johannahunny
Exercise, exercise, exercise & endless issues with skin. Yuk.
Jan 03, 2010
Monday: Spinning
Tuesday: Intense Cross Training. That's not my description - that's the actual name of the class.
Wednesday: Cardio Kickboxing
Thursday and Friday: No classes! No exercise!
Saturday: Intense Cross Training...again
Sunday: Day of rest? Nope! Cardio Kickboxing, v2
So this is my life these days, and I love it. A word of advice to anyone wanting to join a gym... i.e. New Years Resolutions: Join, but dont waste your time on the treadmills and the ellipticals. Take the Classes!!! I'll say it again, Take the Classes!!!! In two months, I have lost a pant size! And oddly, my appetite has changed and my capacity has decreased back to what it was at like 6 or 7 months out (I'm a few weeks away from my two year surgiversary). So anyway, Take the Classes. Now, some may get great results on the machines, but nothing beats a solid hour of non-stop hard core training. Personally, I never got that much out of a machine. Yeah, I can do 60 minutes on an elliptical but in 11 months, I never got the results I have in the last two, when I started taking classes. When I stopped exercising regularly, I never gained weight, but I lost muscle tone and my clothes started getting tighter. Why did I stop? No results, boredom, etc. So, I decided to look into other gyms that offered classes, found one close to home and the rest will be history. 53 more lbs to goal. That seems so easy...but as you all know, it can be pretty hard. But I figure if I keep at it, in two more months I'll be that much closer...and two months after that...maybe at goal!!!
This of course, has caused even more skin issues. Sigh. But overall, it's a small price to pay for feeling this great.
Starting Over, So To Speak
Nov 21, 2009
So I called my plastic surgeon's office the other day to request an appointment. I was hoping he would see my recent loss and schedule the tt. I can already feel my skin start to sag since I have started to lose more weight and I just want it gone! OMG, I know you can feel me on this one! Anyway, the nurse informed me that they just received word that the office will be closing in February, so they cant see me since they wont be able to follow-thru on the surgery. DAMMIT!
Now I have to start all over and find a new surgeon. Man, I really liked Dr Valenzuela too! He was funny and I love men who make me laugh. Sigh. So on the upside of this, I have an appointment with a new guy on Tuesday. I have all my records from Dr V's office to take with me and maybe...just maybe...he'll be comfortable with movin forward with the tt as is. Fingers crossed. I mean, I know the other surgeons reasonings were sound - I just feel like I'm ready and any future weight loss wont leave alot of skin behind. I'm only 25 lbs away from goal so could a 25 lbs weight loss really produce that much more skin AFTER surgery? Maybe. I dont know, but in my head, I want it now!!! its probably best to leave these decisions to the experts, and not the instant gratification junkies like me :-)
I just thank God I'm no longer this person anymore --->
Regardless of the work I have to put in to get to my goals, I'll keep doing it. I'm a Capricorn and we dont give up until we get where we want to be!
Long Time, No Blog!
Oct 23, 2009
I had a plastics consult at the end of July and I just heard back a few weeks ago. Stupid BCBS. I swear. Does it really take that long to let a girl know whether or not you're going to pay for her tummy tuck? Anyway, they approved me but the Doctor and Anesthesiologist want me to lose another 30 lbs!
They say the less you weigh, the safer it is to go under. Also, Dr V. wants as much skin as possible to work with. Sigh. Look, I understand both their reasoning's, but 30 lbs? I mean, that's alot when you have already lost over a 100. So, I hit the gym 5 times a week (kickboxing 3 of those days) and have cut my calories down to 1,000 - 1,200 per day. I have to admit, when you have had RNY and start a "diet", it really is much easier to drop the pounds. I'll also admit that in the last year, I haven't been measuring my food as diligently as I should and I have been slacking on the exercise the last 5 months. My weight stabilized so I figured I was done losing. Not so. I just needed to kick it back into gear and re-commit to my WLS lifestyle. My main goal after surgery was to be able to live life as a normal person, not having to count calories. I soon realized that isn't how things work for a RNY patient. But, I forgot or got caught up in my new life and let most of the maintenance slack. I guess I know realize that I cant ever do that. It's a lifetime commitment to keeping the body I have now and working to make it the best it can be. Now more than ever, I am taking this very seriously. I figure two months of intensive work will get me close enough to my goal that they will let me schedule the surgery. I hope anyway. If not, I'll keep plugging away until I get the OK and come out the other side with a new silhouette I'm much happier with. Win, win.On a more interesting note, I have been dating a lot. Its very weird. When I was heavier, dating was simple. Either a guy liked you for your weight or he didn't. These days it not that cut and dry. Honestly, its like I'm 15 again and starting with a new experience. I have different doubts..."Why does he like me?" But, I also have much more confidence, so I'm finding myself on the other end of it - being liked more than I like him. That's been weird too. It's hard to tell a guy your not interested when he's so nice and sweet and wants nothing more than to be with you. OK, so don't judge me - my bet is some of you single chicks have felt this way too - but sometimes I feel like I want to play the field because my "stock" has gone up and I want the best guy for me. I don't have to take whatever is out there anymore because there are so many more options. Is it shallow? No. Its my choice and my right. I spent a long time taking what I could get and now, I don't have to. As long as I am kind and sincere, I have no guilt about it. Well, not much anyway. If I do have guilt, its only because I remember what it was like to be horribly rejected by someone I really liked. So, like I said, as long as I date with kindness, I'll be OK in the end. I'll find someone perfect for me, of that I have very few doubts. I just need to give myself some time, right? In the meantime, I plan to work on me. My head, my body and my soul. Now after all that work, how can I not attract someone I was meant to find obscene happiness with?
Lets see...hate my job. But, since the Michigan economy is just booming, I'm stuck. Oh well. This too will soon work itself out. Maybe not soon, but eventually.
So, wish me luck on this latest journey. As soon as I can, I'll post pics of me after the TT! Maybe by the first of the year. Then, I can FINALLY post them to the before and after gallery. Man, I want to be one of those chicks newbies look at and get inspired by!
I'm Still Here!
Jun 24, 2009
I'm on to the final phase of this journey - I have a plastics consult in July. My insurance will pay for a tummy tuck, so thats where I'm starting. Of course I would love a full body lift but I'm happy with the TT for now. I'm at the point where I feel like the skin is holding me back from really corssing the finish line. I have alot around my tummy and just below my breasts...a big pannus. I just hate how it feels and how it looks. I also hate the fact that its summer and underneath my clothes, I'm wrapped in a friggin wet suit! Spanx on the bottom and the top. One to hold the tummy in and another to hold the top in! Its hot and binding and just not fun.
On the other hand, I am truly happy with how I look and honeslty, after the TT, I can't really ask for anything else.
Exercise, vitamins, portion control, lots of water, no grazing...thats life as I know it! And its so much better than the life I knew before surgery...so incredibly better
Before and After - Phase I
Jan 15, 2009
I'm so much more comfortable in this skin!
I still have a way to go... I might not be where I want to be, but I'm sure as heck not where I was!
365 Days Later...
Jan 14, 2009
One year ago, January 14, 2008... I was in a little pain and on great drugs!
A lot of people write about what has changed since surgery, they look back on their old lives, thank God they have broken free from that old “prison”, and make big lists of all the things they can do now that they couldn’t just 365 days earlier. I mean, there are a ton of things in my life that are different now that I’ve lost over 100lbs…life is easier, it’s way more fun, people (both random strangers and your closest friends) treat you differently - better, nicer, more courteously, men react to you differently and are much more generous with casual smiles, comments and the occasional remark that reminds you you’re attractive again. 
You feel inherently different even though you are the same person. Your days are oddly exciting in that you experience something new and exciting every day, even when running a simple errand. You have an inner peace and happiness like never before. You have more confidence; more self-love and you feel outer beauty, which equates to an increase in your inner beauty. The bottom line is this: life is just so much better after surgery and I look forward to every day. Life isn’t just good, life is incredible.
Bloggin about Joggin!
Dec 05, 2008
Honestly, it wasn't my idea. It's the wierdest thing because for the last few months, I have been warming up on the treadmill before I switch to the sationary bike. Well, after a few weeks, I increased my incline and my speed. Every week I walked faster and faster, my incline getting steeper and steeper.
Suddenly, one day I got this urge to jog.
"OMG, I cant do that! All my skin and fat will flop and every one will laugh at me and I'll look stupid and... blah blah blah."
But my body didn't care about that, it just kept urging me to run!
"Run dammit! Run!"
For weeks I listened to them - those self-defeating thoughts running thru my head. In response, I would just increase my speed.
"Run! Run!"
"Shut UP!" I screamed to myself. I increased my incline.
"Run Jo! Just friggin run already!"
"Oh for craps sake! All right! Now shut up , will ya???" I finally gave in.
I took a deep breath and started out slowly, jogging for the first time for 2 minutes. I was amazed that I wasnt out of breath and I wasnt tired! I slowed back down and power walked for another 5 minutes and then started to jog again. This time, faster and longer! Wow! Ya know what?No one was looking at me, no one was laughing and Holy Mother Of Nike's, did this feel great!! I felt so free and healthy and amazing! Wow! I did it! I can do this!
A WOW moment for sure! I really do amaze myself every day. No, I havent lost as much weight as I has hoped to by now but every day I realize the changes I have to make to my lifestyle to get there, and when my abilities suprise and amaze me like they have been lately, the changes are so much easier to embrace.
Huh! Jogging...who would have guessed?
Where's My Smokin Body Dammit?!!!?
Nov 12, 2008
Got some news to share and soon I'll have the pics to go along with it...
The other day I slid my rapidly (well, not as rapidly as I might like) dwindling butt into a size 16! Yep! A stinkin' SIZE 16! Ok, so the thing is, I wear a 20 (down from a 30, thank you very much!). But the other day I went shopping and decided I needed a pair of skinny jeans to go with my newly skinny legs! So I try on a 22. Too big. Next I happily slide into a 20. What? These are too big too! Well, it must be a manufacturers error. Whatev! Gimme the 18's! Hello? 18's where are you? Not a freakin 18 on the rack
. OK so the 20's are too big and I can't find an 18....hmmm... I'll just TRY the 16's and see how far up my thighs they go - you know - a shit's n giggles situation. I pull em off the hanger, get my feet in the legs, start pulling (no resistance), pull some more (still none), keep on pullin and...huh? OMG! These suckers are up over my butt and...and...zipped! Get OUT!
OK so yes, at the end of the day my poor tummy had an angry
red mark from the waist band and they are not the most comfortable pair of jeans I have, but I dont care! I can wear them and dammit, I do!! Were it not for all this damn skin...well...grumble, grumble...they would fit beautifully. Stoopid skin. By the way, where in the heck is that smokin body I hoped for? Under all this not so smokin skin, that's where! Bah!Ah well, 37 more lbs to goal and then another 8 months until the tummy tuck. I can handle that - after all, I've waited a lot longer for less :-)
Hit a Stall, Weight Loss is at a Crawl, but I'm Having a Ball!
Oct 30, 2008
Since the end of July I have lost only 10 lbs, DESPITE working out three times a week at the gym AND walking the dog at least four times a week. Very frustrating! I mean, I feel excellent and have stamina and energy like never before, but damn! Can I see some results, please??? OK, on the very plus side, I hit my 100 Lb loss!!! Yahoo!Anyway, the second reason I haven’t been blogging is simply – a new life. It will happen, my friends. It will and all of the sudden you will be out doing and socializing and having fun. Maybe you had a busy life before (if you have kids – and you all know my position on those little suckers), but it was nothing like it will become. All I can say is WOW. Every day is a new adventure, a new experience… A New Life.
So, I decided that I seriously want to start jogging. I want to - I need to - but to be honest, I am really worried about the slapping sounds my stooped excess skin might make and what I will look like jogging. Crazy self-image issue, I know. I’ll get over it I just have to face the fear. 
So for now, I walk really fast and increase the incline to compensate (when I’m at the gym). As I mentioned before, I walk my dog several times a week. I freakin love it! Not only is Autumn my favorite season, but I just love being outside and able to walk long distances and enjoy it. My friend Jenn is addicted to walking and I never understood what she meant until I started. Honestly, if I don’t do it for a few days, I crave it. Dugin loves it too. Every time I go to the door, he fully expects me to grab his leash and take him with. Imagine the disgruntled looks I get when I sheepishly inform him that he can’t go with me “this time”. 
I don’t know how I will feel about it when winter hits, but until then I’m out there as much as I can be. And the BEST part, it’s shrinking my body in inches, even if the scale doesn’t show it. So lets see… Oh yeah! I got a new job. It was hard leaving my friends – they were the ones who helped me thru surgery and really became my family over the past five years. I still haven’t totally accepted that I don’t work with them all anymore… I see most of them on a regular basis so the issue isn’t that I don’t see them, it’s that I miss working with them every day. But the job, now that I enjoy! I have 39 lbs to go until I hit goal and anything after that will be gravy. In case you’re wondering… yes, this has been hard, especially the last four months. The honeymoon period everyone talks about is real and it does come to an end. Believe me. After that, you HAVE to work for your loss just like before surgery. Sorry, that’s how it is. That means more exercise and watching your calories. Was this a magic fix? Nope. And if you think it will be, you will be greatly disappointed about 6 months after surgery when you begin to gain if you haven’t made the appropriate changes to your lifestyle and diet. Do I eat crap now and then? 
Ah yeah, I do. I will not lie about that. Do I enjoy it? For about the time it takes for me to eat it – after that, no. I get hot, sweaty, dizzy, my stomach hurts, I get headaches… I generally feel like the very crap I just put in my body. 
Does that stop me? Sometimes yes, others no. I struggle and am defeated every now and then. But the most important thing is – I conquer the demons that put me in that operating room Every Day. And that keeps me focused. That gets me back on track when I stray and that is what will make my loss a success and long term. I wish the same for you! 
Mother Nature, My Saboteur and Screaming Kids with Anger Issues
Jul 29, 2008
Its been a little over six months since I started this crazy ride. I’m down 90 lbs, have gone from a 30/32 shirt to a 22/24 and a 30 pant to a 22. I seem to be going thru some damn stinking stall right now and it’s sort of ticking me off. I started exercising a few weeks ago so I know about water gain due to building muscles, but this is a critical point in my journey – the 100 lb mark and I hoped to hit it quick by hitting the gym. Not so. Grrrr. I keep gaining and losing the same damn 3 lbs! Another reason to be irritated by all this is the dreaded PMS. Am I retaining more water than usual because I am getting ready for my exceedingly unwanted visitor? OK, Sidebar...First of all, I do not plan to have kids. See, I like kids in general, I just don’t want to own any. So why in the hell my body must prepare for the possibility of kids once a month without my expressed consent ticks me off just a little. Five to six days of discomfort, inconvenience and just plain grossness for what? Nothing! Then, throw in unwanted pounds, swollen ankles, a voracious appetite – all in direct violation of my weight loss goals. Pffft the whole miracle-of-birth crap is lost on me and some months I pray for early onset menopause. Can I take you on yet another sidebar to better illustrate why I find kids so…so…high maintenance and unappealing? Last Friday I was happily browsing the scrapbook supplies in my local craft store, lost in my own dreamy world of ribbon, stickers and paper when what offends my senses but the shrieking of some toddler like it was simply the end of his stinking little world. Annoyed beyond all that is holy, I avoided the snot nosed decibel machine for a good two aisles. When my luck runs out, I come upon him rattling the baby carrier of his newborn brother like a bag of shake and bake coating. In protest, his mother reaches over and smacks his hand. Of course the screaming starts up even louder and more annoying than before. If you ask me, the little a-hole deserved it, so I don’t know why he felt so slighted. Anyway, it was my wish to avoid the whole undignified mess so I just looked the little jerk in the eye to silently let him know I did NOT approve of his behavior and tried to quickly move past him. Just as I reach the end of his cart, the little s.o.b. reaches out and slaps my arm! Apparently he was pissed at mom for making him stop all attempts at shaken baby syndrome, so in a split second decision, he takes his anger out on me. Whaaaaat?? I mean I like kids, but generally only kids I know. The ones I don’t know AND who act like a-holes, well these are the kids I have no use for. The mom, seeing this blatant physical assault against my person, throws a few meaningless admonishments his way and that was pretty much that. Ahhhh hello! No “Sorry my little b@stard hit you”, nothing! She didn’t even look at me. At this point, I question who the a-hole is…mom or the kid? Anyway, you all get the point. Kids are not in my plans so I resent the fact that Mother Nature shows up every fourth week and wreaks havoc on my body! Anyway, back to the interesting stuff. Despite my 3 lb war, I think I am still losing. The positive comments come almost daily and my clothes continue to get looser. I should take measurements – I know I should but I just haven’t. Maybe that would calm my anxieties when I hit these crazy stalls. I took a 6 month comparison picture, but I honestly looked exactly the same as I did in my 3 month pic. My friend Amy says it’s because my body is lost in the big clothes so I’ll try to get some pics that show my progress better than my old jeans and a t-shirt. Working out has been OK. I’m not going to lie to you…I do not like to exercise. Yes, that’s probably why I am fat but whatev. I don’t like to sweat. It messes up my hair and makes me all salty and sticky. I don’t like it. I do however, love how my body is shrinking and that, my wonderful OH friends, is MORE than enough incentive to keep going. Honestly, as much as I don’t like to do it, I love getting thinner, more attractive and healthier that much more. Plain and simple, my motivation is the product of positive reinforcement and repeated success. Motivation mostly comes from other people – but inspiration…well that comes from within me. Also, when I am done I have this fantastic body buzz and I love that! It makes me feel so alive and strong and ready for anything. Endorphins are just plain cool. A friend of mine recently sent this to me when I was feeling down about my stall and I have to say, it really hit home. …If you get a second chance, grab it with both hands. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said the journey would be easy, they just promised it would be worth it. Amen friend. Amen.
