Kim U.

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I consider my story a complete success. I had my realize band placed 3 years ago. I have not had any port problems. I have not had any slips or other major issues. I have been too tight before but knowing my body and having a great doctor to get me in right away made it a pretty forgettable experience and nothing I dwell on.

I may not have lost as many pounds as I once thought I would but I feel great and look pretty darn good too. Check out my pics in the 3year album.

I Went from a size 28+ at my heaviest to a very comfortable size 14 and can shop anywhere. I still get nervous to try things on but they ALWAYS fit. I even buy some M shirts and 12 dresses.

Climb, run, and play with my daughter 
Sit with my legs crossed
Sit on the floor
Go hiking
Walk a mile, Run a mile, Run a 5K (many many now) Completed 3 half marathons and always beat my personal best time
Slide down the slides at the playground with my daughter
Take my daughter on vacation
Sat by a pool in Vegas with a swim suit on (several times now)
Buckle any seat belt (car, airplane, roller coaster, ect)
Sit in a lawn chair
Buy a bike and ride all around town with my daughter
Ride every ride at Disneyland with my daughter
Join a gym –Now considered a gym rat
Join my work fun/rec sports leagues

Band rules I continue to fallow everyday
* I take a multivitamin
*no soda (yup over 3 years and I even work a place that has free soda in the kitchens)
*I don’t drink with meals (I do drink before now but not during or right after. Usually at least 20 mins after if not longer)
*I always drink more than 64 oz of water each day
*I track my calories and protein more days than not (Myfitnesspal.com is a great site)
*I drink a protein shake on average 6 times a week
*I eat most of my protein on my plate before anything else
*I workout on average 6 hours a week
*I leave food on my plate at almost every meal
*I cook most of my own meals

 I was so scared and my friend who was going to be with me ended up backing out because her husband (age 31) had a stroke 2 days before. I totally don't blame her for backing out to be with him. But that left me all alone and it was one of the scariest yet full filling things I have ever done. I was even shocked to see my parents, daughter and boyfriend at about the half way mark cheering me on. Leading up to this my mom told me they wouldn't be there because they wanted to be at church (typical of them). I did it almost 15 mins faster than I thought I would so that is awesome. I finished in 3hrs 5mins! 

I plan to do another half in Sept and this time my sister Karen and probable my boyfriend will be doing it with me. I can't believe just 2 days later how excited I am do to do my 2nd half marathon! 

I finally beat my 40min for a 5K. I jog/walked it in 38:07!! That is still pretty slow but it is my fastest yet and I'm super excited.
I plan to run at least one 5K a month threw spring summer and fall and to continue to work on my speed. I think my goal is just a consistent 10 min mile which isn't considered fast but it is normal and seems doable.

I have the half marathon coming up in just 6 days and I'm as excited as I am scared. I'm not worried about time for the half but I see no reason not to finish under 4 hours.

I finally took measurements and from 2007 (not even at my heaviest weight) I've lost 12 inch from my belly button! 4 inch in each thigh! 10 inch from hips! Even an inch from each ankle! And 85lbs from my recorded weight at that time!

Yup so I signed up for a half marathon on May 9, 2010. I've got a lot of prep and training to do. I'm not going for any certain time or needing to jog the whole thing as long as I complete it under 6 hours like the rules call for. I'm both excited and terrified that I've committed to this. 
Right now is a good time for this anyways. I feel like I'm finally getting some support from my family and a few friends who have all started working out and dieting since the beginning of the year. 

I’ve been bad! I didn’t really gain much weight at least but haven’t been working out much at all and have been eating anything and everything. I’m almost 6 months post op and still have only lost about 40 pounds. I have almost another 55 to go to get to my 30^th Birthday goal in August of 180lbs. I simply can not enter my 30s like I entered my 20s (over 200lbs). I think this is going to be a good year for me in many ways and I hope for weight loss as well. The past couple of years I finally started making new years resolutions (never did them before) and I’ve managed to keep/reach a few of them so hopefully it will be the same this year even though I’m setting them a little higher.    

Just to share here are a couple 2009 resolutions I kept/met:
Start the couch to 5K running program- (Started but haven’t finished)
Join a gym
Get a trainer
Pay off school loan
Stop drinking soda
Cook more meals at home using fresh foods  

2010 resolutions:
Count/track my calories in and calories burned at least every so often to see where I am
Complete the couch to 5K running program
Run a 5K without walking
Have a BMI under 30
Complete a 5K under 40 minutes
Start my 30s under 199lbs
Continue to go to the gym 2 or more times a week
Use my wii once a week
Pay off my car loan
Never go to bed with dishes in the sink (I don’t have a dishwasher either)
Decorate my bedroom (a rental that I’ve decided to stay another year in)
Stop eating bread and/or chips before a meal

I just realized I hadn't posted about the Turkey Trot 5K I did on Thanksgiving. I had been sick all week with strep so I knew it wasn't going to be as good of a time I was hoping for (under 40 mins) but despite being sick, freezing cold weather, crowded and also having my daughter in the stroller with me I still finished in 42:20. Not too bad I don't think at least. On the comments after the race a few people said they thought the times were off by about a min or so depending on when you crossed the starting line. On my HRM I was just under 41 mins but I also didn't start my HRM until after we started and really the time doesn't matter to me as much as the fact I did it even not feeling well. It was a perfect excuse to get out of it but I still did it. This is new for me usually I'll find any reason not to do anything. It was a great way to start my day and Thanksgiving!

I didn't get the fill I was thinking I was going to get before Thanksgiving. As it turns out my doc doesn't like to fill when your on antibiotics. After she explained it makes sense  I guess your stomach swells a bit when sick so if they would have filled me I could have ended up too tight and very uncomfortable. I can go in again any time I want but I have an appointment scheduled for the 15th of December and I am going to try and wait until then. I do feel a bit of restriction now anyways but I'm a little confused about what that really means and how I am really suppose to feel. I guess it is different for everyone so its really up to me to figure it out. Waiting the couple more weeks will be good because I am for sure not dying for a fill. I actually feel like I eat very little at a time but then I feel like I'm eating more times during the day or well snacking. Snacking is a no no but I can't seem to break the habit. Its all a head game I think well I didn't eat very much of my lunch so 2 hours later I'm eating a snack or the rest of my meal I didn't eat. I should be waiting 3-4 hours and I should be making sure to get protein and eating better not just pudding and cookies.

Thanksgiving was a bit rough for me. My family is so not supportive in my eating healthy or my running and just really rude over all. Just when I think they are being nice and supportive someone will make a what I think is rude comment and I tend to just separate myself from them for a bit of time. You can finally notice my weight loss and my sister is already telling me I "look weird" and I'm getting too skinny. This coming from a girl who is a size 4 and thinks she is fat. Any time I eat anything in front of them I get a comment about how that's not healthy. Or if I try to bring/make something healthy I get the comments about how gross that is and why do they have to suffer. So Thanksgiving I spent with my neighbor and we did crab legs and shrimp instead of Turkey and all the fixings. I did go over to my parents later in the day for desert but even then I was given the comments how they weren't going to have any healthy deserts. I said thank you but I can bring my own anyways. Then I get there with my I wouldn't call healthy but better for me desert and they all have to ask what is that and whats in it. My response was its healthy don't touch it. Why at this point do they care I know they aren't going to eat it anyways they have a ton of other things they can and will eat anyways. I guess I just don't like them nit picking at what I am and am not eating. And their fear of me loosing weight is comical. I get that my mother in her own ways is proud of me and just wants to make sure I know that she can see the change. But at 230ish pounds don't tell me I'm loosing too much or too fast. 40ish pounds in 4 months is good but I do not think too fast at all considering I'm doing a lot of the right things with working out and such. Sorry for all the complaints I'm just so aggravated without having any at home support. At least I know I can come here and get support from people who have been in the same place I am now.

I've lost 10 pounds in 5 days probable even more than 10 but I'm in both shock and denial about it! I know I shouldn't be so happy about this but I kind of am. Its been weeks since the scale moved more than a pound or two. I started not feeling well Friday and my throat hurt so bad I couldn't eat then just so sick I didn't want to eat. I made sure to drink my protein since I wasn't eating. I may not have gotten 65 grams but a good 50 or more with at least 2 shakes with milk a day. Today I actually go in for a fill and I feel much better (finally) I could eat real food today but I figure I'll just stick with liquids since I'd have to stop eating solids by 11am any way for my fill. This also helps keep me looking forward to Thanksgiving because it works out perfect that Thanksgiving day is when my diet goes back to normal after a fill and I should feel 100% better by then too.

Hopefully I can stay on this high from losing this huge amount of weight all at once and keep it going. Getting sick like this will put a damper on my Turkey Trot 5K but I'm going to try not to stress over it. I will still do the best I can but I won't be as upset if I don't come in under 40. I haven't been able to do near as much running recently anyways because of the weather being so freezing but I still will not give up on my dreams of running a full 5K within the next few months and hopefully under 30 mins too.

Yeah so I have to chew my food and take small bites and I get full before my plate is empty! I remember I had this way in the beginning when I was first allowed to eat solid foods again but have not felt it since.

I’m am up to 7cc in my 11cc band after my last fill and oh boy I feel the difference!!! I’ve waited what seems like forever to feel what others talk about and I hoped to get from this surgery. It helps that I attended a post surgery eating class last week at my doc office too when the NUT just kind of reiterated a lot of what she already told me but it helps to hear it again post surgery and even more so now that I feel that restriction. She reminded me to only eat ¾ of a cup at a time and also to cut the meat into tiny bites and of course to eat slowly. I’ve been doing really well cooking and preparing my food ahead of time in pre portioned sizes but before I would always finish completely and even be hungry and want more. Well in the past couple of days that has changed a ton. I’m lucky if I can even finish my ¾ of a cup! Crazy to be so excited over this I know but I really am! I also got refocused on making sure I get all my protein in and am going to start drinking my protein shakes in the morning. I had stopped because I was hungry and the shakes weren’t cutting it for me and I wasn’t tracking all my food but I’m pretty sure most days I didn’t hit the 65 grams of protein since I wasn’t drinking that shake to help me get there.

I hope that this high I’m feeling will last a while and I can finally drop a few more pounds because I’ve been really bummed with my loss of only one pound last month. I lost my focus and motivation because I let the scale get the best of me. Really the inches didn’t even come off but I am noticing my clothes fitting different and I’m buying size 16 in the misses department! XL at Old Navy and they are even almost too big! I’ve always wanted to shop at Old Navy but it was tough even though they had some things in XXL most the time it didn’t fit. I would even order things online from them in the plus section just so that I could have the name brand to make me feel better. And now to walk into the store pick up a XL and think oh man that looks big is just an amazing feeling! I’m sure my friends here can understand that better than anyone!

I’ve had a rough week I’ve been feeling a little down and haven’t had much motivation. Work has picked up a lot and added a little stress to my life too. I even missed working with my trainer 2 times this week because I couldn’t leave work to workout. This morning though I went to the gym even though I knew my trainer had another client and said I’ll just do some cardio on my own. I went at 8 and this is a gym downtown where most people go before work or at lunch so it was DEAD I was the only one on the cardio machines and I was doing the bouncy elliptical thingy (my favorite machine) and the treadmill was right in front of me calling my name. I was trying to remember the last time I went for a run and it’s been 7 days and that day I wasn’t into it and did more walking than running. So I decide ok I’ll get my butt on that treadmill and see if I have the guts to run. I start out walking at a 3.5…too slow…go to a 4.0 almost….4.2…easier to jog at this pace than walk so I keep at it. This treadmill has these little red arrows that go around in a oval simulating a track so I decide at this point ok Kim run 2 laps. You can do this you have done it before on the track outside so just go for it no one is here to watch you anyways. So I run the 2 laps and keep going I get really excited at this point and say to myself you can’t stop you can go 3 and how exciting it will be for me to write a post about running 3 laps on OH and another mini goal reached. Then that 4 lap comes up and my legs keep going my HR is about 168 and my trainer has told me I could go as high at 170 so I keep running and I’m going strong! I ran a full mile without stopping in 13:32 and I didn’t die! I didn’t even feel like I was going to die! Never in my life have I ever ran a mile without stopping. I remember hating PE in HS when they would make us do the mile I could never even run half of it back then. So here I am instead of writing about a mini goal on OH I’m writing about a VERY BIG personal goal that I achieved today!   I love my band I could have never done this without it!