This week several things happened that I need to share with you in order to bring you up to date. A year ago at this time I was down in Florida visiting a friend. I had taken a picture at the beach and compared it to a picture I had taken down in Florida the year earlier. This picture came up in my memory feed on Facebook and it brought me back to a time I felt so good about myself. I still feel good about myself but everyday is hard work and a bit of a struggle. I am working very hard everyday to keep the scale down and my workouts up! Prior to the surgery the numbers on the scale controlled me and even now they continue to do that. Old habits are sneaking back in...stress eating, mindless eating, and eating when tired.
Three weeks ago I went to see my surgeon and started having conversations about my concerns and fears. He understood but was happy that I was aware that these struggles were going on and that I was not ignoring them. This past week, three weeks after my doctor's appointment, I met with the nutritionist. Of course before all appointments begin you have to record your weight. Although I am not thrilled with the numbers I can say that the scale did not move. I stayed the same. Now I am not saying that I have gained back 100 pounds but the scale has gone up a good 5 -7 pounds. Of course it goes down a few and then back up again...the struggle is real. The struggle is real and it also terrifies me!!
During the appointment with my nutritionist, we discuss many things...how I deal with stress of work, travel, training, and school? Am I getting enough sleep? Should I go back to meditating on a daily basis? Am I taking in enough water and protein? All things I will focus on over the next two months before I go back an see her in June. I would like to share one highlight of the appointment. I had my body composition done while in the office. The first time is a base and every time I go back to the office I can have it taken again. While the machine was recording everything my nutritionist told me that the muscle-fat analysis was one of the best she every seen compared to other bariatric patients. I was proud of that. Out of my total weight, my lean body mass is 108.0 and my body fat mass is 54.5 (yes you can add that together and you will know how much I weigh now)!
Of course being the goal setter that I am...I will work on increasing the lean body mass and decreasing the fat mass!
That same day I headed up to Syracuse to speak to a group of students in a sports nutrition class at Syracuse University. A friend of my is a professor and asked if I would come and speak to her class. The topic was post-bariatric weightloss surgery athletes! This is the second time I have spoken to her class and I love it. I learn so much and find myself researching things I don't know based on the great questions I receive from the students. I hope I am asked again because I love it. I will also share with you there is very little research out there about post bariatric surgery athletes! There is a lot of trial and error but not many concrete answers.
For now I will keep training and working on the daily struggles. The surgery is only a tool to help with my weight loss and healthy goals. I need to do the work!!
Keep up the good work!
ReplyDelete