The good news is that I have been a perfect angel since the new year, and the weight has started to come off again. And I'm sure it hasn't hurt that I'm been working out every morning at 5 AM with my father-in-law and brother-in-law. We do weight lifting, step aerobics, circuit training, and Zumba. I've never been so sore in my entire life... the muscle fatigue, headaches, body aches, and lack of sleep have really taken a toll on my body. Yesterday I think I hit the wall because I felt like my head had been split down the middle with an axe and I was so light-headed and dizzy that I honestly couldn't function. Thank goodness for a very supportive husband who took very good care of me. And thanks too for my awesome father-in-law and bro-in-law who have, more than once, been the only reason I got my butt out of bed some mornings.
I also had another follow-up visit with my surgeon, Dr. Smith, this past Monday. It went good, I guess. Dr. Smith told me that he doubts I'll loose a lot more weight at this point - and that is not what I wanted to hear, of course! He told me that the minimum weight he wants to see me at 150 pounds. Really? Really? I had my heart set on 130 pounds, then I could fluctuate between 130 - 140 pounds (because 140 is my "actual" goal weight) but I know that I'm bound to fluctuate at least 10 pounds here and there because of my menstrual cycle, holidays, vacations, etc. But, I guess what it will really come down to is where my weight will be in the next 4 months. That will be my 1 year mark, and I have psyched myself up so much for that mark that emotionally I don't know if I can push any further past that - no matter where my weight ends up.
I actually have had one concern lately that Dr. Smith was able to put to rest though. I have completely blacked-out several times now - like - hit the floor and been out for several seconds kind of black-outs. I even went into my primary care physicians a couple weeks ago and had some lab work done just to make sure my iron, folic acid, etc. levels were alright. They were perfect - thank goodness. But, Dr. Smith said that what is happening is that because I've lost so much weight so fast, my mind hasn't caught up yet. When I was heavier, every time I stood up, my body had to force tons of blood into my legs so I could actually move, for example. Well now, my body doesn't need that anymore, but my brain still thinks it has to push all that blood to my legs, thus depriving my brain of the blood that it needs. Hence, why I get so light-headed and dizzy all the time. He told me it could take up to a year for my body to level itself out, so just to make sure I always stand up slow and hang on to something or someone. Crazy, huh?
Anyway, I really should take more "After" pictures, but I rarely think about it. The weight that I'm loosing now just doesn't have much of a dramatic appeal on my appearance like it used to, but here are some photos taken from this Christmas compared to some taken a couple years ago. Enjoy - I sure do! :)
