Big Weekend

Well my Sissy had gave birth to her second yesterday! Yay her! We are going down to see her tomorrow for a few.
C25K W1D2 Update!!!
Legs hurt going in but I toughed it out and made it through the full 30 min. Got 1.80 miles in this time that is a whole tenth of a mile further in the same amount of time! I CAN DO THIS THANG!!!

OK so next lets talk food... To anyone banded or pre op if you dont have the
"Bandwagon Cookery" By Jean McMillan I strongly suggest you purchase it.
I got mine on Amazon but you can also find it on Jean's Blog also. She is a cook and also banded. So the recipes are good band recipes and in many she had listed ways to "adapt" to liquid stage or mushies stage. This cook book has saved me and given me variety in the dreaded liquid stage.
I am going to share with you my absolutely FAVORITE recipe right now I ate it all the way through liquids and now that I am in mushies still have it for lunch every day.

Chicken and White Bean Stew
1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
1 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp onion salt
1/2 tsp died oregano
2 tsp Olive oil
1/4 C chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 C Chopped roasted red pepper
1 can ( 15 oz) Great Northern or White Kidney Bean (rinsed and drained)
1/2 C Chicken Broth
2 Tblsp Lemon Juice
1 tsp Grated Lemon Zest ( optional)
1/4 C Italian Cheese and Herb Cooking Cream ( Philadelphia brand Cooking Cream)

Sprinkle Chicken w cumin, pepper, salt, and oregano, set aside

In a large non stick skillet, heat Olive oil over med-high heat. Add the onion and cook for 2 min stirring often.Add the Chicken and saute until the chicken is lightly browned on all sides, about 5 min.Add red peppers, beans, broth, lemon juice and lemon zest. Stir to combine and cover reduce heat to med- low and simmer for ten min. Remove cover and add the cooking cream a Tblsp at a time, stirring to melt the Cream and combine w the rest of the ingredients. When the sauce is smooth and creamy, remove the strew from the heat and serve.
6 serving
194 Cal 6 Fat Gm 20 protein gm 4 Fiber Gm

ok so the way I did this on Liquid was I put the Stew and added Chicken Broth in a blender and blended it to liquid consistency.. Now that I am on mushies I just blend the stew and add  just a splash of broth ( this makes it thicker than it was on liquid) I like the creamy soup consistency but that's me always have liked a cream soup over a chunky stew.

Even if you are not a WLS patient if you are looking for some healthy fresh new recipes pick up a copy of Jean's book its awesome

New Measurement Stats

Jan 23, 2012                      March 24,2013                  April 25,2013 (22 days post op)
Chest X                                     -2.5                                       -1" (total 3.5)
Waist X                                     -1.5"                                     SAME
Hips X                                       -2.25"                                    -1.5" (total 3.75)
Thighs X                                   SAME                                   -1
Cafs X                                                                                     -.75"
Biceps X                                    -.50"                                      -.5" ( total 1)
Forarms X                                                                               -.75"
Ring Finger  X                                                                        -.25"
Wrist  X                                                                                  -.25"
Neck   X                                                                                 -1.5"


I know some of those are silly but I wanted to track it ALL..

C25K W1D1

I started my 5k training last night and it was no where near as bad as I had worked it up to be in my head. The training was 30 min in all and that includes a 5 min warm up and 5 min cool down in that 30 min I ended up going 1.71 mile... that means at my current rate it will take me an hour to run ( ish) a 5K BUT with that said I am 3 wks post op and this was day one of my training. I cant wait to see how fast I am in 8 Wks!!!!! Super Excited!

3 Wk Post Op Weigh In

Today has been 3 wks since I was banded and I am feeling wonderful! I am back in the gym every day, was able to get in the pool last night for H2O Fitness Class. And I am training for my first 5K.
Total loss so far is 27.2 Lbs
Total loss since Banded is 13.9 Lbs ! YAY!!!!! 100.8 Lbs to go..

I love this pic and how true it is. I think sometimes its hard not to say well

ABC has lost _______ already  or why am I working so hard and the weight is not justt falling off. BUT if we really evaluate who we were yesterday as long as we are more healthy today, we are moving in the right direction. Can I run on the Elliptical 30 seconds longer today than yesterday before I have to slow back down to a walk. Are my pants fitting better or are they loose. Here is one of the first thing I noticed and it sounds silly.. I HAVE SAUSAGE FINGERS there you go I said it. Like had to hold my hands under cold water and really work to get my rings off prior to surgery. About a wk ago I noticed not only were my rings spinning I could easily get them on and off with little to no effort. HELLO Christy!!! that was a HUGE NSV for me.... that same wk the scale did not budge but I knew other parts of me were changing and for the good.

Color Vibe Raleigh

So I signed up for my first ever 5K run! Super excited... I am training using the couch to 5K program. And as long as I finish I will be proud of myself, I got to start somewhere!


Also I was approved to get back in the pool last night, so H2O Fitness here I come, Oh how I have missed you :)

What a difference a week makes

I am feeling so good this weekend. Mushie food and eating more regular have made all the difference in the way I feel. I am able to..um "go" . And I've lost 1.5 lbs since Wed when I was able to start back on foods.. Also I started back in the gym Wednesday 40min cardio, then 45 Friday and 51 min today (Sunday)... I will start back daily tomorrow. Still can't get in the pool but within the next wk and a half I will be able to:-).  We also as a family went to see a Roller Durby match yesterday. ..so much fun and I had no idea Raleigh had two Roller Derby Teams. Afterwards we ate dinner out for first time since surgery.  Well if u can call Waffle House dinner out, LOL. But it was a good choice for this stage of my post op diet , I was able to have 2 scrambled eggs. I have to tell you I was very scared to attempt to eat out, I didn't want to have any issues get stuck etc, so I am glad this was our first dinner out. No one was there,  post op band friendly food, I ate very small bites chewed the mess out of them, was the last one finished and had no issue! Yay me!
Overall I would say I feel 98% better only time I have any pain is when I bend wrong I have a little pain around my port. And pain may be wrong word uncomfort may be better.:-)

Post Op Appt with Dr...updates

Ok so I am officially 2 wks out and today I feel great.... Still down 12 Lbs since surgery.
Last night I saw my surgeon for my post op appt. I spent most of the visit with the nurse, Dr was behind and I was last patient of the day so she had lots of time to spend with me. We discussed my fluid intake ( I got an awesome on that) protein intake ( awesome on that too) has been 60 grams a day now they want me 70-80 grams a day. However I have not been eating enough I should be, right now, eating every 2 hours ( not sure how but I missed that info) Ive been eating 3 times a day, and when I am just so hungry I cant take it any more I was eating some SF Jello. No wonder I was having issued with lightheadedness and being tired. I was give Ok to try to get my B Complex in gummy form since the chewable waffers were so nasty to me..Also I was given the OK to eat mushies!!!  YAYYYYYY!!!!!
So today here is what my food looks like
Light Yogurt for Breakfast ( I was not able to finish though)
Apple sauce for snack
Homemade soup for Lunch
Cottage Cheese for snack
Protein shake before Gym
and Re fried Bean for Dinner....
Dr said my incisions looked great but not great enough for me to get back in the pool yet. Also that he sees on average 10-15 LBs lost the first month with the band... I am at 2 wks and 12 lbs so he said I am doing wonderful with that.
Today I saw my PCP and he thought I was doing wonderful TOO.. its so nice to go to the Dr and get a good report... I am coming off one of my meds already and he is switching up 2 others, hopes to have me off  BP meds eventually.
And I cant tell you how much better I feel just eating a little bit more regular... but other than occasionally bending wrong and feeling the port tenderness still I would not notice I had had surgery....
So Blessed to have had a quick recovery!