Halfway there and I got the Front Page!

I know I have been slack and not posting updates over the last few weeks and I am soooo sorry. My only excuse is that I am packing so much fun into my "new life", that it is harder to find the time to sit down and write an update. So although it appears like I am being naughty I am actually being good. I am getting everything out of each day, which is exactly what I signed up for when I signed up to have a sleeve. I am certainly getting my money's worth out of this surgery :)

 

So after reading the title of this post it will come as no shock to you that I am now officially half the halfway point!!! Yay me! Today I weighed in at 92.7kg which means I only have to lose another 25.7 kg until I get to goal of being 67kg (only). Then all my energy will be spent trying to maintain the weight, toning up and possibly getting to 64kg which I feel has a nice ring to it. "Hi, my name is Theresa and I weigh 64kg!" ....yep I like the sound of that! Who knows, maybe if I do get to 64kg I would actually introduce myself that way....hehehehe

 

So these last few weeks I have been running around like a headless chicken. I have documented my activities over the last week to give you an idea of my routine. Unfortunately, I haven't managed to get into as much exercise this week as I had so many presentations to attend, but I still got in some and that is all that matters.

 

Thursday: 8.30-6pm Work. 6.30-7.30pm Personal Training. 8pm-9pm Shopping for undies that fit!

Friday: 8-5pm Work. 5.30-7.30pm Coffee Catchup. 7:30-9pm Shopping for birthday pressie

Saturday: 9.30-10.30am Zumba. 10.30-12pm Coffee Catchup. 12.30-4pm Mani/Pedi. 4-12pm Friends birthday and stand-up comedy.

Sunday: 10am walk. 1pm-4pm Raw cooking class. 4.30-9.30pm Zouk dancing on the beach

Monday: 8-5pm Work. 5-7pm Go to Architecture Presentation on Project Planning. 7-9pm Choir

Tuesday: 8.30-5.30pm Work. 6-7pm Zumba. 7-9.30pm Zumba Halloween party!

Wednesday: 8-5pm Work. 5-7pm Go to Architecture HVAC Presentation. 7-10pm Drinks/Dinner 

 

Surprisingly, I am managing to keep my energy levels up despite my reduced calorie intake, but I do believe it is generally because I am happier. I hit my bed like a sack of potatoes at the end of each day, but until that time comes I am running at full steam!

 

Did you notice the "I got the Front Page" part of this post's title? Let me explain....so last week I attended an Architecture week networking event at the WA Institute which turned out to be a nice event. Anyhow, they were taking photos on the night and asked for a photo of me and an another architect whom I was talking to. Obviously we said yes and gave the token cheesy smile for the photo, never expecting to see it anytime in the future. So imagine my surprise when a work colleague sent me a link to WAToday (an online news website which focuses on all things WA), asking me to find the architect. So who do you think was front cover of the album? .....yep, you guessed it!!!! So obviously I am no model but I am totally happy for any recruiters to call me if they are looking for another plus size model...hehehe. Check it out :)

 

Screen shot of the home page (I am the girl in blue at the bottom Right corner)

  

 

The actual image as saved from the album

 

In other news, I have decided to stop taking Elevit multivitamins as they make me ill each morning (literally). I know I still need vitamins so I will move back to the less nutritional but still good Mini's that I was taking for the first two months post-op. To help ensure that I am getting the best nutrition I possibly can and to help me through the next phase of my life,  I recently attended a Raw Food Workshop with a good friend of mine. The workshop was pretty good and got me thinking about the additional ways I can get fluids and nutrients into my meal plans. I will be attending another workshop in a bit over a month which will cover more foods but then I will back to google searches to get ideas. Let me know if you have any awesome recipes!

 

I think that it all I needed to update you all on for now. I am off to Melbourne tomorrow for the annual Melbourne Cup and a long overdue catch-up with some of my besties. I can't wait!!! Best of all, I am not afraid that I won't fit in the tiny tiger airways chairs. My butt is a lot smaller than it use to be, so yay me! Anyway, my next post will most likely be from Melbourne and will come with lots of pictures of what I have been up to. I better sign off now, but I will leave you with a few pictures of my new favourite way to start my week - Sunday afternoon's dancing Zouk/Bachata on the beach as the sun goes down! So much fun! ...so that is another two things to cross off my Bucket List ;)

 

 Me on the Right and a friend of mine

 

Dancing with my Zumba Instructor (Amazing dancer)

 

Dancing with my Zumba Instructor (Poser!)

 

 

 

 

Before vs Now :)

My sister recently asked me if I regret taking the surgery route as I will never really be able to eat so much again. She wanted to understand if I wished that I had just reduced my food intake myself. I didn't have to think about this for very long at all. The honest answer which I gave was that I have spent most of my 28 years trying to reduce my portions and calorie intake... it never worked for long and I never felt as full and satisfied. I have no regrets at all! Obviously this is a personal decision and is not for everyone, but I felt it was the best decision for me at the time.... and I still feel it was the best decision I have made in order to get my life on track.

 

Anyway... I wanted to compare what I looked like a few months ago, with what I look like now. I am pretty happy with the results :) There is no doubt that there is a long way to go, but I can see a difference and I certainly feel different - YAY LIFE!!!

THEN :(

 

NOW :)

That's a lot of Pool Salt!

 

Over the last two weeks I lost an additional 2.6kg and 1.3kg respectively, which takes my total weight loss to just under 25kg :) So this is me trying to carry the 25kg that I have lost over the last fourteen weeks (1 x 25kg bag of pool salt)... I could hardly pick it up and had to arch my back to try to support it with my tummy and arms!!! I think my dad had more fun taking photos of my trying to actually get the bag airborne than when I had finally lifted it...grrr! But all jokes aside, I am over the moon to have reached this goal and the only thing that makes it better is that people I have not seen in a while are noticing the difference in me when they finally see me. Apparently it is not just my looks that have changed, but also the "twinkle" in my eyes and my cheeky sense of humour which is getting a bit more cheeky....but only a bit ;)

 

So I have been pretty busy since I last updated the blog...but busy in a good way! With my new lease on life, I have joined another Zumba class (I now attend two weekly), committed to being part of a choir that I recently joined but had avoided paying the membership fee until the last minute (just in case I decided it wasn't for me), commenced attempting to flirt with men (I think this is a bit of a lost cause with me), been out to multiple lunches, booked a holiday to Melbourne to go to the races and catch-up with friends, and managed to check off another item off my Bucket List - see below for some photos of these things! 

 

One of the most exciting things has certainly been checking off Item 7 of 'My Weightloss Bucket List' - A long nice relaxing bath :) As my parents have been away for the last month I took the opportunity to check if I could super comfortably fit in the bath and I could! Within the week, I made sure I had found all my candles and bath salts and had a lovely evening watching TV from the hot bath. Yes, my parents bath is conveniently placed right in front of a TV :)

 

One thing that is very important to me is maintaining my old social habits while making them healthier where possible. I refuse to be one of those people who stops going out for lunches and dinners because it is uncomfortable, embarrassing or you have to ask for the rest of your meal to be packed up in a doggy bag! From as early as I could eat solid foods I was accepting dinner invitations and simply being a bit more selective on where I would be happy to eat. At the start I would just say I felt like Asian and have a sweet corn soup, but now I find it easy enough to pick a suitable meal from any food venue. I still take ages to pick what I want (I have always been a slow at picking off a menu), but I can do it! The next two photos are my attempts at a high tea and my favourite dimsum!

 

High Tea plate.... I couldn't really eat much so I left lots behind on my plate and sampled a bite of nearly each thing :)

 

There was a time when I could eat multiple plates worth of dimsum. I could fit in a large sample of steamed and fried dumplings and still have room for my favourite sago and coconut pudding. The side plate below was what I ate when I went with my work colleagues recently. One steamed prawn dumpling and a few green kalian leaves. I admit I did have one squid tentacle which was picked right of the shared plate and into my mouth - I didn't get a chance to photograph the little sucker :P

Finally and most importantly, I thought I should share a photo of the beautiful group of people I now see on a weekly basis for Zumba! You can find me second from the right in the green teal coloured tank shirt. Anyway, this group have accepted my friend and I into their social group whole heatedly and have made us feel so very welcome at their after Zumba "coffee and gossip" sessions, and boy is there lots to gossip about! For anyone who is trying to find a way to get fit and hates the idea of a gym, I recommend Zumba 100 times over!

Well that is enough for now. You would have noticed that my photographer is back now (thanks mum!), and so I have updated 'My Photographs' page with photos taken on Sunday morning just after my weigh-in.

 

I will post again soon!

xT