My journey to a healthy life. This is my progress:

Hi!
On March 17th I've started to be more active. I'm allowed to walk, climb stairs, do squats, lunges etc. Anything low impact with my legs and glutes but I can't do a lot as I still get tired very fast. I'm not allowed to move my hands too much or raise my elbows above my shoulders. I'll be able to do upper body exercises after 6 months from surgery. But I'll get there. :-)
I'm recovering great and my scars already look amazing for only 1 month (it takes 6-12 months for full recovery). Breasts look great but they are still too hard from inflammation and too high. It will take a while longer to drop and fluff and take a more anatomical shape but I love them already. I feel like a woman again and regained my self confidence!

Hi!
30 workouts post op. I dropped a bit of weight and the abs started to show a bit more.
I think I'll start working on it or at least try, cause the doctor said I'm allowed after 3 months (2 wks left).
Otherwise... I'm crazy busy, with a bit a decrease in motivation but I keep grinding.
Some new friends to encourage me would be great so if you want to, drop me a message and a request.

NC_Girl wrote: »

Hi Tina. I hope that you are still doing well.

Hi! I'm am okay... Having a huge fitness break due to the surgery. I do workout but very little. Also working 15-20h/day so it's difficult to find the time for it. I hope that i'll get back to it soon.

[/quote]

Wow amazing 🤩!! Your my inspiration 💖! I’m the same age as you and at the moment I’m the heaviest I’ve ever been I’m 143lbs not sure what it is in kg 🤷‍♀️. I used to go to the gym regularly I never got to my goal weight but I’m now 8lbs heavier than when I started. I got so lazy through the lockdowns and since then I haven’t had the motivation to get back to the gym regularly in regards to strength I feel like a beginner again 🙁. My boys go back to school on Tuesday and I’m determined to get back to the gym regularly and try and sort my diet out ( for me that’s the hardest thing of all).
Anyway I want to have a body like yours 🔥💪
If you do anymore challenges I would really love to join in!! [/quote]

Thank you, sweetie!
I've also answered to your message.

I'm 6 months post op and still recovering so I'm not allowed to do much. Actually I just did my first full body workout with 1 kg dummbells (0.5 lbs) and they seem like toys. But I can't force it. Worry not, when I'll get back on the horse, I'll challenge everyone! :-) I haven't been in a gym for 13 years or so. I've worked out at home Caroline Girvan's programs and they've been incredibly efficient.

I don't have children but mom had two and in the last year, after retiring, after a life time of sedentarism and being already obese, she's lost 20kg, now workouts more than me and has abs and a bigger biceps lol. She's 63!
The only issue with mommy bod is if you have too much extra skin which cannot be undone, just eliminated by surgery but if it's not that, you'll get there with consistency and good nutrition. Don't give up and don't lose hope. In my fitness group I have mothers with abs. It's possible!

As for the eating part... even the best give in on some days. It's important to get back on track and if possible, to even compensate with an workout.

Don't bet it all on motivation. I keep hearing about "not having motivation" but motivation is the worst thing to base your achievements on! is temporary, comes and goes, it's high on a great day and almost non-existent when you've had a really bad day. Leave it on the side. I've tried and failed many times and I didn't "Make it" until I've learned that the foundation of everything must be discipline. You do it because you need/have to do it. It's for your benefit. You might not be in the mood for it, you might be frustrated, you might be goddamn furious (did my first months of workouts even crying) or exhausted. Think about it like this. How many things you do for your children when you are in such state? Why? You love them, you need to care for them, you have to. It's for their health and benefit to eat well, to be clean etc. All you do with fitness and nutrition it's the most important investment into your health. Less prescriptions, less elderly pain and problems, less visits to the doctor.


Also, read David Goggins' "Can't hurt me". Or better yet, listen to it because the audio is must better and also has a podcast with the man himself. If you can't get your hands on it, let me know and I'll borrow it to you.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/41721428-can-t-hurt-me?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=V67XZGqSeY&rank=1

I was thinking a "long story short" type of message but it's in my nature to get into details. :-)
The only way to lose weight is with a calorie deficit.
I wrote this during weight loss (I'm at maintenance since July 2020 so now I only keep a 10-15% deficit from time to time and my diet is more flexible. I also workout more, about 6h/week. Well... I did until the surgery. Now I can only do 1-2h.
Just eat healthy and in moderation):
- weight and introduce everything in the MyFitnessPal app
- 25% calorie deficit (this applies to your TDEE) 30% AT MOST but that would be very aggressive. Use this website to calculate it. I've tested several only own and mostly overestimate by a lot. https://www.damnripped.com/tdee-calculator/
- workout 4-5 times a week, 75% strength/resistance and 25% cardio. If you want to speed up the weight loss, 50-50%. In the rest days do yoga/stretching, preferably for flexibility
-because we don't care only about the number on the scale, eat 2g protein/kg bodyweight to help develop (as beginner) or maintain (as intermediate) muscle mass. The most important thing is to have progressive overload: as often as you can increase the weights you are using, number or reps, number of sets, intensity.
- eat your daily calorie goal
- hit your macros goals too (I advise 45% carbs, 30% proteins and 25%fats). After I increased my protein intake in March 2020 I saw big changes
- take monthly photos for progress comparison
- plan and prepare your workouts, your meals, everything (I plan and register my meals 4-5 days in advance and I prepare the workout schedule for the entire month
- be organized and don't compromise... for couple of minutes of pleasure to eat something low nutrition and high in calorie you'd have to do an entire workout to burn it off.
- don't let your body go into routine... change the type of workouts and/or intensity every 2 months
- allow yourself an indulging day per month and after hitting the goal weight, 2.
- don't impose to yourself absurd restrictions.. eat just about anything but the healthy version and in small portions (I eat daily something sweet but it's usually protein pancake, protein bar, protein shake, fruits)
- learn to be disciplined because you won't feel like working out every time. we all have bad days
- cook delicious and diverse meals, this way you won't crave for what others are eating
- drink plenty of water (2-3 liters)
- try to stay in contact with people that have the same fitness goals (the support and motivation matter a lot)
- read and learn about everything (I've learned so much about sport and nutrition in this journey... people are simply to lazy to search, learn and apply)
- set a few major long-time goals and many little ones (they will give you a confidence and motivation boost when you'll achieve them)
⚠️ I eat 3 main meals and 1-2 snacks (2 if I'm waking up at 5AM).
⚠️ Breakfast and lunch will be richer and something lighter for dinner.
⚠️ Fruits and homemade healthy sweets will be eaten in the first half of the day. 200-300g of fruits (carbs & fructose = sugar)
⚠️ Eat the meals rich in carbs in the first half of the day. Chose complex carbs like rolled oats, brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, potatoes, musli, whole-wheat bread etc.
⚠️ I often hear about 'not eating after 6PM'. I call b*llshit on that. If you have 3-4h before going to bed, you can eat at 11PM with no problem. That's dependent on your lifestyle and the time you go to bed. Imagine having dinner at 6PM and going to bed at 2AM. I'd be starving and unable to fall asleep.
⚠️ Have a balanced diet. Nothing must be eliminated 100%, not even sugar (I'm the proof... everything is perfect but I found out that I have low blood sugar. You can eat a little maybe with your morning coffee. I don't believe in reducing a macro nutrient very low (like 10% carbs for the keto diet). I do believe that if you want to gain some lean mass and define your body you'll need 2g of protein/kg body weight.
⚠️ Hydrate well! At least 2L/day. That does not include teas, soups, infused water etc. They are all digested but the water goes straight into your blood (immediate hydration).
⚠️ Plan and prepare your food. Don't eat bland food. Try new recipes! Cook, chose tasty and healthy options, meal prep a few days in advance. If you have a sweet tooth, make sure that you have desert 2 times a day.
⚠️Eat daily vegetables (raw, steamed, baked, boiled and occasionally sautéed).
⚠️When you feel hungry, your body wants nutrients, not empty calories... so eat white bread, white rice, white pasta etc only occasionally. There's no need to mention that you must not eat chips, biscuits and such, right?
⚠️Don't impose absurd restrictions to yourself. That's not sustainable. If there are things that you love and want to keep eating, find their healthy replacements. I still eat ice cream (made of frozen fruits, yogurt and sweeter), sponge cake and many pancakes. You want to enjoy your new lifestyle.
⚠️Have an Indulging day per month and be all in. Eat anything, as much as you want. But eat very clean the rest of the month.
⚠️Workout! Otherwise you'll get skinny fat. And I don't want to hear that you don't have time. Most of us don't have time but we make time. 1h, 3-5 times a week is fine. Don't overdo it.
⛔NO to soda and juice... even fresh juice must be consumed with a limit of 250 ml (lots of sugars) YES: water, unsweetened teas, fruit infused water, black coffee. You can have a smoothie or diet soda from time to time.
⛔NO to potato chips and oil fried peanuts. YES to all raw nuts - they have healthy fats! Almonds, cashews, peanuts, pecan nuts etc.
⛔NO to fried foods. YES to baked/boiled/steamed foods.
⛔NO to store bought fruit yogurt, YES to make your own with fresh fruits. You can also throw some chia seeds or oats in the mix and make a snack out of it.
⛔NO to cold cuts like sausages salami etc YES to traditionally raw-dry low fat meat (like they have on the country side)
⛔NO to sugar (well.. 95% of it), YES to natural sweeter
My most efficient tool in this journey was the Myfitnesspal application. Counting calories made me realize how huge my portions were...

Hope this helps.
Tina