So much time has passed since my last post and I apologize for being so slack! The holidays have a way of eating up a lot of time! Things have continued to go well in my journey with gastric bypass surgery, I feel I am truly blessed! I know that there are others who have complications and other struggles and my heart goes out to them. I am grateful that things have gone very smoothly for me....I even managed to survive Thanksgiving and Christmas and really not feel deprived, which is something I was concerned about.
For Thanksgiving, I made a couple of new recipes. One was for caramel pecan sweet potatoes. Oh my, it was quite yummy! I also made a sugar free chocolate raspberry trifle where I layered crushed sugar free chocolate sandwich cookies with sugar free chocolate pudding, cool whip, and fresh raspberries, which was also super yummy! Both of these recipes are "friendly" to our nutritional requirements! Score! The main thing I had to keep in mind was to just take a tablespoon of everything, eat the protein first, and then sample from the rest. I was successful with this, but I admit it was hard not having any rolls. But what I did have was great and I really felt like I was still able to participate like I have every other year, I just ate better things and less of them.
Christmas was easier because we had already been down the road with the food. But then you have holiday parties to consider, etc., etc. I will admit that we did splurge on some sugar cookies, maybe a chocolate chip cookie here and there, and a little bit of pumpkin bread, too. Luckily nothing made me (or Bart) sick...which may be a good thing or a bad thing. :)
My biggest accomplishment came on Tuesday January 3rd when I weighed in that morning. It was the first day I weighed UNDER 200 pounds and officially joined the "ONEderland" crowd! I am not even sure when the last time was that I weighed in at under 200 pounds, it's been THAT long (TOO long)! I will admit that it is almost a freeing feeling, kind of like I felt like I could fly or something! Since that day, I've lost 2 more pounds and am up to a grand total of 68 pounds lost. Not too shabby in just barely over 4 months time!
I have noticed that walking the stairs isn't as challenging as it used to be. I have better balance and stability (still not great, but better than it used to be!). I can keep up with all of my exercise classes now and have progressed in difficulty with a lot of the movements and the best thing is I don't have to walk funny for the three days that follow anymore! The only exception to this is PiYo class - a combination of Pilates and Yoga. OH....MY....GOSH!! SO hard....I don't think I've ever sweated that much exercising where I wasn't doing any aerobic workout at all! But I enjoyed the class and took it a few times over the Christmas holidays when things at work at slowed and I was able to work at home since it's only offered on Friday mornings.
I am amazed everyday how many things have changed in my life for the better since this surgery. I am grateful that I can share this journey with my husband and for all of the friends and family I have that have been so supportive along the way. Even my hair loss seems to be slowing down and hopefully soon will be on its way to replenishing itself! There is just so much to look forward to this year!
