WEESIE

Well I did it! Today I made a commitment to exercise daily! :Dancing_wub: Yes you heard me right I finally got off my butt and made a full fledge commitment to exercise 30 minutes every day. So what was my motivation. Thank you Judy Jones. I read your blog the other night about you losing 59 pounds but had never been committed to exercise. I was right there with you, I have exercised off and on but never completely committed to doing the deed. For Christmas I bought myself a treadmill and have used it off and on, I have a gazelle, it makes a nice clothes hanger in the spare room. But I have just not had the drive and motivation to be consistent. So you ask why now, well it is a short story. Our insurance rates are going up at work, starting in September. To get 800 dollars back on our annually premiums we were required to do a health assessment with employee health. Well, even though I have dropped from 248 to 180 I am still OBESE! What an ugly word, but it didn't sit well with me. My total cholesterol was 196, my HDL is only 47 and my ratio was 4.7. Well that was a slap in the face, I eat healthy, I eat around 900 to 1000 calories a day, 60-80 gms of protein, I take my vitamins religiously, I drink all my water, I write my food down and I don't cheat. I count every morsel I put in my mouth. So what is left. EXERCISE! Stop being a couch potato :behindsofa: in the evenings, get off your ass and EXERCISE!!!! Sorry to curse but I need to get motivated and being the stubborn Italian I am sometimes, stupid has to slap me in the face. So today, I joined Curves, made the appointment this morning for 3pm, did my measurements, signed up and made my commitment and first 6 appointments. I am so excited and pumped this evening. You see I am one of those people who does better with goals, especially if I am PAYING for them. I spend all that money on exercise equipment but there is nothing that pushes me. Obviously if I could do things on my own I would never have gotten OBESE or had weight loss surgery. I also joined with a friend, so we made a commitment together. She had gastric bypass 18 months ago and has lost 135 lbs, needs to lose another 25 but is stuck. We both figured if we did this together we would keep each other motivated. When they did my assessment they asked me what size I wanted to be, I said a size 10. Boy did I pick a lofty goal, I am 5'1" 55 years old and that makes me need to lose 52 to 53 inches and about that many pounds to reach this goal. That would put my weight at about 128-130. I am not real sure about that goal, it may be a bit lofty for me but just to set a goal and make a commitment to myself and now all of you know so I have to be accountable to myself and the entire lap band community because everyone is watching now. I had to laugh, she said, "How do you feel about your thighs?" I had to laugh, then I said, "Well there a little chubby right now and I would like for them to stop jiggling." My thighs measure 27" each and I set my goal for 24-25 inches. All of my life I have been called "Thunder Thighs" Well Ms. Thunder Thighs is going for the gold. I will keep you in the loop, I start on Monday at 7am, my friend Janet and I decided to exercise , 3 days a week before work and 2 days a week after work and on Saturdays we will do mornings. Sundays will be on our own to commit to some type of exercise, yard work, house work, bike riding, swimming or using one of the two exercise machines I own. Dr. Anderson would be so proud of me!:Banane43:

So today was a good day. I didn't have much pain but I was really tired all day. I don't know why and I just went with it. I sat in the front yard for a couple of hours and enjoyed the sunshine.
My Body Bugg arrived today. I am trying to learn how to use it with my phone. I'm excited because the first time I put it on was as I took a walk down the block. I would like to enjoy exercise. I never have. I'm looking for a lot of changes in my life and maybe that will be the first one.

Okay, I joined the rec center in town so I can use the gym. Wednesday I rode this stationary bike that has a program that takes me on a trail that I can see on the tv screen in front of me. It was really fun and helped me pass the time. I did the 0.9 mile trail in 16 minutes. followed by walking 1/5 mile on the walking trail. I thought, this is no problem...I can go every day. Then I woke up yesterday exhausted. I'm not very strong yet. So I laid around most of the day.
Today is a new day and I feel mostly rested. I am going to go buy groceries, make and freeze some low call Quiche and then try the workout routine again.
 
BTW, I have fibromyalgia and my progress is always slow, but I am determined to learn to exercise. Baby Steps are better than No Steps.

I am at the lowest weight I have been in a long time. I am down from four blood pressure pills to three a day. So I went to Walmart to shop. Before I was half way finished I felt so weak and tired I wasn't sure I could finish. When I went near the pharmacy to get my Gas X, I saw the blood pressure machine and used it as an excuse to sit down. While there I might as well check my blood pressure again. It was 170/110 after surgery. Today it was 110/58. I suspect the weakness is related to not being used to such a low number. I hope I see two pills today in my near future.
 
So, weight loss=lowered blood pressure =weakness=less medicine.

Lane Bryant was having a sale so I figured I'd stop in since most of my shirts and jeans are falling off of me. As I stopped at the first table of cropped pants there was a size 16 on top of the pile. I thought "Dare I?" and then figured "Ah what the hell, it couldn't hurt." I took an 18 in the same size just in case. After making my rounds I went into the fitting room, my heart beating fast. I can't even remember the last time I could fit into a 16. I couldn't believe I was even daring to try them on.
I pulled them on, zipped them up, and they fit! A little snug around the tummy area (everything is for me) but who cares? They fit! I have officially dropped two dress sizes since surgery! The lap band has exceeded my wildest dreams. A few months ago, I was terrified that I would go through the rigors of surgery only to fail as I have so many times before, afraid that I would be one of the ones that the surgery didn't work for. Now two and a half months later, I'm stepping into a size I haven't fit into in years and feeling great. I love you Bandy!!!