Vacation

Hello Everyone!

We've been on vacation for the last 2-1/2 weeks. Jeff has been on block leave before he deploys to Iraq. We've been here and there, everywhere and back again! We spent some time in Iowa visiting the in laws, we took a trip to KC and stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge and then "camped" in the RV at Worlds of Fun and Oceans of Fun for a few days. (I walked around for 2 days in public in my bathing suit!) We stayed at the lake for a few days, we took a 2 day, 800+ mile geocaching trip, we set 26 new geocaches in Junction City and hosted a geocaching event. Whew...I need a vacation from my vacation! Check out my other blog to read about our adventures of geocaching: http://www.diecast64.blogspot.com/. And http://www.geocaching.com/ to learn more about the obsession called geocaching!

So, how did being on vacation go while having my lap band? It went pretty well. I'm down another 4 lbs! :) And I feel great! Since we stayed in the RV some of the time, I was able to cook food and watch protein, fat and calories in everything I prepared. There were a few times that I didn't chew my food enough, or that I ate a bit too much...(see the steak post!) but I'm still getting used to eating "just the right amount" with the band. And "just the right amount" varies day by day. On our 2 day geocaching trek, we ate mostly fast food (so we could get back on the road in a hurry!) And, I did OK...I ate mostly chicken, but I followed the pouch rules and listened to my body and stopped eating when I was getting full!

Now that we're back to "normal" life (if that's what you call it!) I need to get back into an exercising routine. My goal for this week is to exercise 3 times before Sunday. I know once I start exercising regularly I will feel even better and will lose more weight.

So, I'm raising my water mug (with Real Lime) to celebrate vacations, good times and exercising!

Pouch Rules and Water

I think one of my biggest downfalls since having surgery is drinking water. I am not drinking as much water as I was before the surgery. Because of the pouch rules, I am not supposed to drink with meals. The idea behind that is the liquid will wash the food out of the pouch and I won't feel full, which defeats the purpose of the lap band.

I used to drink at least 1-2 big glasses of water with each meal and several big glasses through the day. So far, this pouch rule has been the hardest to follow. I miss drinking with my meals! Sometimes I get thirsty when drinking and just want a sip...but I know a sip will lead me down a slippery slope.

Since I don't drink with meals, I am finding that I forget about drinking in between meals. My goal for today is to drink more! It's hot and I should be drinking lots more than I am! I need to be kind to my kidneys. So today, I'm filling up a cup with ice water and I'm leaving it out so I can drink throughout the day. I'm using the cup the hospital gave me...it's only 19 ounces and I'm aiming for drinking 3 of them today.

I'll let you know how it goes! :)