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I am getting ready to go for a run this morning. It will be my first time at this distance 4.5 mi. My training plan has me gradually increasing my long runs and next Sunday I will be doing 6.0. I know I can do this. I am ready, it is exciting, but if I am honest it is also little intimidating seeing all of these dates on my calendar with 3.0-8.5 mi runs for the next 3 months. Gone are the quick 2 mile runs. I will need to get up a little earlier if I am going to be able to do a 4+ run during the week before work. I am proud of myself  I never dreamed I would be a runner. My dh is joining me now on Sunday runs and it is great that we can do this together.

Just about 4 months post-op and within 7 pounds of my goal. This morning I ran my fastest 2 miles at 12:20 average pace. I run faster when my dh runs with me. I haven't decided if this is a good thing or not..lol.. I do enjoy the company 

I've come a long way in these 4 short months and it has been better than I imagined it would be. I love that I enjoy running and I am eating healthier then I ever have in my life. I feel hope for an active long life now where before I imagined myself dealing with the complications of having type 2 diabetes as I aged. Life is such a blessing and I am enjoying each new day!!

I will be so happy when fall weather gets here. This humidity makes my morning runs harder. I am back up to running 3.0 miles and I ran a 5k yesterday 3.2 miles. 

I feel lighter since giving up meat 2 weeks ago. It is like a heaviness has been lifted from my body. It is hard to describe and I am sure I didn't notice this when I was eating low carb. My energy levels are through the roof. I get up at 4:30 out the door by 5:20 run 2-3 miles and drink my shake before getting ready to leave for work at 7:20. I used to set my alarm and would hit snooze a couple times before getting up, but now it seems like my internal clock wakes me up exactly at 4:25 every morning. I honestly didn't think I could feel any better then I did a month ago, but I do. It is almost as if I can feel the wonderful nutrition from my food flowing through my veins. Corny, I know, but it is true!

I am down another pound this week and only 11 pounds till I reach my goal. All of the clothes in my closet that I saved over the years now fit me or are too large. This blows my mind. I have a closet full to choose from and a bunch that need to be bagged up and donated. I am glad I decided to save my clothes. 

Yesterday was 3 months post-op. I have lost 35 lbs since my surgery and 82 lbs since August of last year. I am so happy that I decided to do this for myself. I am healthier than I have been in years and I feel amazing.

I was eating a low carb diet since December of last year and recently decided to transition to a whole foods plant based diet after reading the book Proteinaholic and  doing my own research. I have an incredible support system for this change as my circle of friends from church are all vegans/vegetarians. At this point my daily carb consumption has gone from 30g to about 55-70g and my protein has dropped from 80-85 down to 50-55. My blood sugar control has remained perfect despite the increase in complex carbs. I continue to avoid sugar, white flour, bread, white rice, and pasta. 

My weight loss has actually picked up this past week, but this may just be a coincidence. I feel really good. The only slight negative I can note is am a little more drained after a run and have been unable to run my long distance of 3 miles yet. I have been sticking to 2-2.5 miles for now. I think my body is still adjusting to the change. 

I am going to post my photo because a couple of people have requested before and after pics.  It is hard looking back, but it does help show us just how far we have come and what a difference a year can make.

I don't know what is going on, but I am dropping weight like crazy since I broke that last stall. 

8/7- 181

8/10- 177.4

8/11- 176

8/13- 174

8/14- 173.5

Is it a coincidence that I was eating mainly plant based on my week long camping trip, (we don't serve meat on any church activities), and decided to go fully whole foods plant based a few days after returning? I am really beginning to believe my body is telling me something here. I guess time will tell. I am starting to look ahead to maintenance as I think it is closer than I thought. I am now thinking that 150 may be to too low for me. when I hit 160 I will re-evaluate my goal. One thing I have noticed about eating this way is that I get fuller faster. It doesn't seem like that would be true, but it is. Maybe it is just because the foods are less calorie dense, but I have to eat more often to get the same amount of calories in as before and I feel fuller faster.

Anyway, so far so good. I feel really good and I am confident that I found the best diet that will be sustainable long term. 

While I was away camping with my church's Pathfinder club I saw a lot of old friends. This camporee had hundreds of kids from clubs all over the area from Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and Pennsylvania. It was great to catch up and talk with them. Many of them commented on my weight loss and a few of them talked with me about their recent decision to go vegan. These friends are Adventist as am I. Our church promotes a plant based diet and many of the members are vegetarian. I have resisted the plant based diet for one reason or another over the years, but I feel like I am being led to look into this more and I have started reading Proteinaholic, by Dr. Garth Davis. A big thank you to @Newme17 for introducing me to this book and pushing me to research this. I don't know yet where this will lead me, but I am keeping an open mind and will look at the information and will act on it if I feel it will benefit my health.

My stall has broken!!! The scale said 178.6 this morning. I haven't seen the 170's for at least 11 years. I am beyond amazed and very happy with my decision to have this surgery and reclaim my health. It feels like so many pieces of my life are falling into place this year. I feel better than I have in so many years and I have made so many great friends here along the way. I am feeling blessed today.

I ran in the pouring rain this morning for the first time. It was actually not too bad except for the rain in my eyes. I am having a slight issue with my right knee, nothing serious just a twinge so I am running with a compression sleeve and following the RICE protocol. I am praying this doesn't side line me. I will be taking an extra rest day tomorrow just to be careful.

I am looking forward to the cooler weather the Fall will bring. I say this as I am sitting here cooling down from my run. The humidity really kills me, but I hate treadmills so I will continue to endure.

 This morning I found the pace that feels like you could run forever and I started going over how my life has improved since last year at this same time. I weighed in the 250's with my highest known weight 255. I wasn't weighing much then because I was disgusted with myself. I had let carbs back into my diet and my weight and blood sugars were out of control. I couldn't understand why I could go 4-6 weeks and then I would just give up. I now know why. My body was fighting me every step of the way. I kept fighting though, and found a new endocrinologist who agreed to change my thyroid medication and help get my diabetes under control. I had to wait 6 months to get an appointment with him, but it was worth it. I saw him in Nov. 2016 and he was the first doctor to suggest WLS. He put the idea in my head and I told him I would think about it. He saved my life that day by having the courage to be honest with me about my weight without judging me or making me feel like the failure I thought I was. The truth hurts sometimes, but it also motivates us, or at least it did me. I was going to be put on insulin if my A1C did not come down to below 7 on my next test in April. 

Having WLS surgery gave me the metabolism reset I needed. My body is no loner fighting me every step of the way. I realized this morning that I am 74 pounds lighter than I was last summer and this is a miracle. I am on my way to being healthier, stronger, fitter, and happier in my 50's than I ever was in my 40's. 

I won't go back to last year ever. I know I can't see the future and what it holds. I know my journey won't be easy and I will stumble and fall, but I am certain with all of my being that I am moving forward and never back. As long as I keep getting up I am strong.

Have a great Monday everyone!

As I was running this morning I was thinking. I am enthusiastic and determined after having WLS to get healthy and increase my fitness. I am doing this for me and no one else. The negativity and sometimes downright stupidity that I read on here does not have to impact me at all. 

So as much as I think I could help some others I am not going to enter into the craziness. I am going to stick with my status and the thread my friend and fellow sleeve sister @Newme17 started. 

Running is getting easier day by day. I ran 1.5 miles today with no walk breaks. I think I am done with walking.... it feels so good to say that.

Have a great day everyone!!

Ok, I need some accountability from my friends here. I am starting to want to buy every cute running outfit I see, and I just bought a new pair of running shoes just so I can rotate between three, and of course they are all different colors so they match what I am wearing. I need to get a handle on this fast because this isn't like me. I can talk myself into buying these things easily by telling myself it is for a good cause, but really I don't need a different outfit for every day of the week and these are all summer outfits.

I am running late today. I just finished my run and I am supposed to be on my way to work. I need to hit the shower. I am glad I have confessed my sins to y'all...lol... have a great day. 

I noticed something this morning, I haven't been checking my blood sugar as often as I usually do. It has been my habit for the past 3.5 years to check it as soon as I get up and 2 hours after eating either lunch or dinner. I am falling out of the habit because every time I check, it is awesome. I checked my meter just now and my 30 day average is 88 with N=37. In the past N would have been at least 60, but usually closer to 70. I guess I am getting more confident in the realization that I really don't need to take any medications to have a stable, great,and completely normal non-diabetic blood sugar reading.

I ran my longest distance this morning 2.5 miles. My pace is still really slow because I am running for 5 minutes and walking for 1.5 minutes, rinse and repeat. I am ahead of schedule with the C25K. When the program tells me my workout is complete to begin cool down, I run another segment of run/walk. I just don't feel ready to stop and want to increase my mileage. I am amazed at how energetic I feel on the days I run as opposed to my rest days. Yesterday I was a sloth all day. Saturday is my Sabbath day so I observe the day of rest completely.The only thing I did yesterday was go to church, post here, and read. I felt sluggish all day. I have decided I need to watch less TV. It just encourages me to be lazy. I am going to limit my time in front of the TV to 1 hour every other day. I want to be more productive in other areas of my life and this is one way to do it. 

Have a great Sunday everyone!

So I decided last night I was going to go to the gym this morning and do an upper body workout with the weight machines. My husband looks at me like I am crazy..lol.. he knows how much I hate the gym. He said, you do realize even though you are going before work it will still be packed in there. I said I know, I am trying to get over my dislike of working out in a crowed gym.

Well I tried. I did not like it. I don't know why I thought it would be different. I felt so awkward using the machines and I was never able to really focus or get in a good grove. I am just going to stick to doing my own workouts at home on days I am not running. I can do push ups, squats, sit ups, ect.. Maybe it would feel better if I had a friend to go with me, but I don't, so I am not going back.

I pushed myself a little this morning on my run. I ran longer and walked less. I can feel the difference. It took me longer to recover at the end, but I added a half mile to my 30 minutes of run time. I feel like running is becoming an addiction for me and I need to tread carefully. I find myself thinking about my next run throughout the day and I am already researching my next pair of shoes. I guess there are many more worse activities that I could be doing, but there is still this little uneasiness as I feel myself changing on the inside as well as the outside. 

I had several church members remark and compliment me on my weight loss yesterday at church. Nobody asked me how I was losing, probably because most of them know I have been following a  carb diet  since January. I still haven't gotten to a place where I feel comfortable talking about my surgery. Maybe someday in the future I will.

Tomorrow will be the 8th Monday since surgery. I am inching closer to a normal weight. I am simple overweight now and not obese. I can't remember how long it has been since I have been this weight (184.5), but it has been at least 9-10 years. I will be 49 in August and I am starting to believe I will reach my goal before I turn 50.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

I had a spiritual experience during my morning run, and I want to share it here because if it helps just one person through a tough moment then 🙏 amen.

I am supposed to skip days between my running according to the C25K program, but in my infinite wisdom I decided that I felt great and since I was off for the 4th I would just run today and take tomorrow off. I know not very smart.

So I am coming up on the third run sequence and my muscles are really screaming at me and the self doubt starts in my head, "what made you think you could ever be a runner?" you are just going to hurt yourself.

And then Just about the time I am thinking about walking the song "Blessings" by Laura Story comes on in my ear buds. It wasn't long before I was running through my tears. This was the message I needed this morning. 

If you are hurting, doubting yourself, sad, lonely, whatever you may be going through, know that the Lord is with you. 

What if the trials of this life, the rain, the storms, the hardest nights, are his mercies in disguise?

Monday will be 7 weeks since my surgery. A lot has happened in this short amount of time, so much, that Sometimes I just shake my head in amazement. I have lost 46 pounds since January 1rst and 21 since surgery. I am down to a size 12 from a 14-16 in January, and I am so close to wearing a large top I can taste it...lol..

I am exercising almost daily and last week I started the C25K program. I never thought I would be running, but I absolutely love it! I have so much more energy now and I feel so much better about myself. The scale does not stress me out at all. It is just a number I record every week. I am much more confident in myself as I know I am eating right and moving my body.  

my dh and I are headed to D.C. Today to meet up with his brother and sister and nephew. They are in town for a few days and it is so close to us we couldn't miss this opportunity to spend a couple days with them. My husbands sister is a marathon runner so it will be nice to pick her brain about getting started with running. This will be the weekend getaway that we didn't get to have for our anniversary last month. 

Have a great weekend everyone😃

What is the best way to wake up on a Sunday morning? With your 10 month old granddaughter snuggled in close sharing your pillow of course. My dh and I had a busy day yesterday watching our little angel and we decided to keep her overnight to give our daughter and son-n-law a little break. I have really started to notice the NSV more this past week and yesterday I definitely had more energy. 

I wonder if my scale is accurate? I weighed 187 on Friday and yesterday the scale said 185.2. I find it hard to believe I lost that much in 24 hours. ...lol.. ah well it really doesn't matter because I feel great and my clothes keep getting looser.

So today while I was watching this female Asian longhorned beetle oviposite her egg I was thinking about the science behind WLS. How many experiments aka..clinical trials have been done, are still being done, and will be done in the future to help doctors figure out the complex mysteries of this disease we call obesity. It blows my mind to even try to think of all the variables involved in the design of these trials.

My research focuses on this beetle, a much simpler organism, and yet it can take days of thought and reading current published research to determine the variables that need to be considered and controlled during a planned experiment. Sometimes we even design pre-experiments just to figure out whether something is going to effect something else before we run the main experiment. All of this thinking has made me realize how little we really know. Why has my diabetes gone into remission after surgery? This surgery has done what following a low carb diet alone could not do, normalize my blood sugars minus any medications. I haven't had time to read all of the published literature on this subject, but I would like to.

My mind is trained to looked for patterns in data so of course this is the way I am approaching my journey after this surgery. I am logging everything I eat, drink, and my exercise. I will export the data to excel and graph it to see if I can figure out how my body works now in relation to theses things and weight loss.  I know for some people, maybe most, this is not something they would want to do. It may seem excessive and time consuming, but I hope to learn something that will be useful to me during the maintenance phase. 

I am increasingly more convinced that low carb is going to be the best diet for me to follow long term. I just don't see any reason to test the waters when I am doing so well right now. I have zero cravings for sugar, bread, rice, pasta... my energy levels are good, my bs are excellent, and I am losing weight.  These are my musings for today, 5 weeks post-op.

Today is a beautiful day!! My hubby will be home tonight!! I am more than a little excited. I wonder if he will notice changes in me having been away? I know he is going to be surprised when he sees my haircut and highlights. I am a little nervous about going shorter with my hair, but change is good sometimes...

I think I have hit my first stall. I am fine with it as I was prepared for this to happen at some point. I have been bouncing from 289.5 to 290.6 for the past 3 days. It might just be what I call the 5 day bounce. This seems to be my pattern, I bounce back and forth for a week and then drop 3 pounds. We shall see. 

My dh and I started feeding a stray cat about 4 years ago. She just showed up on our front porch and never left. My adult son named her Claire. She rarely comes in the house as she freaks out being closed in. She is semi-feral. She will rub up against your legs and pur, but if you reach down to pet her she will growl. My dh built her a cat house and we put a heated mat inside it for the cold nights. My dh loves this cat because he admires her strength and Independence. Claire greets him everyday when he leaves for work and when he comes home. She is never far from our porch. We  caught her in a trap and took her to the clinic and had her spayed and got her shots 3 years ago when we decided she was now our cat. Since my dh has been away I can tell Claire misses him. He is the one who feeds her everyday and he is able to pet her head a little before she lets him know hands off..lol.. Anyway I am not sure why I am writing about this on my status today. I just find it fascinating that my dh (who is not a cat person) and this feral cat have developed a mutually satisfying relationship. It is based on trust and neither expects the other to give more than what they do. My dh respects her desire to not be handled and she shows her appreciation of his care by always greeting him and talking with him everyday...lol.. maybe there is a lesson here somewhere... well Claire will be happy to see him tonight also I think... 

Enough rambling I am off to get ready to go to my hair appointment. Have a great Saturday everyone!!

So 31 years ago today I married my best friend and we are still as in love today as we were back then. We have had our ups and downs as all couples do, but I wouldn't trade my dh for anything or anyone. We are opposites in so many ways, but we bring out the best in each other. I am missing him tonight since he is away, and Saturday can't come soon enough. 

Happy Sabbath!!!

I must be in the zone right now with weight loss. I have been losing a pound to a pound and a half a day the past three days. I was at 192 yesterday morning and today 190.5! I guess my body likes what I am doing right now so I will keep at it. I decided I want to get a haircut and style before my dh gets back from his trirp. I want to surprise him with a new look. I am thinking about getting highlights and going a little shorter. I am excited and nervous at the same time..lol..

TGIF. I made it through the first week of my hubby's two week trip. I have had a hard time cooking just for me and I ended up with a lot of leftover food that I did not want to eat. My chickens were happy though..lol..  one more week till hubby gets home. Tomorrow afternoon my daughter, granddaughter, and I are gonna have a girls day out and have lunch and a mani/pedi.  

i cant believe Monday will be one month post-op already! I think the time has flown by and I feel like my stomach has healed quickly. I have not had any problems at all eating soft meats and vegetables. I am planning to add tuna salad, and I would like to try some tender steak next week. 

I cleaned out my closet of all the size 14 and above pants, and the 2x-3x tops. I am comfortably wearing a size 12 jean and extra large top. I have pants in size 10, 8, and 6, that I saved, and I have medium and large tops, so I won't need to do any shopping right away. I stepped on the scale this morning and it was 192. if I lose another pound before Monday that will put me at 17 pounds lost this first month. I am very happy with that!!.

Time to go hop on the elliptical and get the heart pumping,,,

6/5/17- I decided to start my own status update so I would have a journal of sorts to look back on when I am closer to my goal.

So I am three weeks post-op today. My journey thus far has been relatively easy with no major complications. I have been able to gradually increase my daily exercise and calorie intake with few problems. I am following my plan mostly, but have been combining weeks 3 & 4 because they are very similar with only the addition of a few items.  My constipation is over and my system has pretty much returned to normal. I have not vomited even once though I was nauseous the first day after surgery. I am feeling very blessed to have had this opportunity to improve my health at this point in my life. The driving force for me wanting to have this surgery was to give my body the best possible chance at putting my diabetes into remission, while also reaching and maintaining a healthy weight.

I have not needed to take any medications for my diabetes since the day before surgery. My 14 day bs average is 99. I check my bs twice a day, fasting and 2 hours after dinner or lunch. Thus far I have not had a reading over 110. I am very encouraged by these numbers. Prior to surgery I could not have obtained these numbers without my medication.

Last week I went back to work and I also starting exercising on my new elliptical machine.  Work went well, but it did tire me out the first couple of days. I added a healthy snack mid afternoon and that really helped get my energy level up to last the whole day. I am weighing and tracking my food in MFP. I want to be successful and I know my biggest problem has always been portion control. This will keep me accountable and also help me to see trends. So here are my weekly averages thus far .

5/16-22/17 - 244

5/23-29/17-  602

5/30-6/4- 740

I am happy that I have been able to get my calories up fairly quickly. I definitely feel the restriction and I am able to eat only 2.5-3.5 oz  at a meal. My protein level has been between 60-65g. I  am shooting for 70-80 in the next week and I feel that should bring my calories up to 800. I am doing my best to listen to my body and eat only when I am hungry, so I am not going to stress out about exactly how many calories or grams of protein I eat as long as I feel good and they are not too low. Figuring out a sustainable healthy lifestyle is probably the hardest part of this journey. The debate on these forums is helpful, but sometimes it is hard to know what exactly is going to work for me until I try it.  I know being a type 2 diabetic that my body is very carb sensitive. Right now with my somewhat limited diet it has been easy as I am mainly eating protein and a few veggies. I guess I will see how things go as I move along and maybe try a few complex carbs as I have more room in my diet. 

my weight log

5/18- 208

5/24- 196

5/29- 195

6/5- 193.5

I am very happy with those numbers. I do not have any weekly or monthly weight loss goals. I am just going to follow my plan and let things fall where they may. Slow loss is just fine with me and NSV are abundant. I have dropped a size already and I am feeling great! 

I think this is a good first update. It is long, but I had three weeks worth of thoughts to get logged. I want to thank this forum and its members for all of their support. Since I had my surgery in Mexico I don't have a local group to talk with. I have learned so much reading the threads here and have made some great online friends along the way. 

I hope to add my thoughts and progress here at least once a week.