Thursday, August 29, 2013

Plateaus

 
THOSE WONDERFUL PLATEAUS

Consider how difficult it is for you to run up ten flights of stairs
all in one shot. Can you do it? I'm betting NOT unless you are a
top-notch-conditioned Olympian, right?

Now, of course, you could EVENTUALLY get up those ten flights of stairs if you rested on the landings periodically to catch your breath and pause for a moment before your heart explodes. You’d get up those stairs - but only if you rested on the landings or PLATEAUS.

Well, running up ten flights of stairs in one shot is what we are
asking our body to do after WLS in the way we want the body to lose a massive amount of weight. As our body loses weight so rapidly, it occasionally has to "rest on the landings" to catch its breath, get its bearings, take a breather.

Then once it feels rested, it takes another shot at dropping the pounds again. It's remarkable that the body can drop so much weight so quickly anyway after surgery. But it can't do it all in one long shot like running up ten flights of stairs in one long shot. It has to rest on the landings or PLATEAUS.

Keep this analogy in mind when you hit those plateaus. PLURAL.
PLATEAUS. No such thing as ONE. You’ll have many along your journey. When those plateaus hit, you still must do what you need to do. DON'T stop the good nutrition, the vitamins, the exercise. Keep those routines going. And once your body is done "resting" in between the flights of stairs, it will kick in gear again for the next flight or two. And the more pounds that are dropped, the slower the pounds will drop too. So you will not lose rapidly during that last stretch of 25-30 pounds. It’s like an athlete who gives his all during the race, sees the finish line in sight, and does all he/she can to finish. The muscles ache, the heart is about to burst. but the athlete DOES finish the marathon. Some athletes "walk" across the finish line. But the point is
they FINISHED.>>

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Neuropathy

Well I have officially had my first complication from the gastric bypass surgery. It's nobody's fault but my own. When the nutritionist says take your recommended vitamins, DO IT! I was vigilent in the beginning about taking my vitamins, then I just started forgetting.

Forgetting to take my vitamins has led me to getting Vitamin Deficient Neuropathy. If you aren't familiar with Neuropathy, it's a nerve condition of the extremities. It happens a lot in diabetics. It causes pain, tingling, numbness. For me it has settled in my toes. I have a burning pain in my toes that is so excruciating it keeps me up at night.

At first the pain only happened at night, then it started happening during the day. At first it was just pain, but then the burning started. It feels like someone is blowing a hair dryer on high on my toes. It drives me crazy!!!

I saw my PCP today and she said that because of me not taking my vitamins on a regular basis that I have Vitamin B12 Deficient Neuropathy.  She told me I need to start taking 5,000mcg of Vitamin B12 a day, 100mg of B Complex a day and 300mg of Alpha Lipoic Acid twice a day. Hopefully in a few weeks with taking these vitamins every day the pain will start to subside. My PCP doesn't think I will have any permanent damage, which is a blessing. 

Tonight I took my first dose of the Alpha Lipoic Acid. I had to open the capsules and put them in a smoothie to be able to take them. But the felt like they were burning my mouth. I am going to try to take them whole so I don't get the burning in my mouth. 

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Newest Weekly Measurements

Newest Measurements

Here are my newest measurements. Last ones were taken a week ago!!!

Right Arm: 13"   (I have lost 4")
Left Arm: 13.5"   (No change in the last week)  (I have lost 4 1/2")

Right Leg: 27.5"   (I have gained a half inch in the last week)  (I have lost 4")
Left Leg: 26.5"     (I have gained a half inch in the last week)  (I have lost 6")

Right Calf: 17"         (I have lost 2")
Left Calf: 16"    (I have lost 2")

Chest: 49 1/2"         (I have lost 9 1/2")
Waist: 47 1/2"              (I have lost 6")

Current Weight: 254lbs   (I have lost 61 lbs since highest weight)
Current Height: 5'5"
Current Size: top is 18/20 and bottom is 22/24

Saturday, August 17, 2013

Newest Measurements

Here are my newest measurements.

Right Arm: 13.5"   (I have lost 3 1/2")
Left Arm: 13.5"     (I have lost 4 1/2")

Right Leg: 27"         (I have lost 4")
Left Leg: 26"           (I have lost 6")

Right Calf: 17 1/2"         (I have lost 1 1/2")
Left Calf: 17"     (I have lost 1 1/2")

Chest: 50"         (I have lost 9")
Waist: 49 1/2"              (I have lost 4")

Current Weight: 263lbs   (I have lost 48lbs since highest weight)
Current Height: 5'5"
Current Size: 22-24 

Sunday, August 4, 2013

First Goal

So I recently made it to my first goal, 275 pounds. With this first goal I wanted to go zip lining at my local zoo. So today we went with some friends. I didn't realize the ropes course that went along with the zip line would be as mentally challenging as it was for me.

I did the practice course just fine. Of course it was only like 5 feet off the ground. 




 And then I did the wall climb and the first wooden slatted bridge.

But when it came to going any further, I had a mental breakdown. My arms were hurting, I was scared I was going to fall. I couldn't make that first step for a very long time. Once I was on the first log I completely freaked out. 


 You have to repel down if you get stuck on one of the courses, and then your time is over. 

At least I made a goal and stuck to it. I may have not made it through the ropes course but I am proud of myself for how far I did come. 


 
 

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Measurements

II didn't see much movement in my measurements over the past 16 days but I decided to document it anyway. So here it is.

Right Arm: 14"   (I have lost 3")
Left Arm: 14"     (I have lost 4")

Right Leg: 29"         (I have lost 2")
Left Leg: 28 1/2"           (I have lost 3 1/2")

Right Calf: 18"         (I have lost 1")
Left Calf: 17 1/2"     (I have lost 1")

Chest: 53"         (I have lost 6")
Waist: 51"              (I have lost 2 1/2")

Current Weight: 271lbs   (I have lost 40lbs since highest weight)
Current Height: 5'5"
Current Size: 22-24