October | 2014 | The Skinny Girl Inside

Monthly Archives: October 2014

Looking Back

Posted on October 24, 2014 | Leave a comment

Two years ago today, I weighed 298 pounds and was in the hospital. I had my gastric by-pass surgery October 24, 2012. It’s amazing how my life has changed! I’m not quite at my goal weight yet, but I know I will never weigh 300 pounds again!

I feel so much better and my life, which was once so lonely, is very full. I am happy with the new direction my life has taken. I know a lot of people look down on bariatric surgeries. I know I did for a long time. Many people think this is the easy way out. For me, where I was in my life, it felt like the only choice. I have no regrets. I am not looking back!

Here is a brief list of the many positive changes

I can walk without pain.
Breathing is easier.
I can walk and breathe at the same time!
I feel very self-aware.
I am no longer invisible.
I am no longer invisible to men. (!!)
I feel more confident.
My blood pressure is normal without medication.
My blood sugar is normal.
My triglycerides are normal.
My heart rate is normal.
I don’t have to shop at plus-sized stores any more!
My grocery bills have gone way down.
My overall health is right on target!
I have a whole new wardrobe!
I got rid of all of my fat girl clothes.
I can use a small suitcase as my clothes do not take up so much room.
I am very active.
Because of my improved health, I can go to all kinds of fairs and festivals!
For the first time in a long time, I really see a future for myself.
I look cute in clothes!
There is room between me and the steering wheel of my car.
I can fit comfortably in most airline seats (as comfortable as one can get in those).
I can run a little bit.
I re-discovered just how awesome my friends and family are!

Sometimes this journey is still hard. I will always have challenges, and I will always fight this fight. But for the first time in my life, I feel like I am winning!

Thrown Off Course

Posted on October 17, 2014 | 1 comment

I was thrown off course with my exercise plan last week. I had not been feeling great the week before that and my exercise slowed down. I was tired a lot and started having trouble taking deep breaths.

I woke up on Monday, Oct 6 with what I thought was a horrible cold. I was very sick and eventually went to urgent care. Turns out, I had a very mild form of pneumonia. Let me tell you, if that was mild, I do not ever want to get full-blown pneumonia. I missed work most of last week.

I have also had trouble getting motivated getting back to the gym. I have gotten my diet back on track and I’ve been doing pretty good.

I also have received many requests for my spinach pie recipe. I am making it again tomorrow for a thing I’m going to at my friend’s art studio. The last time I made it, I took many pictures of the process. I am going to update my recipe with some good pictures.

I know I need to get back to the gym. I think tomorrow is out as I have the full day chock full of activities already, so Sunday, definitely. That said, I am going to be doing a lot of walking on Saturday, so there will be some exercise. But I am also going to start tonight doing some things at home. Planking, sit-ups, etc. Things I have difficulty doing at the gym in some of the exercise classes that I take. I feel much better doing those at home anyway.

Anyway, I am feeling kind of blah after my bout with pneumonia. It was kind of strange to have difficulty breathing after over a year of being able to breathe without any problems at all. Plus I’ve been resting, staying in, trying to make sure I’m fully recovered from the pneumonia so that I do not have a relapse. I feel like a big fat cow. I know I’m not, but I just feel so bloated and fat. That’s not really helping me feel motivated. I know it should, but it does not.

But on the bright side, it is Friday! Hopefully, after a weekend of getting back into exercise, I will feel much better next week.