Picture frames

I seriously just wasted spent my entire day hanging picture frames. I'm terrible at hanging them--I can't figure out where to put each frame and then I get them crooked and off center, or I measure wrong, and they just look bad. So today, I was determined to do it RIGHT.

Jerry called the cable company this morning because our internet has been SO S.L.O.W. for the past three days or so (if you've been waiting for an e-mail or response from me, that's probably why you haven't heard anything! I'll try and catch up tomorrow). They said they'd send someone out, so I waited around for the cable guy. While I was waiting, I decided that I really needed to fix the frames and finally add the others that have been sitting in a closet for about four years (literally).

It was so hard!! I acted like a little kid having a fit--I screamed and stomped my feet, and told Jerry I was going to tear the house apart out of frustration. Lol, and I wonder why my kids are so dramatic! I finally figured out a system with a piece of paper with lines drawn all over it--it wasn't perfect, but I think I did pretty damn good!

Yes, that took me all day long. I'm just so glad that it's done now, and I don't have to look at the frames that were on the wall before, all crooked.

The cable guys (there were two) gave us a new modem and splitter under the house. Now the internet is working quickly again, and it's much less frustrating.

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Some of you asked what I used the cookie butter for--yesterday, I spread it on a few graham crackers and at it that way. I imagine it would be good on a Nilla Wafer, too. Or, and I can't wait for this, oats in a jar!  When it gets almost empty, I'm going to make my cinnamon raisin cookie oats and put it in the jar to eat. Yum!

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I have some runner friends coming over in less than an hour to watch Hood to Coast with me, so I have to cut this short. We'll have wine and snacks, too. Jerry's working tonight, so I'm really looking forward to some girl company!

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It doesn't get much better than this!

I've had such a great day today! It always seems like good things happen all in the same day and then everything will be boring again for a while.

I started today by trying on some jeans that I was hoping would fit (my goal jeans)--and they did! Then I went a step further, and tried on the one pair of jeans that I never in a million years thought I'd be able to button and zip and actually wear in public--they fit too!! Remember the Lucky brand jeans I bought this summer? They were super low cut and I never thought I'd be able to wear them, even with a tummy tuck. But I tried them on for shits and giggles today, and...

Ta da! And I don't even have a muffin top, so I can wear them with fitted shirts. Before, I couldn't even get the jeans up all the way, let alone buttoned. Sorry I keep posting so many comparison pics--I'm not fishing for compliments, I'm just in total AWE at the results of my lower body lift!

Speaking of which, I got my XS compression garment in the mail today. When I took it out of the package, I just thought, "Holy crap, how am I supposed to fit into that?!" because it was so tiny. Here is a pic of it on top of my goal jeans (which are a size 4, so they're small as it is):

 

You can see why I was worried about putting that thing on!  After some wrestling and holding my breath, I managed to get the hooks and zippers done, and now it's on. I can't really take a deep breath, but I'm compressed ;)  I have to wear this for 3 more weeks. I actually kind of like the compression feeling.

I also got something VERY exciting in the mail today from Lindsey at JavaMuser... When I opened the envelope and saw a Trader Joe's bag, I knew it was going to be good...

It felt heavy and cylindrical, so my first guess was some sort of nut butter. But it was BETTER, Friends. What could possibly be better than nut butter, you ask?

I did what anyone would do, and opened it immediately. I ate a spoonful right from the jar, and my kids must have heard my Oh-this-is-so-good moaning, because they wanted to try it too. I gave them a tiny little taste and they loved it of course. I told them sorry, but this is going on Mama's special shelf in the pantry ;)

It tastes like Snickerdoodle cookies or something. So yummy!  I've only been to a Trader Joe's once, and that was when I went to visit my brother in St. Paul, MN.  We don't have one around here, unfortunately. Thank you, Lindsey--you know me well!

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Today was Renee's birthday, and we went out to lunch four other girls (six of us total). It was so fun! We went to a restaurant called La Fiesta, which I'd never been to before. I ordered a lunch portion of shrimp fajitas, and unfortunately, they weren't very good. Actually, they were the worst fajitas I've ever had! But the company was good, so that made up for it ;)

After that, Renee, Jessica, and I went to Cabela's for Christmas shopping. I didn't need to buy anything, but it was fun to look around. I stopped at Kroger for a few things on the way home, and didn't get home until almost 4:00 when the kids get home from school.

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About the cookie socks giveaway... I wrote down everyone's names and then used a random number generator to pick a winner. It ended up being #2, who was Susan Snyder--congrats, Susan!  I already have your address from sending you the Gocket, so I ordered the socks and had them shipped to you :)

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SO EXCITED!

I'm going to write more later (and include some more pics), but for now, I'm just too excited not to share... I can wear my GOAL JEANS!!

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253

When I signed into blogger, I noticed that my "followers" number was the same as my starting weight--253. I don't know why I felt the need to point that out! ;)  I hate that number.

I started today with my Wednesday Weigh-In, and I was thrilled to see another loss!

Down 2 pounds from last week

I really need a pedicure! I had to remove my nail polish for surgery, and then I couldn't bend over that far to paint my nails post-op--so my nails are looking really shabby. I haven't asked Jerry to paint them--I'm sure he would if I asked!--but I'm afraid they might look worse than they do now ;)

Down 0.4% body fat from last week

At 136, I'm only THREE pounds away from my goal weight of 133! And right now, I'm only 8 pounds from my lowest weight of 128 in December of 2010. I don't think I'll wind up in the 120's again, but I would be thrilled to be at 133 or less. I chose that number because that is when my jeans were very comfy. At 134, they felt a little snug at the waist. I know it's only a pound, but at this weight, I feel EVERY POUND.

When I was over 200 pounds, I could gain or lose 15 pounds without even noticing it in my clothes. But now, every little pound counts. And it makes a difference in my running, as well. Once I get over 135ish, my pace is slower. I run best in the low 130's.

I haven't really been "dieting" since my surgery, so I will just keep doing what I've been doing and see where I end up--hopefully it'll be in the low 130's or less. 

I'm also thrilled that my body fat is almost in the teens again. I was worried it was going to go up and up since I'm not running right now, but thankfully that hasn't happened.

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Something that people e-mail or comment about most frequently is that I should write a book. About a year ago, I actually did write one, but I never did anything with it. By now, pretty much all of the info that I wrote is somewhere on my blog, so I was thinking of starting over from scratch with a different approach.

But for those of you that said I should write a book about my weight loss, I have a couple of questions. What kind of book are you thinking of? What would interest you? A memoir about my experience? An "advice" kind of book? A day-to-day journal from when I was losing the weight (which I still have)? I have so much info, but I don't know what people would be interested reading about.

I love memoirs in general, so I was leaning toward that--but my life is SO not interesting, I'm afraid that it would be horribly boring. Doing an "advice" book has been done ten thousand times before, so there wouldn't really be anything special to write about.

Something that I had in mind that would be kind of different would be to turn my old blog (my weight loss blog) into a journal-like book--editing the heck out of it, of course--and then throw notes or chapters into it sporadically, talking about things that helped me or things that I learned along the way. Does that make sense? I spent all day today going through my old blog (with Estelle on my lap--she loves the heated blanket).

So basically, I just need some input on what would be interesting to read!

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Jerry's co-worker gave him some of this Starbucks peppermint hot cocoa--and he brought it home for me, since I've been kind of hooked on hot cocoa lately!

I'm kind of tempted to mix it with decaf coffee to turn it into a peppermint mocha-like drink. I still haven't had coffee since the end of October. I don't even miss it anymore, really. But when Jerry drinks it, I really love the smell of it. I think I might get some decaf to have around when the craving hits.

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Tomorrow I actually have plans!  I'm going to lunch and to Cabela's with Renee and Jessica. It's Renee's birthday!

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The mom that ruined Christmas

I was lying back in the recliner today, and Phoebe decided she wanted to be a lap cat--she climbed on me (Jerry took a very blurry pic...) and then parked herself right on my chest.

She actually sat there for a while, and I didn't have the heart to move her--I wonder if she knew that it probably wouldn't feel good for her to climb all over my stomach right now?

I'm excited to watch The Biggest Loser tonight! I haven't been very into this season at ALL, but I always love watching the marathon. And this season all of the contestants are going to be running the marathon. I don't know why it's so exciting, but I love to watch.

Another show that I'm excited for is Fear Factor, which starts next Monday. Do you remember how awesome that reality show was?! I loved that show--and now it's coming back :)

Eli just told me that I was ruining Christmas. My kids are so dramatic. My dad picked them up from school today, and when they came home, I was unpacking their book bags. I noticed that they didn't eat any of their lunch, which made me mad. Then I pulled out a bunch of candy wrappers from their bags, and they told me that my dad gave it to them.

That is something that drives me crazy! He says it's a "treat" because they don't get it at home. I'm fine with him giving them ONE treat, but he gives them 5-6 pieces of candy or Little Debbie crap every time he sees them. No wonder they don't want their lunch at school! So I told them that my dad can't pick them up from school tomorrow, and they told me I was ruining everything about Christmas. ;)

Noah wrote this note and taped it to their bedroom door:

"Everybody come in, but not Mama! She ruined our Christmas"

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I'm getting so sick of eating all this protein, and I forgot to ask my doctor how long she wants me eating tons of protein. I can't wait to make some baked oatmeal and eat it for breakfast instead of a protein shake, and have a bowl of pasta for dinner instead of salmon and potatoes. I like protein shakes, and I like salmon, but I just want to go back to my very favorite foods (which basically contain very little protein).

ETA: I'm supposed to be getting 100+ grams of protein per day. My shake in the morning is about 40 grams, so I can't afford to eliminate that for oats with peanut butter (unfortunately) because that would be about 10 grams max. Maybe I'll just make baked oatmeal to have for my dessert at night!

My next post-op appointment isn't until Jan. 10th; I'll be six weeks post-op on Dec. 26, so maybe then I'll start cutting back on the protein and going back to normal. It doesn't help that I've been watching Dirty Jobs with the kids--one was about butchering cows and another was about bologna making. Nothing turns me off to meat more than watching it go from animal to store!

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Three weeks post-op (with pics)

After all the excitement that happened over the past 6 weeks (going to NYC to be a guest on Dr. Oz, having my lower body lift surgery, watching the airing of The Dr. Oz Show, recovering from surgery...) I feel like my life is so much more boring than it was before! I have no idea what I used to write about.

Running, obviously, but since I'm not doing that... I do like the idea of walking for exercise over the next few weeks while I recover. It seems so obvious, but it actually didn't occur to me to do exercise other than running! Thanks for the suggestion :)

I might walk on the dreadmill tomorrow and see how it goes. If I swell up huge, then I might put off any exercise a little longer. My knee has been feeling pretty good the past couple of days, so hopefully that whole thing is behind me.

Today marks three weeks of being binge-free! I binged the day before my surgery. I remember after my jaw surgery last year, I (obviously) couldn't binge for a long time while my jaw was wired shut. Then after I got the wires off, I binged, telling myself "just this once". Again and again. Once you do it the first time after a long time of not doing it, it becomes so much easier to do over and over again.

So, having learned my lesson last year, I'm going to try my best to stay binge-free--knowing that if I do it even ONCE, it will make me much more likely to do it again, until I'm bingeing a few times a week.

I've been eating "normally", or as a lot of people like to call it, "intuitively".  I hesitate to call it that, because "intuitive eating" has its own set of rules, but I'm not following any rules--just trying to eat like a normal person. My surgeon still wants me eating a lot of protein, so I've been doing that.

I've been super tempted a few times to binge--Mrs. Fields was a really big temptation to me, and when I was grocery shopping today, I wanted to buy some cookie dough so badly! To eat raw, of course, despite all the health warnings on the label, lol. I don't feel controlled enough to make a batch of cookies and not binge, so I will have to either buy one or two cookies from a bakery if I want, or just wait until I have enough control to have them in the house.

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I am also three weeks post-op today. So I took some new photos, although they don't look much different than the last photos I posted. I think my belly button looks a little smaller. I'm still very swollen--in the lower abdomen, which you can't really tell from the pics. But I'm swollen, I swear! I'll try and take new pics weekly to see the progress.

2 weeks after lower body lift

3 weeks after lower body lift

Just for the record, I do have other panties... I just use these for comparison purposes! ;)

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Check out what I got in the mail today!!

One of you told me about these cookie socks a long time ago, but they were out of stock. I just got an e-mail earlier this week that they were back in stock, so I bought some. They're really cozy socks, too. (The picture makes them look discolored by the feet--they aren't! I don't know why they look like that).

Once I saw that I liked them, I decided that I wanted to buy another pair to give away to one of my readers! Instead of doing a regular giveaway, I'm going to limit this giveaway to the people that have bought a Gocket from me to help me pay for my surgery. I want you to know how much I appreciated your help! So if you bought a Gocket, and you would like to be entered in a drawing for a pair of these COOKIES socks, just say so in the comments (or e-mail, if you can't comment for some reason).

I was going to just enter everybody that bought a Gocket, but I thought maybe someone doesn't want a pair of socks, so just let me know if you'd like to be entered.  I'll pick a winner on Thursday morning, and announce it on Thursday's blog post.

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Stupid glazed carrots

I think I finally understand exactly how important a role exercise plays in reducing stress. It has been three weeks since I've gone for a run, which is the longest I've gone without running in almost 2 years. Even after my jaw surgeries, I was running after about two weeks.

I feel really on-edge and bitchy lately. My body feels really antsy, like I need to be moving or doing something. I don't feel ready to go for a run yet; I feel okay as far as my lower body lift goes, but my knee is still really bothering me. I'm going to give it another week or so, and see how I feel about it then. When I scheduled my surgery, I didn't plan on running again for six weeks; so I really need to stop feeling guilty for not running!

Anyway, I think that the running regularly kept me from feeling this on-edge. Even though I didn't realize it at the time, it was making my body feel used and useful. Now my body just feels like it's good-for-nothing. I don't really know how else to explain it. Hopefully once I start running again, I'll stop being so bitchy!

I've been snapping at Jerry a lot lately for things that are really stupid. Today we got in an argument before he left for work. An argument that started because of glazed carrots, of all things.

I made turkey loaf for dinner, and I decided to make something different than the usual potatoes to go with it. I had a bag of frozen carrots in the freezer for a while, so I decided to make glazed carrots, thinking that the kids would like them because they're sweet and sugary.

Glazed carrots with cranberries...a.k.a. How I tortured my family.

Jerry has never been a fan of vegetables, although he's come a long way since we got married. When I told him I was going to make glazed carrots, he didn't say anything, which I expected. I knew he wouldn't exactly be thrilled with the choice, but he never complains about what I cook.

I thought the carrots turned out good. We all sat down to eat, and the kids immediately started complaining, like they always do. They are NEVER happy with what I cook--today the turkey loaf was "too spicy" and the carrots were "gross". Then, of course, they act like they are gagging and going to throw up. This is a daily routine, no matter what I make. Jerry ate all of his carrots before he even touched his meatloaf, which I know means that he doesn't like them. (He always eats his least favorite thing first, so that he can truly "enjoy" the rest of his meal).

I asked if he liked them, and he said yes. When I was cleaning up after dinner, I asked if he wanted to take the leftover carrots to work with the leftover meatloaf, and he said no. He kept insisting that he liked them, but I'm not stupid! We've been together for 12 years--I should know. I got mad and said "If you don't like them, just TELL ME YOU DON'T LIKE THEM."

So he said, "Fine, I don't like them."  Which just pissed me off. I wasn't mad that he didn't like them, but for two other reasons: 1) He lied the first dozen times, and 2) He made up his mind before he even tried them that he wouldn't like them, just like the kids. All I have to do is tell the kids what I'm making, and they say, "I hate that" when they've never even tried it.

I love to try new things, no matter what they happen to be. Even if it's something I "know" I won't like, I try it anyways. And I'm just mad that my family is the exact opposite, which makes it very difficult when I cook. I want to make new things all the time, but they never like to try new things with an open mind. Jerry insists that I should just make whatever I want, and he'll eat it without complaint, but I feel guilty doing that. I always feel like I need to make something everyone will like. My kids want to live off of pasta with butter and parmesan cheese, nothing else.

Enough about all that.

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Here is a picture I took yesterday and forgot to post. Jerry and Eli rollerskating... love Eli's face! He's still at the age where he's proud to be seen with his parents. Noah avoided us like the plague, because one of his friends was there ;)

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I am writing a post about "the good, the bad, and the ugly" of a lower body lift/circumferential tummy tuck/belt lipectomy/whatever you want to call the surgery I just had. So if any of you have any questions about the surgery, recovery, my surgeon, or anything, feel free to ask!  When I was researching the surgery, I couldn't find any blogs about it. There were a few tummy tuck blogs, but not the full extent of the surgery I had. So I'm hoping to make a post with a ton of info for anyone who might be thinking about the surgery.

I'm still super swollen in my lower abdomen. I'm dying for the swelling to go away, so I can wear my small jeans. Lately, I've been wearing the same jeans I wore before surgery--they fit a lot looser than before, but that makes them more comfortable against my incision.

I can't stop thinking about how glad I am that I had the surgery! I wish I didn't have to wear this compression garment 24/7, because I would probably walk around in my bra and panties, just because I like looking at my belly.  ;)

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And I'll leave you with this picture of Estelle--she's LOVING Christmas!

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Exhaused

What an exhausting day!  My whole body aches right now. I need to keep in mind that I just had a major surgery less than three weeks ago, and I still need to take it easy.

Jerry and I went Christmas shopping all morning and into the afternoon. I hate Christmas shopping! In fact, I'm kind of a grinch because I really dislike Christmas--it's the most stressful time of year, and it costs a fortune. I would love a Christmas that didn't involve gifts at all, but just spending time talking and laughing together with family that I enjoy.

Okay, I just took a break from writing in order to eat dinner, and I'm not as crabby now :)  While we were at the mall, I was DYING to buy a cookie from Mrs. Fields. And not just any old cookie... it was a chocolate chip cookie sandwich, with tons and tons of buttercream frosting sandwiched between the two chocolate chips cookies. I knew that if I ate it, I would obsess about it and keep wanting to go back and get another. That's how my mind works with certain foods, and the Mrs. Fields cookies are one of them. The monster cookie at the top of my blog is another ;)  So I skipped the cookie, but it's been on my mind all day.

After shopping, we went to the roller skating rink so that the boys could skate, and they had a blast. Jerry ended up skating too. I would have if I wasn't worried about falling and screwing up all the work my surgeon just did!

Now we are going to head over to my mom's. My sister is in town, and she brought Christmas presents for the kids, so we're going to celebrate Christmas tonight with her. After that, I plan on doing NOTHING and just sitting around for the night. My body is pretty achy. I quit taking Motrin a few days ago, so I'm not taking anything for pain. I'm not in pain, but just a little sore.

Oh, and since a lot of you were asking how I slept the other night, since I was able to sleep on my stomach after having my drain removed...

I was pretty happy :)  Unfortunately, I'm still not able to sleep well. I'm going to take a sleeping pill tonight to try and get a good night's sleep.

I somehow managed to screw up my knee a few days ago. It feels like runner's knee but SO much worse than I've ever felt before. I wasn't even doing anything--just sitting in the recliner, and when I stood up, my knee was absolutely killing me. I couldn't straighten it, I couldn't bend it, and it constantly felt like it was going to give out on me. After a couple of days, it was feeling a little better, but then it started hurting again. I don't know.

I was planning on running on Monday, but I don't want to if my knee is still bothering me. It figures I would get injured while taking time OFF from running! ;)

I finally finished that afghan for the hospital! I was so happy and relieved to have it done. But it actually feels weird to sit and watch TV without crocheting at the same time.

Anyways, sorry this was such a rushed post. I'll try and come up with something more interesting tomorrow to write about! I hope you're all out enjoying your Saturday night--doing something a little more fun than I am :)

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How many calories did you eat while losing weight?

(Update 7/8/2017: I've written an updated post about this, after getting back to my goal weight via calorie counting in 2015. I would suggest reading that as well.)

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I don't have much to talk about today, so I'll answer a frequently asked question :)

Something that a lot of people ask me is how many calories I ate while I was losing weight. I don't like answering this concretely, because what worked for me may be (and probably will be) different from other people. So please keep that in mind!

I decreased the calories a little as I lost, but it ROUGHLY breaks down to this: when I first started, I was eating probably about 1800 calories per day. Then I cut back a little at a time, and when I reached a "normal" BMI, I was probably eating 1400-1600 per day.

On days that I ran, I would usually eat more--if I ran 6 miles, for example, I would eat about half of the calories I burned on top of my daily calories. So burning 600 calories would allow me to eat 300 + my daily calorie intake.

Now, Sparkpeople suggested that I eat 1200-1550 calories per day, and I tried that. But I was starving and bitchy, and it led to binges. So I experimented for a while with different amounts until I found an amount that allowed me to be satisfied and not feel like I was totally deprived, but still allowed me to lose weight. You just have to experiment to see what is right for you. I was not willing to live on 1200 calories per day forever, so I didn't do it then. That's not much food, and doesn't allow for any indulgences; nobody wants to live that way!

A mistake that I think a lot of people make is to try eating 1200 calories a day, realize that it totally sucks, and then they quit. Instead of quitting, try eating 1600 calories a day and see if you lose weight; or 1800, or 1500...etc. I learned that the all-or-nothing mentality is what made me fail so many times in the past. I followed the plan 100% or not at all--and I would always fail. Once I started to make my own "rules", I learned what I could live with and be happy with.

I feel the same way about Weight Watchers Points. A lot of people think that they shouldn't eat their weekly points or their activity points, in hopes of losing weight faster. But usually what happens is they feel so deprived that they quit instead of just using their extra points. I would suggest using all the points you're allowed and see how it works; at least then you won't feel like you're starving. Even if Weight Watchers recommends that you eat 29 points per day, there is nothing wrong with trying 35 points a day at first and see if you lose weight. You can adjust as needed.

If there is one thing that I learned while losing weight this time around, it's that there isn't a single plan out there that works for everybody. You have to pick and choose from your plan what you are willing to do--not just what you can do to lose the weight, but what you are willing to do forever.

There is no way that I am willing to commit to working out six days a week for the rest of my life--so I chose a number that worked for me. I committed to three days per week (occasionally I do more, when I'm training for a race, but I've only committed to three). Three is do-able for me. Six is not. You don't have to answer to anybody but yourself.

As far as calories go, and what I ate to lose weight... I didn't eat anything that I didn't want to. There are so many different foods out there to choose from that there is no reason that you should force yourself to eat celery sticks and broiled fish (unless you really enjoy those foods, of course!).  For example, I don't like salad; but I do like roasted cauliflower. So I ate what I enjoyed (the cauliflower) and skipped the salad. I was still getting healthy food; but it was food I liked, and not what I felt I "should" be eating.

Something else that I did as part of my daily routine (and still do) is to eat a dessert every single day. Not just fruit, or sugar-free Jello or something like that. I picked an indulgent dessert for about 300 calories, and I set aside those calories at the beginning of the day to make room for them. I ate fairly healthy all day long, trying to get a good variety of foods--only things I enjoyed--and then at night, I would indulge in my dessert that I had planned out ahead of time.

That dessert gave me something to look forward to all day while staying on track. That dessert made it so much easier to say 'no' to tempting foods during the day when I knew I was going to have an awesome treat that night. You don't have to eat only health foods to lose weight. You can work some junk food into your diet... chances are, you're eating a lot of junk food now, so planning on one dessert would actually be cutting back. It was cutting back for me, anyway! ;)

Finally, in order to be successful while counting calories, you have to be honest with yourself. I highly recommend that you measure or weigh your portions (I prefer to weigh)! I can't stress this enough. It's so easy to guesstimate the amount of oatmeal or cereal or something you're going to eat; but when you take the time to weigh it out, you are getting the exact amount that you are counting the calories for. As much of a pain in the ass as it sounds, I actually weighed out, on a food scale, every single thing that I ate.

Some people, however, aren't willing to weigh/measure food--and that's fine! Remember, I said you should only make changes that you're willing to make. Just try to make your best guess and be honest with yourself. You might lose weight a little slower than if you weighed/measured your food, but you'll still be making a conscious effort to eat less calories, and the weight will come off.

Losing weight is a ton of work. If you're expecting it to be easy, you're going to have a much harder time. It takes a lot of time and dedication to weigh your portions, plan your meals, and keep track of your calories. Most people are so disappointed to hear that THIS is how I lost the weight--by putting in a lot of work! But if you're willing to do the work, then you'll definitely see the results.

For the past year, I've been experimenting with "intuitive eating" or "mindful eating" or "normal eating" in order to not have to count calories forever. It's been extremely difficult, but I'm learning a lot about myself and why I eat. I still believe that counting calories is the best way to lose weight at first--for at least 6 months to a year--to get used to smaller portions, having accountability, having structure, getting into a routine, etc.

Ultimately, I would love to be able to eat intuitively and maintain my goal weight though! However, I've accepted that this may not happen, and I'm okay with that.

I hope this is helpful for anyone who is thinking about counting calories. The most important things to remember are: 1) Only eat foods you truly like; 2) You don't have to follow someone else's guidelines--make up your own plan that works for you; and 3) You'll probably have to do some experimenting to see what works--but don't quit!

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No more drains!!

Today was my second post-op appointment from my lower body lift, and I am SO glad to report that my surgeon removed my last drain! She wanted the output to be less than 30 cc's, and it just barely made the cut today. If it wasn't for the smaller compression garment, I doubt that I would have been able to get it out today. Ever since I started wearing it, my drain output decreased a lot.

FREEDOM!!

And speaking of that, today my surgeon told me to get a size XS--I had to laugh, first because I've never worn an XS ANYTHING, and second because I *just* started wearing the small. These garments are going to cost me a fortune! But I'm so happy to have the drains out. I was expecting the drain removal to be excruciatingly painful, but I had four drains and none of them hurt coming out. They just felt very weird, like a snake slithering through my abdomen.

The best part? I can sleep on my stomach now! With the drain in, I was always worried that I was going to roll over and pull the drain out while I was sleeping, so I've been (attempting to) sleep on my back and sides for the past 17 days--and I'm not getting much sleep because I'm so uncomfortable. I'm going to sleep like a baby tonight, I hope :)

I asked the doctor about some concerns I had about the swelling and a couple of spots on the incision that are puckered. She said the puckering is normal and will go away when the internal stitches dissolve. I was worried that my swelling was a seroma because it seems so BIG, but she said it's perfectly normal and it could take 4 months for my stomach to be totally FLAT. She said that it will be flat, though, so I just need some patience. She said a lot of people are upset because they can't fit into their old clothes at first--thankfully I don't have that problem! I would be devastated if I couldn't fit into any of my jeans. So I feel confident that I'm right on track.

The doctor mentioned again that I can start running any time I want to now. I don't know when I'll run again. I was planning on waiting until January--but I feel so good right now that I know I could get back to it soon. I think maybe on Monday (3 weeks post-op) I'll do a very light, easy run and see how I feel. I'm certainly not going to start running like I'm training for a race. 

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Remember the outakes I posted from the video that Sparkpeople asked me to make? Well, they were making an advertisement for Spark, and they used my clip along with some from other people. And I finally get to post it!  Here it is:

I really do love Sparkpeople. I never would have lost all the weight that I did without the tools and resources that they provide. And I've "met" soooo many amazing people! I remember when I first started losing weight, I would browse the site for hours reading about other people's success, and it was very inspiring.

My favorite tool on the site is the Recipe Calculator. There, you can add all the ingredients in a recipe, type in the number of servings, and it will give you the nutrition info per serving. Then you can save that recipe (public or private) to come back to it whenever you need. When you see the nutrition labels on my recipes, the nutrition info was figured on the recipe calculator at Spark. It's a pain at first, to enter all the ingredients for all of your recipes, but once it's done, it's done--you don't have to do it again.

Okay, I'm off to make some turkey burgers for dinner!

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