Karen R.
Mish Mash
Mar 05, 2014
I've had the urge to write a blog post the last several days, but I've had trouble figuring out what exactly I want to say.
I'm in a good place overall, despite the fact that my weight loss has slowed dramatically. I'm six pounds from goal, but haven't lost any weight since February 10th. I got down to 131 for two days, rebounded up to about 133 and then have bounced between those two figures for the last three weeks. I'm eating pretty well, though not as strictly as I was in months previous. I'm typically somewhere between 1,000 and 1,200 calories/day and I'm exercising 4-5 times a week. I'm at the stage where friends say, "You're not going to lose any more, are you?" My own doc today said, "Your weight should be just about perfect for you now. You're not planning to lose any more, I assume." I explained I'm close, but not quite there.
It's weird. I'm not teeny tiny. Honestly. I know I don't see myself clearly all the time, but I also don't think I'm delusional. I still weigh over 130 and I'm only 5'4". It makes me realize how terribly skinny those in the media must be. You read about weights in the teens for women my height. I look at pics of them and think they look good, not anorexic (as a rule). Does the camera add that much weight or is my perception that far off? I'm not entirely sure.
I think part of it is the way the excess skin affects my shape. It's not horrible. I'm not one of those people whose panni is down to her thighs. But I don't really have a waist (or at least one that nips in). My arms never used to bug me, but since the first of the year, Mark has been working my upper body hard. The fat has dropped away and now the extra skin is very noticeable. My thighs are the same way. I took pics for a plastic surgery consult and I was surprised to see I have extra skin on my back too. I don't see it in clothes.
Plastic surgery is the next big "project." I've already got a quote from Dr. Sauceda in Mexico and when I'm home in May, I plan to talk to docs in the Chicagoland area. I want to have my surgery the first week of December and take the rest of the month to recover (I'd normally come back to the States for the holidays anyway). It's crazy to think I've got another major surgery in nine months, but I'm ready for it. I want to get everything "resolved." Though even I as I type that, I know this is a lifetime kind of thing. My weight loss will never truly be over. I'm okay with that.
In the meantime, my biggest delight is how strong I am. I love how fit I've gotten! Mark had me doing pull-ups the other night. Me. DOING PULL-UPS. Wheeeeee! The session before that, I was deadlifting with this massive barbell. I say to Mark, "How much am I lifting?" He glances over casually and says, "A hundred pounds, give or take." One hundred pounds?! I'm lifting one hundred pounds? :-D I asked him what a reasonable goal for something like that would be. "Should I be trying to lift my own body weight?" I asked. He thought about it for a minute and then said, "Yeah. That's totally doable."
I turn 53 next month. I've never been this fit. Never.
I love it.
You know what else I love? Winning my department's fitness challenge. Despite February being a pretty mild month for me when it came to diet and exercise (see my last blog post), I still came out on top. The prize? A massage at the Four Seasons. Score! I'm going on Saturday (and I'm adding on a facial out of my own pocket!).
