Oct 26th!

It has been 4 months and I am down to 227 pounds!  It has been such an amazing journey! Since May 14th I have gone down from 315 to 227, which is DOWN 88 pounds! I am just so happy with the progress :)

I am so thankful to have had the surgery and to be where I am today.  I haven't been able to update lately because I have been working teaching during the day and at a retail store in the evening.  That has probably helped me keep busy with the weight!

Here are some photo shots to show the progress as of now:

71.6 pounds down!

So, 4 months ago I started to really 'begin' this journey in my mind... I was set with surgery, good to go.  I was starting to get more into my exercise routine, and i started to track myself.  I was going to be starting boot camp class and was geared up and ready to go.  On May 14th I weighed in at 315 pounds. I then started the saturday morning boot camp, going to the gym at least 2 more times a week, then had the surgery June 25th, and ever since then tried to keep my commitment up.  While in the past 2 weeks I have not been going to the gym, I have been working 2 jobs, one of which has consisted of loading and unloading boxes, stocking shelves, moving merchandise, etc... so active and on my feet the whole time.  My calories have stayed under 600 on average, and keeping my water levels (well, water with MIO and propel/powerade 0) at a minimum 64 oz or more. Today 9/14, so exactly 4 months after the start of the prep for surgery, I am weighing in at 243.4 pounds.  That means that in 4 months I have lost 71.6 pounds.

It is hard to believe that it has really happened.  I have cleaned out most of my old clothes from the closet (I have some of my old 'tight' clothes, which are now pretty lose on me) as i was wearing mostly 24s and 26s, and now have new clothes that are 16s, 18s, and even some 14s that fit!  This whole experience has made me start to feel so much better about myself. I can't say I regret anything, as the only thing I could think of would be not having it sooner, however the other times i had started up the program I got pregnant and I don't regret my boys.  So while I do wish I could have had this happen years ago, I am glad I am at where I am, as i have wonderful kids who I will be able to stay active and healthy with, and a supportive husband who is here pushing me along to inspire me to keep up the good work.

Measurement time again

alright, I did more measurements :)  Here is the comparison chart with the addition of this morning!


Area...June 4....June 12....July 2nd....Aug 3rd ...Sept 6....
Bust--- 50.5"-----same-----49.25"-----46.25"-----44.75"----
Chest-- 48"------46.5"------44.75"-----43"--------41"-------
Waist-- 50"-----49.5"-------45.25"------44"---------43"----
Hips--- 60"------same--------57"--------55.75"-----53"----
Thighs- 32"------same------- 31"--------29.5"-------26.5"---
R Calf-21.5" ----21"---------20"--------19"---------same-----
L Calf--20"------same-------19.25"-----18.5"-------same-----
bicep--14.25"---same-------same-------same--------14.5"-----
Forearm-12.5"--12.25"----same------11.5"--------11.25"----
Neck ---16.5"---16"------15.25"------15"-----------same-----

total inches lost from June 4 to sept 6th: 45.25 inches

Pretty good numbers if I do say so myself! I am pretty excited to see these numbers!

I have just started working at the Halloween store in the afternoons and evenings so I wont be able to go to the gym as much (once teaching starts hopefully Monday I will be working both positions and pretty busy!) but I hopefully will be able to continue the losses as I am busy.  I weighed in today at 246.8 which is exactly 50.2 pounds less than weight on the morning of the surgery on June 25th!

If you have any questions or comments, u know what to do!

clothes!!!

well this post is all about clothes :) when i started this journey back in June i was wearing bshorts/pants in sizes 24 and 26  and my tops were some 26/28 and 22/24 from lane bryant

Yesterday i was at lane bryant (i got a job again teaching and my clothes are very baggy lol) trying on clothes to get and noticed it was loose... well long story short i am able to wear size 14/16 top and i bought 2 14s bottoms and a 16 pants.  i am shocked about it because everything i read was how i wouldnt drop sizes fast at first yet here i am with big changes in size.  if i can figure out adding pictures from my tablet i will post the before and after pictures :)

alright well that was about it for today!

me wearing a size 14/16 top and 14 skirt 

me right before surgery at my high of 315 in may

oh and by the way i weighed in today at 250.4 which is 47 pounds down from surgery and a total of 64.6 pounds lost since mid may!!! i will be measuring in next few days so watch for that post as well

almost 2 months out!

Wow, time is just flying by!  I appologize about not having kept up frequently with this... between both kids, dr appointments, trying to find a job, and doing some volunteer work at one of the schools when the kids are in daycare I have been busy!  Oh, and add in going to the gym, because I go at least 3 times a week for full work out :)

Well first off, I can't believe it but I hiked Cowles mountain last week.  Last Tuesday I did it, all the way to the top on my own.  I have done it a few years ago, but since then couldn't make it to the top without turning around.  I did the longer route (2.5 miles to the top, so 5 miles round trip) and man it took forever but I did complete it.  I started at 9 am at the base of the mountain, and got back to my car at 12:23.  whew it was hard but I am just glad i did.  I took breaks going up (had to) but still managed to do it. 

My regular work outs are M/W/F (and Saturdays mixed in as well, but those are for sure days I go every week) for 60 minutes minimum of Cardio (can we say 900+ Calories burned right there!) plus some core and strength training.  I am trying to keep it up getting into the school year!  Gotta keep pushing!  I got a reply to a question at the gym about boot camp.  They said it is returning and to watch for the sign posted in the next few days with info.  I am excited because I LOVED doing boot camp in May/June and can't wait to do it again.  It was a great experience and a great work out.

My nutrition is doing pretty well.  I am sticking to my proteins well, even right now I am eating for lunch some chicken I made on the stove, so high protein there! I am averaging around 600 calories a day (sometimes a little less, but on those days at the gym I make sure to get my protein shake in during the morning so I may sneak up to 700 calories then) so that is looking good.  I am still losing weight (hit the stall once near the beginning of the loss but have been holding steady in losses since then).  When I weighed myself this morning (I know, not a weigh in day but still I did it) I weighed in at 254.8...  When I weighed in on Monday (as I weigh usually on Mondays and Fridays for weigh tracker) I weighed in at 256.4 so still going down :) I usually average about 3-4 pounds a week in loss (I love it) so I am on track for that this week.  When I weighed in on the 23rd of June (2 days before surgery) I was 298... so in 2 months exactly I am down 43.2 pounds.  Since my high in May I am down 60.2 pounds.  So this journey has really been something!

My clothes have gotten too big... I knew that would happen. I found some old clothes packed away that were 'too small' a couple years ago.  I am now wearing some of those, but even then some were too big already.  I have a friend I sent some clothes to, and the rest were given to my mom who sorted thru what she wanted and then she was going to take them to a coworker of hers who is heavier set. 

Well I think that is about all for me right now.  If you have any questions at all please post them here :)  I will measure again in the next week or two and be able to see inches changing and what not.  I measure around the 3rd/4th of each month so I know I will post then, if not sooner :)

Losses by the numbers

Alright, I said I would update on friday, whoops!  So here is a little bit later but still lots of information.  Today I am officially 6 weeks out.  Here are my numbers from weigh ins with each of these weeks :)

Day 1 of new life (hospital weight 6/25/2012)  297

July 2nd-- W1: 278.6(-18.4) 
July 9th-- W2: 272.2(-6.4)
July 16th--W3: 272.0(-.2) 
July 23rd--W4- 272.8(+.8) 
July 30th--W5: 268.2(-4.6 lb) 
Aug 6th---W6: 262.4(-5.8 )

Overall it is a loss of 34.6 pounds in 6 weeks.  This is from surgery.  My highest weight is 315 (that i know of, perhaps it was even once above that)...  When I started book camp on May 12th I weighed in at 312...  So I am pretty happy overall with my weight loss throughout this journey.  On June 11th I started the pre-op diet and weighed 306.

So, the other thing I 'promised' was the measurements.  I measured on August 3rd and here are the measurements from the last few times and the 3rds :)

Area.........June 4..............June 12...............July 2nd.............August 3rd 
Bust-------- 50.5"-----------same---------------49.25"-------------46.25"
Chest-------- 48"------------46.5"---------------44.75"------------43"

Waist-------- 50"------------49.5"---------------45.25"------------44"
Hips---------- 60"-----------same----------------57"----------------55.75"
Thighs ------- 32"-----------same--------------- 31"----------------29.5"
R Calf-------- 21.5" ----------21"---------------20"-----------------19"
L Calf---------20"------------same--------------19.25"-------------18.5"

bicep-------- - 14.25"--------same--------------same---------------same
For arm ----- 12.5"----------12.25"-------------same--------------11.5"
Neck ---------16.5"-----------16"----------------15.25"-------------15"

 

 

TOTAL LOSSES as of now :)

Bust- down 4.25"

Chest- down 5"

Waist- down 6"

Hips- down 4.25"

Thighs- down 2.5"

R Calf- down 2.5"

L Calf- down 1.5"

Bicep- same

Forearm- down 1"

Neck- down 1.5"

 

Overall inches lost in 2 months:  Down 32 inches from my body :) 

 

Alrighty, well I think thats enough for now, lots to process.  So hope you enjoyed seeing the progress by numbers!  Next post I will see about adding some photos to show differences :)

 

Ashley

Been 2 weeks!

Alright its been a while,  my fault!  Life has been crazy with job interviews (another one today!), kids, gym etc.  I was stuck in a stall for two weeks and it has finally broken :) i weighed in today at 265. I am officially weighing less than i did when i was at my lowest in recent years. Lowest i remember being was right before i got pregnant and weighed 268. That was in january of 2009

I have been going to the gym at least 3xs a week doing 60 minutes of cardio on elliptical or cross trainer machine. My calorie intake averages 600 calories or so (250 is my am homemade  protein shake. It includes frozen strawberries and low fat milk).  When i do cardio i knock out 800 calories or so. So that's an update on my life as of now. I am so happy with my sleeve :). On friday i will weigh but also measure and post results. I measure around 4th of each month but am antsy to measure because of that long stall to see since i felt clothes getting looser on me :)

Til later!