MP Day 2

Hip Hip Hooray!!!! I weighted in at 177.6 this morning!! This means that the extra fluid and gas from surgery is almost gone!! I did feel much better when I woke up this morning!! I am now excited to maintain and continue losing the weight slowly!! i have been eating some fun foods the past 2 days! Enjoyed a VERY YUMMY broccoli cheddar soup & today made a AWESOME omelet!!
I will be able to start working out when we return from Mammoth next week. I was instructed by the doc that I couldn't exercise for a week. But when we return I will be starting to train for a 1/2 marathon in May!! I am excited about the new challenge and what the training will do to the body!!

Manitance Phase (MP) Day 1

WOW.... already excited!! I had an apple & a Chocolate Peanut Butter Low-Carb Protein Bar!! It was like heaven. These are bars that my doctor ordered me to have!! i get to each one a day!! They are only 180 calories per bar & they actually taste like a candy bar!! LOVE IT!!

Ryan is bringing home lunch for us... I am having a Walnut, Apple and Gorgonzola Chicken Salad with Low-Fat Balsamic Dressing!! I AM SO EXCITED!!! I can mix my foods and enjoy them!! Thinking about where I want dinner!! I'm not cooking these days... after surgery... I am off my feet!!! Panera Bread, or Olas, or Woodranch is on the list!! Its still going to be hard to monitor the foods, but I have a GREAT app on my phone to keep track of my calories and I will still weight each morning!!

This morning I got on the scale... 181
This means that the gas & fluid that they filled me with during surgery is starting to decrease. I was upset the first few days because of the gained weight, but I am starting to understand that it's ok!! There is NOTHING that i could have done to avoid it, so I will just work hard to keep getting to my goal!

Last Official Day of Phase 2

So... today is the last day I will be eating 500 calories! I stopped the drops on Wednesday and then had to continue to 500 calories for 3 days to let my body get used to not having the drops! Tomorrow i will be starting a 1700-1800 calories diet. YEAH!!!

The past 3 days SUCK! I had surgery on Thursday & that morning I weighted in at 177.5
Well... Friday morning (day after surgery) I weighted 182.5 AHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I gained 5 pounds. SO FRUSTRATING! But then today I weighted in and I was 181.6 So I am dropping it off. The doc said that he filled me with gas and fluid to help with healing. So I am hopeing that over the next few days I will get back to my 177.5

I am looking forward to eating more and working out!! Ill keep you posted on this fun adventure!!

Before & After Pictures!!!

OK... Here are the Before and After Pictures!! The Before pics are on the left & the After pics are on the right!! My measurements are listed below all the pictures!! I am not pushing out the belly during the before and I'm not sucking it in during the after! I took a deep breath and relaxed just before the pics were taken :-)

Yes I look pregnant in the before pictures... I'm NOT!!
These before pics were taken December 1, 2010
After pics were taken Jan 5, 2011

MEASUREMENTS:
BEFORE:
Weight: 208 pounds
Waist: 38 3/4
Hips: 47 7/8
Under Bra: 38 1/8
Chest: 41 1/2
Right Arm: 13 3/4
Left Arm: 13 3/4

AFTER
Weight: 177.5 pounds
Waist: 32 3/4
Hips: 44
Under Bra: 35
Chest: 39
Right Arm: 12
Left Arm: 12 1/8

I have lost about 6 inches off my waist!! That is AMAZING!!
Feeling Good!! Cant wait till I hit my ultimate goal!!
Only 17.5 more pounds total!! YAHOO!

Day 36

So proud to announce that I have lost 30.5 pounds!! i weighted in at 177.5 this morning!! My goal for phase 2 of this program was 30 pounds. Today when meeting with my doctor she & I decided that today is the last day I will be taking the HcG drops, and will be moving into Phase 3: Maintenance!!! YIPPEE!!! Works out great with my surgery scheduled for tomorrow!! I will take after pictures tonight and post the before and after with all my measurements!!

I will continue with the 500 calories diet for 3 days (thur, fri, & sat), then on Sunday I start a 1700-1800 calorie diet!! i will be able to add loads of foods back into my diet, and I can mix!! I am NOT allowed to have Starch and Sugar!! I'm looking forward to making some really AWESOME and healthy new receipts!!

Phase 3 here I come!! I have 17 more pounds till I hit my ultimate goal! Over the next 6 weeks we will see how the weight loss continues, and after 6 weeks we can decide if I will so another round (short version) or if I am doing well on my own!! :-) I will still be wieghing in every morning and monitoring my weight!! It's a TOTAL lifestyle change and I am so proud of myself!!

Day 35

YAHOOOOOOOOOOOO... I am 179 pounds today!! Yeah, it feels great to be in the 170's!! Finally! The past few days were a test to my patience and dedication to this program. I wanted to just say forget it and eat a cookie...but I didn't!!

Today is a hard day. A friend of ours passed away this AM to cancer. We were able to go and see him on Sunday & say good-bye, but this is just a great reminder of why taking care of our bodies is SO important. The doctors said that he was able to enjoy life here on earth a little longer because he was in great physical condition. He fought a good fight & he is now dancing in the streets of heaven.

Read this today in my devotional. It was a GREAT reminder.
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. —Matthew 22:37

When Jesus was asked to name the greatest command in the Law, He replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment” (Matt. 22:37-38). The questioner wanted to test Jesus, but the Lord answered him with the key element in pleasing God. First and foremost, our relationship with Him is a matter of the heart.

If we see God as a taskmaster and consider obedience to Him as a burden, then we have joined those of whom the Lord said, “I have this against you, that you have left your first love” (Rev. 2:4).

The way of joy is to love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind.

God is amazing to love us all... and want us all to be followers of him! We are His children. When I focus on his purpose and love, my life seems to be smoother and enjoyable. God blesses us for listening to him.

Getting myself healthy has been something that I have wanted for a long time, and never put my heart into it. I have had lots of people ask me "Why now, have you finally decided to dedicate yourself to getting healthy?" The reason I am so pumped and dedicated is because of where my life is now. My husband and I started a new business with Send Out Cards, and this company is amazing. It has challenged me to be a better person. At our last seminar the company focused on us. They had us evaluate who we are as people and what we would like to see. I wrote some 'I AM' statements, and this was the motivation to FINALLY get myself healthy. I am SO thankful for Send Out Cards, because this is WHY I am getting focused. SOC is the reason I met the doctor that is helping me get healthy!!

I have learned that if I put my mind to something, then I can do it!! But, the most important thing, I can't do it alone... I can do it with the Lords Strength!

Day 33

Well... I am mildly frustrated because I weighted in today at 180
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH it's like I am not able to get to the 170's. But I am SO close! I only have a few more days! 7 official days left! WOW... i cant believe that I have actually done the program & not cheated! I am SO proud of myself! i am starting off 2011 felling WONDERFUL. I am excited for what this year will bring! I am excited to continue my health program and get to my goal!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! We had a wonderful weekend with friends (thanks Kim & Dave & girls)!! My menu wasn't that big of an issue, but the ONE thing that I missed having was a glass of wine! I am VERY excited for the next phase and being able to enjoy a glass of wine!! It's almost worse than when pregnant, because I could have a glass... it wont hurt a baby!! But, I am DEDICATED to this stinking program!! Wine will wait one more week! :-)

I am having surgery on Thursday of this week. That will be 3 days before the end of my program and I am wondering what the doc will say about my eating & drops! I will call her tomorrow and ask if i should skip a day or still do drops or if she will take me off the program 3 days early.

My goal for this program was to drop 30 pounds. I am 2 pounds away. I am praying that Thursday morning I am -30 pounds from start date!! This will make me VERY happy!

I am starting to really hate my food choices. After 33 days of eating a small list of food... I am ready for a good bowl of soup, or a salad with all the fixings! I still cant have carbs, and sweet treats, or peanuts, and a bunch other things, BUT I can have cheese and a few red meats, and a few salad dressings, and SOUPS!! So I am getting really excited!!! I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

I read this in a devotional... INTERESTING!! Great food for thought for the beginning of the year!!

A hotel in Singapore introduced an express buffet—eat all you can in 30 minutes and pay just half the price! After that experience, one diner reported: “I lost my decorum, stuffing my mouth with yet more food. I lost my civility, . . . and I lost my appetite for the rest of the day, so severe was my heartburn.”

Sometimes I think in our devotional reading we treat God’s Word like an express buffet. We wolf it down as fast as we can and wonder why we haven’t learned very much. Like physical food, spiritual food needs chewing! For those of us who have been Christians for a long time, we may have a tendency to speed-read through the passages we’ve read many times before. But in doing so, we miss what God is meaning to show us. One sure sign of this is when we learn nothing new from that passage.

David’s desire was right when he wrote in Psalm 119:15, “I will meditate on Your precepts, and contemplate Your ways.” That’s the way to treat God’s Word—to take time to mull it over.

Let’s not come to the Bible as if we were going to an express buffet. Only by meditating on God’s Word will we get the most value for our spiritual well-being.