Road trips: No problem anymore!
This month started with a quick family trip to pick up my younger son, who had gone to Idaho to visit my sister and her husband and their children.
My youngest brother Lu was the only one living out of town in Hawaii, but now another sibling is out of state and even though it is for great reasons, not having all of my family around is something I’m trying to get used to.
In the past, road trips used to take a lot out of me. I would arrive at my destination and immediately have to take a nap or recover for several hours before attempting any other activity, but since my life saving surgery with BMI I have been able to do what regular people do after a road trip: carry on.
Date night with Joel McHale
Date night for me has a renewed meaning, since before being healthy and active I was always too tired to take my lovely wife out. Or, if we did go out, it was an early night because I was always tired.
I do believe that spending good quality time laughing and enjoying each other’s company outside the home is important, so a date night at Wiseguys Comedy Club to see comedians J.F. Harris and Joel McHale was what we did, and we laughed our butts off and got to chat a little bit with them after the show.
Energy is for the young
A lot of my time outside of my home and family is dedicated to other people’s children who I consider to be as close to me as my family. On Sundays and Wednesdays, you can usually find me with the youth from my church, where I serve as a youth adviser to young men ages 12 & 13.
Monday through Saturday for at least two hours I am with the girls of the Jordan High School basketball program, where I serve as the girls’ head sophomore coach. In these capacities, this is where I really rely on this new surge of energy to be able to lead, mentor, coach and keep up with young vibrant minds.
I am so grateful for every new day that is added to my life due to the life-saving surgery that has allowed me a detour from what seemed to be the end of the road years ago. It never gets old that I am discovering new things that I am able to do and try that I couldn’t before.
Thank you to one and all BMI Utah, Salt Lake Regional Medical Center, Dr. Cottom, Dr. Richards, FOX 13 News and all of you. I am also grateful that my wife is able to share her journey with you all too in her own words.
Thanks to everyone for the ongoing support! Click here to follow my Losing for Life journey.
2018
January 2018. Wow the start of another year! Time goes by so fast and so has the time since my surgery in October. As I look back on 2017, a lot has happened in my life for the better.
I finally came to terms that I needed to change my life for good and to never look back again. As I have shared before, I started my journey of research on the Gastric Sleeve surgery in July of 2017. It was in September that I knew for sure that this was the best choice for me and it has been 100 percent the best decision ever.
This month has been a little more challenging than previous months, and I will share why. I have noticed that my appetite has increased more and that I have had a few cravings for sweets creep back up on me. With that being said, I have really had to be disciplined to keep up with the diet.
During months three to four after the surgery I was told that I would start to experience some hair loss, which I have. To combat this, I have been using Biotin vitamins since day-one post-surgery to try to keep the hair loss to a minimum. I have been told that around month six is when new hair growth will begin. It is kind of a give-and-take for me, which sounds kind of funny—give a little bit of my hair and take away the excess pounds from my body. That is a fair trade to me.
Previously I had mentioned my goal to lose ten pounds a month, and up until January I had exceeded that. This month has been slower, which is to be expected around month three to four.
I was told by my doctor that I will need to make sure that I am increasing my calorie intake to 900 to 1,000 calories a day in order to get to the gym for daily exercise, which has been hard. I work a full-time job, and by the end of the day I am already tired. I am sure many can relate to this, but I have to find the time. I knew this adventure wasn’t going to be easy. I knew that I was going to have to work to get the results that I ultimately want, which is to be healthy, fit, and toned. I have much work to do. The good news is that I feel capable of doing it.
Some highlights of this month are that I did lose another 5 pounds, which is still progress. My family and I took our yearly trip to Midway, Utah, where I actually got on ice skates. It was really scary, but I was proud of myself that I did it. We went sledding and spent some good quality time with each other.
My husband and my children are my life. They mean the world to me and it is important to me to be around for a long time. One of the greatest gifts that I can give to my family is to be there for them, and by having this surgery I have guaranteed my future with them. Through my dedication to myself and this process I truly believe that I can become a better wife and mother. Till next month, take care.
