I am so sick of winter!

First we were hit with the sub-zero temps. It was below zero for two days with windchills of 20-30 below zero. We lived through that only to now be hit with a freaking snowstorm. It started about 3:30 this morning and has been snowing since. I believe that there's likely six inches or more of that crap out there now. *sigh* I've shoveled our walk (from our door to the parking lot) three times already today. I know I'll have to wade through snow to get to the car to go to work tonight. If not for losing my holiday pay, I'd call in sick tonight. GRRRRR! I spent half an hour shoveling out my parking spot and I dare someone to park their happy ass in it after I go to work. I swear if they don't have a handicapped placard, they better not be there when I come home in the morning! I will definitely call the police and report them. I know that's bitchy of me but this place does next to nothing for snow removal and I'll be darned if I cleared that spot just so someone else could use it!

It's supposed to snow through the night. Lucky us, huh?! Actually, in the wee hours of the morning, this all may just change to freezing rain, sleet, rain ... what a lovely mix that will be. I so wanted to head off to visit my sister and my girls for the holiday but that won't happen if this weather keeps up. It's dangerous out there. I won't head out if there is ice tomorrow. I guess it's going to be a 'play it by ear kind of thing. FINALLY, I see there is someone outside with a little bobcat, working on clearing the parking lot. It's about time as I've been sitting here watching people skid around the corner all day. You'd think after paying what we do for rent they could at least clean the parking lot more than once a day when it snows all day long! And that's my rant for today.

I work tonight and then will be off until Sunday night. I hope that the weather clears and we can head out tomorrow morning. I'll grab a couple hours sleep and then be on the road. Next check in may be a few days away, depending on whether we go and how things are at my sister's.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas. Be well, be safe, and enjoy your family and loved ones. You never know when it may be your last day here on this earth. Make the most of it!

Three Month Follow-Up

I didn't get time to post yesterday but as of last evening I was down to 330 lbs which means I've lost a total of 200 lbs since starting my journey in Jan of 2005. It's been a long road and I still have about 130ish pounds to go to be where I think I'd like to be. I'm so proud of myself and feeling GREAT!

Saw my surgeon today. He said I'm progressing very well. I advised him I haven't had a menstrual cycle since surgery. He said that happens and one of these days it very likely will come back. RATS! I also asked about a bruise that is taking a LONG time to heal. He said it is a combo of being on the coumadin and now aspirin. He says it can even take up to a year for a bruise to clear. Wow! We discussed a bowel issue I'm having and directed to take fiber and drink more water. Lastly, he said eventually (after a minimum of 18 months) he can remove the loose skin from my tummy and has done it many many times over the last seven years. He said when he does it there are no "dog ear flaps" on the sides that sometimes plastic surgeons leave behind. Woo hoo! He can and will remove my panni one day and said the cost is usually $3000 which is a LOT better than the plastic surgeon quoted at $8000. The good news is I absolutely LOVE my surgeon and will go under his knife with confidence.

The snow is a bugger here. My exercise classes have been canceled for tonight. I'm glad cuz I was gonna ditch if not. I still have to go back out in this crap to get to work and then again to check on the staff through the night. It's times like this I wonder why I took this job. Probably the increase in money had something to do with it. *tongue in cheek*

Week from Hell!

Been so much drama at my house and in my life this past week. None of it is weight loss related. Just a week in the life.

Wednesday night as I was making the rounds at work I discovered one of my tires was going flat. *sigh* Tried to take care of it but air pumps weren't working at the local gas station. By the end of my shift it was completely flat. Thankfully, the maintenance guy had an air compressor and managed to reinflate it. So far it has held so not sure what the deal was. Maybe some jerk let the air out as a joke. Who knows?

Thursday spent the day in a "mandated by the state" training. It wasn't anything I haven't heard before. Bored out of my mind for eight hours and then messed up my whole work schedule resulting in my working half a shift on one of my days off.

Friday night I was sleeping before heading into work. My hubby woke me with "Karon you have to get up. Water is running into our apartment." I get up and sure enough, water is pouring from the ceiling near our bathroom. The smoke detectors are making strange noises, water is running from the door jamb into our bedroom, our bathroom is flooded, water is running down the wall in our bedroom, and spots are appearing in the ceiling all over the place.

I called maintenance and am told they will be here shortly. I ran upstairs to check and see if the tub is overflowing and the young girl up there says her toilet has been overflowing for three days. Three days! Why didn't she do something about it? No wonder we have a flood in our apartment!

Maintenance finally arrived about 40 mins later. He fixed the toilet. He took down one of our smoke detectors. He assessed the damage. He said someone would be out on Monday to clean the carpets and check the damage further. We have a LOT of places that are going to need work in the ceiling. Good news is the hubby no longer wants a condo. He's been in a "I want a place of our own mode" and had thought condo since they are generally a little less money. I never wanted one as I don't care for them. To me, and sorry to anyone who owns one, it is nothing but glorified apartment living. To have this happen because someone just doesn't think would totally tick me off!

So that's been my week. Flat tires, missed exercise, long work hours, and toilet overflow that wasn't even mine. Hmmm ... sure hope next week is better!

As far as weight loss goes ... I was down to 331 this morning. That's a total loss since starting the pre-op diet (which is what the surgeon's office is tracking) of 81 pounds. Since my surgery date, which was now 15 weeks ago Monday, I've lost 56 pounds. That's an average of almost 4 pounds per week and I'm good with that. At this rate, I really may be at my personal goal by Labor Day next year. That's something to think about, huh?

Have a great week, all!

3 Months Post Op

No weight change for me in the last few days. Yesterday was the three month anniversary of my surgery. (I tried to post this yesterday but Blogger had issues!) I am down a total of 52.5 pounds since the day of surgery. I am down 76 pounds since the end of July when I started the pre-op diet. Things are going well.

I did measurements and lost 4.75 inches off my waist since my last set. I also lost 1.5 inches from my hips. The other places I measure (bust, upper arm, thigh, neck) were minimal changes. My thigh measurement stayed the same. *sigh* In total since I started measuring I've lost 18 inches from my body over six of them from my waist and over four from my hips. Woo hoo!

Brief Update

Just an update of my weight this past week. Things are moving right along when I do my part. Yesterday was a bit of a high calorie, high carb kind of day. We were out and about and I just didn't think things through too well. Today is a new day and we'll see how it goes.

I really don't have much to say. It's cold here in IL and I'm tired of snow. The only good thing about it is that I got about 45 minutes of exercise yesterday shoveling. UGH! We live in an apartment complex and park in a handicapped spot for Tim. I went out and cleared the space we park in including the ones on either side with the lines. I dare someone who doesn't have proper authority to park in that spot! LOL I could have cleared more but then we had errands to run.

Watch for a photo update this coming week. Monday will be my three month surgiversary. I'll be weighing, taking measurements, and taking photos. Hoping to get time to post them this week but with exercise and work, things are a big crazy this week.

Have a good one, all.

What happened at the gym

I had a good time at the gym last night. I didn't do as well as I did last week but I did the best I felt I could. The cold is playing havoc with the ole knees. I lasted only ten mins on the treadmill (vs 15 last week). I did 13 mins (two more than last week) on the NuStep at a pace of 88-100 steps per min and a workload of 2. And I did only five minutes (vs 15 last week) on the recumbent bike. My knees were screaming!

Then we moved to the second part of the class. She started us out with regular aerobic exercise. Step touch, chain, etc. We did about 15 mins of that and I thought I was gonna drop. We moved on to a 15 min workout with weights. We finished up class with a "buns of steel" type workout on mats on the floor. It was then that I realized just how weak my left leg is after having that tumor removed. Hopefully, in time, it will improve.

Lastly, we did stretching on the mat which went fine. I found very little flexibility in my left leg but my right is doggone strong.

All in all, it was a good class. We had four in the group; two men (both are in my water aerobics class), another women (also in my class) and myself. I was comfortable for most of it but got a little embarrassed when doing crunches and such on the mats. There were quite a few of those exercises that I couldn't do and Phyllis (trainer) told me how to modify when she realized I was just lounging. Rats! LOL It will come with time and I'll be able to keep up with the best of them. Exercise is definitely becoming a way of life for me. It's back to the cold water for water aerobics tonight. *sigh* The sports center that the bariatric center uses has two pools. One is heated year round and is a smaller pool. It generally has children in it. The pool we use just isn't heated. I'm told the water will get much colder. I don't know. I may have to take the next six weeks off. I hate to do that but we'll see how it goes. I certainly don't want to get sick just to exercise!

And we have a snowstorm headed in. Did I mention I'm tired of snow already?!

It's too darn cold for me!

I'm not fond of winter but when we lived in Florida I missed it. Go figure! Who ever ordered this cold and snow can cancel it now. I'm tired of it already. I'm afraid this winter is going to be quite snowy. I really need to find a pair of boots so when I tromp through the snow at work, my feet stay dry. Gym shoes just aren't going to cut it!

Whew! Just finished the grocery shopping. It went quite well and I walked without complaining even once. Tim is amazed at how well I do. Heck, I'm amazed at how well I do myself. It feels good to go and walk in the store now, though. I really hated riding those carts and got quite dependent upon them. Now it doesn't matter if the store has them or not cuz I just don't need them anymore. Woo hoo!

Last night I had a hard time making myself go to water aerobics. It was only 24 outside and I knew the pool was going to be cold. It is not a headted pool. The "room" the pool is in is generally about 80 or so but the water is not heated. OMG I don't think ice cubes would have melted in that water it was so cold! I did warm up for a while but by the end I was chilled and it stayed with me. It took me until the wee hours of the morning at work to warm up and then I think the cup of hot tea I made helped. Sheesh! What was I thinking continuing that class thru the winter?

I kept telling myself last night that I'd burn more calories because of the cold water. Not sure it's true, but I made it through class, anyway. Then I hit the locker room and oh no. It was freezing in there. Getting chafed skin from not drying well, I guess. I thought I was but the chafing is there and that's the only reason I can come up with right now.

Tonight is my 'gym' night. I will be walking on the treadmill, using the NuStep, and riding the recumbent bike (if Laurel isn't there; it's her favorite piece of equip and I hear she parks on it for the night when she comes). I'm still too heavy to do the regular bike or the spin bikes. Got to be under 300 to do those so I'll be there in a couple months. Yea me!

I will also be doing whatever floor exercises she has us do. The trainers can choose from bands, hand held weights, balls, mats, and some other stuff. Hope we don't do steps as I'm not quite steady enough for those right now. I'm sure we'll do bands as the instructor tonight loves to use those. Other than that, no one would tell me what she does. The regular gal that I like (Laurie) won't be there tonight. We have Phyllis. I like her and she's great in the pool with telling me how to modify so I'm sure it will be fine. I'll let you all know how it goes when I next check in. Tomorrow night will be water aerobics once again and then a shorter class on Thursday.

Yes, Jamie ... I am literally working my butt off. Tim says I no longer have a butt. It's there but it's not if you know what I mean. LOL

Have a great week, all! Happy December.

Amazing Things

Some of this is repetitive of the post below but that one was boring! LOL

I had an AMAZING holiday! The hubby and I spent it with my sister and her family, for the most part. We enjoyed a fantastic "dinner" prepared by my sister who took into account that there are things I just cannot eat and also that the hubby is a diabetic. She made two pies (apple and cherry) and both were sugar free. How awesome is that? I confess I had a very small (about 3/4 inch) sliver of each and they were both GREAT! She gave me a huge plate which I put too much food onto and was wasteful. So when I heated up a left over plate late in the day, I used a smaller one and it was fine. No waste and none to my waist! LOL

We got to spend time with both of our daughters and their girls. It was nice to see them and play with the babies. I'll try to get time later in the week to post a couple photos of the grands. Everyone got along great and it was so pleasant, unlike a lot of times in the past. We also visited my older sister and my brother. It was just a family kind of weekend and one we enjoyed immensely.

We went shopping on Black Friday for the first time ever! My sister had us out and about at midnight on Friday and we didn't get home until after 10 AM. It was amazing. We avoided all the blitz sales but there were people everywhere. It was fun! My sister walked me all over and I ended the day with just over two miles on my pedometer that day. Woo hoo for me! We didn't spend much money. I got a new bathroom scale that calculates body fat and hydration percentages which also has a program for tracking weight lost and how much to get to goal which I thought was kind of neat.

Through it all, I ate what I wanted, cautiously. I was afraid a time or two that something might make me sick, but it didn't. I tracked the calories, fat, protein, and carbs. I must have done everything right because at the end of it all today I am down to 340.6 pounds! That means from Wednesday until this morning I lost just over two pounds. That feels amazing and unbelievable. In the past, I would have gorged myself, grazed through the day, and been miserable. It was nice to feel full and satisfied instead of bloated and in pain. I did come to realize that old habit die hard and a lot of my life has revolved around food. For instance, the cheese ball and crackers were calling me. I had a couple crackers with the cheese and then left the table and the kitchen (which is where everyone seems to sit when at my sister's for some reason). I told them I didn't want to be rude but I could not sit there with food in front of me and not eat it so they were good about it. They would either put stuff away or join me in the family room. Cool! I am very proud of how I handled this holiday and have no fears about getting through the next just as simply.

I got a lot of compliments on how great I look and the weight I've lost. It was nice to have others note my progress in such a positive way. Even someone who doesn't know me well saw me out and about and commented how great I look. That all made me feel so great! I'm doing this for me but it affects so many.

Now it's back to life. We'll head off to church in a little while where I will thank the Creator for all the many blessings bestowed upon me. It's back to work tonight where I know a huge pile will await me but I'm okay with it. I'll work on what I can and what I don't get done will wait for tomorrow. This week will be interesting. It will be my first week of moving the butt Monday thru Thursday. I may be a little tired but in the end, I know it's going to make a huge difference in how I look and feel.

God bless and have a wonderful week!

It's almost over

My long weekend is almost over. It was GREAT and we had a super time at my sister's house. She made an awesome Thanksgiving Day dinner. I didn't eat much, as my usual now, but I did eat what I wanted. I was fine. The best news is that I didn't gain any weight over the weekend. I actually managed to drop 1/2 pound. Woo hoo me!

I hate that the weekend is almost over. It's back to work for me tomorrow night! That sucks but it's okay. I'll do what I can and just keep plugging away.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend. I just wanted to pop in and do a quick post.

How much of ME will be lost?

I guess I've had a LOT to say lately. *chuckles* I posted this at Sparkpeople.com and in my MySpace blog as well. I share pretty much everything here so am posting it here as well. If you've read it in one of the other places, I apologize for the repition. I just want to see what others have to say and how others feel about this topic.

This entry is a strange one for me. I started this process so long ago (four years ago come January) and so much has changed for me. Those who have known me for so long know that my life was pretty much hell back then. I weighed 530 pounds or more. I didn't do anything that required exerting myself except to walk from the living room to the bathroom and back. I had to sit on a step stool to shower. I walked to the car and drove my hubby and daughter to the store, but never went in, sending them in to do the shopping. I couldn't put on my own socks or shoes and I'm ashamed to say for a time I couldn't even wipe my own bottom. Sorry if it's TMI but it's true. And it sucked and that's what got me started on this odyssey in the beginning. It fueled my anger that I had let myself get to that point. It fueled my determination to make a difference and take back my life; and I've done that! But something happened yesterday. I want to share that experience with you all and see what you think?

I got my hair cut yesterday. It looked pretty good and was one of the best cuts I've had in quite a while. The stylist took her time and made sure she understood exactly what I wanted. She was GREAT and next time I go back I'll be sure she's working and will wait however long it takes to have her cut my hair again. I'll probably post a picture later today so you can see the end result. I'm kind of tired of my current profile picture anyway. I will also post updated weight loss photos early in December so you'll see the whole body then.

Anyway, since I was flying high and feeling so darn good about myself and my day in the gym I decided to have Tim color my hair for me. He is my sytlist, you know? He's done this many times for me and usually does a good job. I had a bottle of color I got many months ago but never used so we got it and he went to work. He missed a few grey hairs at my temples. Then again, he almost always does. He is visually impaired and does the best he can. If I thought it was a real issue, I'd double check it before letting it sit but I don't mind a few stray greys. They'll grow back in grey anyway! It looks good but then I started to study myself in the mirror. I really shouldn't have done that.

I burst into tears and poor Tim was at a loss. He thought he had really messed up my hair or something. It wasn't that at all. I realized that I don't look like ME anymore! Isn't that crazy? My face is thin. My neck is wrinkled and I often refer to my neck as a "turkey neck". A plastic surgeon assured me that my body would do it's own liposuction and the skin will shrink back. He wouldn't give me a written guarantee, though! LOL I feel like I look like that guy in the movie "Beetlejuice" where his head shrinks down to being tiny and his body remains huge. That's me! With the new cut and the new color job, I just don't look like me anymore. I don't feel like me anymore either with my new found energy and liking exercise. What is going on? Is this normal? Am I losing my mind? And most importantly, how much more of me is going to be gone than just the fat? I think I'm now scared about this whole process and the end product. Maybe I need a shrink! HA, no pun intended.

So those of you who have been here and done this ... What do you think? Do you feel this way sometimes? Don't get me wrong. I love that I'm losing the weight. I love that I'm exercising and enjoying it. I'm glad to have had surgery to keep me going in the right direction but I guess I didn't expect the emotions to go so haywire.

As my mom would say, God rest her soul, "Chin up and eyes forward." I will focus on moving forward and see what happens. In the end, it's going to be okay but boy did I have some rough moments last night. I think I may avoid peering into the mirror today.

Adventures at the gym

I walked into the gym and there were quite a few people there. Lynda had told me that they are never busy but today they were. I put my things in the locker room and came out. Lynda was on a treadmill so I figured what the heck! She came over to help me get started cuz she knew it was my first time. I started and the pace was way too slow. I ended up walking about twelve minutes and the majority of it was at a pace of 1.6 miles per hour. Total distance walked was a quarter of a mile. Then I had to get off or risk falling off. My knees were starting to ache a bit.

I moseyed over to the recumbent bikes. They had other bikes there but I've been told the recumbent ones would be better for me to use right now. I attempted to climb onto one. I almost fell on my butt! I rearranged myself and finally managed to climb aboard. Next task was to get my feet into the stirrups. Oh my, but I must have been a sight and I'm sure I provided some amusement for someone! It took several tries and another readjustment before I finally hooked my feet into the pedals. Yes! I figure I can do this. I start to pedal and oh my. My poor knees were aching and within minutes they were screaming at me to stop. I told myself to push through the pain and keep going. I was determined I was going to ride at least a quarter mile. It took me ten minutes, but I finally managed to do it. I was quite proud of myself.

I climbed off the bike and wondered what in the world I should tackle next. I knew to avoid the elliptical for now. I tried one a while ago and lasted all of about one minute and the entire time the machine was telling me to "stride faster". I wasn't ready to try the stair climber and figure it will be quite a long while before I'm up to that one.

Lynda came over and offered to help me learn a few of the weight machines. I worked my triceps first but there was an issue with that machine. My hips and legs made it impossible for me to do the full range of motion. I did what I could as Lynda told me. I did three sets of eight and waited a couple minutes between sets. Then we moved to a machine that worked my biceps. At first it felt too light so I ended up doing 30 lb weights. Oh my goodness. After one set of those I moved it back to 15 lbs. Seemed awfully light but I was doing it.

We ended up by doing some basic stretching and parted ways. I lasted a full 40 minutes at the gym! I am so proud of myself for pushing through my fears, forgetting about everyone else, and just going for it. I came home excited and energized. I've been proud of myself all day. I may even go back and work out with Lynda again. I can't believe I'm admitting this, but I had FUN!

No more rat poison for me!

I saw the cardiologist this morning. I no longer have to take the coumadin but I have to take 325 mg of enteric coated aspirin daily. He said it would do as well as the coumadin did and wouldn't have to be monitored. He said since I only have one risk factor (high blood pressure) for a stroke, and that one is getting less as my bp comes down with the weight loss, there just isn't a reason to justify keeping me on that rat poison. Yahoo! I am very happy.

I also went for blood work and will surely hear from my primary doc early next week about those results. At my last appointment he thought I'd be able to take a lower dose of my thyroid med so we'll see what the blood tests say.

I just registered for the aquasize class, circuit conditioning, and cardio equipment training classes. I have committed to working out four nights a week. My gawd, what is this world coming to?! I am surprising even myself these days. LOL

Answering Comment Questions from Yesterday

The url to my MySpace account is www.myspace.com/norakeno I tried to post that as a link but it just wouldn't show up. I dunno know but oh well. If you're interested, you'll find me.


Feel free to visit it but I'll have to add you as a friend as I keep it private. Too many fruitcakes out there. Mostly it's my family there but all are welcome. I pretty much post most of the same things there that I do here.

As for Facebook, I've heard it's much easier to use but I've never visited it. I really prefer my blog right here. Thing is, my family chooses not to read here so I have to at least keep something they will access. Many of them do have the MySpace accounts.

And yeah, Janet. I am the girl who two years ago had to do 100 steps to start moving while holding onto the kitchen counter. I've come a long way, baby! Life just keeps getting better and better, huh? I wonder what next year will hold for me ...

Downward Spiral Continues

The weight is still coming off. I'm now down to 344 today and am beginning to think I may make my 20 pound goal this month which right now means I need to lose about 9 more pounds before month's end. I think I can do this, especially since I'm going to start an exercise class next week that meets two nights a week and one night of strength training. I'll be exercising four nights a week with my water aerobics tossed in there as well so hopefully this will be a good thing. I'm also going to try to add exercise on Saturday mornings at a gym with a gal from my water class. That would leave me with Friday and Sunday as no exercise days. I'm perfectly okay with that! LOL This all means I have to get off my butt and get something appropriate that fits to wear to the gym. Right now I have nothing. I'm thinking a pair of capri pants I have with a drawstring and a t-shirt will work for a little while until I get something. Having nothing I thought would work allowed me to make an excuse not to go last week to the gym. I know if I pay for the bariatric exercise classes I'll go because I won't waste money. A gym membership may be in my future. It feels so strange to even be thinking that!

On another note, I have a MySpace page. I started one cuz my daughter has one and it was an easy way to track what's going on in her life. I opened a "bulletin" she posted thinking she was deleting her account but found myself having to repost the same bulletin. Her's said if I didn't my account would delete itself. Not sure if it's true but in the sake of it could happen, I did it. I hate that kind of crap!

Anyway ... just wanted to rant about one of the things that has me aggravated today!

More Progress

So today I am down to 345.5 and am quite happy with that. I have ten pounds to go to reach my goal of 20 pounds gone in the month of November. Not sure I'm going to make that but I'm slowly getting there. Only 15.5 more pounds and I'll have lost 200 lbs total since starting this journey way back in 2005. It's taking me a LOT longer than I initially expected and I've taken a more drastic approach, but it's working. I'm getting healthier and changing old habits and just improving so many things.

I'm looking forward to next week. Going to my baby sister's for the holiday. I'll also get to see all three of my granddaughters and both of my daughters. I can't wait for the family to see me as it's been early October since they last saw me. Wonder what they'll have to say about me now!

Nothing much going on

There hasn't been much of anything going on here lately. I'm still tracking and doing better on getting at least 60 grams of protein every day. Weight has stalled once again but it's also time for the monthly monster so that could be the issue. I'm not going to worry about it, really.

Had another Coumadin check and it was at 3.0 which is at the high end of the range they want me to be in. She had me decrease my medication by 5 mg one day only. How that's going to make a difference in the long run, I don't quite get but oh well.

Had the breasts smashed on Thursday. It really wasn't as painful as it used to be in "the old days". LOL Don't know exactly when I'll hear back from my doctor on them but I don't think there is anything to worry about. This was a follow-up to the one that was done back in February of this year. I had to have another for comparison, espeically important since there has been breast cancer in my immediate family.

Next week will be busy. Sunday I'm supposed to go to the gym to work out with some of the people I go to water aerobics with. I feel dumb going cuz I won't know the first thing about working out at the gym but they genuinely want me to go. I have support groups on Monday and Wednesday as well as my water aerobics class. On Thursday I'll go have lab work done to see where things are. This may mean a decrease in my thyroid medication and that may also change the rate at which I'm losing weight. We'll see about that! I also go for another coumadin check on Thursday. Friday I go to see the cardiologist. Hopefully, he will take me off this darn coumadin. To my knowledge, I've not had any other incidents of a-fib so I have my fingers crossed.

Been really concentrating when in my water class. My tummy muscles are not amused. I have had muscle pain since Monday. I know that's what it is because of where it is and how it aches. I was worrying myself for a while about it being something else, but I'm pretty sure it's muscles. Gee, I guess I've just been really using them finally. Woo hoo for me!

Will be thinking of my friend Jamie as she prepares for lap band sugery on Monday. Get plenty of rest and don't worry. Take some non-petroleum lip balm. Be ready to walk as it will really help the pain go away, especially the gas pain from the gases they use to inflate your tummy so they can work. It's all going to be just fine!

With that, I'll sign off until another day!

It worked

Tracking my protein has been a great way to get me back on track. Before last week I was just eating and hoping I was getting what I needed. After a couple days, I realized I wasn't getting the protein I should have been and started to diligently make sure that I get at least 60 grams per day. That still isn't where I need it as I'm supposed to consume 70-90 grams but it's a start and a lot of days I do get near 70 now. That said ...

Last week I managed to have my weight go down. I started a week ago this past Sunday at 355 pounds. As of today I am down to 349.5 pounds which is a loss of 5.5 pounds. Woo hoo! Yea for me and all that jazz. I can't even remember when the last time I weighed less than 350 pounds was. I would love to be under 325 by the end of the year. That's only 25 pounds and with the sugery's help, I may just get there. Wow! When I hit 330 I will have lost a total of 200 pounds since 2005. When I hit 295 I'll be only 100 pounds from my personal goal. I actually believe this is going to happen. I'm thrilled that I finally gave in and had this surgery. It hasn't been easy but it sure has been worth it!

Searching for a website

In days gone by, I used to have a website link that would tell me how much of something weighed the number of pounds I had lost. If anyone out there knows what I'm talking about, please let me know. I really enjoyed that site but cannot find it. I even went back and read a LOT of really old blog posts here in my blog because I know at one time I posted it here but couldn't find it. I HATE when that happens! LOL

Gravity, a Fall, and Lost Weight

Talk about a change in my center of gravity due to losing weight ... well it has changed but no one has really talked about it. Following is one of the ways I know, however, this was probably not due to the gravity except that everything must fall down!

I walked to the A and B homes on Friday morning about 1:30 AM. I went into the B home and talked a few minutes and grabbed their paperwork. As I went out the door and started down the steps, the porch light went off. It's some kind of darn light that comes on for a couple minutes then goes off for a couple and it does this throughout the night. The street lamp nearby does the same thing. I don't know why! Anyway ... I went down two steps and then the street lamp went out as well. I'm in total darkness. I thought I had just stepped off the last step and went to walk over to the A home. Low and behold, I had one more step to go. I fell and I fell hard! I swear I felt the jarring all the way from my poor knees that I landed on up through my hips and into my shoulders. I was stunned.

I was there kneeling on my knees and could only moan about how much it hurt. They didn't hear me yell in the house. I gathered up the papers that I had dropped and my bottle of water (I don't go anywhere without one in my hand now days) and hobbled to the A home. I examined my knees. The right one was red and looked like it would bruise. The left one was a little skinned up (but not enough to bleed) and bruising. I was worried because of that damn coumadin they have me on and the horror stories about internal bleeding. One of the staff gave me an ice pack wrapped in a paper towel and I iced it for about 20 mins before moving on.

I was able to finish my shift but dang I was in some pain. I got stiff and we don't keep liquid Tylenol on campus so I was basically SOL. I considered coming home but figured I wouldn't die from hurting. LOL I did type up the employee incident report and let my director know. I left a message on his voice mail and told him if I thought it necessary I would go to my PCP later in the day. He called and told me to get checked but I ended up not going. The bruising isn't as bad as I thought it might be. The pain is to be expected and nothing out of the ordinary but what you'd expect from a fall.

I seem to be fine today; just a little achey. Thought I'd share a little of my "fun" with you all.

And I managed to lose three pounds this past week. Yea! Back to 2-3 lbs per week to get where I'd like to be by Labor Day next year.

Oh and today is the 24th anniversary of the day Tim (the hubby) and I met. Woo hoo for us! We're going out to dinner with our church tonight, on them as a celebration for volunteering at the church. I ordered a chicken sandwich with fruit as a side. Will likely leave the bread behind.

Have a great weekend, all!

(Janet: I'm wearing a size 4X both tops and pants right now but am close to getting into 3X.)

At last, the scale has moved!

FINALLY, the scale moved today! In tracking since Sunday, I found I wasn't getting at least the protein I need. I'm supposed to be getting 70-90 grams post op. Once I adjusted that, the weight did come down 1.5 lbs overnight. Woo hoo! Now I'm just praying it continues.

Water aerobics was great last night! One of the men had surgery back in March and is down 100 lbs. I was complaining about the scale and he told me to keep myself off of it except to weigh once a week. I try, I really do but I just can't do it. I have to know daily what I weigh and have been like that since I found a scale that would weigh me back in 2005. I wonder if it's because for so long I had no clue how much I weighed. In retrospect, that was a good thing!

I do so love my class and am going to start the other exercise classes they have two nights a week (Tues and Thurs) when the next session starts which will be sometime near the end of the month. I'm excited about this and know it's going to help me build muscle and lose fat instead of lean muscle. One night they do strength training on the machines and with free weights. That is followed by some type of aerobics class. The other night is an aerobics class which can also be yoga, tai chi, etc. I look forward to starting later this month with that.

Some of the people at class said I was "melting away" and they could really see the difference; even those who saw me last week said they can see it more this week. I'll do measurements again next month when I'm 12 weeks out. Maybe I was losing inches instead of pounds these last two weeks. I had to retire three pair of pants because they just won't stay up anymore. LOL That's a good thing!

I also talked with the class instructor and she said maybe I have been losing a bit of lean muscle. That concerns me. She said I need to get busy doing strength training to keep that from happening. Until I can start class, when the next session starts, I'll have to make do with cans of veggies or something similar. Maybe I'll pick up a couple 3 lb weights to start with. I saw some at Walmart for about $4 each. I think I can eek that out of my lean budget! LOL

At any rate, things are progressing and I know I'm just not a patient person. The weight is coming off and it will in it's own time. I have to remember that!

Lastly, let me just say, "I feel good"!