Saturday, October 29, 2016

Is there anyone out there?

It has been such an incredibly long time since I've been here..... 1 year 2 1/2 months to be exact.... Back then I was banded (with a 10cc Lapband) but that had to be removed.... I changed the name of the blog and am pressing the rest button...But I am leaving my previous posts as reminders...

Where do I begin? The most common question? Why did you have your band taken out?
Back in 2013 I started having problems swallowing, swallowing anything, including water. So I would get fills followed by unfills. I was loosing zero weight, as a matter of fact I was gaining wait, no matter how much I exercised. So after 3 years of fighting with it, I had my band removed March of this year. I have gained 13 lbs since my band was removed which puts me back at my original weight from 2012 before I was banded. 

For the last 6 months I have been working through the hoops required by insurance so I can have a sleeve surgery. I am now two weeks from my scheduled sleeve surgery and keeping my fingers crossed that nothing goes array.

So yes, I am discouraged. I never thought I would be here again. But I am beginning again.... And it is a painful beginning, my feet hurt so bad that crawling would probably be better. My back hurts when I walk, and breathing when working out is ever so difficult. But, I am beginning again....

 

Today marked day two of moving. I walked 1/2 a mile yesterday and 1 mile today.

What can I say about this past year....It's been year of hard lessons, painful changes, coming to terms, and rediscovery.

A year ago I had to make the decision to stop communicating with my mother and my sister due to constant problems. That decision has been bitter sweet. All in all it was one of the best decisions I have made, but emotionally and mentally it has been a struggle I am still working on.

I am in the process of rediscovery, trying to figure out how to love myself. So here we go...off to the races. I am determined to be successful!

Cheers,
Chris

Sunday, August 16, 2015

Day 43....check!

Believe it or not, I have no workout pictures to post over the last 4 days! I must be slacking! But!! Today was day 43 in a row of moving!

Let's see....last post was this past Wednesday. What have I been doing?

Thursday was awesome! I went to the gym and swam 1500 yards (60 laps) in the pool. Took me 37 minutes, and I felt great afterward! Friday I repeated week 3 of the C25K program. Saturday was a light day. I walked 2 miles at a fairly brisk pace and today (day 43) was personal trainer day.

This is totally me when I run. Totally a low runner! But I'm moving! And that's a fabulous thing! And the bonus is I feel awesome!
 
Weight is good. My official weigh in day is Wednesday. as of yesterday I was down 12 lbs. We will see what Wednesday brings.
I really like the Fitbit app for recording my workouts. I had almost 6 hours of work outs last week and over 8 hours the week before. 

My Mio works great for calorie burn counting. I love the heart rate monitor feature and the fact there is no strap! Last week I burned 3898 calories with my workouts!
I have never been big on sushi, but I have been trying new things. I sushi is pretty healthy in moderation. I love California rolls. Although I recently found out they use imitation crab... :(. But I like salmon rolls too. I am not a big fish eater. But this is working for me. And 3 - 4 pieces of sushi fills me up for like 5 - 6 hours!
Friday night I went and saw Shania Twain with a friend of mine. She puts on a great show and she totally has still got it! And with all the dancing I had over 14,000 steps!!

Tomorrow is a run day. Day 44!

I hope everyone is great out there! Keep moving and keep up the good work!
Cheers!
~Chris

Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Chugging along!

Happy Hump Day!!

College orientation - Check!
Day 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, & 39 check too!

Still going! As of last Wednesday I was officially down to 249.4. Tipped those scales past 250!

This week I weigh in today at 250.1... No worries....

College orientation was good! I am sure my daughter will love it there. The hard part is about a month away, but she is here for another month.

Despite the travelling I am happy to report I didn't use it as an excuse to sit around! The hotel had a super small gym. A stationary bike, ellipticals, treadmills and weights. They were pretty cool! Awesome TV screen with awesome course scenery! So we did different stuff daily!

Bicycled...

Elliptical....swimming.... Even go the kid to play along!

 And sweated!
 
Then when I got back.....my trainer kick the S&%t out of me!
He pushes me hard...
 
Reached this milestone today!! Totally by accident! I thought I was repeating week 2 day 3. Turns out this was less of a struggle than I thought it was going to be! YAY ME!!
 
Food has been pretty great too....Most of my lunches look like this! Has been working so well!


I most certainly hope everyone out there in blog land is well and happy!

See you soon!
~ Chris

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Tipped it!!

I started counting my workout days on my 4th of July vacation. July 5th to be exact. I am so excited to report, that after 31 days of working out in a row, my wacky Wednesday weigh in cane in a 249.4!

9.8 lbs lost since June 30th! Took a while to get back here again....but I am on the down side of 250! I'm considering this a win!

Off to Chicago tomorrow for freshman orientation. Quick 3 day turn around trip. Plane leaves at 5:50 AM. I think it's time for bed!
 
Sleep well!
~Chris

Tuesday, August 4, 2015

31 days and counting......

Hi....remember me?

It's been a long time...since May 14th actually. But I have thought about my blog every day, and I have been silently watching other blogs as the days have gone by.

The last 3 months have literally come and gone. In the blink of an eye I have a high school graduate, an 18 year old, a new driver, another high school senior, and a 17 year old, we have reached a new high with my 17 year old's anxiety and things have literally been nonstop.

My sister got married on the 4th of July. I don't know what happened that weekend, but it was a huge turning point for me. I don't know if it was the complete lack of responsibility, the speed boat, the water, or the alcohol. Maybe it was a combination of it all.

But, I spent 7 days by a lake, tubing, speed boating, swimming and on occasion, partying. It was nothing astounding or mind blowing. My sister made it so I didn't have to do any driving, cooking, babysitting, nothing. I was able to totally relax.
For me, this is an incredibly rare thing, I have only found one other place I was able to completely clear my head and that is on my motorcycle. But, after riding a bike, the bustle of everyday would come back quickly and seem as if it never left.

But, this 4th of July weekend, still lingers. I came back with a renewed sense of something. I am not sure exactly what, but I am not questioning it. I have decided to embrace the way I felt that weekend and run with it.

Since I was in upstate NY I decided to visit Niagara Falls from the Canadian side and the US side. So after the wedding I drove the Canada and spent the night. Spent absurd amounts of money (since this is the one and only time I will ever be this close) that I would never spend, on a hotel room....
 with a fantastic view....

 ordered breakfast in....
 and then spent 6 hours walking around Niagara Falls in Canada.



When I got back home to Colorado, I realized that I had been exercising 3 days in a row at this point, swimming, walking, hiking, so the day I got back I continued....Day 4....
And kept on going......
Day 7
And going...
Day 15....
And going....Day 25....
And then suddenly....
Day 30....
And then it happened....Day 31!
31 days in a row of moving!

Conclusion.....In the past I was trying to workout a specific number of days, for a specific amount of time. 1 hour 4-5 days a week. 2-3 rest days. When I got busy and missed a day, I was miserable. I would beat myself up for failing. I got off track and gained 45 lbs back of what I had lost.

I have come to realize, that nothing stays the same. With the girls I am constantly on the go and this routine just doesn't work. SO....I workout now, every morning, whether it be for 10 minutes or 90 minutes. I move, I sweat, I keep fighting.

I was looking into a band revision, but that doesn't look like its going to work out unless I do it on my own. My band is in a great position and nothing is wrong with it. So....I begin again....

Today was day 31, today my workout consisted of dancing with boxing gloves on, kickboxing and moving for 60 minutes.

I do 50 squats and 50 sit ups every day...I do the C25K program 3 days a week, work out with friends 2 days a week, bring my daughter and my dogs along at times, swim, ride my bike, kick box, go to the gym, work out with a trainer, and weight train. No regimented schedule, just whatever I feel like that particular day.

I have not made history, or broken any records, but I am down 8 lbs in the last 31 days. The scale is moving again. I am busting my butt, but I am making progress.....and I am about to tip the scales to the down side of 250 for the first time in 12 months!

My first long term goal, to be under 200 lbs by February 2016 so I can go skiing again! My second long term goal, to lose 100 lbs by August 2016 and run my second 5K. But for now, I concentrate on today, one day at a time, one pound at a time.

In the end, the uphill battle, the depression, the stress, constant struggle, will all be worth the fight. I have learned to survive; every hurdle that I have been faced with, I have managed to overcome. So I fight, for every pound, one day at a time....
; Always Keep Fighting!
Not going to promise a daily blog entry, not making any promises at all, but I won't stay away so long this time around. I just needed to find myself again.....Here's to a new beginning!
 
Cheers
~Chris

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Hey!

Howdie everyone!

Yes, I have been away again. It's feast or famine over here, I'm tellin ya!

In early April, shortly after my last post, I took my daughter to Illinois to visit her future college. My oldest is graduating this year. Scary stuff. Then we had prom, that was a big to-do! Then I was having more problems with my band!

UGH! I'm so frustrated. Back in 2013, when I was doing fantastic with my band, I had to have a surgery that left me inactive for about 6 weeks. OK No problem, but, towards the 4th week, I couldn't swallow, anything! Water was getting stuck.

No worries, off to the doctors, for an unfill. Bummer....
4 weeks later we head back for a refill.....ok no problem for about 2 months. Then again, back to the doctor for an unfill.....ok lets try again.... still doing ok....and then March 2014 rolls around....too tight again....what the heck? How can I be fine for months, and then suddenly not be fine? So time for an upper GI....Welcome to my stomach! Now, I had never seen this before. Fascinating!
This basically shows my band is too tight. So another unfill!
 
Anyway, fast forward, this last year has been a series of fills and unfills. My last fill was sometime in November 2014. I was sitting around 6.25 cc's of fluid in my band, and then suddenly about 3 weeks ago I started getting stuck, vomiting and having bad heartburn. Now I have had mild heartburn basically not stop since November, but it consistently got worse. So I broke down and went to the doctors. The result....
 
An unfill of 3 cc's. After not being able to eat much of anything I can now eat virtually anything. I have felt over the last 1 1/2 years that something is wrong with my band. I would go to the doctor and they would take fluid out and send me on my way. I would ask questions and not really get answers.
 
The last time I went in, they told me that fluid can get into my band and make it fuller. WHAT?!?!? Totally felt blown off at this point. SO.....
 
I found a new doctor. Saw him today. He is sending me for another upper GI. I am in the process of discussing a revision to a gastric sleeve with him. Now don't get me wrong, I have loved my band. No regrets. But the vomiting and heartburn aren't going to work for me. If the revision gets refused then I will continue to go see this doctor.
 
I told him what the previous nurse said on my last visit that fluid can seep into the band and he looked at me funny and said, "That's a new one, haven't heard of that before but ok".
 
In the meantime, he did give me a fill of 1.3 cc's which should leave me sitting somewhere around 4.25 and 4.5 cc's. My previous doctor did not keep good records.
 
Funny thing is, I am NEVER hungry! I am eating  because I know I have to. I drink water and feel full for hours. Even at this current fill level.....
 
OK I have to run, my youngest has a doctors appointment I have to run her to now. Constant I tell ya!
 
I will try to post again soon. My life is just so crazy busy right now.... And frankly, there is some stuff going on that has be depressed.....
 
But, enough about that.....See y'all soon!
~Chris


Monday, March 23, 2015

I wuz here!!

Remember back in the day when we carved "I wuz here" into everything?

Well it has apparently been a minute since I wuz here.....so...

It's 12:43 AM its been a crazy couple of weeks....I have the YoYo thing going on with my weight.....and I think water retention is highly involved in that....

But I am exhausted, kids, work, school, appointments, tennis matches, gym.....So

On that note I am going to carve those words into my blog for now....
I haven't forgotten about y'all!
 
TTFN!
Gnight!
Chris