I Want To Ride My Bicycle!!! Introducing Mabel

I finally bought my bicycle on Friday. I've named her Mabel, and I got to take her out for our first ride today. When I did a short test-ride at the bike shop, I was rather hilariously shaky on it - hard to imagine looking at me that I had been on an amateur racing team in high school. But then again, that was over 25 years ago.

Mabel's definitely not a racing bike, but I didn't want one. A good 95% of the streets here have no shoulder, and given my low confidence level in traffic thanks to being hit by a truck (or rather hitting a truck) when riding back in my racing days, I knew any riding I'd be doing would be on greenways and other off-road (but not mountain biking) situations.

I started rather small, and went to the Muddy Creek Greenway, a few miles down the road from my house. The trail length is officially 2.91 miles long - though there's a bit more paved through a private housing community up at the northern end, so I'd estimate probably 3.1 miles total.

I parked at the southern parking lot, rode north, then all the way back down south, and turned around back to the car making the full circuit. Despite being shaky at slow speeds, and not very confident on sharp turns, I had a BLAST. I could feel what I used to love about riding - the wind in my hair (under my helmet), the beautiful scenery, and nice deep lung-fulls of air on a cool, damp morning.

This trail has half a dozen or so bird houses along the path, and someone has painted them in vibrant colors.

My 6.2 mile ride took 41 minutes, and according to my heart rate monitor I burned 332 calories, with an average heart rate of 142 and a max of 160. Oh, and I did it wearing one of the Man's tshirts (Colonel Mustard in the library with a wrench!) - a victory in and of itself, and it was a bit big to boot!

  I did bring it home with a bit of muddy water in a line up my back - it had been raining overnight and earlier in the morning, so there was some standing water in a couple places across the trail. I went grocery shopping that way - too bad if someone couldn't figure out I'd been exercising, I didn't care!

I'll visit this trail again - it's a good length for me right now, and will let me get my confidence up to visit more populous areas or longer trails.

My Meals

Breakfast

• Dannon Light & Fit raspberry yogurt
• Sargento Light String Cheese

Lunch

• 1 serving Chicken and Farro salad
• 1 slice rye toast w/.5 tsp butter

Dinner

• 2 oz garlic rosemary marinated lamb loin chop
• 100g mashed red potato (a little bit of cream and butter)
• 2 medium carrots, steamed, then glazed with a tiny bit of maple syrup 

Water - 40oz (bad Annie)

Exercise - Cycling! 332 calories

Daily Totals - 861 calories, 32g fat, 94.2g carbohydrates, 27.7g sugars, 54.1g protein

 

What's For Dinner? Lentil Tacos

Being an evil banker, I had Labor Day off - the sad thing is, that even on a third day off I don't feel rested or reinvigorated. But it has been a fairly busy weekend - lots of studying, both for the CAPM exam, and for my micro and macro economics classes.

For dinner tonight I made tacos - beef for the Man, but I wanted to give lentils another try. I made some a couple months ago, but didn't use enough water and they came out too hard. This time, thanks to my friend @minniehopeless , I used plenty of water and they were nice and tender. The addition of taco seasoning (packaged, I am lazy), they carried plenty of flavor.

I've never been one of those people that believe substitutes taste "exactly the same!" - like some people claim shredded zucchini or spaghetti squash tastes "just like pasta!" But as I told them man as I was eating them, it's not that  they tasted just like the ground beef, it was that I didn't really notice the difference - the seasoning was there, and the toppings were delicious - and they were a nice, plant based protein - much less fat than the ground beef.

I did exercise the luxury of making my own taco shells. My favorite tortilla brand Mission has yellow corn tortillas that are just 80 calories for two of them and they are made without lard. Far fewer calories than packaged taco shells, even when you consider the oil absorbed when I pan fry and shape them.

We had tomatoes, sour cream, 2% Mexican 4-cheese blend, shredded lettuce, and taco sauce to top everything off. Definitely scratched my Mexican food itch!

Not looking forward to tomorrow - I have my repeat CT scan in the morning, and have to drink 2 pretty big bottles of contrast solution - it's "mochachino" flavor, hopefully it won't be disgusting. I'm not sure my fistula is fully healed, so I'm wondering how helpful this will be, but hopefully the lymph node they didn't like will have calmed down - otherwise, I suspect I'll be seeing a specialist to rule out any nasty problems. Not sure when I'll get results - hopefully by the end of the week.

My Meals

Breakfast

• 1 cup Kashi Go Lean! cereal
• 1/3 cup whole milk

Lunch

• Mini tuna melts
• 1 cup steamed broccoli
• 1 tsp butter

Snack

• Dannon Light & Fit raspberry yogurt

Dinner

• 1/3 cup organic French green lentils - seasoned with commercial taco seasoning
• 3 yellow corn tortillas shaped into shells with about 1 tsp vegetable oil
• 1/2 oz 2% Mexican 4-cheese blend
• 1 tbsp sour cream
• lettuce, tomatoes, taco sauce

Planned Snack

• Yasso Frozen Greek yogurt bar - raspberry

Water - 60 oz

Exercise - Biggest Loser PowerSculpt DVD Level 2 - increased weights to 4lb each, 259 calories burned, Avg HR 123, Max HR 151, definitely felt the increased intensity

Daily Totals: 923 calories, 29.7g fat, 122.1g carbohydrates, 41.8g sugars, 60.3g protein

 

The Great Salmon Experiment

I've mentioned before that I'm seafood challenged. Today I was determined to find a fish recipe that I could feel good about trying. I had some limits on what to make simply by what is available at my local market. Typically my local Harris Teeter carries tilapia, mahi mahi, snapper, salmon, catfish, and a few other items. I tried tilapia a few months ago, and really didn't care for it. We've had catfish several times, but it just wasn't exciting to me.

I saw a recipe for teriyaki salmon, and that got me intrigued. I love teriyaki. I figured that even if the salmon turned out to be not my favorite taste, that the teriyaki would at least let me get my protein in for the night.

A second achievement today was with my workout. The treadmill had decided that the belt needed to be lubed - so we ordered some appropriate oil and the Man got that done up for me yesterday. I started my workout as usual, but realized that somehow my DVD player repeated the Battlestar Galactica episode that I had watched the last time - about 8 minutes in. So I stopped, got the next DVD in, and started up again. I didn't want to stop in the middle of an episode, so I vowed to continue through the end of it - making about a 10 minute longer than normal workout. I also wanted to get at least 5 minutes of jogging in. I also knew that I wanted to work up to several intervals of 5 minute jogging in the larger workout before doing more than 5 minutes at a time. Well - today I managed 7.5 minutes total! I was very excited - and it felt good, though I think my thighs are going to be complaining tomorrow - maybe some preventative Tylenol tonight will help.

My Meals

Breakfast

• 3/4 cup Kashi Go Lean! cereal 
• 1/3 cup whole milk

Lunch

• Salad with: 3 oz roast chicken breast, 1.5 cups romaine, 3 radishes, 1.5 oz pickled beets, 2 tbsp Ken's Lite Ranch

Dinner

• 2.8 oz serving Salmon Teriyaki
• 1 cup steamed carrots and snap peas
• 1/3 cup white rice
• 1 tsp butter

Planned Snack

• Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt - raspberry

Water - 60 oz

Exercise - Treadmill, 54 minutes total, 7.5 minutes jogging 3.7 mph,   46.5 minutes walking 2.7 mph 1% incline, 425 calories burned, Avg HR 139, Max HR 177.

Daily Totals: 902 calories, 25.4g fat, 103.9g carbohydrates, 52.2g sugars, 71.3g protein

Cleared for Exercise!

Woohoo! Had my 2 week post-op follow-up with the surgeon today, and he was pleased with how things looked to be healing. I told him the oozing had dropped considerably, though there was still some. He said there was really just a pinhole opening left, and he actually snipped the external stitch (there was also one internally) that hadn't dissolved yet. I go back in a month for hopefully a final follow-up. I learned something interesting, in that most fistulas dig through tissue very close to the surface of the skin, so usually a surgeon will just split it open, clean it out, pack it, and stitch it up. Mine was fairly rare in that it dug deep internally, and actually went through muscle tissue - which of course they didn't want to just randomly slice through my gluteus maximus which would cause some significant recover issues. So they used the internal plug that helps absorb any left over infection. He did warn that the plug is not as reliable at totally clearing a problem as the full incision to open it up, but given it's position it was the best choice. So I'll go back in a month and hopefully all will be clear. I have a repeat CT scan early in September, and hopefully that odd looking lymph node they found in the ER before my very first treatment of the abscess back in May will scan normally.

So - he was happy enough with my healing that he cleared me to start exercising again! Yay! (Who'd have thought I'd say that this time last year?)

Today and tomorrow the Man's former step-daughter is visiting, we went out to dinner at the hibachi place across the street. I ate my protein, and about 1/3 a cup of the fried rice. I was a good girl!

My Meals: 

Breakfast 

• Dannon Light & Fit raspberry yogurt
• Sargento Light String Cheese

Lunch

• Salad made with 2.6 oz roast chicken breast, 1.5 cups romaine lettuce, 1 roma tomato, 2 radishes, 1/2 oz pepitas, 1 tbsp Ken's Healthy Options Peppercorn and Parmesan dressing

Dinner

• 3 oz filet mignon
• 1/3 cup fried rice

Planned Snack

• Yasso Frozen Greek Yogurt bar - raspberry

Water - 60 oz

Daily Totals: 732 calories, 27.2g fat, 53.4g carbohydrates, 27.9g sugars, 70.1g protein

Routines

There hasn't been anything hugely exciting going on in the last week - but I have noticed a few things I thought I'd share.

 Much of my day has fallen into a routine that's developed on it's own. I start the day with a protein shake (and as I discovered this morning, a "real breakfast" goes over like lead). I have been primarily exercising on my lunch break. I'm so incredibly lucky to work from home, so all I have to do is go downstairs to my treadmill, and nobody cares if I come back to my desk out of breath and stinky. Well, the cats might, but by the time the Man gets home I'm usually much more presentable.

The exercise is definitely becoming a routine. I have to justify to myself when I consider not doing it, rather than trying to force myself to do it every day. I don't quite truly enjoy it yet - and I used to. When I was (much) younger, I ran for the pleasure of it, and was on an amateur bicycle racing team. I loved the early morning dew and the feeling you got when your lungs were working at full capacity and your nose started to tingle. I'm definitely not back to that yet - my 2.5 minutes of jogging I've included in my treadmill workout make me feel like a lumbering asthmatic water buffalo, not the graceful young woman who used to speed around the neighborhood with a ribbon tied around her pony tail. I want to enjoy it again - though looking at it realistically, still having over 100 pounds to lose is probably why it doesn't feel so great right now. But it's becoming a routine, which is good.

A couple other non-scale victories to report. Tuesday evening we went and looked at a new car - turns out we're not going to buy it, but when it came time to test drive it, I was able to get into the driver's seat without having to adjust the seat position beforehand, and without getting a steering wheel to the gut when sitting down. The seat belt fit with plenty of slack. Yay!

Afterward, we went to a local family restaurant for dinner - the Man remembers going there as a child with his father, so the place has been around for at least 30 years. I ordered the chicken salad "cold plate", and Holy Hannah, was that a lot of food. A giant scoop of chicken salad (had to have been nearly a cup), a similar giant scoop of potato salad, some german-style slaw, tomato slices, a hard boiled egg, cucumber salad, some olives and some radishes. Needless to say, I took a giant box home - I ate about 1/3 of the chicken salad and both the radishes, and even nibbled about 1/3 of the fresh-made corn muffin that came in our bread basket. But the best part? We were seated at a booth - it happened to be one where the table could actually be moved, but I didn't need it to be moved at all! Perfectly centered between the two banquets, and I fit with room to spare. How cool is that?!

Tonight I go out with the Flying Squirrels - I think I've mentioned them before, it's a sub-group of my program's support group that does more social things. We're going to a BBQ place for dinner (protein!) and then bowling. I have to run downstairs and find my bowling bag - I have shoes and a ball that I haven't used since Florida ('04 kids!). I'm going to let that be today's exercise - I was feeling run down yesterday, and decided today I was giving myself a break - but at least that social exercise will still be part of my day.

Non Scale Victories

While losing weight on any program, surgical or not, it's easy to get tunnel vision and focus just on the number on the scale. Many of us celebrate what is known as "non-scale victories" to keep a well-rounded view of our success. These can be as simple as fitting into a favorite old pair of jeans (see Progresso Soup ad: is there a woman I can talk to?), or running into an old acquaintance who does a double-take after not recognizing you at first.

I have several recent non-scale victories (or NSVs) to report - each of them made me happy in and of themselves, but this mini-collection all coming within a few days really was a bit of a mood boost.

1. My wedding rings were getting loose enough that I was worried they might slip off - plus the solitaire was constantly spinning around and getting in the way while I type. I took them in to the jeweler for my semi-annual cleaning and inspection, and asked if there was a temporary spacer of sorts that I could use - I'm not done losing weight yet, and I only want to get them sized once, when I'm done. The jeweler happily put on what she called a "ring guard" - it's a small straight piece of metal that fits inside the circle of the ring, it's ends bending around the outside - creating a flat "bottom" to the ring that cuts down on the amount of space in the middle. They fit perfectly now! Plus after the cleaning, they're nice and extra sparkly again :)

2. Way back in ancient history (junior high and high school), I was actually quite a decent long-distance runner. Obviously running, or even jogging, at over 300 pounds is not very practical. However, as I'm zooming in on 250, I decided to give it a try during my treadmill workouts. I have now incorporated 2 minutes of jogging at the 10 minute mark in my workouts. I feel like a lumbering water buffalo, but y'all - I'm jogging!

3. Today I decided to switch up my exercise routine a bit and instead of the treadmill I pulled out my copy of the Biggest Loser "Power Sculpt" DVD. I hadn't really done this in almost 2 years - I stopped after Baby J was placed with us, and never really took it back up. I learned three things from doing Level 1 of that video:

• Your balance changes significantly when your body shape changes with 80 pounds of weight loss. It was nearly comical how frequently I started to get wobbly and almost fall over when doing any move that required some balance. 
• I can actually sit cross-legged now - it's not comfortable, but I can do it. 
• I can lace my fingers together behind my back - when  first did this video, I couldn't grasp them at all. 

4.  I ordered a new sports bra.  Those things are supposed to keep you firmly in place, so when things really start puckering and dangling during "Down Dog" - it's time for a smaller one.

So what have your recent non-scale victories been? Please share!!

Exercise, Water, and Weakness

The nutritionist in my program has been very insistent on exercise 6-7 days a week. I managed that fairly well pre-op, but her expectation of post-op was daunting. Dr. Fuzz said even 10-15 minutes would be a start, but clearly her expectation was to be back up to 45 minutes to an hour a day pretty quickly. I've been working on getting back up there, both in duration and in speed (my exercise of choice right now is walking on a treadmill I've got set up in the basement). Today I did 28 minutes at 2 mph. I've been adding another minute every other session or so - I'll stop at 30 and work on getting the speed up a bit and once comfortable there, I'll gradually add more time. I've got the entire series of Battlestar Galactica to re-watch while I exercise, so I won't be bored for quite a while, which is good - my worry is more about strength. Part of that strength certainly has to do with water - if you're dehydrated, you're not good for much. I've been struggling to meet the expected minimum of 48oz a day. Pre-op, this was pretty easy, as after a work-out, I could practically chug 16 oz, and do so several times a day. But now - I can only get in 2-3 large swallows at a time. I've taken my water bottle down to the treadmill with me so I can drink while I walk, which has helped both the thirst and getting that first bottle of water consumed, but the remainder tends to be troublesome. Not only do I have to sip,sip,sip the water, but I'm not supposed to drink 30 minutes before a meal, nothing during, and refrain for 30 minutes after a meal. Given that the meal is expected to be stretched to 30 minutes too, there's at least 3 90 minute periods in a day that I can't be drinking. I honestly didn't think it would be this hard to accomplish, but it has been. Weakness, however, has been the major surprise. In some ways, it really shouldn't shock me - I'm consuming barely 500 calories a day, sometimes less. Granted, within that I'm getting the recommended amount of protein (the one major dietary component your body can't make for you), but still - that's less than a fairly standard single meal for most people. I knew from all the information they gave me that it would take some time to "completely" get my strength back - some people it takes months. But I didn't really think I'd be starting from this low of a point. My first adventure out of the house by myself came on the 23rd - I desperately wanted to get out and get the Man a few gifts for Christmas (his major gift is on an IOU - he needs to present to pick part of it - and we haven't had the time to shop together). The crowds weren't really an issue, I went pretty early in the morning, but just the act of driving about 8 miles to Target and Kohl's, and finding what I needed, literally wiped me out. I had to rest in the car between stores, and find a spot to sit in the shoe department at Kohl's as I felt I was about to faint a few times. When I got home, I had to have him take the bags in from the car - I hadn't the strength to carry anything more than my purse. I spent the rest of the mid-day and afternoon in bed, utterly knackered. In the days sense, I've felt just as weak - wrapping presents on Christmas Eve, sitting at the dining room table made me tired. I slept a decent amount that night, woke up about 8 and was asleep on the couch within the hour, napping for nearly 2 hours. Another nap in the early afternoon still didn't entirely cure the fatigue. Dr. Fuzz had asked that I pick up a home blood pressure monitor to determine if we should continue some medication I'd been on for being borderline hypertensive. I checked, and I was at 104/65 - the lowest reading I've ever seen on myself. It's still within the low end of normal range, so I wasn't overly concerned, but it did seem to give some credence to feeling so listless. My first follow-up with Fuzz is on Thursday, I'm composing a list of questions and concerns I have. I'm still less than thrilled that Aetna decided they know better than anyone, and I only deserved 4 weeks of short term disability coverage - and should be thankful that I got a bit extra because my follow-up appointment was later than normal due to holiday scheduling. I need to find out what Fuzz would need to do if he wants me out longer - they've got about 24 hours to process that request since I'm expected back at work Tuesday January 3 (the bank observes New Year's Day on January 2). As much as I'm not feeling completely up to sitting here working for 8 hours in a row, I also can't really afford to take unpaid medical leave either. This is going to be an interesting transition. Thankfully, my boss is pretty understanding, and as long as I don't have meetings I'd miss, he'd probably be OK with an extended lunch that could include a nap if necessary. What really gets me, is that if I had to commute to the office I used to work in, rather than work from home, I think I'd be wiped out by the time I got there (40 mile drive) and hiked through the building to where I used to work! Now, I have very good health coverage, and I know I'm lucky to have 100% short term disability coverage - but the strict actuarial decision making processes frustrate me - particularly the one that left me with 24 hours to get any modification submitted and approved. But most of all, I'd really just rather not be this weak. As of this morning: ~281 (guess I was a bit unsteady on the scale, it couldn't decide) Total loss: 57 lbs Post-op loss: 23 lbs

3 Weeks Out: Surprise Returns and Rubbery Legs

Sometimes this journey isn't pretty, and this is one of those times - if you're squeamish, you might skip the first couple paragraphs here. Saturday afternoon I had my first really nasty side effect of all this. I'd started the morning quite fine, but when it came time to have my first non-shake foods of the day, I quickly ran into trouble. I'd had a scrambled egg several times in the past week without issue - I cook them a little softer than I'd normally like, and then mush the heck out of them so I'm not trying to eat larger pieces. I took about 4 small forks worth - and immediately realized something was wrong. I felt a huge need to burp - but also had an odd twinge in my back - like I needed a good chiropractic crunch between the shoulder blades. Then, a sudden urgent need to vomit. Up came the eggs. Lovely - I hate to vomit. I'm sure it's not many people's favorite thing to do, but I'll do almost anything to avoid it, even though I know it will make me feel better in the end. Round two came quickly - but as it did, I felt the most oddly electric jolt between both temples and the base of my skull, like a nerve triangle. It nearly knocked me off my feet. It didn't stop - it was like a surging electrical overload of some-sort continuously connecting those three points on my head. I wondered quite seriously if I was having an aneurysm. I stumbled to the bedroom and called the Man at work - he got me to slow down, and suggested that I probably locked some muscles up as I vomited, and that was the pain reaction in my head. He stayed on the phone with me until I was able to relax a good bit, and then promised to call and check on me soon. He did, and I was much better - but I definitely was quite convinced even if it was just for a moment, that something awful had happened. Let's hope I don't experience that one again! I've discovered that the best time for me to get my exercise in is about 30 minutes after I finish my morning protein shake. If I wait until afternoon, I'm trapped between a mid-day pain killer dose (a decreasing dose, but still having some all the same), and being generally tired from a lack of energy. So today I took down a load of laundry to the basement, flipped on the Battlestar Galatica DVD (Season 1, Episode 3 - just getting started in my exercise watching marathon), and decided I needed to push myself a bit. I got up to 2mph, and I put in 25 minutes. Pre-op, I'd been doing an hour at 2.2mph, with a 1% incline, and was about to increase speed - so this is progress, but clearly not where I was before, but then again - it's only been 3 weeks. I finished with quite rubbery legs, but it felt good to get it done. Overall stats: Total loss: 51.8 lbs Post-op loss: 17.8 lbs

Two Weeks Out - Still Healing

It surely seems obvious to someone just reading this, but the recovery period for this procedure is much longer and tougher than it was for my exploratory laparoscopy done several years ago. There, while they made similar incisions and poke around my innards, this time they actually cut and reattached things, and rearranged my guts, rather than just poking around. It should not be a surprise that recovery has been longer, and will continue for a good bit more. But somehow I find that I'm reminding myself of that nearly every day.

We've finally got the scale issue settled down - I wrote to Amber, the program nutritionist, last week and laid out my concerns - she said it was absolutely typical. After such a major surgery - and it was major, despite being done laparoscopically - your body does hang on to waste, water, and all sorts of things as it tries to figure out what it will need to heal. In just the day or two after I wrote her, I was steady enough on my feet and apparently my body got back in the grove, that I was getting steady readings on the scale again - and wow, it really is sliding right off of me. That too shouldn't be much of a surprise, given that I've gone above 500 calories in a day just once since my return home - and that was something like 517.

I'm still quite hot and cold with what I can actually eat (vs. drink). At least half of my protein is coming from a protein shake - mixed with 1% Lactaid milk I get 32g of protein for a 1 cup serving. With my protein goal of 60-65g, two of those would fill that need. However, I'm trying to get the remaining 28-33g of protein from pureed items. That's been a challenge - their guide of 1 to 3 tbsp of food at a time has truly been my limit - even half a spoonful more than that leaves me with uncomfortable pressure in my new baby stomach. The toughest challenge still is getting all my water in - minimum of 48 ounces is a lot when you can't chug it - I have to remember to reach for the bottle every 5 minutes or so and sip, sip, sip. The best I've really done so far is about 38 oz. That's what I'll have to work on most this week.

I had been chatting with my dear friend Erica a bit before surgery, about how I was anxious thinking about what this would do to my "foodie" tendencies. I'll clearly have some sugar and fat restrictions that I'll need to work around, and of course there's just no going into a restaurant and having a 3 or 4 course meal anymore. There's no reason I can't eat amazing food, I'll just have to plan very carefully to be able to enjoy bites of all the dishes I want to taste.  I'm also a pretty damned good home cook as well - I have several famous dishes that are always requested for the holidays, and am very comfortable putting on a dinner party for 6-10 people. Obviously during the puree and soon-after stages, I won't be making full gourmet meals, but as the months pass, I'll eventually be moving toward 800-1200 calories a day. I'll be able to eat a full, albeit small portioned, meal. I mused about writing a cookbook geared toward the bariatric eater - portions sized for our needs, fats and sugars balanced appropriately, and even hints for when an item could successfully be turned into a puree.

The more I think about it, the more committed I am to undertaking this project - I'll be working on recipes as I begin eating more regularly. Erica's husband "R" has offered to test cook for me, and I'm sure more of my friends will join in that endeavor. I'll be challenging myself to use ingredients that I may have passed over in the past (I'm not a big seafood eater, and have a textural aversion to mushrooms), in large part to be accommodating to palettes that are different than my own. Ironically, much of my television viewing these past two weeks has been on the Food Network and the Cooking Channel - something you'd think would create unsatisfying urges, but it's not been an issue for me. Something can look very tasty, but I can skip right by it without thinking I'm hungry, or feeling the need to go rummage in the kitchen for a substitute. I've been watching, taking notes on inspirations, and generally plotting how I might go about all this. It should be quite fun. As I begin, watch for pages dedicated to recipes to be added to this site - probably in about 2 months or so.

So finally - the dirty details of my progress:

Tentatively off high blood pressure meds - taking home readings until I see surgeon on 12/29 - but have been within normal ranges.

Insulin dosage down by half, still taking oral meds. I wish this was going away quicker, but it should adjust as I lose more. 

Getting the exercise in - today's treadmill jaunt will be 13 minutes at 1.5mph - going up a minute a day and .1 mph as tolerate until I hit 20 minutes and 2 mph as my initial goal.

Today's weight: 293.4 lbs
Total loss:            44.6 lbs
Post-op loss:        10.6 lbs

Go me!

Take THAT Water Retention!

I'm either retaining fluid like a dehydrated camel, or PMS bloating or something, but the scale claims I'm up nearly 6 pounds, and my lovelies, it's not possible for me to have eaten that many calories - even with Saturday's hall pass. I have realized over the last few days that I've barely been getting 24-36 oz of water in, which is not quite half of what I should. Given the tiny caloric intake, I probably am holding on to that for dear life.

So, today I will absolutely get 64oz minimum of water - I'm 32 oz in for the day already. Plus, the Man finally hooked up the old TV and a DVD player down in the basement for me, so I can watch something besides the video I have on my iPod Touch - Battlestar Galatica exercise marathon here I come!

So.... take THAT water retention! Treadmill: 40 minutes, 2.2mph, 1% incline, 1.47 total miles - maximum heart rate 146.

Now it's time for more water - this time ON me, not in me - I stink!