in the waiting area are some of the most morbidly obese people I've seen in my life. Now at only 265 pounds they pretty much glare at me like the waiter taking away their favorite course. Normally I'm pretty reserved walking into this situation, I try to just keep my eyes averted and not attract attention, since I know how nasty these people can be from dealing with them before. Today, was different. Today, I stood up a little straighter, and walked in feeling proud. I'd lost weight, and quite a bit so far, and I wasn't going to let these land mass's ruin that for me.

So I sit down next to a woman whose girth had her over flowing times two over the edge of the chair, and smiled sweetly at her. She smiles back and strikes up conversation with me saying, "So, when did you get your band?" Note the assumption that because of my current weight I certainly had to have been banded already. I look at her and say, "Two weeks ago." Eat that fatty. I got the response I was mentally preparing myself for in, "Oh. Wow." Blank angry stare follows. Since I was feeling good I decided to throw myself into the soup and asked her the same, "When did you get your band?" Did that sound spiteful? Good. She answered me as politely as her bitterness would let her with "Last year. I've lost 40lbs." Ouch. Only 40lbs since last year? That's not good. I waited to see if she was going to ask me, and of course she did, "How much have you lost so far?" I reveled in this answer because I'd worked damn hard to be able to say, "Twenty one pounds." Yes, I sat there and smiled at her. I'm proud, and her lack of response was enough for me.

For six months I tiptoed around these big girls. I made sure I didn't rub in their faces that I was doing this at about half their current size. They were nasty to me, they gave me dirty looks, and made rude ass comments and walking in their today having lost as much as I had I was feeling bold and I made my mind up that I wasn't going to feel sorry for them. It is by no means my fault they waited until they were so solid that the Dr.'s office had to go get a livestock scale just to get an accurate weight. Not my fault.

I'm in this to win it, I've made my mind up and I'm damn determined. Dr. Curry's shocked, and awe-inspired response to my weight loss solidified my feelings. He said that most people stray from the diet and only lose about 5lbs post-op. I took it serious and applied my discipline and lost twenty one. He said that my starting weight, and my age, were working for me and to run with it. He didn't restrict my diet at all, and encouraged me to share what I was doing with other patients. I felt good, I felt like I'd really gone the distance and if I can keep this mind set, I'm pretty convinced I'm going to see some awesome results.

Speaking of results, heres me today before I left for my appointment wearing a shirt from last year that was always so uncomfortably tight ... not so much anymore ;)