The Story of the Walmart Pants

In 2007 Pete and I were going to the gym everyday.  I'd spent 40 minutes on the elliptical machine and I was watching what I was eating as far as portions, but not content.

After a couple of months I bought some smaller clothes.  It was awesome!  Then Pete and I had the idea to but clothes 1 size smaller than we were so that we could work into them.  So I bought I pair of Walmart jeans.  $9.  Perfect.  If I never fit into them it's $9 bucks.  If I fit into them, it's $9.

You know where this is going, right?  Those pants stayed in my closet on the shelf for the last 4 years.  Occasionally I'd pull them out and try them on.  At times they'd fit over my thighs, at times they'd only come up to my knees.

Yesterday Pete was cleaning out his part of the closet.  As a joke, I tried the pants on.

They fit.  They fit.  I was shocked.  They are a size smaller than I've ever worn in a long long time.  They're not exactly in style and they're not exactly flattering, but they fit!  YAY!

Celebrating Halloween

Weird huh?  I mean who celebrates Halloween?  Indulge me....

As a kid and even now as an adult, Halloween has always been special to me.  As a kid I'd come home from school and hurry up with any homework.  I'd don my homemade costume of a pioneer girl, Raggedy Ann, a M&M or whatever my Mom sewed for me.  We'd get into the car and drive a few miles to my Grandparent's house in town.  Not that we lived out of town, but they lived in a proper city with blocks close together and lots of neighbors. 

We'd arrive and as soon as we got out of the car my Grandma would fly out of the front door and tell us to pose for a picture.  When that was done we'd run inside to the smell of tacos.  When I was an adult I learned just how much taco meat my Grandma made; 10-15 pounds!  As a kid all I knew was that the smell of taco meat was enticing.  We didn't get tacos at home much because my Dad didn't like them.  It was also special because we got to make them ourselves with things like black olives, lots of cheese and crushed up Doritos for the shells.  We'd each make our dinner and head to the table to eat. 

Inevitably, while eating, the doorbell would start to ring, signalling the start of Trick of Treating.  We'd glance at all the costumes and eat quicker, knowing it was our turn next.  After saying hello to some of the neighbors that had dropped by to both see us and been seen with their grandkids, we'd head off to collect our share of candy.  Up one side of the street, down the other, over to the next block and do it again.  The pattern stayed the same every year.  And every year you could count the houses that would have "good" candy and "bad candy.

We'd return home with heavy plastic pumpkins or bulging plastic treat bags that snapped at the top.  The adults would ask if we had fun and which were the best costumes.  We'd yell as we ran through the house to the TV room in the back.  There we'd dump out the candy and finger it all.  Then we'd start picking out the best ones and the ones that we'd trade away for what we wanted.  Sated with candy, we'd sit back and watch the Peanuts Halloween or Charlie Brown Halloween cartoon.  Soon it would be time to go home and sleep.

As an adult I still love this day.  But for different reasons.  I love going to my Grandma's house early to help her set up the taco bar.  We sit and talk about life while chopping tomatoes and onions.  Once done we sit at the kitchen table, looking out the front window and waiting.  We wait for kids to come in cute costumes.  We wait for neighbors to come and catch up.  We wait for family to arrive with kids all excited.  About 15 years ago my Grandma was known for taking pictures of kids in cute costumes.  More recently she stopped because she was concerned that parents would be fearful of where to pictures went.

All night long we adults would sit, stand and hand out.  Kids would ring the doorbell and we'd take turns answering the door with the massive amount of candy that my Grandma buys.  Giving out one item and watching as Grandma opened the door and couldn't help but give out 2 or 3 when it was her turn.

My Grandma is 86, about to be 87 in January.  She's had some health scares in the last 18 months.  She had a stroke last year.  This year she's spent time in and out of the hospital and in a rehabilitative nursing home.  She's not able to host Halloween this year, even though it breaks her heart to break the tradition.  For me, it's a happy and sad time.  Happy because I still enjoy the Halloween spirit and I have a new puppy to dress up in costume (insert evil giggle).  Sad because this is the first year that I can remember not being at my Grandma's house the whole night.  My sister has decided to continue the tradition at her house, but it's not the same.  I'm planning on visiting my Grandma with the puppy in costume.  But it's just not the same.

So as many say in various times, hug your Family members and enjoy them in the here and now for you never know when it changes.  Happy Halloween to you and yours!

Mid Week With Pete Update

I thought it pretty fitting, since this is a Wednesday, to update you on Pete. 

50 weeks since he started trying to lose weight.
34 weeks since he had the gastric band placed.

Highest weight:  327 pounds.
Lowest weight: 205 pounds.
Current weight: 209 pounds.

Most working out:  January--March of 2011; 1-3 hours a day, 7 days a week doing cardio at the gym. 
Least working out:  Currently; 2-4 sessions a week, mostly weight training.

Most food:  honestly I don't know.  There were times that he could eat most of a rack of ribs in one sitting with a side of fries.
Least food:  definatly after surgery when he was eating 1/2 of broth, 3 times a day.
Current food:  a piece of toast in the am for breakfast with a protein drink, 1/2 cup of baked beans and 1/2 hot dog for lunch, 1 mini cupcake sized homemade chicken potpie or 1-3 inch by 3 inch slice of meatloaf and 3-4 cheeseball sized potatoes.

Pete and I talk a lot about his journey.  He goes through everything that a woman goes through, even though for some reason I thought a man doing this would be different.  He's struggled with working out, with clothes fitting, with over eating, with eating the wrong things...everything you can think of.

So where is he today?  He's currently about 209 pounds.  Originally he was told that he should be getting down to 165 but anyone who sees him now (including himself) can't imagine him much below 200 pounds.  He's lost a huge amount of fat and had very defined arm, shoulder and back muscles.  His chest and leg muscles are are defined, just not as much as the rest.  His tummy area has what he calls extra fat, but I've been telling him that it's excess skin.  It took the doctor telling him this for him to believe it.  (And for the record he had no interest it getting it removed after seeing/reading what the procedure is like.)

He's struggled with continuing to lose weight.  The goal in the back of his head was always that he would be below 200, even if only for a day and even if only at 199.  I think he's realized that between 207-212 is were his body just naturally wants to be.  He's a size medium/large for shirts (he's be a solid medium if it wasn't for the belly skin) and a size 34 pants.

He's struggled with how to continue to workout.  He has no issue with the motivation to lose, but has never figured out what it takes to maintain.  This is a lesson that he will continue to learn the rest of his life.  He's was down to  lifting weights twice a week and didn't like that he was gaining a little back.  After meeting trying to convince him to set a schedule or 30 minutes of running and 30 minutes of weights several times a week, that's what he's trying currently.

His band is filled to 10.25 cc.  The most it can be filled to is 11.  He's comfortable where it is now.

When I ask him if he'd do it again, knowing everything that he does, he says he would. 

Sleep Study - Check!

Had I know what was going to occur with the sleep study I would have been a lot more freaked out than I already was.  Do you want to see most of what I had to sleep with?

Go ahead - Giggle!  I slept an hour in the shower getting all the electrode goop out of my hair...

Seriously?  I had electrodes everywhere.  No wonder Pete smiled at me before I left and said, "Let's video call each other before bed."  He wanted to get a good giggle.  And he got one.  I have to admit that the ridiculous of it all made me giggle too.

Anyway, I slept horribly and at one point the nurse came in and said that we'd have to start thinking about staying for the day time study.  Thankfully I figured out how to get some kind of compfortable and sleep for a few hours.  I left after asking about the study and being told that I'd have to wait for my doctor.

But here I am, post-sleep study.  What's changed?  Nothing.  Nothing.  I got past it and all the importance that I placed on it and nothing has changed.  I still need to jump back onto my path to healthiness.  All that lead up to nothing. 

I am doing pretty good with the things that I can do.  Portion sizes are still good and I've been drinking lots of water.  My weight hasn't changed at all either.

My next goal is to step back into the gym.  Just go for something and try to get back into it.

What Can I Do?

I keep thinking that I need to get back into the healthy journey, but can't quite figure out how.  It's amazing how something can throw you so far off track and you can struggle with how to get to where you were before.  It's also dawning on me that I don't need to get back to where I was before, I just need to get back on the journey somewhere. 

So while doing some heavy thinking in the shower this morning I decided that I can work my way back to my journey. 

I noted in a post earlier this week that my skin is horrible because I haven't been drinking water like I need to.  So my goals for the next week:

1. Drink at least 75 ounces of water a day.
2. Eat breakfast lunch and dinner.  No skipping meals.
3. Be aware of portion sizes and eating until satisfied, not stuffed.

3 simple things.  But I think that they're 3 simple things that can make a big difference and get me back to thinking about healthy.  Back to a rhythm of being healthier.  Back to realizing that doing these things makes me feel better.  Back to my journey.