Before/After Bathing Suit Pics and Blood Work Results

Some exciting things have happened the past two weeks! I completed my fourth 5k and finished in under 45 mins. After that run, I have been trying to get close to a 12 min mile. I have run twice since then and my mile has been around 12:20 each time.

I finally found a bathing suit top that fit and covers my tummy. I am comfortable in showing my legs, but not the scars on my stomach or my DIEP scar from hip to hip. I dug up some old bathing suit pictures that are below and the new bathing suit one:

Before

 


 After

My blood work turned out fantastic. My vitamin levels are great and my cholesterol is good, my B12 was good too. I donated blood last week so they warned me my red blood count may be off and my RDW could be off due to the chemo I did for my breast cancer or my Iron level. 

One question I had for my doctor was about hair loss. I have noticed more strands of my hair coming out when I brush and wash my hair. I already take biotin, but he brought it up again. I am going to double the dose on some days. I am also going to be searching for a good shampoo. He said it will pass soon, that it is just a phase.  I also switched to a liquid B complex. Previous blood work indicated my B-12 levels were low. I am going to try this before I jump to shots.

I finally weighed in under 180 this weigh in. Tips for my weigh in, I always weigh first thing in the morning (after using the bathroom) and I do not wear clothes. I am just 4 pounds from moving my BMI to "Overweight" from "Obese" great feeling. LOL :) I have contacted Lotus Pole Fitness to sign up for my first pole dancing class on April 4th! Exercise is going great and I am getting at least four days in, either with Erica doing Insanity and T25 or going to the gym! I'm looking forward to doing some classes. I am working on checking off bucket list items!! 

I am going to stick with my goal of 175 by April 1st. I think I am in good shape to meet that goal. One thing I noticed about my chart to the doctor's office, was that it said my goal weight is 131. I don't remember setting that goal...I think they plugged in some numbers and came up with that :/ I don't think I want to be that thin, so as of right now I am aiming for 145. 

Be Healthy and have a great rest of your week!

Total weight loss - 68 lbs
March 17, 2015 - 178 lbs
March 2, 2015 - 184.8
February 16, 2015 - 188.4
February 1, 2015 - 191 lbs
Jan 24, 2015 - 194.9 lbs
December 31, 2014 - 199.8 lbs
December 21, 2014 - 203.8 lbs
December 11, 2014 - 210.6 lbs
Five weeks post-op, November 28, 2014 - 214 lbs
Four weeks post-op, November 21, 2014 - 216 lbs
Three weeks post-op, November 14, 2014 - 221.9 lbs
Two weeks post-op, Nov 7, 2014 - 226.6 lbs
One week post-op, Oct 31, 2014 - 231.8 lbs
Weight morning of surgery, Oct 24, 2014 - 239 lbs
Weight at pre-op appointment, Oct 14, 2014 - 246 lbs

Sooo slow at losing... Fighting a sweet tooth!

I am gutted because I did not make my goal of 180 by March 1st. I was prepared not to meet it, but it doesn't make it any easier :( This mean I have to work even harder as I would like to be 175 by April 1st. I didn't want to schedule my pole dancing lessons until I was under 180. I am coming to grips with the fact that I will now only lose about 1 pound a week. I have to work very hard for that one pound LOL I am having major cravings for sweets and I have to find a way to curb those. I found these fantastic tips and they make absolute sense!

1. Try to avoid artificial sweeteners. Artificial sweeteners can be 300x (if not more) sweetener than real sugar. And while they may be calorie free, they really can mess with your palette. They basically bombard our tastebuds with such an over the tops sweetness, it can be very difficult to then appreciate the subtle, real flavors and sweetness in whole food. In the long run they have you wanting more and more sugar, and that my friends is counter productive.
2. Rest. When the body is tired it looks for energy (it is trying to do us a favor) and it knows the the quickest way for energy to get into the body is via sugar. Ever notice that when you are tired you crave processed carbs and/or sweets? This is why. The next time you feel like you need to rest, do yourself a favor and rest.
3. Add more sweet food. This one is especially true for my dieters and low carb peeps. When we have a diet very low in carbohydrates and sugar we tend to want sweets. By simply adding some nutritious sweet foods to your day you can cut that craving way back. Some great examples are sweet potatoes, squash, brown rice, oats, and carrots. An idea of a yummy snack might be carob chips and coconut with nuts mix.
4. Protein. If you find yourself craving sugar, just take note of how much protein you have been eating. If it seems high, try cutting back. If it seems low, experiment with adding some more in. I’m telling you, being interested in ourselves is one of the best ways to figure out what our bodies need.

I do not get as much protein, therefore that could be one reason. I also know I still need to drink fluids more throughout the day. I also need to do better at getting eight hours of sleep a night. I only get about 6-7 right now.

I have finished my chewable vitamins, so I have switched to a powder capsule. I still wanted the one with extra iron, which means I still take my calcium separate. I go for my very first blood lab next week. I am interested to see where I am with my vitamins.

Some good news! I am officially a size 14. I have even bought a size 12 from The Loft. I can now walk in to any store and buy clothes and believe me I have!  I should have budgeted for new clothes since the surgery in October. I am very lucky to have others bring me clothes they no longer want and I wear those too!! Wearing my size 12s below. Still a little tight, but I could pull them off.

So even though the scale isn't moving as fast, I know my body is changing. My workouts are going good. I have started doing T25 and Insanity with my girl, Erica, after work. I couple that with the gym on the weekends. My goal is to move to two morning workouts at the gym during the week and four workouts after school with Erica, keeping my weekend workouts at the gym. My gym workouts usually consist of 20-25 mins of cardio followed by 25-30 mins of weight training. After school workouts are mostly cardio.

Total weight loss - 61.6 lbs
March 2, 2015 - 184.8
February 16, 2015 - 188.4
February 1, 2015 - 191 lbs
Jan 24, 2015 - 194.9 lbs
December 31, 2014 - 199.8 lbs
December 21, 2014 - 203.8 lbs
December 11, 2014 - 210.6 lbs
Five weeks post-op, November 28, 2014 - 214 lbs
Four weeks post-op, November 21, 2014 - 216 lbs
Three weeks post-op, November 14, 2014 - 221.9 lbs
Two weeks post-op, Nov 7, 2014 - 226.6 lbs
One week post-op, Oct 31, 2014 - 231.8 lbs
Weight morning of surgery, Oct 24, 2014 - 239 lbs
Weight at pre-op appointment, Oct 14, 2014 - 246 lbs