Weigh-In Saturday

Starting weight: 301
Last week's weight: 270.5
Current weight: 267.0

Wow. A 3.5 pound loss this week. I am ecstatic!

At this point I'm ready to say that I think bumping up my calories to 950 - 1,000 a day has really made a difference. I don't know what to think about the exercise factor though. I've only done one workout this week due to the Plantar Fasciitis situation, so I was expecting that to have slowed down my loss.

This past Wednesday was my second fill, and I can REALLY tell a difference in the amount that I am able to eat. Yesterday was my first day back on solid food and I only ate two small meals. About half a fish filet and a few bites of eggplant casserole for lunch, and a small chicken enchilada with about a third of a cup of refried beans for dinner. I'll be having the other half of the Mexican meal for my dinner tonight.

So far today I've had my iced coffee and breakfast. I made my coffee with Chocolate Splendor Unjury instead of Vanilla because I was kind of in a mocha mood. For breakfast I had a scrambled egg with a slice of pepper jack, and some sliced tomatoes.

In a little while I'm going to the gym to walk and do weights. I'm going to stretch my foot really well and ice it afterwards. Then I've got to make a Walmart trip that I don't even want to THINK about. We are literally out of everything. It's going to be massive.

I'm planning on having Wendy's chili for lunch, and dinner is already in the fridge. Yea!

John has a gig tonight, so I'm going to do laundry and watch the Scandal marathon on BET. I finished the first season on Netflix, so I want to watch Season 2 before the third season starts in October. It's a REALLY good show.

My totals for today:

Have a great weekend everyone! Thanks for reading.

Adventures in Primary Care

This morning at 7:15 I got a call from my doctor's office telling me that my doctor wouldn't be in today due to an emergency, but that I could see another doctor in the practice at 9:15 if I wanted. I definitely didn't want to wait around any longer, and next week is going to be monumentally busy, so I told her "Sure. Put me down for 9:15."

So I get there and they take me back very quickly. But then the waiting begins. About thirty minutes go by and a very sweet nurse comes back to tell me that a man just came in with a fishhook deeply embedded in his hand and that it could be a while. She was right. I settled in and caught up on the latest celebrity gossip on my phone. By the way, I LOVE Beyoncé's new haircut. :)

The doctor comes in about 10:20 and what do you know...he's a former student of mine. I'm telling you...when you have taught school in the same town for twenty years, you literally never know who you are going to run into. He was in my room the first year I taught and he was smart, smart, smart. He's 35 and he and his wife are expecting their fifth child! Crazy. Turns out he is the sports medicine doctor at the clinic too. Exactly who I needed to see.

I told him about my plantar fasciitis and told him all of the things I've been doing so far...everything you guys have suggested to me...icing it, stretches. He said that's exactly what he would recommend and to keep it up. The best part is that he cleared me to walk as much as I feel like, but to stretch and ice immediately after each session. I was really relieved to hear it.

I got my second fill yesterday. I received an additional 2cc, so now I'm up to 5cc total. I was on clear liquids yesterday, and today I am on full liquids. So far today I've had an iced coffee and a cup of my favorite Progresso Chicken Cheese Enchilada Soup.

After my first fill I was so hungry after being on liquids for two days that I wanted to claw my eyes out. Last night and today though have been just fine. I get hungry, but it's kind of...how do I put this? Muted. Kind of dialed down. Is this what being in the green zone feels like? Is this what the band does for you? If so, I'm completely digging it. Band veterans, let me know what you think.

I hope everyone is having a great week! Thanks for reading.

Ain't Nobody Got Time For That

Seriously. Why does it always have to be something? Now that my knees are feeling great and I've developed an exercise routine that I actually don't mind and sometimes even look forward to, it appears I've developed Plantar Fasciitis.

Over the past two weeks, I've noticed that I have pain in my left heel. It kind of felt like a stone bruise, if you've ever had one of those. It was a bit painful, but no big deal. And it never bothered me at all while I was walking so I didn't give it much thought. Over the past few days though, it has developed into something different altogether. It is so painful at night time that I literally have to hobble to bed. Last night was the worst of all.

So I have an appointment with my doctor for Thursday morning at 9am. I've got to get this sorted out. I can't let it derail my exercise. I will also have to stand all day long at school in the coming weeks. I literally DO NOT have time for this. If any of you have suggestions or advice, please, PLEASE let me know.

Plantar Fasciitis, this goes out to you.

I've Got The Power! Breakfast Sandwich, That Is

Every time I turn on the TV lately, I always seem to see the Panera Power Breakfast Sandwich commercial. I love Panera, but the nearest one is about 20 minutes away. When I used to go there for breakfast, the PBS was always my standard order. So for the past couple of mornings I've been making my own with a slice of Ezekiel bread, a slice of pepper jack cheese, some tomato slices, and a scrambled egg.

Because this sandwich is so filling and I'm having it for brunch and not breakfast exactly, I don't get hungry until quite a while later.

When I came home from the gym today, I decided to up my protein count for the day. I've also heard that after you lift weights, eating a protein snack is a good idea. This may be the most unappetizing photo I've ever taken, but it was so good, I promise! 2oz of cracked pepper turkey breast, 2oz of smoked ham, and 2 tablespoons of hummus. I was wishing I had some cucumber slices to go along with this. Cucumber and hummus is one of my favorite combos.

Tonight for dinner, I'm going to make the Green Chile Cheese Puff I wrote about in this this post. It's delicious and I serve it with a bit of hot sauce and some sliced avocado. The recipe makes 6 portions, so I will be having it again tomorrow night. In fact, all of tomorrow's eating will be exactly like today's. John absolutely LOVES this recipe and has no problem finishing off the rest of it.

Wednesday is a big day for me. Not only will I be getting my 2nd fill, it's also my 2 month surgiversary! It's hard to believe that only two months ago I was taking this huge step toward better health. I feel like I've gotten off to a great start.

My totals from yesterday:

And for today (and tomorrow too):

 Have a great week and thanks for reading!

Weigh-In Saturday

I usually HATE being wrong, but not in this case! I am down another 2.5 pounds since last Saturday! Woo hoo!

Starting weight: 301
Today's weight: 270.5

So technically my total weight loss is 30.5 pounds. I guess the MyFitnessPal ticker rounds up a half pound.

Maybe there is something to upping my calories a slight bit. All I know is that I didn't think that I had lost ANY weight. So I am pretty thrilled. Onward!

My eating plan for today is going to be the same as yesterday. Except for breakfast, of course! Definitely don't want to revisit that. I had a scrambled egg with pepper jack and sliced tomatoes instead:

Can't get enough of those homegrown tomatoes. My Uncle Ronnie also grows jalapeños and other peppers, so I have a few of those to use in recipes this week too.

The La Tiara taco shells I used last night were absolutely amazing. I'll never buy another kind. They are smaller than standard taco shells, but are 100% more delicious. If you can find them, buy them.

My totals for today:

Getting ready to head to the gym for workout number 4 for the week. No other plans for today except for relaxing and hanging out with my sweet John.

Happy Saturday! Thanks for reading.

Bad Food Choices

No...not those kind. This kind:

I found these last night in the grocery store section of Drug Emporium. Looks good, right? And check out these nutrition stats:

And how pretty it looked on my plate:

But when I'm took my first bite, my new food find high came crashing down. I'm just gonna put it bluntly y'all...this thing was vile. It had some indefinable spice and the aroma of hot garbage. I got about a third of the way through it when I just gave up and ate my ham and tomato. So sad. And did I mention that I bought three of them?

So after my workout today, I went to Wendy's and got a small chili. I needed something reliably delicious. :) And it was. Despite the fact that it's 95 degrees here, chili is always a good choice.

John is off tonight, so I'm making dinner. Tacos! I'm using Laura's Lean Beef and these. I'm so excited to try them because Pioneer Woman raves about them. I mean...if it's PW approved, you know it's good.

And the best part is that they're 40 calories per shell.  I got them at Walmart.

I'm feeling sort of anxious about my weigh-in tomorrow. I don't feel as though I've lost any this week. Considering the fact that I'm....ahem..."retaining water", maybe I picked the wrong week to try my 950 calories a day experiment. Who knows. We shall find out tomorrow morning.

My totals for today:

 Thanks for reading and have a great weekend!

Ten Things Thursday

1. So last week I confessed that after years of watching the infomercial, I broke down and ordered Cindy Crawford's Meaningful Beauty skincare system. My verdict? It's just kind of....eh. The cleanser is basically Cetaphil. And for the money, you could do just as well at Walgreens. I had to find out for myself though. I think it would be fine if you are 20 to 35, but I need some stronger stuff at my age. Like Retin A and some glycolic acid. ;)

2. I'm deep cleaning my house room by room before school starts. I know I'm not going to feel like it for a while. Those first weeks always knock me for a loop. On the plus side, it's a really great workout. I'm moving furniture and everything. :) Furry Lewis has been helping too.

3. Tuesday's eating was an exact replica of Monday. Love those Buffalo Chicken Eggrolls! And Wednesday was the same too except for dinner.

4. Fill. What fill? The past two days I have been feeling like I don't even have a band at all. My hunger is off the charts.  I know it's because my TOM is coming up, but I don't like it. At all.

5. I met my friend Jordan for dinner last night and it was so good to catch up. She just got back from a whirlwind trip to Paris, so there was a LOT to talk about. We went to my favorite Mexican restaurant and I got the shrimp fajitas. I ate the shrimp, some veggies and 2 corn tortillas.

6. I'm starting to think I need some sort of Target 12 step program. I went in yesterday for toilet bowl cleaner (see # 2) and I bought a purse. In my defense though, it was on clearance for $8. Marked down from $24.99. So when you think about it, I couldn't afford NOT to get it.

7. I cannot wait to see this movie.  I saw the trailer for it when I went to see Bling Ring. Scarlett Johannsen, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, AND Tony Danza??? I'm there. It comes out in late September.

8.  In 11 days I will begin my 20th year in the classroom. And I've been in the exact same classroom for all of those 20 years, which is practically unheard of. I'm very lucky to do what I do.

9. I'm having a super hard time with my water this week. I have met my 64oz goal most days, but it has been difficult.

10. I know I don't usually talk about very many serious things on this blog, but I cannot stop thinking about Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus.  When Michelle spoke out against Ariel Castro in court today, I just wanted to stand up and cheer. And then I wanted to hug her. I cannot even fathom that kind of courage. Here's hoping that the remainder of their lives be free of pain and blessed with constant love and happiness.

Thanks for reading.