It’s my Ten Month Surgeversary!

Time flies when you’re having fun. It’s hard to believe that today marks the ten month anniversary of my surgery. It’s been two months since my last update, and the decision to have surgery is still the best decision I’ve made!

Well, numbers first. I’m currently weighing in at 179.5 pounds. Can I tell you how happy that makes me? For about a month, I hovered between 180-182. Most of that was me and some decisions I was making around snacking – not necessarily good decisions – but they were mine, and I own them. In total, I’m down 122.5 pounds. I essentially have lost my 12-year-old-self. Literally. I’ve lost a whole person!

My Exercise Continues

Over the last month or so, I’ve been doing a new exercise program, which is the 80 Day Obsession on Beachbody. It’s been going really well, and I like it a lot. I do tend to do the programs with the TV on mute while listening to music; I find the instructor to get on my nerves easily. So to avoid swearing at the TV, mute it is! Either way, it’s a great program that I was always afraid to try. I’m disappointed that I didn’t start it earlier, but I’m glad I’m doing it now. I’m officially into Phase 3 of the program, which is a whole new set of exercises, and I’m enjoying it. It’s definitely helped to tone me up, and I need that! I have taken pictures on Day 1, Day 27, and Day 51 so far and while I’m very critical of myself, my husband insists that he sees a big difference in how toned my body looks.

What’s a Healthy BMI?

While it’s been ten months since surgery and I’ve met with my surgeon quite a few times since then, I finally met with my PCP last week for the first time! He was very happy with my progress all around. I talked to him about an “ideal weight” because it’s something that I hadn’t yet had the chance to talk to my surgeon about yet. According to the BMI charts, in order for me to be in the “Normal” range, I need to weigh between 107.8 – 145.6 pounds. In my own head, My personal goal is 145. Once I hit 145, I can reevaluate and see if I want to lose more weight. However, a goal of 145 puts me at needing to lose 34 more pounds.

When I asked my doctor what my “goal weight” should be, his follow-up question was, “Well, how tall are you?” At my 5’4″, he suggested anything between 160-170, stating that a BMI between 27-29 was good, as a BMI of 25 can be impractical. I’m using his suggestion as an interim goal. Goal 1: 170. Goal 2: 160. Reevaluate. Goal 3: 150? 145? I don’t know. We’ll see where I go from there.

Ten Months later, I actually enjoy shopping!

Shopping for clothes is fun again. I always used to tell my sister, “It’s not bad enough that I’m fat, but even the clothing companies punish me for it. The affordable clothes are hideous, and the nice clothes are way too expensive!” While I still feel this is true, I also have been loving being able to buy clothes in a size 12. I was able to go onto ThredUp and find some really cute pants – all in size 12 – and they fit! Shirts are hit or miss right now. I’m still working on toning up my arms, so some shirts in a regular size L don’t fit great. It’s tough because typically XL is too big everywhere but the arms. However…I had this issue with shirts even before I gained all my weight. So I’m trying not to be too critical of myself about the whole issue.

I’ve found that I can even go shopping in my closet! While I’ve gotten rid of most of the clothes that I had when I was heavier, I saved a ton of stuff from before I started gaining weight. It’s been a lot of fun rediscovering those clothes and finding that someone of them are now too big!

Food, Food, Glorious Food

I still love food and I don’t think that’s ever going to change. I have been continuing to track all my food in MyFitnessPal, and it’s going well. I’ve been tracking about 1200 calories a day, and maintaining at least 70 grams of protein. 70 grams of protein is usually a “bad” day for me. Usually, I’m getting closer to 90. I have noticed that I’ve been a little more lax with carbs. Nothing like I used to eat, but still higher than even 3 months ago. I’m going to start to pull that back in and track with more intent so that I can get down to the goal weights my doctor has set for me.

I’ve continued Meal Prepping every week, and that really helps me to stay on track with healthy eating. One of my favorite snacks has been Fage 0% yogurt. If I can find it on sale, the 6oz containers are the perfect size. If not, I buy the big 32 oz containers and break it down into my own 6oz containers, instead. Cheese Sticks and a few Multigrain Crackers and another easy and favorite snack of mine. I also recently bought the little 100 calorie snack packs – Almonds & Walnuts. They’re good, but I’m still trying to decide if they’re really worth the 100 calories. You really don’t get a lot! I really need to put together a big list of good snack foods that are really easy and healthy.

All in all, I’ve been continuing on my weight-loss journey and I’ve been enjoying every minute of it! It’s not easy, but if the last ten months have taught me anything, it’s that easy isn’t always best!