Hips Don't Lie

I'm not referring to Shakira either. I went to exercise class yesterday and all last night my hips kept locking up. I had to get up and take ibuprofen to get a little relief. A hot shower did nothing for me. My knees hurt, my butt hurt too. This is supposed to be a good thing? Exercise is a dangerous thing. I still swear that is why I had strep and an ear infection. LOL!!

Obviously we worked on legs and hips mostly. A little arm/shoulder/chest work but not so much that I was hurting there too bad. Here is something sad. We did jumping jacks. Now I know after having 4 kids my bladder muscle is not very good. If  I sneeze or cough too hard I lose control of my bladder. I had gone to the bathroom before class. During the jumping jacks I learned I evidently do not empty my bladder completely. Fortunately no visible accident but it was embarrassing just the same because I knew it. Tomorrow is class #2 this week. I am dreading it but I will go to it.

We had food day today at work. It was my boss' birthday and we had a fine spread. Meatballs, BBQ wieners, buffalo chicken dip(so spicy it made my nose run), derby city chicken salad on croissants, Mexican roll ups, salad, veggies/dip, Mark's feed store potato salad, breakfast casserole, cheese ball, chocolate pie, chocolate cake and lemon pudding cake and pepperoni appetizers. I had a little of this and a little of that. I had a few meatballs, buffalo chicken dip, cheese ball, salad,  potato salad, and pepperoni appetizers. I only had a smidgen of each and a nice salad. I did however eat the heck out of the pepperoni thingy. So simple yet delish. Sliced pepperoni and you spread garden herb cream cheese on one and top with another pepperoni making a little sandwich. Protein and pops right in your mouth. Didn't get stuck at all. Tasty little buggers and I couldn't stop eating them. Needless to say that was all I ate all day. I didn't have any desserts.

I guess it will be a good thing that I have exercise class tomorrow. I'm gonna need it.

Happy Easter Everyone

Each holiday for me is a new experience. It is a new test of trials and temptations. Good or bad the choice is mine to make. Do I give in to temptation or rise above it? Hmm...what to do?

Candy, candy and more candy. Easter isn't as a big a candy day as Halloween but pretty darn close. I am usually not a candy person but I LOVE Twix and at this time of year they have Sweet Tart jelly beans. I am addicted to them and I bought 3 bags. Yeah I know, not a good choice. I have only eat 4 little beans so far. Not too shabby as far as I am concerned. I got my fix.

I bought exercise tubes yesterday. I think I get more of a workout from the tubes than I do from hand weights. I worked out with them today and my arms are sore already. It's a good thing.

I am going back to classes on Tuesday/Thursday this week. I am now back to normal. No longer sick and ready to get back on the horse so to speak. I need to keep this momentum going.

Weight loss is still really slow and at a standstill right now. I gained a few pounds last week but I was swelling quite a bit. Both my legs swelled. Now they are back down and my weight is back down where it was. I have to keep an eye on my water weight too. I am still trying to figure ou what caused it. The only difference is I took my lunch all week and didn't eat out once. The only other difference was that I wore dress shoes/sandals all week. I usually buy casual day stickers and wear jeans and my Nike's. I tend to swell when I wear dress shoes. Go figure.

Oh well, a new week. We are having food day on Wednesday so I am a little concerned on that. There is going to be a lot of snack foods. Buffalo chicken dip, sausage cups, cake, chicken salad, taco dip, veggies and dip etc. I don't have a lot of restriction right now so I don't want to overeat. I can eat comfortably and don't want to over do it. Whatever happens, if I am able to eat tons of food I will go back for a fill otherwise I need to learn to back away.

Wish me luck...

It has been a long week...

So, last Friday I get my daughter off to school, took a shower, laid down for a second and woke up 4 hours later. Evidently I really needed the sleep because on Saturday evening I started getting a headache on one side of my head. I instantly thought of a stroke since I had a mini stroke 2 years ago. It kept going away and coming back and then I had shooting, stabbing pain in my ear on that same side.

Sunday morning I woke up and felt horrible. My ear was throbbing. My tonsil on that same side hurt and it had white spots on it. No fever though. I went to the Little Clinic at the pharmacy and I had strep throat, an ear infection and tonsillitis. Really? Geez, I am 40 years old. So needless to say, I got a Z-Pak and proceeded to be sick to my stomach among other things.

Due to my ear infection I didn't go to exercise classes this week. My balance was way off.

Eating has been going well. I don't get stuck too often but I'm not overeating either. At times I can't barely eat more than a 1/2 cup and other times I can eat a salad plate size portion. Go figure. I think stress plays a big role in that. I am happy though that I don't get stuck like I have been. That just makes eating miserable. I shouldn't dread eating so I am in sweet spot for me.

I haven't really been losing any weight lately though. Just hanging around the same weight for the last week. Better than a gain I guess.

I am off work for a long weekend. I don't go back until Tuesday which is a nice break.

Well, it's short today. I am trying to still recover. Still have headaches and hope my sore throat doesn't come back.

Another exercise class down

WOW~~ Can I once again say there is nothing "beginner" about this beginner class? We went outside yesterday because it was beautiful out. Michele decided we should power walk. Ok so let's get this in perspective here. Walking is not my forte. I do it because it gets me from point A to point B but that's it. Fast walking? Are you kidding me? I was breathing so hard I thought I was going to start seeing stars. Our parking lot is major huge so we walked from one end to the other and back, power walking pumping the arms. Then we worked out using bands. Then we power walked again up the parking lot and back while holding our hand weights. On the way back while holding the hand weights above our heads.

I was breathing hard and praying I would not fall or pass out. We get back to the starting point and had to run up a steep hill and back down. Class dismissed. I brought up the extreme rear each and every time but by golly I finished that damn class. My throat and mouth were so dry when I swallowed I tasted blood. I know gross but I swear that is what it tasted like. I was extremely red for about an hour. Sweated profusely.
The class was ONLY 30 minutes. Beginner class? I don't think so.

Class again Tuesday. Looking forward to it. Really I am. They are supposed to weigh and measure us too.
This is the 1st real effort at exercise I have done since the surgery other than Zumba on the Wii. The best part...the class is free. The company I work for built us a fitness center and has 2 full time fitness coordinators on staff who have a week's worth of classes for free. Zumba, insanity, full circuit, muscle conditioning, walking club, beginner's class, yoga, ropes & bands etc. I had wanted to try Zumba before but didn't make it. I may give it a whirl but right now I am just trying to make it through the beginner's class.

Gotta do something to get rid of the bat wings under my arms. LOL!!

Well it's been an interesting week

My eating is more relaxed now so I can enjoy my meals. I am not overeating so I will not be getting a fill  anytime soon.

I started an exercise class this week. It was called a beginner's class. Yeah right~~ I could barely walk when we were done and the next morning I was dying!! BUT I am glad I did it. It was a good feeling to be able to finish the class. The class is on Tues/Thurs so tomorrow is another class. Wish me luck.

All in all, things are going pretty darn good. No real problems. Eating is easier which is a plus. I feel like I am in the green zone.

I am hooked on cereal now. I eat Super Crisp every day. It's sweet and crunchy. I don't know what made be buy it but I am on my 3rd box in a week.

Life is good....

Restriction lifted

Well, my restriction has finally loosened up a bit. I can eat with minimal tightness. I believe it when my surgeon's office tells me that eating less doesn't mean I will lose weight. They told me I need to eat a certain amount, salad plate size portion, and I will lose more weight. True, true, true. I have been tight since my last fill. Almost every meal I get stuck. It was horrible and I wasn't losing hardly any weight. I had the same 5 lbs up and down since then. It started to loosen up and I finally hit the 101 lbs loss. I can now eat a meal with very little tightness and can eat just a tad more at my meals. I had lost the 101 then went back up a few pounds. Yesterday I was able to eat comfortably and the excess pounds melted off. I am back at 101 lbs loss.

I am supposed to get a fill this week but I am going to put that off for a bit and see how the weight goes. I will, however, get a fill if I start to eat everything that isn't nailed down. That's my cue.

Stress is a terrible thing and horrible for my band. It causes all sorts of problems with eating. But who doesn't have stress in their lives? The key is be relaxed at meal time. Again, who isn't stressed at meal time? It's rare for me. I eat on the go at work, meaning I eat at my desk while working because of all of the work I have to do. I eat breakfast at home now every morning but that of course is the tightest meal of the day. Dinner is usually late night since I get off work at 8pm and that is the time I catch up with my kid's and hubby's day and get them ready for the next school day.

I am looking for some good recipes. Feel free to add them or email them to me. angela.lovato7@gmail.com

Thanks everyone!!