April 2016 - Update!

July 2013

April 2016

April 2016

Today's Weight - 198.0

That's right....UNDER 200 pounds for the first time in at least 25 years, but probably longer. I don't even remember what I weighed in high school, but I'm pretty sure it was close to 200. I've lost almost 100 pounds and I feel amazing! It's still a shock to me when I get to shop in the "Regular" size clothes vs. "Plus" size. And I've developed a bit of a shopping habit....it's so exciting to buy clothes that fit!

Having this surgery almost 3 years ago is the best thing I've ever done for myself. I sometimes get "the look" when I tell people, but I have realized I don't care! It worked for me, so whatever. Life is too short to worry what other people think about you. 

New Family Pics (and WW update)

So, Weight Watchers didn't last.  And it's TOTALLY on me.  Now, I DID break my foot about 5 weeks ago.  So exercising has been out of the question.  I'm struggling just to get through the day with this heavy boot.  But I'm holding steady right now at about 222 pounds.  I'd really like to drop that last 20-30 pounds.  But man, I'm just really not motivated!!  I'm hoping that when I get the boot off (and I have no idea when that will be....) I'll get back to the gym.  A woman can dream, right?

Meanwhile, here's some new family pics we took.  We're trying to do this every year now and there's nothing better than Aggie pictures!!  Whoop!

3rd WWW (Weight Watchers Weigh-in)

216, so down .4 pounds.

Which may not sound great, but I really feel like I struggled this week and I honestly don't know why.  I refuse to admit it's because of my lack of motivation to exercise.  SURELY that's not it.  Right?

Ok, maybe I really need to start exercising.  Last night was the first time I got over 10,000 steps in a long time.  So maybe that needs to be my new goal.

We'll see how that goes.

2nd Weight Watchers Weigh-in

I've been dreading this week's weigh-in.  Since I weigh myself at home ALL the time, I knew that I hadn't done as well as last week.  And honestly, I don't know why.  Unless it's the exercising.  Or lack thereof.  Because I was super unmotivated this past week.  Just couldn't get myself moving after I got home from work.  So I know I need to work on that.  And still, I did lose this week:

216.4

Down 1.2 pounds

Moving forward.

That's progress.

Exercise :-(

I hate to exercise.  I mean, really.....HATE!  I recently purchased a Fitbit Zip, in the hopes that it would motivate me.

And I do like to check it alot and see how I'm doing.  And the first few days, I was super stoked to hit my goal of 10,000 steps for the day.  But then, I was like "meh, thanks for the info, 'lil bit, but I'm done for the day".  So while, yes, it's great to track yourself against yourself AND your friends, it's not getting me out of bed earlier in the morning, youknowwhati'msaying?  

However, I have been to the gym more in the past few weeks.  And by "more", I mean not never, so there's that.  We're really trying to get our boys more active, plus Hunter has been asking to work out in order to get ready for high school sports, so that helps get us out the door.  Plus, one of the 5 gym locations has a pool, so jumping in after a good workout is extra motivation.  Particularly in this ridiculous Texas summer heat.  So we are making forward progress.  And forward is always better than backward, amiright??

1st Weight Watchers Weigh-in

5.8 pounds!!!!  That's right......I'm already down to 217.6 in just under one week.  Wow.  What a motivator.  I'm excited about my cheat day, but believe it or not, I'm ready to get back on track tomorrow to have another successful week.

Here's a few sample days of eating from this past week.  Plus any activities, if I did them.  Honestly, this week has been super crazy at work and when I get home at the end of the day, I'm just done.  Over it.  So I pretty much lay in bed, watching The Closer on DVD and eating watermelon.  That's my idea of a good time, right there!

So here's some screenshots from my food tracker.  WW is so easy for me!  I do the Monthly Pass, which means you get all the online tools, the free app on your phone and unlimited meetings.  Being able to track everything on my food is a life saver.  AND I just realized that when you weigh-in at the meeting, it automatically updates your online weight!  Mind=Blown.

One year later.

Last week, July 11th, was the one year anniversary of my gastric sleeve surgery. Just like the old cliché goes, it has literally flown by!  In so many ways it feels like just yesterday that I weighed almost 300 pounds but in some ways it feels like a lifetime. 

Recently I came to the realization that I've forgotten how to eat healthy. Since I've been able to eat whatever I want for the past year (just in much smaller quantities), I haven't made a lot of good choices. And guess what happened a few weeks ago?  Vacation!  And we all know I suck at vacation. It was a week full of good (meaning "bad") food. Without a care in the world. Which is how I wound up weighing 223 pounds on my surger-versary.

Which is not bad. I know this. But when I consider the fact that I was 214 around January and the fact that my original goal was 190, my weight was creeping the wrong direction. And I know how that story goes. And I simply cannot repeat it. Not after all this hard work. Not to mention the money.

So last Saturday,  I joined Weight Watchers. WW has always worked for me when I work the program.  I think it's partly because I'm such a rule follower. So by golly, if I have 34 points each day then I'm eating 34 points!  It's helped me keep myself on track when I walk by the chocolate candy bowl 20 times a day. If I grab one I have to count it. And let's face it ...that's just too much work!

My first weigh-in was 223.4 pounds. According to my scale I've lost about 3 pounds so we'll see what the scale says tomorrow morning. I'm switching to the Friday 7:15 am meeting for two reasons: I'm already dressed and headed to work anyway, plus that means I can make Friday my "cheat day"  I'm a firm believer in cheat days. They keep you sane!

I'll update my WW progress here with some sample food diaries.  I'm already headed the right direction plus getting more active so I know this will work. It has to, right?

I truly believe my gastric sleeve surgery saved my life!  I only wish I'd done it sooner.

Me and my sweet Hunter at his middle school graduation

Our summer trip to Schlitterbahn water park