Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Starting over yet AGAIN!!!!

So I didn't have the surgery, big shocker there huh? I went in for my EGD, got as far as my IV and found out that because my doctor had prescribed Phentermine for me to help me lose the presurgery weight for insurance approval, I had to reschedule and be off the medication for 2 weeks.
My husband talked with me after that ordeal and told me his feelings, he is really afraid of me doing something so  drastic, he is afraid of complications and he doesn't want to lose me. Needless to say, I didn't reschedule the procedure and I dropped out of the presurgery program again determined to continue losing the weight myself.
Then life happened! My hubby lost his job/insurance, I spent the latter part of the year working tons of overtime to compensate for the lose of income, then the holidays came, then winter, depression and you guessed it I gained it back. All but ten pounds that is.
So now its April and we are planning our summer vacation getaway, he has a new job with great benefits, I am not working overtime very often at all. I have been in a bad mood for a very long time. I want to feel better, I want to be happier. My attitude has been poor, and I need to get better. I don't want be this fat, bitter person. Its affecting me at home, at work, with my family, my friends. I am hiding out, stuck in a big old rut.
Then this weekend I worked my hiney off literally, busy day on my feet all 13 hours. After work, my feet and lower legs swelled up on me to the point that I could hardly get my sneakers off. Then the rash came, then the red and brown blanching spots. I freaked out and made a doctors appointment. I am a nurse I have seen this before. What is it? Diabetes? Vascular disease? Blood Clots? Venous stasis?
I don't want to lose my legs, I am only 34, I can't end up in a wheel chair,I am too big, it will kill me.  I don't want to die! I want to live, see my children grown, play with my grand kids someday, I don't want this all taken away from me. I have got to do something. I don't have a choice.
My doctor was puzzled by the swelling but seems to think its related to my thyroid and obesity. I got some water pills and the swelling is going down. I still have the discoloration although I am drinking tons of water and wearing compression stockings and getting up and walking frequently. I will do whatever it takes, this is a huge wake up call for me.
I posted a request for diet suggestions on Facebook and I got lots of positive responses. I am going to do this. Chicken breasts and salads sure aren't pizza and hamburgers, but its what I have to do to live.
I still don't know if I will have the surgery down the road. In my heart of hearts I don't want to. I want to be strong enough to do it on my own. I know its a long road and I have just barely scratched the surface.
This blog is part of my process so I will try to keep it updated as much as possible. It helps me to get these thoughts out of my head and the responses I get are very much appreciated and useful to me. Thank you to those who follow me, I really appreciate your concern and your prayers. 
Time to change my life~ C
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Monday, August 8, 2011

Taking the scenic route....

Long time no blog. I have been BUSY! Work has been hopping lately and I have been spending lots of quality time with my awesome coworkers, I am very fortunate that I am allowed to do overtime weekly if I so desire and I have been doing quite a bit of it as of late. Not that I mind working, I have a great job where I get to meet very interesting people and work with the best doctors, nurses, techs, social workers and activity therapists ever.
Work is my escape most of the time. I manage my diet better there, my coworkers are pretty healthy when it comes to food choices and I would feel the need to explain myself if I gorged on a bunch of junk food in their presence.
So I have pretty much decided to go ahead and have the surgery. I am sure I will change my mind 15 times before I  actually go under but I think that (maybe) it will be the best choice for me.
I have lost 42lbs at this point, I am wearing clothes that have been literally hanging in my closet for 5-6 years, that's right YEARS! I never realized how much weight I packed on after having my daughter and going to college. It was so easy to gain it, I am proud of being able to wear those clothes again. It makes me feel good to put them on, and fortunately they are still pretty much in style so I don't have to worry about buying a new wardrobe. Except for my scrubs, I am down two sizes on them but most of my older scrubs are 3 sizes smaller than what I was wearing, its all good though, I will get there.

Tonight looking through some of my old pictures on my Facebook page I found a picture of me and my son taken a year ago today on my phone. I took another picture of myself and compared the two photos, it really blew me away to see the difference in my face. I can see the changes, its one thing to see yourself wear different clothes and buy different sizes, its another to see the evidence in front of your face side by side, I am so happy that I seriously could sit down and cry. I can't wait to see what my picture will look like a year from now. I am hoping I am looking smoking hot and thin! :)

I am almost completely through with my diet and exercise program that my bariatric surgeon supervises that is required for my insurance to pay for my surgery. I have a EGD scheduled for next week, and I have to have a psychiatric evaluation, which is kind of funny considering that I am a psych nurse (omg what if I fail?)

After that is complete then its my insurance approval, then schedule the date, from what the Dr's office told me it will probably be around October before I would have surgery. I am excited but scared. I am just going to pray that everything will be okay and I will do phenomenal.

As far as my exercise, well, that has been kind of on the back burner. I am seriously slacking on going to the gym. I am not going to make all the usual excuses (work, hot weather, car issues) I just have not made working out a priority and I have got to get back on track. Every time I look in the mirror I see the signs of my weight loss, I also see the saggy flabby skin that I despise. I must tone up asap! I can't even imagine what it would be like to have abs or to wear a tank top in public!

It seems like all my life I have been waiting on "someday" to get here, "someday" when I am thin, "someday" when I have money, "someday" when I have time, "someday" when I feel better, "someday"when I'm not so tired all the time, "someday" when I don't have to work so much, "someday" when I am done with school, "someday" when the kids are older, "Someday" when I______. I am "someday"-ing my life away. So here is a new approach.....

"Someday" is much closer than I realize, "Someday" is now.

My kids are getting older, I have my degree, I can always go back to school, I wouldn't be so tired or feel bad if I wasn't so big, I don't have to work more than three days a week if I choose, I will probably never have a disposable income, I am getting thinner daily. I am there. I am where I need to be, I just have to keep going.

It may have taken a long time to get here, but the scenic route is always a little more interesting.

Keep on going, there may be bumps in the road but if I can do it anyone can. ~C

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Enough Already

I am getting impatient. I mean, I can see the scale inching downward slowly, I can see the difference in  my face in the mirror, I can feel that my clothes are loose on me and that I can wear stuff that I haven't worn in ages but I am still not happy.
 Its not enough. Its not even close to enough.
You really think you are looking good and you don't realize how big you still are, until you see the pictures. Then you are ashamed. I am.  So I get frustrated, and I want to fall back on my old habits. I want to reward myself for all my hard work. Why does this have to be so stinking hard?

 Why couldn't I have just been born thin?

I see these people all the time who can eat what they want and have never had to deal with a weight issue in their lives. I am so jealous of that. Being fat is such a big part of who I have always been as a person. You know, the funny girl who likes to make people smile. The self depreciating type who makes herself and her size a big joke. But its not funny.  I am tired of being the one who I shoot verbal barbs at, I am tired of disrespecting myself to get people to like me.

 I can still be funny, and fun to be around without dragging myself down with it. I expected that this road to wellness would lead me through new experiences and make me stronger, and I expected there to be changes made. But I never expected to question myself and who I have always been.

Maybe that is why I am struggling so much with all the decisions I am going to have to make real soon.
I don't want to have gastric bypass. I want the results, but I am scared of surgery. Its irreversible. I could die on the table, I could die from complications. I could leave my children without a mother, my husband without his wife, my parents without a daughter.  I could spend the rest of my life feeling terrible and sick. I could become such a basket case that I never want to leave my house.

But I could be phenomenal. I could be beautiful and thin and feel great. I could be the type of person I always wanted to be. One who enjoys being outdoors and who isn't afraid or embarrassed to do things that most folks consider fun. One who isn't afraid of going to the amusement park or going on a flight in fear of not fitting in the seats.  One of those girls who loves to go shopping for new clothes. Normal.

No matter what I decide, this is not the "easy way out". One thing is for certain, My life will be forever changed.

Part of me wants to say, I can do this on my own, I don't need surgery. I need willpower. The other part says, there is no way I can succeed without help.

What do I do?

I watch the biggest loser for inspiration. Week after week I see these people who weigh less than I do drop 10+ pounds per week, PER WEEK! I have lost 26, over a period of MONTHS! 5 months to be exact. What the heck?

I am just feeling so frustrated with myself right now.
Say a prayer for me please, I am having such a hard time staying on track.

Hoping for better news next time- C

Monday, April 4, 2011

Derailed

What a wild, crazy, fast-paced life I lead. It seems that I never have any down time anymore. Being a mom, a wife, a nurse, a friend, a personal therapist (unpaid might I add) and a doting aunt ( I got a new baby niece a couple weeks ago, and my nephew turned one) keeps you busy constantly. I try so hard to squeeze it all in and if it don't fit then I pull time away from myself.

Its crazy really, I haven't sit down and read a book in months, I don't sleep but a few hours then I have to get up for some reason or another, I don't do me-time.

 Maybe thats how I got derailed. Off track.

Busted

Why, oh why, are old habits sooo hard to break and new ones sooo hard to learn????

Its just too easy. I don't even have to think, or stress, I just do it. Its second nature.

 Why can't I be that way about the good things, like working out, like dieting, like drinking water, like being healthy, and conscious of what goes into my mouth?

 I guess if I knew the answer to that I wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place.

 It is so easy to slip back into those old habits. I have lost 20lbs now but the last few days have not been good ones for me. I am slacking big time. I am calling myself out on it, I have been making very poor choices.

I don't really know what started it all. I was going to the gym, I was eating what I should and then BAM! I was right back doing the same things that led me to this point.

I found myself making excuses for my behavior;

 "I deserve to eat _______, I had a rough day"

 " I am too tired to cook tonight, I will just grab something on way in".

 " I will go to the gym tomorrow"

I wish I could pinpoint what happened but I can't.

My life has been superbusy lately, with work, and family, and home schooling my son, maybe I just stopped planning time for myself? Maybe I am not seeing the results quick enough?

I don't know but it has to stop, Now.
I have to get back on track. Recharge my batteries, and move forward.
Back to the gym tomorrow, back on protein shakes and lean cuisines, I have got to do this.

Here's to making healthy new habits stick----
~C~

Monday, March 7, 2011

Who, ME? like exercise, No way.

So it has been a while since my last post. I have been very busy. I am very happy to say that I am still sticking with it, I am watching my diet, reading lots of nutrition labels and drinking water. I got a membership at a local gym and one of my friends is helping me out with what circuits I should do to lose weight. I am shooting for going  to the gym 3-4 days per week.  I worked out today for nearly two hours.
I really like the gym, its nice, the equipment is new and its not crowded. The best part is that I can go anytime I want to, its open to members 24/7 and I can go to any location this particular fitness company has. What surprises me however is that I actually enjoy going.
Wait a minute. Who actually enjoys working out? I have to be kidding right?
Nope, I really do enjoy it. I like the way it makes me feel, you know that whole endorphin thing? Well, its true. When I walk out of that gym I am tired, and sweaty, but I feel like a million bucks. Its not just the mood improvement though, I feel accomplished. I have followed through and done this no matter how hard I thought it would be or how much I wanted to quit I didn't. It makes me feel good that I did it, and I get that feeling every single time I leave the gym. Its so empowering to realize that all the things that have been holding me back all these years aren't holding me back anymore. I may be losing weight but I am growing in other ways.
Heck, I am proud of myself. And I have no desire to ever quit . My clothes are baggy, my rings roll around on my fingers and I can see the difference when I look in the mirror. I also see something new, a little bit of self confidence, and I kind of like it.

My routine
30-45 minutes of cardio and 45 minutes to one hour of weight training,
I plan on adding in some classes this week just to keep me on my toes, I am totally loving this, if anyone is interested in a great gym email me, I will tell you all about mine.
Bring on the pain- C

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

The embarassment factor

So I usually don't post two blog entries so close together, but something happened today that I want to share and see how others have dealt with it.
I am a nurse on a psychiatric unit, and we are required to learn self defense-type moves to keep our patients and others safe. Walking into the training I felt very self conscious, I am the heaviest one here, including the guys. Luckily we had a smaller class so that made things a little easier, and going through the basic grabs felt okay, but when we had to drop to our knees and pull someone down with us, flip them around and put them on their belly while we laid on our sides next to them, I felt very nervous. Just watching my co-workers who I love and trust, I felt like a beached whale, I was sooo embarassed about my size. If felt myself tearing up and the dramatic part of my personality wanted to jump up and leave. What if my shirt came up and everyone saw my fat belly (it did ), what if I crush someone because of my weight (I did), what if I hurt someone, what if I get hurt?  Eventually it was my turn and you know what, I did okay. The worrying about it was far worse than the reality of doing it, and I was judging myself much harder than others were.
Processing this later today I realized that we really are our worst critics. Nobody I worked with thought badly of me today regarding my size, I was just doing a mandatory training for my job. When I spoke to one of my friends about this she told me, "Nobody is judging you" 
But I was judging myself and setting myself up for failure because I told myself that everyone was secretly thinking bad thoughts about me. The reason I am posting this is because this way of thinking sabotages me all the time. I don't do things I enjoy because of being embarassed about myself/my size/my weight.  Thats why  I don't go out dancing with my husband, its why I don't get up and sing in front of people (even though I am pretty darn good at it) Its why I don't follow through with going to the gym or exercising, I feel like people are thinking "God she is so fat, why does she even bother?"
I am not going to do this anymore, I have to be in control of these negative thoughts and realize that everyone has negative feelings about themselves, there is something that everyone hates, whether its their weight, their hair, their complexion, their thighs, we all have our insecurities.
So that is my new goal, I am going to try to push beyond that "embarassment" and live my life.
I CAN do this!

Monday, February 21, 2011

Weigh in #1 2/21/11~ Baby Steps~

Hello everyone, having a hard time gathering my thoughts tonight so bear with me.  I went back today to my 2nd Diet and Exercise doctors appt, (insurance requires 6 months for precert for gastric bypass surgery) I have officially given up soda and was quite anxious to see what the results are. I worked all weekend and weighed in there late yesterday, and the work scale showed a 8-9lb weight loss, I was elated!
So I went to my appointment eager to show the doctor that all my hard work had paid off and when I got on the scale there, my weight loss was only 5.5lbs, I was a little disappointed.
Okay so I take that back, I was very disappointed. I didn't understand why the numbers weren't more. I felt like I have done better than I have ever done and wanted to see the results on the scale.
But instead of blowing things out of proportion and giving up completely (again) or totally sabotaging my efforts by going on a food bender, I decided to do a little retail therapy. I went to the store and bought a pretty new bedding set and some new work out clothes, I may be disappointed but its only one weigh in and hey I lost five pounds!!!  I am rewarding myself in Healthier ways, not with food. So even though the numbers are not  killer this month, at least they are going in the right direction, and my behaviors are better, can't really ask for more than that. I have said all along that this whole issue with weight and eating is 99.9% mental, if I can beat that, the numbers will continue to go down.

Now to really start the physical stuff.
My buddy/co-worker has challenged another friend/coworker to a training duel, to see who can assist me and another friend in losing the most weight by July 1st of this year, so I am going to be entering a gym membership this week, this could be interesting....

I have been very fortunate to have really great family, friends and coworkers who keep me motivated, thank you guys! Next weigh in my numbers will be fabulous!

Patiently plugging along~C


By the way,
 I have found a great resource, its a book by Geneen Roth, I will share the info at the bottom of this entry, if you are interested in losing weight or have another vice you are trying to break I would say give it a read, (thanks Hannah)
Product Detailshttp://www.amazon.com/Women-Food-God-Unexpected-Everything/dp/1416543082/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298348033&sr=8-1