Resolution 2012 -- Weight Loss

I worked really hard in 2012 to drop the “baby weight.”  Hard to call it baby weight though seeing as my blessed bundles came weighing only 3 lbs and 2 lbs respectively.  Needless to say, when I started 2012 I was weighing roughly around 265lbs.  I know, I know, it was the largest I have ever weighed.  People say there is no way I was that heavy.  I carried it fairly well, but yes I did weigh that much.  It was causing a lot of problems and I was MISERABLE.  I hated being that heavy and it was causing all sorts of secondary medical issues.  So it made my 2012 resolution really easy.  

Then the trouble started.  I HATE DIETING.  I hate the word DIET.  Diets imply things you can’t have and things you deprive yourself of.  So I decided right then I was not going to diet.  I know that sounds silly, but what joy are you going to find in this world by starving yourself, going out with your friends just to tell yourself you can’t have 80% of what is on the menu, and all for the sake of being able to fit in to a size 5.  NOPE not for this girl.  What I did do was swap out my lunches for those little Green Giant Veggie Steamers you buy in the frozen food section at the grocery store.  I would have an entire bag of those over one of the cups of minute rice.  That was lunch.  And a HUGE lunch.  It was quite filling and very low calorie.  I would heat up that bag of veggies, took about 7 minutes, put it over the cup of minute rice and BAM  -- lunch.  I lost 10 lbs the first month.  Another 10 lbs the second month.  I couldn’t believe that just swapping to a high veggie lunch was shedding some of that baby weight.  It was awesome.  My drs were impressed and so was I.  It was really cool.

Then thing slowed down a little.  The weight wasn’t coming off as fast.  It was okay, because I had dropped 20-25 lbs pretty quickly.  I was pretty impressed by that.  I decided I needed to find something else.  So Jason and I got some passes to the rec center.  Megan, Jason and I began going to Rec Center to work out several nights a week.  That was just the motivation I needed.  It was early spring and spring fever was kicking in for everyone.  The gym was fairly light most nights and Megan and I could get in several miles of biking on the stationary bikes.  It was nice.  Megan usually got in a much more aggressive workout than I did but I still felt accomplished.  BAM – there went another 20 lbs.  I was loving it.  

Then something horrible happened.  In March, I was diagnosed with a mild seizure disorder that required medication to keep under control.  I was experiencing micro-seizures that were leading to severe migraines causing quite a bit of disruption in my life.  The drs put me on some medication to help control all of this.  The medication was remarkable.  But the side effects were even more remarkable.  One of the better side effects, all though still under debate by my drs, is that it increased my metabolic rate.  While I had to begin being heavily monitored by doctors for the next 9 months (insert a lot of dollar signs right here) the weight began to just drop off.  You see, in combination with my new eating habit, my slight increase in activity and my new drug combination, my body started dumping weight.  It was awesome.  OR SO I THOUGHT…..

Apparently, it can be dangerous to drop too much weight too quickly.  I hit that level.  At one point I was dropping 8-10 lbs a week.  I got to the point where I  was actually having to consume extra calories to make sure I was not dropping weight too fast.  It was not something I was used to.  Instead of thinking twice about dessert, I was eating seconds.  It was kind of a nice problem to have, but on the other hand it was getting a little annoying.  I would go to dr appointments to hear them tell me that my dosing was off or that I had lost too much weight that week.  My blood levels were off, my brain patterns showed I was still seizing, my migraines were back, my weight was down again, over and over and over.  It was a vicious cycle.  However, after several months of this, we finally did figure it out.  We got the medications figured out, my weight loss and weight evened out, and my migraines and seizures are under control. 

And here I am, writing this blog to share with everyone.  I am content with where I am at although still striving to drop another 5-10 lbs.  While I have always been curvy with an enviable bra size, I really wish that some of this weight loss had lessened some of my upper curves.  My cup size hasn’t changed much.  So I am hoping that with another 5-10 lbs that might finally change.  If not, we may look in to more permanent methods.  But that is another story. 

For now, I am happy to report that having started at 265 lbs I am balancing the scale between 145 and 150 consistently right now.  My drs are thrilled and amazed and I am very pleased and shocked at the difference a year can make.  I went from a size 18/20 pant size to a size 6/7 and couldn’t be happier. 

Bring on 2013!!