**100**

FEB 2013

Well, it's official.   I weighed in at the dietitian's today and confirmed my own weigh in this morning.  I am down 100 lbs.

This is my celebration post.   I had my celebration snack this morning and we high fived at the office today, so now is the celebration post.

I find it just so unbelievable that I just lost 100 lbs.   Well, I didn't 'just' since it took 13 months to do it. Thirteen months of struggling, cheating, working hard and just chugging along.

Down 100

 So let's review:
13 months to lose 100 lbs.

52 pound lost Aug 18-October 25
15 lbs gained Jan-April.
Started PSMF at the end of April and June: lost 63 (including that 15).

Down from a size 30/32 to a size 20.

Walked two 5Ks. Regularly do 10K steps a day.  Feeling healthier than I have in a very long time.

Although yes I'm celebrating, I'm also cognizant of the fact I still have work to do.  My original goal weight is 37 lbs. away.  My dear friend Margery has said to me numerous times that I am going to surpass that.  I probably will.  It's too much to think about right now.  I need to have patience.  

Am I incredibly proud of myself, you betcha!  There was a time when trying to lose 5 lbs. was a battle.

I look like a different person in those 2 photos.   Shocking.

This next picture is one I took yesterday.  I am drowning in my clothes.  The pants I've owned forever and either "just fit" or were extremely tight.  This is the first time that they're baggy.  Very baggy and hanging off me.

That blouse. I love that blouse. I bought it awhile ago and wore it a few times. Then I started losing weight and realized it would be super baggy, so I bought one 2 sizes lower.
That's the one I have on in this photo.

I looked online and it's still available, but only in a size 30.  Sorry, not that desperate for it.  So in a few short weeks, I'll have to get rid of this blouse as well.

I think one of the reasons people are shocked when I do wear something flattering is they're so use to seeing baggy things and it hides a lot of my progress. 
When I wear tighter items, it shows my work off and that is what shocks people.

Interesting.....

The Hula Hoop project:
Still trying to work on that thing.  Still can't keep it going and I try every day.   Again not sure if it's me or the wrong size. I'll still keep trying though.

SO thank you again for reading. Thank you for following and your support.  Thank you!

Celebration?

OK, I'm not sure if I should really be celebrating or not.

I got on my scale this morning and based on that, I hit a big milestone.  I celebrated by allowing myself 2 cookies for breakfast.

Then I got dressed and realized, today is my Dietitian appointment.  This is the real measure. The official measure and it might not be the same....  SO

this is a preliminary post ...celebration is held off for either later today or tomorrow?  Or whenever it's "official".

SO, if you happened to be lucky enough and log on and see this post before I tell anyone ....you know something's going on. :)

One thing I did notice today though, I have only lost about 13 pounds between visits. While that is still good progress, my lapses in the diet this past month have greatly affected my weight loss total.  That is no ones fault but my own.  I chose to 'cheat big' and I know that. 

Maybe I'll still be able to celebrate in spite........check back after 3PM to see if I hit it.

Hula hoop part 2, New Shoes, New Jeans and more....

It's Sunday!  Right now it's looking pretty nice outside. Nice to me equals the sun being out and no rain...Yay.

Well, good luck to Sarah who is running her first half marathon today! Kick Butt!!

So, if you read the last post you know I purchased a weighted hula hoop.   Yikes.  It's really freaking hard.   Am I really that uncoordinated?  I've watched tons of videos on how to keep it up, but I just can't do it.  I'm beginning to wonder if I have the wrong size or if it really is because I am not able to move enough.   I'm going to keep on trying. 


My trusty ole pair of NB

So, those of you who have followed me from the beginning know that last year I gave in and bought a pair of new shoes to help with my walking.  Prior to this, I was a payless tennis shoe girl.  $25 for a pair of shoes that lasted me about 6 months usually.  

I wear my tennis shoes to work all the time, even before I began all my walking.  I'm assuming that due to my weight, the pressure on my feet was pretty bad.  It was painful to wear anything that didn't have a strong arch & heel support.     So last year, knowing I needed a good pair of shoes, I bit the bullet.  I bought a pair of New Balance.

I wore those shoes practically every day. I walked in them MILES upon MILES. I lost a lot of weight in those things.   Best pair of shoes I ever owned.  Only now, they're looking a little worse for wear. I knew it was time to get another pair.

I hate that they cost an arm and a leg, but I love the support they give and that they last.  The other thing that sucks is my shoe size.   The beloved pair I owned were men's. My gigantic foot size was not carried in women's. 



My New pair

Yesterday after stopping at several shoe stores, we ended up back at New Balance. Again I had to get men's shoes.  I like these though. They are 'smaller' overall, so my feet do not look quite so gigantic.
At the time of my typing this up, I do not have a picture, but by the time you read this, I'll add them :)
I'll let you know how the new pair is working out.

When I returned from my TN trip, I bought myself a new pair of jeans.  They were supposed to be fitted.  I wore them yesterday (I looked quite good in my outfit btw). They've already stretched out and now I have the feeling they will not last much longer.  GRRRR.  I'm tired of having my clothes hang off me.  Is something fitted too much to ask?  


Side by Side

It's at that point that I will not be buying new clothes for a few weeks. I have a feeling I'm going down a size again.

So, progress check.  After trying to sabotage myself -I think I'm good again.   Rich is really being supportive and trying to help me as much as he can.  
So with that being said, today's GRAND TOTAL (different than what My Fitness Pal is reporting) as of this morning is......98 pounds.     Just a reminder of the 4 lb difference between MFP and the grand total.  Grand Total is the difference from what I weighed at the start of all this and MFP is what I input after I bought my tracking scale. I had lost 4 lbs in that time.  

So, almost there to the triple digits.   I have an appointment with Gretchen on Wed, so I am hoping to post the celebration then.        GO ME!!!!!!!!!!




Pretty Neat?

Hula hoop.....

So, a few weeks back for the Biggest Loser, we had a hula hoop contest .

I can't do it.   I don't know what happened, but I cannot keep it up. I tried and tried and couldn't do it.

This frustrates me. Have I been so unable to move for so long, that I've forgotten?  
Seriously WTF?

Like all things that I find I am unable to do, I want to conquer it.   So today I purchased a weighted hula hoop.

Yeah, it's going to take me awhile........

Sunday Update and Cave exploring.



Hey. Just me.

 

Hey! How's things going for all of you? Big plans for Labor Day?
Nothing planned here except for walking plans.
 
This week....
There was a lot happening this week.
 
As I mentioned in last week's post, I was very bad.

I got back on track and worked my butt off to stick to the diet AND walk.
For mid-season weigh in, I was down. Not as much as I should have been due to my bad choices, but down.
 
I did a work out at work and sweated my butt off.  Worked to get my steps in. 
I've lost one more pound, so that was a good thing.
 
Yesterday we did something I would never have done prior to beginning all this.  We went cave exploring.  Rich drives to Columbus, Cincinnati, & Dayton a lot for work. Since he isn't near any large highways to get down there, he takes a lot of country roads.  In his journey, he discovered there was a place not too far from us.  He LOVES caves and we decided to head to the place he discovered on his treks.
 
Seneca Caverns
From the website:
Seneca Caverns in Bellevue, Ohio is one of area's largest underground caverns, and one of America's most fascinating geological wonders.



While I did not earn a lot of steps for this adventure, I did earn a lot of physical points for this visit.

There was A LOT of climbing, twisting, bending, and ducking for this one hour adventure.  It was VERY physical and I'm so excited about all that.  This was a very intense physical trip and I was able to keep up and do it with minimal issues.  My left knee did bug me as I climbed down the natural stairs, but not enough to deter me.

This is something I would never have been able to do at all last year. I'd have been too big to squeeze through a few of the passage ways and there is no way I'd have been able to do all the moving required for this trip.   It was a lot of fun.   We are discussing plans to do more caves next summer.
  



Heading down to the next level



If you really want to do something different that has a bit of a physical aspect to it, you should look into a Cave Tour.   

 

Rich is definitely liking my new diet and exercise focus. 

He is loving the meals I make. I have to come up with ideas to keep food from getting "old" from having the same meal over and over with. 

 

He loves saying "I love your diet" as he finishes off dinner or a lunch I've made for him.

 

He loves the exercise part because he's a nature guy. He loves going on hikes and loves loves loves cave exploring.  The fact that I can do thing like this and that I want to.  

 

I wonder if we still lived in Japan if we'd do Mt Fuji again? Guess we'll never know.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Getting ready to go through 'duck rock' 	 Look what we're going to have to crawl through 
 Going down? 	   from 1921 
 Stopping for a selfie 

To read more about Seneca Caverns:

http://www.senecacavernsohio.com/

 	 
	 

 Hello from 'down under'     Baby stalactites     stalactites forming the 'edge' of the rocks       Squeeze on through     Level 7 was flooded. 

 

 



 

 

 





 

August 24, 2014 Fox8 Foxtrot benefitting the Wounded Warrior Project

Morning.

 DONATE HERE!

http://www.woundedwarriorproject.org/



Before the FoxTrot

This morning I walked my 2nd 5K.  
I'm pretty proud of myself. I did pretty well-comparing to myself. :) I did a personal best, which I'm super stinkin proud of.
 
Additionally, it was for a very good cause, the Wounded Warrior Project.  Please consider donating to it.
 


After returning home, I even walked the dogs. It wasn't a long walk, but it was a walk never-the-less.  AND it's not even noon yet.
 
So, I was talking in an earlier post about my time being around an 18 min mile.   I was averaging a 16+ minute mile today.  Soo awesome.  
Here's the official results:
 

Place within age group	BIB #	Place Overall	Chip time	Gun Time
145	1207	2416	52:19.5	54:10.0

 
 Chip time, for those unfamiliar with that, is the time the chip on my bib registered me going over the start line to the finish line.



Photo after Foxtrot

SO I have some news to be proud of.

And I need news to be proud of as I am also now going to tell you that I've been very bad. 
I can blame it on being sick (which I have been). I can blame it on not having food in my house (which I didn't). I can blame it on anything but the real reason is I just didn't care this week.  I felt like crap and so ate crap.  I didn't walk as much as I should have and I do have a legitimate reason for one day.  Because of my lack of control, I've gained.  I have gained about 7 lbs.   I'm not really sure since I haven't weighed myself first thing in the morning like I should.  

So, I've been bad. I'm paying for it.  I'll get back on track tomorrow. 

SO as I said, good news is that I did a personal best time. Bad news, my eating this week is going to bite me in the butt come mid season weigh in.. I will have good news next week. Promise.

One Year

Alright, so I'm a day off.
Happy Anniversary to me.

August 16, 2013 I had my consult and various appointments associated with my surgery.
August 18, 2013/August 19,2013 I started my official weight loss 'journey'.
http://lbsweightlossjourney.blogspot.com/2013/08/day-of-appts-consult.html

It's been a hell of a year.  In the 365 days that followed I met and blew away goals. I have become healthier. I've become happier. But most importantly, I have become smaller WITHOUT the aid of surgery.

It's been said to me by numerous people that the change in me is very apparent.  Not only physically but emotionally. I appear to be happier and a more confident person.  I guess I agree with that.  I don't find myself sulking away in the corner trying to hide because I'm embarrassed or ashamed or in pain.  I like to socialize.   I'm told I tend to walk with my head up and shoulders back vs the hunched over look.

Where I once could only walk a few hundred feet before the pain overtook me, I am now able to comfortably walk several miles.

Where I once just wanted to walk my dogs, it's a normal everyday thing. 

I have so much energy. Where I once was prone to depressive moods, I haven't really suffered from one in awhile. 

My battle is long from over.  I still have quite a bit of weight to lose, but I'm not thinking "how the heck am I going to ever do this."  No. I'm thinking, "How long till I get there?" 

A big Wow for me was the clothes shopping I did this weekend.  Down another size and just so giddy to be there.   

I do want to take a moment to thank some specific people.  These people have been some of my biggest and most vocal supporters from day one.   Your friendship and support have meant the world to me.  

Thank you to Sarah for all her support, encouragement, laughter, and friendship.  Thank you for also being a sounding board and cheerleader.  

Thank you to Margery for her tell it like it is attitude and support. She always has been my devils advocate and loudest cheerleader.  I'm grateful you're in my life and hope we never lose touch again. Thank you.

Karen-Thanks for your support at work and keeping me on track on those days I have weakness.  Your observations and support keep me from straying and help keep me focused.

Erin-who may or may not read this but who constantly pushes me (especially with our Biggest Loser contest).  Thanks!

Jenny-One of the first people I told about the surgery and huge supporter/cheerleader. You can always find her comments on my posts.  Next NKOTB show we attend together, I will be able to stand the whole show and we'll have a blast.   Your friendship and support is something I appreciate greatly.

My parents for always loving me no matter the size and supporting me through the ups and downs.  You guys really are the best and I am grateful to have you in my life.  Love you.

Jenni--Your weight loss was incredible and sparked my desire to really do something. That's why I followed my Dr's recommendation to follow the bariatric surgery route...I wanted someone to look at me like I did the first time I saw you after your incredible weight loss.

Katey--You were the first person to say "You look like my Laurie again".  That has stuck with me and am glad that after all these years we're still in each others lives.

To the rest of you that I do know and those who read that I don't know, thank you for coming back to read.  Your silent support does help.  Knowing that my words are being read and must mean something to someone.  

Do not take it personally if you were not named.  The way I blog is 'unconscious freeform". I think it, it gets typed.  I rarely edit and sometimes forget what I'm going to write.   I do see your likes on FB, your comments here and on FB.  I do know who is cheering for me.    I do thank you. 

As I said, I have a ways to go, but unlike before, I'm confident I'll get there. It's no longer a how, just a when.