Fat girl running

For the last two months or so I have been training for a 5k. I actually completed my first 5k in 2012 and it was a great experience. I went with a group of friends and they were all cheering me on at the finish line. The atmosphere was amazing and it became even more special as the first snow of the year started to fall during the race. Afterwards I knew that this would be something I would be trying again. Looking forward to my next 5k April 12th!

Through talking with many other runners and friends, I have come to the conclusion that running as a larger woman offers many different experiences and challenges. Here are some of the things that I have learned during my process so far.

1. People will look at you! Yes, the dreaded stares will happen, but maybe not for the reason you think. In your mind all they see is every inch of you bouncing up and down in a semi-uncoordinated fashion. In reality, they are impressed! It is not common to see people such as yourself run for that far or that long! While staring may not be the most effective way of communicating this, they may be wondering how to best express their feelings without pointing out the fact that you are clearly heavier than the other runners.

2. You may not be able to progress as quickly as others. If you are doing a training program that says it will take 8 weeks, it may take longer. Repeat some weeks if needed. It's much better to ease into those longer runs than risk an injury!

3. You may be more sore than you wish. Don't be afraid to take your recovery days, ice, and ask your significant other for a massage! 

4, Your feet may hurt. Make SURE to invest in some quality running shoes! Not only will this make your more comfortable but it can also help prevent injury. I also found out that my insurance covers custom orthotics and they made a world of difference.

5. You will be more prone to injuries. Take it slow! Don't try to progress to quickly. Stretch and never skip your warm up or cool down

6. And lastly, it will be one of the most rewarding things you will ever do. This is not an easy task, and pushing through those additional challenges will make it even more rewarding. I would highly encourage you to find a couch-to-5k program and (after talking with your doctor) give it a try! 

Month 3 updates: Blood tests and a new diet!

I'd like to start by saying re-commitment week was a real success! The biggest thing that I got out of this week was consistent exercise. I am really starting to enjoy my time at the gym and have started to fall into a semi-consistent routine. Though I didn't quite reach my 300 minute goal I think that it will be a great number to keep striving for! My weight loss had been stalling for a while but it is amazing how much getting back on track with your plan can get that scale moving again! I also recently had my 3 month check-up with the doctor and nutritionist! Here are the updates!

Weight Update:
I'm down about 54lbs from my highest weight and have put some distance between me and that morbidly obese category. I'm continuing to feel great. I am over half way to 100 and about 44% of the way to my (potential) ultimate goal weight of 150. At this point I'm shooting for around 10lbs a month and have started dreaming of Onederland!

Nutrition Update:
As part of my 3 month appointment I got some blood work done. They checked things like my cholesterol, iron, vitamin levels, and glucose. This was to check how I have been doing with my nutrition and to see if my vitamin supplements need to be adjusted. My doc told me that it is pretty typical to see deficiencies in B12, Vitamin D, and Iron so he was more than pleased when my results showed everything in the normal levels! My B12 was actually creeping into the above normal category. Long story short, I'm doing well with my nutrition!

My diet was also advanced to my 'lifelong' diet. This means I can pretty much eat anything now but I am expected to make smart choices. The additions of breads and pastas back into my diet has sure been a welcome change!

Fitness Update:
Since the start of student teaching I have been struggling a lot more with getting to the gym. I've been averaging around 2-3x a week but would like to get that up to around 5x. I have been continuing with my zombies C25K program and have just started week 4. This week included a 15 minute run and I was able to complete the whole segment without walking! I also am able to do some strength training once a week and am really starting to feel myself getting stronger! Looking forward to finding a 5K race to sign up for and getting back into the pool!

God Bless!

Re-Commitment days 3 & 4

Hello all! Yesterday was day 3 of re-commitment week and so far so good! I managed to get to the gym for another 55 minutes yesterday. I have been working on a couch to 5k program and yesterday was supposed to be the day I moved on to the week 4 workouts, but I just wasn't feeling it. Instead I decided to do another timed mile and got a new PR & NSV! Last time my mile was a 13:37. yesterday it dropped to 12:45!!!! That's almost a minute closer to my new-years resolution goal of 10 minutes!

I didn't quite meet my nutritional goals yesterday, but I was pretty close. Still was a bit short on my protein and water but wasn't too far off. Today's focus is water! I WILL hit 8 cups. I have also decided to skip the the mushy foods diet because I realized that only thing it was keeping me from was healthy raw fruits and vegetables. Still haven't weighted myself but I am quite glad I added that goal to my list because I hadn't realized how much of a compulsion it had become. I cannot wait until Monday!

Day 4 results:

vitamin supplements: success! 

300 minutes of exercise: 175/300 for the week

64oz fluid:  60/64

No added sugar: success! 

No weighing: success! 

70g protein: 55/70  

In other news, I had my 3 month post-op doctors visit the other day! Looking forward to sharing the good news soon! 

Re-commitment week: Day 2

Today I didn't feel as good as yesterday but I pushed through. Officially finished my goal of going back to the liquid diet for two days. I really do feel 'cleared out' from the junk food. :-) This afternoon I was quite tired so had to pretty much drag myself to the gym. When I finally got there all the treadmills were taken so I hopped on the bike. It was a MUCH harder workout than I had anticipated. I really need to get those biking muscles stronger before summer comes along! A 6 mile bike ride and 30 minutes of lifting late I felt pretty good about myself! There really is something about pushing through those mid-day lulls! My day two goals weren't as perfect as day one, but I'm proud of them nonetheless

liquid diet: day 2/2 complete! On to soft foods tomorrow 

vitamin supplements: success! 

300 minutes of exercise: 120/300 for the week

64oz fluid:  64/64

No added sugar: success! 

No weighing: success! 

70g protein: 63/70  

Tomorrow is another day! <3 

Re-commitment week: Day 1

One day into my re-commitment week and things are going great! I reached out to my Facebook Support group and an incredible 22 people have decided to join me and re-commit to their programs. I am absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of support poured out by a group of individuals that have never even met each other! Here is an update on my goals after day 1!

1. liquid diet: day 1/2 complete! 
2. vitamin supplements: success! 
3. 300 minutes of exercise: 60/300 for the week
4. 64oz fluid:  64/64
5. No added sugar: success! 
6. No weighing: success! 
7. 70g protein: 73/70

I have also learned that my grazing and mindless eating have gotten out of control again. It becomes a lot more obvious on the liquid diet because I don't really have anything liquid I can graze on. I now know I need to pay a lot more attention to this and avoid eating in certain situations such as in front of the TV.

 I'm really looking forward to what the rest of the week has to bring! We got this!

Getting back on track

I have to admit I have been struggling lately with sticking to my program. Many people after weight loss surgery acquire a strong intolerance/aversion to high sugar foods. This was something that I had actually hoped to get because sweets have always been a huge struggle for me. Up until last week I hadn't really tested my limits with sweets because I had been doing so well at following my prescribed diet. Well last Wednesday night advertising finally got to me and I just had to try McDonald's chocolate covered strawberry frappe. I didn't check any nutrition facts because I thought after 3 months I deserved a treat.

So I drank ALL 570 calories of process sugar, fat, and chemicals...

It was wonderful. My body did feel crappy for about 10 minutes (At this point I hadn't allowed myself ANY added sugar) but I quickly faded into my blissful sugar high. No aversions, no nausea, and now I was sucked back in. Those 79 grams of sugar are still affecting me. I basically feel like I've fallen off the wagon. I am now having a much harder time staying on my diet, and have continued to indulge on a few sweets such as chocolate covered pretzels and some puppy chow. My cravings for unhealthy foods are back in full force and it's not just sweets. I literally will KILL for carbs! I have also noticed a change in my mood and energy now that my food choices haven't been the best. I haven't been killing it in gym as much as I should, and even my water consumption has decreased. Welp, it's time for me to commit to getting back on track. Monday is my 're-commitment' day! Here are the specific goals and benchmarks that I am going to commit to for next week! 

1. 2 days liquid diet, 3 days soft food diet, last two days on my current diet
2. Take ALL my vitamin supplements each day
3. 300 minutes of exercise
4. Hit 64 oz of fluid each day
5. No added sugar! 
6. No weighing myself until the end of the week (This is going to be HARD!) 
7. At lease 70g protein everyday! 

I plan to check in daily for one week to keep myself accountable! The hope is that after this week I will re-establish my good habits and get back on track toward health and fitness! With that, I have a few victories to share. 

NSV: I am no longer morbidly obese! This is HUGE for me!  I now also fit into some pants from high-school :-D 

SV: I have hit 50lbs lost! Half way to 100!

God Bless! 

WLS Friendly Flatbread Pizza

Pizza. What a wonderful food! I mean seriously, who doesn't like pizza! Since the beginning of my diet starting in early November this food had been torturous to me. It is often a go to food for any college hangout so I found myself in many situations where I had to practice some serious self-control. No matter how many times I tried I just couldn't justify the 19 grams of fat for one slice. (Like I'd only eat one slice...) Worried that this beloved food may be out of my diet forever, I was very intrigued when someone posted in a FB group about a skinny 'flatbread pizza' that was safe for WLS (weight loss surgery) post-ops. I experimented around the other day and was able to come up with something super delish and simple! The best part is that it only takes 14 minutes to make and contains a whopping 22 grams of protein!

WLS Friendly Flatbread Pizza 

Ingredients

1 flatbread - I used flatout multi-grain w/flax

1 TBS olive oil

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

Turkey pepperoni

4 TBS natural pizza sauce


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Brush flatbread with olive oil and place directly on the oven rack for 7 minutes. At this point the flatbread gets crispy. Top with pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni and place back in the oven for another 7 minutes. Enjoy!

Per one pizza: 239cals, 13carbs, 22g protein,13g fat, 3g sugar