August update

It occurred to me that I haven't updated this blog in a LONG time, so thought I give some details about my progress. My weight leveled off for a very long time as well.  While I've continued to get in my daily protein (I shoot for 120+ grams per day) and am mostly compliant with my vites, my carb eating got a little out of control for several months. Happily, I didn't gain any weight, but neither was I losing any either.

Recently, I've started a new plan. I am eating low carb during the week, really trying to keep net carbs 50 or lower and then Saturday is my carb allowed day. So if I really really want something carby, I am comforting myself with 'hey, you can have that on Saturday!'  I've only been doing this a few weeks, but the scale has started moving again, so it's really encouraging.

I'm currently 20 lbs away from my goal. I'm wearing solid sz 10 pants and even have a few sz 8s. Tops are mostly medium although I have an incisional hernia in my upper belly which bulges some so I don't like to wear too form fitting tops. Shapewear does a good but not perfect job of smoothing things out.

I've continued to increase my exercise, which was probably my saving grace during my carb fest. I did indeed finish my first half marathon back in May and have since done two additional ones. I have two more halfs coming up and then the big one, the Philly marathon, in November. I joined a training group and we meet every Saturday for our long runs. I love the group dynamic and the motivation/support. I have no stated time goal, we are training just to finish, but I will be disappointed if I don't finish under 6 hours.  Yes, I know that's a really slow marathon pace, but this might be just a bucket list item. We shall see, anyway. In addition to the running, my teenage daughter and I are both doing a weekly yoga class and a spin class. It's amazing how alive I feel and how much I am amazed at what my body can do, now that it's freed from most of the prison of flesh I carried around for 20 years. :)

January update

Soon I will be 11 months out from surgery. I'm disappointed with my progress in some respects and thrilled in others. I really hoped to be closer to my goal weight by now but I'm still 35 lbs away from it. The last month or so carbs have crept back into my life so I know that has slowed my loss considerably. We were visiting family for just over 2 weeks, surrounded by all kinds of goodies and I indulged myself much more than I should. I lost no weight over Christmas but didnt gain any either. Now it's time to buckle down and make the most of my first year out.

For the first time, today I'm wearing a pair of sz 10 jeans. They must be generously sized, sice they are the only pair of 10s I would wear out of the house but I'll take it! Even though the scale hasn't budged that much in the last couple of months, my hips and thighs are definitely smaller.

I'm continuing to increase my exercise. So far I've done 4 5ks and my 5th is coming up in a few days. Every time has been a new personal record and I hope I can continue that. AND (gulp!) I've decided to continue to push myself and plan to do a half marathon in May. It's pretty daunting considering that my max run currently is just over 4 miles and 13.1 miles is a heck of lot further! Still, I've downloaded some training plans and 4 months of training seems feasible, given where I'm at currently. My goal will be to finish in 3 hours or less, which would even allow me to do some walking here and there if I  need to. I'm excited and simultaneously terrified!