Made it 2 years

3 days ago was my two year surgiversary.  It seems like it has been a lot longer than only 2 years.  My weight has continued to be steady, and I am continually working on changing some of the old habits that I have fallen back into.  It's amazing how easily you are able to go back to the old habits.  Hubby and I and the kids are starting to go bike riding, which is fun, and also shows me how out of shape I really am.  I have had to walk the bike up the smallest of hills.  But that's ok, because eventually, I will be able to ride up those hills and be able to go longer and longer distances.  There are so many great trails in the area.  There is a big park right next to me with paved trails, and we can easily load up all 5 bikes into our van and take 2 vehicles to the forest preserve to ride the trails there.

We are also examining our eating habits and I know I am not getting enough protein.  And that is something I can easily change, and something that I will change.

On October 6 I see the plastic surgeon to again talk about skin removal.  It'll be 1 year since my stroke, so there is no reason why we can't proceed.  I am looking forward to this, yet scared at the same time.  The surgery is much more extensive, will involve a LOT more cutting and stitching, and more recovery time.  My hope is to have this done before the end of the year, but we shall see what the doctor and the insurance company says.

Stay tuned...

First walk of the year

There are many things that are our of our control...yet there are many things that are IN our control.  I need to stop worrying about what I can't control and focus on the things I CAN do.

One of those things I started today.  I went for my first walk of the year.  Yeah, I know, it's April already, we're in the 4th month of the year, what the heck took me so long?  The direct answer?  I'm lazy.  That's right, when it comes to exercise, I'm lazy.  And that is something I can control.  I can stop being so lazy.  So today, during lunch, instead of falling into one of the many excuses I make for why I can't do something, I shut off my pea-brain and went for a walk.  I walked 1.11 miles in about 25 minutes.  It's not much, but it's a start.  My goal is to talk another walk tonight.  I need to walk, walk, walk.  I need to do those things that I am in control of and work at what I know I need to do.  And the main two are exercise and watching what I put in my mouth.  Both things that I can control.  Will it be easy?  Heck no, but it is doable.

I also have many things going on that I can't control, and I have some hard decisions to make.  And with lots of soul-searching and prayer, I will be able to go in the right direction for me and my family.  Being healthy is way towards the top of the list, and all the rest will fall into place.

Here's to yet another beginning, and to getting to healthy!

It's been a long time

I was just looking over this blog and realized it's been a LONG time since I posted anything.  I was reading my last post on September 17, 2015 where I talk about the upcoming Pumpkin Run.  I wound up not doing the Pumpkin Run, because hours after I wrote that blog post, my mother passed away.  That was a very emotional time, as I'm sure you can imagine.  I can't believe 6 months have passed already.  It just doesn't seem like it was that long ago.

And time does heal all wounds....

A lot has happened in 6 months.  I suffered a small stoke in October.  Talk about stressful for the family!!!  We were out at our church camp for the weekend when it happened.  Granted, we were only about 1 1/2 hours from home, but when a medical emergency pops up, even 1 1/2 hours seems like a LONG ways away.  My hubby was awesome through it all, he made sure my needs were met and after getting me settled in at the hospital, he made sure that all our friends who came with us to camp were able to get home OK.  Thank GOD it was a small stoke and I don't have any after effects.  I did have to go to occupational therapy because I did have problems with my left hand, but that is mostly resolved now.

There is one other HUGE downside to having a stroke.  I was hoping to have the skin removal surgery done this spring, but since I had the stoke and I'm on blood thinners, we need to postpone the surgery.  I have to wait until a year after the stroke, and I have to be able to be off the blood thinners before we can do the surgery.  Talk about disappointment.  I cried in the surgeons office after getting that news.  I've been on a plateau with my weight loss for several months now, and I was really hoping that having the surgery and losing all the excess skin and the sagging belly would help me to really get back into being able to exercise more and start losing again.  *sigh* However, there is hope for me, and I just need to work harder at doing what needs to be done.

I saw the surgeon for my 1 year follow up (saw him about 4 months after the 1 year mark) and he is very happy with my progress.  He briefly asked about now going in to do the gastric bypass, but since I have Crohn's that is totally out of the question.  He said that I can continue to lose weight, it will just be a bit harder now that I'm past the 1-year mark.

Now that spring is in the air, I want to spend more time outside.  I'm going to get my bicycle out of storage and start riding.  I'm going to start exploring the forest preserves around my house and get some walking/hiking in.  I'm going to go back to walking on lunch.

The battle isn't over yet, it was just kind of put on hold for a while because life got in the way.  Now is the time for a fresh start, a renewal, a time to get over the hump and out of the hole I've been in for a while and get my butt (and the rest of me) back in gear.

And I'll start blogging again.  :-)

5k coming up

I am walking another 5k this Saturday. It is called the pumpkin run.  Part of the walk is through a corn maze.  Hubby and all 3 kids are walking with me.  I signed up for this about 3 months ago and I was really looking forward to it.  But unfortunately, my motivation is not there.  There is something personal going on right now (I am not able to talk about it on the blog...yet), and it is emotionally and mentally draining.  I am hoping that come 5k day, I can get excited about it.  I think we are going out tonight to buy our orange tutus for the walk...which should be fun.

I want this to be a fun experience for hubby and the kids especially since it is their first 5k. It's also my first chipped and timed 5k.  I am going to do my best to keep on keeping on.

If anyone would like to cheer us on, the Pumpkin Run starts at 10:00 Saturday morning at Konow's Corn Maze in Homer Glen, IL (http://www.konowscornmaze.com).  Admission is $10 and included rides for the kids.

Thanks again for all the encouragement, thoughts, and prayers.