I finally had to change the shirt I wear in my progress pictures. It simply got to be too large, and it didn’t hang correctly on me and looked sloppy. So I decided to use this one instead, which fits much, much better. The funny thing is though, now these shorts are getting a little loose in the waist!
I think what helped this week’s loss was returning to work. I walked a lot more than I had been, butt-numbing meetings notwithstanding. Thus, I burned more calories than I had been before just being here at home being lightly active. I also increased my number of calories to try and get my calorie intake closer to 800 calories. I am finding this difficult because of the balance between eating and drinking that I’m trying to strike. I will eventually figure it out so that I can get in the calories my doctor wants me to (800-1000) on a daily basis. I am finding though that even when I am home, this is tough because I sometimes forget to eat. I’m just not hungry. And sometimes I get so busy that I lose track of time and forget to use the clock as my cue to eat too, so by the time I look at the clock, it’s later than I anticipated.
I’ll have to work on it this week because now there will be students to contend with and no real time for breaks. If I expect to see good things next Sunday, I have to find a way to make this work for me.
I have had a few incredible realizations this weekend. It seems that every week now when I step on the scale, I do not believe what I see.
My rational, logical scientist brain tells me that yes, reduced calorie intake + reduced volumetric capacity for food = weight loss, and thus I should see the scale drift downward most weeks, when other factors are removed.
But the emotional, feeling part of my brain finds it difficult to believe the numbers that show up on the scale each week, especially when they’re the lowest they’ve been in nearly 20 years.
Today I weigh what I weighed when I graduated from college 17 years ago.
What is even more amazing about this is that I wear smaller clothes than I did 17 years ago. THAT really rocks my world in ways I didn’t think were possible. I am a little freaked out that now, I don’t have to shop at Lane Bryant if I don’t want to. I have choices–lots of choices, and I have to exercise a measure of self-control or I will send myself to the poor house for sure, because I love clothes–you should see my closet. It’s insane. I know that post-WLS sometimes people develop transfer addictions, and I just hope that shopping for new clothes doesn’t become one of mine!
Tomorrow is the first day of school. For the first time in 17 years of teaching, I didn’t spend the day at my campus getting ready, making sure all my i’s were dotted and my t’s were crossed. It was kind of a surreal feeling, actually. I have always poured so much of myself into my work to the detriment of my health–the heaviest weights I have ever been have been during times at work where I have had the most to do and have been under the most stress. This year, I have more students than I have ever had, but I am only teaching one class. I anticipate fairly high stress levels, but nothing like they’ve been in the past. I’ve set some realistic goals for my kids and me, and I think we’ll get there as long as I can keep it together outside of school.
Now that I have a second job–that of taking care of myself and my needs first–I have to find ways to strike a balance. That’s what this year will be all about: balance, and whether or not I can find it.
I spent the day prepping and cooking meals for myself for the week, which took quite a while (about 3 hours altogether), but I have a feeling it will be worth it. I made crockpot chicken fajitas, turkey breast with 40 cloves of garlic, and turkey sausage, broccoli and cheddar mini-frittatas. I followed this recipe for the turkey and just subbed in a bone-in turkey breast for the chicken, and chicken broth for the white wine. I had some of the turkey for dinner, and holy wow…it was awesome. I could have licked my plate clean, but that would have been undignified. 🙂
I’m glad I invested the time in doing this today because I know how I operate, work-wise. When I get home, I am generally exhausted and don’t want to cook. Now, that’s not an option. I have meals ready to pull from the fridge, and all I have to do is heat them up and add a veg or fruit to them, if there’s room for them.
Here are today’s daily bites…I apologize for falling behind on this, but it has been a busy last few days trying to get ready for the first day of school, both here and at work!
Today’s food choices, from upper left: scrambled egg with turkey sausage crumbles and a bit of cheese; roast beef from Central Market’s deli and a Sargento reduced fat cheese stick; turkey breast with 40 cloves of garlic and pan gravy; Barney almond butter; multivitamin and calcium supplements x2. I forgot to snap a photo of the Dabecca ham slices I snacked on in the store that I got at the deli counter. 😦
The clothes are picked out, I have lunches and snacks ready to go, breakfast is cooked, and I’m about to pack my new school bag. I’m ready to head into this school year and meet whatever challenges I face head-on, whether they are me-related or school-related.
Bring it on, 2013-2014 school year. I’m ready for ya.
La Guerra de La Gorda 
Congrats on your success! Good luck with your first day back. My husband is a teacher and the students return for him today as well.
I like what you said about having a second job and also how you’ve had to step back on obsessing over work. I’ve found in the past 9 months that I’ve had to do the same. I’ve pulled back on the overachieving efforts I make a my job (and in freelance work) because I’ve tried to refocus that energy on getting healthy. Balance is key… I’m still trying to figure it out!