Lot's o' little things

First things first.  Weigh in day = 222.4.  Down 1 pound from last Friday.  Officially doing a happy dance considering my woes this week over gaining weight while starting to work out.  I hadn't gone to the bathroom in a bit (if you know what I mean, TMI?) so overnight I actually lost about 3 pounds :)  Just going to keep on trucking and going along with the exercise and hopefully I'll see the same results, if not better, next week!

Some non-scale victories:

• I'm pretty much in size 16 jeans across the board (there are still a few brands that I'm 18's), however this has now left me in a desperate state of needed clothes!
  
• I can FINALLY stop buying undies at Lane Bryant cause now I fit in Victoria's Secret (and now I can pretty much kick Lane Bryant outta my life, hallelujah).
• I find myself crossing my legs ALL.THE.TIME and actually find it much more comfortable than sitting any other way.  I never used to be able to be lady like and cross my legs.
• This is kind of a scale victory, but I'm only about 6 pounds away from being what my husband weighs!  Sorry, honey but I'm going to be bypassing you very soon!  :)  This will be the first time in about 8 or 9 years that I will have weighed less than Jeff.  I'll let you all know when I hit that milestone!
• My mood in general has just been so much better these past couple of months.  I find myself being a little more outgoing and just in a pleasant mood more (not to say that I don't have my scary moments).
• I can run just a bit over a 1/2 mile non-stop.  Doesn't sound like a lot, but when I first started I could barely get maybe 3/4 of a LAP in.
• I get compliments pretty much daily about how great I've been looking and some even use the word "tiny" to describe me.  I personally wouldn't use the word "tiny" quite yet, but someday soon.

Question & Answer time!  A couple posts ago, I opened it up to everyone to ask me whatever questions you choose and here are my answers:

• Q: What do I do with my hair?  According to Yana, it always looks so lovely (thank you!)
• A: I don't have any one specific product that I use religiously, but I do try to follow this regimine:
• Shampoo & Condition with whatever happened to be on sale or on our free table at work.  I do love Pantene though and it tends to be a brand that I go back to regularly.  I also deep condition once a month using  Kerastase Nutritive Masque.  It is a bit spendy, but since I only use it about once a month, it typically lasts me a year!
• After showering, I comb through and use about a quarter sized dallop of Biosilk and run it through the entire length of my hair focusing a bit on the ends and not so much at the roots just so my roots don't get too greasy :)
• Then, I just blow dry using a big round brush for my bangs and front part of my hair and then a paddle brush for the rest.  Trust me, when I get done blow drying my hair does not look pretty...it's basically a big ball of frizz and is still pretty wavy.  I then will take my 1 inch CHI hair straightener and clip off sections of my hair starting with the under layer and straighten it all ending with the front part of my hair.  If I'm feeling snazzy, I'll use my 2 inch curling iron and put some loose curl/waves in it for body.
• Long answer, but that's what I do.
• Q: I received quite a few various questions regarding "Bandster Hell" so I will try to address them all in this one answer.  Questions ranged from "when did I feel restriction -- after how many fill?", "how did I make it through?" and "how was the process of getting to restriction in general?"
  
• A: Gosh, the only good answer I have for all of you in Bandster Hell is that is just that and I'm sorry.  It's tough and you've just got to fight through, but I won't be the first person to say this, but man, once you get restriction it will all be worth the wait.  Protein shakes really did keep me sane (and semi-full) during that phase of the journey.  I would typically drink about 3 a day (for about 70 grams of protein).  Warm soups always helped to keep me full as well.  I tried to stay with brothy type soups since cream ones tend to have so many calories.  Having soup in June/July was not the most fun though!  I will tell you though, that I wasn't perfect during this time.  I absolutely had days where I wasn't "on".  It's just important to be safe and just get back on track.  As far as how many fills it takes to get restriction, I think it really varies greatly.  There are some out there where it only take 3 or 4 fills and they are there.  Me?  It took about 7.  But, now that I'm there I can dramatically tell a difference in the amount that I can eat and REALLY have to slow down. It's just really important during this time to keep in your mind on how your body is healing and that it is only temporary.  One thing that I always told myself that it was only 1 or 2 months out of my entire life and in the grand scheme of things, it isn't really that long (would I want to do it again, no. But, you can survive).  If anyone has even more specific questions about this topic, just let me know!
  
• Q:   What books do I like to read?  (Angie...I LOVE that you are a Jacob fan too)
• A:  I love, love, love to read (I just wish I was coordinated enough to be able to read while on the treadmill/elliptical without falling off!).  My tastes in books range pretty greatly and all depends on what type of mood I'm in, but a few of my favorite books/authors are:  Sophie Kinsella (best known for the Shopaholics series, but my fave is "Can You Keep a Secret?"), Charlaine Harris (best known for her Sookie Stackhouse aka TrueBlood books), "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen is easily in my top 3 books, I love "The Kite Runner", of course I love the Twilight series, "The Time Traveler's Wife", I do love Nicholas Sparks and Jodi Picoult and I just finished "The Lovely Bones" by Alice Sebold. 
• Q:  If I could change careers and do anything what would it be? 
• A:  Oooooh.  This tends to be a toughie cause there a few things that I would love to do.  First, if I didn't have to work, I would love to be a stay at home mom.  I love to take care of people.  But, since I do have to work, if I could do anything (and money didn't really matter) it would be in a field doing something that really made a difference in people's lives such as a non-profit organization that helps families in need or disaster relief efforts.  My heart just goes out to people who are so affected by things that are beyond their control.  
• I would also love to own a bakery someday.  I love to bake yummy treats and love to see people smile when I make a delicious goody!
•  Q:  Do I know my definite goal weight or do I just want to wait and see?
• A:  I used to think I'd like to wait and see and some days I still do feel that way, but I do have a couple goals in mind.  My ULTIMATE goal would be to get to between 150-160.  However, my husband and I would like to start having kids in the near future so I have a first goal of about 175-180 before I get pregnant and then after all is said and done with kids I'd like to start achieving that 150-160 range and that is where I'd like to live forever :)
• Q:  What is my favorite protein packed meal?
• A:  Hmmmm....these are some of my favorite items:
• Canned Tuna Fish w/about 1 tablespoon mayo (20-30 grams of protein for the entire can -- I usually can get about 1/2 to 3/4 of a can in one meal)
• Greek yogurt.  I like the vanilla or strawberry kind (about 100 calories and 15 grams of protein)
• Cottage Cheese (about 15 grams protein for 1/2-1 cup) 
• Tyson Chicken Cordon Bleu pre-made patties (I get mine at Costco) (22 grams protein -- 380 calories)  a little higher in calroies, but I can get almost an entire one of these down and nothing else.  So, I figure about 300-350 calories for 1 meal isn't too bad.
• EGGS!!!!  I make a batch of hard boiled eggs about twice a week and eat them for my morning snack (1 egg = about 6-8 grams protein).  I sometimes only eat the egg white so it's about 4 grams.
• I try to add a little bit of protein to anything I'm eating whether it be a little crumbled bacon or diced ham with my scrambled eggs, egg on my salad with chicken, etc.
• Q: What is my favorite childhood memory?  AND Do I believe in toilet paper going over or under on the roll (can you guess who left this question? :))?
• A:  My favorite childhood memory is by far listening to old time Christmas music (think Bing Crosby, Sinatra, etc) with my grandparents (who raised me) and putting up the Christmas tree and decorations.  It was always just such a fun time during the year.  Another favorite was during the summer having all the cousins over and we would literally wake up, swim until lunch, eat, swim until dinner, eat and swim until bedtime.  Such fun.
• Ok, toilet paper.  Until recently I was like a man and was awful about even replacing the toilet paper when it was out, horrible right?  But, I have gotten better and I guess I never really ever thought about it but I'm an over the roll type of gal.  Sometimes when we have company over I will take it as far as creating the nice little triangle at the end of the roll like hotels do...

So, there you have it.  All your questions answered.  If I missed any please let me know!  Thank you to everyone who had something to ask and to those that just left such nice comments.  You guys are such a wonderful support group and I seriously talk about each of you all the time.  Seriously.  You can ask my hubby.

Oh.  Now I have a question for ya'll.  I just got back from the salon and I've always wondered, you know how the stylist will pump up the salon chair to get you up to their level?  Can they feel how heavy you are when they do that?  I've always wondered that and I figured if they can, my stylist must be happy cause I'm about 60 pounds lighter than the last time I saw her!!!  Just curious.

Until next time.