I’m keeping mine but my husband is giving his away!  And you could win it.  It is lightly used but almost perfect.  If you are a regular reader you know my husband is a perfectionist.  This Fuel Band is in perfect condition, it is a Black, M/L size.  It is a great way to track your steps, calories, fuel points, tell the time and connect to Nike+.  ENTER HERE.

There is something about that thing inside of you that keeps you going. What is it?

It’s like a super power isn’t it? Sometimes I am not sure how I keep going. Do you have a super power?

My smile has been coming back. I was at the office yesterday which had me out of the house. I found my long commute freeing and my music which always plays in my car made me happy. But I think the biggest positive was I was back into the gym!

So these are the things I did yesterday and today to make myself feel better……

I’ve been in a rutt. I’ve been sick. Not feeling well. Feeling sad. The sad piece really makes me concerned. Sad is not an adjective I’d use to describe myself. But saying I’ve been sad is honest. It’s a general sadness. I’ve recognized it and shared it with my husband. The sadness has been affecting everything I do. Today I’ve decided to confront the sadness.

It’s OK to Struggle.

It may not feel good but in a way it is part of the process.

It’s OK to Struggle.

It may even make you stronger in your efforts to persevere.

It’s Spring and the windows are opening and the fresh air is flowing in.  I pull out the spring/summer clothes and inevitably end up getting rid of lots of stuff.  Today was no different.  Not only was I going to turn over the clothing for the seasonal switch, but we entered the Whistlers room for….. yup, should I say it…. SPRING CLEANING.

Regain happens. It’s how you react to it that really makes a difference. There’s lots of talk about regain after weight loss surgery. I can tell you first hand if you don’t address regain right way it gets more difficult to get back off.

I had to share with you a funny birthday card I received and how my son interpreted it.  It made me smile.

This is my first weigh in towards my Losing the Regain efforts.  I decided to weigh in on Mondays during my focused attention plan towards my regain loss.  I’m doing a focused challenge for the next 11 weeks until my vacation on June 25th.  Choosing Mondays for my weigh in was a bit scary.  Weekends are my down fall and todays weigh in was right on the money. 

Video update from me today. Weighed in for the start of my Losing the Regain effort. As I mentioned earlier I want to video tape the hard times. I want to talk about what my brain is saying to myself. I want to look back and watch these videos.

Well there you have it ladies and gentlemen. It’s just a number. I’ve got my Focused Attention. I’m going to manage this like a project. It’s not personal. It’s Regain!

If there’s one thing that will make me successful tonight it’s this.

So I was feeling like I wasn’t placing focused attention on anything in my personal life. I am a project manager so by natural tendency I try to DO MORE in less time. It’s in my genes. But as many of you know it may not be the best approach for all things. For my employer, they love it. I can build and execute a plan within budget and on time pretty much always. Sorry if it sounds like I am bragging, but it’s true. They don’t call me “the executer” for nothing. But the cost of this approach can mean that not all things get attention.

Lots going on today so I opted for a video update, coming to you from the “pick up line” or not, ooops. A little snafu there. You’ll just have to see. Sometimes a girl just has to video her daily journal update. As usual I put too much into a day today. Hair cut, dentist for the Whistler, a grocery hall, amd oh yeah I worked too!

I’ve been gathering some things this week that I wanted to share with you.  Let’s just say they are notes I have been keeping.  Tonight is going to be a share-a-thon.  Some interesting blog posts, raffles, announcements.  Just things I can not keep to myself.  You know me I love sharing the goodies.

So it seems like years since I blogged.  When in fact it has been a mere two days without posts.  I must say the break was unplanned but maybe it was needed.  I’m glad to be back here in my usual spot writing down my thoughts for the day.  What may be unclear to you is that I write here each day for myself.  I write to spill my thoughts out so they become more real to me.

I had the great pleasure of working through all the comments you have left over the last few days.  It is something I truly savor.  I love reading and replying to each one.  I also LOVE reading the many weight loss surgery blogs that I follow.  Recently many friends have been reaching weight loss goals.  A very exciting time.

I don’t have much left in me to tonight. Not because I did a lot today but because the time change tends to catch up on me. Great family day today. We got out and about. Into the city! I do love heading into the city. I was a city girl for many years and now I rub elbows with Chip n Dale and Bambi on a daily basis.

In 6 weeks I will be 47 years old.  I will also be running a 5K.  It is how I want to spend my birthday.  I find this really strange.  But wonderfully strange.  How is it even possible that I could be excited about running 3.125 miles while someone times me.  It’s mostly because I now know how a good run makes me feel.

I thought I’d answer a question tonight.  I’ve received this question a few times recently and I believe my opinion is important to share.  Protein shakes are a very helpful way to get a lot of protein in at one time.  Protein shakes and soups are used regularly in the early stages of post op weight loss surgery life.  Many have to do a liquid diet prior to weight loss surgery.

I missed my blog update last night. Not only did I miss posting it but I missed reading it myself this morning. I have had limited access to my home computer. I have a new computer and my husband aka system administrator has been setting it up for me, transferring all things over to the new one.

Getting the support you need is almost as important as the food you eat. It’s not always about the food. We focus so much on the food. What we eat. How much. How fast. How often. But how about why we ate ourselves obese in the first place. It wasn’t about the food.

Once the honeymoon is over, then there’s “Maintenance.” That’s when we maintain the weight we’ve lost. Funny thing is most of us don’t know how to do this. Or at least I hear this ALL the time. Now don’t get me wrong I dove right into maintenance with my eyes closed. In fact I entered maintenance as a newlywed, a real newlywed with a husband to cook for. Yikes!!

Getting to Goal. Isn’t it what we are all shooting for? How does it feel once you get there? Is it what you thought it would be? I meet a lot of weight loss surgery friends. Everyone has a unique experience but everyone anticipates reaching goal. Some of us have a goal weight defined by our surgeons. Others choose their own. Some of us reach our goal weights some of us do not. Julia is almost there.

Losing the weight is one thing. Keeping it off is another. This is my mantra. It reminds me that this is a life long pursuit. It has helped me to accept this fact. Sometimes we focus so much on reaching the goal and then when we get there we experience a let down. We miss the excitement of losing.

I’m not hiding it. I’m struggling with the dead of winter. I did see lots of sun today! It made a world of difference for me. I had all the shades pulled way up to let it all in. Something else I noticed today was that I need some new things. I am not a spender so the idea that I am going to go buy some stuff is a bit radical.

We are our own worst enemies.  I speak from personal experience.  I have always been a rusher.  I guess it comes from my nature or how I work.  I am a project manager and there is always a timeline in everything I do.  If you are making something you need a plan, a timeline and then some measurement to assess the progress.  STOP

This is a question that I always get. Weight Loss Surgery seems to make people feel shameful. Or should I say people are ashamed of their weight. They want to keep it a secret.  I’m not sure why they would be ashamed of their choice to do something positive about their weight.  Did I keep it a secret?

Note to Self:  Listen closely to your tiny tank.  Slow down.  Yeah I could also add, chew, chew, chew.  These are both things we’ve been told over and over again.  But even the seasoned post op weight loss surgery patients trip up.  That was me tonight.  Here’s the story and I’m sure you’ve heard it all before.  It was a main dish I’m

You’re at a point in your weight loss journey where you feel stuck.  You’re not quite at your goal.  Or maybe you’ve been at goal and gained a little and want to get back to goal.  You are struggling getting back into the mojo you had previously.  Remember that desperate desire to be at goal?  Although you still want to be at goal you can’t

Sometimes it is so hard to see outside of our norm.  We get so wrapped up in what is expected of us.  There are opportunities to escape, signs, things and people that try to signal us but typically we deflect them. Constantly we deflect them.  We avoid the signs because we believe we should be sticking to the main stream.  Today the signs were all there.