What is my Goal?

I got this email from Fitbit this week, I had my goal weight as 150 there. That was my original goal, but I know I want to lose more...just not really sure what that number should be.  Dr. said I could get to 130, but I think that is too low...I think I'm going to re-set this goal 140 but I'm not really sure that is right. % body fat might be a better number to track.  When I started this adventure I was like 54% fat; currently I'm 35.5%; I will talk to my trainer about what a good number is to shoot for...seems like 28% but I don't really know where I got that number.

Here is another app that made me happy this week, it says my BMI is

normal...now both my Dr. and Trainer says BMI is a stupid number to track because it only takes into account height and weight and there are so many other factors that determine a healthy place. Notice I have my goal at 130 here...might increase that to 140 too?

I got my 80 lbs lost bead yesterday, I told my husband that I wasn't sure I have another 10 lbs to lose so I was sad about the beads...he said he would still get me beads. So I'm thinking about writing down some fitness goals for beads. Maybe a bead for each 5k  run, a bead for 100 crunches (I'm already up to 80), a bead for 40 push ups (this one is going to need a diamond in it!)...still formulating this plan...so any ideas or input will be greatly appreciated.  If you are thinking of embarking on this journey...the Pandora bracelet has been a great motivator for me.  I recommend having something visual to keep you going.

This is the shadow I see when I'm walking or running outside

   on a sunny day...it shocks me to see my shadow. I know shadows are distorted depending on the time of day, but at my high weight I hated my shadow as much as I hated my image in the mirror. Now I'm enjoying both. 

Out of town

My husband and I went to the casino that is about an hour and a half up the road this weekend; no big wins this time but it got me thinking about how to best handle eating right and exercising when out of town.  I have a week in Austin coming up soon, so I need to plan for success on that trip too.

This weekend I was able to do good on the exercise front, because walking around that huge place helps you log some serious  steps. I did not get any strength training in though, before we go back I need to check out if they have a gym and try to get in a little of that or I could have done crunches, lunges, squats and push-ups in the room.  I did OK on my food choices... had a veggie omelet for a late breakfast that was lunch too, brought almonds to munch on then had this amazing dinner, it was a 6 oz prime tenderloin Oscar (Crab meat and creamy sauce on top and asparagus)

  I can do the buffet there if it's comped...but I'm just too cheap to pay the normal price and eat so little.  But now that I wrote that it made me think that kind of attitude (thinking I need to get my money's worth) was part of my problem in the past!

My next trip I plan on bringing

these for my breakfast, this is what I eat for breakfast most days anyway, high in protein low in sugar and fill me up just right. 

I will bring these for lunches and need one other option, I just can't do tuna everyday.  I'm not sure if there is a refrigerator in the room. If not I'm bringing a small ice chest.

Dinner will be out, but I think I can make good choices there.

The Hilton gym sounds really nice, they have a cardio room and  a strength room.  I am going to miss my trainer here.  But I've been doing this long enough I should be able to handle a week on my own.

Speaking of trainers and the gym...check out these pictures

 You can actually see some muscles!...It's been 30 years since I've had muscles and no more back rolls either. I'm extremely pleased with my progress.

Transformation-Work in progress

 This week I'v had so many compliments that it is almost embarrassing, but I thought "let me see what others are seeing" so I put together this Pic Collage.  Now what I see is I still have work to do, but yes I've made some great progress. I hope I'm being realistic and not overly critical of my self. 

So today I'm going to walk down memory lane from the last 7 months.  That's another way of saying there are lots of pictures and not a lot of words.

 right before going into the operating room.

about a week post op; I felt like my face was already getting smaller

These two pictures were taken about a week after surgery

 I will use them as before pictures

This 2 pictures are from Aug 5 2014

 by this time I had lost 33 lbs

 Sep 22...I think this was my first #gymselfie starting to get a little confidence at 50 lbs lost.

 This does not show to much, but it was my birthday (Sep 29), I was at the gym happy in my new exercise outfit. On side note...you can see my Pandora bracelet..I get a bead for every 10 lbs lost.

I never shared these because I did not like them

it was a new exercise outfit that is super cute... a size smaller...but when I saw these I still felt fat...even though I had lost 63 lbs by this point (166).  Then I started worrying about if I had a warped body image; would I always see myself as fat even when I get to my goal; which btw I'm not 100% sure what my goal is...150 was my original goal; Dr. said I could get to 130, but I think that is too low...so I'm thinking 140 but hoping I know I'm where I need to be when I get there.

 These pictures were taken when I had to do some shopping. I could shopping my closet down to size 12, these are size 10.

This was a super proud moment, Nov 26 when I planked for a minute and 20 seconds...when I first started working with a trainer, I could only go 3 seconds. If you are going to have this surgery, I would recommend working out.  I know many do fine without, but for me it's making a huge difference not only in how I look, but also in how I feel both emotionally and physically.

 Last picture, I took the picture to show off my new headphones which helps the treadmill walking and they are super cool too, but when I posted them on facebook, all the comments where about how good I look and nothing about the headphones...at this point I'm 151.5, that's 77.5 lost.  The weight loss is slowing down, but I'm starting to see some muscles and I love it. 

Happy New Year

New Year is always a good time to reflect and this has been quite a year!Deciding to have surgery is without a doubt the best decision I've made....in a long  time (well, except marrying my husband...that was a good decision too!)
This year I will continue my transformation...it's sort of exciting to actually be enjoying exercise, fitness and life in general. I have signed up for the Color Run at the end of March so that is a short term goal...to get ready for that.
I'm amazed at the changes in me already...but sometimes my head and body are not in sync; I still think of myself as fat and sometimes get uncomfortable with comments and compliments...but on the other hand I get ticked at some of the articles I see at the checkout...people who have lost weight...without surgery...the mentality that surgery is an easy way out is so lame.
A big goal for me is to be a better blogger, my goal is to blog once a week and try to get a bigger following to help encourage that.  I'm going to blame time here...with only so many hours in a day...fitness and eating right take time that I've carved out...leaves less time, but I was managing pretty good for awhile.  Looks like things derailed a bit (just the blogging, not health and fitness) right around Thanksgiving and the holidays. So I'm setting up Sunday morning as my time to blog. I have some pictures of some of my milestones from the last few months...but those will be the subject of a future blog.