My first sprint triathlon

Well, I did it!!! I finished my first sprint triathlon!!! It was quite the challenge. Me and my friend Connie made a pack that we would do this together. She stayed with me on my 400 meter swim. I was the last one in..yikes, but I completed it!! I did that in 22 minutes, which was within the time I had predicted for myself. Then we transitioned to the bike. We biked 12 miles with head wind the first 6 miles. Then we dumped our bikes and started on our 5k. We walked it as that was the deal. Connie has a hard time running and I have a hard time swimming. We came in last but that is okay with us! I still finished in my allotted time given to myself of 2 hours 10 minutes. We came in at 2 hours 8 minutes.

Here are some pictures took of me during the race. Now I can check this off my list of goals that I want to complete!

Never under estimate your power...you can do anything you put your mind to.

Here I am a year later

I just wanted to post some after pictures now.

One year Surgerverisary!!!!!

It is so hard to believe that one year ago I had my gastric bypass surgery. I really did not know how much my life was going to change, I could only imagine. As I look back on the past year it amazes me what I have accomplished. I truly think I have accomplished more this past year then in the last 10 years! My life is not the same, it is different. It is so much better. I like myself and whom I'm becoming. I feel like a human being and that people actually notice that I exist. People will look me in the face and smile and talk to me!! It also makes me very sad that I was treated so differently just by being overweight. I don't feel like my personality has changed so much that I have become more likable than before. Maybe I just have more confidence in myself and that radiates through my being and makes me more approachable?!

This journey is a lifelong journey. It has many ups and downs. I have to learn to adjust to them and keep moving forward. There is no going back. I had not lived my life and wasted many previous opportunities due to my weight and insecurities. I will not allow that to happen anymore. Like I have said before, there are no more excuses for me, I'm in total control of my life. I make the decisions on how I want to live my life.

I love sharing my gastric bypass story with others and I hope and pray that if you are stuck like I was, that I can inspire you to get your life back. Obesity took away so many important moments in my life. I don't know how many times I would not go watch my kids at school, or go to dinner where I knew they had booths or seats that I could not fit into, how many times I ate before going to a party so that I would not look like the pig, worried about what people were saying about me, would I be the fattest one there?, what am I going to wear?, I'm ugly, I'm not worth it. Gheez, the list can go on and on. I could not take a compliment without being Debbie Downer and saying something negative to the compliment.

Now, a year later, I'm confident, happy, loving, healthy, energetic, living my life. I've lost 102 pounds since my journey began a year ago. This has is not an easy journey. This is the by far the hardest things I've ever done for myself. Just the decision to have surgery is hard, then what comes after is even harder. The results are a true miracle. I love all my family and friends who have been so supportive of me. Thank you all.

I have a lot planned for this next year of my life. I'm excited to see what it brings.

Here are some photos of me through the years. Some people that I've met recently cannot believe I was ever that heavy, but I was. I battled my weight since high school, but more so as I became an adult.

Training for the sprint tri

I have been training on the swimming portion of the tri this week really hard. I have been swimming in the lake where the race will be. Last night I finally swam 300 meters. It took 26 minutes but with a couple breaks in between. It is quite challenging for me because I'm not a strong swimmer at all and not fond of the lake itself. Along with some anxiety about not being able to touch the bottom and swimming with the turtles, I've been able to overcome it and swim on!! I've also noticed the benefits of my hard work as well. The waistline is slimming down so more and a couple pounds are falling off again. I'm going to keep practicing. It feels so great!!

It's been awhile

Hey everyone,

It has been awhile since I posted on here. Things are going good. I have lost a total of 100 pounds and have been in a stall for about three months now. I'm happy with where I am but would still like to lose another 30 pounds. I'll take it a day at a time and see how it goes.

My MS is doing good at this point. I'm taking my injections three times a week. They have left me with nice bruises on my legs and belly, but I can easily hide them, so that is okay. I really do not notice too much of a difference with the medication. However, my right leg is still heavy at times and numb, but I'm learning to live with it. The right side of my head is still numb, but again I'm learning to live with it. Every once in awhile I will have problems with my left arm and leg acting up. Other than that, I cannot complain.

I have been training and running quite a bit. I've done another 5k and an 8k recently. I'm training for a sprint triathlon and will be doing more 5 miles runs coming up in the next few weeks. The weather is hot here so I'm having to rearrange my exercise schedule. I have been swimming in the lake in the evening. It cools me off nicely and then I go run 2 miles.

Here are a couple of pictures of me on my latest runs and walks.

Heels & Hills 1/2 marathon and 10k

This past weekend my bestie friends Patty & Kris met me and my friend Donna in Irving for a 10k run/walk. This was Patty & Kris' first 10k. It was so much fun after we go through the parking deal first thing. I was able to run a good majority of it and actually cut 10 minutes off my previous 10k, which I walked. My official time was 1:20. I hope to be able to run a whole one soon. Stay tuned because Patty, Kris and me are doing a 5k this weekend as well. Here are some pictures from our 10k.

I'm officially down 100 pounds too at 9 months out.

Wow, it has been awhile

I can't believe I haven't been here in awhile. Things have been pretty busy and I keep on truckin!!

I can't believe I am almost 8 months out from surgery. This is such a life changing event and has gone by very fast. I find myself reverting back to my comfort foods when I am stressed or upset or an emotional basket case. This is something that I so desperately need to work through.

I'm down 100 pounds now!!! The weight is coming off very slow now, which is expected and more realistic as well. I don't see a loss on the scale every week anymore but the clothes keep getting looser. I'm happy with where I'm at and would still like to lose 40 pounds. Hopefully, over the next 6 months or so I can reach my goat weight.

In the meantime, I have had some life changing news. I woke up three weeks ago with my whole right side of my body totally numb and tingling. I was a bit freaked out but did not think I had a stroke. I could still talk and walk okay so I didn't tell anyone except one friend. On the Saturday I ran a 5k with the numbness in my right side. I made it and was very excited about it but the numbness continued. On Sunday I finally told Bill what was going on and I told him I would call the doctor first thing in the morning or if I got worse we would go to the emergency room.

The next morning I went to the doctor and they did a brain MRI and cervical (neck) MRI. The radiologist called my doc and said that I needed to see a neurologist as it looked like I had a demyelinating process such as MS or maybe a subacute stroke.

I went to the neurologist a week later and we did more MRIs of my whole spine and brain again. It did come back that I have MS. I have two lesions on my brain and one on my thoracic spine. I was certainly shocked by this diagnosis. I was feeling so great and getting healthy and just down right enjoying life. I know it is not a death sentence and I surely could have something a lot worse, but at the same time, it is still shocking.

They do not have a cure for MS but they do have medications that can help with symptoms. MS has come quite far in the last 20 years. I will be starting injections 3 times a week and hopefully that will help with any flare-ups. I'm going to stay positive and work through all of this with the help of my family and friends.

Like I said, things could have been a lot worse. I'm blessed that I work at home and am able to take a nap or get up whenever I need to. There is no stress, which plays a big factor in flares as well. I will work through this one day at a time.