So, I plan on posting this in conjunction with my *first ever* youtube video, but I'm pretty sure this will end up going up first. This is simply because my phone and I are having an argument over techmology (as my Husband calls it), and it's currently winning. Luckily, My work PC is ship shape, so this can easily be done.
I've been making notes all day trying to figure out what I want to post, what I want to share, discuss, ruminate upon, and my sticky notes are starting to get out of control. So, I am now trying to figure out how to narrow it down, or whether to do a couple of topics per post so I don't bore anyone, and how to convert them into video form. I'm hoping to keep most posts down to maybe 3 paragraphs or so, most videos ideally 5-8 minutes.
So, I'll start with the basics, which I'll go over in my first video. Thanks in advance for reading/watching, and I look forward to hearing feedback and giving feedback as we go through this together.
My name is Rachel - I'm 28 years old, currently hovering around 230 lbs. I've had weight problems all of my life, nothing too horrific, but always 15-20 lbs overweight. I was made fun of as a kid, and as I've aged, I've been asked a few times if I was pregnant, and small snide remarks have been made about my weight by catty aquaintances. Each time this has happened, I've tried to diet and lose weight, usually with small success, but for the most part I've steadily gained weight as opposed to losing.
Some of the diets I've tried - Weight Watchers, the BodyMedia Fit calorie tracking armband, SparkPeople, Nutrisystem, Juicing diets (the Fat/Sick/Nearly Dead), the lemonade diet, saltwater cleanses, SlimFast, the Special K cereal thing, and so on and so forth. Again, I lose a bit here and there, but it all comes back and then some.
Last weekend I helped a friend out with her charity booth, taking pictures of pets with Santa. My dad played Santa, so I had an obligatory test picture taken. That was pretty much the turning point for me - I'll try to figure out how to post the picture once I'm home, but it's bad... really bad. I look like I have a spare tire around my middle. My cheekbones are non existant, and because of my sleep disorder (more on that later), I look exhausted. With all of those things combined, I looked awful. I was horrified, and started crying. My amazing husband calmed me down, and we figured out a plan to help me lose weight and keep it off. He insists he finds me attractive at any weight, but it's hard for me to see that when I have such a negative view of myself. So his support is immensely helpful in all of this.
Anyways - now, on to the options I've been working with/considering. My primary care doctor suggested the lap band to me about a year ago. I balked at first, because I'm one of those folks that is always worried about side effects (insanely so, I'll admit it). However, I'm looking at this option again. I think it would be/could be a really helpful tool in keeping me within controlled portions, and feeling fuller faster. It's covered by my insurance, although I do need a referral. Some of the requirements are a BMI over 35 (I'm at 36.2/226lbs as of my last doctor's visit at the end of last month), and a comorbidity such as sleep apnea or an MSLT score of like, 5 or something.
I did have sleep apnea (still technically do, although it's greatly improved), but had a tonsillectomy/UPPP. I do still have sleep issues though, where I am constantly exhausted during the day, to the point where I will fall asleep sitting up at my desk (I still haven't had the actual results of my MSLT yet though, so I'll have to see where I fall with that). I don't think this is related to the obesity, because I've had sleep issues even when I was smaller, but I do know that it affects my ability to want to/be able to exercise, and tends to lead me to bad food choices - ie high sugar/carb/caffiene to try to perk myself back up.
So, my doc is back in the office on 12/20, and will submit the info then to see if I meet the requirements and can be approved for the surgery. It usually takes 1-2 weeks to find out if I've been approved, and then I will go from there - either on to the lap band surgery, or trying it on my own again, and hopefully making it this time! I go back to see my sleep doc on 12/22 to get the final diagnosis for my sleep issues. All I know at this point is they want to put me on some sort of stimulant during the day, to help even out my energy levels.
In addition to the sleep issues, I also have problems with edema in my left leg. I have low blood pressure, so I'm not able to take diuretics to try to decrease the swelling, because that just causes me to swell absolutely everywhere. Whenever I exert myself (I walked a 7 mile race one year), my fingers, feet, and ankles swell so badly that I can barely move them at the joints. I avoid salt for the most part, and use it sparingly when it does come into play.
This post is getting pretty long, so I'll get down to the rest of the basics - starting with my goals. My goal is to get back down to my highschool/college weight of 143-160 lbs. I know for me, that this is a healthy weight. I have a larger frame, very broad shoulders and hips, so I know that anything less than that and I would start to look emaciated. Plus, I do find curves very sexy, and I know my husband does too, so I don't want to lose too much! (especially not my boobs, lol!)
So, in following Shanika (From230lbsto130lbs on Youtube - I hope I spelled your name right, I'll have to edit this when I get home!), here are some mini goals to wrap this up. I am giving my body 2 weeks to adjust to the changes, and then it's on like Tron:
Starting weight: 226 at the doctor's office 11/4/11 - I KNOW this has gone up
12/12/11 - Start Weight Watchers - 3 month trial to see if it works
12/19 - Start exercising 3x/week on the elliptical, 30 minutes on program 1
12/26 - 225 lbs
1/2 220 lbs
1/9 215 lbs
1/16 210 lbs
1/23 205 lbs
1/30 200 lbs - reward - new piercing (ears or nose - what d'ya think?)
2/6 195 lbs
2/13 190 lbs
2/20 185 lbs
2/27 180 lbs
3/5 175 lbs - reward - new tattoo!
3/12 170 lbs
At this date, I'll be at the 3 month mark with Weight Watchers, so I can see if it was any help at all. The Weight Watchers is something that I had to do anyways to meet criteria to have lap band surgery, so hopefully I'm killing two birds with one stone here. I'd much prefer to do it on my own, obviously, but again I think the lap band would be a good tool for me to use on this journey. If I don't qualify, oh well, I'll still go at it.
My goals are sort of lofty - usually you should shoot for around 2-3 lbs a week for healthy weight loss, and I'm hoping for 5. However, I'm going to be gentle yet firm with myself - I need to stay motivated and keep doing this, but if I don't meet my specific goals at each date, it isn't the end of the world, I just need to keep plodding on.
All in all, that is my intro. I'll go more into how I plan on reaching my goals and smaller revelations I've had in other blog posts. Thanks for reading, and wish me luck! I really want another tattoo, dang it!
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