Body_Freedom

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So on April 3rd I had a circumferential body lift and neck lift to remove the excess skin I had after losing 185lbs. The recovery phase went very well and I'm on the mend, albeit with lots of scars. But scars are far preferred to the big flaps of skin I had (muffin top, tummy pannus, and neck waddle).

I'm now 164lbs and a size 8! Never would have dreamed I could even be below 180lbs, so this whole process has been amazing. In a few weeks I can resume my exercise regime (I hike 4 miles/day at least 5x/week) and I plan on adding on dance classes and weight training.

I'll also be running this year's Bay To Breakers and know I'll definitely beat last year's pace!

Yay me.

It took 19 months, but I've lost 179lbs and am now at my goal weight of 179! I'm literally half of what I was. Wow.

I'm looking into getting a tummy tuck for all the excess skin. It's not going away and it does cause me back pain if I'm on my feet for more than a few hours. I'll never be a bikini model, but I want to look as good as I feel!

It's been a real journey and I look forward to a happy & healthy future!

• 308: 50lbs lost [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 299: Under 300 / Third of the way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 279: Less than 100lbs to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 269: Half way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 258: 100lbs lost [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 239: Two-thirds of the way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 224: Three-fourths of the way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 208: 150lbs lost  [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 199: Onederland! [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 179: *** GOAL *** [ ACHIEVED! ]

What a year! Since I began my journey last July I've lost 163 lbs... 138 since surgery a year ago today. At 195, I'm officially in "Onederland"!

I went from a size 28 to a size 12. I can cross my legs. I have collar bones. I go hiking every week. I can wear heels without any pain. I am fit. I am healthy. I am strong.

Although staying on the diet has gotten a lot tougher (I'm able to eat more normally now and am hungry more often), I am still slowly losing weight. The surgery is not a miracle cure. It takes work. But it is now far, far easier to limit how much I eat and that has made all the difference. While I have occasional "off" days, I'm able to get back on track. 

I only have 15 lbs to go to get to my original goal weight of 180. However, I have a LOT of excess skin and am still carrying a muffin top and large pannus. Quite honestly I don't know where on the scale I'll end up. I'm still going to the XGym once a week for strength training, so perhaps will gain a bit more muscle over time. I'd be happy with being a size 10, whatever the number.

Onward!

• 308: 50lbs lost [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 299: Under 300 / Third of the way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 279: Less than 100lbs to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 269: Half way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 258: 100lbs lost [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 239: Two-thirds of the way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 224: Three-fourths of the way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 208: 150lbs lost  [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 199: Onederland! [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 180: *** GOAL ***

This month was another milestone passed - over 150lbs lost since I started my journey 11 months ago. It's amazing to try on size 12 pants and to have them fit! I still am having trouble realizing that I'm no longer a "big girl". I keep having to clean out my closets. Luckily I have a lot of smaller clothes from the last time I lost the weight, so that's been a help.

Another positive this month is I joined XGym, which focuses on strength training based on the super slow method. I lift a weight for 10 seconds out and then 10 seconds in. It's amazingly effective and the whole session only takes 20 minutes/once a week. I want to get as fit as possible - I got a season ski pass for Heavenly!

• 308: 50lbs lost [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 299: Under 300 / Third of the way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 279: Less than 100lbs to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 269: Half way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 258: 100lbs lost [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 239: Two-thirds of the way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 224: Three-fourths of the way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 208: 150lbs lost  [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 199: Onederland!
• 180: *** GOAL ***

Well this month I had an interesting plateau, where I didn't lose an ounce for over two weeks. After that I stopped weighing every day to get away from the disappointment. Then I got on the scale and had somehow dropped 5 lbs! Huh.

I know plateaus happen and are to be expected, but it still brings up a fear that I won't lose anymore.

A good thing that happened is I did Bay To Breakers (8 miles) in under 2 hours! I jogged/quick walked and kept up a decent pace the whole way. Being "only" 35 lbs overweight made the race a lot easier. I don't think I could've even finished if I had been +143 lbs heavier from 10 months ago.

Next goal... I want to try the X-Gym and start building more muscle. My body after this quick weight loss is quite different from before when I lost slowly and did weight training. I have gobs of loose skin. I hope it eventually gets better, but won't be surprised if that's that. First World problems!

;-)

At 223, I've now lost over 75% of my extra weight. Just 44lbs to go 'til I get to goal! Still on target to hit that sometime in October, but I wouldn't be surprised if my weight loss slowed down a bit as I get closer. Right now I'm averaging 2lbs/week, but who knows how long that'll hold? I'm doing fairly well at keeping my calories around 1,000/day and I try to walk every day. I'm hiking every weekend, so that helps too.

Only a few more weeks until Bay To Breakers (8 miles). I'll try to keep my pace up by jogging & fast walking and see how quickly I can get to the finish line. I'll have my iPhone with my beats, so hopefully can be done in 2 hours.

• 308: 50lbs lost [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 299: Under 300 / Third of the way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 279: Less than 100lbs to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 269: Half way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 258: 100lbs lost [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 239: Two-thirds of the way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 224: Three-fourths of the way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 208: 150lbs lost
• 199: Onederland!
• 180: *** GOAL ***

Well I'm now 230, so just 50lbs away from my goal! Another win... last weekend I met my fitness goal of going skiing for the first time in 8 years. It was so wonderful I've already bought a season pass to Heavenly in Tahoe for Winter 2013. I'm so happy I was able to not only ski at an intermediate level, but I managed to keep it up until the early afternoon. I'll need to continue to work on endurance and leg strength so I can ski a full day without being too wiped out.

Next up... jogging the Bay To Breakers race (8 miles) in mid-May!

Gosh, time flies. It looks like I haven't updated in about a month! I've dropped a few more pounds and am at 238, but the rate of weight loss has definitely slowed. But I'm now working on-site on a client project (a large university campus), so this last week my walking has increased. I think that's helped a bit.

I'm still hoping to go skiing at the end of the month, but it will depend on the ski conditions. It's been pretty warm lately, even up in Tahoe, and I think the snow pack is swiftly melting. I do feel ready to ski though and fit in my old gear, so yay!

I can't believe I have less than 60lbs to go. Losing over 120lbs in under 8 months is crazy. If I can lose just 2 lbs/week, then I'll be at goal by October. 

• 308: 50lbs lost [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 299: Under 300 / Third of the way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 279: Less than 100lbs to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 269: Half way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 258: 100lbs lost [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 239: Two-thirds of the way to goal [ ACHIEVED! ]
• 224: Three-fourths of the way to goal
• 208: 150lbs lost
• 199: Onederland!
• 180: *** GOAL ***

So after last week's plateau, this week I drop 5. (?!) Since I seem to have a great week after a plateau, I know that it's just my body needing some catch up time. If you look at my graph, overall I'm consistently losing over 3lbs/week. So yay!

I have just 66 to go. Wow! As I've been getting smaller, I'm now really flying through sizes. At the high end of my weight, I could have worn the same clothes for months. Now it seems I need a new wardrobe after a few weeks. I recently gave 4 huge bags of clothes to the Goodwill, with another pile waiting for me to sell on eBay. That'll help pay for my new stuff.

I've been hiking a lot and hoping that I'll gain the endurance to ski Tahoe in late March. Wish me luck!

:)

It's been another great week. I think hiking more often has really helped the weight loss.

I saw the PA at my surgeon's office and she'd like me to get 100g of protein a day. Yikes. I'm going to try, but that's a lot. Especially since I can't stand the protein drinks anymore. If I use "real" food, then my calories go up too much. She'd also like me to stay around 700 calories/day, but I've been at 1,000/day for a while. Not sure if I can hit that goal. Since my weight loss has been pretty steady, I'm going to keep doing my best.

My next fitness goal: skiing at Heavenly in late March! I need to definitely increase my activity level and endurance over the next two months so I'll be able to ski more than a couple hours without collapsing from exhaustion. I plan to join a local gym to try out the dance classes. I don't do so well when it's just me and a video at home, so I think scheduling a class would help me show up.

Go, go, go!