Meltdown Challenge

One of the schools I work at is having a Meltdown Challenge for the next 3 months. The focus is to lose body fat and make healthier choices. I had my body fat percentage calculated this morning along with a couple of other things. I'll have to come back later and update that information because I can't recall it right off hand.

Each week we get points for making goals, meeting them, turning in our food tracker, and other things like that. Thankfully we can just use myfitnesspal to document our intake. I've already been doing that, although I've slacked off quite a bit in recent weeks. I made three goals for this week: 1. Drink at least 40 oz of water daily. 2. Cook and eat dinner at home 4 nights a week. 3. Walk at least 10,000 steps 5 out of 7 days this week. These are things I really need to start focusing on again right now.

I think the timing of this challenge is perfect. I really hope that it will not only encourage me to lose the last 15 lbs I want to lose, but to also help me get my body healthier by reducing my body fat.

Getting close to 1 year!

Wow! I knew I hadn't blogged in awhile but I didn't realize it had been almost 5 months! I guess life gets in the way even when we have the best of intentions. Of course, life gets in the way of a lot of things including weight loss. Right now I'm stuck on the side lines because of an injured SI joint, and not exercising or always eating like I should. However, I do feel the gastric sleeve surgery is continuing to help me. I still can't overeat and I'm not gaining weight. I just can't get these last 15 pounds off either!

I have a little less than 2 months until my 1 year anniversary of the surgery. I really want to get as much of that extra off by then. It's hard to get back in that mindset I had in those months after surgery. Other than the smaller portions, I'm finding that not much is different. I can eat almost all the same things. It's all a head game at this point. I'm the one who has to want to make the changes. I have to want to exercise. I have to want to eat right. I do want those things, and now I just have to do them.

Now for the most recent update on my progress. I'm down a total of 75 pounds! I am wearing size medium tops and dresses and size 12 pants. I look at this side-by-side comparison and I'm amazed at the changes I see. I am so much happier and I don't regret having the surgery at all. Even if I didn't lose another pound I am much healthier than I've been in a long time. I only need to lose 8 more pounds to get to a normal BMI. I am so excited!

So for now maybe I need to start blogging more and be held a little more accountable. It's easy to get comfortable where I am. I need that challenge to prove I can reach my ultimate goal!

Another month gone by

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I posted. I've now lost 6 more lbs. I'm a little disappointed that the weight loss has slowed down but at least I'm still losing. I'm now fully into a size 14 and still wearing some size large dresses. Here's new pictures from today:

Little summer slump

Between the heat and the kids I've not found as much time to walk over the last couple of weeks. Thankfully the weight continues to come off and I'm sitting at 55 lbs down right now. I'm hoping to lose another 10 lbs before school starts back.

I have a few inservice days to attend and present at over the next two weeks and I desperately needed some clothes that fit. I went to the mall and got a few shirts, a pair of capris, and two dresses. All the shirts and dresses were size large, and the capris were a size 14! I'm still amazed to look at clothes so much smaller than I was wearing before surgery. Today I have on slimmer fitting shorts and a close fitting shirt. They actually look nice! I love it!

Getting more exercise

The kids are at day camp for the next two weeks so I'm trying to take advantage of the extra time alone to get more exercise. One day last week I managed to take one of the kids and walk two miles. Yesterday I took the dog and walked 3 miles. Today I met up with a friend and actually walked 4 miles! It felt really good but now I'm starting to feel some familiar aches and pains around my upper thighs and hips. I hope it's just from adjusting to different terrain (usually walk on asphalt) and the longer walk. I do not want to start having all that constant hip pain again. I guess I'll see how  I feel in the morning and decide if tomorrow will be a shorter walk around the neighborhood instead of a long walk on the trail.

Overall I do feel so much better. I'm amazed to think I was carrying around 50 extra pounds everywhere I went. It's nice to be able to walk longer distances and not be totally exhausted after. I actually ran two errands after walking and had over 12,000 steps in by 11 am this morning.

I also decided to take my measurements for the first time in 6 weeks today. I was amazed to find I've lost 17.5 inches total from my neck, hips, waist, arms, and thighs. Of that, 5 inches came from my hips! I guess all the walking I've been doing since the first of May has really paid off. I didn't take my measurements before I started this journey so I'm curious to know how many inches I've lost since the end of February.

Survived vacation!

We were gone for a total of 9 days and I was so worried that the extra calories that kept sneaking their way into my diet would add up. Thankfully we walked a lot around Disney and I actually logged a 4 lb weight loss this morning!

3 months today!

Today marks 3 months since my surgery! I'm happy to report that I'm now 44.4 lbs down! That's .6 lbs short of my halfway goal. I am so excited and I feel so good. My blood pressure yesterday was actually 98/66! I had to go clothes shopping because everything is falling off of me. I was able to shop in the regular sizes for the first time in over 9 years and I'm down at least 2 sizes! I went from a 2XL in tops to some larges, and a 20W on bottom to a regular 16. Here are a few of my pics from the last year so you can see the progress all in one post. The first is from May 2011 at about my heaviest. The second is from December 2011, and the last is from this morning.

3 Month Check-up

I saw the surgeon for my 3 month check up today, although I'm not officially 3 months out until the 28th. As of yesterday, I've lost 42 lbs! The surgeon was pleased with my progress, but of course he told me to expect it to slow down and reminded me I'll hit plateaus. I'm hoping to avoid that as much as possible this summer by adding more exercise and activity while I'm off work for the summer.

I found this picture the other day and thought I'd share (excuse the blurriness). It's from December 2011 and probably one of the last pictures of me at my heaviest. I plan to share my half-way to goal pic next week.

Making progress!

I'm not sure what's happened since I last posted but I've lost another 10 lbs in the last 3 weeks. I still have another 2 weeks until I'm officially 3 months out from surgery, and I hope to be able to say I've lost a total of 45 lbs by then! I've been a lot more active the last few weeks. Work keeps me going and then I adopted a boxer a week ago. Clancy loves our daily walks and I think he keeps me more motivated to keep walking.

A little over 8 weeks out

I weighed myself this morning and I've lost another 1.6 lbs since Saturday! It's a constant battle to get more exercise. The surgeon wants me to get 45 minutes a day of exercise in but I'm doing good to find 30 minutes a day. However, I did buy a FitBit a couple of weeks ago and I really feel like it keeps me more motivated to be active. 

When I first had surgery I had this high expectation that I could lose 60 lbs in the 3 months between surgery and the end of May. I've lost a little over 30 lbs in almost 2 months now. I'm still really happy about it and try to remind myself of how great that is. Yes, I'm disappointed because I really thought I could lose more. Instead of getting down on myself, I'm trying to use it as motivation to work even harder over this next month. Maybe I can lose another 10 lbs before the end of May!

Another 2 lbs down!

I'm down another 2 lbs. It is really going slowly but at least it is going down. I can really see the weight loss in my face, stomach, and back. I know I've lost weight around my hips too because I'm down a size, but I'm not noticing it as much. I had such big goals to be down a total of 50 lbs by the end of May but I just don't think it will happen.  I'm down 31 right now.

Just another weekend

I'm not going to weigh myself for a few more days so no weight update today. Yesterday was a really lazy day for us, but today I've stayed busy cleaning the kids' rooms and purging their closets and toys. Then I topped it off by purging my closet too. I got rid of all my clothes that are too big. I'll probably have more to get rid of by the first of summer. I even picked up a swimsuit while I was out this evening. It was a size smaller than my last one and fits great, maybe even a little loose. I get a feeling I'll get to buy a smaller one later this summer!!

6 weeks out

It's been 6 weeks since my surgery. As of yesterday I have lost 29 lbs! I had an appointment with my surgeon yesterday. He said my weight loss is great. I'm averaging about 2 lbs a week for the last 3 weeks.  I do need to work on getting more exercise though. My blood pressure is looking better and so is my blood sugar. Neither were that high to begin with but they're even better now.

I started cleaning out my closet yesterday. I found several pairs of pants that are just way too big now. I also found a pair that had been too small that fit me perfectly now! I love it!

25 lbs lighter

Here I am 25 lbs lighter. I still have 65 lbs to go but I know I can do it. It's just slow going right now.

A little disappointed

I'm a little disappointed this week. Despite being very careful about what I eat, my weight is going up instead of down. I'm hoping it's water retention from that time of the month. I really have to start getting more exercise in and push myself harder. I had hoped to be in onederland by one month out but I didn't quite make it. Now I'm trying to decide on a reasonable goal for the next two months. I've got a wedding to attend at the end of May and we are heading to Disney a week later. Realistically I guess I can say I'll lose 10 lbs a month by then. I'd love to lose more like 15-25 lbs a month though. It's hard because I had such high hopes with this surgery and now after just a month I've stalled out. I know I'm not eating too much and I'm trying to make very good choices of what I eat. If anyone tells me I took the easy way out with this surgery I can tell them I really didn't. I have to pay just as much attention to diet and exercise as I would have if I was doing something like Weight Watchers.

Great but busy weekend

This weekend was so busy. However, other than a few instances of fatigue or not feeling well, I've felt almost entirely back to normal. I can almost drink normally now. I still sip but I can drink more. I'm also adding a few things to my diet and finding that most of it sits well. I continue to drop weight at a rate of about a pound a day. I'm happy with that. If it kept up I could lose all this excess weight in about 3 months. I know it will probably slow down soon though, especially if I can't find time to get more exercise in. I'm really struggling to find time. By the time I get the kids and get home from work, it's time for homework, dinner, and baths. I guess I need to force myself up in the mornings but it's just so hard to do!

Two solid meals!

I actually ate two very small meals of real food today. That's huge progress for me!

Two weeks tomorrow

I went to see the surgeon today. Those visits never last longer than 10 minutes. He said I'm doing great and could start moving to phase 4 of the diet. Time to start figuring out what I can and can't eat. My weight loss has slowed down a little over the last two weeks. I've lost about 7 lbs. I can't complain though. It's better than gaining. I've just got to start finding time to work out. I go back in 3 weeks.

Making progress

We took the kids to the Nationwide race yesterday. It was almost torture for me. I took water and a protein shake with me but would have loved some real food. I've been getting the hiccups several times a day the last couple of days, and I'm also burping more. Its so annoying. I am feeling better overall though. I ate some real food over the last few days. I've had mashed potatoes, mashed sweet potato, salmon, and cooked carrots. I had the salmon tonight and am still waiting to see if it stays down. I'm getting a little nervous that it won't.

Made it through the week

I made it through 3.5 days of school this week. I started feeling so bad yesterday that I went home early. I felt much better today thankfully. I even had mashed potatoes for dinner tonight and they seem to be sitting well so far. I hope I feel good all weekend. A friend gave me race tickets so we are planning to take the kids to both races this weekend. I'm still trying to figure out what I'm taking with me to eat. I've got some pre-made protein shakes I can take at least and plenty of water. I'm 20 lbs down now! I'm looking forward to my appointment Tuesday to see how much more I can lose.