My awesome month away from home!

The month of September was a bit of a new experience for me. Since having my WLS I'm an adventurous woman!! I do things that I have never done before out of fear or what people thought or because I was too fat, etc. Now, I just don't care. I'm living my life!

I know this may sound quite petty to some, but I have never really gone anywhere by myself (long distances). So my sister told me that she had a condo in the mountains (Winter Park, CO) and did I want to come spend the week? At first I said no. I already had a weekend trip planned to Idaho for a 5k at the end of the month and was looking into airline tickets. So, the more I thought about it the more I wanted to go. I decided to go ahead and drive up there myself. I also asked if she minded if I stayed a few more weeks and then fly out to Idaho from there. She didn't.

The drive from my house to hers was 12 hours. I have done it many times (as a passenger) over the years, so I was very familiar with the route and that made me more at ease. I made it just fine and felt great about it. Wow, I can actually do things by myself.

We had a great week up in the mountains. I would love to live in a log cabin and just breathe the fresh air daily. We got to go to the hot springs, which was so relaxing and made my skin nice and soft. I really did not get to do the exercising that I wanted while we were there though due to weather. It was pretty chilly for me and I was trying to adjust to the altitude.

When we came back to Denver I went on an 16 mile ride with the family around the reservoir. It was nice to finally get some exercise in and the scenery was nice too. I felt great and wanted more.

My brother and my sister and brother-n-law decided we would go do a 14er (climb a mountain 14,000 ft). I was ready for the challenge. We got up super early (5:30am) to leave for the mountain. It was exciting! I had shopped all week for the appropriate gear that I would need. We arrive at Mt. Bierstadt and the parking lot was already getting full. I couldn't believe how many people were out here this early doing this.

We started at 12,000 ft. The trail was nice and flat, but not for long at all. Soon we started climbing up a rocky trail. It had a ton of switchbacks. We took many "catch my breath" breaks along the way. We finally got to a point where I really could not see anymore of the mountain and we thought that we might of reached the top. NOT!! We made a right turn at the top and then the real challenge was just beginning. This was very challenging and you have to be pretty darn fit to do this. Guess what, I was!! I could not believe that I was actually that fit to continue on. I had my Garmin on and my heart rate stayed at about 156 the whole time. We climbed up very rocky straight up terrain.

When we finally could see the summit and were almost there, my sister said she could not go any farther. Under my breath I was disappointed, I wanted to make summit. So we sat and watched everybody start climbing the final leg. We sat for about 25 minutes waiting to see if our brother, who was ahead us and already on the summit, would come back down. Nope, we did not see him. A gentleman said that it was 15 minutes to the summit so we said we are doing this. We didn't come this far not to make it.

So, we were climbing up boulders and rocks to the top. It did take us about 15 minutes. It was amazing. You are literally on top of the world. The 360 degree views were stunning. We got to sign a register that we made it! I was so proud of myself. I did it!!!

The hike down was actually a lot harder than going up we decided. I ended with a couple of blisters on my toes from them hitting the top of my shoes. We ate our lunch and rejoiced in our accomplishment.

I confirmed to myself that I can do anything I put my mind to. I can take on a challenge and be proud.

The next weekend me and my sister were off to Idaho for a Women's Fitness Challenge. We were to walk or run a 5k. I set another goal for myself to actually run the full 5k. I have never run one all the way. I run and then I walk and then I run and then I walk. So in my mind I kept saying, "slow and steady," and I made it! I ran my first 5k all the way!!

We also climbed a mountain while in Idaho as well. It was not as challenging at the 14er, but it was a great hike.

Above our my pictures of my 14er.

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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.