Week 24 Summary Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Week 24 of Operation Get Fit No Excuses is officially done and I’m on to Week 25!

This past week has been a challenge for me physically, mentally, and emotionally because I’ve been dealing with Epilepsy related issues on and off all week. I have no idea what triggered this round of seizures, but I think I finally am over it for now! (Crossing my fingers anyway).

There were many days I had difficulty walking, talking, balancing, seeing clearly, or just having energy. I managed to get a workout in every day except for one, despite these difficulties. For this, I’m extremely proud of myself. I actually didn’t workout today because my body told me that I needed more rest, so that’s exactly what I did. I slept about 9 hours before I woke up the first time. I ate and prepared myself to exercise. Even though I wasn’t feeling like it and was still sleepy, I was determined to stick with my motto Get Fit No Excuses. But, after setting there for 30 minutes, I decided that my body needed more sleep to recover from the week of seizure activity and I slept 2 more hours. I honestly feel really good and better than I have all week.

So, now for the fun part! This week is my weigh-in and measurement day! I’m excited to report better than expected results. Here they are:

28 June 2018

Weight: 72.7 kg (160 lbs)
Hips: 107.8 cm (42.4 inches)
Waist: 81.5 cm (32 inches)
Bicep: 33.5 cm (13.18 inches)
Thigh: 61.0 cm (24 inches)

I have to say that even after all these months of weight loss, I get surprised looking at my body when I least expect it. You have to be wondering what I mean. Let me give you some examples.

1) The other night, I was laying sideways on an armchair reading. Before I lost weight, I took up the entire depth of the chair. I had no room for my arm to rest comfortably and it would just hang in midair. Now, in that same position, both of my arms have ample room to rest on either side of my body.
2) I can cross my legs with no trouble and they stay there! Before losing weight, it was virtually impossible to cross my legs because my thighs were so big. Now, no matter what I’m wearing or the type of chair I’m sitting on, I can stay for hours with my thighs comfortably crossed.
3) Riding in the passenger seat of our car. Before, my butt was wider than the seat and the sides of the seat dug into my hips. It was also difficult to lock the seat belt. Now, I have plenty of room and no problems at all reaching the seat belt.

When you have been overweight pretty much your entire life, you have a set body image in your head and it’s extremely difficult to change that, even as you lose weight gradually. That’s why I still get surprised many times when I look in the mirror, when I realize how my body fits in seats or other places, or even how I can squeeze between cars to get in ours when we’re parallel parked.

In my head, I’m still 200 pounds even though my rational mind understands that I’ve lost over 40 pounds. I don’t really dwell on my body image and how my size affects my everyday life, but I know many of you do so wanted to share that you are not alone.

Now, on to good news about my Padrone’s weight loss! He has continued to lose weight and his Diabetes doctor told him that they were not only extremely surprised at how much he’s lost since 8 March, but very happy with his progress! He’s lost 12 kgs (26 pounds)!

Thank you all for your continued support and encouragement from us both!

Week 23 Summary Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Week 23 of Operation Get Fit No Excuses is officially done and I’m on to Week 24! The time and the weight loss are just flying by. This week I want to talk about heat. Not only is today my own official stop/start day in my weekly blogs, but it is also the first day of summer! That means more heat and hot weather here in the northern hemisphere.

As I’ve lost weight and the weather has heated up, I’ve realized that I am able to tolerate the higher temperatures easier than I did last year at this same time of year. The weather and temperature patterns are relatively the same so I know it’s because of my weight loss. We don’t have air conditioning at home and rely on windows and fans. They have kept us comfortable so far this year and Padrone has felt a little cool even if the temperatures are at 28°C In the house. He has lost 22 pounds (10 kg) as of today and it has definitely made a difference in the way his body adjusts to the temperature changes as well. I have been able to stay very comfortable around the house with no problems so far. I’ll let you know as it gets hotter, how my body reacts and adjusts to the temperatures.

I’ve been trying to exercise exclusively in the morning about 7 am when the temperatures are still nice out, but I haven’t always succeeded. When I ended up exercising during hotter parts of the day, I did an indoor workout with a fan turned on high and pointed directly at me. I make sure to stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water because our bodies can become easily dehydrated when exercising in high heat. I always pay attention to my body and it’s needs, especially when I’m doing something out of the ordinary. Try exercising when it’s cooler or in a temperature controlled environment whenever possible. But if you can’t, pay close attention to what your body feels because it’s the best judge of what you need.

Next week will be my weigh in and measurements so I’m excited! I am going to try to talk Padrone into letting me post his progress as well at the same time as mine.

If you have any questions or advice about exercising and weight loss, comment below! I love hearing from you!

Week 22 Summary - Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Week 22 has not been that eventful for me. I’ve been keeping up with my exercise and diet, but mostly concentrating on finding the right combination of food that will satisfy Padrone but fit into his diet restrictions also. I can definitely tell with the changing weather and warmer temperatures that I need to exercise first thing every morning because I don’t do well in very hot weather.

A couple of days ago it got up to about 90° and I decided to do my exercise about 1 pm. We don’t have air conditioning. I had fan set on high,  but after 10 minutes, I had to stop because I literally couldn’t keep going. The heat, even with the fan, just drained me. I definitely have to be careful and mindful of how my body responds to exercise during the summer.

If you are exercising during the summer, which I hope you are, listen to your body and try to exercise during the cooler parts of the day or evening. Stay hydrated with water and possibly use an electrolyte based drink if you need the boost.

I may have to limit my time to 30 minutes a day, depending on my endurance level. We shall see as time passes. I’ve only been active during cold or cool weather, so hopefully, my body can adapt to the warmer temperatures as the summer season comes.

As I mentioned above and in previous blogs, Padrone has struggled to find the right balance and combination of food that will satisfy both his needs and fit within his diet restrictions. I decided we needed to try a pre-made food delivery service for him. After much research, I found a couple that are not cheap, but not cost prohibitive either. The nutritional values are well within the range of what Padrone needs and the quality and variety of dishes makes him happy. So, I am calling it a win all around!

Padrone himself has lost 8 kg (17 pounds) so far and is continuing to lose more at a steady rate. While he has been slacking off on the exercise part for a few weeks, I’m hoping that having resolved his food dilemma will inspire him to get back to a daily exercise program. I’m so proud of him and his progress! He has also been smoke free for 3 months now!

Thank you for continuing to follow our journey to getting fit and living a healthier lifestyle. We are proof that it’s never too late to make the necessary changes to life a healthier lifestyle.

Week 21 Summary - Operation Get Fit No Excuses

Welcome to the end of Week 21 of Operation Get Fit No Excuses! The time has flown by and I’ve learned a lot on the journey. It hit me today that this has been a real year of change and reinvention for myself and Padrone both. We have changed the way we eat. We started exercising. We’ve lost weight, so changed how we look. Padrone stopped smoking 3 months ago. And, today, I got a new haircut in a style I never would have considered before.

I have alternated my indoor and outdoor exercises to keep my muscles guessing. When you do the same routine all the time, your body will get used to it and that particular exercise won’t be as affective. There were a couple of days that I was unable to exercise because of an Epilepsy attack, but I got back out there as soon as I could. 

During my outdoor walking adventures, I’ve come across some really interesting people. Two of them stick out in my mind when I think about it. One lady was walking slow and I passed her. She gave me a dirty look and decided to walk faster so she could pass me back. Now, I was just keeping up a steady pace. I had my headphones in and my music pumped so I was in the zone! I don’t really pay much attention to other people because I’m trying to keep an eye on my own statistics (heartbeat, pace, steps, distance). So, a few minutes later, I ended up passing her again because she was bent over with her hands on her hips trying to breath! Moral of this story is to stay at your own pace and ignore everything else around you. You do you and don’t worry about what everybody else is doing.

The second incident that comes to mind involves a guy that looks like he stepped out of the 1970s. He had on a white tank undershirt (aka wife beater), black dress socks that came to his knees with brown ugly sandals! His shorts where made out of nylon and looked like some Bruce Jenner wore when he was running track. That isn’t even the funny part. The guy was bent over a bench doing what he thought was stretching. He was kicking his leg up in the air behind him like a donkey does when they get mad! I was doing my best not to laugh! Moral of this story is to get out and stay active no matter how you’re dressed! And don’t hurt yourself by exercising the wrong way. 

After so long a time of restricting my diet I decided to allow myself a “cheat treat” once a week. We found a place that serves cream coffee (known as a Frappe or Frappicino in America) and it’s so good! So, only once a week, I allow myself to enjoy one. I walk or exercise every day and  eat a low carb/low calorie vegetarian diet the rest of the time so I don’t have an ounce of guilt. The weird thing is that I don’t crave junk food or comfort food much anymore. If I see something that looks good on Facebook, I usually think that looks good but immediately follow that with lord I can’t imagine how much fat and calories that has in it! It’s all about perspective for me.

Last week was my 45th birthday week and also my weigh in week. I was disappointed with not having lost more weight or centimeters in my measurements. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, I’m ok with my results. I am still seeing progress and it’s actually a steady progress. Considering that I’m doing everything naturally and not using weird pills or strange diets, I’m happy and proud of myself. 

Thank you all again for your continued support and encouragement! See you next week!