Well hello! As always, it has been a while. But I do have plenty of stuff to talk about so I’d better get started!
First, I took the month of November off to write for National Novel Writing Month and I did pretty well. I did not “win” but I wrote 40,000 + words. I have a significant chunk of my first novel written, and that counts for something. I continued my writing into December, but I have not been writing for the past couple of weeks because I have shifted my focus onto finding an actual job. Resume has been written and applications have been filled out. I’m cautiously optimistic, but will continue to job hunt.
So, as you can see, I weighed in at 364 at my nine month check-up! When I started this “journey” earlier this year I would never have dreamed to be under 400 pounds already. And yet I am not satisfied – far from it. I am somewhere around my half-way point, sadly. Much has changed as far as my intake and my exercise, so I will discuss those things and try to focus mainly on the positive.
It is WAY harder for me to stay on calorie goal these days. I think this is a combination of being able to eat a little more and it being the season of eating. My surgeon stressed the importance of staying between 800 and 1,000 calories. I set my calorie goal at 800 and if I drift up to 1,000… well at least I gave myself some wiggle room. When I review myfitnesspal I see that one of my main problems is snacking on high calorie cheeses (I’m looking at you Trader Joe’s bacon cheddar cheese). I can remedy this by cutting down, which will be easier since the cheeses will stop being on sale so much now that the holidays are over.
I also need to meal plan. Planning our meals post op is SO important. I am going to start doing this with the help of the Rock’s Kitchen bariatric food group on Facebook. I joined this group a while back and have been snagging recipes left and right off of it. The goal there is basically to make food that is healthy, interesting, and delicious and I’m all for that. If you’re a bariatric patient and you’re not in this group you really should be. The basics will only go so far until you are done with them… and trust me; I am DONE with eating the same old thing every single day, which is probably why old eating habits are trying to sneak back in.
This isn’t a group where members just post various recipes they find online, though that does happen. There are weekly contests that spur new ideas; new twists on familiar ingredients. I see things on there that I would never dream to cook, and that is exciting for me. These aren’t just reposts of someone else’s recipe; the members actually make them. It’s fun and interesting to see what they try and to be able to ask them what worked and didn’t work about the recipe. I know it sounds like I’m pitching this, but it really has helped me a ton, and will continue to do so. Get into a community; be around people going through similar things – it helps.
Let’s see… otherwise, I had been feeling really sluggish and tired all of the time; for months probably. I was also having consistent numbness in my hands, legs, and arms. That seems to be easing up now, assumedly because my doctor reduced my blood pressure medicine by half. I was on 50mg of hydrochlorothiazide (sp???!!!) a day to help with blood pressure and swelling in my legs and ankles. I feel better; I really do. My legs are swelling more, however. I think this is something hereditary and not necessarily to do with my weight. I am trying to reduce my sodium intake, which has been through the roof lately as I have been craving the hell out of pickles. Reeling it in and hoping it will help.
I am also working hard to up my water intake. I get about six to eight cups of water a day right now, which is not enough for me. I’ll keep working on it, though. I’ve felt the effects of dehydration and they are not pleasant at all.
I don’t know if I mentioned it, or if I had achieved it yet or not in my last post, but I typically walk two miles every weekday morning now. I have an established route. The only issue is I seem to be unable to walk further than that. I have hit a wall at two miles. I saw Ava, my personal trainer, a few weeks ago and she set me up to start doing a bit of homemade interval training – the chart she drew out for me is below.
Basically, on a scale of one to ten of how hard I am pushing myself, I estimated that I walk at about a three normally. So, she wants me to start and end my walk with about ten minutes of walking at a two (a warm-up and cool-down), with my normal (three) rate in-between. In that “normal” walk time, I do three 30 second pushes of walking at a four or five, evenly spaced out. It is actually not as complicated as it probably sounds. Also, I was really surprised by how easy it was for me. I thought pushing myself would wear me out, but it actually seems to give me more energy. She instructed me to make the intervals longer, or to add another interval if I feel it is getting too easy. I have lengthened my intervals to forty seconds at this point and will sit there until it gets too easy for me.
That’s really about it, I suppose. Keep pushing; keep doing the same thing you’ve been succeeding with. I may only be about halfway to my goal, but I have already succeeded. I’m looking better and feeling better. The loose skin that I am accumulating is a downer, but I think it will firm up some with time – and what doesn’t can get snipped one day!
Thanks for reading! Hopefully I’ll check in BEFORE my year check-up! The picture below is a comparison that my surgeon sent me at my check-up! My face looks weird as hell (I think I was mid-cough) but I can actually see a difference.
