So close I can taste it.

My weight loss goal is so close, I can taste it. The weight loss has been very, very slow this last month as I inch closer to my goal. I am about 7 lbs. from my goal weight of 199. Even though the weight loss has been slow, I am still losing a lot of inches. I am now in 36 waist pants ( down from 52) and all of my shirts are now large( down from 4x). It is amazing how big even the XL shirts are for me now.

Once I reach my goal ( later this month), I will probably revise my goal to about 190 lbs. I want to be able to add more muscle and stay under the 200 lb mark. It seems like when I lose 2,3 or even 4 lbs, it makes me feel so much better. I go for my 9 month post op blood work at the end of this month, I expect it to be even better than last time. My blood sugar has been excellent and my cholesterol has been in the normal range since right after surgery.

I am really increasing my cardio for the rest of the month so when I go for my blood work on the 27th, I will have reached my weight loss goal in 9 months after having the VSG surgery. That means I will have lost 100% of my excess body weight. It is amazing how fast time flys, it seems like my surgery was just a few months ago.

We all know people that need this surgery to lose weight and get their health back, I just wish there was a way to bottle up the difference this can make in ones life and give it to those in need.

Slowing Weight Loss, More Toning.

Well, I am about 13 lbs. from my goal weight and it has really slowed down. I have really increased my strength training and I am having some great results. Since I am building more muscle and still losing inches at a great rate, the weight loss has really slowed down. It is human nature to want to hurry and reach my goal since I am this close but I am accepting the trade off since I am getting in better shape. Part of me wants to stop the weight training and step up the cardio just to reach the weight loss goal faster but since I have been mixing it up a little, I am probably stronger than I have been in many, many years. I have very little loose skin after losing over
100 lbs. and I contribute that to the weight training. I have more muscle definition than I have had for a long time. My sleeve is continuing to do its job by still producing the same amount of restriction since day one after surgery. I hope to have more good news soon.

FINALLY, 100 lbs. Down.

Well, I was wondering if this day would ever come. I have officially lost 100 lbs. since starting this journey. It has been almost 7 months since my surgery and I feel great. The last 4 lbs. I have lost has taken weeks. The good news is I continue to lose inches at a very good rate. I can comfortably wear 38 waist pants now and the  40 waist pants are officially too big. That is a great feeling considering I was in 52 waist pants less than 7 months ago. I am wearing more Large shirts now and many of my XL shirts are getting too big. This too is a great feeling because I was wearing 4xl  only 7 months ago.

I had raised my calorie intake to 1200 calories a day for my strength training at the gym, it has helped my exercising and reduction in inches but it had slowed my weight loss. With my weight loss STILL being my main priority, I reduced my calories back down to 900 a day and lowered my carbs to below 80. That helped resume the weight loss and get me off my stall. I am only 16 lbs. away from my weight loss goal. It really seems attainable now that I am this close. I was hoping to reach my goal by January 1st but that is not going to happen. I am going to increase my cardio workouts, slow my strength training and keep my calorie intake down for the next month or so and hope to reach my goal by February 1st.

My surgery was on 5-25-2011 but it seems like years. I have to keep telling myself it has not even been 7 months yet. I am getting a little impatient now that I am getting this close.

6 month blood work and survived Thanksgiving Holiday.

I survived the Thanksgiving Holiday and actually lost two pounds. I did not get in too much exercise but I did walk a lot. I did not deprive myself but I ate sensible portions and tasted anything I wanted. My snacks still consisted of Beef Jerky and almonds.

I had my 6 month post surgery blood panel done yesterday and everything was fantastic. Prior to my surgery, my A1C test for my blood sugar was 10.2, it was down to 6.3 at the 3 month mark and yesterday, it was 5.5. My Diabetes is totally under control with no medication and has improved at every reading. My Cholesterol is also in the normal range which it has been since the weight loss. The one number that had been hard to improve was my good cholesterol but I was able to get it up to the normal level as well. My blood pressure was excellent as well. This sleeve is such a great tool I have been given and I am going to take full advantage of it. My diet and exercise continues to inch me closer to my weight loss goal, I am now down a total of 92 lbs. in 6 months.

Stay tuned, I am ramping up my strength training and going to increase my cardio as well. I am going to try to reach my weight loss goal by January 1st.

Thanksgiving Holiday

Well with the Thanksgiving holiday coming up, I have so much to be  thankful for this year. My surgery has changed my life in so many ways including giving my health back to me. I am down
90 lbs. since I started my journey a little less than 6 months ago. The surgery along with the new eating lifestyle and the exercise program has allowed me to lose the weight and open up a whole new world to me.

I think the best phrase I have heard is I now eat to live instead of live to eat. This is so true. I look back and I used to plan my life around eating. I still enjoy going out and eating with friends but it is more of a social thing and not having to load up on food.

There are several discussions on the  WLS forums about people having their first big family meal over the holiday since having their surgery. I experienced this over the 4th of July Holiday. I actually lost weight that weekend and I ate what I wanted, just very little of it. I controlled my portions and did not pig out. The exercise level will help as well. Just because there will be a lot of food around for the holidays, it does not mean you have to deprive yourself nor does it give you a license to pig-out. We just have to listen to our sleeves and not overeat.

On another topic, when you get a chance to check out our website, www.mexicosurgerysolutions.com , let me know what you think. We are also on Facebook. I just posted some new articles about Diabetes, there are some pretty scary statistics. I have been so blessed now that I can help people change their life and improve their health. All of my before and after blood panel numbers are posted on my website, my next blood work  panel is scheduled for the end of this month.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving holiday, we all have many things to be thankful for.

Personal Training

I wanted to give you an update on how the training is going. My weight loss is still at a crawl but I am getting in much better shape. We break up the weight training and the cardio. When working on the weight training, we do upper body in one session and do the lower body in the other session. I have my personal training twice a week and then work out at the gym at least 3 other days on my own. The strength training has helped a lot, but I am sore all over. I am ready to get past this stage but it just goes to show how out of shape I really was.

I am training for a 5k run, my goal at this stage is not to win, it is just to finish. My conditioning is getting much better but I still have a long way to go.

I am down to 229 lbs, I am so happy to be in the two-twenties, even if it is 229. I keep changing my goal weight from 195 to 200 lbs. I think I will push to the 195 and see how I feel. I think if I get in shape and I am toned up, I think I can wear the 195lbs and look healthy. Wish me luck.

Very happy to be "Just Overweight".

Well, this is the first time in many years that I am not " clinically Obese". My BMI is under 30 for the first time in probably 20 years. I do not put too much stock in the Normal, Overweight and Obese categories simply because I felt as good last week as I do this week. The only thing that has changed is I lost a couple more pounds and medically changed categories. Do not get me wrong, I am excited to be out of that Obese category but my goal is to be healthy, not in a " normal category".

The good news is I am still losing a lot of inches, much faster than my weight loss at this point. I am down to a size 40 pant now, that is amazing to me considering I was in a size 52 just about 5 months ago. This makes shopping a lot more fun.

I have finally reached the point of hiring a personal trainer. I have been working out on my own for several months now to lose the majority of my weight. I wanted to make sure I was completely recovered from my surgery before I committed to a more demanding workout program. My first evaluation is tomorrow and then have committed to meeting with the trainer twice a week. I need some help in getting rid of this last 30lbs to reach my final weight loss goal. Wish me luck.