Lap-bandin', Weight-Watchin'...

Tuesday, I went to my surgeon's Lap-Band support group for the first time in ages. I'm reminded that it is just so individual, the experience we have with our bands. One woman said, "I feel like I am on a diet every day for the rest of my life..." and there were nods around the room. Another piped up and said, "Wow, my experience is the opposite - I don't feel like I'm dieting at all!" I'm in the camp of the latter (yay!)...though, lately, I am on a diet everyday actually - but that's not about the band. It's more about me getting back to center on calorie intake, healthy habits and awareness.



Which leads to me how the WW'ing is going: Good! I weighed in this morning at a spry 163.8 - that's almost 2 pounds in 10 days! In 1.8 more pounds, I hit 100!! I mean considering how stuck I was feeling, it's amazing if you just (duh!) restrict your calories a little, exercise a little, drink more water and be aware....one loses weight. ;) Seriously though - the biggest changes for me are:

1) I'm drinking my water - 64 oz. (8 - 8oz servings) per day!
2) Alcohol consumption is minimal - I went out a lot and always got a drink without thinking. Now I get water a lot of the time, and when I do drink it's the low carb (re: dirty martini or red wine...) option. And alcohol is a lot of WW 'points' - most of the time I'd rather get to eat something.
3) Down with cheese! I know, this is shocking because I'm such a huge, huge fan of cheese. I will report I've not bought any 'nice' french or other cheeses since I started. Rather, I'm eating those silly little Laughing Cow "light" rounds. They're tastey, and 50 calories (1 point).
4) Portion Control: Yes, this is an issue even with a lapband. Somehow, I can easily chow down 1/2 c of almonds, for example. One (2-point) serving is 12 almonds. That is not 1/2 cup for sure...that 1/2 cup has about 3x the calories!

I've been walking about 1 hour/day again - I just dig it! I will work in the gym, etc. as needed, but to be honest, I lost the bulk of my weight getting up at 6:15 a.m., walking from about 6:20 - 7:20 each day, and then getting to work by 8:00 - done with the exercise (check!) and energized to boot. So, as long as I lose, I'm gonna stick to exercise I actually enjoy, rather than forcing myself into activities that feel emotionally hard...until I need to in order to lose, anyhow.

In other quick news, I had my "scar treatment" appointment with my PS yesterday. I got this silicone stuff to wear for 3 months (!!!) 20 hours/day. It's a nuisance to be honest but they've been right about everything else so far. I still get tight in my abdomen if I sit for a long time, and that left side - boy - they sewed that up teeee-ight! Sometimes I still get that "I'm gonna split in two" spasmy feel, but it passes. All in all, still 100% happy as a clam about my plastics! At 8 weeks, I can do a sit-up, and start going to yoga again. I may also try pilates - Jill is a big, big fan, and I figure, why not try something new?

Sorry for the absence and slow updates. I'll try to do better next week!
xoxo