Ok. First I'll say I'm sorry I haven't blogged in weeks. Here's my schedule and you'll understand why:
Monday- Friday I get up at 3:58am. I leave the house at 4:30 and get to the gym 5 minutes later. I work out until 7:00am. That's 2.5 hours. Sometimes, depending on how many abs I have to do, it's even later. I come home, shower (sometimes), eat breakfast (always) and start work by 8am. Oh yeah, and I started a new job so I get to work from home; hence the "sometimes" about showering! :)
I work until 5ish. Then on Monday's I tutor at the City Union Mission for an hour. Tuesday's and Thursday's I work at my old job for 4 hours each night. Wednesday's I have bible study. So there isn't a night I get home before 9pm. Then I have to get up and start it all over again. Saturday's I do a good 3 hour workout and then it's finally time for socializing with my friends. Sure...I chose all of that and I love it. But it means I'm tired. Therefore, I don't blog.
But I do have something to share:
I have oficially lost 60 pounds.
I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around that. 60 pounds. That's an 8 year old! My highest weight was the beginning of May. Then I had to do that liquid diet, then I had surgery. So we'll go with May 1st as my highest.
It's been 6 months and 1 week. Wow.
Here's what I looked like 6 months ago:
And here's what I look like this week:
That's a pretty big change right? And I'm finally....just now...seeing it in my own mirror.
And the other benefit? My knee feels better! Oh my gosh! What a difference the weight loss makes. I'm looking forward to the day that I've lost more weight and the knee has no pain. Sure...I doubt I'll have no pain. But minimal pain sounds amazing.
My workouts are going incredibly well. Mr. Muscles is incredibly happy and very proud of me. And I am of myself. I'm lifting every day for at least an hour. I'm doing major cardio - 13 miles on the bike and 2 or 3 miles on the elliptical; every morning. I'm not losing weight as fast as I'd like to be, but I'm getting so much stronger that I'm gaining muscle weight. No, I don't want muscle weight now, but when I'm thinner and I want shape, the muscles will make me happy.
My eating is going well. Especially working from home. After that one piece of chicken really got me, I've been paying much closer attention to what I'm eating and how fast I'm eating and how much I'm chewing. I have noticed a little more restriction with breads, which sucks because I love bread. So it's also a great thing since I love bread!
That's my update. I have set a goal of another 15 pounds by New Years. It's a pretty lofty goal, but one that I hope my body will adhere to. :)
I think my double chin is becoming a single chin. I have always been very aware of photos being taken of me because I don't want to look fat. Don't we all do that? But I've taken a few self portraits this week and each one I only had one chin...and I didn't have to do a lot of "posing" in order for that to happen.
I said that to Janice, my dear friend, and she said...I'm glad you're finally seeing it. Yep. For the first time since this whole thing started I can finally see weight loss in myself. And I like it! Yes...I have a long way to go. Yes...there are still going to be struggles. I know I'm not skinny yet; but it's nice to see that I'm actually on the way.
And that's great motivation for eating better. Today I had lunch with Mr. Muscles and we went to a barbecue restaurant. I could have had some yummy lamb ribs (what I usually order there), but instead I had swordfish. It was healthy and delicious and a much better choice then ribs covered in sauce. I realize that's only one meal out of 21 for the week, but it's a start.
Tomorrow I start my new job where I'll be working from home. Not only am I excited about the job, but I'm excited about the idea of being able to make my lunches healthy because I'll be at home. It's way easier (and cheaper!) to eat healthy at home. So I'm heading to the grocery store right now to stock up on tasty and healthy foods for my first week.
Wish me luck on both the job and my nutrition. :)
For the first time since surgery my blood sugar crashed. Yesterday morning I had a pretty hard workout with Mr. Muscles and at the very end, I was on my 4th set of dead lifts and it hit me; I can always feel my sugar start to crash. I don't have the ability to think coherently after about 2 minutes so the second I felt the crash coming, I asked Mr. Muscles to get me a drink with sugar in it and I sat on the ground.
Well, he gave me a G2...yeah...those are sugar free. Luckily I had an orange juice in my car so I asked Angela, a girl I work out with, to get it for me. But by the time she asked where my keys were, I couldn't explain. So instead of instantly getting the OJ, she tried to open everyone else's car before finally finding my keys and getting it for me! I guess a couple of the guys were worried their cars were being stolen. Whoops! Mr. Muscles found some brown sugar that he had for oatmeal so I ate a little of it and finally had some orange juice. My sugar finally came back up, but of course I was a mess for a few hours.
And the worst part about the entire thing...I did it to myself. I haven't eaten much sugar in the last 6 months, and I certainly haven't had it first thing in the morning. However on Tuesday morning I had two donuts. I shouldn't have. They aren't good for me. They aren't good for my band. But they were pumpkin flavored and delicious. And then I started antibiotics for an ear infection. So the combination of the two really screwed me up enough that by Wednesday morning my body couldn't handle it anymore.
I definitely learned some lessons this week. 1. I need to keep some juice or candy at the gym. 2. I need to not eat sweets first thing in the morning. 3. I really need to not eat sweets.
The good news is I weighed myself today and in spite of me not feeling like I've had much of a weight loss, I'm down a full 55 pounds now, so that's fun!
Next on the horizon...a 2 week diet that includes some protein smoothies that Mr. Muscles has concocted. Yum! :)
I think there are a few things that should be private in life, and my weight is one of them. Most men don't understand that concept, especially Mr. Muscles. He continually shares how much I weigh with complete strangers and it drives me crazy. Maybe if I weighed 128 pounds and shared Barbie's measurements, I'd be happy to shout it from the rooftop. But since I don't, it's private.
This morning at the gym there was a guy who doesn't come in very often. He's one of Mr. Muscles' fraternity brothers and in his words..."lacks the motivation to get up every morning and be abused for a couple of hours". But he came in three times last week and when he showed up this morning he told me he was there because I was motivating him to work out more. I thought that was an incredibly nice thing to say. Especially because it takes every ounce of my own willpower to get there in the mornings. So Mr. Muscles pops up and says...Sarah is a rockstar. She started out weighing...and I interrupted him and yelled NO! You have to stop telling people how much I weigh!
Now, the frat brother (I forgot his name) was super nice and said I don't need to know how much you weigh, but Mike said, Sarah, you should be proud of what you've accomplished. I am, and I like to tell people.
How is it that he doesn't get it? I am super proud of what I've done. I've lost 54 pounds in 6 months. I'm stronger. I look good. And even though I have bad days (usually when he weighs and measures me), I am happy. But that doesn't mean I'll share my numbers with you. Maybe at the end of this journey I will...and maybe I won't. But whatever I decide, it has nothing to do with my pride, just my privacy.
Steroid shots feel good. :) Not when they are being done, but 24 hours afterwards. Yesterday I saw the Orthopedic Extraordinaire for cortisone shots in both of my knees. He said my bad one sounded a bit more crunchy but is impressed with my workouts. And he said really, that's what I have to do. Keep it moving. So I will.
And this morning I had such great range of motion in it! Of course, that meant that Mr. Muscles wanted me to do some squats. I swear he won't let it go. I'm never going to do another squat again! And he just LOVES it when I tell him no. :) But I didn't have any pain today. Hopefully it lasts at least through the weekend or longer. 6 months ago when I got them on a Friday afternoon, by Monday morning I had pain again. However, I flew to Austin that weekend so I had two major pressure changes in a short amount of time.
Yesterday before I went to the doctor, I rode the bike at the gym. And I ended up riding 20 miles. I'm so impressed with myself! I've been alternating the bike and the elliptical every morning. I'm up to 5 miles on the elliptical in a morning; I work up quite a sweat! :)
This morning Mr. Muscles told me that he's putting me on a diet for 2 weeks. Starting Saturday I will replace two of my five meals (yeah...like I actually eat that much!) with a protein shake made from 12 oz of liquid yogurt, 1 banana, 1 scoop of protein powder, 2 spoon fulls of a particular brand of peanut butter and crushed ice. Sounds yummy, right? He wants me to eat 5 meals a day, but I've never done it. Maybe by drinking two of them I'll get in two other meals too. Along with the shakes...no meat, only fish. I guess the goal will be to get in high quality calories, clean out my digestive system and "tighten me up".
My goal for it would be to kick start my weight loss again. I'm building so much muscle that I'm struggling to lose weight. I was talking to my friends about our hatred of the scale today. Just because the numbers aren't going down doesn't mean I'm not getting healthier and more toned and in shape. I wore a dress today that I bought last year but never wore because I didn't like the fit of it. Today it fit perfectly! So just because the scale is refusing to move, I feel better and look better. And isn't that really what this is about? I believe it is.
I had my first complication the other night. And it was not fun. Last week I had another band fill; I'm now up to 8cc's of fluid in the band. That means the opening from my "new stomach" to the old stomach is smaller than a quarter. In fact, it's probably closer to a nickle. And that means that my food needs to be chewed up pretty small.
I was eating a piece of breaded chicken and I just didn't chew it up anywhere close to where it needed to be. So it got stuck in that opening. And holy moly it was painful! Do you know how tight your chest feels when you are drinking a soda pop and you inhale at the same time and you feel like you have an air bubble that needs to be released? That's the kind of pain this was. You can't rub it out, you can't do anything about it but breathe deep and hope it goes away. It lasted almost 3 minutes. But I waited it out because I really didn't want to throw up.
Lots of bandsters (as those with a lap band call themselves) would just throw up and keep going. But I think that sounds awful. I just let my stomach continue to pump and work on getting the chicken through the opening. Needless to say I have been chewing my food up way better!
As I was telling my mom about it, I said after it was over, it wasn't the worst thing in the world. Because it gave me a nice reminder that I have this band and I can't just eat willy nilly without consequences. And this was the first time that I've really "felt" the band. I said in my last post that I've been so blessed because I haven't had any issues. But because I haven't, I have also worried about my band not really working. Sure, I've lost a lot of weight, but I work out like a crazy woman and I kind of assume that I would have lost this much without the band.
This past weekend I spent a day volunteering for the Christmas in October organization. I worked on a house at 51st and Walrond. The woman that owns the home had every single window broken. She had a drug house close to her and quite a few drug thugs used her yard to cut through to get to it so she had a fence put up. And it's assumed that some of the drug thugs threw rocks at each of her windows in retaliation. So we replaced all the windows. And her house was in desperate need of new paint. We spent the first half of the day scraping and getting it ready to paint and the second half of the day painting. It was a GREAT shoulder workout and a good dead. Of course, standing on a ladder wasn't good for my knee, but I see the Orthopedic Extraordinaire on Wednesday for some steroid shots so it should feel better in just a few days.
And I was still able to get in 12 miles this morning on the bike. :)
I have been so busy lately that by the time I get home from my day, I'm too exhausted to blog. So here's what's been going on:
I went to Hawaii and had an amazing vacation. After I got there, one of my first tasks was to head to the gym and take pictures of all the equipment and send them to Mr. Muscles. He put together a workout regimine for me so I wouldn't fall behind in my training. I ended up making it to the gym 4 times during the week.
I walked a ton and hiked Diamond Head. In case you don't know, it's a pretty intense hike! It is an unpaved trail over uneven rock, with three sets of staircases; one 74 steps, one 99 steps and one narrow spiral staircase. It was killer on my knee, but the view from the top was worth it.
I took some stand up paddling lessons, but in the last minute decided not to try and stand. Janice tried it out first and said it definitely put alot of pressure on her knee, so I just sat down and paddled. :) But it was still fun!
I came home not weighing more than I did when I left, so all in all, it was a fantastic vacation!
I've definitely been tired in the mornings, much more than I was before I left for vacation. But I got up every day (except Monday) and went to the gym. Thursday I got on the bike and rode it for 12 minutes, 3 miles. It was a little uncomfortable, but not painful. Friday I got on the bike and rode for 15 minutes, 4 miles. Again, uncomfortable, but not painful. So Saturday I decided to really test my knee. This way if I did have pain, I wouldn't have to go to work afterwards. I rode for 60 minutes and 12 miles.
And I had pain. :( Quite a bit of pain. I iced it a few times, I rubbed some topical creams on it, but even today it's still swollen. Grrr...
I started this blog because I thought I'd need to talk about my food issues, my lap band issues, my big "life changes". Instead, all I talk about is my workouts and my knee. I don't have issues with my band. The only big life change I really have had to deal with is working out everyday with Mr. Muscles. I've lost 50 pounds. I feel so blessed that I was able to have this surgery and that I have had absolutely zero problems.
I really am just incredibly happy.
Well...I hit 50 pounds! How exciting is that?!?!?! Mr. Muscles weighed and measured me on Friday morning. I didn't really pay much attention to the measurements, but I did the weight. 50 pounds exactly. What a fun milestone to reach. :)
Saturday when I was at the gym I asked him to show me all my measurements. I don't really pay attention to the numbers because although they are good, they don't make me happy like the numbers on the scale do. But I wanted to know. So he showed me that since May 30th...3 months...I've lost 9.5 inches in my waist. What?? In my waist?? HOLY COW!!! I'm shocked!
The other numbers I don't remember, but he was so happy that he shared my results with lots of people...it embarrassed me a little bit because he shared where I started and where I'm at now. But then I thought...what the heck? I've worked my ass off (literally) to get here so I don't care if they know where I started!
I leave on Saturday for Hawaii and am very excited about it! I'm not excited about my knee while there, but Dr. Rapley gave me sleeping pills and pain pills to take so I should be good! I had a bad week at the gym and was in pain on Friday morning, but with some rest, ice and pills, I'm feeling better again.
Mr. Muscles is going to write out a work out regimen for me to do while I'm there. In the mornings Janice will run the beaches and streets of Waikiki so I'll head down to the hotel gym and get in my weights and abs.
My next goal is 50 more pounds by December 3rd. That's only 3 months from now, but I'm going to work on my food and hopefully get back into cardio work after I come back from vacation. So wish me well...I'm going to need all the luck to hit that goal!
I can't believe it's been over a week since I've blogged! I guess it's because I don't have that much to say.
I had another fill. Because of a new way of doing them, Tim the PA was able to put in quite a bit more than he normally would have. So now I have 6 cc's of saline. I feel a small difference and yet again I haven't had any issues with it. So that's great. I have "okay" restriction without complications. I would like "good" restriction so hopefully next time I go I'll get that feeling.
I am SOOO close to hitting 50 pounds that I can taste it. I had a personal goal of 48.2 pounds that I hit last week. That was a pretty awesome feeling for me. I know I should share why the funky number, but not right now. It's just a number that I couldn't wait to hit. A number that is special to me. Hopefully I'll hit 50 pounds this week. I'm looking forward to it.
As for my workouts, I've been going to the gym every day and training with Mr. Muscles. I wake up between 4:02 and 4:22 (depending on if and how many times I hit the snooze button). I get ready, wake myself up and head to the gym so I'm there by 5:00am. I visit with Mr. Muscles for about 15 minutes and then we start training. I've been doing upper body which includes arms, chest and back each day. I'm also doing a little leg workout a couple of times a week, but not much since the knee still hurts. And we've added in abs every day. Might as well, right? I'm up to 500 weighted crunches and 300 reverses each morning. I really am going to have abs of steel very soon! :)
I'm going on vacation in less than two weeks and before I hurt my knee I had all these grand plans to be active on my trip. Well, I've really rested my knee for the last two weeks and plan on doing the same before we leave. So I'm still going to be active while in Hawaii. We are going to do some hiking (Diamond Head and Makapu'u Point) and paddle boarding and lots of walking. I'm just going to have to take lots of ibuprofen with me and my ice pack. And maybe a few pain pills for night time.
As for the complaining that I'm trying to stay away from, I think I'm doing a pretty good job. Sure, I complain to Mr. Muscles each morning that he works me too hard, but I don't really mean it. It's more of a friendly banter. :) I appreciate all the hard work he does for me and all the hard work he puts me through. I can't change my circumstances, only make the best of them. So that's what I'm trying to do!
Today is Monday...hopefully by Friday I'll be able to blog that I've lost 50 pounds. I'm really looking forward to putting that in writing.
I'm bored. I can't do any cardio and it bores me. I was finally used to getting up every morning at 4am, hitting the gym a few minutes before 5 and working up a really good sweat. Then I would go back after work and get another hour of cardio in.
Now I get up at 4am, get to the gym around 5, visit with Mr. Muscles for a little bit and then do my weight training and abs. Sure, it's challenging and I'm building muscle and toning, but I'm not super sweaty. And sweat burns fat. And burning fat drops weight. So now I'm not dropping any weight. Grrr...
This stupid knee. I would take pain pills every day and work out, but I can't function on pain pills...I get a little crazy. I'm going to try swimming next week. The YMCA has a 7 day free pass so I'm going to go over the weekend and start my free week on Monday. Then I can hopefully get in some good cardio for a week.
My friends are proud of me for not giving up and still going to the gym every day and working out, even with this bum knee. And I appreciate that, but I don't feel like I deserve it. I know it's not my fault that my knee is injured, but all the same, I don't want to hear how well I'm working through this and staying dedicated. Because I'm not happy about it. I'm only doing it because I refuse to give up. But that doesn't mean I don't want to give up all the time.
I've been reading this book called Trusting God Anyhow! each morning at the gym. It's written by Dr. Lavender, the Pastor of Grace Baptist Church who works out at the gym. It's about the Book of Habakkuk. The Book of Habakkuk is all about trying to gain true faith in God by questioning Him. It's kind of the perfect book for me to be reading right now. Mr. Muscles keeps telling me that God has a plan for me and I just need to have faith. Well, it's really hard to have faith when all I see are setbacks.
Yesterday I got to the chapter about complaining. It seems that complaining is really just verbally doubting God's plan. Isn't that so true? I'm going to work on remembering that every day. And since I started this blog complaining, I guess I need to think a little more about it! :)
I had an MRI on Thursday and found out that I didn't tear my ACL! YEA! I'm so glad. I really was having a major pity party for myself. I did damage my knee, but hopefully it will heal on it's own. But that means I'm off of it for the next 4 weeks. Once the pain goes away I can do some bike and elliptical work, but no treadmill. Which stinks. It means that the 5k I was planning on doing on August 28th is out and the 5k I was planning on doing in Hawaii on September 17th is out as well.
But if my body will heal the knee on it's own, it's worth it. I'm not sure what will happen if it doesn't heal on it's own, but I'm not going to worry about that. I'm going to follow his instructions and do no walking, no stairs, no leg presses and really baby my knee. He told me not to take any anti-inflammatories because it can't stunt the bone growth. But I can take some pain pills if I need them. Which I'm trying not to take, but it really hurts.
For now I'll be building up my upper body each day at the gym with Mr. Muscles and tightening my core and abs with The Punisher. However, I am worried about my weight loss during this time that I have to stay off my knee. I have always struggled losing weight, surgery or not. And I don't know how I'll lose without the cardio workouts.
But I just can't think about it. I need to be happy that I don't need surgery. I need to think positively about my healing and my weight loss. And most importantly, I need to really focus on my food for the next month. I need to eat well balanced, proper meals. So this afternoon I'll be going to the grocery store and stocking up on good and healthy ingredients.
Will it ever end? I know I JUST said that I'm so grateful that I am able to have and do good things, but today I'm not feeling it.
On Saturday while in Joplin I hurt my knee a little. I didn't have one moment where I knew I injured it, but just throughout the day it started to hurt. I took it easy on Sunday; caught up on my sleep, visited my great aunt in the hospital, did a little laundry...basically just got ready for the week. Monday morning I woke up and did 2.5 miles on the elliptical in 30 minutes. Then Mr. Muscles had me go through some strenuous leg exercises and abs. Afterwards I was super duper sore, but didn't think much about it. However, I should have. Because while on the elliptical my knee gave out a few times and it was the first time that had happened in a very long time.
I worked all day and went back to the gym for my second cardio session; 3.5 miles on the treadmill. After a few minutes I should have given up because my knee gave out alot, but I didn't. So by the time I got home after a birthday dinner with family, I was really uncomfortable. I fell asleep with my knee propped up and ice on it. Sometime during the night I tried to turn over but my knee didn't move and that was pretty much it. By this morning it was really swollen so I didn't even bother with the gym. During the morning I had it wrapped in a cool wrap but the swelling grew down my leg. I even weighed myself and found that I'd gained 4 pounds. And I'm positive it is all fluid because my skin on my lower leg is tight.
I called the Orthopedic Extraordinaire and he worked me in today at 1:30pm. He felt my knee, the swelling, the painful areas and gave me news I did not want to hear...I could have torn my ACL. So sometime this week I'll have an MRI and I'll know. Until then, no cardio. Tonight I talked it over with Mr. Muscles and I'll do upper body and abs until the knee pain/swelling settles back down.
I'm trying hard not to have a pity party, but I just feel like I've paid my dues with injuries. I just want to lose weight. I just want to get healthy. And I know 'll get there, but it just doesn't look like it will be easy. But really...is anything??
I spent the day in Joplin, MO on Saturday. I didn't get to the gym, but I did get some of a workout volunteering for the day. I was at Joplin Family Worship helping with their mission. They are a large distribution center for help to survivors. I spent the morning in their big clothing tent, organizing men's pants for people to come in and "shop" for items. I was then able to tour the devastation while I delivered lunches for their meals on wheels program. I was overwhelmed with the destruction.
When the guys in the kitchen at the church were giving us directions on where to drive and the streets that the church has "adopted", he gave me the border on one end, but not the other. When I asked he said, well, the houses just end.
I feel very blessed to be have had the opportunity to do this. I spoke to many people who's homes are still standing...barely...and some of them were even home during the tornado in their basement, praying to live.
Then I spent the afternoon working in their grocery store, helping people stock up on necessities. That was an incredibly humbling experience. I've done quite a bit of volunteer work in my life, but for the most part, when I'm helping people, it's poor people, so I find it hard to relate because I've never been poor/homeless/destitute. However, the folks in Joplin were regular people just like me.
When I was out delivering meals on wheels, one street "ended" with a Catholic Church. And it was the most amazing sight. The front door and the Cross were still standing. It was such a message for all the survivors. And me too.
You know, I've been whining about getting up in the mornings at 4am to work out and how tired it makes me. But really, how fortunate am I that I'm able to do that. That I have a house, a car, a job and money that affords me the ability to do that. So tomorrow morning I won't be complaining that I'm tired, but thanking God instead.
It's Friday night and I just finished my first week of twoadays. And it was great! Wednesday was my day off so Thursday morning was good. I got on the elliptical and kicked a little butt! Then I did some arms and some legs with Mr. Muscles and finished up with some good abs with King Kong.
I have decided to rename King Kong. More on that later...
After my workout I came home and had a little yogurt and a few bites of banana. Then at 1pm I had another fill in my LapBand. I saw Dr. Hoehn yesterday instead of Tim, the PA who usually does the fills. Dr. Hoehn was happy with my progress, he was impressed with my workouts and when I told him my weight goal for Hawaii, he was pretty sure I'll be able to hit it. :) He gave me 1cc of saline, so I'm up to 3.5cc's. For the rest of the day I was on liquids. So Thursday night I wasn't the best on the treadmill. I walked 2 miles, it took me 40 minutes and I was exhausted. I couldn't finish an hour so I just came home. It's hard to work out as intense as I do without any food.
After 6 hours of sleep (not enough) I got up and went to the gym this morning. Since I hadn't eaten since Wednesday night, I literally had no energy. When my alarm went off at 4:03am, I begged for time to stop and let me sleep more. I argued with myself for about 45 minutes and thankfully the good side won out. I put on my workout clothes and headed to the gym a few minutes after 5. I got on the bike for 30 minutes and rode 9 miles. I drank some water and was sick to my stomach instantly. Drinking lots of water makes me nauseous anyway, but this morning I was extra nauseous; I'm assuming from my band fill yesterday.
Mr. Muscles had me do these hamstring things that were brutal. Then I did some bicep curls and triceps things. And I didn't finish. I just couldn't. I didn't have the ability to keep working out. And Mr. Muscles wasn't happy. So he moved me over to some circuit machines and I kept going. But after I was done, he wanted to know what in the world was wrong with me. I told him I hadn't eaten since Wednesday and he about blew his gasket! But then I told him why and although he wasn't happy, at least he understood I wasn't withholding food for no reason.
I finished my workout with him and King Kong came over to get me for abs but I told him no. I had to go home. I went home and napped for an hour and had a scrambled egg. Luckily I didn't have any issues with the egg and I had some noodles and tuna at lunch and did fine with them too. So the band fill so far hasn't affected my ability to eat. :)
Tonight I had way more energy and walked 3.1 miles on the treadmill in 55:30. If I remember correctly, that's even faster than earlier in the week so...Go ME!! Then I started abs with King Kong...or as I'm now referring to him...The Punisher! Something is wrong with this man. He brings me incredibly close to tears and smiles the entire time! He loves it when he pushes me to failure! But you know what? I do too. Ab pain/soreness is some of the best because then I know it's working.
The Punisher and I did some crazy ab work tonight again. I don't know where he comes up with this stuff, but I think it's working so I don't question him. :)
I'm not working out tomorrow. Instead I'm heading down to Joplin, MO for a day of volunteer work. I'm sure I'll get in a full body workout with all the debris that is still all over. Then hopefully Sunday I really will rest. I'll need it for next week; week two of Twoadays!
When my alarm went off this morning I was totally in a REM cycle so it was awful to wake up! I was freezing and in a such a deep sleep it took me a solid 5 minutes before I could even open my eyes. I got ready and hit the gym 10 minutes before 5am. I got on the bike and rode 9 miles. It is hard to get my heart rate up to where Mr. Muscles wants it because my knee won't allow it. And the seat hurts my butt. :) So I do it to make riding my own bike easier, but really the best thing to get and keep my heart rate up is the elliptical.
After my cardio, Mr. Muscles and I did some good arm workouts. Bicep curls, overhead shoulder presses, side lateral raises and upright rows. After we were done with arms, he gathered all the ladies around and did some preaching! He feels that it's his responsibility to not only work on our physical well being, but also our spiritual well being. And I like it. It's nice to know that God's on my side during this big transition. At 6:30 quite a few people leave the gym so they can get to work by 8. So then myself and another gal Alisha grabbed some weights and went outside. Mr. Muscles had us lunge all the way across the parking lot and back! It took a good 15 minutes because it's a big lot. The only saving grace was when we got to the other side, we ran through the sprinklers that were on! :) It made it easier to lunge back towards the building with the cool water on my skin.
Then I still had to do abs with King Kong. I was finally done a few minutes after 7am...and I was exhausted! I worked a full day and then went back to the gym for an hour on the treadmill. I did 3.1 miles in 55:20, 40 seconds faster than on Saturday. I'm really going to work on getting my time down for a 5k so on August 28th I can finish with a good time.
After my workout was over, I drove out to the Gap in Blue Springs because with all this working out, I need more workout clothes. As I passed by many fast food restaurants, I thought about getting something because I was hungry. But the thought of eating something bad for me after the last 48 hours of hard core workouts...I couldn't stomach it. I don't want to ruin what I'm working towards just for a cheeseburger. So I didn't. :) Instead I got home and had a yummy salad.
Tomorrow is my day off and I'm going to enjoy the rest.
Today was my first day of two a days and I feel great! I woke up at 4am and was at the gym around 4:45am. I got on the bike and rode for 45 minutes. I can't remember how far I rode, but I'm thinking it was around 11 miles. Then Mr. Muscles and I did this insane workout where I was fairly certain my lower ab muscles were actually ripping apart! I'm also pretty sure I shed a tear or two.
I went to work for a few hours and then had a cyst removed off my upper lip. Again...I shed a few tears out of pain! HA! The doctor used 4 stitches that I'll have removed next Monday. So for the next week I'll have to walk around with people staring at my face. Oh well.
I went back to the gym tonight at 5:30 and spent an hour on the elliptical. I did 4 miles. That was fun! :) Oh...and even more fun? Deron Cherry was there visiting Mr. Muscles. And you all know I LOVE Chiefs players! :)
I came home, had some dinner and now I'm going to take a quick shower and head to bed! 4am will be here again very soon!
I went to the grocery store tonight to stock up for the week. With all the workouts that I'm going to be doing now, I need to plan my meals way better than I have been. I texted Mr. Muscles a few questions and he ended up just meeting me at the grocery store and shopping with me. It was good to have him there with me to get advice on the things I should eat. Of course, along with that comes his advice on the things I shouldn't eat! :)
I made some yummy quiche tonight and have plenty of salad fixings. I also bought some nuts and bananas for snacks during the day. And some oatmeal for breakfast. I have a hard time eating in the morning with my band, but I'm going to need the energy so I'm going to try out some oatmeal.
And now it's 10pm. I'm going to be one tired girl tomorrow since my alarm is set for 4:00am! :)
This morning Mr. Muscles took my measurements. I started working out with him on May 30th, exactly 2 months ago today. He measured 6 places; my bust, my waist, my abdomen, my hips, my right thigh and my right arm. In the two months I've lost 15 inches...and 15 pounds. I'm happy with that. I wish it was more, but I have gained alot of muscle and that weighs alot...or so I'm told.
We talked today about me upping my workouts. I know...I feel like all I do now is workout! But I'm going to do all of my training in the mornings at 5 (which he loves anyway because he says it's better for me) and then I'm going to do an additional hour of cardio in the evenings.
I've lost a total of 45 pounds, which includes before surgery when I went on the liquid diet, and the 15 I lost immediately after surgery. I'd love to lose another 30 more before Hawaii. Considering that's 6 weeks from today, I need the extra workouts to lose more weight.
After all the measuring and discussing what comes next, I walked 3.1 miles in 56 minutes. I thought that was good, but not great. I need to work on getting faster. Then I did an hour of full body weights with Mr. Muscles. And finally I worked about 30 minutes with King Kong on abs. Just another typical Saturday at the gym!
It's hot outside, which means it's hot inside and therefore hot at the gym. Tonight we switched up my workout and I lifted weights first. Then I worked with Greg...who I think I'm going to nickname King Kong...on abs. We did this ridiculous maneuver where I had my legs bent in front of me and he criss-crossed his legs over mine for stability. I had an 8 pound ball in my arms and I twisted from side to side with the ball stretched out and then back with it over my head. Then I had to lean backwards without letting my back touch the ground and come back up. It worked my upper abs, my lower abs and my side abs. It was a little out of control but kind of amazing!
By the time I was done with weights and abs, I was already crazy sweating and I hadn't done any cardio! So I hopped on the treadmill and pounded out 2.5 miles before heading home for a nice salad.
I weighed myself again today at work. And the scale showed a loss again. Thank goodness it's going down. I was really worried at the beginning of the week. But there was no reason for me to worry. I just get in my head sometimes and forget there's alot more than just the number on the scale.
Before my workout tonight I chatted with my friend in Chicago. I hadn't talked to him since before surgery so he asked how I was doing with my band and everything. And I told him...I'm overwhelmed. I never thought I would focus my whole life on food and exercise as much as I do now. It is exhausting to constantly think about what I'm going to eat, what I'm currently eating and what comes next. I definitely have moments where I question if this was the right decision and then I have moments that I'm just sure it was the right decision. I'm guessing I'm not the only person who's had weight loss surgery with those kind of thoughts.
Today is one of the days that I'm glad I had surgery. I've lost 42 pounds, my clothes fit better, my favorite swimsuit is too big, and it got me back in the gym. Things are good today. :)
Again I woke up at 4am to workout with Mr. Muscles at 5:00. I was on the elliptical for 40 minutes this morning and then did some intense arms. By the end of our workout I was having a hard time lifting the 10 pound weights at all...and I certainly couldn't get them high! Then after I was exhausted, sweating like a crazy woman and beet red, Mr. Muscles walked me over to the treadmill, put it on an incline of 12, a speed of 3.8 and told me 10 minutes. Uh...I'm sorry, but it was like I about to fall off the darn thing the entire time! I held on with dear life for those 10 minutes and I wanted to give up more than once, but then I thought of Extreme Makeover from last night.
A gal named Krista had a few hard years with a daughter who has serious medical needs. As she coped, she ate and when she was cast on the show she weighed 445 pounds. Chris Powell was amazing for her and although she had some major setbacks during her 365 days, she was super successful. And at her 9 month weigh in and training session, she was working on her internal motivation and started running full speed. She still weighed more than me...but she was running! At a 7.1 on the treadmill!
So when I hit the 7 minute mark on the treadmill on that incline of 12, I just thought of Krista and her running and realized that if she could do it, I could finish 3 more minutes. And I did. Go me. :)
I've had some serious workouts, some early mornings and a bad weigh in since I last posted. First the workouts:
Friday morning I went to the gym at 5am again! It was so long ago I don't even remember what I did. How sad is that? I do know that I came home and fell asleep for about 30 minutes because I sat down. So now I know...after an early morning workout I just need to shower and go to work because sitting = sleeping. Saturday morning I got up and had a killer workout! I did an hour of cardio...half on the bike and half on the elliptical. I did almost an hour of arms with Mr. Muscles. And then because I hadn't been tortured properly, I did 45 minutes of abs with Greg! Oh my! I need a new nickname for Greg...maybe Mr. Abs? Because that's how I'm going to spend my time with him.
Because I have a great aunt in the hospital, I decided that if I wanted to spend time with her in the evenings, I need to work out in the morning. So this morning I was up and at em at 4am again! I decided to work the elliptical again. It feels a little better on my knees. Then we did legs for 45 minutes. I did just 200 crunches since Mr. Abs wasn't there. But as I was walking out, he was walking in and tried to talk me into coming back in and working out my abs with him. I told him he was crazy! But that if he got there a little earlier tomorrow morning, I'd do abs with him. I guess I'm a glutton for punishment! :)
Then when I got to work I decided to weigh myself. And I've gained 4 pounds. WTH?? Seriously? I gained 4 pounds? I've worked my butt off for the last two weeks and this is what I get in return? So I texted Mr. Muscles that I weighed, I gained and I was very unhappy. He instantly called me and asked me why in the world I would weigh myself after a workout? I said...because it's Monday morning and I like to weigh on Monday's. And he said no one should weigh themselves after a workout. I didn't know that. I guess muscles retain water after a weight training session. And I had a few cocktails on Saturday night which will make me retain water also. So he said I shouldn't have done it. And tomorrow I'll weigh before my workout and see what the scale says.
He said I shouldn't focus on the scale, but instead how I look, how I feel and how many inches I've lost. So maybe when we take my measurements this week I'll feel better about my progress, but right now I'm pretty bummed.
I guess if I have to wake up at 4am, at least I get to have a good time at the gym! :) I got there right at 5am and did 40 minutes on the bike...aka 9.5 miles. Then Mr. Muslces and I worked on my chest for 45 minutes. Before we started I rubbed some BioFreeze on my shoulders because Mike said that would help...I'm kinda thinking no.
I'm now at home with ice on my knees. I know we didn't work lower body, but my knees can always use some ice.
Then i'm off to work. Wish me luck that I don't fall asleep at my desk around 3pm! :)
I am so exhausted today! I haven't been feeling great today and was not looking forward to my workout tonight. In fact, I was just sure that Mr. Muscles would yell at me at least once. Surprisingly he didn't! Of course, he pressured me to find out why I wasn't feeling well and when I said it's because I'm having a heavy period, he stopped being mad at me! HA!
We did all shoulders today and stayed off of my knees which was nice. But as I sit here and type, it's hard to hold my arms up to laptop. It's a good burn. :) And I'm so grateful for Mr. Muscles because without him, I would not have workout out tonight.
I didn't do a very good job of eating today. I didn't eat healthy at lunch, I overate at dinner because I had dessert. So now I'm going to bed and hoping that tomorrow will be a better day.
This morning I was so sore that it hurt to stand after I had been sitting for more than 5 minutes. Needless to say, I sent Mr. Muscles a text message today telling him that my thoughts of him were not very nice. So I was hoping that we would do arms today because I was so sore...but No! I started out with 300 abs while holding a 15 pound weight under my chin. Good times. And then I did legs. Lots and lots of legs. I was mad the whole time but now I'm home, I'm not sore anymore.
Damn you Mr. Muscles for knowing what you're doing! HAHA!
I'm feeling pretty good about all of my workouts (despite the grumbling) and feeling pretty good about my eating. Mr. Muscles and I discussed that later this week we are going to take some measurements. I've been working out with him since May 30th, so this is the beginning of my 8th week. He took measurements before I started so it will be interesting to see what I've lost so far, pounds and inches. :)
I don't go back to Dr. Hoehn until the first week of August and I can tell I'm ready for another fill. I can eat what I want (within reason) which is good, but I'd like to lose weight a little faster. So I'm excited for that to happen.
And I've officially started my Hawaii countdown...54 days and counting before I'm on a plane! And I'm excited about the changes that are happening to my body and looking forward to strutting my stuff on the beach! HA!
I am so sore! Last night I worked out with Mr. Muscles, working on arms. We did triceps so much that I kinda wanted to cry! Then this morning was 40 minutes on the treadmill and then all legs. He worked and worked my legs until they were almost jello. And then because he hadn't tortured me enough...I had to do 12 flights of stairs. I called it 24 because one flight was up and down.
On about flight 10 I told him that he was going to have to pay for my next knee surgery! There's a new trainer at the gym named Greg. He's super nice and did my whole workout with me this morning. And he said...you won't need knee surgery because you're getting the weight off and your knees will be in better shape! He better be right. But right now both of them are definitely achy!
I ate well for the last few days. However, this morning after my workout my sugar did dip down a little bit. It wasn't brutal and I happened to be in QT when it happened so I was able to get it right back up. But after surgery, Dr. Hoehn had me stop my metformin because he said my sugars would be regulated with the smaller quantity of food I'm now eating. And so far he's been right. I haven't had a need for the metformin. And hopefully today was just an anomaly because it was such a hard workout and I did it on just 4 hours of sleep.
Tomorrow is my rest day and I'm going to need it after the last two workouts and a fun night out tonight for NKOTBSB. :)
I had a good day today. An omelet for breakfast, part of a burrito bowl from Chipotle for lunch and a piece of Kashi pizza for dinner. All yummy.
And then I had a great workout tonight. Some chest work, some arm work and an hour of cardio. I didn't do any abs and that was fine by me! HA!
Because it was a good day...I don't have anything else to say! :)
I was so tired on Monday that I forgot to blog about my weight loss! On Monday I weighed and my grand total is now 40.8 pounds! WOO HOO!!! 9.2 pounds until 50? I'm just so happy!
I had a nice workout yesterday. Because my great aunt had surgery in the morning, I took the day off work and was able to work out at 11am. What a great time to work out! I didn't have to wake up early and I still got all the energy benefits from a morning workout. Of course, that energy wasn't really needed to spend the rest of the day in the hospital. But at least my aunt is doing well. If only I didn't have to work. :)
I enjoy Wednesday's; not having to workout. It's also nice to have an evening free for whatever I want to do, like get my hair colored and a pedicure!
Tonight I rode the bike at the gym for 17.6 miles! Holy CRAP! I'm exhausted but it went well. My butt is sore. :)
I tried to eat a little more today. I wasn't crazy successful, but it was better than other days. I had some risotto for breakfast and some macaroni and cheese for lunch. So although I was hungry for my workout, I at least had eaten something. Then tonight I got home and made a salad with 4oz of salmon. Yum!
I'd write more...but I'm just too tired. An hour on the bike and an hour of weight training with Mr. Muscles was alot!
Friday morning I worked out with Mr. Muscles at 5am again! And this time I woke up at 3:58 to do it. I ate a few bites of yogurt before my workout and I was proud of myself. Unfortunately, Mr. Muscles wasn't. :( It wasn't enough food. It wasn't enough calories and I needed to eat after my cardio before weight training. Darn It!
Friday afternoon I had about 3/4 cup of risotto for lunch with some chicken in it. But then after work I went shopping and met up with some friends for a late movie. I ended up shopping too long and didn't have time to get anything to eat for dinner. The movie was over a little before midnight and on my drive home I was hungry. But I didn't know what was better - to eat that late right before bed or not to eat. So I chose not eating.
Saturday morning I went to the gym and asked Mr. Muscles which was better. And before I got my answer, I got another lecture! I think all he's done this week is scold me for not doing a good job. :( And then he gave me his advice: eat. He said that late in the evening I should eat protein. It will make my body work overnight and keep my metabolism up. And then I told him why I asked...and how I'd barely eaten on Friday. I should have just kept that to myself.
So I made a conscious effort to eat on Saturday. I had a protein drink after my workout. I had a salad for lunch. I had some delicious chicken for dinner. Go me! :) And I walked alot outside. I strolled along the Missouri river during the day and then walked around the Nelson Art Gallery in the evening.
And then I just realized it's 5:50pm and all I've had to eat so far is a protein drink about 9am. Darn It! I thought I was starting a new eating trend. Tomorrow's a new day. Tomorrow I will be more vigilant and eat better. And I'm back to my workout schedule in the evenings. Thank goodness - those mornings were brutal!
That's what time I woke up this morning to work out with Mr. Muscles. I had a work thing again tonight and because I'm such a dedicated trainee, I worked out this morning. Well, I thought I was dedicated. But Mr. Muscles yelled at me this morning! :( I got to the gym a few minutes before 5am and got on the bike for 30 minutes. And when I got off the bike is when he yelled at me...about two things!
I walked over to him and he shook his finger at me and said - I don't ever want to see you just cruise on that bike ever again! Now, I rode 7.5 miles in those 30 minutes, but I didn't ride hard enough. I tried to give the excuse of being tired and he didn't care. He grabbed my wrist and my heart rate wasn't even 100 so I couldn't even lie. :)
Then he asked me what I ate before I came. And of course the answer was nothing. I mean, who eats at 4:30am? So I got another lecture about how you have to eat calories to burn fat and how ridiculous it was I was trying to workout on an empty stomach. What he doesn't know is that I just about always work out on an empty stomach!
Nonetheless...tomorrow morning I'll be working out at 5am again. And I'll get up a little earlier and eat something. And I'll ride my heart out on the bike! Because I don't like being yelled at. And I certainly don't like being yelled at before the sun is up! :)
I don't do a very good job of eating. I'm hungry all the time. I don't eat enough. I don't eat often enough. And I can tell. I should be losing more weight and I shouldn't be as tired as I am. I'm at work almost asleep at 6:15pm because I have only had two chicken strips from ChickFilA today. All day. And about a half of a Diet Dr. Pepper.
I need to plan meals better. I can no longer be up in the air about what I'm going to eat and when I'm going to eat. I was worried before I had the surgery that I would struggle eating certain foods. I had no idea I would struggle eating in general. I've been on diets before where it takes so much concentration to eat healthy that it is no longer fun. But I've still eaten. I've never just stopped eating.
So for all of you out there that I see on a regular basis, please help me eat. I've been working out on an empty stomach, I've been going to sleep on an empty stomach and I'm not eating in the mornings. I am often asked how I'm doing and I say I'm great, but tonight I just needed to be honest.
I feel better putting it out there; asking for help. I have the exercise part down, now I just need to get my eating stable.
After a nice weekend enjoying some sun and friends and all around merriment, going back to work wasn't a fun concept. But my day was good! And tonight Mr. Muscles decided I needed a super hard workout because I took yesterday off. I tried to tell him that I rode my bike yesterday so that counts as some nice cardio, but he didn't care! So we did close to an hour and half of training tonight.
Arms, legs and an insane amount of abs! But I came home, made a salad and already my muscles are calming down and I'm feeling better again.
I decided to weigh myself this morning. I had such a good weigh in last Monday that I thought...what the heck?! So I did...and literally didn't lose an ounce. I weigh the exact same as I did last Monday. Sure - it's great I didn't gain. But it would have been nice if I would have shown a loss. Oh well. It's not ruining my good day. :)
What a great holiday weekend I've had! My Friday night workout was great. My Saturday morning workout was even better. Mr. Muscles complimented me on my strength and my muscle recovery after a hard workout. Sunday was my day off. And this morning I took my bike out and rode a few miles. I can do 10 miles on the bike at the gym and not feel like dying...I did 3.2 miles on the road today and wanted to collapse!
Look at that...I've finally decided to post a picture! :)
Because there's been a lot of eating out, I was a little worried. But I'm still free from issues. I even had a few bites of rice on Saturday at the yummy Mexican restaurant we tried. I am missing bread this weekend, but I'd rather miss it and lose weight.
This coming week I have a few work things in the evenings and a comedy show on Friday night so instead of missing my workouts, I'll be at the gym at 5:30am! I've NEVER been a morning person so we'll see how I do. Mr. Muscles suggested 5am but I said No No No! HA!
Tonight I got on the bike and rode for 7 miles. It took about 30 minutes and I felt pretty good afterwards. But then Mr. Muscles got ahold of me and 45 minutes of non-stop weight lifting turned me into Gumby! And then, because I "did so well", I "got" to do abs...crunches on the ball with a 15 pound weight. Good times were had at the gym tonight!
Before I had my surgery and was researching what people ate after the band, I read that dry meats were probably going to be hard. And they have been, so I've really stayed away from red meat and most chicken. Instead, I've become a hard core fish eater. I had no idea that there were so many kinds of fish to eat and that I would enjoy most of them. Tortilla crusted tilapia, lemon salmon, tuna, potato crusted cod...they are all delicious. But I am craving a big juicy steak. I'm trying out a new Mexican restaurant on Saturday...maybe some steak fajitas are in order! Hopefully I'll be able to eat them. :)
Today is my day off from the gym...and I'm missing it! I had dinner plans tonight that were cancelled and I thought...hmmm...maybe I'll just go to the gym instead! What in the world has happened to me? I like the gym?? OH NO! I'm turning into one of "those" people. Those people who say they miss it if they don't go. Ugh.
Instead of going, I made a delicious salad for dinner and really took the night off. My knees needed the rest anyway. After that shot yesterday, they are both achy.
I worked on getting more to drink today. Unfortunately it was a Diet Dr. Pepper. Probably not what Mr. Muscles had in mind, but it was oh so good. I didn't work on getting more to eat, but it was a busy day and I didn't really have time. So tomorrow that's the goal. Eat before my workout so I have more energy and stamina and am not starving when I'm done.
Today the incredible Dr. Rapley gave me an injection in my "good knee". I put good knee in quotes because it's the one that isn't horrible, but it has taken the brunt of my activity for over a year. Both knees have had cortisone injections in the last few months and Synvisc injections in the last few weeks. Unless something dramatic happens, they are as good as they're going to get!
As I was leaving Dr. Rapley's office today he shook my hand. Come on...really? After all I feel like we've been through together? So I gave him a hug and the poor guy hugged me back but then let me know he's not much of a hugger. Whoops! :) So, my apologies Dr. Rapley.
As usual, I worked out tonight with Mr. Muscles. Arms, abs and a mile on the treadmill. Just as I'm feeling stronger, Mr. Muscles throws in a new arm exercise that just about does me in. But that's why I'm paying him the big bucks! I got home from my workout tonight and crashed. Unless I eat immediately, I'm so exhausted I need a nap. I'm not sure if that's good for me or not, but it probably has to do with the lack of food I'm eating.
I'm definitely struggling with food...eating enough to give me the energy to work out for two hours. And not eating too much to make me sick. I'm so afraid of throwing up that I'm not eating as much as I should. Especially during the day while I'm at work. I need to figure out a way to eat better and more often during the day. Because a two hour workout on one container of yogurt and one cup of macaroni and cheese isn't working for me. And thank goodness Mr. Muscles doesn't read this blog or he'd be super mad at me! He wants me around 1,500 calories a day and I'm eating about 800-1,000.
I'm not sure which is more important; to work on eating more or drinking more water. I can't do both. I'm not hungry all the time and I can't drink all the time. The more I eat, the less I can drink. The more I drink, the less I can eat.
But I guess I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing...learning how to live around this lap band.
YEA!!!!!! I just had my first official weight loss! I'm so excited! Before surgery I lost 18.7 pounds. Then immediately after surgery I lost another 12.5 pounds. I don't really consider that 12.5 an "official" weight loss because for that first week, I barely ate. Then I gained some. I thought it was only 2.2 but I just looked and it was actually 3.2. Oh well.
But then today I weighed myself. I was hoping that the combination of the fill last week and my menstrual cycle, I'd see a loss. And boy did I! I lost 7.4 pounds! WOO HOO!!!!
So that makes my total since surgery 16.7 pounds and my grand total 35.4 pounds! OH MY GOODNESS!!! I'm finally happy! I'd been worried that I wasn't putting up any weight loss numbers, and with the dramatic cut in food and the dramatic increase in exercise, I should be. I guess it just took a little time for it to show.
Go me!! :)
I'm sure the guys out there reading my blog don't want to read about my period! :)
I have a condition called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). It's a hormonal imbalance that affects my menstrual cycles. In fact, I haven't had one for a very long time. It's been so long that I can't even remember. One of the best ways to correct the effects of PCOS is to lose weight. Well, I've lost weight many times in the last 5 years and it never helped.
However, the day of my lapband surgery I started my cycle. I was still in recovery when it started. At first I was worried they had put a catheter in me and when it was removed, I bled. But when I found out that didn't happen, I assumed somehow the anesthesia started my period. Whatever the reason, it was the first time in probably 5 years I had an actual cycle. And now, a little over a month later, I'm having another one.
I am so hopeful for all the things that lapband surgery is going to provide me...health, physical fitness, more places to shop :). And now, a balancing of my hormones. Surgery was a good decision.
Had a great workout today! Mr. Muscles and I worked on legs all morning, after my 500 crunches, of course! My knee felt pretty good...so good that I walked on the treadmill for a mile. Of course it took me a half hour, but I felt good afterwards!
I went to First Watch for lunch with my mom and ordered the salad that I usually get and today I could eat about a quarter of it. Having a fill in my band is definitely making a difference. Then I went to dinner with friends tonight and instead of ordering my own meal, I just ate a few bites of theirs! HA! Makes me a cheap date. :)
Tomorrow's my day off from it all!
I had an interesting thing happen at work yesterday. I walked out to the lobby and there was a man in his 60's waiting for his appointment, a woman in her 60's waiting for her appointment and what I assume was the woman's pre-teen granddaughter. I was speaking to one of my co-workers when I overheard the woman mention my weight and size to her granddaughter. She was "whispering". She told the girl that I was really big and although I didn't catch the entire next part of what she said, it was something to the effect of not letting herself (the granddaughter) get that way.
I turned around and looked that woman right in the eye. And she was clueless because then she started up a conversation with the man about losing weight! OMGoodness! I couldn't believe it. I'm a big girl. I know that. And I'm sure that people talk about me behind my back. But to be so blatant about it...I almost spoke up. But I didn't because she was a patient and I can't be rude to a patient. Even though she had NO issues being rude to me!
And then I thought about it and decided I don't really care what she thinks. I am trying to fix my weight, but she can't fix her stupidity.
Now I have to go to bed. Mr. Muscles woke up this morning with one thought in his mind...torture Sarah...so that's what he did tonight. And I have to see him again in less than 12 hours!
I was nervous for nothing! My first fill was easy peasy! Tim the PA rubbed a little iodine on the spot to clean it and used a small needle. He poked it right through, pushed a little and injected 2.5cc's of saline. I have been doing a little research about the fills and how much saline people have in their bands and it literally is a personal preference.
The first fill is pretty standard with 2.5 cc's. My band can hold anywhere from 12-14 cc's. But after that, it all depends on how fast I'm losing, how comfortable I am and how I'm tolerating food. And as I lose weight, I'll need more saline in the band. Tim explained it to me like this: Imagine an inflated balloon with a belt around it. As you let air out of the balloon, the belt slips and needs to be tightened. Same thing with losing weight. As I lose, I'll need the band tightened to stay in place.
Immediately afterwards I could tell that I have some more restriction. Tonight for dinner I had two scrambled eggs with some cheese and turkey and I could only eat one. Yesterday I could have eaten both and then something else. So that pleases me!
Especially because I was weighed today...and I gained 2.2 pounds in 4 weeks. Double Damn. Yes, as all of my friends have said, I've been lifting so many weights that I've definitely added some muscle weight. But I eat 1/3 of what I ate before surgery so why am I not losing? I asked Tim if that was normal and he said yes. My body is just trying to adjust to everything. And I lost so much right off the bat that after I started eating again, my body held onto what I fed it. Blah Blah Blah...I just want to lose weight.
So I went to the gym tonight and worked super hard with Mr. Muscles! Saturday morning when I have a little more time I'm going to get on the treadmill and see how my knee does. And as long as I do okay, I'm going to take my bike out on Sunday for my first ride! Sunday's are supposed to be my off days, but I have a goal in mind for Hawaii and in order to get there, I'm going to need a little more cardio. :)
All of my plans for my weighing at my first fill just went out the window. I had to reschedule my appointment for July 12th. When I called I didn't want to push it out any farther because I feel like I'm ready now...so I'm having it tomorrow! AHHHH!!!!!
I guess I'll be weighed tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to it. All of my friends who see me regularly say they can see it. However, I'm just sure I'm not losing. I do know that I'm gaining muscle mass from the 6 hours of weight training each week with Mr. Muscles and that counts for something. But I'll be totally shocked if I do have a loss.
And then the fill...I'm not going to lie. I'm nervous about it. A fill changes how much food I can take in as well as changes my ability to tolerate certain foods that so far I haven't had any issues with. And the biggest complication with all this is vomiting. And I REALLY don't want to vomit. But, I need the fill. I didn't go through all this to not have the band filled.
So tomorrow at 12:40 I'll get my first fill. Wish me luck that I handle that as well as I've handled everything else so far. And wish me luck that I post a loss instead of a gain on the scale!
I had a nice workout tonight...all about hamstrings and back, with 500 crunches thrown in! :) My abs started seriously hurting around crunch 200. Last week they hurt around crunch 100, so hopefully that means they are getting stronger!
I am still not weighing myself until July 12th, but to find out if I'm getting results, this morning I tried on a skirt I bought this winter. It was a clearance skirt that didn't fit, but I hoped it would at some point. Well, this morning it zipped! Woo-Hoo! Sure...it was still a little too tight to wear, but before surgery it barely fit over my hips.
That was a nice little confidence booster. It also helps validate all the salad's I've eaten! Tomorrow I'm having lunch out with a friend so I'm going online beforehand and picking out what I'm going to order. This way, when the waiter asks what I'd like, I'm not tempted to get something that sounds yummy but is bad for me. And since Wednesday's are my day off at the gym, I want to make sure I'm extra good since I won't be burning anything off tomorrow night!
Holy Toledo my arms are sore! I said on Saturday that the burn felt good. I lied. HA! I was in the car with my mom tonight and when I turned a corner, I barely moved my arms and she laughed at me! I told Mr. Muscles on Saturday that I needed to be able to wash my hair. I'll just say that was quite a challenge this morning. And after tonight's workout, I don't think tomorrow morning will be any easier!
My workouts are going well again, even if I'm not doing any hard core cardio yet. And my eating is okay. I can probably eat more than I should so I can tell I'm ready for a fill in the band. When Dr. Hoehn placed the band, it was empty. The lap band can have up to 11 cc's of saline. As I get more saline put in, the more restriction I have. So right now I definitely have restriction, but not as much as I need. The good thing is that I'm making better choices. Mostly because I want to, but there is one thing that has changed and I'm not too happy about it.
Diet Coke doesn't taste the same. I don't understand! It used to make me very happy and now it tastes kind of flat and uninteresting. :( How could surgery change my taste buds? I don't know, but it did. So it makes me worry about root beer. For those of you that know me, I L.O.V.E. Barq's Root Beer. It's like heaven in a glass. The thought of it makes my mouth water and lifts my spirits. And I don't have it very much. Not because I don't want it all the time, but because it's so many empty calories that I don't allow myself to.
So here's my dilemma...what do I do? Do I have a glass now and see if it's changed? And then if it has, I'll know. I'll be sad, but it will be better for me in the long run because it will be one less craving. What if it hasn't changed? Then I drank some again and it will be so good and I'll be craving it even more! UGH!
It's 9:00 and I'm going to bed. Depriving myself of the root beer, even if it doesn't taste the same anymore, is depressing me.
I did so many arms and abs last night that I came home and I couldn't even blog about it! Mr. Muscles and I worked out my arms to failure! I did some 5 pound stuff over my head, some 10 pound stuff over my head and then like 100 tricep things. I don't know the names of the exercises...but I don't need to. :) Then, after he'd sufficiently tortured me enough, he had me do 500 crunches. No, that's not a typo...500 crunches.
I was so sore last night that I went to bed with my ponytail still in my hair because it hurt too much to lift my arms up to pull it out!
So this morning I got up and went to the gym again. That's right...Mr. Muscles was the last person I saw last night and the first person I saw this morning! We did a bunch of arms again today. Different from yesterday, but the same muscles. Luckily there weren't any more crunches. We did what he likes to call power lifting. It's lifting at a fast pace so my heart rate goes up, which is good since I can't do any cardio yet. But it also means way more reps of any one exercise then I would ever want to do!
I feel pretty good. The burn when I'm lifting my arms up to talk on the phone or tuck my hair behind my ears is a nice reminder that I'm actually doing something worthwhile. Of course, I would love to have instant results, I know that this is a loooong process. So I'm hopeful that each day is worthwhile. I'm also hopeful that I'm losing weight. I haven't gotten on the scale again, no matter how many times I've wanted to. But I definitely know I'm building some serious muscle mass.
And since I can't go an entire blog post about my knee, I will say that it is feeling much better. I'm wearing this brace all day long and the stability it gives me is such a nice comfort. It also stops me from bending it to 90 degrees, so I don't have the popping or the pain. So that's nice too. I'm hopeful that next week I'll be able to get back on the elliptical! And if it feels as good as I want it to, I'm going to get the injection in my other knee because that one takes the brunt of this body. Then maybe I'll be close to "pain free". As close as I'll get until the weight starts coming off.
Until then, I'll just remind myself of two things each day. 1. Weight loss does not offer instant gratification like a one hour episode of The Biggest Loser does. 2. I am going to Hawaii in September. That second one is what sends me to the gym every night. :)
I got a lecture today from Mr. Muscles. I drove over to the gym tonight to visit with him about my knee. After I left the doctor on Tuesday, he wasn't there for me to give him the low-down, so I just told the gals who work there that I wouldn't be back until tonight because of my injury. I was hoping to work out tonight, but I still can't bend the knee to 90 degrees without the pain, so there was no need to go to the gym. Well...I was wrong!
Mr. Muscles looked me up and down in my street clothes and said...what's going on? Why aren't you in workout clothes? So I thought that maybe Phylis or Angela hadn't told him that I stopped by? Um...no. They told him. But he still wanted me there. He said, I'll sit you down on a bench and we'll work upper body and abs. There's no reason to completely stop working out just because you have an injury. We'll work around it.
And that is why I'm paying him.
So thanks, Mr. Muscles. I'll be at the gym tomorrow after work again. We'll work upper body. We'll work abs. And most importantly, we'll work on changing my life.
This afternoon I got my new brace for my knee. I wore it all afternoon and evening and it gave me so much stability. I'm super happy. It's not the most comfortable thing, but the gal from the brace company told me to wear it for a few days and then let her know if I wanted to keep it or maybe try something else. I guess the real test will be tomorrow in my workout.
I had substantially less pain today. However, I'm not really bending my knee to 90 degrees so that helps too. Because when I accidently bend it I get the pain when I go to straighten it out. But I have faith it's going to be even better tomorrow!
I certainly would like for this to be the end of "The Knee Saga of 2010-2011". :)
I went to see the orthopedic extraordinaire today...and now that he's read my blog, I'm only allowed to say good things about him. Luckily, that's easy. He's not only a really nice guy, but I think he's an incredibly good and caring doctor. If he had a single brother who traveled 30% of the time, I'd want to marry him! HA!
Anyway, I went to see Dr. Rapley because after my workout last night, this darn knee got the best of me. I even cried in public. And I've never done that before. So I was lucky enough to get an appointment this afternoon. He drained some fluid off and gave me one of those miracle injections. At least, I hope it's a miracle.
I just sat in that exam room today and cried. It's such a struggle. I constantly feel like people hear me complain about my knee and think that I'm just using the "pain" as an excuse to not work out...to not lose weight. But that's the total opposite. It's not like I love to workout (even with Mr. Muscles), but I know it's the only way I'm going to lose weight. So I want to do it. And it makes me feel good when I do. When Jillian and I trained for the Susan G Komen Breast Cancer 3 Day in 2006, we had a blast walking all over the city. Sure, we were exhausted and sunburned for like 6 months, but we got to see so much of Kansas City. I couldn't even do 1/10th of that now.
So I'm taking tonight off and Wednesday's are my usual night off. But Thursday I'll be back at the gym, working out again, hoping the injection works it's magic. I have to give a major thank you to Dr. Rapley for listening to me cry, praying for me and caring about my health. I like you, but I hope I don't have to see you for a while! :)
By the end of this workout today, I was Sweaty with a capital S! But it felt oh so good!
I had a realization today. I can't focus on my weight. I know...seems kinda bizzare since that's what this whole thing is about. But I am getting so caught up in the pounds lost that if I don't see the right number, I get depressed. And depressed Sarah isn't happy and makes bad decisions...new shoes, handbags, dessert. So I'm not going to focus on the number. Instead, I'm going to focus on eating well and working out hard core. And the next time I weigh will be July 12th when I go for my first band fill.
I work in a physicans office and about 15 steps outside of my office is a scale. It's an overwhelming reminder of what I'm trying to do each day. But not a good reminder. A scale has never been my friend. Even when I was losing weight it still wasn't my friend. So I'm putting it out of my mind. I'm going to turn right instead of left when I come out of my office and turn my back on the scale.
Hopefully I'll have something amazing to report on July 12th. But until then I'll be focusing on eating well and working out 2 hours a day, 5 days a week.
