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| Good job, Matilda. Well done. |
I reported before that my doctor is working on adjusting my blood pressure medication. I was on too much medication and was experiencing dizziness so he told me to stop taking one of them. Well, the pill I stopped taking also had a diuretic in it. After the first week off the pill, my body started to retain water in large amounts. My ankles swelled and I wasn't urinating no matter how much water I drank. I ended up almost gaining 10 pounds.
I spoke with my doctor, and he told me to discontinue the one bp med, and switch to my other med with the diuretic. He mentioned we may need to play with these meds until my bp stabilizes, and we find what works. I'm happy to report that I'm doing much better. I was able to lose all the water weight I gained and my bp is very good right now. I'll continue monitor and report.
So, before I left on vacation on 11/18, I weighted in at 232.2 lbs. I was looking forward to being away from the scale as I have difficulty leaving it alone sometimes. I planned to workout at least three days while in Raleigh since I have a Planet Fitness membership. I was going to watch my food and not track anything in My Fitness Pal. It was a test. Will I be able to eyeball my food portions and eat properly? Will I make sure to listen to Matilda when she tells me enough? How will I handle all the food and all THREE of the Thanksgiving dinners that were planned during the visit?
I did prep as well as I could. I took lots of pre-measured snacks, meats, boiled eggs and cheeses. I made sure to have plenty of water to drink, and planned proper lunches on the road so my husband and I would have healthy choices. I even booked a hotel that served free breakfast each morning so I knew I'd be able to eat eggs and other items that Matilda liked.
Each morning at the hotel, I had a scoop of scrambled eggs and 1/4 of my husband's waffle. Yep. I was testing Matilda, and she really likes waffles. I never finished any of my plates so I'm still not estimating my portions well, but at least I can really key in on when Matilda is done. Grade: A+
My lunches ranged from meat and cheese that I brought along with some snacks. I liked my cheese sticks, 1/2 boiled egg and turkey pepperoni or beef summer sausage. So for the most part, these were pretty uneventful except for one day, which I will explain. Grade: B+
I worked out three days in a row - Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday - Arm day, chest day and leg day. On Wednesday, I was able to work out with my sister and my husband. I was feeling amazing so I was really working hard. It was earlier in the day when we were working out (around 9 am) so I hadn't had breakfast yet - which was a mistake. By time we were done, it was lunch time, and I was feel pretty lousy. We had picked out some chicken and potato salad for lunch - and Matilda didn't like it. Not at all. After a few bites, I ended up taking my anti-nausea meds and slept most of the afternoon. My bp was low and my sugar was low. It took until the early evening for me to feel somewhat normal. Grade: A (for the workouts)
I also found out that protein bars and nuts do not mix. Matilda punished me with a couple bouts of the runs. Nothing major though.
We didn't eat out much. We did go to Chili's twice and I ate 2 southwest chicken egg rolls on both occasions. We also ate at Wing Stop on Saturday, and I didn't care for the boneless wings. I had a few mozzarella sticks and 3-4 fries. It all sat like a brick in my tummy. Grade: C-
Now, Thanksgiving was epic. We had three meals with three different groups of people on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. On all three days, I ate very sensibly with eating a bit of dark meat and vegetables. No macaroni and cheese. A drop of dressing. A few olives. That's about it. Now, I did try my hand at desserts. Matilda loved the mini cheesecakes I brought from Sam's Club. She also liked the yellow cake with chocolate icing I made. I had a small bite. I even tried a pinch of a Kings Hawaiian Roll (nah, didn't taste great). I did fall in love with Trader Joe's Organic Corn Chip Dippers - which is a healthier alternative to Fritos. I could see myself getting in trouble with those. Grade: A+ because I can see what foods I can lose myself in and will avoid them like the plague.
In summary, I did well. Matilda handled all the food combos pretty well. I didn't have much illness, and if I did, I recovered well. I know I was eating more than normal, but I was not over eating or grazing. I ate about 3-4 times a day, and I definitely got good water in.
Another joy during the week was Black Friday. Oh yeah. I got down in a few stores. My husband and mom were great cheerleaders in getting me to pick out a few items. My mom was telling the sales people that I had lost 100 pounds and was so proud. She was helping me spend my money. It's amazing being able to shop in stores that don't specialize in plus size clothing. My favorites are Macy's and New York and Company. I also did some damage in Victoria Secret and Athleta. Oh, and we cleaned up with candles and free items at Bath and Body Works.
So, now I'm home. Time to meet with the scale and see what happened...
217.6 pounds. 14.6 pound loss in 8 days.
Yeah. I stepped on that scale twice. I knew I had lost because the water was gone, but I wasn't expecting to completely skip over the 220's and head to the 210's. My clothes were definitely fitting differently. My shoes were loose. I could see my collar bones more. I couldn't help but look in the mirror in the hotel room because they had a full length one, and we don't really have one at home. I could tell I looked different as the week went on. I felt different. Did I feel 14 pounds lighter - HELL NO. But, I'll take it!
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| Matilda's on the Honor Roll! |
I really had no idea what to expect. This was my first vacation since surgery, and I'm glad it went well because my husband and I will be heading to Las Vegas for Christmas. I plan on visiting Planet Fitness while I'm there and planning the same type of snack options as I did during Thanksgiving. I will be eating out a lot more, but I find myself ordering from the appetizer menu and I will try to do that as much as possible.
I really couldn't have asked for a better vacation. I have so much family and friends in North Carolina. It was truly a blessing to spend all of that time there. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I wish you the happiest holiday season.
Weight Loss Update
HW: 360
SW: 278
CW: 217
GW: 160-170
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