On October 19, 2017, I hit my second weight loss goal, and my first since the surgery. I finally hit 100 pounds down.
I get on the scale regularly, honestly probably more than I should, and I knew this day was coming sooner rather than later.
I thought of the ways to celebrate hitting 100 pounds off of me forever, and I came up with the idea to take a day off and spend $100 on myself, no guilt allowed. Originally, I was going to get a facial or a massage, because I was afraid I would return whatever I bought.
The day finally came and a few "life happened" moments occurred. First, I couldn't take off the next day (a Friday) or the following day (a Monday) because of a deadline. Suddenly the rest of the week didn't look good, nor did the next two weeks (being a grown up is overrated). Also, in a good way, a friend gifted me a massage the week before, so I got my planned happy treat for free. Earlier in the month, I did spend a frivolous $100 on a TENS machine to help my aches and pains after workouts, and my husband's painful feet.
So back to what happened on October 19. I came home from work and for the heck of it, I stepped on the scale to see this. I was on my way to the gym, so I went there, shared the good news with my friends there, had a killer workout, and took a super cute Instagram picture. It didn't feel right just to go home at that point.
How was I going to express self-love in this process?
Before I tell you the embarrassingly nerdy way I celebrated 100 pounds, I want to touch on the journey I've gotten to for my self care, love, and improvement.
From the start of my medical weight loss journey in January of 2017, I eased into a workout routine. I started with alternating cardio and weight training and fell into doing both cardio AND weights at least twice a week. Part of this was possible because my part time job as a swim coach was ending with the conclusion of the season. This is an important point.
Then came surgery day, and I couldn't wait to get back to the gym. I had more time to work out because I cleared my schedule for healing, and working out was a big part of my emotional and mental well being. I found myself (safely and with the blessing of my medical team) working out regularly. As I went back to work, I struggled at first to find the right levels of energy and the right timing to workout, and I found it. But I let my body decide more than my social schedule or any outside influence.
Now as I approach five months out, I listen to my friends and husband's suggestions but when it doesn't work for me, I tell them, and there's not an issue because I'm being honest and everyone is understanding.
This has made for its fair share of uncomfortable situations. The most recent one is that my husband, on his own bariatric journey, committed to weekly aquarobics classes at the Y. I went with him for the first class, but I realized it was not a very challenging workout for me. I felt bad telling him, but I had to be honest and tell him that on Tuesdays (his chosen day for now), I get a more quality workout at Planet Fitness with my friends than I would at the aquarobics class. I know it was hard for him to hear, but we all only have 24 hours in the day and I need to make them work for me.
I also had to quit my job as a swim coach. This was a hard an unexpected turn of events, but the head coach was making the schedule and was not considering my new needs. We had an established schedule, but then she changed it, and wanted to keep changing it, and I told her this would simply not work for me. More importantly, as the season hit its crazy stride, I knew the schedule would get tougher, so I had to make the tough choice to walk away from my "sanity check" job.
So the theme here is that I had to find time for self love/care and self improvement. I told my husband and my former coach that my old schedule wasn't going to work for me anymore. Additionally, I enjoy journaling my weight training so I can see a clear improvement.
Finding time for self care is a little more difficult. I love to crochet, so it's been easy to find projects and circles of others who enjoy getting together to crochet. Other good hobbies friends of mine enjoy are adult coloring books, bullet journaling, and volunteering at local organizations.
So back to how I celebrated my loss. I left the gym, and decided to go to GNC to buy some good protein.
Yes, how very "bariatric patient" of me.
The week before, we bought my (former) favorite Pure Protein in vanilla from Wal-Mart. I had a scoop and it didn't taste right to me, but they say tastes change over time, so I didn't think much of it. A couple of days later, my husband complained and I thought that this might be a quality issue. But, we bought it, it was a little pricey, so we're stuck.
At some point on the day I discovered the loss, I decided we deserve better even if it means throwing the protein shake away. A recent visit to GNC taught me that they stand behind their products with a 30 day guarantee, so I went there to get us a new flavor that was actually halfway decent. Also, the quality of protein is likely higher.
The bottom line is, that day I realized, we deserve better. We shouldn't have to stomach our way through a protein shake.
So there you have it. The day I lost 100 pounds, I celebrated by working out, and buying protein.
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