"Oh, I'll Never Gain 50 lbs!"

I recently remembered a conversation that Stelios and I had at the beginning of our relationship.  This conversation came to mind because I'm just a few pounds away from being the same weight that I was when I met him.  We met online and so we had A LOT of long distance phone calls that lasted anywhere from 3 to 7 hour in the first couple of months of our long distance relationship.  One night, I remember asking him if he really thought he would want to be with me when he sees me in person and sees that I'm not some skinny chick (although he did know my weight - I was very upfront with that).  He said to me, and I quote "I will still love you, even if you gain 50lbs!" I replied "Oh, I'll never gain 50lbs!"  Well, that conversation happened around 11 years ago this month.  And in the past 11 years I have gained A LOT more than 50lbs.  But my weight gain didn't stop him from loving me.  Thank you, Stelios.

On Monday of this past week I went for a 5k bike ride.  My butt was killing me by the time I got home.  I really enjoyed the ride and it really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  But I think I need to invest in a better seat.  I want to ride everyday - it's so refreshing!  It's so nice to be able to be active.  Even things like parking the van is so much easier now than it used to be.  First of all, I would drive around the parking lots for the longest time waiting from someone to move from one of the closer spots so I didn't have to walk so far.  But now I just take the first one I see - it doesn't matter if it's the furthest one from the door.  Secondly, I would stress out at certain stores where the parking spaces are more narrow.  I would be so afraid that I wouldn't be able to get the door opened wide enough to get out.  But I don't have to worry about that anymore - and that feels TERRIFIC!!!!!!!!!

This week we were driving somewhere in the van and I crossed my legs.  I had them crossed for a while before I realized it.  I've crossed my legs while sitting on a chair or on the couch, but this was in the van - a small space!  And it was comfortable!

I tried pasta this week for the first time.  It was actually egg white noodles but it was really good.  There's lots of protein in it.  I didn't have very much, as you can see in this picture (I already had 2 pieces of noodles before this was taken) but it was nice to eat an old favourite, with a new twist!

Friday night, we went to a concert at the church (The City Harmonic).  It was a great concert.  Gabrielle and Michael were on a huge high from it 'til the day after.  They kept saying it was the best night of their life!  haha  I'm glad they enjoyed it.  And I'm even more happy that I managed to stand for the whole concert with new high-heel boots I had bought at Value Village that day (that's where I'm doing all of my shopping these days!)  So yeah, 3 hours of standing and although my feet were a bit sore from the high heels, my back didn't hurt and I felt SOOOOO good and SO alive!  (Photo courtesy of Kristle Leigh Photography)

This past week I've had 3 people ask me if I would recommend this surgery for them or loved ones who need to lose weight.  My response to that is always that the person should do EVERYTHING in their power to lose it on their own first.  And when I say everything in their power, I don't mean just dieting or working out, but I mean seeing a dietician, a psychologist or social worker at a bariatric clinic, any professional who can help them deal with the issues that got them to this point in the first place.  Another important thing to have is someone in your life to be your cheerleader, to believe in you and encourage you.  And finally, they need to get it through their own head that they CAN DO IT!!!  As I said in one of my earlier posts, the one thing I was missing in losing the weight on my own was the belief in myself that I could do it!  This surgery is life-changing and is a very difficult process.  If I can be a cheerleader for someone else, I would do it in a heartbeat and do whatever I could to help another believe in themselves, so they didn't have to alter their body permanently.  Now, let me clarify by saying that I'm not sorry I got this surgery and I believe there are many people out there who need it due to medical reasons.  But I think too many people (including myself) don't really do EVERYTHING in their power to accomplish the same results without the surgery.

So, from Monday to Wednesday this week, I didn't lose any weight and I really thought I might be hitting a stall, which most people have at least one of by now at this point.  But from Thursday to today I lost 3 pounds which brings to me to a total of 81lbs down!  19 more to go until the big 100!!!   And I want to lose at least 150 in total.  So yesterday when I was 80lbs down, I had 70 more to go.  But today I have 69 more to go, and that sounds a lot better!!! haha  I'm hoping to have 100 gone by Christmas, which at the rate I'm going, I should be able to do.  But I know that the inevitable stall is lurking and might stop me from reaching that goal.  But it's all good.  I'm SO happy with what I've accomplished so far and I feel great!  And that's what matters!

Total Loss: 81lbs