My apologies for being behind and not doing a good job at keeping up my blog. I know that many of you have been asking about it and waiting very patiently for my next entry.
I want to THANK YOU for your support and for your patience!
As you know, I have been caring for my Mother. The last few months have been, trying to say the least. Unfortunately, my Mom became very sick and got a staph infection from her dialysis catheter. It settled into her and -- well long story short, I had to have her hospitalized. It was probably one of the worst experience I have had to date. I will never forget that day, as I thought she had a stroke - it was THAT BAD! She was in the hospital for over a week.
She is now on a long road to recovery. But is MUCH better. She has some issues with her arm and shoulder as the infection had set in there and she had to have surgery. Now she is being rehabilitated and back onto the road of recovery.
Needless to say - my blog was the thing that had to be one of the things I had to let go of. So, where did we leave off??? Oh, yes!
Doctor Visit: After First Month - Continued
As mentioned in my last update, I had lost 20 lbs! My first month - no help, no guidance - just told to eat only 1,000 calories a day. I made progress! I was thrilled and I am pretty sure that my Doctor was shocked. But he for sure knew that I was serious and here to do this.
This is when we discussed realistic goals. He asked me about what I weighed in High School, a whole 125 - 130 lbs.. Then when I got married at and when I began to put on the weight (moved to Arkansas and all that (see first entry)) I weighed 165 and started increasing steadily year after year and month to month. We had conversations about my pregnancies - before and after and any other diets I have been on. Then he asked me what weight did I see myself at - I told him I would be thrilled to be at 150lbs.. He shook his head and said that I could probably get to 175 lbs and maintain that. But nothing below.
For those who know me, when I am told no, or that I can't, or I won't be able to - like most, I will prove you wrong. I was determined that I was going to do this.
My doctor decided at this time he was going to prescribe a medicine for me to assist with the food cravings. Most of you have heard it and I am sure have been on it - Phentermine. I have been on it before. It is a stimulant. Most Doctors will easily write you a RX knowing that you will try the diet for a month and fail and be done with it. Which annoys the HECK out of me!! Phentermine is a stimulant that helps with cravings and does make you a little - jittery. However, if not taken correctly, you will not succeed at your diet. The biggest mistake people make is thinking that they can eat normal foods and loose weight. THIS IS WHY I NORMALLY DO NOT TELL PEOPLE I TOOK Phentermine! But I feel that I have to share my whole story, and be truthful about every step. This was part of it.
Here is my take - most write you the Rx and don't tell you anything else. Mine barely did either. I had to research and do my homework. I wanted to be thin again that bad! I really do think that they should only allow Dietitians write these Rx's. Because if they are not going to take the time to teach you to eat correctly, you are not going to be successful. The meds will not matter. Trust me. There are no magic pills. If there were - we would all be skinny!
Anyways, I started on the Phentermine - a half a pill, until I could no longer feel the effects (months) before going up to a full pill.
I continued on my 1,000 calories a day. Which became hard to do because I would not be as hungry going into the second month. I have begun to shrink my stomach, the meds were working and I had to remind myself to eat something. Always make sure you are eating something. Not eating only instills bad habits and won't help you. This is a time not only to work on loosing the weight but learn good eating habits.
Remember this is a LIFESTYLE. It is not a diet. It is a change that needs to be there forever. Once you can embrace that, you will be that more successful!
Question: EXERCISE
Many have asked about what I did for Exercises. I did not begin exercise at first. It was a few months in before I even felt comfortable to do so. Or even want to. It was not until I lost about 50 or 60 lbs that I began. I chose to do Hot Yoga.
Why Hot Yoga. Because I HATE to exercise. Come on - if I liked it, do you think I would of ended up where I was? HA!
Hot Yoga is Yoga - stretching and balancing in a heated room. It is wonderful. You don't realize that you are working out until the next morning when you feel the "pain"! Not to mention the about of calories that you burn doing Hot Yoga. You can burn up to 500-700 calories in one hour of hot yoga! Can you believe that?! It is amazing. If you have never tried it, you really should. AND I really need to get back to doing it. Yes, I stopped doing it. It is a bad excuse, but life gets so busy. For me, crazy busy with the boys, Mom, Dad and trying to balance my own life and work. (WOW I am exhausted just thinking about it!).
I know you are going to ask -
SECOND MONTH WEIGHT LOSS
My second month on my diet, I lost another 20lbs! In two months total I lost a total of 40lbs!! I was well on my way and lost more than I ever imagined. I was seeing real results and fast! I felt amazing, not healthy or better - just AMAZING! It is hard to explain unless you gain and loose (don't do it - unless you need to - trust me!). But it is wonderful.
I know small handful of you are doing a diet just like the one I did. I am very proud of you! I am so happy that I can inspire you to make adjustments in your life to become a little more healthier. It is weird how many people come up to me to hug and thank me. I have come to realize that I am one of the few people that they know that have actually done it. I am very happy that you have allowed me to help you and inspire you. It is an odd place for me to be....so if I blush - sorry. :-)
I will follow up with another entry soon!
XOXO and Love,
Kerryanne
