June 30

It's after midnight and everyone's running around like crazy chickens! Mac and I leave at 6AM for the airport to fly to California and the kids leave Monday afternoon. Mac hasn't packed his bag, Justin can't find his ID and I'm packed and ready to go. =)

Tonight we met some of my peps over at Cheeseburger in Paradise for drinks. We had a great time. I'll add some pics.

Today was the 60 day post op anniversary for me, so here's the numbers...I've lost 54 and 13 inches overall (the inches are just what I've lost in June). Things are going great, and I'm looking forward to getting a lot of walking in while we are in California.

I'll be checking in from the road, so talk to ya later!
xxoo
C.

Update

I forgot to mention...I'm now down 52.5 pounds today! Yipeee I also sent out pics from the party in Texas, pls email me if you want me to forward them to you.

xxoo

C.

Howdy from Texas

Hey there!

Well we had a great weekend in TX...and I want to thank everyone for coming to mom's house Saturday night for the gathering. It was so great to see everyone. We probably should have worn name tags for Mac, (he thought he had a big family) but he did pretty good. =) Mac grilled ribs, hotdogs, chicken and made coleslaw, Mom made potato salad, Aunt Donna made baked beans, and we had chocolate cake. (I didn't have any cake, but it everyone else enjoyed it)

Sunday we drove out to Granbury and had lunch with Merle and Doris, then had margariatas with Brenda later that evening. When we got back to mom's we watched Reno 911. We were exhausted! Poor Mac had to catch a very early flight this morning, so I drove him to the airport at 445 AM. I'm leaving at 1145 today to head back to VA. =(

It was a great weekend, and thanks again to everyone who came out!
xxoo
Cindy

Yesterday...

I turned 40! That doesn't seem quite right, but it is. I also tipped over to 51 pounds lost. Things are still going well. Mac had to go out of town yesterday, but we're meeting in Texas this Friday to visit my family over the weekend and he and mom are throwing a b-day party. Woohoooo! The house will be packed. For the first time in years almost all my cousins will be together and aunties and uncles. Should be a great time.

I'm branching out and eating a wider variety of foods. This week we had fish tacos (one of my favorites) mine was minus the taco, last night we had stir fry, which I took for lunch today, and tonight I made the boys pasta shells stuffed with manicotti in spag. sauce. I can have everything but the shells...and that's worked perfect for me. Just half cup portions is about all I can handle.

So we're off to Texas. I'll post from there on Sunday and add more pics.

xxoo
Cindy

Week 7 starts tomorrow...

Since April 30, I've lost 49 pounds! Yipeee!! I wish I could find the measurements I took just before surgery, but I did take new measurements on June 1 and so far I've lost 8 inches overall.

Mac calls me the incredible shrinking woman. I'm almost down 5 dress sizes...it's a little bit snug, but it works. I'm thinking by the end of the month it will be just right or maybe a little loose.

Yesterday Mac and I went to the Virginia Beach Arts Festival on the boardwalk. It was a perfect day weather wise and we really enjoyed it. When we got home we watched Notes on a Scandal and Mac made a yummy stir fry. This morning we got up and went to breakfast at IHOP...Happy Father's Day Mac!

Speaking of Father's Day...all you daddy's (and some mom's who have to be dads too) out there...have a good one!

xxoo
Cindy

Nothing much to report...

I've just been working...and getting ready for vacation coming up in a couple of weeks. Pretty quiet around here. Megan is staying up at her mom's for a while, Scott got a job today and Justin will be looking for one when we get back from vacation.

I finally lost another pound, so I'm now down 48. It goes through these ups and downs. A pound a day, then nothing for 4 days! But I'm feeling great and I can see difference in how my clothes fit. I'm now down to clothes I haven't worn in 2 yrs and they are getting baggy. I can't find my measurements I took before surgery, so I finally just took them again on the first of this month, then a week and a half later I took them again and I'd lost 1 inch in my waist, 1 inch in my hips and 2 inches in my chest. Very encouraging!

So that's about it for me. A couple of mentions...Thanks so much to the person who sent me an early B-day card, I know the gift card will come in handy right before vacation! Happy B-day to Charles & Stack back in Texas! And congrats to my cousin Carrie! She just found out her daughter is having a baby...she's the first grandmother out of all of us. And I said, better her than us! =) Oh, so that means my Aunt Pam is going to be a Great-Grandma!! woohooo!

Take care everyone, talk to you soon!
Cindy

6 Weeks Post Op

It was 6 weeks ago tomorrow that I had surgery, and it seems like longer than that. Today I am down 47 pounds!

Everything is going great. So after surgery there's a 2 week liquid diet, then 2 weeks puree, then I started what they call the final 3 phases. Each phase is 2 weeks long, this week I'm starting phase 2. Each phase adds new foods, starting with soft things like eggs, quiche, beans, chicken/turkey/fish each made in a salad with low fat mayo and other ingredients like red onion, olives, etc. Once the 2 weeks is over and you've tried all of these and have no problems digesting it, you move on to phase 2. So phase 2 adds crackers with cheese or hummus, 1/2 cup of casseroles, moist ham & turkey lunch meats, steamed veggies, sting cheese, more fresh fruit, even veggie burgers. I will just be finishing up phase 3 the first week we are on vacation in California. That phase is where I add a slice of toast or half a bagel, more fruit, meat, veggies, etc. After that I can pretty much try whatever I like.

We usually eat very healthy when we're in California, so I'm not worried about it. Mac always makes his extra yummy ribs while we're out there, so I bought some BBQ sauce to bring along that is sugar/gluten-free so we can make a separate batch for me and anyone else who wants to try it. I tasted it and I can't tell the difference in regular BBQ sauce.

I bought a bunch of containers that hold 1/2 cup portions. Last week I took a shrimp salad I made for lunch and I couldn't even finish it. Since I have to take an iron pill twice a day, I usually take them with a Breyers light yogurt in the morning and a sugar free choc pudding in the afternoon. In Addition to my protein drink these two things give me 50 grams of protein, which is what I need daily.

Today we tried a new protein shake, Mac made it a double and we split it. It was pretty good, vanilla protein powder, milk, ice, and 3 sugar free choc cookies with cream filling. Tasted yummy.

It's Sunday, Scott is over helping some friends with something, Justin is probably still asleep, Megan is upstairs and Mac is working his Sunday Washington Post Samurai Sudoku. We're watching the travel channel and dreaming about trips we want to take.

So we're off to start a new week...talk to you soon!
xxoo
C.

Oops, I'm late for my Wed posting...

I have no idea what I was doing Wed? But looks like I didn't log on!

Not much to report, I started back to work this week and it's going well. Very busy and it's good to see everyone, even though working from home was nice. =)

I've now lost 45 pounds so I'm excited. I would like to lose another 90, 100 would be better. My Dr. says I'll have about a 12 to 18 month window before I stop losing weight so I'm hoping to keep plugging away.

We don't really have anything planned this weekend, Megan is working, the boys are around and we're just chilling out with some netflix movies. Have a great weekend, I'll check back on Sunday.

xxoo

Road Trip

We just got home from a weekend road trip to Orlando. Yes, that's Florida. It took us 11 hrs each way...thanks to our super shuttle driver, Mac! We went down for my dad's 60th birthday party. He didn't know we were coming, so he was very surprised when we showed up Saturday morning at his usual breakfast spot. (Just like a trick we played on Mac for his birthday.)

Megan is out of town with her friends so Friday, Mac, Scott, Justin and I rented a van and drove down to Orlando. We stopped in Jacksonville and had dinner at this place Mac found on a previous business trip. It's called Clark's Fish Camp and if you're ever down there, ya gotta stop in. The place is full of animals that have been stuffed, lions, tigers, bears, monkeys, gators, etc. It was facinating. The menu has different exotic game as well. Mac and boys ordered kangaroo and eel. (ewww) I had some grilled shrimp and a little of Mac's green beens. Ya gotta check out Clark's...here's the link: http://www.clarksfishcamp.com/

Anyway, just before we left, I checked the scales and I've lost 40 pounds! I'm very pleased. Tomorrow I go back to work so I'm off to bed now.

Have a great week...