hibbyangel

Send Message

Block

Add Friend

So apparently I have forgotten to write a blog the past few months. In my defense..I've been busy. So Christmas was hard for me. So many temptations and a weak mind resulted in me indulging in things that I really shouldn't have. Which of course resulted in a few episodes of dumping..you would really think that would be enough to steer me clear of it...apparently my week mind had control of the wheel and well that being said...January was MUCH MUCH better. Got back on track. A friend of mine who lives in Australia wanted to start a challenge on the NIKE+ running app we both use to kind of keep us in a small competition..By the time I left for my first out of country vacation on January 28th  I had ran the most miles in a month I had ever run. clocking in at 53.24 miles. My previous best was 34.02 miles a few months previous. I won by only .2 of a mile that month. but man did I gloat :)..he's a good sport though! So we went to Cuba for a week. It was sunny and beautiful the whole time we were away. we walked so much everyday my legs ached to lay down by 10 pm every night. I only got out for one run, but it was awesome running across the beach. We went on the Catamaran and snorkled a few times. absolutely beautiful. Before I left for vacation though I had my 6 month follow up in Toronto. Dr. Huynh was concerned with a pain that I had been having in my lower intestine on the left side. He had a scope planned and a ultra sound booked for when i returned from vacation. I had to cancel the scope but went to the ultrasound and of course they did not find anything wrong...but this is where it started getting crazy.

My on and off pain  started becoming more frequent..long duration and new symptoms of extreme dizziness..symptoms almost like motion sickness, a lot of burping (which normally isn't normal for me) and not passing normal amounts in terms of bowel movements. I was sure that the new symptoms had nothing to do with the belly pain(the motion sickness anyways) I could barely stand let alone run (even though I still got 16 miles in during February). My GP said I just had an ear infection and gave me a prescription for antibiotics. 3 days later I finally got a hold of Dr. Huynh and he wanted me to rush down to the ER in Toronto to be looked at. They had an x-ray done and they could see that my bowel was inflamed but they did not know what the cause of it was. Needless to say I was put on the emergency surgery list and stayed the night at Humber and had surgery before lunch the next day. Turns out that I had a hernia that was grabbing my intestine and twisting it..then letting it go..no damage to my intestine just looked a little inflamed. They stitched up the hernia. Spent a couple of days in the hospital, but as soon as I woke up ALL of my crazy symptoms had disappeared. Dr huynh wasn't convinced that the hernia was my only problem..but I knew right away that it was. I spent a month recovering at home and was cleared to go back to work a couple of weeks ago now. I have had very little pain from the hernia site and any pain i do have is different then it previously was. My best guess is that it is healing related. 

I joined a gym a few days before the doctor cleared me to start working out again (March 25 is when I saw the doctor)...I have been back full force since I was cleared. During the last weeks of March I ran 47.38 miles (15 of those the last day of March so I could beat my running competition for a second time! ~gloat gloat gloat~) I feel fantastic though. In terms of weight loss I am bouncing between 178-180 lbs. I had a polar body age test done today at the gym. the thing claims I am 32...real age is nearly 30. If my blood pressure was normal during the test (it never is when someone besides myself if taking my blood pressure) I would be 28. My blood pressure since surgery has been normal so I am going with 28..I deserve that! 25ish pounds to goal..hoping to get there before my 1 year mark. 

Signed up for 3 fun runs this year. The first one is 3 days after my 30th birthday...it's a Color me Rad race on June 29th. The Next Race is the Warrior dash (the one I couldn't do last year because it was 3 days post surgery and I was very disappointed) July 19th. The third race is my first 10 km race around the shores of Owen Sound. I am planning on doing another 10 km night race is I can find another soul brave enough to come with me. That is all the fun stuff going on with me. Will try to blog soon and I should have new pics soon (around the 17th of April). 

1. Buying a ticket to the Warrior Dash (late January)..giving myself motivation to train for a 5 km fun run. 

2. Getting my first call to come for Orientation March 5th

3. Getting through all the hoops and getting my surgery Date in May 

4. Celebrating my 29th birthday like it was my last (mostly because I will not get older then 29..right?!?)

5. Selling my warrior dash ticket because I was having surgery just a 3 days before the race (this actually broke my heart.. I really wanted to go)

6. 3 weeks post op being cleared for exercise and having the energy and motivation to train for a new 5 km challenge 

7. Completing the CIBC run for the Cure in October

8.Dragging my children to complete the Reindeer Romp 5km family fun run on Christmas Eve morning. 

9. The countless NSV's.. to name a few..no more high blood pressure or swollen feet, I can wear regular size clothing, wrap a towel all the way around me after a shower...

10. Booking a well deserved trip to Cuba (we leave on Jan 29th)..it is my first vacation out of the country and without my children!

11.  My husband quit smoking and drinking because he wanted to! :)

12. My children are both succeeding in school, which they have always struggled to do so. 

13.. Losing 75 lbs in 5 months...has changed my life in many more ways then I can even describe!

Bring on 2014!

so it FINALLY happened..I FINALLY hit 199.0 this am..I have been toying with 3 pounds for a month or so...but today i marched right past it and into the 100's..that makes some where between 40-50lbs to go!

     SO this month is just a new edition to last. I have been super busy running around in circles from one appointment to the next and don't forget work. My daughter has been at the dentist every week having her appliances put in..which is a whole process in its self.  I am glad that we are at the point of monthly visits now though for adjustments. I am still losing weight at a snails pace and I really am not sure what else I can do to improve the momentum of loss. I am currently sitting at 200.6lbs..really it couldn't give me .7lbs before I stalled out again? REALLY!!

This past month I did well with fitness. I attended boxing class once a week (wed night) and I ran nearly every other day(13 times) for a total of 34.02 miles (54.75 km) to compare this I only ran 24.78 miles (39.88 km) in October. I have been suffering some sort of injury to my right knee cap. It is an on going issue but it comes and goes..and well I wish it would go. I have a feeling though that i might need to have a doctor look into it to actually see what is wrong. Though I am almost sure it is damage due to my large size for the past 10 years..and well knee replacements run on both sides of my family (in fact my mother is going tomorrow to have her knee replaced) ..needless to say it some what hampers my efforts in running. Some days its fine..other days it hurts right out of the gate. I started taking this supplement called hyloronic acid (HLA) so we shall see if it lubes up my joints as promised. 

I have fluttered a little bit down the road of not eating exactly what I am supposed to. Which I really need to stop. I am not entirely sure what is triggering me to eat things off plan..but I am totally aware that I am doing it. I don't do it every day and it is usually just a bite of one thing or another..but I suppose I need to figure out what I am doing it for. I will require a slap on my own hand in the coming weeks with all these Christmas goodies and parties and what~nots!

My WLS support group is holding a SF cookie exchange on Thursday. So i guess i will have some better alternatives to the sugar kind that are hanging around at such Christmas events. I found a recipe on the eggface site for chocolate mint protein fudge. I looked long and hard for a recipe that was still good for us to consume..yet tastes like a yummy treat. so far they look and taste awesome. I hope everyone that is participating love them to. 

any ways that is all I have for now..I will take more pics around the 5th. 

Month 3 has been exciting and frustrating in many ways. at 2.5 months out (October 6) I completed my first 5k..that day i weighed in at exactly 50 lbs down..I was so excited. So many good things and plenty of awesome memories from the run, our whole team crossed the finish line within the 45 min mark. I forgot to look at the clock when I crossed over BUT I was around 43-44 mins. It was sopping wet and cold..but we made it and I am proud of myself for completing a goal I had set out for myself.  My previous self would start training for a 5 km and then give up when it got hard or got hurt because running was hard on the knees.

So soon after that my weight stalled...and my hair started falling out by the handfuls :( ..I bumped up my running and cut all my hair off...neither of which solved either problem. So I bumped up my calories, played around with the stuff I have been eating. More carbs..less carbs.. more protein..etc etc etc. Started boxing class, ran more, did some exercise videos (if anyone has ever experienced Jillian Michaels 30 day shred..its no walk in the park) I have damn well EARNED more weight then I have been given on the scale this month..and I know the whole blah blah inches crap is usually the case..but in this case..2 inches this month..so clearly..Im just stalled and IM PISSED and its not fair...and honestly it makes me want to eat all the crap I can get my hands on.  End of rant!

My hair has slowed down in its falling out though..so that is a plus. I might have one hair left on my head by the end of it :)

The best thing that has happened this month...happened this past Sunday. I was bored..and it was a nice but cold day..so I decided to go for a run in the afternoon. My hubby dropped me off on the side road near our house and I took off with the intention of doing 2-3 miles depending how I felt when I got there. I got to 2 miles  without issue..ran past 3miles..got to 4 miles..still wasn't tired..told myself I would stop at 5 (because I have never run past 4 miles)..got to 5 miles and I could see the stop sign at the end of my road...so i went for it...the end of the road was 5.6 miles(9 km) from my house and it took me 65 mins to get there and I felt great! Earlier last week I ran 4 miles in 58 mins...Proud of myself doesn't even begin to explain how I felt about myself.  6.2 miles is 10 km and that is my next goal. I plan on running a 10 km in the spring but it is interesting how far I have come in such a small amount of time.  As much as my stall ticks me off to no end, I am happy that I see great improvement in my fitness level.

Thats all I got for now...

So I am a few days late in writing an update on my progress so far. I believe that my total on my 2 month was -42.6lbs and -28.25 inches. I have been feeling a little awkward in public lately..and well normally I am not the type to give a damn what others think of me..but that has been the exact opposite of what is happening lately. I am positive that it had something to do with even my sweat pants were falling off. This week I had to retire a bra as i was falling completely out of it..pretty much defeats the purpose of having it on right? I went down a full cup size and 2 inches off the band. Then this weekend I had to go to the mall with my daughter and ended up buying myself a few things..new jeans and a few tops..tops 3 sizes smaller and jeans 2 sizes. No wonder I felt awkward in public wearing stuff 3 sizes to big :) 

14 days until myself and a few girls from WLS support group and my youngest sister ..and a few others run a 5 km for CIBC run for the cure. Since week 3 I have been hard at running every other day..and for the most part I have kept that up and also started going to aqua fit with my friend. I feel amazing and strong. It is very hard to imagine that ones body changes and adapts so quickly to the new life. 

I do believe that I have found out that I am intolerant to wheat. I ate some bread for the first time last week and all of a sudden I was suffering from sinus troubles and obnoxious headaches (which i had chronic problems previous to surgery)..I wasn't sure If I was getting sick as I felt like crap in general. I stopped eating wheat again and magically my sinus issues and headaches have disappeared. Probably been allergic my whole life..sad i just figured that out now..but glad i made the connection. 

Anyways loving my new life 72.4lbs to goal..onward and downward!

~Brittany~

This month has been a whirl wind of busy..its flown by in a blink of an eye and I'm not sure that my brain has caught up. I went to my surgeon check up on week 3. He O.K.'d me to start working out again and doing what I wish as long as I wasn't in any pain. 

So of course anyone who knows me..I strapped on my shoes and headed straight into running. How I have missed running...I used to run in my previous life. I was training for a 5 km with my little sister. My surgery date ended up 3 days before the run and I couldn't go. Probably one of my biggest disappointments of the year. ANYWAYS fast forward to now. I ran hard and strong...didnt want to over kill my first week back running, but I did well and ran 3 times this week increasing my pace each time. It wont be long before I am running 12 min miles again. Also I am going to commit to running a 5 km in October. My sister doesn't know it yet but she will be running with me. 

Only 2 weeks left until school, 8 days until I return to work (at a reduced schedule for 2 weeks)...this week is turning out to be filled with things to do. My fiance is on holidays, so tomorrow we plan on taking the girls on the glass bottom boat tours in Tobermory, we are getting off the boat to tour Flower Pot Island and hike up to the light house museum before returning to the boats again. None of us have been so I think it should be a fun day out. The rest of the week he will be busy with putting new siding on the house and I will be busy with school shopping, play dates and appointments. . and maybe if the weather holds out I might just be able to squeak in a tiny visit to the beach. 

I haven't gotten around to taking body shots yet, but in Lieu I posted a head shot. this morning I was down 30.4lbs..Here's to another month with many successes and much weight loss!

Since the blog thingy has been broken, I haven't been able to post. I had my surgery on July 17 th, fairly un eventful..had to stay an extra day because I was throwing up until the morning I left..though I truly believe that it was the lemon jello (yuck). I felpt 200% better the moment I got home..I could go on and on about the poor care received at HRRH but it really was only a few specific nurses. 

My first week at home was good, little pain but very tired. Trying to make a new routine that fits in everything one needs to survive was a bit mind boggling..but I eventually got the hang of it. I suffered a bit of low blood sugars in the first few days but i quickly figured that out. I still struggle to remember to take calcium 3 times a day..on average I've been getting 2. On a plus note..I am getting 60= grams of protein in now. 

I've been feeling really REALLY good the last few days, I even went for a walk on my treadmill yesterday. Took me 20 mins to get a mile in..but I still did it and plan on doing it again today. I couldn't take one more second of the full fluid diet and have been half pureed and half full fluid for 24 hours now. So far so good, everything went down the hatch with no repeat visits. I am scheduled for Pureed stage on Wednesday..so yes its before the time scheduled..but one nurse from the clinic said it was up to me to move on or hold back..I felt ready..I moved on. 

I am starting to get bored though(and so are the kids), its been pretty rainy and cold the past week. I think tomorrow we are going to visit my friend and take all the kids to see Turbo. Maybe take in a little retail therapy..we shall see how I hold up to all the torture. 

Also down 24.8lbs since the start of opti-fast July 3 rd. Cant say I have ever lost that much in just a few weeks. So far life is good..I can't wait for all the things that come next 

So last night was my last meal...and I pretty much had some serious food issues knowing it would be my last mouthful of meat for basicly a month..and well it will be a long time before i get regular texture. I ended up making bbq ribs and homemade french fries..both things that my future will not hold..I had a lot of anxiety about the opti fast being horrible..and not being allowed to eat anything (besides 2c of rabbit food)

I ended up eating to much and making myself have some seriously upset stomach all night and into this morning. I didn't even face my first shake until nearly 10am. I tried the Vanilla first. I was pleasently surprised. The only part I hate about it is that its not colder and the nasty after taste..i suspect is from the artificial sweetners. 

current weight 268.6 ..I will take some before pictures tomorrow on my day off. Life is super exciting. Here's to the next few weeks flying by!

37 days until my RNY Gastric Bypass..23 days until I start Opti-Fast. I'm not usually the type to be extremely excited about anything..EVER! BUT this is the biggest thing that I have ever done for myself, that I have actually followed through with any ways. I am not the least bit worried or scared about the surgery.

Really my only fear is not being able to conquer my eating addicitons and returning to my previous fat self. I know that is irrational thinking and I am sure that I am strong enough to make sure that this is not going to happen. My only other worry is that I can no longer have NSAIDS. Again this is mind over matter. I will figure out a way to deal with my osteo-arthritis pain later.  

Its all very exciting and I can't wait to start my new journey