6 Months

Weigh In

Highest Weight: 320lbs
Weight Before Surgery: 311 lbs (-9lbs)
Previous Week: 241.4 lbs  (- 78.6 lbs)
Weigh In: 234 lbs (-7.4 lbs)
Total Lost: 86 lbs
Total Lost Since Surgery: 77 lbs

 

The Journey

86lbs in 6 months. I was feeling great. It was estimated with a DS that the average person loses 50% of my estimated weight loss (EWL) . Mine turned out to be 44%. I felt like I did something wrong. But I guess I did start out somewhat disadvantaged in that I started in a wheelchair. The numbers were getting to me, once again.

Weeks 21 and 22

Weigh In

Highest Weight: 320lbs
Weight Before Surgery: 311 lbs (-9lbs)
Previous Week: 244.6 lbs  (- 75.4 lbs)
Weigh In: 241.4 lbs (-3.2 lbs)
Total Lost: 78.6 lbs
Total Lost Since Surgery: 69.6 lbs

Before Surgery:

Week 22:

The Journey

 The past two weeks I had been really depressed and tired, so I didn't check in too much. Not sure why I was being such a debbie downer. Perhaps my lack of sleep? I had noisy neighbors in the apartment above me doing things like arguing and laundry at 2am, so I hadn't been able to get much sleep for awhile. This went on nightly. I tried to get back into my positive way of thinking. I guess everyone has moments from time to time when they just aren't feeling like themselves, and it is what we do at that time that helps determine what comes next. So I did what I could do. I picked myself up, brushed myself off, and got my head back into the game. I guess I just needed a couple weeks of alone time to figure myself out. :)

While there was nothing anymore I could do about the neighbor situation, as I cannot control what other people think, say, or do, I could change my environment. So my husband and I decided to move. We ended up getting a place double the size for not much more money. We are happy here so far!

5 Months

Weigh In

Highest Weight: 320lbs
Weight Before Surgery: 311 lbs (-9lbs)
Previous Week: 251.6 lbs  (- 68.4 lbs)
Weigh In: 244.6 lbs (-7 lbs)
Total Lost: 75.4 lbs
Total Lost Since Surgery: 66.4 lbs

 

The Journey

I started a new cardio routine this week and I guess it paid off because I lost 7 lbs this week! I've never lost that much weight at one time ever in my entire life! I started doing Turbo Jam, the Fat Blast Workout, which was on one of the DVDs of my set of Chalean Extreme. It is HIIT (high intensity interval training) that combines dance, kickboxing, etc. It was fun and didn't feel like a workout. I guess the results paid off or I was retaining lots of water. Either way, I was so excited to lose that much weight! The pictures of my progress so far made me cry every time. I couldn't believe how far I've come. And I hit my mini-goal of 75lbs lost, so a haircut was in store soon!

Week 19

Weigh In

Highest Weight: 320lbs
Weight Before Surgery: 311 lbs (-9lbs)
Previous Week: 252.9 lbs  (- 67.1 lbs)
Weigh In: 251.6 lbs (-1.3 lbs)
Total Lost: 68.4 lbs
Total Lost Since Surgery: 59.4 lbs

Before Surgery:

Week 19:

The Journey: Hair Loss

I knew it was normal to lose hair after surgery. I figured there was nothing I could do about it and I just had to let it happen. And I knew that it falls out and I was losing a lot of it, I just didn't realize how much until this week.

Our vacuum cleaner broke down. The suction didn't seem to work anymore. I thought it was just old but my husband said he would look at it. What he found in there, shocked me. I wanted to take a photo of it but was far too embarrassed. In it, was some of my hair that had actually clogged up the vacuum. There was so much of it, it looked like a wig for shoulder-length hair! After this incidence, I decided to up my protein intake to see if that helped, as I had read somewhere that lack of protein can make losing hair worse. So, I upped my protein shakes to three times a day.

I had also heard cutting your hair short helps as well. I wasn't really in favor of short hair, I'd always had mine long. Shoulder length would probably be the shortest I'd be willing to go.

Goals

My therapist thought I should set goals every 25 lbs lost. When I reached them, I should celebrate it in some non-food way. So for my next goal, losing 75lbs total, I decided that I would get my hair done. I hadn't had my hair done since before surgery. And, I figured, I should get it cut short because of all of the hair loss.

Changes

This week I also noticed big changes happening in my body. Every time I'd notice one, I'd mutter a, "whoa! Look at this!" My husband would laugh as , to him, it wouldn't be a big change; but to me, it was. Specifically, my arms were starting to get harder from gaining muscle, or , having access to it now from losing some of the fat over it; and also, I was starting to notice some definition. And I loved what I was seeing; it made me want to exercise even more!

Week 18 - My First Social Outing Since Surgery

Weigh In

Highest Weight: 320lbs
Weight Before Surgery: 311 lbs (-9lbs)
Previous Week: 255.9 lbs  (- 64.1 lbs)
Weigh In: 252.9 lbs (-3 lbs)
Total Lost: 67.1 lbs
Total Lost Since Surgery: 58.1 lbs

Before Surgery:

Week 18:

The Journey

This week I started noticing a difference in my arms from my arm workouts. It was my third week of doing Chalean Extreme and I was still doing the Shoulders and Arms from P90X. I enjoyed it, and, I enjoyed my progress.

This week I had my first social outing since surgery. It was outside at a BBQ by the river. I ended up getting sunburned badly despite only being outside for an hour and a half. I didn't end up using sunscreen. It was also a day of poor planning. I didn't even eat for the first time until 1:30PM. Needless to say, I was behind of fluids and protein by the time I got outside. It was 86 degrees outside and I should have been sipping my fluids like I know I am supposed to. I was embarrassed to look like the outsider, I guess, and distracted by having fun and being able to get out of the house for once, and I didn't. So, in addition to a sunburn, I also got dehydrated. Lessons learned! I ended up with a headache and an overall feeling of being parched. By the end of the day I was able to get in 12 glasses of water but still felt dehydrated. Perhaps I should have had something other than water.

There was a big hike down to the river. I knew there was no way I would have been able to do this before surgery, so it was a pretty big NSV for me. Emotionally, I was a little different. I noticed my social anxiety was there still. Before surgery, it was there a little, partly due to my insecurities of being overweight and being bullied about in public in the past. Now, it was different and a little elevated. I was nervous about seeing people I had seen before, and new people. Would I be judged like I was before by bullies? How did people view me now? Would I just seem like some weirdo with health issues now or that girl that eats a special diet? It made me so nervous.

Overall, though, my week was good. I was able to learn from my mistakes and move forward.

Week 17

Weigh In

Highest Weight: 320lbs
Weight Before Surgery: 311 lbs (-9lbs)
Previous Week: 257 lbs  (- 63 lbs)
Weigh In: 255.9 lbs (-1.1 lbs)
Total Lost: 64.1 lbs
Total Lost Since Surgery: 55.1 lbs

Before Surgery:

Week 17:

The Journey

 This week I kept with the exercise. Perhaps I did too much but it was just so fun! It was exciting being able to pick and choose what I wanted to do and not just be stuck walking or swimming due to my weight in the past.

I also seemed to have some food intolerance this week. I ended up with a few days of bad gas and pain to go along with it. I thought it was the Chinese food I had but someone mentioned it could be sugar alcohols or lactose intolerance. I had a full day of shakes and still ended up with it. I wasn't sure what it was. Guess it was time for more trial and error.

4 Months

Weigh In

Highest Weight: 320lbs
Weight Before Surgery: 311 lbs (-9lbs)
Previous Week: 261 lbs  (- 59 lbs)
Weigh In: 257 lbs (-4 lbs)
Total Lost: 63 lbs
Total Lost Since Surgery: 54 lbs

Before Surgery:

4 Months:

The Journey

I noticed now my hair was starting to fall out a lot. I knew it was to be expected. I wasn't too upset about it. It would grow back eventually. The exhaustion was still there as well.

For food, I was eating at least 2 protein shakes a day. I would add a couple Tbsp of heavy cream to it for fat as well. For some reason, I could eat several slices of bacon but only an ounce of meat so bacon became my go-to protein food. Lots of nights I ended up just having bacon for dinner.

I had some Gatorade this week but it ended up giving me diarrhea. I was confused as it was the low carb Gatorade so it shouldn't have given me the runs. Oh well. Off my food list for now.

I started Chalean Extreme this week. Squats were really tough for me. I could barely move my legs a tiny bit.

I ended up doing a nature walk this week at my local park. Below are some of the pictures I took.