What A Great Week!!!!

This week has been F-AWESOME to say the least.  This is gonna be a long post, I have sooooo much to tell y'all and I'm so EXCITED!!!!  I've been trying to post this for the past several days but good things keep happening, making the post just a little longer each time.  I'm sitting here typing like a mad woman to get this post done so I can share the news.  This has been a week of loss, triumph, discovery, happiness, excitement and increased motivation.

My weird infection is gone.  My lymph node swelling has gone down but the antibiotics were hard on sleevie.  A few hours after I took the antibiotics, sleevie would start to get "crampy" and I would wake up with an antibiotic taste in my mouth...kinda like a metallic taste.  Icky.  I'm glad that it is over and that I'm feeling better, so much better.

I am off one of my blood pressure pills!!!!  I am now only taking one pill for my blood pressure and that may gone in just a few months.  I am so unbelievably happy about that.  I have yet to come off of the Prevacid for the GERD, but we'll see.  Perhaps when I'm closer to goal, I can stop taking prevacid - forever!  FOREVER.  One of the reasons I had this surgery was to get off all of the prescription medication that I was on.  It really bothered me that I was only 31 and taking so many medications.  I couldn't help but wonder how many more I'd be taking as I aged.  I did not like the path that I was heading down.


My second stall finally broke thursday morning!!!!  I am down to 186 pounds for a total loss of 75 pounds in less than 6 months.  You can not grasp how absolutely thrilled I am about this 4 pound loss.  I have not lost anything since Nov 26, going on three weeks; my second stall since last month.  To see the scale moving again assures me that I'm back on track, not a failure AND I'm out of the 190's!




I have been battling this second stall like a crazy woman, it was driving me insane.  INSANE.  I know that when a person hits a stall, they have to change up their food, their exercise or both.  I decided to start with my food since I tend to eat the same things over and over and rationalized that my metabolism may have leveled out....at least that's what I thought it was - eating the same things at the same times.  For the past three weeks I have been mixing up what I eat (carbs) and when I eat and nothing seemed to be working.  The scale seemed to be permanently set at 190 pounds, even though my clothes have been getting bigger and bigger.  I had it set in my mind that sleevie wasn't working anymore, that somehow, SOMEHOW, I wrecked sleevie.  That I failed yet again, a hopeless case.  My depression reared it's ugly-ass head.  I have to be honest, I was feeling a lot of emotions.  Failure, helplessness, frustration, anger, self pity.....I could go on, but I think you get the point.  However, this is not the case, thankfully.

Wednesday was a very busy day at work and my eating went off the rails.  I kept missing meals and by the time the day was over and I was lying in bed putting in my food on my "LoseIt!" app, I noticed that I had only had a half serving of my protein shake for the day.  I normally have one to one and a half of the shakes a day, giving me 40-60 grams of protein alone from the shakes.  When I weighed myself Thursday morning I was pleasantly surprised - the scale had moved!  Good Lord, THANK YOU!!!!!!  First thought after my surprised and happiness?  Why?  What changed suddenly?  Protein.  It's the protein.....it must be the protein, I have been getting too much protein.  Who would have thought?  I was told to aim for 80-100 grams of protein, but I guess that is too much for me at this time.  I decided to look back on my eating to find out when I started drinking the shakes, which was on October 31.  Since I have been drinking one to one and a half of these protein shakes per day, I have lost barely anything.  The day after my consumption is drastically reduced, BOOM!  Weight comes off.  *HOPEFULLY* this stall will be broken for a while now and I will resume losing weight on a weekly basis again.


I can not recommend this app enough.  Lose It! tracks what you eat, gives you a nutrient breakdown on a daily and weekly basis, lets you create your own recipes and gives you a breakdown of nutrients, you can add your own foods, track your weight loss and more.  Even better, Lose It! has an online website with even more benefits AND it's FREE!!!!.  PLUS, it syncs with Fit Bit, my new pedometer on steroids.  Click here to check out Lose It!.

I have had the best intentions to work out, but life has an annoying habit of getting in the way.  Work has been very busy and things are just so busy, I don't know how I'm going to fit anything in before Christmas - there is so much to do!  Since my activity levels are seriously lacking, I decided to invest in a Fit Bit to get me started.  I've been using it for the past two days and I LOVE it!  It is just as addicting as checking facebook and I have already found myself wanting to push further each day to beat my previous days' numbers.  It has been tracking how far I've walked, how many steps I've taken, how many stairs I've climbed and my sleep patterns.  It has wifi capabilities allowing it to automatically upload to your computer.  PLUS, there's more!  Purchasing the Fit Bit comes with free online membership where you can track everything.  You can view graphs and charts - this thing is just so amazing.  Since it syncs up with Lose It!, it also keeps track of my intake and calculated my calories burned.  Just amazing.  I freaking love this thing!!!!  Check out the features here.  I think the purchase price is also very reasonable at $99.95.  If you order before December 21st, expedited shipping is FREE.  When I ordered mine, I paid an extra $19.99 to have it shipped overnight.  Shipping was fast and start up was relatively easy.  All you have to do is go online to start downloading and away you go.  Fast.  Easy.  Love it.  I highly recommend this.

Now for the biggest news of all.  Everyone has their "thing".  The thing that will mark when they are smaller.  For some it may be an item that you wore when you were smaller.  Perhaps it was that sexy dress that caught your eye and you bought it as your inspiration to keep focused.  Mine was being able to wear a Lululemon sweater.  I first walked into this store a few years ago as I had seen the sweaters all over the place on other girls.  I had heard how absolutely comfortable these sweaters were, even if they are a tad costly.  When I went into this store I grabbed the largest size they had in a black sweater, and I could barely fit into one arm, never mind two.  I was mortified.  Then angry at myself.  I have never forgotten about that day and swore that one day, I too would wear one of these sweaters.  Those of you who don't know what Lululemon is, click here.  Being able to wear a Lululemon sweater was my marker that I had lost weight.  That I was on my way to being slender, maybe even, shall I dare say, skinny.  The largest size in this store is a 12.  I took a big chance yesterday considering my previous epic fail.  I went into the store, grabbed a size 12 sweater and proceeded nervously towards the change room.  This was something that had to be done in private.  Failure twice could elicit some serious tears and feelings of rejection....embarrassment upon failure of the zipper to close and a deep sense of humiliation if the sweater couldn't close to zip up.  Yes, this event demanded privacy.  I nervously approached the change room.  I entered in silence just as one would enter a church on sunday mass.  It was the moment of truth.  One arm in the sweater, then the next without any problems.  As I went to zip up the sweater there was no struggling.  It was smooth all the way up, a tiny bit snug over the boobies but still smooth.  The sweater fit.  Disbelief.  Holy shit, it fit.  It fits!!!  I am no longer a plus size.  I am, a Lululemon girl.....hellz yah!!!  I remember starting at myself, tears swelling in my eyes.  I did it.  I. Did. It.    I AM A SIZE FUCKING 12.  T-W-E-L-V-E.  1-2.  12.  HOLY FAAAAAKKK, I DID IT.  I'm not even done losing weight yet.  The kicker for me is that I'm a little bloated right now from my monthly gift and it still fits.  These sweaters are awesome and so snug.  I feel like I am being hugged and snuggled.  The comfort I felt wearing it is unexplainable.  You need to try one on to see what I mean.  I adore the thumb holes.  I absolutely am in love with this sweater and can see why so many others are too.

I walked out of the room after I had taken it off, happy but shocked.  My wonderful husband waiting for me, my face dead pan.  I couldn't hold it for long and broke out into the hugest shit-eating grin ever and told him the great news.  I wanted to jump up and down screaming "I'm a size fucking 12 y'all!!!!  6 months ago I was pushing the limits of a size 22 and I'm a size fucking 12!!!!!  BOO-YAHHHHHH!!!!!!".  Since such behavior is not appropriate in public I severely restrained myself.  Hubby was very happy for me, but couldn't understand why I would cry - I should be happy he said.  I am, I am, they are tears of joy!  I don't think guys "get" the whole battle of the bulge for us women, but that's ok.  He's been hella supportive and I love him to bits for that, and always will.  Even at my highest weight, he NEVER, EVER said anything negative about my body.  Never.  I love him so much.  Now, let's see if "Santa" puts this sweater under the tree for me!

TEAOPIA, my new obsession

My new obsession - TeaOpia.  Hubby and I discovered this place last night while making our way to Lululemon.  It truly is teaopia.  As you can see from the picture, the choices are enormous.  TeaOpia sells over 100 varieties of premium loose leaf tea.  I went in to just take a look, then decided to get "just one" tea and ended up walking out $180 later!  What (in the hell) did I buy you ask?  A lot!  First off, with names such as "Baked Apple Pie", "Almond Biscotti", "Devil's Chocolate" and "Coconut Cream", just to name a few, how can your mouth not water!  I assure you the smells are intoxicating and they are of premium quality.  Each type of tea is kept in a container that the service person opens up and wafts the lid over the opening to disperse the luxurious smell.  It is a unique experience and with over 100 types to chose from, this made for a most difficult choice, which is why I walked out with such a hefty bill.  While I quite enjoy coffee, I have always loved tea and this tea is premium quality tea.  Tea is well known for it's healthy properties such as with cancer prevention, weight loss, cardiovascular health, arthritis, bones, bladder inflammation, teeth, kidney stones, immune system, brain and, of course, it's antioxidant properties.  Especially with loose tea as they have the most antioxidant power.  Click here to read more about tea's health benefits, it is well worth the read.  This is what I ended up walking out with (descriptions from the website):


HONEY VANILLA

A heavenly combination of Oolong Tea, hazelnut brittle, vanilla bits, and marigold flower petals.  This dessert like tea is perfect for serving alongside dessert and is sure to please any palate.



Yep, this tea was dee-lish.  Really hit the spot when I woke up this morning with a longing for something sweet.  The smell left me smitten.  Even better was that I did not need to add sweetener, cream or milk - calories saved!



DARJEELING AMBOOTIA
This organic Darjeeling Black Tea gives honour to its famous name.  The Ambootia tea estate is located in India's renowned region of Darjeeling, where all natural methods are used to grow this beautiful tea.  The leaf is well twisted and the flavour is sure to meet all expectations.


I haven't tried this one yet, but I have always wanted to try a high quality darjeeling tea.




SLIM AND SLENDER
This Wellness Blend is a combination of Yerba Mate, Kind of Pu-Erh, stinging nettle, carrot pieces, aloe vera, red rose buds, mallow flowers, calcium lactate, sunflowers and magnesium citrate.  These natural ingredients come together to create a tea that both boosts the immune system and burns fat.  The guava-pineapple-lemon flavour of this tea is a pleasure to drink and in addition keeps you feeling healthy and slim, making Slim and Slender an instant favourite.

I am drinking this one right now and it has such a lovely flavor to it.  I have tried other slimming teas that were absolutely disgusting to be honest.  This tea is far from that.  I love the fruity overtones  - no need for sweetener, cream or milk.  No extra calories!



CARAMEL APPLE
This delicious Green Tea is a combination of organic sencha Shokai-style, caramel cubes, and apple pieces.  Now you can get the nostalgic and tasty flavour of apple and a caramel in a healthy green tea.  

I fell in love with the smell of this one immediately.  I was instantly reminded me of my late Grandmother and the apple pies she used to bake.  I am sure this one is going to be delicious as it is stated to be.






BLUEBERRY AMORE
This flavoured tea is a combination of Green Sencha, blueberries, rose petals, mallow petals, red rose buds and safflower petals.  The mixture of fruit and flowers together provides a delightful flavour and aroma for the pallet.  This drink is perfect for any time of day hot or iced for tea and fruit lovers.

I have not tried this one yet either, but I'm sure it won't be long before I do.  The smell is a lovely, light aroma of fruit.  My husband suggested this one for me and I'm looking forward to trying it out.




MONK'S BLEND
Monk's Blend is a dramatic combination of Ceylon Black Tea, vanilla and grenadine.  This flavoured tea has a mysterious background, as it is believed to have been developed by monks to fulfill their life's desires and used by Franciscan monks to keep them awake during periods of meditation.  While we may not know the true history of Monk's Blend, we do know that this tea is delicious and much desired by vanilla lovers.  

I was drawn to the name of this tea and couldn't resist once I had a smell of it.  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE vanilla and this tea smells so rich and creamy to me.  I can easily imagine monks drinking this tea.  The smell is just so calming and peaceful.  Mmmmmm, vanilla.



MATCHA PINNACLE
Teaopia's Pinnacle grade Matcha is hand picked from the top two varieties of Matcha trees by only skilled hands, which ensures that the leaves are accurately sorted.  Although this is a slow process, hand picking produces tea of the highest quality.  Our Pinnacle Matcha has a sweet and fresh flavour that Green Tea drinkers will love.  Matcha powdered Green Tea is praised for being rich in naturally occurring catechins including EGCG (Epigallocatechin gallate), which are believed to help protect against cancer, help prevent cardiovascular disease and help reduce harmful cholesterol in the blood.  Since you are actually ingesting the whole Green Tea leaf which drinking Matcha and using the powder in your smoothies, baking, etc, you are receiving more health benefits, in fact approximately 10X more than an infusion of Green Tea leaves.  Teaopia's selection of premium Match Green Tea provides you with all the health benefits of loose leaf Green Tea and more.  This extremely healthy ancient beverage will bring your health and wellness to a whole new level.  Our Pinnacle Matcha is packaged in a sealed 30 gram tin.  $38.00

I have never had Matcha Tea but I have heard of the amazing antioxidant properties.  Just look at the chart above!  Although it is costly, you don't use very much of it and there are many uses for it.  Put in in your smoothie, yogurt, bake, make a Matcha latte or just have it in its traditional form.  Matcha Tea requires special preparation  - 4 oz of water, 80 degree water and a steep time of 2-3 minutes while being whisked.  I bought this kit so that I could make the tea in it's traditional form and was given a demonstration by a staff member on how to correctly prepare it.  I am  especially looking forward to trying this tea as it is of exceptional quality.





One of the big bonus' was that TeaOpia had a promotional deal on.  Fill any small or large tin and the tin was free.  These tins have an air tight lid and hold the freshness of the tea for 6-8 months.  I purchased small tins for all of my teas and I was quite happy to have them in a tin knowing that their freshness would be preserved.





Well, now that I've written a novel, it is time to sign off for the night.  Take care everyone, hope all is well for everyone!