New Year's Resolutions

Well it is that time of the year that everyone takes time to make new year's resolutions.  I will admit in the past I have made some but few have I kept.  This past year I am sure I said I was going to get healthier and lose weight.  Well I guess I did do that!   In 2011 I have a new resolution, one that is going to probably be the hardest one I have ever set.  I am going to try to eliminate stress and stressors in my life.  I have always worn my heart on my sleeve and cared to much what people thought.  Today I had a WONDERFUL doctors appointment and she challenged me to put my needs first, my families needs first, and not worry about what others think.  So that is the plan.  I need to stop pleasing others and do things for me and the ones I love.  The days of me keeping the peace are well.......over I guess.  I can not let other people and their drama bring me down.  As much as I love Facebook......it brings me stress.  I worry to much about what the "Jones" are doing.  Every time someone who I guess I will say it......is  pregnant and really is not in a great situation, financially marriage wise or etc,  I question why Tony and I tried for 3 years to have a baby and no luck and well some gals......can just pop them out.  I know this is not politically correct but there again....it is my blog and my new years resolution, I am going to not let other peoples drama become my drama! I think so many times I read or see things on Facebook and I make it my drama.  Not anymore!!  I am going to avoid drama in all areas of my life.  I am not saying that I am going to become rude and avoide people but I have decided that I do not always have to do the "right" think to please others especially if it is not pleasing to me and God!

 This year I am making goals for my family too!  Tony and I both have joined the gym and I want to eat healthier this coming year as a family.  We want to have less tv in our home and more reading and interacting as a family.  I know that if we "get back to the basics" in our family things will be better overall......maybe not at first but I know in the end everyone will thank me for the change!  RIGHT????  I am very motivated to make changes in our lives.  This will be the year that hopefully brings us closer because we are going to eliminate distractions. 

This week in regards to my band has been....hard.  Food, especially meat and I have not gotten along well.  Weight has pretty much stayed the same which is fine with me since I have been still sampling Christmas cookies and other treats.  I go next week for another fill in my band so we will see if they feel that I need one or if I should wait.  I am sort of torn on what to do.  I want to keep filling and continue the weight loss but it seems that my body is still losing on its own and I am sort of struggling with some foods maybe I should hold off and once I get in the gym that will really help get more weight off and tone me up! 

I hope as 2010 comes to a close you are able to look back and think of all the great things that have happened in your life.  Also think about what you want to change in 2011.  I would love to hear what you want 2011 to bring you!  I am not expecting goals of 50 pounds of weight loss, new jobs and new homes but what I would love to hear about is those of you who want to spend a few extra moments with your family, spouse or  God.  I want my friends to set goals of doing something for themselves.  Goals of eating better, exercising more and maybe focusing on a charity.  We can not change the world but WE can change how we view and live in OUR world!  Have a great New Years eve and Day! 

Jane

Milestones hit again!!

Well Happy Post Christmas day!  I had one busy week last week!  As a family we had such a blessed Christmas Day.  On Saturday morning my dad and my sister came over early in the morning to open gifts with all of us.  After lots of gift opening, lots of happy reactions it was time to eat some appetizers.  So you may remember from my last post that we typically have a variety of appetizers to celebrate Christmas.  So I had prepared; shrimp, wrapped pickles, cheese sausage crackers, meatballs, hedgehogs, wieners, cheese ball, and olives.  I had really been praying that I would be able to eat this meal sensibly and be able to enjoy it and you may be asking, how did it go??  It went Wonderful!!!  I was able to eat a little sample of everything I was interested in and it all was tolerated.  What a great small victory!!!  So after lots of family time my dad and sister headed back home since she needed to work later in the day.  So Tony and Seth went out to shovel the drive while I began doing lots of dishes.  I recap also from last week, we had a plumbing problem that has since been fixed but I am still being asked to not use my dish washer for a few more days so I had lots of stuff to do by hand but I got it done!  Now it was time to head to Tony's sister Trisha's home for family Christmas there.  So here was going to be my second testing meal of the day.  We had a wonderful meal!!!  Pork loin, ham, cheesy potatoes, corn, green bean casserole, lots of jello salads and such, and then later lots of wonderful pies.  Verdict for the second meal.....this too went great!  So me asking to be able to eat on Christmas was granted.  It was wonderful all the positive feedback I got yesterday with my weight loss.  I am getting more comfortable with the compliments and I am getting more comfortable eating around others and knowing how to listen to my body on how much to eat.  I do feel like when the kids were little I would put more on their plates than I do on my own right now.  I have learned to sample whatever I want and then if I still feel comfortable to maybe have another little taste of something!  Eating was a success yesterday!! 

Now is my time to I guess gloat and share some vital statistics.  As of today I have lost a total of 63 pounds since September 28th.  This brings me to the 51% mark of my total weight loss goal.  My BMI has dropped 9 points.  I am actually at the point where I would have not been approved for surgery without more health problems.  In regards to clothes I am getting rid of clothes each time I do laundry.  Pants are where I notice it the most....well since they seem to always be falling down even the ones I have bought at goodwill or have dug out of the back of my closet.  As far as shirts well I notice that too since I can not wear some of Tony's shirts!  This is such an exciting time.  Now it is time to start toning!  I asked Tony for workout clothes for Christmas and I got some and my dad said..."hell those look to big!"  He may be right!  I guess I am not giving myself enough credit when I sent Tony to shop.  I guess I will try them on and if too big go down another size!  So next week the Sprandel's are joining the gym.  Notice I said Tony too!  We will not be able to workout very often together but we both feel that it is time for the whole family to get involved on the healthy lifestyle! 

So as you can see we had a great week and an even better Christmas.  I hope you had a wonderful Christmas too.  Thanks for all the support these  last few months! 

What a week!

So today is Sunday and I typically consider this the beginning of my week but I guess it is the 7th day that the Lord created but, if that is the case wasn't I suppose to have rested today???  Well I had a good morning with my husband doing some cleaning around the house and he made the girls and I breakfast and then this afternoon I finished house work when he went to work.  The kids and I also made buckeyes and covered pretzels.  I at least have a few things off of my Pre-Christmas list.  Only a million more to do!   This Christmas has been very unique for me in some ways.

There are a few things that stick out to me more so this Christmas than any other.  For some reason I think I miss my mom more because of the small things, like baking with her, shopping with her, and well just silly things like knowing she would have loved our Christmas letter.  This will be the 4th Christmas without my mom here and wow does it seem like it has not been that long. 

I feel like I am more behind this year than any other year.  I did get my Christmas letter out somewhat timely but other than that, I am a little panicked.  I have not wrapped 1 present yet and still have a few odds and ends to pick up! 

Another huge thing that I am sort of worried about is eating.  I know sounds weird huh??  Well most people are worried about not eating to much or gaining weight, I am worried about being able to enjoy especially my Christmas day meals.  Pretty much since Tony and I have been together the traditional "Hamlow" Christmas meal of; Ham, Scalloped potatoes, green beans and shrimp cocktails has been replaced by appetizers.  This is totally the case now that we have decided to make our our traditions since my is not with us.  So as of now the plan is that my sister Christi and my Dad Phil will be coming to our house mid morning or whenever they wish to arrive and we will have an early lunch of all kinds of goodies; shrimp, meatball, wieners, cheese ball, cheese,meat and crackers, and pickles wrapped in cream cheese and beef.  It makes my mouth water if ONLY I am able to eat it with no drama from my band!  I am so hoping!  Later in the day we will travel to Tony's Sisters house and spend a wonderful Christmas with Tony's family and Trisha's in laws the Haag's.  We all have such a nice day together and we all share a wonderful meal.  Mmmmmm I can almost taste it now!  Hopefully by dinner time food will be going down much easier.  I just want to enjoy food that day!  LOL  Don't get me wrong I eat.  I just can not always eat what I want or plan on eating.  My band sometimes allows meat other times it says no thanks!  I know I will not eat alot whatever I do get to eat and that is fine with me!  I just want to enjoy what I attempt to eat.  Do you think I can put this on my Christmas list?  I want to be able to eat within reason what I want on Christmas day??  It is a small request I think! 

I am so much more thankful this Christmas season for my family and friends!  I have married one of my best friends and I am so thankful for his patience, compassion, encouragement and love.  I do not think I could have been this successful with out Tony!  The last few days I have gotten so many compliments on my weight loss and it makes me feel great.  I did this for me to be healthy and be  here for my husband and my kids but, I am getting tons of attention and it feels really nice.  It is sort of fun when people see me for the first time in a long time  and can not believe that I have done so well.  My scale is a little stuck this week at 59 pounds.  It teased me with 60 the other day but seems to be  stuck on 59 pounds.  I am so amazed in that so I will not cuss my scale!   

This week will be such an awesome week preparing for Christmas and I have my little bakers home with me and they are eager to start on cookies so I am sure that will begin on Monday after we finish our last couple types of candy!

I want to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas in case I do not get another post up this week but I will try!  I encourage you to think about 2011!  I am not a big New Years Resolution maker but I encourage you to think about what you want to improve in your life next year.  Your health?  Your Marriage? Your relationship with God?  Whatever it is take it one day at a time and know that I am here to encourage you and support you.  One of my favorite shows is The Biggest Loser, they always say, "if I could be xxx pounds and do this so can you!"  Well I Jane Sprandel was 324 pounds and today I am 265 and dropping and if I can make a life change....so can you!  I want encourage you just like you have encouraged me! 

Enjoy your last few days leading up to CHRISTmas and do not forget to take time to remember what CHRISTmas is all about! 

Check up went GREAT!

Sorry that is has been a few days since I have sent an update but....it is here now!  :)  I went to my primary Doctor on Monday for a quick check up after my surgery.   When I seen him last he told me to just make an appointment after my surgery so we could see how I was doing.  Wow, what a difference a few months have made.  I just started seeing Dr. Walker at Christie Clinic this past February and he is the one who suggested that I look into the Lap Band procedure.  He knew that I had lost some weight since he is the person who over seen my initial diet to help me get approved by my insurance.  The last time he seen me was before my ankle surgery and at that point I had gained a little weight back but he was not alarmed so you can imagine his excitement when I was there Monday over 50 less than when I started this process.  I have said it before but it is still very odd for me to hear compliments especially from a doctor.  I have only been told....if you only would loose weight you would not have this health problem or risk factor.  He was so happy for me and proud of me for all of my hard work.  The best news to me was that he is so convinced that my A1C which is a test that measures how your body uses insulin is going to be so good now that for the next week he has cut my dose in half and once the lab results are back he is pretty sure he is taking me off of my Metformin XR.  Thank God those are 4 huge horse pills that I will be happy to not have to take!  The next step may be in the spring to take me off of my blood pressure medication.  If that happens I will only be taking my daily vitamins!  WOW that is exciting! 

Work has been a little challenging lately and I am hoping that is mainly due to the holidays and that things will calm down after Christmas!  I worked third shift 2 night this week and that was sort of different for me since my body is so in charge of my eating now so my body is sort of confused about what and when it wants to have food.  Typically my band is still tightest in the mornings but I have noticed that my first solid meal of the day is still pretty tough to go down but I am learning to work with my band and take more time eating each bite.  I am proud to say that I do far more waiting and being patient than heading the the bathroom to fix the situation. 

I finished up my Christmas letter today so that will go out in the mail later today.  Tony was able to add a bunch of pictures to it and today he said, "wow let me show you a picture of you.....I really see a huge difference in this picture and today."  As scared as I was I looked at the picture.  Boy was he right.  The picture was not even one that I would have "hated" before today.  I do not hate the picture....I am just glad that I kicked lady out of my life! 

July 2010

Dec 2010

So today my total is 57 pounds and boy am I excited about that.  I have been carefully to not set to hefty goals thus far and since the weight seems to be slowly coming off I am okay with that.  When it gets tougher I may have to get tougher on myself!  

So life is great here at the Sprandel house.  I have so much to do to get ready for Christmas but it is such a great time of the year.  I think for anyone who has lost someone they love the holidays are hard but the holidays are especially hard for me since it seems like the last holidays my mom had here on earth were very tough for her and our family.  Instead of dwelling on the hard days my mom had during the holidays I think of all the great holidays we had with her here!  The girls and I always enjoy baking all of her cookie recipes and laughing about all the fun we had with her.  I am so looking forward to the weeks ahead and then 2011 and all the great things it is hopefully going to bless us with!  Take care and I will hopefully be back in touch soon!  Jane 

Time to vent????

So I have really been thinking about the topic of today's entry and whether or not I should type it but, I  have decided that when I set out to talk about my journey that not only was I going to report the good but also the bad and the ugly.  Here goes.

  I guess I can say what I want because, well it is my blog.  LOL  A couple of things have sort of emotionally rocked me this week.  The first topic which I have shared first with Tony and then a couple of close friends is the following.  I guess sometimes when I am on the Lap Band Forum and some other blogs, I read about what some people are eating and I think what???  How are they eating that??  Don't get me wrong I eat....but not always what I want nor what I set out to eat at that meal.  My mornings usually consist of a can of soup at hand that I heat up at work and eat.  Creamy Tomato and Cream of Broccoli are usually in my rotation.  Exciting huh?  Typically lunch when I get home.....soup.  I find that my band is tighter in the mornings which is very common especially more so as you get fills.  My evenings are usually where  I will try to eat like a normal mom.  Meat is still really not my friend.  French fries in the oven, nuggets, fish sticks..... not really friendly to me either.  The secret is to always eat slow, small bites, chew it alot...and be patient and to not get frustrated.  I am learning to listen to my band more and let things try to work their way down but I still know how to make things go much faster but the opposite direction from my stomach.  Sooooo  I explained to Tony that sometimes it frustrates me that I can not eat like some of these other Lap band people but as he explained....are they working the program as well as I am?  Well he got me there.  I have lost 54 pounds since Sept 28th.  That is CRAZY!!!  Am I starving myself?? Do I feel hungry??  Am I wishing I never did this??  NO NO NO.  I just needed to vent it out of my body.  Remember I am trying to rid my body of Toxic things!  :)  So as much as I hate that I can not always enjoy food as much as I did I know that me relearning how to truly enjoy food is so much more important and healthier.  I am getting more comfortable trying new foods and especially trying new foods while out to eat.  I am looking forward to the holidays and praying that some of my favorites also become friends with my band, in moderation!  Lets pray for friendship!!!

My second thing that sort of has crossed my mind the last couple of days is......am I making this Lap Band thing look to easy??  You know me I am a paranoid person!  This is sooooo much work, discipline, dedication and support from my family.  Someone commented on a link I posted the other day about the FDA looking into more people being able to get approved for Lap Band to help those with diabetes and heart disease issues.  Don't get me wrong I am so for that but.....are we going to have a bunch of people rushing to get the Lap Band thinking that then they can throw their insulin away and not worry about heart complications??  Sometimes I wonder if I am making it  look to easy.  This is such a life style change.  I also know that most of the people who read this know that this is not easy but like I said it is my blog and I can say what I want.  This has not been easy for not only myself but also my family.  We try to eat like everything is like it was but I eat super slow now, sometimes I stop eating entirely and wait  to be asked, "something not agreeing with you, or as my kids prefer to say....Are you going to puke?"  Sure I would sign up too if I seen someone drop 54 pounds in like 10 weeks.  I just hope that in some ways if the FDA does get it where insurance companies allow more people to qualify for this procedure people really know what the future holds for them. I did the usual pre-op stuff but also I did alot of research about the new lifestyle you MUST live.   My experience is that very little in my life is similar to how life use to be for me.  I do wish I would have done this a long time ago but not sure if I would have been as successful if I had done it sooner.  Beginning of this year I was READY for a permanent change.  I always try to get my sister to quit smoking and take better care of herself but as much as I want to protect her  as a big sister is suppose to I know until she WANTS to make a change my encouraging nudges will not help her. 

Thanks for letting me vent!  I LOVE my new life as I like to call it.  I feel like I have more energy, I feel better, I am told I look better and  have been told I am more radiant.  Change is good but this is a change that you have to be willing to work every day, every moment of your life.  Everything that I put in my mouth is now a well thought out  decision.  I am so glad that this chapter of my life is going so well and I owe my husband alot of credit for standing by me, supporting me and overall being my best friend and therapist.  I have found as I shed pounds I have also let down some of my tough wall and I tell him alot more how I feel and each time he is there to say something encouraging.  I have not been good with compliments and so when he reminds me how great I am doing and how he knows that I am working this program to a T I find it hard to respond.  This has been hard work but I am so enjoying the rewards.  I better start saving for my new wardrobe so far Goodwill is my between sizes friend! 

Have a wonderful day and may the Lord bless you today! 

50 Pounds gone and survived my first fill

Wow!!!  What a week!  All week I was sort of bummed since my scale got stuck again.  Thankfully I did not panic and I knew that a milestone that I had been waiting for was within reach.  On Thursday I was scheduled to have my first fill done.  So at this point you may be asking what a fill is.  I have attached some information about fills so you will understand the next piece of this success story.

An adjustment is an in-office procedure where your surgeon alters the amount of fluid in your band, making it tighter or looser.
The LAP-BAND^® System journey is different for each person and the exact amount of fluid required to make the new stomach opening the right size varies from person to person. An ideal "fill" level should be just tight enough to let you gradually lose weight. That means you should still be able to eat enough to get the nutrients that you need, while still reducing the overall amount you can actually eat.

Before adjustments
At first, your surgeon usually leaves your LAP-BAND^® System empty or only partially inflated. This gives your body time to get accustomed to your LAP-BAND^® System during the first few weeks. It also allows healing to take place.

Your first adjustment

This will usually take place about four to six weeks after surgery. The exact time will vary from patient to patient. The adjustment is a simple process:

1. Your surgeon will locate the access port underneath the skin of your abdomen — either by feeling for it on the surface of your skin, or using an X-ray.
2. A fine needle is inserted into the access port. You may feel a pricking sensation similar to when you give blood.
3. Sterile saline fluid is added to the band in your LAP-BAND^® System.

Future adjustments

As you gradually lose weight, it’s not unusual for you to need more than one adjustment. During the first year, most patients get between five and eight adjustments (adding or removing fluid). The most common reasons for adjustments are discomfort or vomiting after eating, eating too much without feeling full, or not losing weight. Once you reach your goal weight, your adjustments may become less frequent.

Okay, so are you still reading my blog?  :)  So I hope that was able to fill you in on what a fill involves.  I had to have the x-ray technique used since both the Physician assistant and the Doctor both had problems finding my port. Overall it went well and my next appointment is January 6th for another fill.  They were very excited about the amount of weight I have lost and how well I am doing following the program and making this a success for myself.  My band will hold 10cc's and I already had 3 initially and they added 1 so now I have a total of 4 out of 10cc's in my band. 

Friday night was the Thomasboro grade school Christmas party at Alexander steak house.  I knew that I would have to eat soup since I had just had a fill and I needed to let me stomach heal a couple of days.  Well what a surprise it was to me to find out they do not serve soup.  What???  I panicked briefly but texted Tony to see what he thought I should eat.  I really wanted to stay at the party but did not think I could sit and drink water with lemon and not eat anything.  Tony texted back that I could try to eat salad or a baked potato.  Well when you order salad you get a baked potato too so I decided I could always just take it home.  Well the salad did not work out well so I was sort of thankful that I had the option to eat some potato.  It was nice to go out to dinner with other board members, teachers, staff, and spouses  of all of them.

Saturday was a pretty big day for me.  The scale finally moved!!!  I officially had hit the 50 pound lost point.  I was pretty excited about this accomplishment.  Some days I honestly do not see the change.  I guess I am starting to definitely see it in many of my clothes and I for sure can feel it in my my joints.  It is hard for me sometimes knowing how to react to all the positive feedback I am getting.  It is a new thing for me to receive compliments for my looks especially.  I feel so much more positive about the future and I know that the future is bright! 

Hopefully this week will be another great week for milestones and a new way of life.  I hope you are enjoying the preparation of the Christmas season.  As always it is hectic but it is such a wonderful time of year!  Love those around you but most of all love yourself and do something special for yourself.  I say this from personal experience, I decided that to be a better mom and wife I had to make myself a priority.  So far I think I am becoming an even better mom and wife 1 pound at a time.  Weight and your own self esteem can really cause havoc on your personal relationships.  Take care!!!

Had a very busy but good week overall!

Sorry that I have not had a post lately but I am sure you too have been busy with the holiday and everything.  It was really hectic at work last week but I was fortunate to be off for Thanksgiving and rest of the week! I fixed a nice Thanksgiving dinner for my family and my dad came over and joined us.  It was the first holiday with my band and it went okay.  I am convinced that meat typically does not agree with my band.  Overall I did pretty good eating my meal but it could have been better.  Friday I had a very very long day since my sister and I went to shop at 1:15 am and then later that night I had to go to a wedding rehearsal so it  was a long day.  My uncle had fixed the pork loin on the grill and it was sooooo good but my band did not agree.  It made me want to cry since I want to be able to enjoy meat, why does my band not feel the same way? Saturday we went to my cousins wedding and it is nice to get the many nice compliments from family who have not seen me lately.  So I guess now is a good time to give you some stats!  I am always so pleased to get to report my progress!  Total weight lost......49 pounds.  This brings me to 275 which is a great milestone number.  I also like to say that I lost a whole Raegyn.  My youngest only weighs 48 pounds.  My BMI is down to 41 which means I have lost 7 BMI points.  Wow that is pretty exciting to report my wonderful progress. 

Thursday I go for my first fill and I am excited to see what they have to say about my progress thus far.  I am hoping I will meet with the dietitian too and maybe she can give me some more tips on how to deal with meat.  Many people become vegetarians due to their intolerance of meat but I do not want to do that.  Well this is a learning experience so it will be interesting to see how things change as I go trough this journey. 

Well I am hoping you have a great post holiday week.  Before we know it, it will be Christmas.  Well take care.  Jane

Couple of Milestones

So this week has been a good week I guess you could say in regards to weight loss.  So the week total plus today is.....7 pound for the week, 28 pounds in the last month which was the day of my surgery, for a grand total of 45 pounds!!  So one of the milestones was that I have hit the 45 pound mark and the second one is that I can kiss the 280's goodbye since this morning I was 279.  Wow!!!  I have been pretty excited the last couple of days.  I think I am starting to see the benefits.  My clothes are fitting much better, I actually tried on a shirt yesterday at Good Will and it was too big!  I am able to bend over and tie my shoes, sad but true!  I have been getting a lot of compliments lately too so that is great and I guess I am not use to that so that is something new! The only negative thing really is that some  meat is still giving me some problems and I knew to expect that.  I will work through that but it is frustrating since I love meat.  Tony and I are going out tonight just the two of us and I am not really sure what we are going to do or where we may eat.  I guess it is frustrating because so many things sound good but I am not sure if I will be able to eat them and well the portions are now way to big but that is what to go boxes are for :)   I had told Tony that I sort of wanted to be 275 by Christmas I guess I may make that goal by Thanksgiving.  I am so thankful for so much in regards to all the people who have helped me during this process!  It is exciting to see that I am conquering this beast of obesity!  Have a great day and it is time to find something to wear on my hot date!

Antibiotics and the Lap-Band

So many of you may know by now that unless you want to get sick don't come close to any of the Sprandel's.  The Girls and I have all be swabbed and found to be positive for Strep throat in the last few days.  Tony's initial test came back negative but the lady admitted it was hard to get a good swab on him so she was going to send it to the lab to see if it would grow, but in the mean time he got to have antibiotics also.  So as of Sunday night 4/5 of the Sprandel's were taking Antibiotics.  Today Seth came home with a fever, headache, and sore throat so I called the pediatrician and thankfully she just prescribe him stuff so we did not have to go to town for a culture.  So it stinks to be sick especially when we are ALL  sick!  Boo! 

So I never thought about antibiotics and how my lap band could pose a problem.  The PA suggested that I take my pills 3 times a day rather than 2 times a day  since the pills are smaller.  Sounded good to me until I got to the pharmacy and realized those pills were huge too!  So luckily the pharmacist was able to give me the liquid medicine but I do have to take 2tsp of it and I would never tell the girls but it really does not taste that good!  :(    Someone else suggested that maybe I should ask for a shot next time.  I will have to remember to ask my banding doctor or primary at my next visit. 

I had a week there a while back where my scale was stuck and I am so glad to say that it is going well again.  I sort of had a tough few days last week with eating some meat but I think it just was not small enough since I tried a little more over the weekend and did pretty well with it.  So this morning I did my daily weigh in and was pleased to see that my total is now 283.  I had set an unofficial goal to be 275 before Christmas but at this rate I will hit that at Thanksgiving.  So I have lost a total of 41 pounds. 

To be honest I don't really see that I have lost 41 pounds.  I do feel that my clothes fit better.  I have some athletic pants that I have always worn around the house that I  feel fit a lot better now.  I think my clothes are looking better on me.  I have not bought anything new but the other day, I had a shirt in my closet and I tried it on and I thought it looked decent so I wore it.  McKenna seen it later and said, "wow mom your shirt is so cute, is that new??"  Well it sort of is.....I bought it a while ago thinking it is so cute...oh a few pounds and it will be no problem to wear that, well that finally happened and I was glad that I bought that cute shirt, because my day finally came, to bad it took at least a year or more! 

Hopefully this week I continue to stay on track and continue my weight loss journey with more loss or to stay the same...that is a victory also!  Most importantly I want myself and family to all start feeling better.  I have a busy weekend planned!!  I am going to go to the OWB  consignment toy sell, Gifford State Bank Craft Show, and then The Champaign Festival of Trees.  It is the time of year that I love. Looking forward to spending some time with a few of my girl friends and my kids at the Tree Festival! 

Have a wonderfully Blessed week and I will keep all of you in my thoughts and prayers as I Thank the Lord for all your prayers and encouraging words! 

Weigh in Thursday and Strep throat

What a week in deed.  We have had a pretty busy week here at the Sprandel house, but that is nothing new for us.  I guess I will start by updating you with some vital statistics.  This week the scale had been been stuck for almost a whole week.  I was thankful that it did not ever change in the way of gaining weight so I kept reminding myself that no change is better than a weight gain.  So for the week I lost a total of 3 pounds.  Including these three pounds my total since deciding that I needed to make a change I have lost a total of 36 pounds and 6 BMI points.  I have expanded my foods that I have been trying this week.  I was able to eat some Monical's Pizza this week and we even made a stop at a McDonald's.  It is so amazing how little I am able to eat compared to what I use to be able to eat at a sitting.  I was very disappointed the other day that we made homemade stir fry and egg rolls and neither really agreed with me.  It also seems that I do not enjoy the taste food as much as I use to.  Not sure what that is all about, I may need to ask around a little, maybe because I have to be so careful when eating and chewing everything so well?  So overall weight loss continues to happen and I am feeling great.  I have been learning that my abdominal wall is still pretty sore since I have been doing to much lifting at work but not sure how to get around that???  So lap band wise things are going great!

Strep throat has moved into the Sprandel house.  Poor Raegyn had what I thought was a cold for couple of days but then when she started to complain about her throat, run a fever and then finally cry because her throat hurt I knew what that meant.  So today it was confirmed that she has strep throat and Kenna is not feeling well either so I reminded Kenna that if she is sick tomorrow it is the right thing to do, to not expose her friends and teachers that she may need to stay home and go to the doctor, I guess in the morning we will see how she feels. 

Also this week I went to a bridal shower, visited the in laws, went to a ball game, it has been crazy as always. 

I am so excited that the holidays are right around the corner.  I love going to craft shows, holiday events, shopping, and other holiday festivities.  I have  few mornings of fun set up with my friends so I am excited about that. 

Well hope you are doing well and I will keep you posted on the journey.  My first fill is set for December 2nd so that will be good since it will be between the to major upcoming holidays.  Take care! 

Stuck???

So many of you probably read my post the other day about being thankful and I hope it got you thinking about your own life.  Well as I sit here I am feeling a little sorry for myself.  I know that it  is crazy but here is the deal.  My scale is stuck!  Now I have been educated and told by my medical people that I have done WONDERFULLY and that.....I will probably level out a little and boy were they right.  So last Thursday when I went for my check up I was 295  then by Monday morning I was 289 and I have stayed there all week.  So why am I complaining about 6 pounds total for the week?  Good question.  I guess what it boils down to is the scale has become a bit of an adrenalin rush but in a great way now.  I get so excited weighing in every morning hoping to see another half pound or more gone. 
I could sit here and question everything I have put in my mouth but I won't because overall I have been very good following my outlined diet.  I have tried a few new foods and chewed them well and some have not really agreed with me but that is how you learn slowly I guess.  I am still amazed how little I eat now and but yet  I am satisfied. 
I feel like I am becoming one with my body more than I ever have.  I have always believed that a woman's cycle has alot to do with their weight and that could be why I had a 6 pound weight loss for the week.  I asked a good friend how often he has weighed the last year during his weight loss and he too weighs daily and typically reports weekly on his blog so that is my plan too.  I am interested to see if me starting the Depo Provera shot again will have any bearing on weight and it better not be in a bad way!  Also my primary has changed one of my meds so hopefully that will continue to help control the insulin in my body.  I am not currently diabetic but due to family genetics and the fact that I have PCOS my body does not process insulin like it should, typically metformin can help with weight loss. 
So yes I am thankful for this weeks 6 pounds and I promise that when I get a little down I will remember the big number.....35 total since I started this whole process! 
I am very excited that Tony and I are going on Saturday night but I do not have any clue what we are going to do.  A date night use to revolve around going somewhere good to eat.  We will eat just have not  decided where yet.  I really wanted to catch a movie but when I go to the movies I want popcorn.  It is still a little early for popcorn so I am thinking I need to find another idea for date night.  Whatever we decide to do I will totally enjoy doing it with my wonderful supportive husband!

More Changes Brewing or Just High on Emotions???

So I am now just a little over 2 weeks post op and overall I feel great.  It seems that my clothes are not as snug anymore, people are noticing that I am losing weight, and I feel like I am accomplishing something major in my life but with all this positive there is a little nag of something else going on.  I feel like I have bite a big piece of change off and I seem to be doing really well tackling it, but with that said I feel like I either  want to make more changes or maybe I am just a little hormonally imbalanced??   In my soul I feel like the next change involves my family especially my children.  The holidays are right around the corner.  As Thanksgiving approaches I feel like I have so much to be thankful for.  Just with this weight loss I am so thankful for Tony, my family, friends, and everyone else who has encouraged me and helped me during this time.  I am thankful that I was healthy enough to do the surgery and that I am young enough that I will be able to totally reap the rewards of this change.  I am thankful that I had the courage and will power to do this.  I am so appreciative and thankful.  So here is where I am questioning things.... so do I want to keep on making major changes in our household or am I just a little hormonal??  

As many parents raising kids will agree to.....I wonder if my kids appreciate things or have kids today come to expect things??  As I make daily sacrifices diet wise I think how as kids my kids do not have to make many sacrifices in their lives.  They seem to have all they need in life plus more.  Like most parents  we have tried  to give our kids the most that we can but,  have we given our kids to much that  they have come to expect it rather than appreciate it??  So I am questioning if it is time to make not only cuts diet wise for me in this house but maybe we need to evaluate too what we have and take for granted maybe not truly appreciate.  As Thanksgiving is approaching can you think of what you are thankful for??  Then think about Christmas are you thinking of all the things  you have to do,places to  go, things to buy, wrap, and fuss over?  Maybe we all need to make a CHANGE.....I want to make Thanksgiving a celebration of what I have to be thankful for and this Christmas I want to give!  I want to give less financially but more lovingly, serving wise , volunteering and being a good example to others.

Change is a good thing.  I will admit it can be scary but I am glad that I decided to make a change. 
I think making some changes/sacrifices in our home maybe what our family needs.  Maybe if we depended on less; Cable, junk food, spending money dumbly, and just overall lack of thought maybe we as a family would grow closer, becoming more caring, giving, and appreciative.

Overall I still don't know if I am just hormonal, very spiritual tonight, or just ready for a change but I encourage you to think about the upcoming holidays in a different way.  What are you Thankful for?  What can you give of yourself for other this Christmas season??  Remember Jesus is the reason for the season! 

First Post-Op appointment was today!

So today I had what I can say is one of my best doctor appointments.  I went to have my first appointment after my lap band procedure.  The Physician assistant came in and pretty much started out by saying the usual pleasantries then said let me read my notes.  She pointed out that she had seen me on Sept 28th and today was October 28th.  So in one month I had lost..........27 pounds!  She was extremely happy.  I too was very happy.  The dietitian was called away to a family emergency so she will call me tomorrow and hopefully get me started on a soft diet.  So at that stage.....if I can smash it with a fork or blend it in a blender I can have it.  So I am looking forward to getting some real food in my body.  Wow 27 pounds in 1 month what a great start on this journey!!

So tonight I was sitting here and my stomach was really talking to me and I am trying to figure out why I am so hungry.....after thinking about it I realized in regards to calorie count I was about about 300 for the day.  Today I had a protein shakes and then two different soup at hands.  No wonder I feel hungry.  I think when Tony gets home and has something to eat I may have some jello or something. 

Twenty-seven pounds seems like a lot but I guess I do not really see 27 pounds gone.  I do feel somewhat less tired and I do admit that my jeans are not snug and some of my shirts look better but I guess I have not had one of those moments where I really look in the mirror and say wow, but I am sure it will be soon!

This weekend is Halloween so I am sure the kids ad I will be busy with lots of activities.  So my first fill of my lap band is set for December 2nd so that will be nice that it will be after Thanksgiving.  Well I hope you had a great day and Friday and the weekend are right around the corner so enjoy the time with those you love! 

Our trip to Ohio and unexpected challenges

Greetings from Tiffin Ohio.  So as you may know, we are in the state of Ohio this week to attend the funeral of Tony's grandma Virginia.  So my crazy buckeye husband was born and raised in the great state of Ohio and still has many family living here so this was sort of a home coming for him.  I have known all along that we would be traveling to Ohio for her services but I guess I never expected it to be this soon after having major surgery especially a surgery that is very diet restrictive and maybe be even more  emotionally  filled.  So as I type my note I still have about a half a day in the state of Ohio and with our extended family.  So if by morning anyone has read this they may understand my mood a little better.

 Warning this may be ugly!!!!

 This week has sort of sucked emotion wise for me.  So I am still stuck on soup, protein shakes, jello and pudding.  So you can imagine how not simple or friendly that is to travel.  So on our trip this way we stopped in the town of Wabash Indiana where we had a really fun picnic lunch at a park including playground time.  So my lunch was some yogurt.  Not to bad.  I have learned to love what I am eating while others around me are loving what they are eating.  I did try a little chip that I ate as if I were a rabbit nibbling it but in the end I got the chip taste/sensation.  Also nibbled on a little turkey.  I am finding that sometimes getting the taste is enough to settle my urge of wanting something.  When we arrived we were joined with lots of family and a total of 17 of us went to a Pizza buffet.  Well that was totally fine with me until......I found out they did not have soup even on the menu or on the buffet.  So this is where my big skill of self talk came into play.  Well that failed miserably.  As most of you know I can cry at a Hallmark commercial.  So I felt that I was about to loose control so I asked Tony for the keys and told him I needed to go to the van or a walk or something.  Well even though I told him to stay with his family he still came outside with me and so did one of my sister in laws.  I reassured them I was fine and just needed to focus.  One of my fellow lap band friends said she grieved food.  Hmmmm is that what I would call it?  Well not exactly.  Even though what they were having  looked and smelled great it was not so much that I was not eating that, nor was it that I was not eating, it was just I felt left out of the social exchange that food includes.  Hard to explain but I just felt sort of excluded in the joy of the moment.  So first major social occasion where I really could not talk myself through it.  Not a failure just a learning experience.

Tuesday included a wonderful protein shake while Tony and the kids had a decent continental breakfast with bacon and Cinnamon rolls.  I think Seth ate enough  for both of us.  After the funeral we had a nice potluck dinner prepared for us and I ended up having one of my cream of chicken soup at hands. I did try a bite of pumpkin pie filling and some jello minus the fruit in it.  So lunch eating wise went pretty good but sort of felt that none of the adults wanted to sit close to me.  Hmmm do I stink?  So then tonight at dinner they all had left overs and I had...you guessed it soup at hand  Creamy tomato.  Well I did not eat it all and I think part of might have been I just felt a little uneasy.  So I just finally was in emotional overload again and I needed to run to the store for a couple of items and when I ran to the room Tony came up with me and I sort of told him I just was emotional spent.  So something I have learned is that I need to voice my feelings better and this journey has made it extremely important especially when talking to Tony to tell him how I feel.  So world how do I feel??????  I am sooooo glad that decided to make these changes in my life but.....it is hard.  So far socially, it has been the hardest.  In our country social things revolve around food,  family revolves around food and I am finding because I am not eating what everyone else is eating I feel even more excluded.  I know this is not done on purpose but maybe by guilt of what they are eating.  News flash!  I would rather someone eat what they want with me,  rather than me eating what I am eating at the time by myself. 

Tony also had another idea tonight.....maybe since I am loosing weight so successfully maybe my hormones are all like...What the hell is going on??  So weather it is hormones or learning to ride out the bumps in this journey I know that thus too shall pass. 

I go to the doctor on Thursday for my post op check and I am really excited.  I am thinking that I will see great success thus far on the scale, thinking I may get to go to foods that I can mash, hopefully get to return to work next week and hopefully be released to maybe even start walking the treadmill or something.  So for every moment I think this journey is tough I know that things are so much better because of it.

I have always been a very open person and when I first decided to blog about this journey but  guess I never expected to put myself out there so emotionally.  I do this because I want to educate and support others.  We all have challenges and I never want anyone to just see the great things about the lap-band or think it is easy. It is work and I am thankful for those around me who are able to support me during the hard moments.  So until probably Thursday please do something for yourself and do something nice to someone near you, it just might make their day and yours!  God Bless! 

Wow what a week!!!

Wow! Is about how I can sum up this week.  So Tuesday was the day of my surgery and before I left I weighed in at 307.5.  The surgery went great and most of Tuesday was spent resting lots of sleeping to be honest.  Wednesday morning I woke feeling pretty refreshed and ready to face the day ahead.  Early morning Tony went to see his grandma who was dying of cancer.   Tony called about 9ish to let me know that his dear grandma Virginia had passed away.  Rest of the day I pretty much rested and sort of thought about the week ahead.  By Thursday morning I was down to 303 I think and so I was pretty excited.  Friday morning I was down to 300.5 and so excited that on Saturday I was going to have a Biggest Loser moment when that scale went below 300 for the first time since before I was pregnant with Raegyn.  We had a girl scout cookout that I was not able to eat at but I knew that once I got home I could have some soup and prepare for my small victory in the morning.  So Saturday morning came and as I prepared to step onto the scale I prayed that I would see a 2 as my first number and I looked down to see.............297.2????  You got to be kidding me.  I pretty much ran in to tell Tony who was still sleeping.  I was so excited!!!  So I will admit rest of Saturday was sort of tough but in the end I made it through!  We traveled to Pontiac to Tony's Grandma's funeral services.  Now let me remind you I am on a liquid diet at this time.  I can have protein shakes, soup that is pretty much strained, jello, that kind of stuff.  So I started my day off with a protein shake so when we got to the funeral home and all the kids found the wonderful tray for fruit and pastries and another family members in laws brought I was able to say wow that looks nice but I am feeling content.  We had a wonderful funeral service for Grandma and the ladies of the church made a nice luncheon.  I am thankful that even during my pre diet I would drink my shake sitting with my family while they would eat yummy stuff, was able to practice disciplined social interaction that does not have to  revolve around food.    I almost think it bothered some of those around me, since they felt bad,  that I was having water rather than the meal offered to us.  Sure some things looked really good and smelled great but I think that me being able to look at the goal and know that I can do this I was able to still sit and have a nice time with those around me.  Afterwards we headed back to the house and after a few pictures and I was changed it was time for some yummy potato soups that I tried to get without chunks.  So I had a small bowl of soup and felt great since the soup was awesome.  The lady who use to help care for grandma is a wonderful cook and she brought this big container of potato soup and that is my staple food while in Pontiac and that is fine with me since it is so yummy.   So after some family visiting and such it was time for more food.  What is that smell??  BBQ pork???  Now that is not fair!!!  So it seems that smells is what is driving me nuts.  To bad I don't have a cold so that I would be unable to smell that bbq.  So I heated up some soup.  Took a baby bite of Seth's beef stroganoff and a baby bite of bbq from Tony.  At this point my band is not very tight so I probably could have cheated a little but like Tony said I have come so far why mess it up now.  So I am being good letting my stomach heal from all the trauma from the surgery. Overall we had a great day with family except for the reason as to why we were there but Grandma would all want us to be happy, loving, and continue her legacy of being a wonderful person to others.  Once we got home I was worn out.  I had a Popsicle and pretty much went to bed a little before 10.  My incisions are a bit sore and the muscle wall that my port is in is sore which is to be expected so by the time I went to bed I was sure ready.  So this morning my first stop after the bathroom is the scale  and the big news was..........295.5  I am so amazed in the success that I am seeing. 
Last night while driving I admitted to Tony that I am sort of kicking myself a little.  This whole lap band is a journey/process, but last night I told Tony that I am glad that I decided to do this and sort of wish I would have done it before now.  On one had I am so proud of myself for being so disciplined and such because I am really seeing the results.  On the other hand I ask myself why is it that it took me this long and why could I not just make small changes why did I have to pretty much take an all or nothing approach.  I told a friend that the 2 weeks prior to surgery were going to be tough and probably 2 weeks after surgery and so far I rocking so it seems that my future keeps getting brighter and brighter for me.  Today will be filled with finishing laundry, some house work, and packing.  The kids are wanting to go to a Halloween party tonight so we have a busy day and I better get going before Tony has to head to work and I loose my best helper.  Like I said I am sore and I have a 20 pound lifting restriction so I am able to adapt to doing some chores but still pretty limited on what I can do.  Thanks for every one's support and condolences since Tony's grandma passed away.  We will be traveling to Tiffin Ohio tomorrow so we can do services and burial there.  Travel after a lap band surgery could be interesting but I am going to travel with soup at hands, jello, an protein shakes.  Thanks again for your support and I will hopefully be able to post more blogs in the next few days!  Have a wonderful Sunday!

Officially banded!

So the big day arrived yesterday and overall it went great!  I was scheduled to arrive at 8:30 and it seemed like no one was there when we pulled in.  Surgery mornings there at Olympian Surgical Suites are almost tranquil.  It was so nice how quiet it was and how much attention I was given!  Of course I had to take a pregnancy test and for the first time ever I was glad I passed.  lol   I got to change into my wonderful hospital gown, a few standard tests and starting of the dreaded IV.  The lady did great starting my IV so that was a huge relief.  They give all patients for this procedure heparin a blood thinner shot into the belly to prevent blood clots so you know I was all for that since my mom and all her clotting issues.  So finally they let Tony come back and sit with me for a little while.  Dr Rohrschiebe came back and chatted and made a good joke that lucky I was second since he just finished doing the first case and it went great so he knew this would go even better since he had already had his practice run.  They are so nice there, which helped me relax.  Pretty soon around 9:30 the anesthesia guy came in to give me a little something to relax and boy did that work!  He told me after this you may not ever remember going back to the room and boy was he right!  So the next think I remember is taking big breaths and starting to wake up.  This is typically the worst part for me since I tend to get sick and well I did just a little.  The wonderful nurse gave me a little something for the nausea and well that knocked me out.  I don't know if I have ever slept that much after a surgery.  Poor Tony I was not keeping track of the time and once the doctor came out around 10:30 to tell him that my surgery went great my organs look great he did not see anyone till around 12:15.  Needless to say he was a bit worried but knew I was in good hands.  So it seems once Tony was allowed back there things really got moving.  Was given some water and that went down with no problems.  Pretty soon it was announced we were going to walk to the bathroom and that went well and since your up how about you get dressed.  By 1:15 we were headed home.  That made me very happy.  I was so groggy but I was able to go home!  We stopped so Tony could pick up my liquid vicodin.  Wow I am getting alot of vicodin lately!  When we got home my wonderful nurse Tony got my situated in bed and I got to rest off and on till about 4:15.  Each kid and dog checked on me a few times.  The kids have been so helpful since having both of my surgeries.  I guess I am a good nurse to them so they are trying to mirror my behavior.  I got to have a  couple of sugar free Popsicles last night and water.  I was very sleepy last night so if I talked to you on the phone sorry if it was short and sweet.  Went to bed and slept pretty good.  I seem to wake up every two hours to go to the bathroom so that was good.  I am sore today and a bit gassy.  They fill your stomach with a gas so they can work and well you have to get rid of that so thankful lots of hiccups today so far.  The kids are at school and Tony went to see his family.  So today is a good day for me to rest and not feel guilty for ignoring anyone.  I am sure shortly I will be doing some traveling so I better get rested up as much as I can.  I appreciate the many prayers and well wishes I have gotten so far.  Some people do not get this kind of support from their family and friends.  I am lucky.  Well today I can have sugar free jello, Popsicles, water, sugar free drinks and broth so clear liquids. I am not allowed to have any carbonation for 2 weeks but I have pretty much given that up as of a few weeks ago.  Well I guess I will wrap it up for now and I will be filling you in more each day! 

What a week!!!

Wow, in a matter of a couple days it will be time for my surgery.  Tuesday morning I have to be there at 8:30 for my 9:30 surgery.  By mid-afternoon I hope to be home relaxing.  Relaxing......that is an interesting word.  A word that has not described my week.  A bit stressful is more like it!  It is not like I had one major event that caused me to have a bad week it was just overall a trying week.  I went back to work this week 8 hour shifts since before my ankle injury.  We were expecting corporate company so anyone why does/has worked at Meijer knows that those can be the worse days ever.  I would rather it be Black Friday or Back to College time.  So work was not a happy place for me this week.  Tony's Grandma is in her finally days and imaginably so Tony is not taking that well!  It is hard to see your husband down when you know she has fought a great fight.  No football this week but we did have a few things on the calendar as always to keep up busy.  Tony and I are both sort of in a occupational rut and asking ourselves what do we want out of life, what is important to us?  Wow it stinks to be an adult sometimes!  So you might be saying yeah yeah yeah, how does this effect your surgery?  Well it sucks to be on an 800 Calorie liquid based diet when you have all this stress around you.  I had what I call a so so week with the scale.  I really thought that this week I would see more big numbers but I think my body is just holding on to some fluid I guess for comfort??  LOL  Overall I have followed the diet very well.  Instead of a yogurt a couple of morning I had some mixed fruit, I am sure it was over my 100 calories allotted for my snack but it is fruit for peat sakes.  We did take Tony Subway the other night so I exchanged my weight watchers meal for a 6" sub with veggies and low fat goodies. The only night I feel that I was naughty was Saturday when we had a cookout for a few of the boys from football and I think I was still pretty darn good.  So all in all I guess I feel like I did pretty good so why do I feel like I have been so bad??????  I guess it is just me and my self doubt that I have sometimes.  I have had several people ask me if I am nervous about Tuesday and I really am not.  I told Tony I am more nervous dying of a heart attack or having a stroke down the road.  That is why I need this tool now to make a change in my life.  My friend Dan finished the Chicago Marathon last week and was encouraged by his mentor to "pay it forward".  Well I feel that Dan had already started that by encouraging people like me that if I can do it so can you Jane.  Dan did offer to run my first 5K with me last night I told him maybe someday buddy!  LOL  Whether it is a 5K or what we all need cheerleaders and well I am thankful for those around me who are helping to encourage me along my journey.  Being the biggest girl in school or the big mom sitting over there is not fun and I want others to see the real Jane not the Fat Jane.  I have always had a good self esteem about myself but I almost wonder if things would have been different for me in school and maybe life if I would have not been the big girl.  Well I need to swing this back on a positive track! I am excited  about this week and what a transformation I hope to see over the next year especially.  So I guess when the days are hard remind me why I am doing this.  1st of all I am doing this for Jane, then my husband and kids.  I have never been the person to do something for myself so this is something new.  I may need to be reminded once in a while that I am important too!  Have a great Sunday and hopefully I will have some good updates t share during the week! 

What does the Lap-Band Procedure intail?

The Lap-Band procedure is a laproscopic procedure where I will be put under general anesthesia for a surgery that lasts about an hour.  I will have a small incision which is where the port is placed(this is the round disk area that is embedded in the muscle wall and this is where they will inject saline in to fill the band to tighten the band along my journey), I will also have 4-5 more small cuts where they use instruments for the actual surgery.  I will be only in the surgery center for the day.  Hopefully mid afternoon I will be back home resting.  The band area wraps around the top of the stoma or stomach area (this works sort of like a funnel) I will have to eat much slower and I will get fuller faster.  After the surgery I will start out with a liquid diet, then mushy stuff, and by around 6 weeks I will be able to eat most foods that are cut small, chewed well and are not real tough.  As far as food much of it is a learned behavior and if I try to eat something that my band does not appreciate, well it will tell me.  The band is a gate keeper of sorts.  Much of this surgery is a mindset.  If you think about it, you have to make a choice do I eat a small amount of something healthy or do I eat a small amount of dessert? Well we all know the right answer to this. 

Tony and I went to a wedding last night and had a good time.  I had an enjoyable time but I have to admit I had to think out my dinner a little.  I ate like everyone else except for what was on my plate and how much.  Okay did I have cake??????  I admit it I did.  I sort of feel band in my mindset a little....I keep thinking about the Weight Watchers mindset where you can bank your points.  Gave up my 300 calories of snacks yesterday for well cake...I think probably an even exchange.  Today my dad and sister are coming to Seth's last game and they were wanting to do dinner, at Ryans....well at first I was like well maybe somewhere else but then I said no I can make this work.  So again I am going to skip snacks  and just focus on salad, maybe a baked chicken breast and some veggies.  Like I said I want to keep life as normal as possible for those around me.  I am looking forward to working on my discipline, so far so good!  I know I should not gloat but I am pretty proud of myself.  On 9/28 I weighed in at 322 well this morning I am 305 so I think I am working the program pretty well.  Surgery is on Tue the 18th so by then how much more will I have dropped??  I had hoped to be under 300 day of surgery I think I am going to make that!  Well thanks for all the support and those of you who are following.  Below are some pictures of what the Lap-Band looks like and its placement.  Have a great day!

Laproscopic Adjustable Gastric Banding

This is what I am going to have of  inside me!

Position of LAGB

This is what it looks like in place

So far so good!

So it is finally Friday!!  Yippee!!!  So I started my pre-diet on Tuesday and I have to say it has went very well so far.  It seems like the scale is already liking the progress so you know it makes it that much more worth the effort.  I have stated that I want to always be open and honest about the process so here are my confessions.  Have I cheated????  Possibly. On Thursday we went to visit Tony's family and as we were getting ready, habit came in to play.  He said, "we will just grab something on the road."  Well then it dawned on him that life as we know it has changed a bit.  I did not panic but said  that I can have some lean meat so maybe if the girls want to go to McDonald's I can get a chicken sandwich and toss the bun and just not get fries.  Well Tony felt that was to much temptation and he was probably right  so we decided to go to Subway where I was able to get a 6" sub mainly with veggies from the healthy menu.  It may have been a little over my 300 calorie main meal allowance but in exchange I skipped two of my snacks for the day so I was probably still under my allotment for the day.  I did have a diet coke both yesterday and today but really that is okay since diet soda is allowed on my current diet.  Once I have my surgery I am suppose to stay away from caffeine for a week and carbonation for 6 weeks so I am trying to eliminate diet coke now. Today we took the kids to Allerton Park in Monticello and had an  awesome day.  We decided to have a picnic and I decided that lunch was going to be my big meal.  So I had some ham and some carrots.  I have to say I am sort of surprising myself a little since of course at the picnic there was bread and chips.  Then on the way home Tony thought that we would stop for a DQ treat.  Poor Tony feels bad that he keeps forgetting about me but I want to keep things as close to normal for rest of the family.  It has not bothered me to sit with the family while they eat what that want including ice cream.  I did do the grocery shopping today and really had nothing in the cart that I could eat except for some 1% milk, a couple lean cuisines and vitamins.  What I did not have in my cart was chips, cookies and other crap so I did tell Tony that if it gets to be to slim pickings around here he may have to start getting the kids some junk food but I think those days are going to be less frequent now.  This is a family change, but a change for the better. Saturday I am going to do one of my favorite past times, garage sales, and then in the afternoon we are going to a wedding.  At first I was freaked out about the reception but I think if I eat smart I will be fine and can enjoy the reception.  I appreciate everyone who has shared many kind words of encouragement. I especially appreciate my wonderful husband Tony who has been so supportive of this whole journey.   Make sure you make yourself a follower of my blog so you do not miss an update.  Have a great weekend and I will be back soon with another entry to my journey as the new Mrs. Sprandel. 

What's for lunch?

So today is 10/5/1O and as you are sitting there you may have just asked yourself what's for lunch.  Well I know what I am having for lunch for the next 14 days....pretty good planner aren't I??  Not really!!  Today was the day I was to start my 2 week pre-op diet.  I had a tasty..really it was, chocolate protein shake first thing this morning and then a some V-8 juice mid-morning.  I will be heading to the kitchen after this post to grab another 8 oz shake.  Tony asked me a little while ago if I was "hungry" yet.  To be honest a little but I really feel this is a mind over matter thing.  Rest of my day will include some more V8 followed by a weight watchers entree for dinner.  I can have some yogurt this evening so that will probably be my evening snack.  So in total I will come in around 800-1000 calories.  A far difference from my Fudrucker's burger and fries from last night.

 Can I do this????? HELL YEAH, I can do this!!!  I have had several people ask me if I am nervous.  To be honest I am not because for a long time I have been worried about being here for my kids in the future, being able to walk due to the stress on my joints, or just the fear of not fitting in something or not being able to physically do something with my kids .  We all know my parents did not give me all of their best  genes health wise so for medical reasons  is the number 1 reason I am doing this.  I am so glad to say that I may be a morbidly obese person but as of now I am very healthy but I do not want to wait for the day that the shoe drops and I am facing some of the same obstacles many in my family have had to worry about such as diabetes and heart disease.  I am so thankful for a few friends who have overcome the "I am a healthy obese person" mentality to help me to be inspired!  I thank my friends Jen W and Dan M who have shown me that one step at a time a healthy big person can achieve life long health and happiness!  I hope that sharing this blog I am able to also inspire someone to step out of their comfort zone.  Lap-Band is a tool in a new life that I have chosen to live.  Hopefully as we make this journey together I will be able to share how I got to the point of deciding that Lap-Band was going to be apart of  my journey.  Well thanks for joining me for my pre lunch thoughts, have a great day! 

Welcome to the journey!!

Welcome to the journey that I have chosen to pursue.  As you may know and some of you this may be a new announcement but on Tuesday Oct 19th 2010  I will be going in for Lap-Band surgery.  I have thought long and hard about this and I feel that now is the time to change my life forever.  I am thankful that I will have some followers on this journey!  I have always had challenges with my weight and the Lap Band procedure is a great tool to help me make changes in my life that will help me with my overall quality of life.  Here is a recap up till now:

A few times in the past I had thought about having Lap-Band Surgery but it was not until March of 2010 that the idea became a reality.  I met with  my new primary, Dr. Walker at Christie Clinic in Champaign and on my first appointment he asked me if this was something that interested me and I felt it was something that I wanted to look into more.  A few weeks later I met with Dr. Rohrscheibe who will be performing my Lap-Band Procedure.  So from March until June I joined Weight Watchers and lost 18 pounds, did my physical, my psch exam,dietitian visits  and my monthly doctor check ups all things to prepare for my insurance to decide if I qualified for the surgery.  Things were full steam ahead until June 10th when I injured my ankle by tearing the tendon in my left ankle which ended in me having surgery to repair it, while my ankle was injured I gained most of those 18 pounds back but my doctor was pleased that it was not more, so that was different from most doctors I have had in the past.  I was approved for my surgery by my insurance carrier but due to being on crutches I had to put it off.  On September 21st my podiatrist for my ankle released me back to work and the following day I scheduled my Lap Band surgery.  So today I am 16 days from my surgery and I am about to start my pre surgery diet.  I will be limited to 800-1000 calories a day.  This is primarily a liquid diet and it is used to shrink the liver before surgery.  I will keep everyone updated on this part of the process.  I will admit that I am a little concerned about this diet but I know that I can do it.  I will try to inform and educate everyone as I go along this process.  Thanks for joining in on my journey.