Sign up with your email address to be the first to know about new products, VIP offers, blog features & more.

Week 38 – Honolulu and Hilo – 147 lbs – July 8, 2012

Reality hit this morning. 3 week vacation and 2 lb weight gain.

I gained 2 lbs this week and I probably deserved to gain it; after all I was on vacation for 3 weeks, ate and drank more than I do at home and was not on my regular exercise program. I didn’t get back home to Hilo until Tuesday and didn’t start my regular exercise until Wednesday…..and then, I had to ease into it again. It just shows you that you have to be on top of this all the time; which is what thin people do….it’s what my husband and my friends have always done. When I gained 3-5 lbs in a year I didn’t think that was a big deal, but I did it continuously for 10 years. If we thought we were getting a free ride by removing most of our stomachs, I guess this is where we need to think again.

 

I didn’t have much exciting to talk about this week anyway other than working on a bathroom remodel in Honolulu and packing away here in Hilo, so today’s post is about how I have worked exercise into my daily life. Even though I did eat differently on vacation, for me, I’m convinced I gained weight because I had stopped exercising aerobically. So even though I’ll watch what I’m eating a little closer this coming week, I’ll  step up my exercise and see what happens.

Here’s the TOP TEN THINGS I HAVE LEARNED ABOUT EXERCISE in my 38 weeks since surgery. (Keep in mind, I was NEVER athletic, and always pathetic at regular exercise before WLS and I’ve always been very weak in my upper body).

  1. After surgery, when we were in Amsterdam, I started out with soup cans to do my strength training exercises. Now I’m up to 5 and 8 lb weights. I have been pretty consistent with these exercises (outside of the months we were on the road). I do 3 reps each of seven different arm exercises. Although going from soup cans to 8 lb weights is a definite improvement, I still feel very weak in my arms, they are major flabby and I can’t do even ONE push up.  I was feeling pretty good about graduating to 8 lb weights when a pretty,  20-something walked in the other day and started lifting two 15 lb weights without any difficulty.…..sigh.
  2. Biking or walking is the way normal people shop and get to work in Amsterdam

    I love to walk and bike and one of the reasons we decided to move to Amsterdam is because walking or biking ‘organically’ is just a healthier way to live instead of getting in your car and driving everywhere. And even though I know that will keep me healthy, sadly, walking for me is not aerobic. I simply cannot walk at a pace that gets my heart rate up. So I exercise every day on a treadmill (thankfully there is one here in the complex where we live). With the treadmill, I’m able to push myself, unlike walking. My regime:  3 miles every other day starting at 3.0 mph and working up to 5.0 mph and trying to run about one mile of that. On the ‘other’ day I do 2 miles using the incline (increasing it 1 level for each minute then back down) and doing 30 minutes of weight training. On Sundays I go to a yoga class and pretend that I know what I’m doing and that I’m a deep enough person to understand the spiritual part of it. I’m not very good at it, but I think it’s good for me.

  3. I’ve learned to sweat. This is quite new to me; since I had never pushed myself before, I feel happy when I get sweaty. It makes me feel like I’m working hard enough.
  4. I stretch before and after every workout. After 8 months of this, I would have thought I would be more flexible, but I still feel very stiff and that my progress has been minimal.
  5. I only use the treadmill now; for me, the elliptical threw my hip out.

    I don’t use the elliptical machine! I think using this machine over a year ago is what caused my hip problems in the first place. Maybe if you’re younger or taller it’s OK, but I’m convinced it threw my hip out of whack….so use it with caution.

  6. When I don’t exercise regularly I can feel it; I get a little edgy. Like my body is craving it. I like this!
  7. When I first start out on the treadmill, I always think the time is going by really slowly, then after about 10 minutes I get into the rhythm and the time goes by so fast! I ALWAYS listen to fast music when I exercise; it makes a huge difference in my enjoyment and my speed. I put together an exercise playlist on my iPhone so it’s really easy. Even when I really don’t want to push myself (which isn’t often) I will play some slower music and just walk at a slower speed.
  8. I set goals for myself: on my 3 mile days, my goal is to do 3 miles in 45 minutes or less and burn at least 400 calories. On my 2 mile days my goal is to do 2 miles in 30 minutes or less and to work up to 8 lb weights for all my training and to do 5 push ups.
  9. I’m still doing my one leg thing in the elevator……going up, I stand on my left leg only, going down, on my right. I think it really is helping my balance.
  10. Lastly, I’ve learned that burning 300-500 calories a day, and eating less than 1200 calories a day will usually take one lb. a week off for me, but change that formula a little and what do you get: a 2 lb. gain. Lucky for me, I’m learning how this works now.

Beautiful ginger

That’s it for Week 38. It’s good to be back in Hawaii even though our goal is to leave here in a couple of months. There is beauty everywhere you look: flora, fauna, ocean, sky, sunrises, volcanoes, critters; it all abounds here in the islands. There is a saying here…..”lucky we live Hawaii”  and although this will be our part-time home once we leave, for today, I’m happy to be here.

 

A HUI HOU,

QUEEN OF CROP

5 Responses
  • stacey (yecats)
    July 8, 2012

    Keep writing, exercising and losing..lol. You are doing wonderful. I really enjoy it.

  • Joni
    July 8, 2012

    As always, you are an inspiration. I was sleeved on 4/23 and have not been exercising at all – BUT – that is going to change starting this week as I’ve joined the local health club and will first go for my fitness assessment and then begin to go regularly. Weight loss has been slow, so I’m hoping exercise is going to be my missing link to speed things up. The sleeve definitely is not a free ride, as I even managed to gain 3 pounds a couple weeks ago, mostly by making poor food choices. It’s a learning experience, up and down, and not easy to find what works for yourself. Thanks for your great insight and sharing.

    • queenofcrop
      July 8, 2012

      Thanks Joni! The sleeve is a perfect jump start to all of this; and because of it, we CAN exercise now. So I am very grateful for it. Good luck with your exercise program and don’t over do it at first. (And watch out for that elliptical!).

  • Dana
    July 9, 2012

    I so look forward to reading your weekly blog posts — they are such an inspiration to me. Like Joni above, I just signed up at the YMCA and have my fitness consultation tomorrow. I have been exercising some and have had “spurts” of exercising throughout my life. This weekend I played 18 holes of golf. I find this is a great way to stretch, and while there is definitely some walking, it’s not too aerobic, but I really enjoy it. I think finding some type of exercise I ENJOY doing is important to my success. I refuse to get on the elliptical. It’s evil. But I do like the rowing machine. Another good way to stretch out all parts of your body! If there is a rowing machine in your complex, you might give it a try. I’m also going to take fencing lessons this Fall. Again it may not be very aerobic, but it will help with balance and it will be something I’ve never tried before but could end up being fun!

    • queenofcrop
      July 9, 2012

      Aloha Dana! Hope the consultation went well and congratulations for taking that step! I was never a committed exerciser and even now, I’d prefer not to do it every day, but once I get down there it’s an entirely different story. As my adopted daughter says every time she burns 100 calories……”one more cookie!” So I look at it that once I reach my goal (only 8 more lbs!) I can maintain my weight and have a goodie by keeping up the exercise. Good luck and keep us posted.
      Thanks for reading my blog and the nice feedback!

Leave a Reply to queenofcrop Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *