- Meanwhile, Monday on Instagram...
- It's National Turkey Day here in Canada and #coffeetime brings with it a bitter mood. Not sure why I feel so shitty. I'm bringing my dad home today and it worries me when he's alone. I always feel better when he's with me. Something to think about for sure.
- The best part of my day is stripping off my compression sleeves for a few hours to let my incisions breathe. Upon inspection of my right arm this morning, I can see there's more blood in there. If I don't see any improvement in the next couple days, I'm going back to Dr Patterson. I'm doing everything he's told me to do so I'm hopeful it will sort itself out.
- Today I'm off to my in laws for Thanksgiving. It's supposed to be a beautiful day. Lots of opportunity to wear something cute and summer like one last time. But alas I cannot. Compression bottoms and compression sleeves limit my outfit choices. Jeans and 1/4 length sleeves it is. Upon return from my in laws, I've laundry to do. Ugh. My most hated chore along with grocery shopping.
- Happy Thanksgiving my fellow Canadians. And happy Monday to the rest of the world. Best wishes for a productive and healthy week:-)
- Check it out! I was just gifted with this selfie stick by my brother in law. This is my first official photo with it:-) This opens up a whole new world of picture possibilities!
Today thus far...
- I never ran this morning. There was a jigsaw puzzle crisis at my house. Julien is working on a puzzle that we leave out on the dining room table. We do it bit by bit. My father thought it should be put away. He didn't realize what it was. He meant well but Julien was upset. My dad felt bad and Julien didn't want to upset him so suddenly the puzzle became our morning's work. I was able to restore it to pre-Poppy state. Everyone is happy again.
- Then we had to hightail it to Toronto for Julien's birthday celebration with my in laws. And our family Thanksgiving dinner. Julien's uncle bought him an awesome cake that looked delicious. I ate a ton of melon so I'm all good. Lots of protein and veggies were eaten today. I'm stuffed. I think I'm done for the day food wise. Only downside is that I didn't have turkey on turkey day...
- Meanwhile, Tuesday on Instagram...
- It's finally #coffeetime. But first it was gym time. Good workout this morning. Another leg day in the books. Everyday is leg day right now. My right arm is still swollen and sore so no upper body today. Can't wait to start working upper body again. That's where I'm weakest. But I did do HIIT today. First time in over 3 weeks. Made me feel good to be dripping in sweat again. So today's workout was the following:
- 20 mins of HIIT ✔
- 10 reps x 4 sets of trap bar squats 95 pounds ✔
- 10 reps x 3 sets of hack squats with 35 pound kettlebell✔
- Heel taps w 2 x 25 pound dumbbells 10 rep x 3 sets ✔
- Walking lunges w 2 x 25 pound dumbbells 3 lengths ✔
- Hamstring curls 10 rep x 3 sets at 30 pounds ✔
- 10 minutes of core drills ✔
- If nothing else, Tony has promised me an ass you can bounce a quarter off of. I'll take 2 cheeks please. I'm 3 weeks post op today...
- This #transformationtuesday is all about my arms. I'm 3 weeks post op today. And my arms are almost looking normal. There's still some swelling along the bottom. This is my left arm. My right is still swollen. But it has improved since Friday. I think I'm going to see Dr Patterson just to be sure he doesn't need to drain more blood and to look at a sore, hard area by my elbow. My left arm had that over a week ago but it's gone now. I'm not too concerned.
- I've gotten lots of blog email about loose skin on my abdomen. I touch on this subject from time to time for new followers/readers. I do have loose skin on my abdomen paired with some fluff. It's right above my c-section scar and it's minimal. I'm really not concerned about it. When I consulted with Dr Patterson, he told me that training my core will improve that area a lot. My arms were my biggest problem area.
- To those of you worried about loose skin. Never let that deter you from getting healthy. That can be fixed when you're ready. I waited almost 3 years into maintenance to fix my arms. For financial reasons as well as because I wanted to be sure I wouldn't regain this time. It's the best decision I've ever made and next summer will be the first one since I was a child that I will confidently show my arms. I can't wait...
- A throwback pic from this summer. This is my abdomen. I was recently asked if I think my skin bounced back so well because of diet and/or exercise. I can't really be sure. I started running when I was 230 pounds. And you use 5 stomach muscles when you run. That could be it. But I also followed a low fat diet for weight loss. That could be it too.
- I lost my weight very steadily. Pretty much 10 pounds a month for about 12 months. Then the last 10-15 pounds happened over the last 3 months. I lost about 135 pounds in 15 months before I called maintenance myself. I never reached my "healthy BMI" as per the chart (well I did the following fall for a hot minute while recovering from my broken ankle). But I wear size 8/10 (depending on the brand) and a medium top. I'm still considered overweight by BMI standards. I think BMI is a crock of shit. But that's my opinion. All body builders are morbidly obese on the BMI chart.
- One thing that I did do and still do religiously is moisturize. That is a practice my mother drilled into my head at a young age. And moisturizing improves skin elasticity. That's why Dr. Patterson has me moisturize the crap out of my arms and thighs post op. So perhaps that has been the most helpful for my skin bouncing back so well following extreme weight loss. Or maybe it's just good genes...