Wednesday, June 20, 2012

Video Update

Getting Settled

Hi, Everyone! It's been a while since I posted. Things, as you can imagine, have been crazy and hectic with the retirement and the move. We made it through the retirement and have made it to Oklahoma, but we are still trying to get a house. Meanwhile we are living with my husband's parents. They are wonderful people, and I love them like they were my own parents, but as you can imagine having 4 extra people and two dogs in their typically quiet house has been an adjustment for them. And living in someone else's home has been an adjustment for us. But we are settling in and making it work for now. We have our eye on a couple of houses. We just have to work out a rent-to-own option or a mortgage. Wish us luck!

As for the post-op weight loss journey, it is going great! I am 4 months post-op tomorrow, June 21, and have lost 82 pounds total. That number includes the 18 lbs I lost before surgery, so I've lost 64 lbs in 4 months. I've gone from a size 24/26 in pants down to a 16w/18w. I'm anxious to be out of the plus size pants, but it will happen soon enough. As for shirts I'm down from a 22/24 to an XL in the ladies department...no more plus size tops for me! Yay! I will have to go back later and calculate the inches I have lost. I'm very happy with my progress so far!!

Now, I want to take a moment and stress something to all of you. This is something I have to remind myself of often. DO NOT compare yourself or your progress to anyone else!! All of us are different in so many ways that we can never expect to have the same type of results. We have different bodies, different metabolisms, different health conditions that can affect our progress. We have different doctors and nutritionists giving us different instructions on everything from protein and calorie intake to what type and how many vitamins to take. All of this alone can affect our progress in positive and/or negative ways. Add in our own personal situations with family, work, finances, etc and you have a whole new level of factors. Then we add in our personal likes, dislikes, and struggles with food, what we can and can't eat at certain stages, and trying to plan our meals on our busy schedules and we have even another layer added to the process. So please, don't compare your progress with weight loss to me or anyone else. Take a look at where YOU were, and where YOU are. If you have made progress, then be proud and happy about that. If you've had some stalls, take that time to evaluate what you've been doing, let your body catch up with you, and start with small changes to see what gets things moving again. Remember, this is YOUR journey, not mine, not someone in your support group, not someone on YouTube...it's YOURS and YOURS alone!!! Be proud of you and your progress, and take the pressure of yourself to be just like someone else. We don't need you to be someone else. You are wonderful and amazing all on your own. I think maybe that will be the topic of my next blog...learning to love and accept yourself.

I'm going to go for now. I want to record and post a video before I head to work. So, go over later and check out my YouTube channel and see what I've posted. Once it's up, I'll post a link on here and on my FB pages. Thanks to everyone for reading. I'm so glad that my journey can help others. But remember...I'm only human, I'm not a doctor, and I'm just sharing my experiences and opinions. Please, don't take anything I say over medical advice, or over what you feel is right for you. Love you all, and have a fabulous summer day!!

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