Long Weekend, Best Friends Birthday AND Another 4 Pounds Down!

This was a CRAZY weekend for me... I worked my first "real" weekend morning shift at Mimi's cafe on Saturday from 8am until 3:45pm, then worked again on Sunday from 8am until 4pm. Needless to say, I was absolutely exhausted and crazy tired. Saturday was really horrible and I had a group of very stuck up ladies complain about me to my manager because I didn't ring in the 99 cent off deal for the soup and salad... Once they pointed that out on the receipt to me I apologized and fixed it right away but they claimed I had a "bad attitude" about fixing it or something...they made such a fuss instead of just talking to me about it that my manager comped their whole ticket which was 141 bucks! It was so frustrating because I am super nice to all of the customers and generally pride myself on my positive upbeat attitude and I literally kissed their asses the whole time I waited on them. It didn't make any sense and really hurt my feelings... I ended up bursting into tears which was embarrassing (I was already having sort of a bad day because I got yelled at for a mistake by a cook etc...). I also received zero tip for that table which was a bummer :( Luckily, I have the best manager ever and he sat me down and told me everything was going to be OK and that he wasn't upset with me (and that those ladies were spoiled bitches!). I was so relieved he was so understanding!

Sunday was much much better though, I had a great bunch of customers and some really nice tips and people... definitely helps and makes the shift go by faster! I am still not quite used to being on my feet all day so they have been KILLING me after such long shifts, but I bought myself a little home foot spa last night and soaked my piggies in epsom salt which was heaven. I was wondering how many calories I potentially burned waitressing for that many hours and according to three different calorie calculators, even if I was waiting tables at a slow pace (which I wasn't!) I apparently burned about 3,300 calories in 6 and a half hours! That is totally nuts, but I believe it because I hopped on the scale just now and it reads 283.4 :) That is four pounds down from last tuesday which is great. I was going to post my new weigh in tomorrow morning, but I am working a super long day (7:30am to 2:45pm at Mimi's, then Nannying right after) so I figured I'd post it now.

Today was my best friend Keren's birthday and we had a blast despite ALL of our plans falling through... We planned on going to the Denver Art Museum to see a Yves Saint Lauren exhibit, but alas they are closed on Mondays (which we did not realize until we were already there!) So instead we walked around Denver for a bit then decided on getting cocktails somewhere. I don't normally drink frozen drinks or really even alcohol anymore because of the empty calories, but what the hell! It was my bestie's birthday and I worked my ass off this weekend. We then decided to go see an IMAX at the Denver Museum of Science about the Artic, but of course the last showing of that particular movie was right when we decided to go. Ultimately, we just ended up hanging out at her place watching bad tv and enjoying ourselves. I had a great day, but definitely ate way past my calorie budget today which is hard to not feel guilt ridden :/ However, I did not overeat at all this week and managed to stay in my calorie budget and exercise and/or waitress everyday, so I can't be too hard on myself! That was my treat for the week and tomorrow back on track.

Tonight is my last dose of antibiotics for my infection (which seems to have healed up) and I am scheduled for my first saline fill in my band (which will make it tighter and more restricting) on Thursday which is exciting and also a little scary because they they put it in through a giant needle through my port near my stomach... Luckily Keren said she will come with me to hold my hand if it hurts/I am scared which is nice :) We are going to try to actually catch the art exhibit earlier in Denver that day too before the appointment! I also just joined a neat forum called LapBandTalk which is a forum/chat for people who have had lapband, thinking about getting lapband, or are pre-surgery. It is actually pretty neat because I have been able to help answer questions/concerns for some people who are pre surgery as well as share and compare my current experiences with lapband and weight loss with others going through the same thing.

Anyway, I am super tired and must get to sleep for my super early shift at Mimi's... sorry for the long post, I had alot to catch up on! More later :)

Caroline VS Hunger... a constant battle

So that nice "Wow I feel super full!" after eating only about 800-1000 calories a day is WAY over... I guess it is apparently normal to feel that way for a week or two after surgery, but then it doesn't last. I am STARVING... my hunger is back in full force and I feel like I want to raid a bakery multiple times a day. It is such a horrible feeling to constantly fight. The nurse at my bariatric clinic said this is totally normal because I haven't "turned on" my lap band by having a fill yet to make it tighter. I was supposed to have my first fill this past Thursday but because I am still on antibiotics, they are making me wait one more week :( Even then I will still be hungry because they only put about 1cc of saline in at a time and it really takes 4 or 5 fills to feel the fullness after only one cup of food per meal. SIGH. I will eventually get there.

I am really proud of myself though because despite the constant hunger/urge to eat more than 1000-1400 calories a day, I have done a really great job of staying within my limit. I don't completely deprive myself and give myself little "treats" every once and a while such as a little ice cream and what not, just as long as I stay in my calorie budget. It is freaking hard though! However, my will power is stronger than ever and I love seeing the results of my hard work each week. I will never again let food have power over me because I am a strong and getting stronger each and every day. I am finally beginning to seriously feel in control of my eating habits for the first time in years.

I went to a noon swim class today which was fun and then nannied Cody for the afternoon where we played outside because it was a gorgeous day. I kept it super low key tonight because tomorrow I have my first real super long morning shift at Mimi's at 9am which is going to be CRAZY busy and packed but I will get a great workout and hopefully some great tips too! Hopefully I will survive :D Goodnight bloggers!

Comparison Pics

Looking at my pics side by side, I only notice little differences... my face looks a bit thinner and I am a little less wide. Hopefully I will notice greater changes with more weight loss :) I will post some more pics/comparison pics in 3 more weeks. Anyway, I have off from both jobs today which is nice so I am off for a walk before it storms then to swim class at 8 WOOT. Here are the comparison pics!

New Biggest Loser- Style Pics

I finally got around to taking them! Here is me in the same outfit I wore April 1st 2012 when I weighed 299 pounds... I now weigh 287 :) I will also post side by side comparison pics next!

Exhausted, but Very Good Productive Day :)

AH I can finally sit down lol. I took another little boy I sometimes nanny for to school today at 7am, then went to a water zumba class, then another swim class, then picked up Cody from school THEN worked a dinner shift at Mimi's. Needless to say, I am exhausted! It was a great day however... I made $75 in tips tonight at Mimi's... woohoo!

Another highlight of my day was finding mini whole wheat bobali breads to make mini healthy pizzas on! I bought a package from the store and found a great low-calorie high-protein pizza recipe... I used low cal pesto as a sauce, then low cal mozzarella cheese on top with sliced mushrooms and chicken. It was delicious and I ate just half which was only about 400 calories and a great high protein meal :) I will eat the other half tomorrow.

I still have not played with my Wii Fit because I have been so busy, but plan to tomorrow before I pick up Cody from school. I also plan to take my "biggest loser- style" photos tomorrow morning for comparison to 3 weeks ago... I was going to take them yesterday but by the time I had time, I had eaten and was bloated and not feeling up for it. I am too tired tonight, but will tomorrow morning for sure :) I might even put the pics from 3 weeks ago next to pics from tomorrow for side by side comparison (fancy, eh?). Anyways, goodnight for now!

2 More Pounds From Friday, 4 Pounds Down Total From Last Week!

BOOOYAH! I just hopped on the scale this morning and it read 287 lbs WOOOT! That is another 2 pounds down from Friday, and 4 pounds down total from last weeks weigh in.... they haven't even filled my band with saline to make it tighter yet either! I am super proud of myself :) That is 31lbs down total from a week before surgery (I weighed 318lbs then lost 14lb 3 days before surgery on a required sugar free liquid diet) and 17lbs down since my actual surgery date when I weighed 304! It felt great to back in the water again yesterday (where I burned about 400 calories in my class) AND I also waitressed last night at Mimi's for almost 6 hours which probably burned quite a few calories as well. Feeling super great, I love seeing results because it just makes my will to keep going even stronger. I will post pics of my body for comparison later today.

SOO in other news, I have changed my mind again about my work situation and have decided to keep my nanny job at least through the end of the summer. I thought really hard about it and realized that not only do I get a FULL paid month off in July if I keep nannying, but that I will also receive a really nice two year bonus in August. If I were to work full time at Mimi's and I end up going to Israel, that would a 12-14 unpaid break and I would not be able to afford my rent. And being with Cody 8 hours a day won't be so bad because I realized that I have a rec membership here in town and can take him to the pool everyday if we wanted! Also, after working my first "real" busy shift at Mimi's last night, I decided I would probably be miserable doing it full time because I was so entirely exhausted. Besides, when I have time off from nannying, I can always pick up more shifts at Mimi's. I have not mentioned anything to my nanny boss so she won't know the difference, but I have already told my manager at Mimi's that I would start working full time starting in three weeks. I am just going to white lie and tell him that I tried to quit at the nanny job, but she really really needs me and convinced me to stay. Hopefully he will understand and still allow me to stay on part time. He seems like a really understanding awesome guy, and I am letting him know ASAP/three weeks in advance so that should give him time to find someone else for full time and still let me do part time. SIGH. I feel much better now that I have made my decision :).

More to come later today...

Back in the Pool... HURRAH!

Thank goodness, my incision site has closed up again and I was OK'd to get back in the pool today :) YAY! However, my doc wants me to wait one more week before my first fill because he wants me to finish the antibiotics before they do that. Kind of a bummer, but one more week is no big deal. I found a used "Wii-FIT plus" board and program on craigslist for $50 bucks and bought it. This will be awesome because now I can use the program at home as well as buy other programs that require the board such as "biggest loser workout" for wii and "zumba dance" for wii. Fun fun! 

I have gotten back on schedule about my vitamins and liquid intake etc... now that I am not crazy busy which is good. I thought alot and really hard this weekend and made my final decision to quit my nanny job and work full time at Mimi's Cafe until grad school. This was a very tough decision and I know my boss (and Cody) will be very disappointed, but I need to do what is right for me right now. I am going to give my boss three weeks instead of just two to find a replacement nanny which should help. My manager at Mimi's is being very understanding of that which is awesome. I have today off from nannying so I am off to a noon swim class and then am working a dinner shift at Mimi's at 5:30pm tonight which will be nice. 

I went out to the movies and saw "Chimpanzee" which was super cute with Steve on Saturday night, and guess what? ANOTHER pair of jeans fits me again! HOOORAY! I feel better and better every day... I am so glad I had lapband and for the continued support of my friends and family. 

It is so nice to be able to fit in my clothes again :) Anyway, I will post my weigh in as well as a sports bra/capris photo again (3 weeks since the last) to show my improvements. Much love to all!!