Why does everyone keep saying that?

I had to laugh this morning on my way out of the YMCA (yes, 2 days this week at the Y . . . and they were IN A ROW!). The lady at the counter said "You haven't been here in awhile!" . . . yesterday, the other lady at the counter said "You haven't been here in awhile!" So this morning I responded "Why does everyone keep saying that?!" Yes, it's true, if records were kept, I'm sure it would show that prior to yesterday morning, I hadn't been to the Y in about a year or more. SLACKER! But I guess, truth be told, it is nice to be noticed. Nice to know that I'm not just some face that comes through every once in awhile. It's a good feeling.

Lately I've been getting other comments too:

• You're looking good!
• Keep it up!
• How much have you lost?
• WOW! (My personal favorite)
• You're getting skinny (to which I reply "er")

To those that have been tossing the comments, do know they are appreciated. I'm just not really comfortable in my own skin (yet) so am unable to really reply with more than a "thanks". But I hear you. I just need to maintain focus.

Today I went back to the Y and did the Runervals 1.0 workout again. Having just done it yesterday, I knew what to expect, I was sore from yesterday ... and I did it anyway. The treadmill had "issues" though with the speed buttons ... increasing and decreasing speed was really tough, so that was frustrating. Especially when I'm running at a 7.0 MPH clip at 3.0% incline AND cannot slow down. YIKES! I even remembered my heart rate strap this morning! So here's the summary from my workout:

• 35:00 Minutes
• 136 Avg Heart Rate
• 172 Max Heart Rate
• 24:47 Time in Zone (most of the time out of the zone was above!)
• 526.9 Calories burned
• 2.64 Miles

I'm taking tomorrow off because with any luck, Steve and I will be mountain biking on Sunday! HAVE to find my pedals today!

Making New Habits . . .

Since having my surgery, I'm trying to build new habits. Somewhat because I want to, but mostly because I have to. With the Lap Band, the amount of food you can eat is pretty restricted (a good thing for me!) and so you end up on a pretty regimented vitamin program. Also, in order to get the nutrition you need, you need to take in additional protein in the form of shakes and bars. So gone are my habits of swinging through a drive-thru every morning, afternoon and in some cases evening. It's just too hard to find anything to eat (again, a good thing!). But it left me with the dilemma of what to do when I'm hungry? And How do I remember to take all these vitamins and minerals every day? What about the protein shakes? Well, I think I've found an answer to all of the above and it just required a bit of innovation and web surfing.

So the first thing was how to remember to take vitamins and minerals every day at different times per day. If I could get away with taking everything in the morning, it wouldn't be an issue. But I have to take certain things at certain times of the day. I'm horrible at remembering things like that. So I was on the hunt for a pill organizer. The ones I found at Walgreens, etc. just didn't do it for me. Plus, I wanted to just be able to do a month at a time, so I only had to think about it once. I found the MedCenter monthly pill organizer. It's pretty slick. It holds 31 pill cases, each case has four dividers (Morning, Afternoon, Evening and Bedtime).


MedCenter 31 Day Pill Organizer

So now at the end of the month, I just line up all 31 and open up all the doors and fill it for the whole month. The sleeve has red on one side and green on the other so you can remember which ones you've taken and which you haven't.

So next up, what to do about protein shakes and what to do when I get hungry between meals? The answer to the latter ended up being protein shakes and protein bars. The answer to the former started out taking a couple different forms. The first was the free "shaker" cup I got from the VitaLady when I originally bought all my vitamins. But the lid didn't seal very well and I ended up on more than one occasion with chocolate protein shake on my shirt. Next up was a Rubbermaid 20oz bottle. That worked OK, but the mouth was too narrow to get the scoop of protein in easily so I ended up either using a sheet of paper as a funnel OR got protein powder everywhere. Not ideal. When I was in Super Supplements the other day, I happened across the Blender Bottle. This thing is COOL! It's a widemouth bottle with screw on cap. In addition, it's got a mini "whisk ball" that comes with it. When you put your water and protein powder in along with the whisk ball, the whisk acts to keep the clumps out of the protein powder. It's AWESOME! There's nothing worse than taking a big gulp of a protein shake and getting a huge clump of protein powder in your mouth. It's really gross.

So now, my Blender Bottle acts as my carrying case for the days items. I put a small zip lock baggie with a measured amount of protein shake in it, my vitamin sleeve for the day, a protein bar and the whisk ball all inside and seal it up for the day. So now I've got two "meals" to keep hunger at bay, my vitamins and the bottle to mix the protein shake all in one handy bundle. See the photos below for the "kit". Works Awesome!


The Kit Contents


Everything inside the Blender Bottle


All sealed up!

Runervals 1.0 - So it begins...

This morning, I got my happy Hurlbut out of bed and headed to the YMCA. See last night I posted on Facebook that I was going to the Y to get on the treadmill. So I kinda had to do it. Despite the rain, fog and darkness of the hour, I felt compelled to get some mileage out of my new Runervals DVD. At REI last week I bought the Runervals 1.0 DVD. As the YMCA doesn't have a DVD player near the treadmills AND I don't have a treadmill near my DVD player, I decided to rip the DVD to my iPhone. (Seriously, everyday . . . I love my iPhone more and more!) So iPhone in tow and in Airplane mode, I hit the treadmill. This was the first time on a treadmill in easily a year+, so I wasn't sure how I'd fare.

I started up the Runervals 1.0 video and started walking around 3.5 MPH. Runervals, as the name implies, is an interval type workout. One set at effort and the next at rest, repeat. Coach Troy Jacobson has you find a good Base Pace (BP) and then the intervals all build on that BP. For me, my base pace was 4.0 MPH, a good brisk walk. The first set he had you go for 1 minute at BP+2.0 MPH, then BP each for 1 minute and do that three times. The next set was 1 minute at BP + 3.0 MPH, then BP each for 1 minute and do that twice. After that, we maintained BP, but increased our incline to 2%, 3% and 4% each at 45 seconds. The final set was BP + 3.0 MPH AT 3.0% Incline, twice at one minute each and back to BP at 0%. I gotta tell you, the last set was KILLER!! Running at 7.0 MPH at 3.0% incline was something I never did in any of my workouts preparing for the triathlon last year.

The whole workout lasted about 35 minutes and in that time I covered 2.6 miles and burned over 500 calories. I forgot my HR strap, but using the little hand pads, I checked my HR after a couple of the faster sets and my HR after the last set was 169!!! YIKES! It'll be fun to see my HR get lower as I get some level of fitness back.

I actually enjoyed the Runervals 1.0 workout. It actually made working out on the treadmill a little nicer. I think I'll start cruising Craigslist for a Precor treadmill so I don't have to have the 15 - 20 minute drive to and from the Y in the morning.

I'll be investigating (and probably investing in) the other Runervals DVD's in the near future.

Happily, stepping on the scale this morning, I'm only about 5 pounds off my low weight from 2008! I've lost nearly 60 pounds since May . . . and this running workout this morning made me confident that I will own the Triathlon next summer!

Band Adjust #2 - Not for the easily grossed out . . .

I'm warning you right now, if you're easily grossed out, move right along and don't read this post. There won't be anything you'll enjoy here. I promise.

OK, so if you're still reading, you're a sick puppy. It means you like gross stuff. Because in all fairness, I did warn you above that this post would be gross and you kept on reading. So my sick puppy friends . . . here we go into a journey of gastrointestinal delight.

On Monday I had an appointment with Dr. Oh, the king of Bedside manner and Doctor/Patient relations. (wow, I really make myself giggle sometimes) The intent was to have my band adjusted, i.e. make it tighter so not as much stuff could get through. I posted earlier on how excited I was to get this done because it would mean I would be able to pig out less and hopefully be able to start dropping some serious LB's! Let me tell you, my excitement quickly waned.

So I got into the exam room after finding out I had lost exactly 1/10th of one pound since my last visit (in all fairness, I did have my iPhone, Keys and wallet in my pants when I weighed in this time, so it was probably more like 4/5ths of a pound). After getting my BP and pulse taken, I waited for Dr. Oh. The man with a deft scalpel came in a short time later and we talked about life and lots of chit chat ensued. OK, none of that really happened, he came in and said "eat less" and "Get on the table". He injected me with lidocaine and proceeded to put about another 2 cc's of saline in my band. (About 6 total now I think) I was dismissed. In the waiting room they have a water machine and after your band adjustment before you can leave, you have to drink three dixie cups of water. Easy right? Took me 15 minutes to get those down. That should have been a BIG clue. But I'm Norwegian (read: stubborn) and didn't really catch on.

By about 1PM I was pretty hungry as I hadn't had anything to eat that day, nor had I had a protein shake. So I swung into Taco Bell. (OK, I know what you're thinking . . . and I agree wholeheartedly, so no flaming me OK?) My thought was that the previous month, the easiest things to go down were things wrapped in tortillas . . . specifically Jack In the Box's Chorizo burrito. (OK, flame on . . . ) So the plan was to have one ONE! meximelt. If you've never had a meximelt, it's a small tortilla with some ground beef, some sauce, cheese, onion and tomato. The things are tiny and are $1.49. Can't be more than 3 ounces of food in one.

So I pulled out of Taco Hell and proceeded to unwrap my meximelt. Driving through Fife, I took a bite, another and another. Chewing each bite until it was nearly water. After three or so bites, I could tell it wasn't really going down. So I set the rest of the Meximelt aside. (only 1 or two bites remained) And I waited. I pounded on my stomach to try to force some food through. I burped. I swallowed saliva and burped some more. (You can see where this is going my sick puppy friends and yet you keep reading) Heading down Valley avenue, I knew what was going to happen next. Yep, threw up all over myself in my car. While it was only chewed food and saliva, it was still really gross and EXTREMELY embarassing. All over my shirt, my pants and the floor of my car. Even the napkin I had grabbed wasn't enough. I went through four more napkins cleaning it up. Then I grabbed the Taco Hell bag and proceeded to throw up all the way home. For a solid 20 mintues, I continued to throw up. And I don't like throwing up. I swear I threw up more than I had eaten. I even made myself sick by throwing up and eventually got to "Normal People" throwing up. It was (is) disgusting. And I'm sorry you had to read that, but you had plenty of warning, so I don't feel that bad for you.

So I got home, stripped (you're just a glutton for punishment aren't you? Sorry for that visual!) and threw all my clothes in the washing machine and took a bath to relax.

Later that evening, I was helping a client move and after the move, I took everyone out for pizza. We went to Godfathers and had their "buffet". I literally took one bite of mac & cheese, two bites of cottage cheese and a couple of bits of pineapple and chicken off a slice of pizza. Chewed everything as good as I could, but afterwards . . . I knew what was coming. I excused myself from the table and into the bathroom I went. At least this time, there was a toilet nearby. I repeated this action once more before leaving the restaurant.

Tuesday was an entirely liquid day. I only drank water and protein shakes all day. After Monday, who could blame me? Since then, I've gradually been introducing food back into my diet. I guess now after I get my band adjusted, I'll heed the doctor's advice and be on a liquid diet for two days following the adjustment. Monday was a horrible day. I don't think I've thrown up that much in 10 years combined. I know it's still going to happen from time to time as my band gets adjusted, but maybe from now on, I'll be a little smarter about the two day liquid diet thing. :-)

On the plus side (or minus depending on how you look at it) since Tuesday, I've been UNDER 300 pounds!!! Yesterday I tried on an XXL vest from Mountain Hardware at REI. Now keep in mind NOTHING from Mountain Hardware has EVER fit me in ANY size. But you know what? This one vest, fit just dandy!! Things like that make all the discomfort worthwhile! And one final thought . . . I know I need to break this emotional connection I have with food, I think the throwing up will certainly help with that! Once I associate food with BAD, the world will be a much happier place for me! :-)

Thanks for hanging in there . . . we now return you to your regularly scheduled blog reading . . .

Elliptical Workout 10/17/09

Day 2 of the 3 (or 4 depending on how early I get up Monday) day sprint toward my weigh in at the doctor's office is complete. I did 40 minutes on the elliptical this morning, here are the summary results:

• Total Time: 40:00 minutes
• 5,576 Strides
• Average Heart Rate 132
• Max Heart Rate 148
• 38:37 in Zone
• 632.1 Calories burned
• 2.95 Miles

Old Habits Creep Back in . . .

You would think that after subjecting myself to a major life changing surgery that I would just be completely done with old habits. Wouldn't you? I did. We'd both be wrong.

I mean after not eating much solid food for 6 weeks, you'd think I'd ease back into things. Nope, been through the drive through on more than one . . . ok on more than 10 occasions. Coke is back. You never would have known I had any surgery at all. Yes, I'm eating less than I used to, but some habits are coming back.

That's why I know I made the right decision by doing the surgery. After my first band fill almost a month ago, the nurse told me this would feel like "little or no restriction" and she was right. With the exception of one embarassing incident, I've pretty well been able to eat anything I wanted to. With lots of chewing and lots of pausing, pretty much anything will go down. Except crappy mall chinese food. If you're squeamish, skip the next paragraph.

Last Monday (5th of October) I was at the mall getting the ghost armor put on my new iPhone. I had about 20 minutes to kill and hadn't had lunch yet. I cruised the food court and since it's under construction, they have like three places open. I chose the crappy chinese food place, figuring that chow mein would go down easy. So I got Chow mein and General Tso's chicken. The chicken was really dry and no matter how much I chewed, it really didn't break down. But being one to push my luck, I swallowed it anyway. A few bites later, that painful heartburn feeling kicked in and I knew it wasn't going down easy. I tried to take a few sips of lemonade to urge it through, but that didn't work. So I ended up in this swallow saliva, burp, swallow saliva loop. Until finally nothing went through and everything came back. Yep . . . gacked all over my plate of chinese food. Now it was really only saliva and bits of chewed food, so not as bad as you would think, but still embarassing none the less. I threw away my food, learned a lesson and walked down the mall. Apparently I wasn't done. I gacked one more time into my hand and dumped that into a trash can. In the middle of the MALL! I felt sexy that day!

OK, all my squeamish readers back? Everyone else? I apologize for the previous paragraph, it's not my most proud moment. So anyway, I go in on Monday for my second band fill. And I'm actually excited about it. Even knowing that stuff from the previous paragraph is more likely than ever to happen. But the forcing of myself to eat less is really what it's going to take. I don't have the willpower to do it on my own. I know that now, and I know this was the right decision. Fortunately during this time, my weight hasn't gone up much . . . only a couple pounds. Plus I haven't really worked out the past couple weeks, until this morning. I'm going to shoot for doing the elliptical today (done), tomorrow and at least Sunday so I can show SOME progress at the doctor's office on Monday.

Here's my elliptical workout for this morning:

• Total Time: 40:00 minutes
• 5,664 Strides
• Average Heart Rate 137
• Max Heart Rate 151
• 39:47 in Zone
• 632.4 Calories burned
• 2.95 Miles