Wednesday, March 13, 2013

5 months post-op 2 days early...

So I will be 5 months post-op on Friday! Woo hoo!

What does this mean for me? Well....lets see....it means that 11 months ago I made a choice. I looked in the mirror one day and couldn't smile. I didn't like what was looking back. I stood in the elevator to my office and looked at the ground and couldn't see my feet past my belly. I was winded walking from the parking lot to the building. I was tired ALL the time! And maybe the worst thing of all! I kept telling myself I was fine and I this is all that I was going to become. I was my worst enemy. I had excuses for EVERYTHING!!

One day a VIP in my life said to me. "Please do something, do something for yourself, I need you to be around for a long time." Do something for myself, this is something I never really thought about. So, I called and made an appointment with CBSI for information, and before the appointment was over I had decided to bite the bullet and do something for ME. I didn't do it for the kids, or my mom, or my sisters, or my nephew, or my husband, or my brothers....I did it for ME! With tears in my eyes I looked at my used, run down body, and I said "I will do it for me." I have made so many changes.

The first major choice, I quit smoking. Yikes! I have been smoke free for 11 months today! My excuse before, I didn't want to quit because I would gain weight. And I did. I gained 17 lbs in the 4 months following my decision to change. And I looked in the mirror again, now at my highest weight ever of 274.8 and I was disgusted and angry. That was the moment I decided I would not be defeated. I sat and thought long and hard about what I wanted to do. I found exercise I enjoyed. I started slow, but I started. I lost 14.6 lbs before surgery, leaving me only 2.6 lbs heavier then when I quit smoking 6 months earlier. Proof that I could be smoke free and lose weight! This was the first NSV for me and I didn't even know it.

Since surgery I have lost 41.6 lbs. I have averaged 8.32 lbs per month. I can swim for 20 solid minutes without taking a break, I can walk up 2 flights of stairs and still breath when I reach the top, I can chase the girls around the house and catch them, I can jog for 5 minutes, I sleep solid all night long, I can workout on the elliptical for 45 minutes and live, I have dropped 8 pant sizes, I can see muscle definition in my legs, but most of all, I can look in the mirror and smile. I'm not there yet, I still have 73.6 lbs to go, but I see the hard work paying off. I see the changes in my body, in the way I feel, and in pictures I would have never taken before. And this is only at 5 months. 6 months will be epic!

It's been hard, but the hardest thing, was putting me, and what I wanted before everyone else. I have always taken care of everyone else, and back burnered anything I wanted for me. No one ever asked what I wanted. My VIP said, "I just want you to be happy." I had never thought about those words before. At least not in the context I do now. The first step to being happy, was finding happiness in myself. Believing in me.

So I plug away every day, I sweat, I moan and groan and I complain, and then I breathe and smile. And I see changes. And I've gone from rarely taking pictures:

To being proud of the changes I have made and not being afraid to let the world know it: I am almost 1/2 of me!
SO I say....

HELLO WORLD! I HAD LAP BAND SURGERY TO HELP ME LOSE WEIGHT AND IT'S BEEN A LIFE SAVING & LIFE CHANGING DECISION! IN MORE THEN ONE WAY!
AND I WOULD DO IT AGAIN!

Happy Thursday to you! Have a great day!

17 comments:

  1. Thank you for this post - you are such an inspiration! Putting yourself first is one of the hardest things to do - but it is so worth it!

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  2. I LOVE READING THIS POST! This made me so, so happy. I'm so thrilled for you and glad to share in your journey. Happy bandiversary! :)

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  3. Good for you! Such an inspiring post, my friend. It is so hard for so many of us to remember that we deserve some of our own attention too. That's definitely something I need to remember more often for myself. Hugs to you, and congratulations on your success!

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  4. I have to admit this made me tear up...I am so excited for you and I love following your blog!...*HUGS*

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  5. You've done so great. And you are so grateful and appreciative of it all--which will spur you toward even more success. Awesome and lovely in many ways.

    :-) Marion

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  6. Wonderful post!!! You look so great and will NEVER regret doing this for you! Proud!!! You inspire me!

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  7. Great Post...WE are important!

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  8. So many awesome changes! You're doing great!

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  9. I'm happy for your happy:) And you quit smoking that's fantastic!

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  10. I love this post!!!

    Thanks for the comment on my blog! If you send me your email, I love to comment back! laurawiksten@hotmail.com

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  11. Happy 5 month anniversary! (And congratulations on the changes that go farther back...smoke free for 11 months is pretty spectacular, too!) I'm so happy for you. :-)

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  12. Thank you everyone for all of your support daily! Without you this would be so much harder! Your encouragement keeps me going!! Thank you Thank you Thank you!!!

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  13. Quitting smoking and starting an exercise program would have been incredible things to do for your health even without the weight loss. When you add it all together, it's a huge set of achievements in such a short period. I hope all your positive results will help you keep up your momentum because I love reading about your successes.

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    1. Thank you so much Connie! I love following along with you as well :)

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  14. Best.Post.Ever. Very inspirational! Congrats on all your successes!

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    1. Thank you so much! It's been an awesome ride! So glad to be following you along as well!

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