Here I am, 67 years young, working through my 13th year after Lap Band Surgery and my only real complaint is that I wish I had done it 20 years earlier. Was it easy to lose 270 pounds? NO! Is it easy to maintain that weight loss? NO! The one certainty here is that it is worth the effort. I am worth the effort.
I’m getting ready to take a drive up the coast of California, do some hiking along the bluffs, take a tour of Hearst Castle, and visit a few wineries on the Highway 46 wine trail. All of this will be done in 2 ½ days. I could not have accomplished this 12+ years ago. At 424 pounds I could have driven up the coast, squeezed into my full size car (I now drive a Mini Cooper) and stood outside the car looking at the ocean below. My walking would have been very limited and I would have had to check every place we went beforehand to make sure they had chairs without arms so I had a place to sit down. The car would have been packed with chips and sodas and other snacks on the off chance that I would get hungry after lunch, before dinner, or while we were driving, and those snacks do not include any treats we might have picked up on the way. There would be NO Hearst Castle tour because I couldn’t manage the walking or the steps. There really would not be any major reason to take a car trip at all since it would give me little more than a slight change in scenery.
This week’s car trip will happen with a cooler in the car filled with water, perhaps a yogurt or two, and maybe a bottle of wine for after dinner. I’ll take jerky and protein bars as emergency food and will probably return home with them untouched. I am looking forward to Hearst Castle as I have never been and I am also looking forward to some nice weather with mild winds for hiking the bluffs. I fit easily into any size chair now and should I think I am getting hungry between lunch and dinner I’ll down some water first before I hit the “911” protein first food.
I did make reservations for two restaurants, one a steak house in Nipomo CA (Jocko’s) and the other a dinner house in Cambria (Indigo Moon) not because they had chairs without arms, but because they are where we chose to have dinner on Wednesday and Thursday evenings and with reservations we should not have to wait too long.
My travels are not about food now, they are about being active, seeing sights and doing things I have not seen or done before. The couch is not my friend any longer, it’s the gym that’s my friend. Diet soda doesn’t serve me, neither does fast food. These days it’s water, lots of it and good quality healthy protein first meals with veggies.
Here’s an example of my typical day:
Up at 5 am, 2 cups of herbal tea, 1 cup of coffee and off to the gym for 45 minutes on the elliptical and 60 minutes of strength training. Today it was planks for 45 seconds and one arm rows with 25 pound weights that were the most challenging part of my training. I complete at least a 5k on the elliptical in my 45 minutes, today it was 3.5 miles. I have met my fitness goal for 2016 which was to complete a 5k in my 45 minutes consistently. Yay me. The second part of my goal is to be able to do TREE position in yoga on each leg for 60 seconds. I’m still working on that one.
After my workouts which occur Monday through Friday without fail it is on to the rest of my day which includes tracking food which typically has been planned and tracking water to make sure I get enough. Starting my day with fitness gives my 67 year young body a chance to wake up, warm up and get my metabolism rolling for the day. Whether it is elliptical and weight training for 105 minutes or swimming laps for 45 minutes I leave the gym feeling not only awake but alive and happy with who I am and where I am in life. Is it worth the struggle? YOU BET.
I’m 270 pounds lighter, 5000% happier, more self confident and enjoying the 60’s of my life more than I enjoyed the 1960’s. All as a result of a decision to change my life for the better and the commitment and perseverance to make it happen each and every day.