My new friend instagram!

So I have been hooked on instagram lately and have found some great WLS patients that are going through the same experiences as me. It is so nice to see such brave men and woman share their WLS journey through photo's.

There was one photo that stood out to me and actually brought tears to my eyes. Her name is Tina aka rocktheshade (That's her instagram handle). I just searched #wls and her photo popped up. It was a split screen of half of her body before surgery and the other half after losing 320lbs with the help of gastric bypass and a lot of hard work. It was truly inspirational. I was having an emotional day and this photo just showed me that it takes time and a lot of hard work to get to your goal weight. You don't just wake up after surgery skinny!! I highly recommend following her on instagram you will be amazed by her transformation and all of the things she went through to get to where she is today. Here is the link to rocktheshade's  instagram page http://instagram.com/rocktheshade .

I also found this really cool website thanks to some instagramers. It is called I lost what? http://ilostwhat.com/  You just type in your first name and the amount of weight you have lost and it compares that weight to everyday items such as tires, phonebooks, and even dimes. It definitely put's things into perspective.  Here is my ilostwhat picture:

Learning to Love Exercise....

Not so long ago I would cringe just thinking about exercising. Why would I want to get up off my comfy couch and have to put down my can of soda? This is the thinking that got me to where I weighed 345lbs. I was lazy and depressed and my way of dealing with it was to do absolutely nothing. Sure I would get to a point where I would get on my treadmill and try to eat healthy. That lasted a week or two at a time and quickly my treadmill would be back to collecting dust and only get used by hanging clothes on it. I felt I was a lost cause and why bother? Then one day that all changed and I realized the path I was going down was going to lead to an early death. Now fast forward three months and here I am after having the Gastric Sleeve surgery 65 pounds gone and I turned my whole life around. I couldn't go back to the way things were just a short time ago!

I embraced change and now I love to workout and get my sweat on! I am still a beginner and am learning my way into this world of healthy living. I found some really great video's on YouTube. You just have to find what you enjoy. Like I have mentioned in the past I love to swim and workout in the pool. When I am in waist deep water I run from one side of the pool to the other and you feel your calves burn, I also swim laps, and just lean on the wall and kick my legs until I can't anymore. I also enjoy racing my 13 year old son and now I can even beat him. 

Working out is just a daily part of my life now and I am enjoying every minute of it! This is a picture of me after I did my new favorite treadmill workout. I will post the workout video below it.

 

Come on get off your couch and get healthy!

 



 

 

3 Month Post-Op

So Yesterday was the 4th of July and not only was I celebrating our independence but I was celebrating my 3 month " Surgiversary ". I am now 63 lbs down and I am very proud of how far I have come. I also realize I still have a little over a 100 lbs to lose before I meet my goal.  I have a long road ahead of me but I will get to where I want to be!



Below is a side by side picture of me. On the left is me at 317 lbs, it was taken just a day before my surgery and to your right is a current picture of me at 282 lbs.