Weight loss after surgery is a long and winding road, but I am determined to continue on the path. I am now on week 4 of my Celsius Challenge. My life has been crazy busy over the last two weeks – hence the lack of reporting in on week 3. I have continued to exercise. At minimum I am getting in a 10-15 HIIT workout if I am unable to do the full regime on some days.
I attempted to do a Jillian Michaels DVD this week … that was probably a bad idea. I am just not there yet. I have to learn not to go full force — even if I do have more energy now! I actually injured myself with my overeager drive to try out that new workout DVD. That is an important thing for anyone to consider after surgery. Even if you are a few months out from it — you still have to be careful not to overwork the area where you had surgery. It can set you back as it has me.
I have started noticing more changes this past week. I am drinking water more often (something I used to loathe). The more I exercise, the more I seem to crave water. That’s a good thing. I am also drinking my can of Celsius each day. I try to eat as healthy as I can, but I am not on any sort of diet or calorie-counting plan. Admittedly, I could eat healthier. Being busy, I tend to slack and eat some things I probably shouldn’t, but I am eating better than I was before I started this challenge. Slowly, but surely, my eating habits will evolve more and more to a healthier path.
For now, I am mostly continuing with my Slim in 6 DVD series since my attempted “Jillian” efforts were a little too taxing on my body this soon after surgery. I have also created some routines of my own design. I basically pull various moves from multiple DVDs or YouTube, and just put together my own 30-minute (yes – I am up to 30 minutes!) aerobic calorie burning fest!
The last two weeks I have noticed a definite increase in my energy and my strength. I am building muscles! I feel them. I feel better — healthier. I am less stressed. I am not dragging every day like I was when I first started working out (it exhausted me once I was done). And — awesome for me — I am not as sore anymore like I was in the beginning. That’s not to say I don’t get a little sore when I do a lot of arm or leg reps — but nothing like it was the first couple of weeks. When I first started exercising again I could hardly move the next day, and days after. That’s not the case anymore. Yay!
Where I am Now
Waist: 34 (No change there)
Hips: 41 (No change there)
Pant Size: 7/8 (No change there, although the size 8 is a little looser)
Pounds: 148 (I actually gained 2 back – but I am guessing that is lean muscle mass – or I need to eat more fiber!)
Disgust Level: 229,000%
Moving Forward
Well. This is about the time many people would become discouraged. Why am I gaining weight and not losing? Why haven’t I gone down another size? Why did I not shed another inch? All of this is normal. I am building muscle. Lean muscle mass can sometimes make you go up in weight on the scale, but you may look thinner — or your clothes may start to feel looser (like mine do). Also, I just had major surgery not too long ago on my abdomen, so other factors come into play, like that area being swollen from the increased activity for example. The great thing is — my size 8s are comfortable and not tight like they were in week 2, so I am not too far from my next phase of the goal, which is getting down to a size 6. Most importantly, I know things are happening inside me that are generating positive results — even if I can’t see them yet. They are coming. I just have to stay focused and keep on keeping on.
In week 2 my goal was to be able to last 25 minutes in any given workout. I met that goal — and then some. I am up to 30 minutes. Now I just need to maintain that momentum and exercise more frequently than I have been over the last two weeks.
The plan is to keep up the exercise and try to do more sessions throughout the week. I will not do moves that will aggravate the area where I had surgery again. Doing that this week has resulted in mild discomfort since Monday (much like you’d feel from a pulled muscle, but this is my entire abdomen). I definitely injured myself. That was dumb. But I live. I learn. I will succeed!
Join me on my #celsiuschallenge, follow me on Twitter, or keep checking back to see my progress. Go ahead, transform yourself!
I write like I think—fast, curious, and a little feral. I chase the weird, the witty, and the why-is-this-happening-now. From AI meltdowns to fashion glow-ups, if it makes you raise an eyebrow or rethink your algorithm, I’m probably writing about it. Expect sharp takes, occasional sarcasm, and zero tolerance for boring content.
