Hey y’all.
It has been
a while since my last post; I know it’s well overdue. I knew it was overdue but I just checked when
my last one was and it was just over a month ago.
I really am sorry for not posting sooner...I 've been busy (being a first time parent will do that), tired (it does that too), and a little bit discouraged and I really just haven’t been in the mood recently but in any case, sorry.
I love
how I seem to go thru phases and notice different things at different
times. Some of which I have heard about
and have been looking forward to, others have surprised me. I have been experiencing both recently.
I’ve
known I would reach a point where my bones would start being more prominent,
this catches some others off guard when their pelvic bones or shoulders start
appearing and they have never seen them before.
I have reached the point where my ankles are having more definition and
so are my shoulder blades. Unfortunately another side effect of this much
weight loss this fast is loose skin, I have been noticing this recently
too. My belly and thighs are getting a
little loose and I am developing what my siblings and I used to refer to (on my
grandma Noble) as “batwings” under my arms (yes, I have a pic).
The
other one takes a little explaining.
Sitting has always provided its own special set of challenges in several
ways. I wasn’t able to sit in booths in
most restaurants because they were too small, I couldn’t sit on the floor for
more than about 10 minutes or my legs would be going numb, and when sitting in
a chair it was basically just legs flared out to the sides or ankle resting on
knee. Recently all of these things have
changed. I find I can fit into booths now;
I am able to spend a lot more time on the floor now which lets me spend a lot
more time playing with my son. I also
find myself being able to sit in a lot of different positions with legs crossed
or knees up to my chest or on the floor Indian style.
I have
also found that since my weight has shifted and I have less padding than I used
to. I seem to constantly need to find some slightly new positions to sit in
because they just don’t feel right. I am
constantly making little adjustments to my chair at work and in my car.
My
wardrobe continues to dwindle because I am getting rid of clothes faster than I
can afford to replace them even when shopping at Savers or finding other good
deals on cheap clothes. One nice thing I
have taken advantage of recently is that I have a wonderful mother-in-law that
on top of all her other wonderful traits is an incredibly talented seamstress
(she made my wife’s beautiful wedding dress).
This comes in handy since beggars can’t always be choosers when shopping
at Savers and sometimes all the measurements don’t quite line up. I know that at least as long as it is close
to fitting she can hem it or make some other modification or repair that in a
lot of cases looks better than it did originally.
I have
recommended several times to others not to pay too much attention to the scale
when dieting and instead focus on the NSV’s.
Recently I have been really bad about this. I have pretty much given up trying to predict
or declare the beginning or end of plateaus because as soon as I say something
it seems to change. All I know is that
my weight loss has really slowed and become really erratic over the last month
and a half and it is really frustrating.
I know
part of the reason is that I had gotten out of my workout routine when my son
was in the hospital and I really had a hard time getting back into it. When I finally did get back into the gym
routine I decided to really focus on building muscle for a while and really hit
it pretty hard. I think not working out for a bit and then working on building
muscle which is heavier than fat is part of the reason the scale isn’t moving
as fast as I like.
I have
since decided that at some point I will need to work on building muscle but for
now I still have a long way to go and still need to focus more on just loosing
the weight. I also know it is normal at some point for the rapid weight loss to
slow…which brings me to…
I had my
six month follow up and nutrition reminder/refresher last week. Turns out I am not the only one struggling
with slowing weight loss and finding myself in a bit of a diet rut. Apparently this is pretty normal around 6 to
9 months and people find they need some new food ideas and new workout ideas.
Interestingly I looked like I had lost the most of the people there that I had
been in other nutrition classes with before, that was encouraging.
Now we
get to the meat of the matter and that is my weight, I mentioned that my weight
loss had been frustratingly slow. A
month ago I was at 279, today I am at 271.
I know that is right in line with what they say is a “healthy” weight
loss rate but when you have been losing at the rate I had been that seems like
a snail’s pace.
Of
course, since I am under 275 that means that it is time for more pictures. I have some 20 pound comparison
pictures up, I have also put some other pictures of me up. (And simply because
he is cute and awesome I put up some more pictures of my little boy Evren…what
can I say, I’m a proud papa!)
I really
love hearing back from people how much they love reading my blog and how it has
inspired them to change something in their life. The feedback that I am most excited about is
the fact that 2 of my coworkers have decided to go thru with gastric bypass
with my surgeon because of reading my blog and seeing my success. I found out
that one of them, Dennis Rogers, has been approved and is scheduled for surgery
on September 17th. I told him that right after surgery he will hate
me but that it will all be worth it in the end. I am really excited for him and
excited about watching the changes I went thru from an observers point of view
instead of the one going thru it.
That
brings me to the update about my son, Evren.
As I mentioned last time he had been in Children’s hospital with
problems growing and keeping formula down.
He is doing much better now, he still has his rough days (yesterday was
one) and we have needed to tweak some of his medications as he grows but he is
still growing and is up to 10lbs, 2oz.
While he is still small he is still maturing at a normal rate in other
ways as far as muscle development and control. In general, he is doing well and
I absolutely love being a father.
That
pretty much does it for this post. Thanks for reading and as always thanks for
the thoughts, prayers and encouragement.
