Rocky Mountain Associated Physicians (RMAP) Patients

okay so I copied the BBcode into my signature and that doesn't seem to be working.  I don' thave time to play with it right now but I'll try to get my ticker working later.  Perhaps it's the other code (not the BBcode) that needs to be pasted in there.  I'll play with it and see what I can figure out.

Sean

And I'm Back....

  For those of you who haven't discovered it yet, Ray Wilde, the office manager over at Rocky Mountain Associated Physicians and I had a phone conversation a couple of weeks back. Being able to have a frank discussion about what actually happened on the board brought a quick resolution and Ray has reinstated me to the RMAP message board. I don't know if it will ever truly be the same (do wounds ever heal 100%?) but I've started messaging there again.

I hope you'll continue to follow my blog as there will be more personal experiences here but I invite you to also join me on the RMAP board if you are so inclined.

What? Me Exercise?

  So yesterday I had worked on putting together the elliptical machine delivered on Thursday by NordicTrack. Hours later when it was basically put together, the last thing I wanted to do was try it out. It was a workout putting the thing together. And guess what? It takes two people so I had to work with my brother to get it. One of the screws at the base wouldn't go in the right way because the hole they had drilled in the two metal pieces didn't align correctly. Fortunately I'm good at puzzles so we put it in backwards and it worked well that way. Definitely one of the most frustrating pieces of equipment I've ever had the *cough* pleasure to put together. I seriously am tempted to call NordicTrack and give them a piece of my mind. Anyway, so a new era starts. I have an elliptical, new cross trainer (hiking/walking) shoes, and a mountain bike. That should keep me plenty busy through the summer and beyond. I'm kind of excited. I've drug my daughter into the fray. She has her own mountain bike and new shoes and together we've already started having fun. She loves going biking with her dad and is always asking me if we can go and disappointed when it ends.

One thing that I've heard about from a lot of you is that you hate exercise. Well... I'm right there with you. I bought a Gold's Gym membership but absolutely hated it. Let's face it, I'm not going to be a gym rat. But I needed to find something and this has me on the right track. As I get going, I know I'm going to augment my equipment with some dumbbells and at least a padded mat for crunches (if not a core ball). But all in its own time. I have found a few things that I will do, in places that I will do them. Stay tune. I'll keep you updated as to how it ends up working out but so far it's looking good.

Sean

Keeping Busy

  You know, it's funny. When I'm busy I don't have as much of a time staying on the diet but I have a much more difficult time getting my water in. When I'm not busy, the reverse is true (obviously). I decided yesterday that the solution here is to stay busy but run around with an IV in so I can continually hydrate myself without thinking about it. *laughs*

My plastic surgeon (surgery in just over a month) has me taking a multi-vitamin twice a day to get my skin as healthy as possible before the surgery. I've upped my B12 supplement as well to make sure that nothing dips down below where it should be prior to the experience. I guess I should invest in a B-complex to make sure the other B vitamins (specifically B1 or Thiamine) doesn't get low.

I'm excited about having a lot of my excess fat/skin removed especially in the abdomen area though I'm not really looking forward to the recovery time. Recovery from gastric bypass, while not super long, cured me of any desire to go through a recovery period on anything. But I expect to have two plastic surgeries, at the end of which (once recovery is done) my total weight loss adventure will be over and the rest of my life will be enjoyment of being where I've always wanted to be and working to stay there. So..... I'm excited.

I would love to hear from more of you ... your stories, how all of this has affected you, and what you enjoy the most or are looking forward to the most. My email address is in my profile which you can access by clicking on the link over by my profile picture.

Sean

MUSIC!!!!

  Okay everyone, I need your help. I've added a sampling of my musical tastes to my blog (www.seanstransformation.blogspot.com). If you add to it the hiphop song "Move, Shake, Drop" you really have a good idea of what my daughter and I listen to. With that said, I need your help to identify more music that I'll like. So please!!!! Take a moment and listen to the music here on my blog and if you have similar type music that you listen to, please email me a list of your musical suggestions.

Thanks.

ticker test.  if this doesn't work, I give up unless Julia wants to offer help.

Oooops, I didn't even see this post til just right now.  I would have glady walked you through the process of the ticker.  But you would need to get AiM, because that is the only way we could talk for me to walk you through it.  But looks like you got it.  Good job!

Sam's Club / Stress Eating

  So today I visited Sam's Club. OMG! I love Sam's Club. 3 boxes of my protein bars (Premier Nutrition - 30 grams of protein each). 15 bars per box for just over $14. Also purchased (for the first time), the EAS protein shakes. 18 count, almost $25. Also found some trail mix that isn't too bad at all -- really just the fat content but I'm not worried about that... especially if I keep it under control (how much of it I eat). I'll take a bunch with me to Chicago next week.

Anyway, so today's update is about stress. I've been MEGA (yes I repeat MEGA) stressed for the entire month of March. Work has been insane. But I'm finally almost at the light at the end of the tunnel. April 6th is the day when I think I'll be through everything with work and my life that has me running non-stop.

What I've noticed is a HUGE tendency to cheat with simple carbs (especially sugar -- candies). Soooo bad. It's almost a subconscious thing. It hasn't hit me too hard (hopefully that's because I've been fighting the good fight and not because it will hit me later) in the weight department. I need to watch the stress eating. Such a bad area for me. Definitely needs work.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll be posting from Chicago to let you know how the food and give you some highlights from Chi-town. This is the first of two trips over the next two weeks and in between is my beautiful daughter's birthday.

Enjoy the weather, my friends!! My daughter, Faith, and I will be enjoying our mountain bikes a lot this weekend. She's all psyched to go out. We fixed her bike up last night (brakes needed some tweaking and new pads had to be installed). So if you see us out on the road, try not to hit us but honk and give us a wave.

Sean

Chicago: Weight loss/gain on trips out of town

  I love business trips for everything other than weight maintenance. I'm in Chicago, easily the coolest city I've ever been to, and I'm struggling to eat right. Grrrr! I was up to 229 lbs the morning before I left (3/22/09), let's see what I can do over the next three days so on Friday (first morning back) if I can't say I lose (or at least maintained). Wish me luck.

I'll get back down to 225 lbs but I have to say that I didn't think it would be so hard to maintain my weight once I got down here. The biggest problem is that I can eat so much more and I can eat anything I want. That means that I need to use all the skills and new eating habits I learned during the weight loss phase and be like all those skinny people I've been around my entire life. I can do it, just need to always stay vigilent. Can't afford to stop paying attention to what I eat, how I exercise and how I control my caloric intake.

Anyway, I'm off to run around Chicago for a bit. I'll try to write more later on in the week.

Sean

My trip and weight gain

  I just got back from my weeklong business trip to Chicago. I barely have a chance to breathe and I'm out again (Monday morning) headed back to Chi-town. I love Chicago and I love that I get to travel for my job. However, there is one thing I hate. Everytime I travel, I gain weight. Oh I tried really really hard this last trip to eat decent. I think I did a good job. And I walked everywhere so I got a lot of exercise. But yet I'm now up to 231 lbs. 1 lb over my scary weight. Dammit!

I know I'll get back down but it's always frustrating. But I realize that I have to be forever vigilant and always readjust my water and food intake as well as my exercise type and level in order to maintain my goal weight. It's not always easy but I've been on the extreme upper end. I know how I felt then compared to how I feel now. I know how happy I was when I got down to 225 lbs for the first time. It's all worth it and it's worth it to continue working on my diet and exercise to keep myself here.

It's all worth it!!!!!