Official One Year Update

Finally :)

Firstly, my weight has been bouncing between 200 and 203 all month... I only saw 199.8 one day...I'm just sticking with 200lbs for my official one year weight and not celebrating 199 just yet... hopefully by next week!

Here are my comparison photos compared with my last set, which was taken at 8 months post op:

(Don't see much difference in the front view. Wearing smaller shorts though!)

(Something about the angle is funky, so this doesn't look right... but I do notice that my back and butt look smaller, and I have some muscle perking up in my thigh!)

(I see less fat by my armpits, above my elbows, and my stance isn't as wide!)

So those are the small changes.

Now for the big changes, comparing to the beginning!

Measurements

I have lost a total of 77 1/2" off my total body measurements since the beginning. I've updated my stats on the weight loss page if you care to see specific measurements :)


Food

At one year post op, I still eat roughly six times per day and I eat usually 1/2 cup to 1 cup of food per meal. The amount my stomach will hold varies by time of day, what else I've eaten that day, etc. I always have to pay attention. I have only thrown up twice since surgery, both times forced when I ate something that made me feel too full or too sick. For the most part I've done very well at being aware of my fullness level. I can eat fats and sugars, but not really large amounts without feeling upset to my tummy (a milkshake is just too much, and that was one of the times I threw up... I no longer want to ever have one again.)
I can eat surprisingly large amounts of carbs if eaten alone (i.e. a big bowl of popcorn) so I try not to do that very often. If eating ONLY dense protein, such as a chicken breast, I can still only eat about 3-5 ounces. I feel heavy inside when I eat fried foods, so I usually avoid them. I still usually follow the rule of protein first. I can still get full on a protein shake in the mornings. I still do not drink soda (and never plan to), very rarely consume any alcohol. I DO NOT DRINK WITH MEALS and for an hour afterward. I get 60-80 ounces of water per day.

Exercise

My level of exercise varies greatly because of my pain levels. The 'ideal workout schedule' I shared previously doesn't seem like something my body will allow me to adhere to. I am doing Curves 3x per week and doing hikes most weekends, a couple more walks or other cardio thrown in here and there but not as consistently as I would like. Just have to keep trying and hope my pain will eventually subside... the back and hip problems I have give me bad days and better days, no real "good" days right now, but I do think I can try to do a little more than I have been doing.

Clothing Size

I am now wearing 14 or 16 in pants.  In the beginning I was a 26/28 for pants. I am wearing 14 or Large for dresses... I started as size 24 or 26 for dresses. I am now wearing mostly size L in tops (some mediums, some xl), started as a 3X/4X in tops. In the past couple months I have dropped in size for both pants and tops... yet my measurements haven't changed too much, so not sure what that's all about except the fat may be coming from some interesting areas lol.


Current Challenges

Food is difficult. With the amount I can eat now, I can consume as many calories as a normal person now if I don't watch what I'm eating.

Exercise is difficult because of my pain. So in the past, I've exercised more to counteract my food choices, but that is a challenge now.

I have lost 15 lbs in the past six months, which in my opinion is not nearly enough. I believe I can do better.


Game Plan

I think it's time to bite the bullet and put a little more structure into my weight loss efforts. It's hard to feel like I need to do things I have done in the past that I thought I was done with... but I have decided to re-join Weight Watchers. I will be doing it online because I don't think the meetings would be worthwhile to me whatsoever. I plan to still adhere to high protein, low carb as much as possible... but I think a little bit of structure of paying more attention to my food choices, my activities, etc... will be good for me. I have 40 more pounds to lose, and I would like to do so by November.

We are going to Hawaii in November - more on that another time. While that isn't my main reason for choosing November as a time to reach my goal weight, it is certainly a little extra motivation and gives me something to look forward to. It's right at the beginning of Nov so I essentially have all of June, July, August, Sept and October to lose my last 40 pounds. I believe I can do it, but I also know that AFTER the body has already lost this much weight, it's harder. And as I get smaller, it gets harder to lose also. I have challenges with my ability to work out. This is going to take a lot of attention and determination.

I am going to do my best!!

Overall Recap....

WHAT A YEAR THIS HAS BEEN!!!!!!!!!!!  I can't deny SO MUCH HAS CHANGED FOR THE BETTER :) I have some challenges, and things are not totally smooth, but I have made very positive changes in my life and I have no doubt I can finish this journey. I am so much stronger and healthier and I can do so much more now.... it feels great. Thanks for following along :)

10 Month Update

Well, I don't have a photo this time but my weight at 10 months post-op is 206.6 lbs. That is a loss of 103.4 lbs so far. Finally a little bit of movement. When I started my 'pouch test' type of diet last week I was back up to 210, so I am very happy with this much movement downward. I am not doing the all liquids all day this week, but I am really watching my food a lot better now.

I also want to update about the back pain situation. I am doing a lot better. I think the cause of it was me not going to the chiropractor for over 3 months. I am going again and doing better now. I also had an appointment with my doctor because I was concerned about the sudden acute pain. Luckily after a series of questions he asked me, he was able to determine that I am not experiencing any nerve pain. My pain is all what he calls mechanical pain - it's being caused by my muscles reacting to my spine problems and tightening up on me. He says chiropractic and massage are the best treatments for me. He also prescribed me a muscle relaxant to help with all of the tightness I tend to get. So far I've been using them once a day during the day, and once at night to help me sleep more comfortably. He also prescribed me a pain medication which hopefully I won't have to use often - but will be good to have on hand if I experience the type of pain I was going through last week - it was awful!

The doctor also said he wants me to do more core strengthening exercises, paritcularly swimming and yoga. I'm on it. I started with a yoga video this morning. I already had one by Leslie Sansone and hadn't really used it before. It felt GREAT.. it stretched ALL of my trouble areas and I believe the strengthening I will get from it will eventually help me a LOT. Next week I hope to start doing some swimming and also continue with the yoga.

I only managed two workouts last week and one this week but now that my pain is under control I hope to do more. I have to be VERY careful. Although the worst pain has passed, when I overdo my activities I make myself hurt really badly. Still trying to find a good balance!!!

I don't have measurements or official photos this month - at this point i think I'll wait two more months until my one year to do the official stuff :)

However here are a couple photos of me from last weekend that show my current size:

And here's a quick refresher of the old me:

I'd say I'm pretty damn happy with how far I've come.

I would like to be 199 or lower for my one year on May 20th. Lately I've lost so slow, but that is just 7.5 lbs and I have two months. I want to at least meet that goal and hopefully exceed it :)

8 Months

Today is my 8 month "surgaversary"... I wish I actually HAD something to report, but I don't... lol. I am STILL bouncing between 211-212 every time I weigh. I was having a lot of pain so had a hard time working out, but the past two weeks I've worked out 4 days per week. Nothing changed. When I didn't work out... nothing changed. My body seems to be very happy right here. While I do want to get things moving, I am not stressing too much about it because I feel like my body is going through an adjustment period.

I do plan to do new progress photos and measurements for 8 months over this weekend since I haven't done them since my 6 month. I'm hoping I'll see some change in measurements even though my weight hasn't been changing. :)

Also, we had our 6 month appointment with our surgeon last week - yes, 6 month. It was VERY late because it got postponed a couple of times. It was supposed to be Thanksgiving week originally. Oh well.

The appointment was VERY positive. My surgeon did a double take looking at my chart. He said "we did this in MAY?? and you've lost HOW MUCH??" He was thrilled and said he would have expected this amount at one year. He also said my plateau is not the big deal that I've been thinking it is and just give it time, get back into exercise, continue on the same path and everything will work itself out :)

He wants me to try to lose 15 more lbs by my one year... works for me. Hopefully I can do more, but who knows... at this rate, maybe not. My weight hasn't changed at all in almost two months. But I keep reminding myself that maintaining is a great accomplishment too. The fact I am just living my life and not gaining any weight is a great thing :) :)

I REALLY will try to catch up on blogging over the next week - my best friend is coming into town for a long visit a week from today and I want to have some blogging done before then!!

For now, here's a couple photos of me from last weekend :) As an example of where I'm at at 8 months out. Although I'm in my puffy clothes since we were out in the snow all day :)

A few notes about the wardrobe... I made the hat :) Still need to blog about that. Also, I was able to buy snow pants. They are men's XL but they run small, usually in men's pants I'd wear an L. They were out of women's so I didn't even get to try any on. But my husband and I both bought snow pants... in past years, we could never fit into any!!! Also - my new snow boots are a Women's 9.5 - not wide width... not mens... just NORMAL women's 9.5... this is a huge accomplishment in my world too.

Another milestone this month... I can now wrap a regular bath towel around myself. It covers me and it stays. I am not sure when this happened because I hadn't even tried it before... but now it fits :) I did actually take a pic... but I am not sharing it here LOL.

That's all for now... more soon :)

Unofficial 7 Month Update and Some Photos

Time for a much needed update! Yes, I have passed my 7 month mark now. I didn't take photos or measurements, or make a video, because not much has changed, so I think I'm going to wait until my 8th month to do so. Although when I *finally* hit 100 lbs lost I'll probably take some photos. I am currently still bouncing between 211.5 and 213. My body seems to really like hanging out at this weight... and I am actually okay with it. I am totally enjoying my life and my body and how I feel health-wise. So let's just call this my unofficial 7  month update :)
 So on my 7 month (Dec 20th) this was my weight:

Yes I still would like to lose more, but I'm not in a hurry :) Things are good and I'm letting my body do what it needs to do. I'm trying to up my exercise again, but every time I do it causes a lot more hip and back pain, so I'm trying to keep a balance and respect what my body needs. Damn pain :(

 Anyway, while I am perfectly fine with things going slow right now, friends and family are constantly asking me if I have hit the 100 mark yet. That gets a little frustrating - I know they all mean well but it just seems like they are so disappointed when I tell them nothing has changed. So I'd love to hit that mark just so I can shut everyone up and say yup I'm there lol. Other than that I'm good.

We've been having an EXTREMELY busy holiday season - I am up to my ears in photos I want to share and blog posts I want to write. I hope I can start catching up soon. I'm so busy with my knittng and crochet classes right now too! Just know that I'm here and I do have lots to share :)

While things have been slow the past couple months... there's nothing like seeing how far you've come to make you realize things are really freaking good.

The other day I was going through my husband's phone and emailing myself photos of his that I wanted. I came cross some old photos I don't ever remember seeing... why he even took these I don't know lol but man, were they crazy to see....

Then I also found this photo from my honeymoon:

Then I started getting a chance to look at photos that have been taken THIS holiday season (haven't even put any of these on Flickr yet)... and I am just so happy with what I am seeing these days!

That last one, while not a particularly flattering photo, is a special photo for me. It's one that made me go... wow... that's me? I know I'm still a big girl but man, I feel like I am starting to look pretty normal. My stomach looks fairly flat (at least it's not sticking out) and I am just happy with what I see. Can't remember the last time I saw a side-view photo and I liked what I saw. This feels great :)

Well I'm off to try and finish up a knitting assignment before class tonight. I hope to be back with more to share soon!

6 Month Comparison Photos

Hey guys! This is going to be short and sweet. I have lots to blog about and I will get to it all ASAP :) For now, here are my 6 month comparison photos!


This month compared to last month:

This month compared to pre-op:

As a side note, I need a new tank top! I had to tuck it in on whatever side wasn't being photographed so you could even see anything. Need a tighter one!

5 Month Update: Part 2

Back as promised (although a little late) to share my video update and progress pics for 5 months. :)

Full Progression:

This month compared to last month:

This month compared to the start:

Thanks for checking in on me :)

More Real Comparisons

Time for a new round of real life comparisons! The official progress photos are great... but I love doing these too :) I try to find similar poses to get a really good comparison. Let me know what you think! I threw in a couple of the hubby too ;)