As mentioned on Tuesday, I have put a good chunk of weight back on and I’m now starting the process of fighting it back off. Here is my plan:
Exercise: I have reached out to the personal trainers at my gym to inquire to see who would be the best fit for me to set up an exercise regime for me to follow. I’m more likely to do so if it’s set out for me. Part of what helped me lose weight last time was running but I hate running.. At least running for running sake.
Comfort Food: I am no longer bringing in food that I consider to be comfort food that is deadly to the waistline. This means no more cookies or pudding or chocolate. It also means no more ordering pizza or other fast food.
Portion control: I have to return to watching exactly how much I eat. So if I make a pizza from scratch I can’t eat the whole damn thing in one sitting. That is no longer allowed.
Over the last few months, my mental health has not necessarily been the greatest.
Motivation has been down, so getting to do things that aren’t scheduled has been a challenge.
Fatigue has been high, so having the energy to do even the things that are scheduled has been a challenge. I should follow up with my doctor to ensure it’s not just the fibro cuz it’s been more as of late & I am getting my B12 shots done regularly now.
Pain has been escalating. It hasn’t been high enough to warrant a visit to the ER, but it is higher than it was before Christmas. It’s usually been muscular pain in my leggs, sciatica pain in my lower back or just plan old headaches or migraines (a bit of both). Pain doc can’t help with the first or last beyond medications, and I’ve been getting epidurals for the sciatica. Unfortunately my back popped a month or so ago, so the epi hasn’t been as effective (yes, I’m following up with my GP on that when they return my call)
Comfort food has been the go to lately, most of which has not been healthy. Junk food, cookies mostly leftover from Christmas, candy, chips, etc . Not the best choices.
The accumulation of all these factors has resulted in significant weight gain..
This is part of a series of various Non-Scale Victories. They are things I’ve noticed over the last few years as I’ve lost weight.
My Shape
I mean, obviously my shape had changed cuz there’s less of me, but specifically, my abdomen… I was laying on my back the other day & looked down. For the first time I can remember, I saw my ribcage, but nothing below that. I’m used to seeing a mound of tummy sitting there, but no more. In fact, the abdominal area is actually concave!
Bones
Yes, I have them! I can feel them!
As you get bigger there’s more & more fat in the way so it gets difficult, feeling your bones. In fact, at my biggest, the nurses had problems, because the pelvic bones were difficult to make out, it was difficult for them to mark out my body to give me any any shots in my bum.
Most people can easily and definitively find there basic bones hip & pelvis, clavical (breastbone), clavical &:rubs and to a lesser extent, knee caps. For the longest time, for me they weren’t defined & easy to find.. As I’ve lost weight they’ve been easier to distinguish. I can now actually feel my kneecaps and find where the patella sits so I can adjust it to where they should be! And I can get my fingers under my sternum, enough to hold it from both sides. I don’t remember ever able to do that before, but I guess it’s possible now cuz of the loose skin
I dont know how that helps anything except marking my tush for shots there, but it is something that has changed as I’ve lost weight .
This is part of a series of various Non-Scale Victories. They are things I’ve noticed over the last few years as I’ve lost weight. I will be closing this off this series in two weeks with an overlapping topic of a similar vein.
I’m Itchy.
This kinda goes back to the flexibility thing, but on the weekend I was in the hot tubs, and I have no clue why, but my back got itchy, like really itchy Not the kind you can ignore. And with its positioning it’s on of those spots where I’ve always had to grab the back scratcher & if I’m lucky, reach it
I know I’m a little smaller than the last time I had this itch so I reached around behind hoping that maybe I could get the bottom of the itchy spot with my thumb just hoping to take a little of the edge off. Well, I was able to do that & then some. I also to turn my hand onto my back & scratch the whole area!
So I reached the other arm Inver my arm & tried to grab the other hand . And guess what!!! I couldn’t do it.. lol. But I think that when I push the bottom arm up & push the top arm down, I might be able to touch my fingers. Since both my arms would be behind my back I have not arms to push on my arms.. hehe.. so it’s just my theory.. 🙂
This is part of a series of various Non-Scale Victories. They are things I’ve noticed over the last few years as I’ve lost weight.
Ok – this is not exactly a victory, but still made feel good .😃
At the Gym – Part II
On my second or third visit back to the YMCA, I had one of the fitness trainers stopped me as I was walking out the door. Now he’s been there for a long time, well before covid. I believe he was there when I had returned to the gym almost 6 years ago.
My mind had floated off thinking other things, likely what I was going to have for dinner.. He saw me and stopped dead in his tracks and exclaimed “Look at you!” With such admiration in his voice. I turned to look around behind me to see who he was talking to. It was me. I’m like.. “Uh.. Ok.. Thanks?”
Not alot of people, especially very casual acquaintances said anything, so it took me a moment to figure out what he was talking about. He started to talk about how good I looked & what a great job I’ve done.. He suggested I submit my weight-loss journey to the Y for their success stories.. I was flattered.. I might do it.
This is part of a series of various Non-Scale Victories. They are things I’ve noticed over the last few years as I’ve lost weight.
At The Gym – Part I
i have recently returned to the Durham YMCA fitness center. Mom & I going two years ago due to COVID and are going back I’m not doing the same activities as I used to for a few reasons.
The schedule and availability of classes is different and limited, a casualty of COVID. My own personal schedule activities has changed – the times I can go and the timing of what is available rarely mesh.
Arriba– The only organized activity is the Arriba class, the one where I step the the music because my coordination sucks. I do some of the step movements with ease cuz they are steps I used to do in my dance classes all those years ago. I rarely do the arm movements cuz I’m usually too focused on the stepping to get it right or even can’t been bothered to figure them out for the most part.
But here’s the thing, I’m able to do the class and not be completely exhausted afterwards. Yes I will feel sore afterwards, but it’s a good sore. Unfortunately, last week even tho I was taking it super easy, I inflamed my fibro even worse. But generally it’s an in improvement.
Swimmimg – Because I’m still waiting for Koolaid to finish healing again, I’m not allow to get him wet with chlorinated water, I can’t go into the pool. But for the one week I was able to go into the pool for a week, I did and was able to walk the lengths of the pool, back and forth. Yes taking breaks at each end, but I am slowly able to do it When I first started doing water, I would only treat water in the deep end of the pool. Given the high amount of fat in my body then, it wasn’t difficult, cuz fat floats. So a definite improvement.
Unfortunately, there is no Aquafit (bouncing to music in the water) that currently fit in my schedule. I hope it opens up soon..
Towels – I am a plus member at the Y and one of the perks is the towel service. When covid shut us down, I was unable to get the larger gym towels fully around my body, to say nothing about the smaller towels. When I returned I found that I could not only wrap the large towels around me with fabric to spare, I was able to do the same with the smaller bath towels! Wow!!
Stairs – To make it to the workout rooms and the upper studio for the yoga classes, I would have to climb a double height staircase. Sometimes, on bad days, I would take the elevator up. On really bad days, I wouldn’t even both going. Those days I could make it up the stairs, it was a massive struggle. I’d commonly stop at the landing and take a breath.
Now, to stop part way up at the landing means I’m having a bad day. But I can now climb the stairs all the way up. I didn’t notice I had done this until several visits in..
This is part of a series of various Non-Scale Victories. They are things I’ve noticed over the last few years as I’ve lost weight
Flexibility – Now, part of this may have to do with exercise as well as not having as much chubb (fat tissue) blocking me from movement.
Squating – I have noticed improvement in this area as my weight has dropped. But I was at the rifle range late last month with the Boy Scouts. (Let me know if you want more info on this) When I went to post my target, with is pinned on a board right at floor level, I squatted down. Not just partly, and then bent over. I was able to squat all the way down where my tush was just off the floor. Even more impressive, I was able to stand back up from said squat with no help whatsoever. Last summer, I’d been able to get almost that low, but had trouble getting back up. That day at the rifle range, absolutely not! The freedom of movement is wonderful even if it hurts.
Falls – I am reminded of another situation. I was at Long Sault Conservation area shortly before COVID hit & shut down the world. I was still pretty heavy then. I was there with my friend Jen & her son as well as my sister & her kids. It was March and the ground was still icey. My balance bites at the best of times, so of course despite my good winter boots, I slipped and fell. Firstly, instead of a gasp & a moan and hurting myself, I started to laugh. My sister, so used to me being so big, uncoordinated and non- functional, she unconsciously rushed over to help me. Two years prior, I probably would have needed the help, but I told her I was ok, and I was already halfway back up by the time she got to me. She was surprised I was able to move well enough on my own and to be honest so was I. But I was, because I was lighter and could move more easily than I had.
Did I hurt myself? Good God, yes. I have fibro, so that was not unexpected, but I didn’t feel it until later after I got home.
Touching my toes – Can I touch my toes? No, I still can not bend that far and don’t know if I ever will.. I can however, because there alot less tummy in the way, reach significantly further than before. With straight legs, I can touch my shins about 3 inches above my ankles. At maximum weight I’m not sure I could have bent over and touched my knees.
So, this is the start of my series of Non-Scale Victories. Every week I’ll be posting some of the things I have noticed that have changed in a good way.
Clothing
I finally bought brand new clothing a few weeks ago.. I was wearing my size 16 pants & I knew they were too big. Since I didn’t know my size anymore I went to Walmart. I grabbed a bunch of 14’s. Tried on the first pair… & TOO BIG!! I grabbed a bunch of 12s & they fit, except the Sophia boyfriend cut pants – SIZE 10!!!!
Pictures of me from the change room.. All size 13, except the one pair of size 10 light blue boyfriend pants.
I am.now a size 12 – the small side of Large. My bathing suits that I’m going to have to buy will likely be a size 10!
I also can fit into clothing from high school. While I don’t have alot of stuff from back then, I do have memorabilia clothing. I have swag from my field hockey trip to England, my Manchester United t-shirt that I got from my dad and most of my swag from competing in the Canada Games in 1991. In the images below, the girl on the left is me, age 17 in March of 1991 shortly before I left for PEI. I was only able to wear the jacket, and the rest for that matter for the rest of the winter. The chick on the right, it’s me, less than a month ago in the exact same jacket. It fits me better now than it did then!
Thanks again to my friend David for replacing the exact same jacket in the exact same size for me..
Canada Games, Team Ontario 1991. Left: March 1991. Right: March 2021.
I hit it! It took me just over 10 years to do it, but it’s finally happened!! I hit my goal weight of 170 lbs.. That’s a total loss of 133.8lbs!
I stepped on the scale & this is what it told me!
The next challenge is to maintain it for a month. But if I keep losing, I will go with it. Just being here is phenomenal – I haven’t been this light as an adult because the last time I was this weight, I was 17.
So, i will be starting up a series in April about the Non-Scale Victories. There are alot of small things that change as you lose weight and some big things. I will discuss all of mine over several weeks.. & not to worry, it’s not going to be every post..
Fibromyalgia 
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