So total I have lost 64 pounds already!  I feel great!  I have gone down 8 sizes in jeans already in 2 months!   I do get tired pretty easily and have some exhaustion issues but I bet when I do my labs next month it has to do with iron levels.  Other than that it has been an awesome journey post-surgery.  Still have to get used to drinking at least 80 ounces of water a day and taking in all my vitamins but I have been able to get 80-100 plus grams of protein in a day just from eating food and some protein bars on some days.  Protein shakes make me ill and vomit.  I’m still trying them out to try to find one that works!  I have lots of vitamin and protein reviews to get done, as well as some recipes.  One of my resolutions is to update my blogs at least 4 times a week but I am hoping for 7 days a week.  We will see how well that goes!  Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Years!

My recovery has been fantastic!  I have more energy and I can breathe easier an don’t get short of breath anymore.  As of last week when I started my Wii Fit project (more on that later) I found out I have lost 55 pounds so far!  I started at 340 pounds and am now down to 285 pounds in 5 weeks!  I have learned some things post surgery:

• I can not seem to tolerate protein drinks anymore (makes me really sick to my stomach and puke)
• When you lose weight and it comes off your butt it hurts to sit on your butt for long periods of time
• I have a hard time eating most meats so I have to eat small amounts at a time and east super slow
• I have collar bones and hip bones!
• I go through sizes every week or two right now and I am running out of things to wear!

About the Wii Fit project- wince the weather right now is not exactly comfortable to be taking walks in (but I walk at least 5-7 miles a week anyway) I decided to give the Wii Fit a try.  My goal is to lose 15 pounds a month (at least) so I will track my progress here every two weeks.  And now for the best part- progress pictures!

]]> http://www.intuitionjuice.com/2009/12/18/progress-down-55-pounds-in-5-weeks/feed/ 0 http://www.intuitionjuice.com/2009/09/29/the-scale-can-be-your-best-friend-or-worst-enemy/ http://www.intuitionjuice.com/2009/09/29/the-scale-can-be-your-best-friend-or-worst-enemy/#comments Tue, 29 Sep 2009 10:23:48 +0000 Lisa http://www.intuitionjuice.com/?p=195

When you are trying to lose weight it seems like the bathroom scale becomes a fixture in your life.  When you lose weight the scale is like your best friend but when you gain weight the scale can feel like it’s working against you and is your enemy.  I’ve heard it from doctors and I seen it for myself- weighting yourself everyday is not going to go your way.  It is best to weight yourself once a week on the same day of the week and at roughly the same time.  Weighing yourself daily is going to drive you crazy and your weight is naturally going to fluctuate (especially for women- got to love those hormones and PMS!).  I found I often got discouraged when I was weighing myself daily and I would gain a pound or two and then I would sometimes eat more because I felt well I can’t lose weight anyway what is this going to hurt.  I have finally stopped doing that and I have set backs from time to time I feel like I am doing well and keeping on track this month.  My goal for the month was to be able to use the Wii Fit balance board (it has a weight limit of 330 pounds on there).  I am right at 330 (finally!) but I want to lose about 5 more pounds before I try to use the board just in case.  I am so close to my goal!  At my highest point this year I was 343 pounds (in around January) and now I am at 330.  The weight has come off slowly while I am waiting for weight loss surgery but I have been able to do it!  I have started weighing myself every week and logging it into a journal and writing anything significant about that day- like if I was tempted to eat something I shouldn’t and didn’t or if I have gone a week without forgetting the take all of my vitamins throughout the day (I take the vitamins 6 times a day to try to prepare more for having vitamins spread out throughout the day after surgery) or if I went for a walk or something that day.  That way I can go back and look at my weight loss journal and see how well (or not well in some cases) and can add new goals or adjust some things.

This is my Emily the Strange Morphing Journal (Emily morphs into a black cat on the cover) that I use as my weight loss journal.  Find a journal that you really like as an added bonus!

One of the simplest exercises around is just walking.  It doesn’t have to be fancy walking like they do at the Olympics; just getting up and moving around is better than doing nothing!  A simple way to keep track of all the walking you do in a day is to get a pedometer.  Simple ones cost less than $10 bucks but they can get pretty high tech and expensive, too.  I even saw a pedometer application for the iPhone and a pedometer attachment for iPods!  I don’t own an iPhone or an iPod but I did go buy a cheap pedometer and noticed the count was pretty off with it.  I am going to look into buying a different one tomorrow.    I found an article on the Mayo Clinic’s website on walking for fitness that had some good information.  The article lists the benefits of walking as:

• Lower low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol (the “bad” cholesterol)
• Raise high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol (the “good” cholesterol)
• Lower your blood pressure
• Reduce your risk of or manage type 2 diabetes
• Manage your weight
• Improve your mood
• Stay strong and fit

All of these are good things!  Even though I was less than thrilled to be walking for an hour around my apartment complex at 8 AM this morning after the kids got on the bus, I felt in a better mood when I got home.  If you’ve been inactive and tire easily, it’s best to start slow and easy. At first, walk only as far or as fast as you find comfortable. If you can walk for only a few minutes, let that be your starting point. For example, you might try short daily sessions of five to 10 minutes and slowly build up to 15 minutes twice a week. Then, over several weeks’ time, you can gradually work your way up to 30 to 60 minutes of walking most days each week.  Just being active is better than sitting around so even if you can only walk for 10 minutes during your lunch break, you will soon find that you can go longer and it is easier!  The article also had an image of proper walking technique:

The article also talks about how to set goals, track your progress, and the basics of getting started walking for fitness.  Check it out for some good information on walking for fitness.  It will vary by person depending on the size of their step, but generally about 2,000 steps equals one mile.  The general daily goal for steps per day is 10,000 steps for health and 15,000 or more steps for weight loss.  The great part about wearing a pedometer is that ALL the walking you do is added up over the course of the day, including your walking workout.