Long time! Weigh in.

So it's been forever since I have blogged. To be honest,the reason is because I stalled. Big time! I didn't lose anything for 2 months. I stated between 267 and 265 until Christmas. Then we went on vacation to Utah and Wyoming to see family. With 5 kids, my hubby and I all in one vehicle, you only take the bare minimums. My scale was not going to come.  There wasn't an ounce of spare room in our Honda pilot. We were gone for 11 days. I managed to weigh one morning on my sisters scale, about 8 days into our vacation, and to my surprise, I was down. Maybe there is something to this "not weighing everyday" thing. When we got back home I was very anxious to weigh myself. Really? I LOST weight on vacation?!? It was true.  I was down to 264 when we got home. Not perfect, but I didn't gain. I went to the Dr. On January 13 and with my clothes on I weighed 264 on their scale. That was a -4 loss from my last appointment. They were happy with that. So was I. I had told my hubby I wanted a personal trainer for Christmas. Not at all realistic. As a compromise he got me a gym membership.  As an added bonus, he joined too! I was so happy! I now go every Tues and Thursday while the little one is at preschool and hubby and I try to go at least Monday and Fridays. Sometimes he goes with me on Saturdays, sometimes I go alone. But I am really trying to work my booty off. And I am seeing results! Today I weighed 258.8!!! I have officially lost 40 lbs. It is not melting off of me, but it is coming off and for that I am so grateful! I am happy with my results.

Here are anew things I've learned since introducing real food:
   * YES, I do have to weigh everything I eat! I can't guess because I will eat too much!
   * Feeling full is not the same feeling as before the band. When I'm full, it isn't down in my regular stomach. It's a lot higher. Makes perfect sense, but sometimes I forget that. And I very rarely feel "full". That's ok!
   * I have to listen to my body's real needs. That is so new to me. It's so different than my body's "wants".  I need protein. I don't need sugary treats. I will feel satisfied after 2-3 ounces of protein and the desire for a treat will be gone if I eat the right thing first!
   * Getting stuck is very real and as of yesterday, I think I can tell when it is starting and I can fix it before I throw up. This is huge for me. I have been pbing a lot lately.

That's just a few things. I am learning a lot every day and I am working very hard! Hubby bought me a heart rate monitor for Christmas and I love it! I don't leave the gym until I've burned 600 calories. It usually takes me an hour. It's a great workout routine and I love it when I go. I'm really starting to like this healthy lifestyle routine. It's pretty empowering.