I said, "Free stuff!"

Wow.  Overwhelming response to my offer to send someone free stuff (but a shout out to my two peeps who did respond--right on!).

I was telling a friend about this and she said, and I quote, "Duh!"  She told me I needed to post a picture of the schwag I've put together for the giveaway so people know what they are getting.  And then I went, and I quote, "Oh.  DUH is right!"

So here you are:

• A new copy of Geneen Roth's fab book "Women Food and God" on intuitive eating
• My favorite snack (decent protein in a chip!), Newman's Own Organic White Cheddar Soy Crisps (although I can't promise it will be this exact bag if the munchies strike, but I'll get you a new, unopened one)
• Single-serve Justin's nut butters--classic almond and honey almond (really good with some apple slices)
• Myoplex lite protein bar in chocolate chocolate chip.  (Note, the carbs are a little high if you are post-op and tend to dump on carbs--I've never had a problem with them myself, though, and they are seriously good!)
• Life Script protein powder in chocolate bliss (good for reg'lar people as well as post-ops)
• The world's best hand lotion...my absolute favorite one by Bliss

Did you guess the theme?  Follow Your Bliss, of course! And how do you win?  I'll give you one week to respond, and draw for the winner on Sunday, Feb. 13--just in time for Valentine's day!

• Get an entry for posting your favorite strategies in the comment section (please remember to leave me an e-mail address so I can contact the winner). 
• Get a bonus entry for each suggested strategy (up to 5 bonus entries, although you can always leave more suggestions).
• Get another entry for announcing this giveaway on your own blog, and get a bonus entry if you include a link to this post.  Be sure to tell me about it in the comment section so you get your bonus entries (and so I can check out your blog).
• Get a final bonus entry if you spread it to a social-networking site like Facebook, Twitter, or post it on a message board (one bonus entry for each one, and be sure to tell me about it in the comments to get credit).

So let's try this again, shall we?  

Preparations for the blizzard!

(Note...check out my last post on 2/6/11 to find out how to win some awesome free weight-loss related schwag...)

We are supposed to get about 5-10" of snow.  This is where I think weathermen...ahem...meterologists that work near the Rocky Mountains should be shot.  There is a HUGE difference between 5" and 10".  The difference between wearing regular boots vs. hip waders.  Heck, if I told my Wii that I'm between 5'5" and 5'10", I would already be considered "overweight" instead of "obese." 

But I digress.

Even though I live near the Rocky Mountains, I'm in the citified part.  I do not have a snow blower, nor do I need skis to get to work.  But we are used to some cold and snow.  A fact that you would not believe what happens when an impending storm is announced.  People make a mad rush to the grocery stores, people buying as much toilet paper as they can carry, folks gassing up their Hum-Vees, fighting over the last bottle of cold medicine at the drug store.  In short, the preparations turn to mayhem.

And I do share some of that.  But it occurred to me this evening that my last-minute snow rush is a bit different now, post-op.

Before:  Make sure I load up on bread.  I couldn't go without bread for comfy grilled cheeses, toast, or to go with some spaghetti.
After:  Stock up on pre-made protein shakes and soy crisps (I swear I did this, along with a bottle of Vitamin D).

Before:  Race to get home before the snow flies so I can cuddle with the cat and eat the pizza I ordered.
After:  Race home to do Zumba on the Wii (yes, I did this one too).

Before:  Gas up the Prius
After:  Gas up the Prius (hey, they can't all be different, right?)

It's funny how different some things seem now, if I take the time to look back.  When they tell you that losing weight is a lifestyle change, they really aren't kidding (regardless of the means you have to lose weight--surgical or not). 

In the deep snow of Colorado, no one can hear you eat...or give away schwag

Winter has returned here, with a bit of a vengence.  Here's the dirty little secret...Denver does not usually get the kind of snow you think it does.  Our usual pattern is a couple of inches overnight to make you morning commute a horror, but then because we get so much sun and because the air is so dry--high desert you know, usually the snow melts and evaporates off the street in time for the afternoon commute.  All of the fun benefits of snow with only a small proportion of the inconvenience.

This freaking arctic air has given us a taste of the Midwest and East Coast type of snow.  Once it snows, it stays.  And stays.  And stays.

And I had forgotten how difficult it is to make good choices when I am stuck in my house for too long.  Heck, I have problems making good choices when I'm just in my house for an entire evening, let alone two and a half days.  So weekends are always difficult for me. I've learned to do stuff, get out, and distract myself from just sitting all day and polishing off any carb in my house (if I had the stupidity to allow it through the door in the first place).

Don't get me wrong.  I could clean my house and make it presentable.  I could do my taxes.  I could go through my closet and pull things out that are too big and prepare them for the Goodwill.  But all of that seems like work when I could just snuggle into the couch, pull up my sadly neglected DVR, pet The Beast (i.e. my 7.5 pound kitty), and watch TV all day.  But, more than likely, that leads to constant snacking, the one easy way to defeat the purpose of weight loss surgery.

You see, you can trick your pouch.  If you just slowly snack all day, you can pack in a whole lot of calories without even realizing.  If you snack on soft or airy things like carbs, they will squish through your pouch quickly enough so you have room for more, more, more.

I have done this a few times.  I'm not perfect, despite all the rumors to the contrary.  I did have a weekend where I gave in to the darkness and ate nothing but bread all weekend long.  Seriously, the Babe ate an entire loaf of bread.  It took all weekend to do it, but do it I did.  (This is why yummy artisan bread has to stay at the store or the restaurant and can never come home with me).  What can I say, I'm one of those types that always has to test the boundaries.

But here's what I learned:  I may not get "sick" in the traditional sense (i.e. throwing up), but by Monday I felt like crap.  I had no energy.  I felt bloated and icky.  And all my old cravings that hadn't bothered me too much came back with a vengence and I had to keep talking myself down off the "nothing but carb" ledge for about a week until I was able to purge that out of my system (physical and mental).  And that was HARD.  I had forgotten how strong those cravings can be, and how powerless they can make me feel.  And I had a whole week to be reminded of it.  So yeah, the temporary enjoyment, the freedom of eating whatever I wanted, the comfort of a familiar and beloved food ended up not being worth it.

I'm reminded of all of this because when I'm stuck in my house for any length of time it all comes roaring back.  And I know that I have to make a pre-emptive strike against boredom, old habits, the need for comforting, and lack of structure.

I found a great post by the post-op ladies of Pouch Party, on Top 5 Ways to stay occupied when snowed in (check out the link).  And I decided to create my own:

1. Try a new Protein-Packed recipe.  Today I'm going to make quinoa porridge, which I've heard lots of post-ops rave about, so I have it for breakfast this week.  I'm also making Buffalo-style chicken in my crock-pot (chicken + Frank's Red Hot sauce + butter = delicious).  This way I'll have good food to eat all week.
2. Do a workout on the Wii, or using a DVD, or one of the On-Demand workouts.  Smartly, I bought Zumba for the Wii yesterday before the snow started to fly, and I'm ready to try out a full workout on it.
3. Comb the internet for healthy ideas.  Check on the other blogs I subscribe to, post-surgical chat sites, look for a new workout music mix on iTunes, etc.
4. Have a game plan (so appropriate for Super Bowl Sunday).  I've planned out my day's eating, and so far so good.  
5. Mix it up.  I have HD-ADD, which means that I'm easily distracted but when I do manage to concentrate, I REALLY concentrate).  So that means, start cooking, then workout, then watch a 30 minute show on the DVR, then empty the diswasher, then organize my tax receipts, then repeat the whole thing.  It's like circuit training, but for my body and mind.

I've learned that planning is really the secret to being successful for me.  And since it is not in my nature to be a planner, I really have to force myself into it.

What strategies do you all use to avoid falling back into bad habits?  I really need to hear your ideas, so I can add them to my book of tricks.

To encourage you, I am doing my first bloggy give-away!  How about a sampler-pack of some of my favorite healthy treats--from protein bars and powders, to my favorite guilty pleasures (like the soy crisps I always rave about).    I'll throw in some other gifties too--I have a bunch of stuff in mind and will post a photo of the "gift basket" this week (when I organize it and make it pretty).  Don't worry, it'll be good stuff for anyone--not just post-ops.

I'll give you one week to respond, and draw for the winner on Sunday, Feb. 13--just in time for Valentine's day!  Here's how to win:

• Get an entry for posting your favorite strategies in the comment section (please remember to leave me an e-mail address so I can contact the winner). 
• Get a bonus entry for each suggested strategy (up to 5 bonus entries, although you can always leave more suggestions).
• Get another entry for announcing this giveaway on your own blog, and get a bonus entry if you include a link to this post.  Be sure to tell me about it in the comment section so you get your bonus entries (and so I can check out your blog).
• Get a final bonus entry if you spread it to a social-networking site like Facebook, Twitter, or post it on a message board (one bonus entry for each one, and be sure to tell me about it in the comments to get credit).

Let the games begin!

The Babe and her belly...

I have noticed that my body tends to follow a pattern.  As I lose weight, it comes off everywhere other than my belly.  Then, after my legs and upper body shrink about a size, my belly finally decides to get on board and it shrinks a little too (but never quite catching up).  So I am perpetually going through this cycle of getting thinner and more pregnant looking, to thinner and slightly-less pregnant looking.  It's really irritating.


Well, I'm back in the big-belly stage where the rest of my body is going down in size with my midsection staying disproportionately large.  And it's irritating.  Nothing fits right.  Nothing looks right.  It does a number on my confidence level.  It becomes the bane of my existance.  Not that I am the type of person to exaggerate or anything.  Basically I'm saying that my belly has been on my mind a lot recently.  This has always bothered me more than the actual weight.  People who were more overweight then me but carried their weight in their hips or rear or legs always looked thinner than I did. 

So I'm taking action.  I tried a Zumba class last week, and all those hip swivels (even when done by an uncoordinated pasty-white girl) really worked my abs.  I asked my Pilates teacher to help me concentrate on my "core" muscles today.  And just so you can benefit from my experience, know that when you ask your Pilates teacher for an area to be worked she will not shy away from the challenge and you will FEEL it.

By the way--funny story--I made my doctor check my belly on Tuesday due to the pain.  I seriously thought I had pulled a stitch or tore the belly mesh from my hernia repair.  When he asked if I was working about and I told him about Zumba, he laughed and said that it was probably just muscle fatigue from working out.  I explained to him that I don't have abs, and he assured me I did.  Who knew?

Eventually, I may have to get surgery to even out.  I hate that thought, but it probably is the only way to truly get rid of the pregnant look.  We'll see in another 20 lbs how I feel about it.

In the meantime, I'm trying to be patient and to do what I can do build up muscle in my abs.  I even got the Zumba game for the Wii (and it doesn't yell, "that's obese" at me, so that's a plus) so I can try it on my own.  Any other thoughts?  Anyone else with the pregnant belly look?

Well, crap.

So it's good news, bad news time again.

Good news, I went to my surgeon today for the one-year followup appointment, and I apparently am a weight loss rockstar.  I'm right on track, and he said I should aim for 10 more pounds in the next 3 months.  He was thrilled that I'm off my cPAP machine, that I don't have back pain, and that my triglicerides are down almost 200 points.  He also said I looked great, that he wanted me to be on his patient lecturer panel again, and then he gave me a hug.

Bad news?  His scale said that I was 201.something (I momentarily blacked out after reading 201).  Son of a preacher-man!  What the nut!  And other weird phrases I often use to substitute for actual cursing.

Yes, I know.  It's just a number.  But it's such a LARGE number (not really, this is the overly-dramatic face of the Babe), and I really wanted to be under 200.  Yes, with all my clothes on, having ate breakfast, drank 4 glasses of water, and having not pooped for two days.  Is that too much info?

Hey--fun tidbit!  I weighed myself last week first thing in the morning before I peed and then again after.  Know what?  I lost 1 whole pound just by peeing!  Is it too much info NOW?

So yeah, everything I said about numbers not mattering, and weight is really about how you feel and not the actual number?  All lies!  (again, this may be my overly-dramatic self taking over).

Sigh.  I think I need a 1-week break from weighing in, just to clear my head and remind myself that in the overall scheme of things, IT DOES NOT MATTER.  Anyone else with me on this?  Tell me in your comments...

P.S.  So's that I can end on good news, this does mean that my evil scale truly is evil, since it told me I was 202.something first thing this morning--before drinking, or having breakfast, or putting on my clothes.  My suspicions are confirmed!

The Babe is in One-derland (officially)

OK everyone, keep your socks on.  Friday morning I weighed myself on the evil scale, ie. the one that reads several pounds heavy, and it was officially under 200 lbs.  The last time I was under 200 lbs. was 1995.  Course, the next day I weighed myself again (mostly because I enjoy torturing myself in the morning) and it was back to 200.2.  But screw that.  I'm saying under 200 officially.


I did expect for confetti and balloons to start dropping from my ceiling, like they do on gameshows when someone wins the big prize.  Guess what?  It didn't happen.  In fact, my whole day went on just like there was not a momentously small number on my scale. 


This leads me to two conclusions I thought I would share.  One:  somebody, somewhere, owes me some confetti.  Two:  IT REALLY IS JUST A NUMBER.  What the nut?  It didn't make a choir of angels sing.  No one said, "Wow, you look like you are under 200 lbs!  How does it feel?"  My clothes didn't suddenly fall off my body.  I didn't find a queue of hot men outside my front door waiting and wondering "Where the skinny Babe at?" The Wii still yells, "That's Obese" at me in an insane helium mocking tone.


And, frankly, I am still obese.  Strangers just meeting me think that I'm chubby.  I can't go to a fitness store and find workout clothes in my size (Damn you, Title 9!  You just HAD to stop at a size 16 and couldn't go one more size?).  My doctor wants me to get "into the 150's", and that is 40lbs away.


But I still had a mini-in-my-head celebration.  A moment of satisfaction.  A self-congratulatory pat on the back (where I now have shoulderblades).  All the while reminding myself that I am not doing this for the numbers, but doing it for ME.

Apparently...

Apparently, I'm stylish!  I just got some bloggy love from new follower Lauren, from Dude, I think we might be fat.  Which, by the way, is an awesome freaking name...

You know that these always come with rules, and here are the rules for this one:

1. Post and link back to the person who gave you this award.   
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award on to 15 recently discovered great bloggers (or as many as you can).
4. Contact these bloggers and tell them they've won! 

Here goes....
1.  Done, and done
2.  Let's do bullets to keep these straight

•  I'm exceptionally good at the "pigeon" yoga pose (way better than the teacher), but my hamstrings are so tight I still can't touch my toes.
• Apparently, I have a "young soul."  This is from the same person at the Metaphysical Fair who told me that my necklace was full of dolphin energy (and who did not think it was funny when I asked her if there was an exhausted dolphin swimmin' around somewhere because of me).
• I went to college on a writing scholarship, an academic scholarship, and a music scholarship.  Note that there is nothing there about an athletic scholarship.
• Speaking of my great athleticism, I coined the term "Freestyle Stair-Diving" and told people that was how I broke my ankle.  It sounds way cooler than "I was carrying a bag of presents, a large box, an apple pie, my purse, and wearing 2.5 inch heels while running down the narrowest stairs known to man."  And no, I didn't even drop the pie.
• My first kiss was when I was 16, and the boy in question has since come out of the closet (shout out to Mr. B!).  I like to think that I ruined him for all other men, but in hindsight his fondness for show tunes should have tipped me off.
• My (not so) secret ambition is to be a esthetician and makeup artist, and give away my services to women who are trying to get back into the workforce.  Like "Dress for Success," but for your face.
• I am a Libra, and making a decision on what to put down for my #7 has taken me 30 minutes of wandering around my house and thinking.

3.  The bloggers I've really liked and recommended:

• Smaller Fun Pants, and all versions thereof- because she is awesome, funny, and a personal friend
• Head Nurse- funny as can be, big hearted, and gets the medical industry
• Hooked on Beauty- need I say more?
• Kaylen's Kitchen- great lower-carb recipes
• Bariatric Foodie- inspirational and yummy bariatric recipies
• Maria's Nutritional Consulting- I have 2 of her books and love her food
• Weight Loss Surgery Vitagarden- THE resource for information on vitamins and supplements for the bariatric community
• Shrinking Blubeary- a "regular dieter" (not surgically altered), but has beautiful insights for all of us who struggle with weight
• Telling Dad- just makes me laugh, and he's a good person who gives back to women in need of a new start with his charity
• Melting Mama- best post-surgery recommendations on the internet
• Musings from the Big Pink- another dad who just cracks me up
• Endurance isn't Always Physical- someone who actually likes to exercise
• Healthy Schmelthy- you just have to go read it, she's awesome!
• The Bypassed Life- I just found this one, and find it really informative and interesting
• My Day- because her tenacity and determination inspire me
• theworldaccordingtoeggface- great bariatric recipes and info
• Your Lighter Side- funny and low-carb!

I think I may have gone over, but I'm also sure I'm leaving someone out.   Anyhoo, go and check some of these out.  After all, you like me, and I like them, ipso facto you will like them.  I'm sure there's a mathematical collary for that, but I'll leave that to those geekier than I.