4/16/2016: 4 Months Post-Op Pics and 12 Week Challenge!

Hello Everyone!

OK - It's been awhile.  Talking about recovery got old.  Work got way too busy.  I lost some motivation to blog.  Party season derailed me a little bit (our 7th wedding anniversary and Jack's 60th birthday party).  I kept trying to exercise, but my body wasn't quite recovered enough.  I got cranky, irritated and frustrated.  And I was just plain tired.

But it's a new day!!  Spring is in the air, the lilacs are blooming, and I'm feeling much, much stronger.  So hey, what do you say?  Let's get started, again!!

First, let's talk surgery results.  I will not post breast photos on the internet for everyone to see, but here are my before and after tummy photos.  Even I am impressed with the difference in these photos and I've been looking at the results every day for 4 months!

Before surgery:  @ approximately 158 pounds

4 months post-op:  4/16/2016 @ 163.4 pounds

Suffice it to say that there is an even bigger improvement with my breasts.  'Nuff said about that!!

I am going back the surgeon's office on Wednesday, April 20th, for some minor touch-up work.  He is going to straighten the abdominal scar where it dips down on the left side, nip & tuck the "dog ears" on either side of the abdominal scar, and he is going to do steroid injections in the breast scars (from directly under the center of my breast, around the side, to under my arms).  The scars under my arms are much thicker than they should be and they are still painful.  The steroid injections will hurt, but  they should facilitate the healing of the scars.  It's unfortunate that those scars are not healing as they should, the rest of my scars look great.  I don't know why those scars aren't healing as well as the others, but the steroid injections should help.

I know you can't see it in the before photo, because of the rolls of skin and fat, but the mole that is visible in the after photo, under my belly button, used to be about two inches above my belly button.  Also, in the after photo you can see a small vertical scar below the mole, that is where my belly button used to be.  That gives you an idea of how much he pulled down my skin.

As you can see, I still have stretch marks, there is nothing we can do about that, but wow!, what a difference the surgery has made.  My clothes fit much, much better.

Now, comes the next step - getting back in shape.  Four months of inactivity (and 6 weeks of not being careful with my diet) has taken it's toll.  I am in terrible shape.  I kept starting and stopping and starting and stopping exercise programs.  I'd start because I felt lazy and sluggish and because my arms and legs were starting to jiggle a little too much.  I'd stop because the exercise was uncomfortable and I could tell my body wasn't quite ready.  Finally, I got so frustrated that I started eating off program. Talk about adding insult to injury. In case you're wondering, there was a little bit of drinking going on, too.  I thought about hiring a personal trainer, but hated the idea of starting all over with someone new and I really didn't want to join another gym just to be able to have access to a personal trainer that I didn't know.

That all changed two weeks ago.  I still had the contact information for Lauren, a personal trainer that I worked with when I belonged to Gold's Gym.  I called her and we worked out an arrangement that I am absolutely thrilled with!  She comes to my house once a week for a one hour personal training session.  In addition, she provides me with two additional strength training workouts per week.  I text her with progress updates and questions throughout the week.  I have plenty of equipment at home for her to be able to design robust strength training workouts.  This morning was our 3rd at-home training session and it is working out beautifully for both of us.

In addition to lifting weights 3 times a week, I am jogging three times a week.  The 7th day of the week is a rest day.  With regard to food, this is my fourth day back on the Whole 30 program.  No sugar, grains, alcohol, dairy, etc.  I am not going to get into details on "What is the Whole 30," as I have described it in detail in previous blog posts, but I am back "On Program," which means that I am back to eating the Whole 30 way.

That pretty much gets you caught up.

Now it is time to tell you what I am going to do as I move forward and work at getting back into really good shape.

First, why is this important?  That is an easy questions to answer, I like the way I feel when I am fit and strong and when my diet is clean.  There are so many benefits I can't describe them all, but I will list a few.  When I am fit and strong and my diet is clean:

• I feel energetic
• I sleep better
• I feel like a young person
• My memory improves
• My balance improves
• I am more optimistic
• I'm happier
• I find more joy in everyday life
• My clothes fit better
• I feel sexy
• I am more playful
• I flirt with my husband more
• I am stronger and can lift more and do more
• Hiking is more fun
• I'm a better kickball player (can kick the ball further, run faster, am more coordinated, making it easier to catch the ball)
• It is easier for me to keep up with my grandchildren
• I feel like I am actively working at improving my odds of being healthy into old age
• I feel more comfortable in my clothes
• I am more confident
• I feel more like me

Right now, even though I am thrilled with my surgery results, I am not fit and I am not strong.  My upper arms wave in the breeze and my thighs are a jiggly mess.  I feel puffy and weak.  Three weeks ago I couldn't jog 1/4 mile or do 3 push-ups without resting.  Before surgery I was running 4 miles easily and could do 30 push-ups in a minute.  It's amazing what 4 months of inactivity will do.  I knew this was going to be an unfortunate consequence of the surgery.  I also knew I would have to kick myself in the ass to get started again.  Today is the day that I am seriously committing myself to getting my rear in gear!!

Two weeks ago I started the process of getting serious about exercise again and I've already made real progress.  I can now do 6 push-ups and I can run 1 1/4 miles without walking.  Yeah!!  It's encouraging to see my body respond this way.  Now I am ready to take on the challenge of getting back into excellent shape.  To motivate myself I have made a chart and taken before photos.  In addition, I have established a set of goals for my 12 Week Challenge.  First, the start photos:

 

4/16/2016 Before Photos - 163.4 Pounds:  4 months post-op

Ugh.  I kind of hate posting these, yet it is motivational for me to share them, so that I can show you the improvements from week to week.  My back.  Oh, goodness, I have to do something about my back!  As a point of reference, this is what my back looked like, before surgery, when I was in much better shape (but still had a really saggy stomach and even saggier breasts):

2015 - pre-surgery.  Approximately 158 pounds

Yes, my back will look much better in 12 weeks than it does now!  I promise myself that!!

And now the chart (you know how I love my charts!):

4/16/16:  12 Week Challenge Chart - Day 1!

The chart is for tracking weight loss, as well as progress on all goals of my 12 week challenge, that are detailed, below:

Start Date:  4/16/2016

End Date:  7/9/2016

WEIGHT GOAL

Start weight: 163.4 lbs

Goal weight: 150 lbs

FITNESS GOALS

Start jog distance (before I have to walk): 1.25 Miles

Goal jog distance:  3.0 Miles

Start push-ups to fail:  6

Goal push-ups to fail:  20

Start bent-arm-hang to fail:  0 Sec

Goal bent-arm-hang to fail:  5 Seconds

MEASUREMENT GOALS

Start right bicep:  13 ½”

Goal right bicep:  12”

Start circumference right under bra:  34 ½”

Goal circumference right under bra:  32 ½”

Start circumference at belly button:  34 ¼”

Goal circumference at belly button:  32 ¼

Start circumference at top of hip bone:  39 ¼”

Goal circumference at top of hip bone:  36 ¼”

Start right thigh 9 inches above knee:  21 ½”

Goal right thigh, 9 inches above knee:  23”

During my 12 Week Challenge I will:

• Exercise 6 days a week
• Eat On Program (including abstaining from all sugar and alcohol)
• Weigh myself and record my weight, daily
• Update my blog posts regularly
• Measure my progress towards the goals listed above every 4 weeks.

I am excited to have goals established and a plan for getting my strength back.  I am looking forward to feeling great and having a little less jiggle in my wiggle!!  I hope you will stop by from time to time to check on my progress.  Words of encouragement are welcome!!

Here's to our good health!!