Hollee's Weight Loss Success Story ((in progress))

 A date for skin removal, that is! I got my updated quote back from the surgeon in Mexico... his results are AMAZING and the price just can't be beat.  For all procedures, he costs less than one of the procedures in the US.  I really expected his prices to go up significantly due to his popularity (he's booking 11 months out right now!) but it only went up about $900 since last time I got a quote from him. But the best news of all of this...  I decided to proceed with my deposit and when I sent it, I was careless and accidentally added an extra 0 to the end.  This left me basically paying for my surgery in full rather than just making the deposit (I owe $1000 more).  When I called the office to explain what happened and request my surgery date, due to my mistake, they were willing to move me WAYYYYY up the list.  Instead of having surgery in July/Aug 2022, they gave me a date of..... JANUARY 27, 2022.   Whhhhhhat?!!? That's 5 months away!...

 This year makes 9 years since my initial surgery.  At my lowest, I had lost 160 pounds!  I currently sit at about 130 pounds down, and am close to a healthy/maintainable weight again.  My body has been through hell- don't get me wrong, I'm thankful for it!  I love this body.  I love that it has given me two beautiful children.  I love that it endured the struggle of carrying so much excess weight until I was ready to let it go.  I love that it carries me through life well and allows me to run and play with my kids now. What I don't love is the person I see in the mirror.  I don't love my stomach, or my breasts, or my legs, or my arms.  I don't love that the trauma of being 344 pounds 10 years ago left my body different than the average 33 year old woman.  I started thinking of skin removal before I ever even lost the weight, and now here I am looking further into it when I thought it was attainable, and finding out that it may not ...

I keep writing something and deleting it.  I've done this 3x so I'm just going to make this short and simple.  A number for accountability sake, and because I often forget where I was last week or the week before.  I thought I hadn't lost any weight since my last post, but looking back, I see that I have. I'm 15.8 pounds down since beginning this reset (-126.4 from highest weight).  

 I thought I hadn't lost much weight on vacation, until I just came back here to see that my last post said I was down 8.2 pounds.  Today I'm down 12 pounds in the last two weeks, so I will call it a win! I wasn't terrible on the first half of the vacation, as I mentioned our friends are fairly healthy.  We were pretty good with food, until we had a seafood night on our last night there.  I felt pretty good about it, but then I spent the weekend with my friend from out of the country and we drank most of our calories.  Fun Fact:  Did you know that drinking alcohol while dieting slows progress because your body works harder to metabolize alcohol, therefore slowing fat loss?  (Yes I do still drink, but have made a conscious effort to drink far less over the last few weeks.) All in all, I will take a pretty decent loss over the last week to mean I did SOMETHING right. The left photo was taken the Friday before we began our diet, and on the right was taken...

Instead of having to read through a decade of posts, here is what you missed: In September 2012, I had LabBand surgery at 344.4 pounds.  I lost 120 pounds but my band leaked. I petitioned my insurance for approval to revise to RNY gastric bypass, but my insurance company messed up and only approved Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy.  I was tired of the 6 month fight so I did it, against my surgeon's warning that I would need to revise again.  I could be the exception right? I had VSG in September 2014. I had a baby in November 2015, no weight gain. I started vomiting blood by November 2016 from extreme GERD due to the VSG surgery. I petitioned my insurance for approval to revise to Gastrojejunostomy (another name for RNY, but used when it is GERD related, and not for weight loss).  It was again, a huge fight.  I didn't know if I was actually having surgery until AFTER they had already admitted me and started my IV. I revised to RNY (gastrojejunostomy) in April 2017. I...

 While it is getting easier each day, I recognize that one issue for me is a change in routine.  I can be on track, killing the nutrition and exercise (which I haven't added yet) every day of the week, but a change in my schedule is pretty hard to overcome.  I survive on routine.  Every day looks kind of the same for me and that is what works in my life. And as much as I want to get away from my house, and my dogs, and my work, I also know that those factors help drive my success.  Having access to my own food and cookware, walking the pups, and staying on a schedule.  So while this upcoming break is much desired, it is also a little anxiety inducing on the nutrition front. We're going to visit our friends at the coast on Saturday until Wednesday.  I can't wait to have a few days with Mr. Banker's godsons and our boys together, time on the beach, and time off work.  I changed jobs in March and it has been a much bigger adjustment for me than I exp...

 One week down! 6.6 pounds down! And it is certainly getting easier! The wins keep coming :).   We had a pretty good weekend and I did relax a little on the diet, especially Satrurday.  We had date night, which meant dinner and drinks out.  I had far too many calories from alcohol but otherwise I was pretty good.  I didn't overeat at dinner and it really helped me enjoy the night more. Yesterday I made up for the over indulgence of alcohol by sticking to a pretty strict diet.  I also forgot to eat because I was in the garage for a large part of the day working on a project for our back porch.  Staying busy helps and the hunger is regulating itself a little too. It is a little discouraging that my weight hasn't moved since Thursday, but I think I need to try to find some patience, because 6.6 pounds down in one week isn't insignificant.  

 Getting back on track sucks.   Regardless, I am determined to do it.  And I'm here telling you that it sucks, so that in a week or so, when my body has detoxed all the crap I've been putting in it, and I'm feeling better, you will believe me that it DOES get better.  Because if I accomplish showing just one person that you can do it, then I've done something worthwhile.  Even if that person is myself. I weighed myself this morning and found the scale 5 pounds lighter than when I started Monday.  That sounds great, but I suspect it has a lot to do with water weight.  I'll take it though.  If it helps keep me motivated, I will convince myself that this self-torture is worth it. If you are looking to come along on this journey with me, feel free to find me on the MyFitnessPal app (username holleealexandria) to see what I'm eating and follow along for meal ideas.

 Well blog friends, here I am.  I'm back.  I wrote a post a month or so ago saying that I was giving this blog up after 3 years of neglect.  But here I am.  Why? Well, I believe that success comes with forming habits.  What was I doing when I was successful at losing weight?  Counting calories, moving more, and blogging.  I think the blogging really just comes with accountability, so I'm trying it again, along with the other two. Plus, I don't think all of my friends want to hear about how fucking hungry I am 24/7.  Mr. Banker (ahem, Mr. Branch Manager now!) gets it, because he's trying to get back on track with me, and we complain to each other, but I just need to bitch a little more. Oh, by the way, I guess this was my subtle way to tell you all that Mr. Banker and I got back together 2 years ago.  Surprise! Over the last 2.5 years I have gained.  I don't even want to put the actual number down.  After my youngest was born, I...