The best way for me to see the difference that my new exercise and lifestyle are making is by measuring different parts of my body and how my clothes fit. Though I have only lost three pounds over the past two months, I have lost another 1.5 inches in my waist, an inch in my hips, almost an inch in my thighs and an inch in my arms. So I know I'm still making progress, just not on the scale.
My clothes also fit so much better. I got out a box of winter workout clothes that I haven't been able to wear in a few years and they all fit. See, I wasn't crazy for saving all of those clothes after all?!? I also have been wearing all sorts of dresses that have been sitting in my closet for a long time. Some of which are even a little too roomy now.
The first two shirts, I have never been able to wear before. The third one I have not worn since my husband and I started dating three years ago.
Adjustment via X-Ray:
The non-scale victories have been great and are what is keeping me motivated to get to the gym 5-6 times a week and continue to work with my band on what I can and cannot eat. I do think I finally have the restriction that I need from my last fill.
Normally, once you get 6-8cc in your band, the doctor will not put too much more in at a time to make sure you can still get some food and liquids down. This past adjustment I had on October 29th, was a new experience. My doctor wanted to make sure everything looked normal and also wanted to see just how restricted I was before putting more saline into the band.
I had to wait around for the afternoon where I got my fill under an x-ray machine. It was pretty awesome despite having to drink that chalky gross liquid stuff. What was so cool is that I could see the liquid go down and go through my band into my stomach. The doctor confirmed what I had been saying from the start, that I was not very restricted. She decided to go ahead and put in .75 more cc's totaling 9.25 currently in my band.
I definitely have had a huge amount of restriction since that fill, I have to be careful of what I eat or I'll have to throw it up to get it unstuck, and I also am eating slower than ever before. It usually takes me thirty minutes to finish a small meal. So I'm hoping that I'm where I need to be with the restriction, and now I need to focus on eating those foods that are good for me so that I am making the most of my band's restriction. I have a history of making the wrong choices when it comes to eating healthy foods and I'm sure the holidays are going to test that even more. But I know what I have to do to keep on the right track and I'm the only one who can make it happen.
Eight Month Post-Op Progress:
For now, the inches are what is helping me stay on course. Though I REALLY wanted to be in "onederland" by the end of the year, I don't see that happening. So far, in this eight month journey I have lost...
-- 38 pounds
-- 9.25 inches in my thighs
-- 4.75 inches in my arms
-- 10 inches in my waist
-- 7 inches in my hips
-- 3 inches in my bust
That's not too shabby.
Tag Team Throwdown:
Coming up next, I will be participating in the Tag Team Throwdown crossfit competition in St. Peters, MO on Saturday, December 13th with my wod partner, Alexia. We've been training hard over the past month or so for this event and I am so excited! It's such a great way to see the progress we both have made, accomplish something together that we never would have thought possible just a year ago and also make memories with the other members of our gym participating. Hopefully my next update will be showing off our great results from competition that is a little over two weeks away!
Here's a pic that Brandon Aubuchon took of me in the middle of 50 overhead squats from Sunday's workout dedicated to my WOD-Sister and Tag Team Partner, Alexia and her own weightloss journey. It was a great turn out and fun work out!
