So, I Purchased A Scale And I've Lost.....

One of the hardest things about getting back on track besides walking thru my surgeon's office door was getting the on the scale and seeing how much weight I had gained.  I hadn't stepped on a scale in probably over a year.  When my scale broke, I never replaced it.  HUGE mistake!  

When I first had surgery I got on the scale at least 3 times a day.  That was a little extreme and I finally stopped that and would just weigh myself every morning.  That was one of the many ways I would keep myself in check.  Once again, another thing I just let go in the long list of many in my journey.

After getting on the scale at the surgeon's office and seeing that number I realized I needed a new scale and pronto!  So, today while I was in Des Moines, I stopped by Bed, Bath and Beyond with my trusty 20% off coupon and decided to pick one out.  I didn't want to spend a lot of money on it because I'm holding out for a Fitbit Aria Scale, but found this scale for $19.99.  With my 20% off coupon, it was $16.  I love their coupons and I like a good deal, so it came home with me.

The New Addition To My #nomoreregain Journey

After I got home, I couldn't wait to hop on the scale and to see how much I weighed.  Crazy, right?!  It's amazing how something so small can make or break your day, but...my hard work over the last 10 days has paid off.  I'VE LOST 7 POUNDS!!!!  In 10 days!!!!  I can't believe it!  It's not a lot, but it's better than nothing!!!!  That 7 pounds is the motivation I needed to keep going.

That's a lot of butter!!!!

It's been a rough weekend for my diet.  Beers on Friday, a birthday celebration last night with eating out and wrapping up the birthday celebration today.  But I think I did okay.  Last night we ate dinner at an upscale diner that had comfort food.  Things like mac and cheese with bacon, chicken pot pie, a grilled cheese sandwich with short ribs.  Name it, the comfort food was on the menu.  I picked the meatloaf with garlic mashed potatoes and green bean casserole.  It was fabulous!  I ate 1 1/2 slices of the meatloaf, a couple bites of the mashed potatoes and a couple of green beans and I was done and stuffed.  I don't even know where to begin to calculate the calories, but look how amazing this was!

The plating was beautiful!

So, now you're all caught up on my weekend, my new purchase and my weight loss.  I weigh in on Wednesday at my surgeon's office and am hoping that maybe I can hit that 10 pound loss by then.  I'm going to have to push extra hard, but if I don't make it, I'm not going to get down on myself, 7 pounds is still pretty good!  I am proof that if you've gotten off track, you can get back on the wagon and if I can do it, so can you!  We can do this!  Team #nomoreregain...we've got this!

Until next time!

One Week Ago.....

Can you believe it's only been one week since I've been to my surgeon's office to get back on track? Me either!  A lot has happened in this last week.  My last soda was Tuesday on my way home from my surgeon's office.  My last Click protein shake was the Friday before that.  I'm down to 1 cup of coffee a day and I am eating more of my protein instead of drinking it.  I've been doing really well at staying between 1100-1200 calories, getting my water in and getting my steps in.  All of that in a week!  Whew!

And in true Katie fashion, I've started my cooking back up and trying new recipes.  Last week I tried 3 new things.  Breakfast Burritos (without the tortilla), Ground Turkey and Broccoli Egg Bake and last but not least (and my new obsession), Overnight Oats.  Have you guys tried these yet?  They are amazing!  You have to try them!  They are low in calories and high in protein so it's a win win for a breakfast!  And they keep me full for a very long time!  What more could I want?  Want to try them for yourself?  Here's the link.  There are so many different recipes out there too, check out Pinterest for even more recipes.  I want to try so many of them, I may have to make an Overnight Oats board!

Here are the 3 I made last week:

Chocolate with Strawberries and Bananas Overnight Oats

Peanut Butter and Jelly Overnight Oats

Strawberries and Bananas Overnight Oats

All 3 of these were amazing!  The peanut butter and jelly one was so rich and creamy, but it was too rich for me.  The recipe calls for 2 Tbsp of peanut butter, but when I make it again, I will only be using one.  Tonight I will be making Pumpkin Pie Protein Overnight Oats for breakfast tomorrow. I'm excited and a little nervous, this recipe calls for Greek yogurt and I haven't had one like that before. Fingers crossed that it turns out!  

This afternoon is going to be filled with laundry, dishes, cooking for the next 3 days and filling Scentsy orders and getting them ready for delivery.  I think I'll be busy enough to keep my mind entertained and not thinking about snacking, hopefully.  But, if I'm going to get anything done, I should probably wrap this up and get to it!  Have a great day everyone!!!

Until next time!

The Hardest Part Is Over

As many of you have read or heard, I decided to go back to my weight loss surgeon to get back on track.  I was all geared up and thought I was ready for the appointment, until Tuesday morning when it became a reality.  I was nervous, upset, excited, ashamed, basically a basket case of emotions.  

My surgeon's office is only about 45 minutes away, but it seemed like the longest ride of my life.  I did the "walk of shame" from the back of the parking lot, finally made it to the doors, took a deep breath, walked in and the most amazing thing happened.  There was zero judgement for not being there in 2 years.  Everyone one was excited to see me and welcomed me with open arms, for serious, with real open arms, my nurse that I've had now for 6 years came up and gave me a hug, telling me it was so nice to have me back.  That black cloud I felt had been hanging over me walking into the office vanished.  There was no yelling, no screaming and no harsh words.  My team knew how hard it was for me to come back and instead of nitpicking my failure, they were excited to get me back on track.  My nurse Tracy said it best after I got of the scale, "The hardest part is over, Katie. You're here now, you're taking the first step to get back on track and we're all happy to see you here and to help you."  

Just get started!!!!

After meeting with the Dr, I met with my new nutritionist (we will call her my Nut from here on out) and she too was just happy I was there and so willing to help me.  We only had 15 minutes (I go back August 10 for another appointment with her) but I fell like I have a handle on my weight loss journey again.  Going back to the basics of no drinking 30 minutes before a meal, during a meal or 30 minutes after meals.  1,000-1,200 calories a day.  Vitamins, protein shakes, healthy snacking, breaking up with my Diet Coke.  All of that in 15 minutes.  It was exactly what I needed to motivate me to get back on track.  I have a lot of work to do and a long road ahead of me, but I know I can do it!

So, in true Katie fashion, I jumped in head first Wednesday morning with 100% motivation and zero room for failing.  I cannot fail, I will not fail.  I cannot fail, I will not fail.  SAY IT WITH ME!!!!

Even though I have this new cannot fail mentality and did an awesome job at work the last 2 days (under 1,200 calories on both days, no AM snacking both days, no soda both days, over my step goal both days), this weekend has me very worried.  Now, don't get me wrong, I love my 3 day weekends.  LOVE THEM.  But doing so well the last 2 days that were so structured for me and now these next 3 days of no structure has me feeling a little uneasy.  I need a lot of good vibes sent my way that I don't fall off the wagon in the next 3 days.  So far today it's been okay.  I've been for my walk (I feel I got cheated on my steps, but I'll save that for another post), been to the grocery store and have hit the water hard.  No AM snacks and only my 1 cup of coffee.  But I'm struggling with what I'm going to have for dinner, which really shouldn't be a shock to anyone.  I have out chicken and broccoli, so I'm pretty sure that is what's on the menu.  I do have some strawberries to clean and 2 dozen ears of corn to take off the cob and freeze, so I should keep pretty busy.  I'm also going to try to make a crust less quiche with ground turkey, broccoli and cheese.  Wish me luck on the quiche...I've never made one and may never make one again!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  As you can tell, I have a lot going on in mine LOL  I would love to hear your plans, live vicariously thru you all!  Enjoy your time off!


Until next time!

Time To Shake Things Up!

Do you like what I did there?  Pretty clever, huh?  In getting back on track, I need to make a few changes to my daily routines and eating habits.  I'm sad to say that after 5 1/2 years together, for almost every day, I'm making a clean break from my Click protein breakfast shake.  We had a good run.  A very, VERY good run.  But as the title says, it's time to shake things up a bit.  So, this week I decided to order one of my old favorites.   This morning I picked up a new to me protein flavor, Fuzzy Navel by Syntrax single serve packet at Hy-Vee on the way into work.  My go to for a long time was Roadside Lemonade by Syntrax (which may or may not be on it's way to my house), but I couldn't find it in town so I have to wait.  But I didn't want to wait too long to change things up, because if I wait too long, I won't do it.  I know this about me.  

My Breakfast Today Plus A Banana

My thoughts on it?  Well, it's not coffee.  It doesn't have any caffeine.  And it didn't have any vodka (I swear that's water in that blender bottle) but for 24 grams of protein and 100 calories?  It was pretty darn tasty.  As tasty as my Roadside Lemonade?  No.  Will I get this again?  YES!  The only problem I had was that it took longer to mix in the bottle than I thought it would.  I had this along with a banana and saved about 100 calories.  Worth it?  You bet!

My Next Breakfast Adventure

Next on my agenda?  Actually eating my breakfast, not drinking it.  I'm wanting to try to make breakfast burritos (without the tortilla), portioning them out and freezing them so I always have something on hand to grab to take to work in the mornings.  Any of you have a kick-a** recipe you want to share?  Or a secret ingredient I NEED to have?  I have a very simple recipe in mind:  ground turkey, red and green peppers, an onion, eggs, cheese, salsa and taco seasoning.  Or I might mix it up with some ham or bacon depending on my mood when I make them.  Easy Peasy!  

I think at this point, I might have a handle on breakfast.  I have decided to break my meals down and work on them individually so it's not so overwhelming and perhaps easier to get back to the basics. I'm open to any suggestions or help anyone has to offer.  Any food journals, menu planners, recipes. Anything!  

Until next time!

Fitbit, Bits of Fit, Let's Get Fit

I have been wearing my (dad's old) Fitbit Flex since about Christmas time.  I had purchased the Fitbit Charge about a year before that, but had gotten a chemical burn from the clasp, so the Flex was perfect because I could change out the bands to something that didn't have the same type of clasp.  I had found some really neat bands on Amazon that were really reasonably priced for the Flex, so I purchased a couple of them and away I went.  And by away I went, I mean I wore it.  That's about it. Well, that's not completely true...I did like to track my sleep, or lack there of.  And every once in awhile I would get the urge to see if I could make my step goal but that was really it.  

Since then, my Flex has started to lose it's charge, lasting only a couple of days.  Now, it's had a very good run.  My dad had it for probably close to 3 or 4 years and wore it faithfully every day and I've had it about 6 months or so.  All in all, I would say the Flex has had a good life.  And I wouldn't even be considering looking at a new one if the charge would hold on the Flex and if I wasn't trying to get back on track.

So, what's a girl to do when she needs a new Fitbit?  Well, read all 2000+ reviews on Amazon of course!  I've read reviews, I've watched videos, I've compared the Charge HR to the Alta to the Blaze. I've looked at the pros and cons of them and have narrowed my choice down to the Blaze...for now...

Fitbit Blaze

Look at how pretty it is!  The band comes in Black, Blue or Purple.  The band is removable so if something should happen to it, I can replace the band only and not have to buy a whole new one (like the Charge HR).  The clasp, it's like a watch so hopefully I won't get a chemical reaction.  The screen...HUGE!  I can see how many steps I've taken, what time it is, track my heart rate, receive notifications and more.  Probably more than I need!  But it's early in the week, I could change my mind a dozen times before now and when I go get one next weekend.

The 2 pictures above pretty much sums up how I feel right now while I'm typing this post.  My Bits of Fit is charging, it was DEAD, so I can't possibly can't step right now when it's not going to count, right?!  RIGHT!  I've mentioned my friend Mary Ann before on here, she's keeping me going on my Fitbit by inviting me to do challenges to get my steps in.  My best friend and I also do challenges and have a blast!  She and I work some of the same hours and understand the struggle of trying to get steps in when you're pretty much handcuffed to a computer and phone all day and can't leave your area.  I will tell you this.....it's exactly 27 steps around the 2 dispatch consoles in the Comm Center. One night I managed to get just about 4000 steps in before midnight while dispatching.  That's a lot of circles around that room!  But hey, steps are steps!  

I've only been looking at Fitbit trackers, but I know there are other brands out there.  So, if anyone has any other suggestions or even opinions on a Fitbit, please hit me up!  I've been out of the Fitbit loop and workout world for awhile, so I don't know much about what's out there.  

So, now you know what I've been doing the last couple of days, which isn't much, but I've managed to get some steps in, so not all is lost.  Last night my youngest niece wanted to ride her bike, so I walked around with her and gained quite a few steps.  She had fun, I got in a small walk, so everyone was happy!  I'm going to try to get some steps in today while I dink around the house and yes, walk in circles.  Are you wanting to get some more steps in?  Wanting to do more challenges?  Wanting more friends on Fitbit?  Find me here and let's get to stepping!!!!  

Until next time!

Baby Steps

Usually when I put my mind to something, I jump in 100% with no blinders and just go full force.  In the past, it has worked for me I would say 8 out of 10 times, which really aren't bad odds.

However, when it comes to WLS and being successful, you can by all means jump in head first, but, you're going to hit rock bottom and hit it fast.  WLS patients will agree with me on this, we have to have the patience, ambition and drive to be successful, but we also have to form good habits, which doesn't happen in a week.

I'm ready to make my change and I started yesterday but setting my mind to getting back on track.  And today I called my surgeon's office and made an appointment with not only my surgeon, but also the nutritionist, which is July 26th at 2pm.   I've also made an appointment to have my lab work done Friday (the 15th) and have the results sent to the surgeon's office.  I would say those are pretty good starts for someone who has been putting things off for a long time.

I also added the below picture to my blog for visual motivation.  The picture taken in November 2011 was 1 year after my weight loss surgery.  The other picture was taken at the end of May, 2016.  I love both pictures of myself, but I like the one in 2011 better.  Will I ever get back to that?  I hope so, but it's going to take a lot of hard work and dedication and I know, deep down I have what it takes to do it!

Visual Motivation

I want to thank everyone who read my post yesterday, commented and reached out to me.  It meant a lot to me and it's the kind of positive energy I need.  But I want to give a HUGE thank you and shout out to my close friend Mary Ann.  She has been there for me from the beginning and thru many ups and downs and she continues to be there for me.  She's my weight loss cheerleader, my life coach and a wonderful positive influence I need in my life.  Thank you, Mary ♥  I could never repay you!

Until next time!

It's Never Easy Admitting Failure...

Oh, here I am!!!!

I've been sitting here, trying to think about how I'm going to approach this blog post.  It's never easy admitting that you have been sliding backwards in your weight loss journey.  But it's time I throw up the white flag and admit it.  I have gained some of my weight back.  Enough that I need to be held accountable for it.  And to start being held accountable, it's going to start here today with this first blog post since December 2013.

So, where have I been?  NOT working out.  NOT watching my food intake.  NOT eating healthy.  NOT food planning.  NOT keeping appointments with my surgeon..  Basically, I've been doing nothing.  There you have it-I haven't been accountable for a single thing in my weight loss life, including this blog.  Having this blog being public and shared on my social media was one way of keeping myself in check.  You all were unknowingly part of what kept me going and kept me aware of my weight loss (or lack thereof right now).

I have gained back some weight-too much for me to be comfortable with.  I'm finding myself buying bigger shirts, or pulling out older clothes from early on in my journey.  This needs to stop, there's no excuse for this, but believe me, I've managed to find every one of them in the book.  "But I work 12 hour shifts."  "It's too hard to plan ahead on a shift like this."  "I don't get off of work until 7pm, by then it's too late to go for a walk."  "I don't like to drink plain water."  And those are just the excuses on the days I work!  I didn't come this far to fail, failure is not an option.  

Now that I've fessed up, it's time to do something about it.  It's only a lot of hot air if you don't have a plan of attack or goals in place.  

• The first thing I'm going to do is schedule an appointment with my surgeon and nutritionist.  Are they going to be unhappy?  Yes.  Do I need to hear it?  Yes.  It's part of being held accountable.
• Exercise.  Plain and simple.  That's it.  I miss running, I really do.  I'm not sure I'll ever get back to that point, but I sure as heck need to try!
• Menu Planning/Planning Ahead.  I did very well when I was doing this.  Every WLS person knows our daily struggle and anxiety with food.  Not planning ahead can turn into a downward spiral very quickly.  And once you get out of the habit, it's even easier to just keep going down the rabbit hole.
• Stay Positive.  The changes that I made back in 2010 did not form overnight.  The weight I've put on in the last almost 3 years didn't come on overnight, so it's not going to go away overnight. 
• Keep this blog going, even if people I know don't read it, it's out there which means someone will see it.  

They say it takes about 21 days to form a habit, so hang in there with me.  You  may not hear from me daily, but I'm not going off the grid again.  THE Midwest Former Fat Girl is back!

Until next time!

Kates