Its The Little Things That Mean The Most

I may still be 110lbs away from my goal, I may still wear between a 1X & 3X, I may have weeks where I gain a 1lb here and there but I feel amazing already.  I have had a number of NSV (Non Scale Victories) that just make me think back to how I felt at the beginning of this journey and remember why I need to keep going when I feel discouraged.

• I was able to paint my own toe nails last evening and to most people that seems like an every day task but for me was almost impossible due to my size.  I was even too embarrassed to go to a pedicurist.

• As a friend stated in his blog yesterday I now can choose to go to almost any show/restaurant and sit in any seat and know I will fit where before I turned down a lot of tickets/dinner dates/etc because it had arms on it and I wouldn't fit.  

• I purchased my van over 2 years ago and in hindsight I only picked a van because I didn't fit in to anything else comfortably and now I feel like I could pick almost any vehicle (within reason) and fit without issue.

• I bought a pair of high heels for the first time this month because I finally didn't feel like I was going to sink to the center of the earth.

• Before I started this journey I would cringe when I realized I had to walk somewhere to get something, whether it was within the office (up or downstairs) or to take the garbage to the curb and now I do it without even thinking.  There are days I go up and down the stairs at work 10 - 20 times now!

I may update this from time to time when other things that make me smile and remember why I decided to take this journey!

A Gain but A Non Scale Victory That Made Me So Happy

I sadly gained 1.2lbs this week at TOPS and although I promised never to make excuses for why this happens from time to time I think I was my own worst enemy yesterday.  I started getting a sore throat around  2pm and to try and help relieve the pain I ended up drinking close to, if not over, 64oz of water.  I NEVER do that on a weigh in day, so I wasn't overly surprised when I stepped on the scale last night.  I thought I did really well through out the week so I had actually been expecting a loss but was not overly upset with the gain.

What made me super happy this week though was ...

I drove a bike!!!

I didn't think I would be able to but I didn't forget a thing.  I will, however, never drive this bike again without changing the seat because its a Mountain Bike seat and very hard on the butt LOL

NSV (Non Scale Victories)

Well everyone,  I lost 1/4 of a pound this week at TOPS and although it was not as much as I wanted to lose it didn't get me down because I had a TON of NSV's (Non Scale Victories) A big one was that I purchased a mountain bike about a week ago and am loving it, even if I'm not loving the hills in our area yet.

Last evening my husband and I went for a ride straight after work. He has been driving a bike for YEARS and loves it so this is something that I really wanted to do as I started to lose weight so I could spend time with him.  We left our house and went for a 20 minute ride, and although I'm sure Colin could have biked circles around me he was very kind to me and stopped on hills if I needed to ... I am very lucky to have him to help me along.

The hills in our area are annoying, some small and some large, but very hard on something who hasn't ridden a bike in FOREVER.

 

After the ride we went and had our supper etc and then around 8pm he asked if I wanted to go for a walk since he wanted to fly his planes (RC ones) and in the past I would have laughed at him.  But I said yes and I'm sure he was very shocked to hear me say that.  We went down to a small park where he likes to fly and around it is a walking track.  It isn't large but its 1/4 of a mile long and I did 2 full laps around it.  I was able to get up to 3Mph walking and was very excited.



That was 2 awesome NSVs for me, things I didn't think I would ever be able to do again.

I am almost done of my 30 day Squat Challenge and am looking to start another challenge once its over. I still haven't decided what to do though.   What is nice however, is that our office has started a Walking Club and we will do group walks every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.  As I get more information and days under my belt I will tell everyone how its all going.

Needing to Refocus

I don't know why I feel off track but I do even though I'm losing weight still.  I think its the weather, it makes me feel like I should be doing so much more.  I need to up my walking so I'm sure to be able to do the full Walk for ALS at the end of June. Since the weather is very unpredictable I am going to stick to walking on my treadmill but I really need to do more.  I started a challenge in April to walk 15 miles and I got about 5 in and gave up.  More so because I was so swamped with other things that I just pushed it aside.  I need to stop doing that, I need to make ME a priority no matter how many cakes I have to bake, or what family I have to visit, or how stressful work is.  Walking should be so natural but it is still a struggle for me so I am going to make it a priority. It isn't going to be every day because for me right now that just isn't working, so I am going to walk every second day, no matter how busy I am I will take 30 - 60 minutes out of my day to focus on me. 

I am going to have to try a few things while walking to make it less boring though, whether it be reading my Kobo, watching TV shows on Netflix, or listening to some really good music. I can't just walk aimlessly because I get bored too quickly.  I am the multi-task queen and as such it frustrates me that I can't do other productive things while walking so if I could take my mind off of that by reading, watching a show, or listening to music and focusing on just me it should help.

I did enjoy the Couch to 5K I was doing in April and although I did stop it I think will pick it back up but in a modified form this month.  

I really do need to refocus my priorities to get this done because it is all about my life & health.  On top of wanting to lose weight and become healthier in turn all of these changes will also help me cope with other issues in my life.  On February 4, 2013 I was diagnosed with Multiple sclerosis (MS).  It was a great shock to get this diagnosis, but it was also a relief to know that everything that has been going on the past 8 - 10 years weren't just random occurrences. Although there is no cure for MS it is a disease that many many people life with daily and without major issues.

I haven't had was is known as a "flareup" since my first one in December of 2004 when I lost the sight in my right eye due to Optic Neuritis.  That lasted about 4 - 6 months but I can now see perfectly fine. I have since had a few smaller issues like vertigo and bouts of extreme tiredness, the biggest thing that I was left with was cluster migraines that annoy me more than anything.  They aren't like a normal migraine, instead they are sharp sharp pains, like a knife stabbing me that can last up to about 60 seconds but can end up happening upwards of 50 times a day. 

Losing this excess weight and living a healthier lifestyle will not only make me look/feel better physically but will also help me deal with future "flareups" of my MS. I hope to go another 8+ years before I have a "flareup" and I hope that all of these changes to my lifestyle will help with that!

I got weighed in last evening and lost 0.8lbs bringing my total for weight loss to 76lbs!!! My current weight is 288.4 ... I am 24lbs away from my 100lb loss and I have only 16.2lbs until I am halfway to my final goal!!!

Back on Track

Well I had an adjustment last Wednesday in Halifax.  My mother, father and I went up over night and did some shopping too.  I was in and out of my adjustment appointment in less than 5 minutes. It was painless this time around because my port is not laying flat on the muscle and luckily he didn't have to go searching for it.  I didn't even feel the needles for the first time in my life!

While we were in Halifax I purchased a dress and some high heels. First time purchasing both because I wanted to in my LIFE!

 I will be wearing this with a black jacket/bolero in May to the TOPS PRD in Truro. 

After the adjustment I felt back to normal.  My meals were allowing me to stay satiated for upwards of 4 hours.  Something that I was really missing for so long.  Then on Tuesday I got weighed in at TOPS and was DOWN 5.6lbs!!

I'm back on track and feeling amazing.  I am out of the 290's and really hope to stay that way!

A Gain but Not Giving Up

Well I sadly gained again this week at TOPS, 0.8lbs  Its not a lot but I'm not going in the right direction at all. I'm not giving up!  I started the Couch to 5K on April 1 and I am sticking to that.  In doing that, as I said in my last post, I am also trying to walk a total of 15 miles this month. I refuse to give up but I am definitely not happy with where I am right now. 

I had an information session with Sue, one of the SWLC nurses, this past week and during it I felt like she was talking directly to me. She was explaining some common issues with the band that most people don't think about.

One of those issues is a pain in the lower left quadrant of my torso that I thought was a pulled muscle or something but was told it is most likely the tubing from the port hitting a nerve and stretches etc can help move it away from the trouble spot.

Another thing that hit home drastically was that I am probably in need of another adjustment even though I had one in February.  She mentioned that it normally takes 4 or 5 adjustments each about 4 -6 weeks apart before they find that "SWEET" spot.  She showed us the picture below:

I should be in the Green Zone, however, as I lose weight its not just coming off my legs, arms, torso, face etc it is also coming off my stomach itself and as such the band isn't tight enough to help me achieve satiety after a small meal like before. Which puts me in the Yellow Zone

I thought that after my adjustment in February that would be it for months but sadly its not, they put so little in each time to very slowly bring me back into the Green Zone. I thought it was all in my head, I didn't think what I was feeling was due to my band needing adjustment.

I have been feeling hungry within an HOUR of my meals. I am constantly thinking about food, recipes, what I get to eat at my next meal, what I can make this weekend, for the coming weeks etc.  Its a constant battle and it didn't used to be right after my surgery.  I thought it was just how the rest of my journey was going to be but Sue said that should NOT be how I feel at all. 

I am scheduled to go to Halifax on Wed, April 17th for an adjustment, I know it might not be the last but I hope it helps me out of this rut. The adjustment combined with my workouts I hope will help me get back on the losing track!

A Gain :-(

Well weigh in night was last evening and I sadly gained 1.8lbs.  I won't make any excuses I will just say that I knew it was coming because I have not been eating as well as I should the last few days.  I had chocolate that I never should have touched because I knew if I did I wouldn't stop and that is exactly what happened.  I splurged on food I shouldn't of had and didn't exercise to compensate at all.

So knowing this weight gain was coming/happening I decided to start a Couch to 5K as well as a 15 mile challenge/program on April 1 ... I am not looking to go into races or anything I just want to build up my stamina.

Here is what I'm following (probably with a few small moderations)

I am also going to try and walk at least 15 miles in the month of April.  It averages to 1/2 mile a day but I have already missed one day so I need to keep a good track and see if I can get these goals met!