Down 25.2!

So, as you can see from my title, I am proud that my weight loss has still been steady, even though I've added food back in. Actually, Patrick said that eating these little amounts helps speed up our metabolism, and if we skip meals that would not be good for losing weight. :) Also, I've gotten into an exercise routine which involves 21 minutes of walking (recommeded for 3 weeks from surgery) and yoga every other day. I bought a beginners yoga DVD, and I tried it on Thursday. I figured it would help me tone, and also relieve stress, and it did both! I really felt my abs and other muscles responding, even for the 15 minutes I tried the beginning poses. I did it in the family room, with Spencer watching my every move. When I went into the sitting pose, he sat right next to me, and it was so cute. But I couldn't take a picture, since it was just the two of us. Chris had a game. :)

Right now I'm enjoying my lunch--a new creation I came up with last night and LOVED! I took 1.5 oz. of turkey breast deli meat (about 2 small slices) and layered a piece of red leaf lettuce, and a knifeful of cream cheese. I rolled it all up, and I'm dipping it into this awesome mustard that was recommended to me--Nance's Sharp and Creamy mustard. It tasted wonderful! The mustard really makes it, since it is like a dijon, with a tangy hint of sweetness. I wanted to have something that went down easily, because I got sick after breakfast again today. I had a hard boiled egg, and 1/2 patty of Morning Star sausage patties. They said we would probably tolerate this well, since it's vegetarian, and it's good since it has a ton of added protein. Well, I ate it slowly and chewed well, but I got the same feeling that I had with the scrambled eggs the other day. It must have been either too rich, or too much protein. I didn't throw up, and luckily the sick feeling passed in about 4 minutes, but it was enough for me to be careful with that from now on. :) Even though I hate feeling like I'm going to throw up, it is a good reminder that I need to be careful, and I can't get too cocky with what I eat. Next time I try the sausage, I'll just have that and nothing else, and see how it goes.

Yesterday was my first full day back at school and things went great. I'm so glad I went back Friday instead of Monday morning, because it helped me get through the day, and I brought some work home this weekend so I can be prepared for next week. It would have been hard to face a whole week of lessons, with the mountain of paperwork I had on my desk! Everyone has been so understanding and supportive at school--my principal, parents and students, and my co-workers. I am truly blessed. Everyone told me how great I look, and since I had told the parents, who I figured told the students, I told them briefly about it that morning. At 9 and 10, they are old enough to know some of it, and I thought it would help them help me to drink my liquids and be careful. (My class has always been great about reminding me about things, since I tell them that I always have a lot to think about and be accountable for...if only they could be as good with remembering their multiplication facts!! heeheehee) They had a lot of questions, but mainly about my hospital stay. Did I feel the surgery?, Was I awake during surgery?, How did they make it so I wouldn't move during surgery?, Did I have to wake up during the middle of the night every 15 minutes to drink my liquids?...stuff like that. They were very respectful, and just curious, so I didn't have any problems answering their questions. I just wanted to make sure I didn't scare them. :)

It was a little hard to keep track of everything yesterday, which is to be expected when I've just started this food routine, and putting it with my work schedule has actually been better than I thought. I am eating every three hours- 6 a.m., 9, 12, 3, 6, and 9pm. I got up a little earlier so I'd have time to eat at 6, then 9 falls during my planning, 12 is my regular lunch time, and 3 is of course after school. The only little problem I had is that during my planning we met with another teacher, and I ate about 4 tiny squares of cheese, and I was full. I think I must have eaten them too fast, and I didn't feel sick, but I just couldn't eat any more. So, I'll need to be careful, since we have meetings a lot during planning. Even though I thought I would never touch another shake again, I may take a few shakes to school to sip during my planning time when I have a meeting, or just skip that meal. They want us to have 4-6 small meals, to get in enough nutrients and vitamins, so if I only have 5 one day, that wouldn't kill me. The emotionally hard thing with being at school, is that there is always food all around! I still had some snacks in my desk, which weren't terrible, but probably have more sugar in them than I can have now. Also, just about every day I am offered a cupcake or cookie from some student on our hall who is having a birthday. Normally I declined those anyway, since store bought cupcakes have too much frosting for me, but I can see myself wanting to have them now, since I know I can't. So for now, I'll just have to stick to my routine and blog about those times when I'm feeling deprived, to help me get through it.

This morning, I talked with my mom for an hour, and my sister for a half hour. I love those long conversations where you get caught up on everything going on, and they're not rushed because you have something else to do. :) Chris and I are going to the NC State game tonight--he got tickets for the suite through work, and a parking pass, so we'll be going in style. I can't wait to wear my new red top from Old Navy, and all of my cute NC State jewelry. I hope there isn't any food in the suite. I've debated on what to do, since during the time we're there, I will need to get a meal in. Duke Hospital gave us a little card that we can give to restaurants, telling we had the surgery, and asking them to make any changes in preparation of the food that we need or request that we can order things off the kid's menu. If I had brought a little cooler, I could show them that card as I went in, and maybe it would be okay. But if not, I'd hate to have to take it all back to the car. So, I've decided to buy a bottle of water there, and bring a small bag of multi-grain pretzels, some of which I had last night and were very tasty, and put them in the bottom of my purse. They shouldn't see it in there, and then at least I'll have something I can snack on, if it's hard to watch everyone else eat. Going to games and eating game-type food, was always so fun before, so it will be a switch now to actually focus on the game. ;) Well, when you're there, I usually focus on the game anyways, which is different than when you're home because there's always other things to be doing.

Well, that was a lot for today, but I just wanted to update you about yesterday and today. I assume as things become less new, I will probably blog less too. Take care and enjoy your weekend!