4 months Post-Op--a day early

So I am a day before my 4 month surgiversary, but I figure I'll make the most of my snow day and down time.

First, I had two pretty huge achievements today, so I immediately thought I needed to post an update.

The first big huge victory for today, is that I got on the scale and I am officially smaller than my husband has ever seen me.  The smallest I have been since we were married was 211 pounds, 6 months after our 2nd child was born, and while i was breast feeding.  As soon as I stopped nursing, I literally gained 30# in 30 days, right back up to 241 pounds, and never below that again since.  Today, I weighed in at 210.6 pounds.  I have hoped since I had this surgery that I would be below 200# for my 39th birthday, which means 11 pounds in the next 4 weeks, which I really believe is totally doable.

After getting weighed, I went looking for comfy and warm PJ's to put on for the snow day.  I was out, so I decided to see what happened if I pulled some of Barney's PJ pants out.  I still outweigh him by about 45 pounds, but believe it or not, his NC State PJ pants and t-shirt fit perfectly.  This is a huge deal for me.

So weighing in at 210.6 pounds, means that I have lost 58.2 pounds since beginning this process.  I am averaging 2.56 pound per week lost, and haven't really been working out enough. According to the weight loss app I am using, I'm 43.5% of the way to my goal in 24.61% of the time I have given myself to complete it.  My BMI has gone from 49.2 to 38.5.

Finally, I nearly got caught up in the excitement that is Run Disney.  Yesterday, some of my groups I am in on Facebook started posting about Waivers and Bib Numbers for the Glass Slipper Challenge being available.  Out of curiosity, I went to look, and even though I have cancelled my registration, and received a refund, there was a waiver and a bib # for me.  I got caught up in the excitement and for a few minutes seriously considered showing up and trying to pick up my bib.  The reality is, though, that since I have gotten a refund, that would be stealing, and it would be wrong to do so.  So, today, I called Run Disney to let them know that it was out there, so that they could pull the bib, and it felt really good to be honest about it.  The girl indicated to me that she had gotten a pretty detailed explanation of what had happened from her supervisor, but that they appreciated my honesty, and would take care of the problem.

So, To revisit my 2013 racing goals, I am looking at 3, maybe 4 races this year.  I will be doing Rock 'n Roll Raleigh on April 13 (my goal is to average a 14 minute mile for the duration of the race).  I will be doing the Rock 'N Roll Chicago on July 20th (my goal is to be at my goal weight, and average 12 minute miles throughout).

There is a small possibility that our family vacation will be at Walt Disney World in November, over Veteran's Day weekend, that being the case, if I end up registering, I will have a goal of completing that race with an average of a 10 minute mile.

There is also our local race the first weekend of June, the 10th year of the race, and they are adding a 10k for the race, in addition to the 5k.  Also, In a small town near here, there is an Esprit de She 10k race on June 26 which I may run.

I feel like most everything is falling into place now.  I feel like I am finally starting to see the results that I had hoped for.  My life is on track, and I am getting where I want to be.

Krista

No Rest for the Weary.....(or was it Wicked)?

So, my goals for 2014 were blown out of the water today...

After all the stress of having to have our puppy put to sleep, and daddy being in the hospital for the last week, when he got home on Wednesday night, and the kids were spending some quality time with their Popi, I ran to the gym for a quick workout...my theory?  Hey---maybe some endorphins from a workout will help this stress level of about 20 I've been rockin' these last few days.  So...off I went.  I missed the first 10 minutes of the first class I planned to attend (Body Pump), so I hopped on the treadmill for a couple of miles, and then headed to Zumba. I know, I know, it's cheesy when you love CrossFit as much as I do, but I also LOVE to dance.  I was feeling pretty awesome, and then about 15 minutes into the class, picked my left foot up off the floor, and both heard and felt a loud POP!  Eh, nothing horrible, I could still bear weight....finished the class and headed home.

Yesterday I was home with my 7 year old who has Strep Throat, and decided to ice my knee a bit since it was still pretty tender.  This morning, no improvement, so I decided since I needed to go get MY throat checked now since I feel like I took up sword swallowing in my sleep, I'd call the orthopedist and get in to see him too.  The last thing I wanted or expected to hear was, "You tore your meniscus.  We have to get an MRI to verify that for you insurance, but you'll need knee arthroscopy.".  Dude....are you serious??  Let me translate...."your insurance company is going to require you to pay over $500 for a test you don't need because I already know the results.....Then surgery, which you will also have to pay quite a bit for.  Yeah.  Thanks!!

So--there will be NO half marathon in February or March.  I will do a half in April, July and possibly November.  I MAY still go for the WDW marathon, but I'm not sure, it'll depend on healing, training and how this knee feels...I may have to push it back to 2016

UGH---I hate injuries.

Decluttering and my Goals for 2014

Here lately I have found myself to be very overwhelmed, almost constantly.  The reality is, this is a self-imposed anxiety created by my enjoyment of all things electronic, social media and reality TV.  I have a lot of goals to accomplish this year, and the reality is, sitting on my ass chatting on Facebook, catching up with old friends, and watching my favorite TV shows isn't going to help me accomplish ANY of them.

I posted not too long ago on Facebook that I didn't have resolutions this year, for the first time that I can remember, but instead, was going to make goals.

Weight Goal:
Lose the remaining 80# I want to lose, preferably by 6/1/14

Exercise Goals:
Complete all 12 weeks of the New Year, New You Weight Loss Challenge at Clubworx
    (begins 1/20/14)
Begin TRX Bootcamp as of 3/1/14 and go 2x/week the remainder of the year


Running Goals:
finish 4 half marathons, each one in progressively less time
      MB Half Marathon--goal 3:45 (February 15)
      Tobacco Trail Half--goal 3:40 (March 16)
      Rock N Roll Raleigh--goal 3:30 (April 13)
      Rock N Roll Chicago--goal 2:59:59 or less (July 20)

Complete the OBX marathon, Veteran's Day Weekend, (7 hour time limit, I'd like to be under 6)
Train for the WDW Goofy race weekend (Half on Saturday, Full on Sunday) I have no time goal, finishing is my goal



   

Random thought-provoking question

So I am in a number of groups on Facebook that are Weight Loss Surgery support groups.  This last week someone who has not yet had surgery posted a question that has been stuck in my mind and been making me think for days now.  Now that I have made a decision about my position on this question, I thought I would share my perspective.

The Question:  Do you enjoy food more or less since surgery?

My answer:  Neither.  The reality is, before I had weight loss surgery, I would be completely preoccupied with food.  After breakfast I would message my husband and asked what he wanted for dinner.  I would get excited about eating out.  If someone mentioned Olive Garden I would start drooling over the breadsticks dipped in Alfredo sauce and Fetuccini Alfredo for dinner.  If someone mentioned Buffalo wings, I could feel my heart rate speed up with pure excitement of shoving the food in my mouth.  Now that I have had weight loss surgery, food is neither exciting, nor upsetting, it is something that I require to get through the day, but there is no longer an emotion attached to it.  Before my surgery, food was my best friend, the thing I went to when I was happy, or sad.  the thing I pursued when I needed moral support for some reason.  I no longer have this connection with food, at all.  I now view food as a necessity and the rules of weight loss surgery, which can be overwhelming, are very strict and failure to follow them could cause major problems and complications.  I have NO desire to jeopardize my health or my success for a piece of sugar-laden cake.  This is not to say that I have followed every rule perfectly since my surgery, but if there is cake, 1 bite is sufficient.  If there are french fries in the house, 5 or 6 fries is enough to curb the craving.

Some other interesting changes that have happened since my surgery:

I have noticed that I no longer have dark circles under my eyes, which in the past I was told were related to a food allergy.

even while sitting down, my tummy doesn't stick out quite as far as the girls

When I bought my car, my hips would get sore because they were wider than the seat, and the sides of the seat where they come up, put pressure on my substantial hips---not anymore

I used to hit my stomach while turning the steering wheel because my belly stuck out so far, now I have a good 6-8 inches between my tummy and the steering wheel

I can now sit "Indian style" or "cris-cross applesauce" for the first time in years

I can cross my legs

I can wear heals without my feet swelling and hurting horribly within minutes

My BMI is now below 40 for the first time in YEARS

I'm a mere 6 pounds away from being smaller than Barney has ever seen me

I started this process in an uncomfortably tight size 22, I am now wearing size 18's and they are not tight or uncomfortable.  I'm likely about 5-10 pounds away from size 16's.

Next goals to reach:

I am a mere 15 pounds from "one-derland"!!!

I am starting the "New Year, New You Weight Loss Challenge" at my gym on the 20th, I NEED this to get myself on track and stay there

I have 3 races coming up, 1 each in February, March and April--my goal is to improve my time at each one, and finish all 3 in under 3:30

I am going to stick to my training plan!

I am going to start tracking my food intake, protein and water in My Fitness Pal on a daily basis