Jenny2012

Howdy all!
 
Today is the day!
I figured I would pull down the scale that I diligently hid away,
that "one" I bought esp for me,
cause not every scale can weigh a nearly 500 pound frame,
it's been a keen reminder of my failures over the past few years
along with my steadily increasing girth. still I kept it, hoping...
you all know that "hope" that one day it will be kind to you and actually
begin to go in the down direction instead of up.
 
So, anywho although my goals to lose are happening steadily
I've always gone in to get my weight done on the same scale everytime at the clinic,
but I finally made peace with my own scale and decided to trust her,
as I have since named her "HOPE" and
welcomed her into the family and off the shelve haha!
So many times I have been defeated in this battle,
losing weight only to gain it back with more to boot.
but this time having tools in my bag
I feel strong enough to face those numbers on the regular and own them.
coming to a place of acceptance for each pound and
realizing that they will not define me or my future,
my past defeats will not define the outcome of this journey and
I have, with the hand of the Lord above - "got this."
 
This time, I have no one to please or succeed for except myself, and
when I stepped on that Ole girl "Hope" this morning and she sounded out 398!!
(talking scale seemed cool at the time ) the feeling was wondrous!
To BREAK that 400 mark was / is a sweet savour to my heart and
 
proves to me that trusting in the Father above all good things do come and
Everything He promised is being added unto me in His due timing.
 
Have HOPE everyone, you too can reach goals and triumph !!
Good luck to each of you and happy losing
 
- Jenny

Howdy all!
 
Today is the day!
I figured I would pull down the scale that I diligently hid away,
that "one" I bought esp for me,
cause not every scale can weigh a nearly 500 pound frame,
it's been a keen reminder of my failures over the past few years
along with my steadily increasing girth. still I kept it, hoping...
you all know that "hope" that one day it will be kind to you and actually
begin to go in the down direction instead of up.
 
So, anywho although my goals to lose are happening steadily
I've always gone in to get my weight done on the same scale everytime at the clinic,
but I finally made peace with my own scale and decided to trust her,
as I have since named her "HOPE" and
welcomed her into the family and off the shelve haha!
So many times I have been defeated in this battle,
losing weight only to gain it back with more to boot.
but this time having tools in my bag
I feel strong enough to face those numbers on the regular and own them.
coming to a place of acceptance for each pound and
realizing that they will not define me or my future,
my past defeats will not define the outcome of this journey and
I have, with the hand of the Lord above - "got this."
 
This time, I have no one to please or succeed for except myself, and
when I stepped on that Ole girl "Hope" this morning and she sounded out 398!!
(talking scale seemed cool at the time ) the feeling was wondrous!
To BREAK that 400 mark was / is a sweet savour to my heart and
 
proves to me that trusting in the Father above all good things do come and
Everything He promised is being added unto me in His due timing.
 
Have HOPE everyone, you too can reach goals and triumph !!
Good luck to each of you and happy losing
 
- Jenny

Once being a pretty regular blogger and making the conscience choice to walk away a few years back makes this all the more interesting and fun to be writing again, So I started this endeavour (weight loss) to get my life back, last year around this time.... I think I find the most difficult part of this is not knowing where to begin. but here I go anyway...
 
I knew that my joy and hope was gone,
I knew that my weight was killing me and pushing me into an early grave and
I knew that for me, God was going to bring me out of the hole I dug for myself.
I didn't want one more year to escape me, So I thought to myself 2012 was going to be dedicated to me helping myself regain my Joy and life. I knew it was going to be a long road but, I was willing to give it my all for a future that I could smile about again
 
So, I started my weight loss adventure in late Dec 2011 right after Christmas
determined to cut a chunk out of this body and prepare for my gastric sleeve surgery, first week 10 pounds off. second week 7 pounds more, third week gained back 3 pounds, and the next week lost 1 pound- that did it for me... I had to lose 10 % of my body weight !
 
I knew I had to get strict on my intake, count everything and push on the physical part of my daily routine, which with being disabled by arthritis is so hard, It's excruciating- but I did what I dreaded doing-
being such a large size it's difficult being stared at feeling like you're a joke or
that you have no business to even be there and completely out of place
 
but I spoke to a trainer at the Y and told him exactly what I needed to lose and what I was physically able to do. He helped introduce me to the resistance equipment and late January 2012 I started 3 days a week for 20 min, slowly I started to lose again, and regularly losing 4-7 pounds a week with meal replaced shakes and one small meal at dinner.
 
eventually I increased my days to 5 doing 90+ min daily, getting stronger, seeing small changes in curves and a huge increase in muscle tone, sure I still have the fat hanging off those working muscles but now I can actually start to see them peeking out at me and that is really encouraging to say the least.
 
I was scheduled for surgery May 1st, I met my 10% and exceeded the required to 14% lost! the morning of my surgery I had lost 74 pounds pre-op and last week I was at 91 pounds down, I know this is a battle I face and some times will go slower and eventually get very hard to drop, but I'm in it, to win it.
and yesterday I was finally able to start back to the Y and I look forward to the weight to start dropping again
 
I felt urged to share and encourage others on their journey, so I decided to pick up my keyboard and blog again here and there about my journey.
 
 
The thing that makes this journey so rewarding are the small victories I can place in my heart, the tiny beautiful moments and things that average size people get to do daily without a second thought. Yesterday I went to Walmart and walked around shopping for well over an hour... something I was unable to do just 4 months ago without being in pain and winded, but yesterday was different!
during my shopping trip, I bought a belt.... yes a belt with a buckle and holes lol
what makes this wonderful for me is I'd NEVER bought myself a belt before. the only ones I ever had came as sashes on a dress or such. this time I fit into a real belt and even though it only closed to the second hole ... IT CLOSED!! PRAISE GOD !! and I bought it!! along with a sweater and several tanks in a size 3x that also fit. AMAZING.... these tiny victories bring me smiles and such joy because I know that more are coming, slowly but surely.
 
I wanted to share with others so maybe they would remind you to never give up your hope, it's never hopeless, and celebrate the smallest of victories!!
 
 
<3 Jenny

A couple of things I have noticed that I am experiencing since surgery on March 28th.
 
- My mouth dries out HORRIBLY at night. I wake up and my mouth is completely dry and I can't get the saliva to moisten it up. I've been keeping a water bottle by my bed. This has never happened before. I did look it up on line and dehydration is one of the possible causes. I am going to try drinking water closer to bed time (normally I avoid because of the bathroom issue) and see if that helps. Wondering if anyone has experienced that?
 
- My husband stopped wearing earplugs to bed. He said since I have been back that I haven't been snoring as badly. He asked if they took out my "snoring glands" This is a happy side effect of surgery for me.