Winter Wonderland Weigh-In: Week 5

It’s Winter! Which means that the weather turns chilly and a new year is just beginning. This year the period from January through March is going to be a Winter Wonderland for me – a time to focus on my weight loss and to finally, once-and-for-all achieve my pre-surgery weight loss requirement. Sunday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the weekend, and will give me a positive goal to begin each new week.  This is the time of year resolutions are made and then quickly forgotten, but not with me.  I’m going to use this season to refresh my outlook, because I’m embarking on more than just a diet plan, I’m going to establish a lifestyle. My Sunday progress updates will be called Winter Wonderland Weigh-Ins.

Week 5 brought with it the onslaught of PMS, and all the I’m-so-ravenous-I’ve-got-to-eat-it-all-NOW mentality that comes with it. Not to mention the hormonal breakouts near my chin (lovely).  Ugh.

Sounds challenging.  So, what did the scale show?!

This morning I weighed in at 298.0, which is up 1.6 lbs from last week. Which means I have 17 pounds to go to reach the pre-surgery requirement.  I know it’s a gain, and I’m never happy with any sort of movement that’s not in the right direction, but I’m not upset with this number at all.  It’s still below 300, it’s mostly water weight, and I know it will all shed off as soon as I get my period.

This week I really fought hard against the snack attack that hits me late in the afternoons.  Some days I lost, but some days, like Friday, I won.  I was in the middle of a “I’ve got to eat everything NOW” moment, when I just stopped myself from going into the cabinet.  I said to myself, “look, yes, you have PMS, but so what?  It doesn’t need to get the better of you.  Get out of the house and get moving right this minute.  No excuses!”  And that’s exactly what I did.  I threw on my sneakers, strapped on Sofi’s harness and leash, and we headed out the door for a really long walk.  When we got back, my mindset had completely shifted, I wasn’t craving anything other than water, and I knew I could hold out for another 45 minutes until I would start dinner.  Yesterday, I decided to find a healthier solution to my snacking craving and added two red bell peppers, which I dipped in a couple of tablespoons of Bolthouse Farms yogurt dressing, to my lunch.  It was an ideal snack because it offered all the crunch I wanted, and it totally filled me up for the rest of the day.

I’m also proud to say that I got in 5 days of workouts, equaling 295 minutes and 3620 calories burned.  This week, I’m shooting for just one rest day, on Friday, when I’m having a much-needed salon appointment (my grey hair is out of control!).  Here’s my workout plan:

Sunday: OnDemand Kickboxing + Biggest Loser 30-Day Jumpstart DVD
Monday:  elliptical/bike
Tuesday: OnDemand Kickboxing + Biggest Loser 30-Day Jumpstart DVD
Wednesday: aqua aerobics
Thursday: Zumba DVD
Friday: rest day
Saturday: bike ride w/ my sister in Half Moon Bay

I think going to those WLS support groups two weeks in a row was a really good thing for me to do.  Even though I saw a slight gain this week, I’m taking it in stride and feeling very confident that this is just one of the ebbs and flows that I’ve come to know about my body.  Just like any other support group, the Kaiser WLS groups offer me so much motivation, inspiration, and of course, support.  I leave feeling stronger and knowing that I’m not the only one facing certain challenges. I’m definitely going to make it a regular practice.  It works out perfectly – the 3rd and 4th  Wednesdays of the month can be my rest days where I “workout my head” rather than my body.

Until next Sunday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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Support Group = Super Motivated!

Last night I went to a Kaiser WLS support group, and it was the best 2 hours I’ve spent on a Wednesday evening all year.  I walked out of the meeting completely inspired, totally pumped up, and willing myself to get to my “within 5 lbs” phone call by the next meeting (next month).

My other experience with the Kaiser WLS support group was the completely opposite of this one.  The only good thing about that meeting was that I met BeautyJunkie824 for the first time, and our friendship grew from there.  Most of the people in the meeting that time had been post-op for months, all of them having RNY.  The leader spent the meeting knitting and making less than useful comments.  It was so underwhelming that I never went back.

Until last night.  Tinkerbell and I had been chatting about how we’re really supposed to go to the support group meetings and that neither of us had gone to one.  So, we decided to go to this one last night, which was at a different location than the other one I’d gone to.  It had the same leader that I wasn’t impressed with, but this time the big difference was in the support group members.

There were about 10 people who were pre-op, 7 of whom, including me, where getting the VSG.  Two other members were 1-week post-op, and doing great.  The fact that both of them were feeling well enough to get out of the house and attend a meeting was really encouraging.  There were also a few “old timers” who’d had surgeries 1-2 years ago who were giving sage advice to a few people who’d reached plateaus or were experiencing other struggles.  And there were three others who were scheduled for surgeries within the next two weeks.  So exciting!  The combination of new and old really lent itself to lively discussions, advice, and inspiration.

One of the things that really helped me was hearing from a few people who had similar tales as I did.  Two of them had been within 5 pounds of their pre-op goal weight and then gained it all back and had to re-lose the weight, which they did, and were now post-op.  That motivated me more than anything else, because I know that story.  I’ve never been that close only to have it taken away, but I have been striving for this pre-op goal for longer than most.  But as one of the OGs said to me, “you’re on your own journey, going at your own pace.  You were meant to be at this place now so that you could learn more about yourself.”  And that’s exactly it!

Yes, I’ve been enrolled in this WLS program for 2 1/2 years, and it’s been frustrating and challenging.  But it’s also been a way to learn so much about myself and how I handle adversity, food issues, etc.  At one point last night Tinkerbell leaned over to me and said, “Bella, you were meant to be at this place right now so that we could go through this experience together.  To support each other, and to push each other to get to our goals.”  And she’s so right!

Both Tinkerbell and I are within about 10 lbs of calling for our “5 lbs left to go” notification.  At that point, I can call into the bariatric department and start the ball rolling with getting a surgery date.  I have 11 pounds to lose before I make that call, and I am feeling incredibly inspired to make that goal by February 20th, the date of the next support group meeting.

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Looking for Support and Getting It!

As you guys know, I’ve been struggling a bit, so instead of spinning my wheels, I decided to take a completely different tactic than I ever have before.  I’m going to give therapy a try AND I went to my first WLS  support group last night.

I called yesterday and set up a therapy appointment for next Tuesday, so I’ll definitely post all about that next week.  As far as the WLS support group, I decided to make a video blog:

I mentioned this in the video, but for those of you who don’t have 11 minutes to spare (which I totally understand!), I wanted to make sure to highlight the fact that last night I met up with someone I met through YouTube.  It was exciting, because she’s the first person I’ve ever met in person whom I’ve first “met” online.  (ScaleWarfare, I hope you’re next!!) Sylvia aka BeautyJunkie824 is just as sweet in person as she comes across in her videos.  She drove quite a distance (over an hour) to come to the meeting, but it was really great to get the chance to meet her.

It was nice to see that we vibed just as easily in person and we did online.  After the group we headed to Starbucks for some iced tea and we just gabbed about the wls group, our lives, our diets, and our hopes with the surgery.  She’s also getting VSG, which is so nice.  Now there will be two other people who are going through the same path as I am, just a bit before me.  The other exciting thing was that she just found out this morning that her surgery is scheduled for Aug. 30th!  So, now SW is having hers Aug. 22 and BeautyJunkie824 is having hers Aug. 30, so I need to get my butt in gear and join them on “the loser’s bench” as people in the wls community say when people have the surgery. Knowing that they’re both getting the surgery soon really motivates me to qualify and get my scheduled, too.

I have a few changes up my sleeve that I’m excited to tell you all about in the coming days.

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