Sadly, my boobs will also get smaller.

Motivational tagline about weight loss here.

[laceygetssmaller]

On my dresser at grandma's house, there is a family pic that has been staring at me since I got here. From that family gathering to today's sunset picture in my favorite new dress, there's 100lb difference. I'm still working toward my goal, but am super proud of the progress I've made over the last few years.

[laceygetssmaller]

So, uh, hey there.

Yeah... It’s been a while, kids. 

A few things have happened since my last post. I moved back to my home town, graduated from college, just got back from a cruise (gained 5 or so lbs), preparing to teach 43 students in one classroom during summer school, and will be getting everything ready to teach math at my old middle and high school. 

Other than that I have zero love interests, and I’m still obsessed with my cat. That’s how the whole crazy cat lady thing starts, right. No love interests but loves the shit out of her cat. 

I hadn’t been eating or working out during my insane spring semester, but didn’t gain weight. My relaxation and unlimited food supply in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico/Caribbean shot me up about 6ish pounds. How the hell am I gonna get that off? I’ve been chilling a little above 200 for about a year. 

I’m slowly but surely getting back on track. I make excellent food choices in the morning, but by lunch I’ve dick it up somehow. 

For a workout I started the 5 Rites of Rejuvenation. Look it up. I can’t do all 21, but I started with 7 and am working my way up to 21. It’s actually pretty fun. You get to start by spinning in a circle. WHO DOESN’T LOVE SPINNING? People with motions sickness issues, I know. 

My banana stomach went through a lot of stress last week with my need to try everything. I didn’t finish any of it but I think I tried a bite of everything around me. I think part of my weight gain was water. I kind of replaced water with tropical flavored adult beverages with our on board credit and cruise gift cards. Whoops. I don’t drink anything but water (ok maybe one adult beverage per week), so my body was like, “uh this isn’t clear, and it’s making me feel like I can dance really well.” 

So, like many of us who have lost weight and are losing weight, I’ve gained a little back. I up about 15 from my lowest weight. I’m almost 3 years out and though gaining weight sucks, I’m happy it’s not more. 

[laceygetssmaller]

So I went to UCM (just graduated in May) and I've been reading your blog for several months. Anyway, a few months ago I was doing laundry and I saw you and I could not for the life of me remember why I knew your face and it was driving me crazy. You probably thought that I was stalking you because I kept staring at you, lol. I eventually remembered your face and I wanted to say hi, but I also didn't want to be creepy so I didn't. So anyway it was really neat seeing you and you looked great!

HAHA! Oh you should have said hi! That laundromat is creepy sometimes so I probably kept my head down and didn't acknowledge anyone around me. Also, thank you so much for saying I looked good at the laundromat. I'm pretty sure I looked homeless every time I went to do laundry. Thanks for following my blog! Congrats on graduating! That's my plan in May!

[laceygetssmaller]

Happy Birthday to Me! Morning hair is on point!

[laceygetssmaller]

Too much

My lunch today was an apple, peanut butter, and corn chips. That wasn’t my intended lunch. The apple and peanut butter were supposed to be my mid-morning snack. I brought leftover black bean chili with some corn chips to have Frito pie. Lately I’ve had a little junk food devil perched upon my shoulder. After my apple/pb I wasn’t hungry. I was actually kind of full. Not uncomfortable, but satisfied, but for some reason, the devil whispered, “you need something salty after that sweet apple”. So I had a couple of broken corn chips, then a couple more, then I just blindly kept stuffing my face with corn chips. Now I’m miserable and have a feeling my body is 98% composed of corn chips.  Some “lucky” (I say lucky sarcastically, don’t send me hate mail) people are able to throw up when they’ve eaten too much. I’ve thrown up twice in the two years since my surgery. I know someone who still throws up if she eats too much years after her surgery. It’s just not in the cards for me. (Once again, please don’t send me hate mail, this isn’t a “I wish I could have an eating disorder” post.) 

Part of my misery is that I tried Yoga with Adriene’s Yoga for Weight Loss “Abs and Arms” (or is it Arms and Abs?) and my midsection is a tad sore. So my stuffed banana stomach is hanging out in the same spot where my ab muscles are angrily recovering from the weird, but cool alternatives to crunches. The workout was good because I feel it today. This is not a bad thing. I like the feeling of sore muscles even if standing, sitting, turning, or blinking hurts. 

I overeat all the time. I hate it. I worry and kind of assume I have an addiction to shitty food. I am certainly not addicted to carrots or broccoli or really anything slightly healthy. I am attempting to come up with alternatives to the salty wonderfulness of chips, the magic sweet happiness I get from cookies. 

After getting the sleeve, we teach ourselves to chew our food so well that it travels well and to take in as much good protein and nutrients as possible. I have learned to chew chips and cookies so fit as much as possible. That’s not the intended use! That’s not what the sleeve is for! Dang it! 

I dicked up. I dick up regularly. I’m not sure when I fell back into this junk food crave fest, but it’s been like this for a while. This isn’t a pity or whine post. I’m well aware of my successes and failures and I don’t get bummed about it often. I keep on working towards my goal, even if I’m retracing my steps a few times. The sleeve is forever and it may take forever to reach my goal, but I have everything I need to rock it, I just need to use my tools for the good food. 

[laceygetssmaller]

Yesterday was weird.

[laceygetssmaller]

TWO YEARS

I had VSG two years ago. I totally forgot. Facebook reminded me. I didn't take a pic today or anything. I failed. Hahaha So, here's to many more years with a banana stomach and eventually finding a workout that I don't hate.

[laceygetssmaller]

WATER

So, I figured out a partial reason for my weight gain. Water. My body has been retaining all the water! i stared taking a water pill to help flush out some of that extra water. I’ve lost about almost 9 pounds in the last week. I’ve been eating a lot better, working out, and taking a water pill daily. I’m sure part of my loss is from better eating and exercise, but I’m pretty thrilled that my frequent urination is for good reason. I don’t know if my clothes fit any better, but I’m less depressed about gaining weight, so that’s win?

That’s just a quick update. 

I hope everyone is having the best day/week/month regardless of the world/national events. 

[laceygetssmaller]

I've been looking up carb cycling and have done Adkins in the past. I'm thinking since I already know how to Low Carb and had success with it pre-surgery (lost 30, gained back 20), I can do it again. I hate that I have so much carb wonderfulness in my house right now. I love protein and made some awesome dishes back in the day. Thanks, almostskinnyginny! Im already thinking of my old menu! Haha

[am1na1992]

aziz ansari’s voice in the back of my head faintly telling me to treat myself is going to be my downfall

[laceygetssmaller]

HAHAHA 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

[laceygetssmaller]

This is how we operate.

I've gained 15 pounds. I'm not thrilled. I'm depressed about it. I'm unmotivated. I'm beating myself up pretty bad. Weight loss surgery isn't a quick fix. I have to put in the work. I have to eat plenty of protein. I have to drink plenty of water. I have to eat the bad stuff in moderation. I've done none of those things lately. I'm going to go back to shakes for as long as my soul can tolerate it. I hate shakes now. I drank them religiously for over a year and now the thought of drinking a shake nauseates me. I understand how whiny and pitiful I seem. When we aren't happy with our life choices - instead of motivating ourselves and supporting ourselves to do better- we kick ourselves when we're already down. It makes no sense but this is how we operate. Tomorrow is a new day. Tomorrow I'll do better.

[notorious-posts]

[jessigaivota-deactivated2015100]

Even though I won’t be attending capoeira for a while (because money), that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t prepare my body for my return!

I have really tight hips resulting in low kicks, so I’m going to condition myself to get into the routine of working out at home.

I’ll find the motivation. I don’t know where, but I’ll find it!

I’m going to start with open lizard, happy baby and pigeon. I’ll hold each position for 20 seconds and hopefully I’ll see some progress in a weeks time!

[laceygetssmaller]

I've got some janky hips.

[laceynelson]

I’m a foster parent! This is Sheba. She has the sneezes. She has been at the humane society since March. They told me she had kittens and all of them have been adopted but she still hasn’t found a home yet. She’s so pretty and has a rockin’ half ‘stache. I’m going to smother her with my love until someone adopts her.

[laceygetssmaller]

When the shorts are cute but you gotta keep your rock & roll edge. These mint polka dot shorts are Elle at Kohls. I bought them on sale, so if you run over there they might still be $15 bucks!

[laceygetssmaller]

Last weekend my mom and I drove to Indianapolis to see my favorite band reunite for two nights. They've been doing their own thing since 2010 so this was the event of 2015 for Lacey! I loved hanging out with the guys after the show as well as catching with friends I have made over the years who love quality rock and roll as much as I do. Those shows were the best workout I've had in a long time. So much sweat. So much dancing. So much awesome. I had the energy to move and the confidence to have fun. I wore cute shorts instead of jeans. I embraced my body imperfections and successes. If you want to become a fan of a band that is no longer together, check out The Elms. If you want to check out a super cool guy who is a fantastic musician, check out Jason Aaron Coons. He has a bunch of songs to fall in love with before his new album comes out in November.

[boohealth]