Fitness Journey Update

MyFitnessPal - Free Calorie Counter

As an up date on my fitness journey I wanted to post that I lost 7 pounds in 4 weeks. I think that MyFitnessPal has been a huge help. If you are trying to take off a few pounds it's a great site and they even have a mobile app. It might take a week or so to get used to writing it down, but having friends that encourage and support you makes it all worth while. Well, that and stepping on the scales and seeing a loss.
To those who think I'm taking the easier and softer way, I just want you to know that this whole weight issue has been a struggle for me for the past 15 years. I have tried dieting and have had some success, but I've never lost all the weight I need to and I have yo-yo to the point that I now have more weight to lose. About nine years ago I looked into the gastric bypass and knew that it was very unsafe. Then four years ago I considered the lap-band option and knew it wasn't the safest way to go either. I have explored the options and I believe that the gastric sleeve is the safest, most effective way for me to lose the weight and keep it off.
Thank you for the kind words of encouragement and join me at MyFitnessPal. My screen name is Runn53.

My Fitness Journey

This is the post I said I'd never write. This is the one I don't want anyone to read. So, why am I posting in now, when I know that it will be read by a hundred other bloggers is beyond me. 


I don't know why I am so full of false pride, but I am, and I have a huge amount of anxiety, so writing this is extremely difficult for me. Admitting what I am about to say is causing my heart to race to the point I feel like closing my laptop and forgetting the whole thing. I've gone over this post in my head again and again, and now that I've waited until the last hour to post this entry I have no idea what I am going to say.


I've posted in the past that I wanted to run a 5K, but I never told you why I have yet to run. It's because I can't. I tried. I was walking 4-5 days a week, 3 miles each time, and at a good pace, but I couldn't run. I can't run. I can't because I'm too fat. I'm not 20 or 30 pounds over weight; I am obese. I haven't always been over weight. In fact, I was a size 6 in my mid-twenties which is, honestly, too thin for my body type. I don't know why I've gained so much weight. It may be because I was a two pack a day smoker and quit several years ago. It might be because I'm genetically predestined to be obese (my paternal grandmother, who I take after, was obese). It could even be because I gained too much weight with my first pregnancy and never lost that weight. The why no longer matters. What does matter is that I am still fat.


Almost two years ago I drastically changed my eating habits and started exercising. However, over the past 3 months I've made some really bad choices and started eating high fat foods. I'd like to say it's because I busted my ass and only lost 20 pounds, but honestly, I just gave up. I'm not walking as much as I was and I know I need to; I still plan on running that 5K.


The one really positive thing I have done is fall in love with yoga. I have been practicing for just over a year now. I started out going once a week, then twice, and now I try and attend three classes a week. I'm able to hold side plank (not with my foot extended) whereas a year ago I couldn't even get into that position. So, I love yoga. Being the weight that I am makes some of the positions difficult, and I know that I could do more if I was thinner and yes, healthier. It's one of those catch 22 situations. I'd walk more if I wasn't so fat, but if I walked more I wouldn't be so fat.


So, if you're still reading I'm sure you are asking yourself, what are you going to do about it Marye? I've decided to have gastric surgery. No, not the by-pass; it’s too dangerous. I don't want the band either; there are too many complications like slippage, and the port flipping. So, after researching every possibility, I've decide I want the gastric sleeve. The surgeon would go in, staple my stomach and remove a section of it. Below is a brief video describing the procedure:







 

My insurance requires that I participate in a 6 month managed weight loss program before I have the surgery. I am just in my first month, but I am committed to following through with this since I feel like it is the only option I have left.

I would love for you to stay tuned as I report on my progress, surgery and recovery. In the mean time, if you are interested in weight loss or at least eating consciously, I’d like to invite you to join MyFitnessPal.com. Its a diet and fitness community that you can join and participate in completely free of charge. You can enter your daily food diary from your computer or an app on your phone. If you want to friend me, my screen name is Runn53. I look forward to having you join me on my journey.

eating healthy through the holidays

I'm sure I'm not the only one concerned about surviving the holidays intact. I am not so much worried about the gift giving and the running around to see everyone. My issue is with all that scrumptious food.

When I decided that I wanted to take better care of myself by eating right and exercising it was June 3RD, my birthday, and I wasn't thinking about Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years. I hadn't considered what it was going to be like to eat healthy through the holidays.

Fortunately, I've been making better choices for the past 4 1/2 months; I survived Halloween without eating a single piece of candy. The fact of the matter is that I don't have any desire for watermelon Jolly Ranchers or plain M&M's. What I do crave are those yummy sauces and gravies! Then there is all of that cornbread dressing and those mash potatoes. I could literally drown myself in a vat of gravy, oh the goodness!

But no, not this year, this is the year that I make healthy lifestyle choices. I have a plan. The first thing is that I am only going to drink water or herbal tea. I am not wasting calories on sweet tea; I don't drink anything but water now anyway, so that shouldn't be too hard. Next, I am going to keep on exercising, maybe even increasing my workout on the days that I am likely to want to eat more. The third thing that I am going to is to map out my eating. In other words, I am not going to put anything on my plate that doesn’t have a purpose. I know that if I eat more protein it will help my body process the carbs more efficiently so I’ll eat more lean meat and beans. I’m also planning on using a smaller plate and avoiding going back for seconds. I figure if I eat slowly and enjoy my food I won’t need to load up my plate.

I put this plan into action yesterday and it didn't go too badly. I only put half of a twice baked potato on my plate, I drank water and I resisted dessert by eating an apple. So far, so good. Do you have a plan for eating healthy through the holidays?