I know that it's been a really long time since I was on here. There've been a lot of ups and downs and a lot of disappointments in our journey to lose weight and get healthy, but we're ready to get started again!
There has been too much happening to catch everyone up on everything, but I'm going to attempt a few things.
First of all, Lee had found a great walking partner who was able to go walking with him almost daily for quite a long time. I wasn't able to join him very often because of work, but I would try when I could. They had gotten to walking 2 - 3 miles every day! Wow! He hasn't been walking for a while, though, because his partner had to stop because she started a new job. He knows that he could walk on his own, but we all know it is very hard to be motivated to do things on our own. Once winter has passed, he wants to start walking again. If there is anyone we know who can walk with him in the mornings, please let us know (wink, wink, lol).
Another really big event in trying to lose weight was that Lee had Gastric Bypass surgery in January last year. We're really impressed that we were able to do all that was needed for the surgery. I joined in all of the dieting that was necessary, as a support for Lee. I didn't think that it would be fair for me to eat normally when he couldn't, and I figured it would be good for me, too.
We started out having to do 2 weeks of a pure clear liquid diet, with several proteins shakes per day, and nothing else but clear liquids such as water and broth or even sugar-free jello. At that time, Lee had his surgery. He then had to do 2 weeks of 4 - 6 oz of full liquids, adding things like applesauce, pureed cream soups, 1% milk, sugar-free pudding, smoothies (specific recipes to stay healthy and in the guidelines), etc. By this time, after 2 weeks of nothing but pure liquids, this was pretty easy.
After this, we moved on to 2 weeks of Soft Solids. This included foods like eggs, some seafood, canned chicken and deli chicken/turkey, beans, no sugar added canned fruit, bananas, cooked veggies, etc. No red meats yet, lol. We were so happy to move on to this stage, although we were still eating 6 - 8 oz of food. Finally, 5 weeks after his surgery, we were able to eat Full Solids.
This was the hardest time because once we started eating the full solids, the temptation to start eating the way we used to was eventually too much. We don't follow the diet that we used to, but I am proud to say that we are still eating so much better than we were before all of this started. We still eat about half of the amounts for our meals than we ate before Lee's surgery (in fact, we can't imagine how we used to eat that much; it's so weird). We also learned to appreciate Stevia and still sweeten some things with half Stevia/half sugar. We've also learned to eat a more fiber-rich diet, and less red meat.
Overall, we lost a combined total of almost 100 pounds, and although we have gained a lot of it back, we haven't gained it all back.
Sadly, our exercise routine has been sporadic. We'll do really well for a while, then stop for a while. That, too, is something we want to get back to doing.
So, back to now. We have set a goal to lose about 150 lbs (combined) this year. Our plans to accomplish this are as follows:
- We have started back to doing cardio every other day, right now by dancing to Just Dance 2018.
- We are going to the gym every other day where we are doing some cardio and some weight machines. (I love the weight machines so much more than the cardio, lol. I never imagined that!)
- We are going to try to severely limit our soda intake.
- We would like to start shrinking our food intake. Counting calories is too hard for us because we either get discouraged or forget to do it. Reducing our intake will automatically reduce some of our calorie intake.
- We would like to cut back on our sugar intake and start adding more Stevia again as a replacement.
- We are going to start tracking our weight and measurements again.
- We are going to try to be forgiving of ourselves if we make mistakes, but still push ourselves to be better.
- I have started this blog again to share our experiences.
and . . .
- Lee would like to see about doing a video blog on YouTube if we can figure out how to do it! His aim is to be an inspiration to others who go through the struggles that we have while trying to get healthy and lose weight, as well as helping him to stay focused. He has relied on other YouTube videos to help him, but he hasn't seen very many men, and especially no one who is as big as he is. If we can get this going, we'll let you know!
This will be a full-time job for both of us, but Lee is approaching 40, and I'm already over 40, and it's time to get healthy so that our future will be easier and we can have more fun!
If you have anything that you would like to share with us about your struggles, please feel free to do so! Thank you for your support!
