October 17, 2008

Weigh In

The scale is still moving. I have dropped a few more pounds and am down to 168.5. My goal is to be 166 by Halloween and 153 by Christmas. I am pretty sure that I can meet the Halloween goal, but I am going to have to really work to meet my Christmas goal.

This week on Wednesday (10-15-08) my doctors office sent off the paperwork to the insurance company to see if I will be approved for a Panniculectomy. I have been doing some research on the cost if it is not covered by insurance and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised by the cost. I thought that it would be about $25,000 and it is less than half that.

Also, on 11-13-08, I meet with a doctor to discuss a Breast Reduction. I know that many people feel that my Breasts are much smaller than they used to be and in some cases they are correct. I have lost about 10 inches around, however the cup size has not gotten any smaller and this is the part that I really want to be much smaller. It is very difficult and very painful for me to run, but I enjoy it so much that I am willing to put up with the pain. I officially have scars now from where the 3 bras (yes you read that correctly - 3 bras) that I wear for running have cut into my skin.

I am not sure if I mentioned it before of not, but I am currently in a competition at work to see who can run the most miles from 9-1-08 to 10-31-08. So far I have run 90.7 miles during this time frame. I am not in the lead, but i am also not in last. I am currently about 21 miles behind the leader. I know this sounds like a lot and it is, but it is not doable.

Well, I have a lot to do today, so I am going to check out for now. I will continue to keep you updated on the results from the insurance company, the progress on my weight loss, and the running competition.

September 26, 2008

Weigh In

It appears that the scale is back on the move!!! I am so excited. I have lost another 2 pounds this week and I am now at 171.5. I would like to be 166 by Halloween, so that means that I would need to lose another 5.5 pounds in just over a month (about 1 pound a week). I hope that I do not hit another plateau, but if I do that is OK. I have come such a long way and I am extremely happy with where I am. I have lost a total of 155 pounds. That is soooo amazing to me.

September 22, 2008

Wow, it has been a really long time since I posted anything new. Sorry, I have several websites that I am in the process of maintaining and my favorite one is www.sparkpeople.com I have lost a little more weight since my last entry and I am now down to 173.5.

I went to the doctor that did my Gastric Bypass Surgery on 9-12-08 to see about having the excess skin removed. First I wanted to see if it was really excess skin or if I just have more weight to lose. He informed me that it is excess skin and he thinks that there is at least 12 pounds of excess skin (just in the stomach area). I also inquired about a Breast Reduction and both can be down at the same time. This was good news for me, because I am not sure that I could go through all the pain twice and if I had to pick between one or the other, I would have picked the Breast Reduction.

I am still running and each day I am in pain. It is my upper back and lower back that are in pain. The rest of my body seems to be adapting well to this running thing. I am still planning to run a Marathon in April of 2009, however my only fear is that by doing the above surgeries my progress will be set back and it will be like I am starting over. I hope that if the surgeries are approved by my insurance that the recovery is extremely quick and that I can get back to my training ASAP.

August 17 - August 23, 2008 Minutes of Exercise

My goal for the week was 300 minutes of Exercise and I did not come close, but I was much better than the week prior. The week prior I had 68 minutes of exercise and this week I had 203 minutes of exercise. I am going to try my hardest the week of 8-24-08 to 8-30-08 to hit 300 minutes. This may be extremely difficult for me to accomplish, because I am leaving to go on vacation Thursday morning and I will not return until Tuesday the next week.

Sun 8/17: 38 min
Mon 8/18: 0 min
Tues 8/19: 45min
Wed 8/20: 60 min
Thurs 8/21: 60 min
Fri 8/22: 0 min
Sat 8/23: 0 min
Weekly total: 203 min

August 15, 2008

Another 5K

I ran another 5K. This one was called Valley 5000 and it is based in Loveland CO. This was a very interesting race for me, because it rained the whole time. In fact by the time I got home I weighed an additional 6 pounds from all the water that my clothes has soaked up.

I was very proud of myself, because even though it rained and I was cold I beat my time by almost 2 minutes. My first race was officially 40 minutes and 21 seconds. This race was officially 38 minutes and 33 seconds and that was even after I had to stop and wait for the fire truck to move.

The next 5K that I am going to run is on 9-21-08 and it is located in Fort Collins. I am hoping to complete this run in 35 minutes or less. I have been trying to work out each day on my treadmill for an hour. During this hour I am doing a combination of running and walking, but I am trying to build up my bodies endurance and make it work harder and longer. I am hoping that this will help me finish my 5K in 35 minutes of less. I have about 3 weeks to keep up this routine before the 5K and I am also hoping to lose 5 pounds prior to the run.

8-9-08 - Rat Race

I just ran my first ever race. It was called the Rat Race. It was a 5K and I completed this in 40 minutes and 18 seconds. My goal was to finish in under 45 minutes and I accomplished that goal. The hardest thing for me was to figure out how to drink and run at the same time. This I was not able to figure out, so each time I needed a drink from the nice people that passed out water, I ended up walking. I walked a total of 4 times.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Today I was able to run for 22 minutes straight and then I cooled down with an 8 minute walk.