1 Year

Well it's officially been one year since my surgery. Actually last Friday was my surgiversary!  I'm very pleased with my success of having the surgery. My life has changed so much for the better. I've accomplished many things that I had never been able to do before.

Accomplishments:

1. Being at the lowest weight I have seen in 20 years
2. Being more active with my family
3. Doing things I never thought I would do; Went to Disneyland in Feb for 4 days. Walked on average of 10 miles every day. Rode every single ride without a problem (well except the Matterhorn but that was due to my height not my weight!). I've participated in 2 5K's (and have another coming up this weekend).

Life is so much different now. I love being active and miss it when I can't be. I love the fact that I can play with my kids. It's refreshing to be able to get up at 6am on a Saturday, ride 20 miles on my bike then go out and spend the day chasing the kids around for soccer.

I'm officially down a total of 131.2 lbs. from my surgery date (as of 4/20/16). I'm about 20-30 lbs away from my goal. I'm looking forward to being more active on the bike this spring/summer. I'm hoping to get registered for the Lighthouse ride. This will be the longest ride I have done ever (Metric Century or 65miles). I'm inching closer to my goal of one day completing a Century ride.  I look forward to going to the water park this summer with my wife and kids and not being totally embarrassed to get in the water and have fun!

Life is good!

It has been a while...

My wife reminded me last night that I had not updated the blog in quite some time and needed to.

My weight loss is still on track. It has slowed some, but after losing 100+ lbs I sort of expected it to do that. I am happy so far with my loss, a little over 120lbs, and have found new joy in working out. I know this is why my loss has slowed. I am still losing, inches and fat and replacing that with muscle.

I just had my 8 month followup with my surgeon's office last week. I ended up with a new nurse practitioner and she is great! Love her sense of dry humor, much like mine. She was ecstatic with my loss. We talked about my goal weight and decided on somewhere between 235-240.  I told her initially my goal was around 220 and she said that was much to low for my body type. She first said she wouldn't want me under 250.

I have also gone out of my comfort zone. I have now signed up for and started training to run a 5k. I've always said, you won't see me running unless someone is chasing me with a gun. Now that has changed. I'm signed up for a 5k on Feb 13th called the Valentine Undie Run and I decided to sign up for the 5k at the California Classic Weekend.  I've done the Classic by bike twice before and have signed up again. This time I will be doing the 35 mile ride on Saturday and the 5k on Sunday. The ride for this event is very cool. You actually get to ride on the freeway, which is unprecendented! This time I will get inter-locking medals for doing both events!  I am currently on week 2 of Couch to 5k and I have to say I'm not hating running. I don't think I will do any further distance than a 5k but you never know. I also want to do the Color Me Rad 5k, which I believe is coming soon.  My ultimate goal for this year is to ride either a full century (100 miles) or a metric century (60+ miles). There is a ride that happens at the coast called this Lighthouse Ride that I might try and sign up for.

Right now I am just living life to the fullest and trying to be as healthy and active as I can.  I will try and update this blog more frequently.

My last note, for anyone that might be reading this and considering weight loss surgery. I know it may not be for everyone, it is not the easy way out. I've had to dramatically change my life in both the way I eat as well as becoming more active. The surgery is a tool, but a tool that will change your life for the better if you use it properly!

Made my 100!

I have finally made my 100lb weight loss. At last week's weigh in a was down a total of 107lbs!

Back in June I had come across a sports nutritionist on Facebook. Her name is Tosha Knopp. She is a bariatric surgery patient and had her surgery in 2013. As she was going through her weight loss process she realized that she was not getting the proper nutrition and decided to become a sports nutritionist. Through her process she has decided to form a company called Bari-Fit. Her process focuses on macro-nutrients, proteins, fats, carbs and fiber. She was offering, at the time, to set macros for patients. I read about it and thought it was a good idea. In June I was going through a little bit of a stall on losing weight and as soon as I had my macros set and started following them, the stall was broken and my weight loss continued. Fast forward to the end of August and she had officially launched Bari-Fit and was doing not only macros but also developing a weight lifting regimen for patients. After talking to her and talking to Heather, I decided to retain Tosha as a personal trainer. The first week after having my macros adjusted and a weight training regimen I lost a whopping 6.1 lbs in one week!  Tosha knows her stuff and I am proud of being a part of the launch of her new company helping those who have gone through the surgery. With her help and guidance I hope to gain more strength, muscle and reduction of body fat. I've even gone so far as submitting pictures to Tosha for use on her website www.bari-fit.com.  I can't believe that I did that. Prior to the surgery I NEVER would want my picture taken, let alone shirtless. Now I have them up for the world to see. Any rate, here are pictures from my 100lbs weight loss. Scroll down to previous posts for before pictures.

Finally made it!

Well I finally made it. I'm under 300lbs for the first time in 20+ years. The last time I remember being 300lbs was the first time I went on Weight Watchers. That was in 1988-1989. I went on the program and lost 50lbs. I then proceeded to gain that all back and more.

I was bummed last week. I figured since I was so close the week before to being at or below 300 I would have surely made that goal as well as a 100lb loss by months. I actually gained about 2lbs that week. I, as well as my nutrionist/trainer feel that the gain was my body adjusting to my new workout regimen.  Three weeks ago Heather and I made a commitment to get to the gym and get our body's in shape. We have been getting up at 4am every morning to get to the gym by 4:30 and we work out until about 5:15. We have been consistent and dedicated. There have been many mornings that I've gotten up and don't feel like going, but I do. The nice thing is that once I get to the gym I love it. I never thought I would hear myself say/think that. Me, lazy ass, liking the gym. I like the way that it energizes me, and I like the results that I am getting. I love that I am showing my kids that it is smart to be healthy!

I have nowhere to go but down from here (weight wise). Attitude and energy are way up!

Until next time.

So close I can taste it!

Yesterday I did my weekly weigh in. I've now surpassed 95lbs lost, 95.7 to be exact! I'm so happy with my new life and my weight loss. 95 pounds in 4 months!  The so close part is that I am less than a pound from being under 300! I can't remember the last time I was near here. It has been more than 20 years! I remember when I went on weight watchers for the first time just out of high school. At that point I weighed 300 even. I've got between 80-90lbs left to go.

Heather and I started back at the gym this week. Well I guess I should rephrase that, I started back at the gym. Heather has been going since she is training to run her half of a half marathon in November. I made a commitment to get started back at the gym. I need to start getting more cardio and weight training so that I can tone and build muscle. With all of the weight loss I don't want saggy skin.  I don't have time to work out in the evenings. With soccer practice and just being downright tired after work (I work 10 hour days) I figured the only time that I can work out is early in the morning. Since I have to leave for work by 6, that means getting up super early. Heather and I have gotten up every morning at 4am this week to get to the gym by 4:30. We work out until 5:15-5:30. I did miss one day due to server problems at work, but I was still up at 4:30. I like getting my workout done early. Yes I am tired, but I also feel energized throughout the whole day. The only problem is that I crash by 8:30-9, but most of the time this week I haven't gotten to be until after 10.

Next report will hopefully be a big celebration. I should be at 100+ lbs lost and under 300!

Overdue update

It has been a crazy summer at our house. We started a project in our master bed room and what was the office, now the couples cave. On July 4th weekend I started ripping up the floors in both rooms. Since the dogs spend the bulk of their time in the rooms, and the fact that Bandit is now 16 years old and senile, the room was starting to smell of dog pee. We decided to pull up all of the flooring and do stained concrete. I have to say it was a hard process to prep it, but the actual application was rather easy. We're now back in the rooms after almost a month and we are pleased with the results.

Now on to the weight loss. As of Friday, July 31, 2015 I am down a total of 90.3 pounds! I am so happy and pleased with myself. As I told Heather a week or so ago, the only regret I have about the surgery is that I didn't do it 15 or more years ago!  I'm down from wearing a size 5x shirt to comfortably fitting in a 2x shirt. I've gone through all of my old clothes and donated most of them, or will be soon. I'm buying new clothes in limited quantities as I know I won't be at these sizes for very long.

Tomorrow starts my serious gym work. We are getting up at 4am to head to the gym. It is not going to be fun getting up that early, but I don't have time to work out any other time. With soccer and life in general mornings are my only time. The bad thing is that I have to get up that early since I have to leave for work by 6.

I'll try and update more frequently from here on out.

10 weeks out

Well I am just a few days past 10 weeks out. As of this morning I am down a total of 67.5 pounds! Hello 320's. Hopefully I won't be staying long!

I feel great. This week has been crazy and I have been tired. Not from the surgery or the weight loss though, it has been because of lack of sleep.

I just started working with a fitness/nutrition coach. She works heavily with getting macro nutrients in. I will be starting next week with her plan of protein, carbs, fat, and fiber.

Sorry for the shortness of this post, but I don't have a whole lot to say this week. We're gearing up for a soccer tournament with Evan's team and the weather is going to be HOT!