Somewhere over the Rainbow...

Today I woke up to a very chilly morning! The Bay Area is famous for Indian Summers and we had gotten quite a bit of October sunshine, but yesterday mother nature decided that we needed to be shocked back into reality! We went from 70ish degrees down to the 50s! And this morning when I left for work, the car registered the temperature at 41 degrees! Oh my goodness that is COLD! This California girl prefers the lows in the 50s and the highs in the 70s and 80s thank you very much!

But, the great thing about living by the water is that my commute takes me over a bridge that gives a tranquil view every day. Even when there is traffic, for some reason the San Mateo Bridge is calming to me... perhaps it is that I love the peninsula? Who knows! Either way, imagine by joy when I saw a rainbow on my way to work today! Seeing it reminded me of all of the successes that I have experienced recently and the fact that even when times are tough, there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, or in this case a pot of gold at the base of my rainbow!

As of last night.... the pot of gold was this:
I went to Old Navy because I had gotten an email that you get an additional 30% off your entire purchase. Well, you know me and my crazy shopping deals, particularly at Old Navy! I am famous for finding stuff for $5 and under and then to get an additional 30% off... sign me up! I have quite an extensive "new me" wardrobe with a total cost of.... not that much really! I don't know an exact figure but let's just say that I am very cheap when it comes to what I will pay for clothing.

One thing that I have made it a point to do though, is buy a pair of pants 1 size lower than my current size to have as a "goal" pair. I am a size 6 currently so I grabbed a 4 without trying them on and bought them as my "goal jeans".

When I got home, I pulled them out of the bag and it occured to me that they looked pretty big for a 4. I mean... what is the difference between a 4 and a 6? I think it is just an inch, right? I don't know, but they looked like they might fit me. AND THEY DID! I can't believe it. I honestly NEVER thought I would be a size 4. Size 6 had always been my dream size so to exceed that goal... incredible.

Now something I would like to also mention is that as a big girl, absolutely no store "runs big" in size. That is solely a skinny person issue. Well, I can honestly say that I do think Old Navy clothes "run big" because I am pretty sure that I am not a size 4 anywhere else. But hey... I'll take it! Plus I am the kind of girl who cannot stand loose/droopy pants. I just won't wear them. So when I showed Roger my success and he said "Are they supposed to be that tight?" I had to laugh. Yes Roger, women's jeans these days are tight fitting. These ones have a little bit of stretch but not *that much, which makes them perfect in my book! And I bought short so that I can wear them with flats to work.

Here is me, enjoying my success by wearing the size 4s the very next day (today!).


Kelly, my coworker with the awesome iphone (mine is a 3Gs so it takes good pictures, but not like her 4!) is 6ft tall, so I made her retake the one of me from behind (directions : "can you hold it to my height so it looks normal") for accuracy.

And the reason is this:
I may fit into a size 4 but seeing as they were "goal" jeans, you can see my rolls over the sides. Normally I would not be ok with this but I am getting to the point where I simply cannot prevent this. It is skin. Not really fat, just the loose yucky skin that should be removed when I can save up thousands for a tummy tuck :) I am proud to say that my butt and legs do not look sausage like (another pitfall of too tight pants) so I am pretty sure that indeed these pants fit well :) In about 10lbs they will fit perfectly, but I'll take "well"! haha And excuse my running shoes but I couldn't find my "snazzy" sneakers....thinking they are lost in my trunk somewhere.

Any way, it's friday, the day started with a rainbow, I have to run a work errand to Costco (can you say "free sample as lunch"?! (and for a VSG patient, seriously there is more than enough food from the samples to eat as a true lunch!)), I am wearing size 4 pants, the boss is out today, and although it is absolutely freezing out, the sun is shining. Life is good!

There's no tricking the treating!

Whew! What a busy weekend/Halloween! I was so exhausted last night after trick or treating that I slept like a rock.... that was a welcome night of rest!


But all I could think about this morning was "oh no... how much have I gained?". I don't normally eat candy anymore. Yes, I will occasionally indulge (or is it endulge?) in ice cream or it's its (hey, the factory is around the corner from my office!) or a bite of something sweet, but very rarely do I binge on straight candy. But in the past week or so I have not only been going nutty with Halloween candy, I have been eating cookies, cake, you name it. I have been doing everything that I KNOW I shouldn't be. And I am paying the price. I woke up this mornign and the scale said 143.2. And that was with ZERO clothes on. Ugh.


I really need to sit down and think about WHY I still feel the need to gorge on sweets. I know they are not good for me. I know that I have come so far with my surgery results. I know that 2 pounds are MUCH harder to lose than to gain. And yet I will say yes to a cookie or candy repeatedly. And I also noticed myself "sneaking" food. It is as if I am afraid Roger will say something or judge me if he sees me eating certain foods that I KNOW I shouldn't eat. :( As I mentioned before... the old habits are truly returning and I need to recognize them and get my butt back on track.


One of my biggest pitfalls pre-surgery was the complain that I just "don't have time" to exercise. I have learned that this is truly an excuse because when I go on exercise binges, I know that I can get up at nearly regular time, get to the gym, get a workout and shower in and STILL get to work on time! Whew! But with the time change and it not getting light until almost 8am, the idea of getting up in the darkness holds less and less appeal. But ya know, gaining my weight back doesn't sound so fun either.


I am learning that the maintenance phase is scarier than loss. I am so paranoid about gaining my weight back. Everyone who has is the first to admit that they didn't think it would happen to them. That they didn't want to waste an incredible opportunity. Well, I am definitely one of those people. I can say with 100% clarity that life as a thin person is 10000000x better than life as a heavy person both physically (more energy, more mobility, etc) and emotionally (higher self esteem, much happier!). So now that I finally have a taste of success and happiness with my body as an adult, I DO NOT want to go back to the old me. I cannot imagine being 100lbs heavier than I am now.


BUT on the other hand when I think about my second goal of 125lbs, I think I will never ever get there. My doctor warned me that it would be difficult, but geez.... I didn't realize the mental roadblocks that would slow down my weightloss... I was simply focusing on the physical.

I am resolving that November is going to be a month of success! I promise myself that I will not necessarily lose a certain number of pounds (although that would be very nice!) but I will commit to going back "on plan" meaning high protein, low carb, NO CANDY, and trying my very best to consume way more water. That is one thing that changed so much since surgery... I used to love drinking water. Now I find it extremely difficult.

Wish me luck! And sorry there weren't pictures in this. Oh wait, let me add one for good luck!

Upon Special Request

Let me preface this post with the fact that I wanted to spruce up my iphone pictures so I figured Picnik would be a good idea..... yeah. It was fun... a little too fun! So please excuse my creative editing :) But at least they are interesting! haha.

I got a text today from someone asking how my weightloss is coming along. On the scale, it is still somewhat slow moving. I am at the point now to where I really need to be consistently working out and watching what I eat. With everything going on in my personal life, the last thing I have been wanting to do is work out. But I am proud to say that at least I have maintained my weightloss and even dropped a few more pounds... but I have not lost the 10 that I was hoping for. Cest la vie I guess.

BUT the good news is that bodies like to take weightloss breaks and in the process re-figure themselves in more compact shapes! So, although I haven't lost much in the numbers department I have shrunk some. So much so that numerous coworkers have commented (i.e. my boss "I wanna go on whatever diet she is on! she just keeps shrinking!") and even my mother greeted me with "Hello Skinny!" on Sunday when she saw me.

I can finally say that I reached my goal of a size 6! Woohoo! Funny thing though about this weightloss business.... I am never satisfied. I hit my target weight of 145... that isn't good enough. I want to be 125. I swore if I ever got down to a 6 I would have a party and shout it from the rooftops.... yeah not so much. Now I am shooting for a 4. Wow, I wonder if I could ever be a 4. Or even a 4-6 range... just to be able to say it. You know how us women are, never satisfied!
BUT, being heavy the majority of my adulthood, I had a non-scale victory the other day that I was so excited about I had to photograph. Remember me and my jeans tucked into boots? Well that ensemble has been recreated numerous times and I even invested in another nice pair of skinny jeans.... so take a look to your left and notice.... YOU CAN SEE BETWEEN MY THIGHS!!!! Yup, that's right, me standing in a normal position and my thighs don't touch. They still touch up top, but omg you can see through my legs!!!!! I honestly did not ever think that would happen.

***File that under Roger's list of "things skinny people never even think about so it is funny to hear Alexis talk about it".... that list also includes feeling your clavicle, your breastbone, your hip bones, your knee caps, tying your shoes directly upright as opposed to sideways like a pregnant woman... the list goes on and on :P


So after I took the picture from the front I decided to follow up with a side view. I have been noticing my booty is small now. Weird. AND I wear belts a lot now.... now that I can actually reach one around myself :)


So, recently I got the entire wedding clip video from our videographer Josh. Ironic timing, but it was neat to watch nonetheless. But something interesting that has been said probably by about 10 different people is "You have lost a LOT of weight since the wedding". And yeah I have probably lost about 25 lbs... but for whatever reason that 25lbs has equated to 2 dress sizes or so. To your right is a professional picture from the wedding (Y studio photography) edited by me and picnik :P But really I think I look good in the picture... and looking at 99% of the wedding pictures, I am happy with my figure. I certainly was not feeling ugly or fat the day of my wedding. I felt like a princess! So it is just weird to have a bunch of people recognize that I am a lot skinnier now. To be honest I kinda want to go wedding dress shopping just to see what size I would be in those tiny samples! haha At the end of the day though I am just so grateful for my surgery and how much confidence and pride it has given me. Really, a whole new lease on life!

Other than trying to get in protein, drink more water, and exercise on a regular basis, I am just in maintenance mode. I need to be in loss mode but I will take a pound here or there for now. There is really so much going on personally that I feel like worrying about my weight is pretty trivial. I am lucky to be alive and healthy and have a job and roof over my head. Oh and those 2 little kiddos of mine... those two have really made me a proud mom these days. They both are so resilient and so loving. It is nice to have a ray of sunshine around.... well 2 of them actually! :)

I'd like to thank the Academy...

When I blog, I see it as a chance to just get out what is brewing in my mind. Little things happen on a day to day basis, and I think to myself "I should totally blog about that". So sometimes I grab my phone and take pictures for the specific reason of blogging.... others I go back and realize that they pertain to what I am thinking about. But the weird thing about blogging is that although it is a personal reflection of my life, I know that people can and will read it.

I absolutely LOVE feedback. Of course it is nice to hear all of the "great job"s and "amazing!" but when someone takes the time to truly recognize what I have been going through and make a connection with me, it means a lot.

I posted my Goal Post a few days ago along with pictures, and I shared the link on my Vertical Sleeve message boards, http://www.verticalsleevetalk.com/ . A few of the posters on that board also have blogs, and one of them was kind enough to nominate me for a blog award. I am not really sure what that means, other than someone is actually reading what I write, but I have to say I feel special!

So here is the rundown on the award that she nominated me for:

About the award:The Liebster Blog Award is designed to bring additional recognition to those bloggers with less than 200 followers. If you receive the award, you should link back to the blogger that nominated you and nominate five more blogs.

So thank you to Sheila at http://thisonebody.blogspot.com for nominating me! I will have to think about which 5 I should nominate to pass on the good juju.

And on to other news: I have not lost more weight. Perhaps because I have not been doing what I need to do to lose weight. This week has been very challenging and I am SO ready for it to be over! I feel like the cold, rainy weather contributed to the general "blah" feeling. But today I woke up and the sun was shining, traffic was light, and despite being broker than broke, i was able to scrounge up enough pennies to get Starbucks. Life is good!

Wish me luck that next week I can start fresh and get back on the gym going bandwagon. It feels so good when I do go.... it just sucks to get there!

The Day has Dawned

A lot has been going on around here lately and I realized that in the midst of it all I haven't made a blog post to reflect the challenges life has brought my way. Instead of dwelling over the negatives (trust me I do enough of that on my own), I am making myself post about the one shining star hovering over it all.
I woke up Saturday morning and saw this:

I know what you are thinking: the clouds parted, the angels started singing.... yeah I know, you can see it now! But no, it was just me and my bathroom scale standing there in disbelief. I ran to get my phone to take a picture and said a silent prayer that when I got on there again the number didn't change.... that has been known to happen. But alas, I got back on and it was the magical goal number: 145lbs. Exactly 100 lbs lower than when I started my weightloss journey.

I had always joked that when I reached my goal weight I would throw a party to celebrate. We are broke, and my audience was my husband and children so we did the next best thing....

We took the kids to 7-11 and got donuts! The "old" me would have had a donut as well, but the new, skinny, 145 lb me declined the offer. Pat on the back for that one! But the kids thoroughly enjoyed their celebration treat as well as an early morning walk in the wagon (we live less than .5 mile from a 7-11 which is mighty convenient during times like this!).

Also, I thought I would cry when I saw the scale, but I didn't. I just kind of stared in disbelief and casually mentioned to Roger "Oh, I am 145 today" and he responded "Wow, that's really good". I don't know if he necessarily realized that 145 was my goal weight, he just new it was a lot of weight lost in the grand scheme of things.

So you might be wondering how I finally hit goal.... and the answer is simple. Exercise and drugs. Seriously. Once I hit 150 lbs losing weight became extremely difficult. My body has been toying with the last 5 lbs for over a month and I knew that I needed to pump up the volume if I had any hope of reaching my old goal (145), let alone my new reach goal of 125 pounds.

I have been going to the gym 3-5 times a week, sometimes more. I will do Zumba, or go on the treadmill, and I try to lift weights every other day as well as do strength training exercises. I never thought I would be a morning exerciser but with kids it is pretty much my only option. It feels great though to consistently work out!

I also scheduled an appointment with my doctor to check in on my progress. The day I went into his office I weighed 147lbs. Not bad. He asked how I was doing and what my next steps were. And I flat out asked him for prescription drugs. Right before my wedding, when he told me that if I wanted to ever reach goal I needed to buckle down, he kindly prescribed phentermine for me. IT WORKED. It worked well to say the least. And after I explained that 1 more month of it, combined with my new improved attitude about exercise would most likely break my stall, he happily agreed.

I know what you are thinking : she cheated. And ok, depending on your viewpoint, maybe I have. But the reason that I wanted to mention it is because a)I am not ashamed and b) I think it is important to record in how I have lost the weight in this time period. And despite medical intervention, I have also been watching what I eat, trying to consume as much protein as possible, and exercising like crazy. So it is an addition, rather than the end all be all for weightloss.

Today I was on Facebook (shocker) and saw that a family member had posted pictures from a barbeque in 2010. I was flipping through them thinking "oh geez, wait til I see myself in these"... little did I know. This is what I saw:

Yup, that's me in the white! Holy crap, right?! I seriously cannot believe I looked like that. And looked like that for a few years to boot! And to top it off, that wasn't me at my heaviest, which I know because I recognize the jeans in the picture. They are a size 16. I ended up an 18/20 before surgery! Oh and those little cuties are my kiddos.... they are much bigger now!

So, you might be wondering what "goal" looks like.....

It looks like that snazzy girl to the right! Up, that's me the day before I hit my goal weight! I am in skinny jeans (never thought they looked good on me), tucked into boots. My calves have always been SUPER wide, so imagine the size of them 100 lbs heavier.... this fashion statement was simply not possible! But alas, my dream of wearing jeans tucked into boots has come true, and let me tell you, I have a black pair and a brown pair and I am wearing the heck out of both of them!!! Also, I was indeed wearing a sweater for this outfit, but I wanted to show off my arms... I am in the process of "sculpting" them at the gym :P

The last thing I want to mention in this celebration post is that one of my dear friends from grade school got married this past weekend! She looked AMAZING, and it was so nice to attend an event, see people I hadn't seen in years, and not be self conscious about my weight. Most of the people I know have not gained much since high school and still look fabulous. So last summer, when I attended a mutual friends' wedding it sucked to feel like the "fattie". And when I saw the pictures I was horrified. Well, some of the same attendees were at this wedding, and someone's mom walked by my, touched my arm and said "you look amazing". I thought that was pretty darn kind of her to do.

I've lost a 6th grader from my body, but I have gained a whole new outlook on life! I'd say that's a fair trade :)

What was Dumbo's Mama's name????

I recently read Dumbo to Aidan and I am trying to remember what Dumbo's mom's name is. Mama Elephant doesn't sound right.... but let's just say if I knew her name, I would change mine to it! Not because I feel like an elephant! But because I am really starting to notice that the skin on my thighs and belly are pretty elephant like thanks to years of weight gain and 2 pregnancies... one of which was for a 9lb 5oz chunky boy, who also liked to swim around in excess amniotic fluid! As you can imagine, my stomach was enormous w/ Benjamin and because of that I have stretch marks galore! But,with all of the complaining aside, I have to say that my skin has reacted tremendously well to all of this rapid weightloss business!

I was indeed "brave" enough to wear a bikini in Hawaii. In fact, I wore a BRIGHT, STRING bikini! And let me tell you, I felt amazing! Well, amazing until I got down to the pool :P I wasn't sure if people were looking at my stomach thinking "holy geez this chick needs a tummy tuck!" or if it was just all in my head. I'd say it was all in my head, but I know how critical I can be for no apparent reason so hey, maybe people were thinking that. Who knows?! But in the grand scheme I think I look pretty good in my bikini..... so good that I made Roger take pictures to commemorate the moment!
me on the balcony of our suite at the Sheraton Waikiki. I wore this bikini 9/10 of the time we were at the pool!

Aside from all of my confidence and new found self appreciation, I wanted to let you all see the "real deal" shall we say, because I have the ability to select the best pictures of myself to share, and it just so happens that my husband is a very good photographer who knows what an unflattering pic looks like. So he is smart and angles the camera appropriately! haha.

On day 2 of our trip, we decided to make a trek to Wal Mart in Waikiki on foot. It's about 1.5 miles from the hotel. Not far at all. But I decided to be sporty and wear a sports bra and shorts. Once I put it on I thought... I gotta take a pic of this, it's definitely not what I am sporting on the beach! And what "this" is, is my skin! I had a friend ask me about my skin and I thought she meant skin on my face... she had to specify that she meant saggy skin, or elephant skin as I like to call it!

So... check it out: This is what I look like "naked"... sorta:

Ok so from the side, my stomach is flat. Weird, right? But to be honest my stomach pre-fatness was always pretty flat, even at a size 14. I am just lucky I guess. My coworker asked if I was sucking in in this picture and the answer is "no". I really look like that. I am just holding the camera up :)


This formatting thing on the blog kills me because here is where I would insert another picture but unfortunately when I uploaded them I uploaded one right justified and the other centered so I have some words to kill to take up space. Ahhhh.!!!!!! Darn blogger! And I insert all of the pictures first now because I learned the hard way that if I do it as I go I have to reformat the entire thing like 1000x. So irritating. Anyway.....

Oh wait! I unjustified it I think!!! Woohoo! Ok so below is my stomach up close and personal. I did lower my shorts because thankfully most waistbands hide my "elephant skin". But here you go... scars, stretch marks, elephant skin, and the weirdest belly button ever. I wish I could explain why my belly button looks like that but it has forever and a day, so to be honest, I don't know why my innie is so innie!

Well, just had to delete another picture. GRRRR. Ok back to the important info!

I am at 150lbs now and I still have another 25 or so to go. So I am really scared to see what that extra 25 brings as far as extra skin. My thighs don't look so bad, but if I turn them a certain way you can see the skin elasticity is jacked up. And my stomach well.... yeah see above. I DEFINITELY need a tummy tuck. Not that we can afford one at the moment! But realistically I am going to need that skin cut off and my belly button reformed in order for me to be "happy". But along with that I'd like some new boobs and a butt and thigh lift, which now we are talking a total body makeover... can't say I am up for that in the grand scheme! Thankfully I did this in my 20s so I have another 50-60 years to perfect my body :P It sags and I lift, repeat. Haha!

But one reason I know that I am going to want/need a tummy tuck sooner rather than later is that I am noticing that with some pants the waist is tighter than the thighs. And my entire life, I have had thick thighs and hips but a tiny waist. So the fact is that that extra however many inches of skin is definitely there and the more I lose the more prominent it becomes to me.

Thankfully I am tan from the vacation and Lord knows that tans make people look thinner, happier, healthier, etc. Yes, I know, I know, skin cancer is a real thing. I did wear sunscreen and at about day 4 I started spraying the hell out of myself and Roger with SPF 50 because I could tell we were all sunned out. I am not one of those people who thinks a burn must occur before you can tan. Hell no. I want nothing to do with any sort of a sunburn, so the day I got pink was the day I armed myself with a super high SPF! And now I think Roger is a convert to protecting himself as well. He went on a floatie in the Pacific for like an hour and a half and was FRIED!!!!! As in he looked like he was wearing white shorts on a pink body without clothes :P

The bright side is that no matter what, my facial skin is still glowing. Perhaps from the fact that I wear sunscreen each day and moisturize each day. Or maybe I inherited good genes. Or maybe I am just thrilled to be a newlywed who just spent a week in Hawaii and got to wear a bikini because...... I AM ALMOST AT MY GOAL WEIGHT!!!! 5 lbs to go and counting!!!

xoxo

A

Aloha and Mahalo!

*** I uploaded these pics before writing, so had I realized the order in which I would show them, I probably would have formatted them differently! oops :P

Well, we're back from our honeymoon! It was an amazing trip and I am so grateful that we were able to go. I think Roger learned just how important it is to take time for US. No kids, no stress, just paradise. And I am also happy to report that he loves Hawaii as much as I do! Which in essence means that he will totally go for a return trip without me having to beg. Yeehaw!

This trip came exactly one year after my first Hawaiian vacation. It is amazing for me to think about how different this trip was from the last. First of all, this time I was on my honeymoon, which means that I had a partner for activities. Second, I had already done the majority of touristy stuff last time so I literally spent about 90% of the time lounging by the pool or in the pool on a floatie (as seen in the picture above!). And last but not least, I am about 95 lbs lighter this go round. And I will explain exactly what that means to me.

When I tell people "I've lost a lot of weight recently" I don't think they truly comprehend what that means. Even saying "I've lost about 100 lbs" doesn't resonate as much as it should. Heck, half the time even I don't understand how incredible that really is. But when I think of all of the differences AND see pictures, I am truly in shock. Heck, even Roger was in shock after seeing the picture below!

This was just one of MANY pictures from my trip that just so happened to be on our "little" camera that we only use for quick pics or vacation purposes. I see it and think that I look like someone took an air-hose and inflated me. But then I realize, "Wow, I really looked like that". It wasn't a "bad picture" because ALL of them from the trip have me this big. Roger's comment was "It is amazing to me because I see you now, and I think you look huge in that picture, but at the time I didn't realize how big you were". Which I think is very common. You see someone gain weight over time (even yourself) and yeah, you notice bumps and lumps here and there, but you have no concept of just how much bigger they really are unless something changes drastically. For me, the drastic something was surgery.

Just under 100 lbs also meant that my comfort level on this trip was 100x better than the last. First of all, I felt great in almost everything I wore (I felt good in a bikini, but not great... I'll explain later!), and was excited about the following:

• 
  I could wear short shorts. I specify short shorts because that is even better than long shorts... which to be honest I couldn't really wear before unless they were capri length. Why? Because before my thighs ate my shorts making it very uncomfortable, and I would have to stop every 3 seconds to yank them out of my crotch.




• There was not a pair of spanx in sight. I didn't feel like I needed to suck anything in. And most importantly, for big girls spanx do something even more important: They protect your inner thighs from rubbing holes in each other. No joke. Last trip I wore spanx EVERY time I was in a skirt or dress.




• Also, no baby powder in sight either. Again to prevent chafing, i would douse my legs in baby powder and even carried a travel bottle in my purse for emergency touch ups.




• I was brave enough to try a "sporty" excursion. I have always wanted to try kayaking but was honest to goodness afraid that I would sink the kayak or that there would be a weight limit that I would exceed. Well, we tandem kayaked from the beach on Kailua to a little island out in the Pacific. I was scared of being stranded like castaway, but I wasn't afraid of sinking the boat. And most importantly... I did it!





• I WORE A BIKINI!!!! Omg. And not only was it a bikini, it was a STRING bikini! I had tried on a more conservative mom bikini and Roger told me he thought the bright one I am wearing in these pictures looked better on me. I was hesitant, but after seeing the pictures, I do agree that it looks pretty good!

I see the picture above and I have a hard time believing that the girl in the picture is me. The reason being that I see it and think "wow she is skinny!"... and then I am talking about myself. I don't think that when I see myself in the mirror every day, that's for sure! And below for reference... here is a half body shot from last time!

I honestly think my upper arms were as big as my legs are now. Scary thought.

Now aside from laying by the pool, my second most important concern was of course food and beverage! We really did not go crazy on dining experiences other than the Royal Hawaiian Luau which, to date, even though it was ridiculously expensive, I am glad we experienced. Mostly we ate at chain restaurants and I think our highest bill was around $40 for dinner. Not bad. And towards the end of the week we started taking advantage of the happy hour at the Sheraton. Here's Roger with our very favorite happy hour selections: Edamame & Ribs.

Even for someone who is on a life long "diet" these food choices are not "bad" per se. Edamame has some carbs I am sure, but it's sort of a veggie, right? And beef ribs... it's protein so we are all good there. But it's that beautiful little sucker in Roger's hand that ultimately killed my chances of losing weight while on my honeymoon!

In "real life" I drink very very little since having surgery. I'll have a sip or two here or there, but I can't finish an entire drink. And even if I could, I wouldn't want to. There is no happy drunk feeling, so drinking a bunch of alcohol isn't appealing. HOWEVER.... the taste of those fruity, slushy drinks make me so very happy! It's like a fantabulous slurpee! On the trip I learned 2 things... well didn't learn, but was reminded of. The first is that I cannot consume high quantities of sugar and fat. I feel sick. And the second is that those fruity, slushee, slurpee cocktails are so high in sugar and calories that it is pretty much impossible to lose weight.

I had stayed away from the scale for the first half of our drip but on day 4 I stood on the scale and noticed that I had gained a pound. And that was depsite walking a few miles one day, not really eating much due to travel and pool time... I thought for sure I would lose. So once I saw that pound I stuck to a fairly strict no alcohol policy other than a sip or 2 from Roger's drink. It was only hard when I saw people enjoying pina coladas or daquiris at the pool. Otherwise, I could care less. Diet Pepsi is still my biggest vice.... definitely not alcohol!


Luckily the food in Hawaii tends to veer towards the light and fruity side. I ate a bunch of tuna (yay for protein!) and really the "crap" I ate was just at the airport coming and going. What I can say with certainty however is that without the sleeve, I would have DEFINITELY gained like 10lbs on the trip and spent a helluva lot more on food!

We are so thankful to all of our friends and family who gifted us with pieces of our honeymoon. We honestly could not have gone without these gifts (weddings are crazy expensive!), and it was our only trip EVER without the munchkins. We have since decided to make it an annual excursion.

So for now, I leave you with August 2010 v. August 2011. Can't wait to add 2012 to this timeline!