Changes abound, and they've been subtle, not in our faces type of changes.
First, I'm registered to do my first 5K walk in one month. My walking buddy Elizabeth and I decided to see how we'd do with a 3.5 mile walk (just a tad over the 5K distance) Thursday. We followed a similar route to our upcoming 5K. (It's local in our neighborhood to raise money to repair our Peachtree Charter Middle School's track.). My legs could tell it was a tad farther than our typical walks, but it was NO PROBLEM! Hooray!
Wednesday, I set out to have a good swim, but didn't really have a goal in mind. I decided to begin with a 200 Free, then did a 100 breast stroke, then a 100 back stroke. Then did 100s free, breast, and back. Then did the first set again, but threw in an extra 50 . Then felt like I wasn't done, so, I did another 200 free. Count all that up, and I swam 62 laps! Go little Jen! (-;
My girlie kitty Lucy says hi, btw. She just climbed up on my lap to help me blog. She's the daintiest, sweetest, softest girl kitty in all the land and I adore her.
I've lost 68 pounds, and am feeling really excited about almost being under 200 lbs for the first time since about 2002. I truly hope and pray that I'll keep the mindset and willpower to never get over 200 ever again.... and, honestly, my REAL goal is to keep about 135 as my "guardrail" weight once I've leveled out in about another year from now.... Andy Stanley taught a great "Guardrails" series last April and May. A guardrail is a warning or preventive that keeps you from even getting close to the danger or undesired behavior.... you know, nip it in the bud before it has a chance to grab hold and take over your life! (-:
I had a really rough week in mid-August. (BTW- SKIP TO THE NEXT PARAGRAPH IF YOU DON'T WANT DIGESTION ISSUE DETAILS!) Suddenly, in addition to a slight cold, I was feeling exhausted and slept an entire Sunday away, then stayed in bed for the entire night, and then slept a lot more on Monday. Eventually, with Ben's help using a list of causes for Fatigue he found on WebMD, I figured out it was probably a Urinary Tract Infection. Didn't have the typical symptoms, just lots of back pain and extreme fatigue. Turned out I was correct, and the antibiotics I got on Tuesday didn't really help until about Friday. Saturday was a great day, but then, I felt all sorts of woozy and wobbly on Sunday. I don't know for sure, but I believe the UTI was because I'm not doing well enough getting my suggested 64 oz of fluid each day, and since I'd been having back pain for about a month leading up to that, I'm thinking it wasn't a new infection. And then Sunday, after a week of being to tired to bother eating, not being hungry because of the surgery in the first place, and then also being antibiotics that cause a loss of appetite, I simply hadn't gotten in enough nutrition. Coinciding during about the same time frame, I also had a really long period of constipation-- 9 days to be exact, even with taking stool softeners. Dulcolax eventually helped, and since then I've started to be mindful of Miralax in juice every few days, and my water intake, so there has been MUCH improvement in that area.
A few weeks ago, during Ben's 6 week check up, he got some clarification on our eating limitations. Technically, it's a small list, but it goes with the generalized "as tolerated", which simply means there are no guarantees so try new stuff at your own risk! We will never again be permitted to take Ibuprofen or other anti-inflammatories (too hard on our little pouches and can cause bleeding) or carbonated beverages (air bubbles would probably not be comfortable, and they could stretch our pouch). For now, alcoholic beverages are also off limits (reasons for that: too hard on our pouches AND since we've got tiny stomachs and a bypass of the first part of the intestines, the absorption rate is dangerously fast!).
There is this phenomenon after surgery called dumping syndrome . Every patent's body is different, but we'll all tell you that we've experienced it, and it is like no other experience to "encourage" you toward proper eating choices! Personally, for me, it feels like horrible pressure just under my heart (I THINK that's where my pouch must be?!?!), can cause sweating and nausea, and makes me feel a bit disoriented. I experience "early dumping syndrome" so I'm usually mid-meal when it hits... This pressure is because my body is sending TONS of water to my pouch and intestines, trying to flush out whatever offensive item I've just put there. Your instinct would be to drink water, but that is THE worse thing you could do. My body typically causes me to bring it back up, though it's not like throwing up when you're sick, it's more like bringing up that extra fluid and whatever item got stuck or wasn't tolerated. So, if mid-meal you see me suddenly get up.... don't worry, I'll feel fine whenever I come back. (-: My biggest offender has been bread and even a toasted bagel... oh, and spaghetti that just didn't get down properly. Ben's biggest offender was a "shot" of pecan pie he tried at 52 seasons. Stupid head... we looked all cute and I wanted to get a picture of us and was too busy feeling sick to stop for the picture....
Also, we try to think of it as a "protein first" diet. The good news is, contrary to what you'd think, we really don't have lots of hunger. Personally, whenever my body feels hungry, it's because it's truly been way too long since I ate! We really don't (and can't) consume much in a day, so it's important that what we do eat is getting our nutritional needs met. First and foremost is protein. Second is enough fluid. Dr. Macik, our surgeon, recommends 4 small meals daily, with no snacking. Of course one of my 4 meals usually looks more like snacking, but the idea is to avoid grazing all day long which sets you up for bad habits later and sets you up for not paying attention to what you are eating and what nutritional value it's giving you.
oh, oh.... GO DAWGS! (they just scored their 2nd touch down... I'm multi-tasking!)
Right now, a little over 3 months after surgery, a typical day's food intake looks like this: A Grande Skinny Vanilla Latte for breakfast (the skim milk has protein); yogurt with some high protein/high fiber Kashi cereal sprinkled on top, and a lowfat cheese stick for lunch; some soy chips in late afternoon; and a small bowl of chili for dinner.
I'm not really meeting my exercise goals, though it is definitely part of my routine and I'm enjoying it when I do it. I always get at least four days in (expect during that week I was so sick), and my 6 days a week goal that I am aiming for looks like this: Sunday 40 min walk, Monday 1 hr walk, Tues 45 min swim, Wed 45 min swim, Thurs 1 hr walk, and Saturday 45 min swim. To my own surprise, those length workouts aren't so tough for me. They're totally within my comfortable ability. (No doubt in addition to "getting in shape", the more weight I lose, the easier exercise becomes!) I don't feel a need for longer work outs, just trying my push to go faster during those workouts.
I'm truly happy that I decided to have the surgery, and that it was covered by my insurance so that both Ben and I could benefit from the surgery, experience it together, and work out our budget to handle our share of the cost. It's been fun to have to put away clothing that literally falls off of me, and I've been trying to get replacement clothes at end of season clearance sales and such. I feel great, this is way easier than ANY diet I've ever been on, and it's getting GREAT results!
Our dear and talented friends, Charles and Dawn, will be back in town in a few weeks, and promise to take some photos of us. It's time to update our adoption portfolio and I can't wait to post a few on here!
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