zzroged
Ooops haven't blogged for ages .... Living Life :-)
Sep 28, 2011
Thanks to janetf83 for reminding me that I haven't blogged for ages - I've just checked and it's about 6 or 7 weeks since I last blogged about everything. Where does the time go ?Well I guess for me - I feel like I've moved on & am no longer on a countdown from my VSG (18 1/2 months ago) or my TT & Breast Lift (5 months ago) or my Arm & Thigh Lift (3 months ago) - I'm now just living life !
Hubby reminded me the other day that I hadn't asked him to take my 18 month VSG progress pictures which I have done religiously every 9th of every month since I had my surgery - I will get him to take 1 final set - but really I think that's the end of my monthly progress shots as I'm now very comfortably in the maintenance stage of my VSG journey - I guess I've been there for a while. I never quite made my "half of me" goal (which was never really a true goal - but would have been nice to say - "YUP - I'm exactly half of the woman I used to be"), or the "normal BMI" goal - which I missed by 1lb - BUT I'm SO HAPPY WHERE I AM - I don't need to hit an arbitrary number to realise that I've achieved everything I wanted to do in terms of the scales & my progress - so what if it's 99% EWL not 100% - what difference is 1lb going to make & it's a brave doctor whose going to tell me I'm overweight & get away with it :-) Also if you read my blog, you know that I'm not really a fan of BMI as I don't think it's the best measure of health.
So where does that leave me ? Well maintenance is quite easy - I mainly eat primal - which is protein, veggies & fruit with some dairy (yogurt, milk, cream & butter). I feel great on primal food - I don't feel great on crappy carbs (processed food) - but do occasionally have the odd muffin or ice-cream when I'm out - I'm human after all. By following this way of life I seem to keep my body weight between 161lbs - 165lbs with the odd jump up to 168lbs - then it drops again. I'm not too bothered - I'm still swelling up massively after exercise so I guess some of this is water weight and some of it is just normal body fluctuations. What I will never do though is allow myself to get above 168lbs as this is my mental STOP sign & I know that if I cut out the extra carbs then my body responds accordingly & the scales drop again.
I don't track calories, protein or fat anymore - I still eat off a side plate, weigh my protein (150g dense protein max) - so I know I have plenty of restriction - actually it still fluctuates so some days I can eat 150g and some days less - no big deal.
I occassionally have the odd half glass of wine - it does go to my head so I don't have it too often but really enjoy it when I do, I've also had Baileys which is ok but too much gives me a sugar rush and I feel terrible. I've not had one sip of fizzy drink/water since surgery and don't intend to again as frankly I don't miss it.
Exercise wise I'm almost back to normal - I've started running again and am in training for the half marathon next Feb (I want to do it in a good time so am training properly). I go to Body Combat and RPM classes, I am back at Pilates - mat & reformer and try to get in 10,000 steps per day. I am getting so much fitter now that I am smaller it's quite amazing - the other day I did 3 classes in a day and felt great - I have so much energy these days - it's FAB.
I had to take 4 months off exercise whilst I had my plastic surgery and as a result of that I lost something like 5lbs of muscle which turned into 5lbs of fat - I'm working on changing this as my main focus now (apart from to run the 1/2 marathon in a decent time) is to change my body composition and to reduce my overall fat percentage and increase my muscle - easier than it sounds - but totally doable.
I'm really pleased with the results of my plastic surgery - my breasts are just perfect (sorry sounds like I am boasting & and in a way I am !) - it's so lovely to be able to wear lovely lingerie and to be able to exercise without being hit in the face with my boobs ! - Seriously though my surgeon did a great job & I'm really pleased with the results. My tummy is lovely & flat and my abs underneath are looking great - I'd quite like to get a six pack though - or a bit more definition - so am working on that.
The arms & thighs are also looking good though the scars are taking longer to fade than I would like - but I'm impatient ! Whilst the surgeon didn't remove lots of skin or fat from these areas - he concentrates on making everything proportional - the work he did has made such a difference - both in terms of form & function.
I am still swelling up if I exercise or overdo things particularly my tummy - I'm told it can take up to 12 months for the swelling to stop - I don't wear my compression gear anymore (yee hi) - but do occassionally wear an ab binder if my tummy is uncomfortable due to swelling and this seems to help to reduce the swelling and give me support.
My head is still catching up with all of this change - I still haven't bought a full size mirror (which I should do) so only really check myself out in the gym mirror or in the lift ! I'm wearing clothes which are size 6-8 US but still start out with much bigger clothes when I go shopping - the girls in the shops are getting a bit fed up with me now as I'm always asking them to bring smaller clothes to the changing room ! - I'm even brave enough to wear my bikini out on the beach & at the pool - AND I FEEL GOOD IN IT - yup even though I'm in my mid 40's !! I've also bought more form fitting exercise clothes - you know - the close fitting lycra stuff & it looks good & I now stand at the front of my Body Combat class & am not hiding out at the back.
Now that I'm smaller I can appreciate how thin ladies say they can feel if they've gained a few pounds - I used to think that was rubbish - I mean I could gain 14lbs and not really feel it - but now that I'm smaller I'm more body aware, wear more fitted clothes & yes, a pound or two really does make a difference - so I now 'get' what they were on about - in fact - it's now me saying those things and my bigger friends saying 'no, what are you on about ?' - GO FIGURE - all this is new to me and I'm working my way through it.....
My new challenge is clothes shopping - I'm finding it hard to know what suits me and my new figure/shape - I am so tempted to buy things 'just because they fit' - which is what I did when I was fat - only this time it's because I get carried away by the excitement of something fitting in a small size rather than desperately be thankful that SOMETHING fit me when I was bigger. It's a crazy feeling - I think I might need to engage the services of a personal shopper to help me figure out what suits me since I plan on investing in a full wardrobe of new clothes which will be of the fitted kind rather than having a large wardrobe of various sizes of unfitted, loose, comfortable wear.
So whilst this won't be my last post, I probably won't post here so often as I have done on the first & second parts of my weight loss & plastics journey - as I'll be out there - living life and having fun.
****** I now have more energy, take care of myself & my nutrition & I'm loving life ******
Would I do all this again ? - YES - in a heartbeat - I wish I had done it sooner - but hindsight is great !
Why I never saw myself getting bigger and took action at that time - I don't know
Am I proud of what I've achieved ? - HELL YES !
And here are a few pics taken in the last few weeks and of course, the before pics which I'm glad I took but are painful to look back on :: ENJOY !
