Oct. 17, 2009

I broke down and did some more shopping. I now have a pair of dress pants (size 16) that fit and a pair of dress shoes. Old Navy had some great stuff on their clearance racks so I purchased some dri-fit running tops (size medium). I also recently purchased a new pair of running shoes. My other pair was shot. There was no support left at all. Ooh, and I bought a pack of t-shirts that support my favorite college football team. They're a size medium! This is fantastic!

I'm hoping I can get by until January with the clothes I still have and the ones I recently purchased. I'd really like to skip buying anything in a 14 and just wait until I'm a 12 or even a 10. We'll see how long this stuff will get me by. = )

There hasn't been too much else going on lately. I feel like I have a ton of energy, but at the same time I'm very sleep deprived. Maybe I should work on fixing that tomorrow.

I'm down 76 and only have 63 to go!

Sept. 30, 2009

I weighed yesterday morning and I'm officially down 71 lbs. It feels so good to be able to say that, but at the same time it's very embarrassing. I've never been a small, medium, or even large kinda girl. I was extra-extra large! It's sad that I let my weight get so out of control.

While most of my weight problems were due to my own laziness, I didn't exactly have the perfect genes either. Obesity runs in my family and I was one of the unlucky ones who it affected. I finally came to the realization that I have to work extra hard in order to lose weight and maintain weight.

For an obese person I ate pretty healthy. I love vegetables (the non-starchy kind) with a passion and enjoy lean meats. Fruit has never really been my thing, but I do enjoy an occasional apple. Sweet treats were never a weakness for me. I honestly think the habits and things that got to me the most were overeating for my almost non-existant metabolism, not exercising, and carbohydrates. Changing all of those factors has made me a new person.

I've also made other changes in my life. I no longer drink soda. This is crazy because I used to have a can of Diet Coke almost every morning. That was my breakfast. I sometimes think I miss the carbonation, but I know I'm much better off without all of those chemicals even though there aren't any calories in diet soda.

I was off caffeine for a couple of months. I'm slowly adding it into my diet again. I just make sure not to drink more than 24 ounces a day. And I only allow myself to have caffeine if I'm doing good at getting in all my liquids (mostly water). I've discovered that hydration is key when trying to lose weight.

Things are starting to get a little tricky. I have 3 pairs of sweats that sorta fit. They're pretty big and sloppy, but I think that's acceptable with sweats so I'll keep wearing them for now. I have 2 pairs of dress pants that fit and one of them is actually starting to fall off of me. It's frustrating, but exciting! I put on some pajama pants last night and felt like I was going to get tangled up in them. They're huge! I guess it's time to put those in my bottomless pile of clothes I've out-shrunk.

I'm still eating 1-2 meals per day. I only eat up to 2 ounces of food a day. I'd love to go wild and just eat a veggie salad, but it's vital that protein comes first. Luckily I enjoy cooking and have come up with some creative ways to prepare meat. It hasn't become boring yet. I've also found a couple of blogs that inspire me to try new recipes. My favorite is theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com. It's amazing!

My biggest news is that I now go running in 3 mile stretches pretty regularly. I wasn't planning on starting to run until Christmas time, so I'm way ahead of schedule. I'm needing to get in the routine of running about 10 miles a week during October. I'll bump it up to 15 or so in November and 20-25 in December. Once I get to that point I have a training schedule I'm going to follow. I'm hoping to run a 1/2 marathon in the spring. That's my goal and it gives me something to work towards.

Well, I just wanted to post an update about my journey. It's only been 3 1/2 months and I've lost 71 lbs. That makes 43 lbs since my pre-op which was 2 months ago today. It sure would be wonderful if I could drop another 43 lbs in the next 2 months. That would make me smile from ear to ear!

Time to run some errands. Hope all is well!

Only 68 lbs to go!!!!!

Waddling around...

I went for a "run" yesterday. It may have looked more like a jog or a waddle, but it actually went pretty well. I ran just over a mile and walked 2 miles. Not too shabby for my first time out. I'd love to be able to run 3 miles without stopping by Christmas. It's a tough goal, but I must have something to shoot for.

When I woke up this morning I was pretty sore. I only walked 3 miles today. I hope go for another run by the end of the week.

I'm in the final stretch of my soft proteins only stage. Zucchini, tomatoes, and green beans sound so amazing right now. It's been a month since I've had any vegetables. It wasn't easy because they're my favorite! Just 1 more day of this and then I'll get my best food friends back. I won't be able to eat more than a few small nibbles, but that's alright. I just have to remember to eat protein first!!! Yes, 2/3 of my meal will be a lean protein and the other 1/3 will be a veggie. At least I'll finally be able to eat shrimp, lean ground turkey, chicken breast, sirloin steak, etc. It's about time!

Flounder

I tried a little bit of baked flounder for lunch today. It was so delicious that I decided I'd eat some for dinner if I was hungry. Yep, I was hungry and had it again for dinner. It was really wonderful. Unfortunately, I think I went overboard. I struggled to keep it down. I kept telling Bones that I was gonna go yack in the toilet, but he said I better keep it down because I don't want to perforate my stomach. I kept feeling my fish creep up and was burping, but I managed. What a relief!

Pretty sure I ate too much because I've been feeling lousy. I don't think I've been getting in enough protein so I was trying to compensate. You know those pics of Africans with the big round belly? Well, that's kinda happening to me. My stomach is filling with fluid because I'm protein malnourished. My word... I never ever thought I'd say I was malnourished. Ha!

Getting my fluids in started out rough today, but I treated myself to some Fuze at the store. That stuff tastes so much better than Crystal Light and other flavored drinks. The blueberry raspberry is my favorite.

I spent several hours going through more clothes today. The clothes in my closet will get me by for a while. I'm really excited about getting some use out of the stuff I've had stored away for years.

I have a personal goal. I've been wanting to start running again around Christmas time. The reason I've been waiting is so I have a chance to lose more weight. Being down many more pounds should make running a little less painful. Well, I don't think I can wait any longer. I'm ready to start now! My current weight is the same as when I started running a few years back. It was awful then because I was basically a couch potato before and didn't have the lung strength or anything else. This time I've been working out regularly in the gym and my body is a little more conditioned. So, I'm ready to give it a whirl. Hopefully the weather will cooperate and I can start tomorrow. I'll keep ya posted on how it goes. Wish me luck!