felinemommy

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In an effort to pay it forward, I am going to update and make myself a bit more public.  I guess I'm old school in that way, but I do value privacy.  So many here have been so open and I've learned so much from those that came before me, so I would like to return the favor for those just beginning on their journey!

I lost very steadily after my surgery and my body just naturally stopped in the 160's.  During the time I had my surgery my dad was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkins lymphoma and underwent intense chemotherapy.  I moved from New England to Hawaii to be with him and assist him (as an only child it seemed the right thing to do!)  It was a blessing in disguise because when he began to have complications from the chemo (neuropathy in his feet), I took over walking his dogs!  During the critical weight loss period, I was walking 2x day for up to an hour (up and down steep hills and in the heat!)  If I had been in my own environment, I would have been getting activity, but not to that extent.  As a result, I lost massive weight from my thighs, which I always carried the most weight in!  I didn't have a scale, so I went to Kmart every week and weighed in on three different scales.  All was well until my dad had an MI following his LAST chemo treatment and almost died.  When my husband flew in from Boston, he literally did NOT recognize me in the airport!  Walked right past me!  While it hadn't been more than a month that we had last seen each other, I guess I had lost enough weight that I looked very different.  That was the most exciting experience, but under difficult circumstances.  We were forced to bring my dad back to New England for his recovery (which I am happy to say was a resounding success and he now lives here near us in his own home taking care of his dogs and cats (which we flew back from HI, another crazy experience!)

After I returned home, my weight loss just naturally slowed at about 167.  I got down to a low of 157, then had bounce back to 163-167, where I very easily maintained until this past fall.  Now when I say easily maintained, I do mean that I was vigilant about what I ate, although not logging consistently.  And I ALWAYS exercise!  I wear two pedometers and my goal is to have aerobic activity (usually 45 - 60 mins/day.)  When my husband was transferred to Alaska this past summer (career military) and we decided that I would remain in New England and he go GEO bachelor, it was a difficult transition, to say the least.  I did fall back into some unhealthy patterns such as grazing and emotional, night time eating!  And the scale went up!  Although that scared me and I knew what I had to do, it took a few months to get things under control.  Fortunately, I did not panic and was very gentle with myself.  I really had to examine the emotional eating and learn to just sit with my emotions, when I began to STUFF!  I can't say I never eat SOLELY for hunger, but I have learned to be AWARE of why I'm eating.  I went back to a lower carb diet which for me really reduces the craving cycle and allows me to eat for health.  I am feeling in CONTROL again, which is the greatest source of joy.  It was something I never knew pre-op!  I like eating a healthy meal and feeling satisfied and full.  I still have great restriction, although if I eat crap carbs (cookies, sweets, chippy things) I can eat WAY too much!

I would like to mention the greatest tools that I have used and continue to rely upon, for those out there who are beginning or struggling in your journey.

• LOG your food (I like and use MyFitnessPal):  logging keeps you accountable and lets you see exactly where you are.  I now know that when I stop logging or fail to log at the end of the day, I'm in a danger zone (playing head games or just not wanting to be accountable.) When I'm in control, logging is REWARDING!
• Pedometer.  Another accountability tool for activity.  You need to be active, especially in maintenance.  I have two pedometers an Omron which allows me to see total steps and aerobic steps (so it challenges me to NEVER have a day without aerobic activity.) and my newer pedometer which is much smaller is the FitBit.  It tracks the steps but also stairs and now I challenge myself to no less than 25 flights of stairs/day.  It also automatically syncs to MyFitnessPal!  It also tracks sleep, which is KEY to being healthy and something NONE of us gets enough of!  I recommend some kind of tracking device to everyone.  It allows you to never LIE to yourself, which our tricky little brains like to do!  Some days, I end up getting on my rebounder at 10:30 pm because my pedometer tells me that I have be too sedentary that day!
• FIBER:  with the smaller quantities of food, we do not get enough. I still try to do either a protein shake or protein Greek yogurt each day.  I add FLAX MEAL which keeps me regular!  And it's so good for you!
• I do try to eat healthy and have reduced the amount of animal proteins.

Well I will end here.  I hope that someone will read this and benefit from the story of my journey!