Irresistible Force vs. Immovable Object

I've often suspected that there are two armies of angels fighting to influence the events of my life. The results are that I always have extremely good or extremely bad luck, and very little of the ordinary. Current events seem to point this out the back-and-forth between the two armies.

1. Bernie gets laid off of her job. That's not really bad luck, but it's a starting point.

2. To compensate, the guardian angels give us a nice tax return check, a rebate check, a refund from Lowes when the gas logs I bought in December went on sale 50% off, and several other little monetary windfalls in the couple of weeks following.

3. The evil angels can't allow such blatant tampering from the other side. They cause a water pipe under my sink upstairs to burst, flooding my bedroom and bathroom and causing a waterfall from the ceiling downstairs. The deductible on the insurance wipes out the tax return. The plumber bill wipes out the rebate and the refund.

4. Bernie finds out she got overcharged for groceries at Trader Joe's and gets her money back. A small victory for the guardian angels.

5. Bernie vacuums the downstairs carpet after the drying machines are taken out. The vacuum sucks up a piece of plaster and breaks and dies, smelling of smoke. Evil scores a three-pointer.

6. As I look online for a new vacuum (over $100), I notice a review mentions the symptoms of a broken belt. Aha! I take a screwdriver to the vacuum and that's indeed what is wrong with the vacuum cleaner! I find the belt on amazon for $4. Take that, evil angels!

7. The forces of evil strike back in a small way - shipping is $8, twice as much as the belt itself. So Bernie adds a bottle of Dermalogica for $20 to get free shipping. Stalemate?

Another Week, Another 5 Pounds

I really have no idea whether I should be doing the happy dance or be worried. I lost another 5 pounds in a week, and now weigh in at 265. This kind of loss is probably atypical for gastric bypass patients.

I feel great, I'm eating fine, I'm getting all my vitamins and protein, and I'm working out regularly.

Maybe very few gastric bypass patients actually follow the advice of the clinic? I have no idea. I've passed the halfway point to 200 lbs in just 2 1/2 months. I know this is going to slow down eventually, so I guess I'm choosing the happy dance while the going is so good.

I haven't been this light since I was newly graduated from college and realized I could eat whatever I wanted.

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BTW, here's a pic of me in the suit I wore to my concert on Saturday.

Broke a Plateau

I had been stuck on 275 for several days and was beginning to worry. Last week I worked out twice on Mon and Wed, but got lazy on Friday, and Saturday went by without getting much done. Bernie and I managed to get to the gym on Sunday and I did quite a bit of weight training.

This morning, I was rewarded with seeing the scale at 271.2.

I'm not exactly sure what's going on with my body, but I have been very thirsty lately and I think my body is readjusting its water balance.

Another few pounds and I'll be halfway to my unofficial goal of 200 lbs.

I'm still feeling good. I got some blood tests done at my regular doctor and the results were that I am very slightly anemic and need more vitamin D. Neither is a surprise due to the lack of red meat and veggies in my diet, and the fact that I don't take my powdered vitamin D any more. I solved the problem by eating more fortified cereal with milk, and I found some very tiny vitamin D pills at Costco. And they have my protein shakes there for much cheaper than GNC or Wal-Mart! I'm also trying to get more beef in my diet, but it's hard.

Pumping Iron

Today, I started working out. Not just walking on the treadmill, I mean. Bernie and I had an appointment with the trainer for our free orientation session, and he showed us some workouts that we should do for our individual goals. Strangely, mine didn't involve much in the way of weights. He had me doing step-ups while holding dumbbells, an inclined pull up using a long strap, and an inclined push up using the weight bar as a grip. We warmed up with 10 minutes of treadmill, and finished with 20 minutes on the stationary bikes.

I'm relatively certain that my arms will be numb tomorrow and paralyzed on Wednesday from this effort. That's just the way I roll.

275 today

I'm now at the same weight I was when I got married, however, I bet I am a lot smaller, based on the clothes I'm wearing now. Maybe I'll try on my wedding suit to prove it.

According to what I've read, it is time to start lifting weights. To tighten up sagging skin, they say that building new muscle will help more than anything else. Therefore, I start working out with machines next week, on top of my treadmaster training.

I've jumped the gun on 'regular' food. I'm not ready for steak or chops, but I managed a chicken sandwich for lunch today without much trouble. I just have to make sure I don't zone out and eat too much. I almost killed myself after stuffing two extra bites down my throat at breakfast yesterday. It is not worth it! I just wasn't thinking and reverted back to old habits. Never again. I barely managed to avoid upchucking.