A New Life Being Added ....

Well I haven't posted in a while because I have been keeping a SECRET. 

I didn't want everyone to know why I wasn't really losing any weight the last little bit, nor why I gained a pound here and there. But I am going to say now!

Colin and I are expecting our first bundle of joy in just 7 short months.

Thanks to some amazing life changes, losing close to 85lbs, we were surprised to find out on June 26th that we were pregnant.  It isn't that we weren't trying and it was a surprise that way, it was that I have been told since before we even got married that I might never conceive on my own due to some medical issues I had.  Thankfully the surgery has helped me change my life so much that those medical issues seem to have somewhat corrected themselves. Enough that ...

WE ARE PREGNANT!!

Our Expected Due Date is February 26, 2014, however, I will be going for a dating ultrasound sometime in the next week or so and that might get changed, although I doubt it.

So life is changing for me, however, for the next few months I won't be talking about weight loss I will probably annoy everyone with baby news instead.

Loving Life

I can't get over how hard doing a PLANK is.  I am struggling something fierce to do them but I am going to keep at it, even if I have to do them for 20 seconds a day till I don't shake any more.

I spent Wednesday, Thursday and Friday in Halifax with my parents because I had another band adjustment on Wednesday.  It didn't go as smoothly as the last one, however, it was definitely not as painful as the first one.  This was also the first time that Dr. Stalker asked me to take a sip of water to make sure I didn't have too much restriction.  I felt fine though.  I was not really hungry until the next morning but didn't want to push it so I only had some oatmeal (extra watery) and some scrambled eggs.

I was very shocked that I didn't hurt at all after walking around so much, however, I was very tired thanks to not being in my own bed. 

I got home on Friday evening and spent most of Saturday baking, cleaning, etc and then on Sunday I did something I didn't think I would EVER do in my life, although I did dream of it.  Colin and I went for a bike ride after delivering a cake.  We biked from our house down Wallace Road, up Connaught Ave to Bridgeport Convenience (where I had a root beer Popsicle) then back up Main St to our house.  In total it was 6.7Km (3.84 mi) and I couldn't get over the fact that I did it.  I don't know if I could do it again today, but I am definitely getting out to walk today.  I don't want to give up on the energy & exercise habits I'm building.

Starting to see a New Me

Well I have to say I'm finally starting to see some changes, not physically because they have been there for a while now, but in my day to day routines/energy.  I will start by saying I lost 1.8lbs this week bringing me down 85.6lbs in total.

I notices this past week that I chose to do things I never thought I would do.  I have joined a walking club at my office and, weather permitting, we walk 3 days a week.  The walk I chose to do is 1.24miles and I can do it in 25.50 minutes.  I am hoping that gets better as the summer goes on!

Then on Saturday, while Colin was away with family I spent the entire day baking, cooking, cleaning etc.  Around 3pm I was going to sit down and decided I didn't want to, that I needed to get outside but couldn't find the garage keys anywhere so biking was out of the question.  So off I went in my walking gear and I walked from our house, down one of the side streets and back.  Not since I met Colin would I ever have thought of walking that street because of the hill on it.  I am terrified of walking hills because they hurt so much, however, I also know they burn the energy so GOOD!

I walked the 0.94miles in about 20 minutes and was so shocked that when I got back I was still able to breath fine that I turned on my new yoga work out and I did 30 minutes of that as well.  I couldn't get over that I had done it, without being told, begged, or guilted into it. I did it of my own choice and I shocked myself.  I really hope I can keep small NSVs like that up. 

Today I decided to start a new challenge.  A 30 day PLANK challenge.  It doesn't look too hard on paper, however, WOW even the first day which is only 20 seconds nearly killed me so please pray I make it through the next 30 days :D

A Weekend Away ... and Me

Well I was in Truro this past weekend with TOPS and I had a great time.  I ended up being a Provincial Winner for Division 9 which is the Weight Loss Surgery division within TOPS.  I know I am not the same as everyone else and I needed the surgery, but it felt odd being the only person as the Provincial Division 9 Winner.  I didn't think there is anyone else in the Weight Loss Surgery division at all, but I have to stop thinking that this is a bad thing.  I don't know if I will be there next year, but I hope to be.  I hope that this surgery works properly for me and I know that I can not lose weight like everyone else so I am working hard at this.

Some people have been asking what the Lap-Band looks like because just talking/writing about it doesn't truly explain it.

Below is a picture of a stomach and around it is the Lap-Band  You will notice that it makes a smaller pouch at the top but that the rest of the stomach is left in tact.  There is a small tube that goes from the band down to a port.  My port is sewn to a muscle just to the right of my largest incision and that is what is used to add fluid (saline) to the band each and every time I go to Dr Stalker's office in Halifax.

Each time I go to Dr Stalker's office he adds saline to my port which travels up the tube to the band itself and it tightens it just a little so that a small amount of food keeps me satisfied for 4 hours or more each and every time I eat.

I have a 10cc band and I currently have 3.7cc's in my band.  I go for another adjustment on June 20th and I am hoping that this is the last one for a while.  I am close to my "green zone" but it feels so far away sometimes.

I know 100% I am not like everyone else, I used to eat to keep from doing other things. I have been on every fad diet known to man and been to more doctors and dietitians than I can even count. But no matter what I was doing I couldn’t take weight off for longer than a month or so and each time I thought I found my stride I gained every bit of the weight back and then some. 

At my highest weight I was barely living life but to the outside world you would never know it, I was good at hiding how I felt. 

Before my surgery in September 2012 I was so large I didn’t fit into a standard MRI machine that I
desperately needed, I was forced to view Walt Disney World from a wheel chair because my
legs just couldn’t hold me up for any length of time, and while camping I had to take my car
from the campsite to the bathrooms because I knew that walking there would have me so out
of breath and sweaty I’d feel horrible. 

 I feel amazing as of today but I have to keep realizing that I am NOT everyone else ... I will stumble and fall .... I will have good days and bad ... but I am me and I will lose this weight!!!

A Loss and Some Exercise

Well I lost this week at TOPS. I'm down 3.8lbs bringing my total to 78.6lbs.  I was very happy when I weighed in because last week was a small gain that I was hoping was all water weight.

I also started the 30 day Squat Challenge on Monday! So far I feel ok, but I'm pretty sure that by day 7 I'm going to be one hurting woman.  This is one thing I really want to do for me ... something I want to try and stick to no matter what. I find myself starting and stopping a lot of things lately and I know I can't keep doing that because if I do I will never get to where I want to be.

Starting Friday there will be a new challenge hosted by Big Deal's Weight Loss & Jay.  I really want to do this as well and am truly hoping I can stick to it. I already keep a food diary so part of it isn't an issue, however, the 30 minutes of outdoor activity each day may be harder to achieve.

 

I am hoping that these things will help me keep on track and lose the weight!

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