Another four lbs. gone! Hooray!
I have now shed 95 lbs. and am feeling amazing!! That's a lot of weight I'm not carrying around anymore! No wonder I feel so good! I am STILL amazed with each passing day at what I've been able to accomplish in a short amount of time. I cannot believe I am THIS CLOSE to the 100 lb. mark!
One of the things I worried/wondered about before starting Ideal Protein is something a lot of people are asking me about now: What happens to all the extra flesh that's left behind when you drop a significant amount of weight? Does your skin hang off your body or does it shrink back?
Without being too graphic, I'll share my own experience.
So far it seems like my body goes through cycles. I've had some weeks where the skin around my neck, upper arms and other places sags and dangles quite a bit. For a while, when I bent over my makeup mirror in the mornings my face would do an alarming sharpei impersonation! And one time when I was doing laundry, my upper arms were so loose that they seemed to be moving independently from the rest of my body. The flapping back and forth startled me and had me scared of what I would look like when I finally reached the end of this journey.
Fortunately, the skin seems to be recovering and is bouncing back to where it is supposed to be but it is taking time for it to happen. The skin under my chin isn't sagging any more and the underarm flaps (and other parts) are sagging less and less with each passing week. It's not all going away... yet ... but I'm noticing improvement in areas that really had me worried.
Even though I am 45 years old, I am hoping that my skin has enough elasticity left that the excess "baggage" will be minimal. I have had some discussions with my doctor about this issue and have read a lot of information on the web. The web resources told me that it would take about a year for everything to adjust to my new size and my doctor told me that it is very likely I'll need corrective surgery, that it is relatively inexpensive and may be covered by insurance. After thinking over the information available I've decided to wait a year after I finish phase one before making any decisions about surgery. I'd like to see how much I am able to recover on my own.
Until then I am praying that the genetics that gave me good teeth and a pretty eye color will give me some resilience and that toning exercises and regular cycling to work will help. I am also continuing to drink tons of water, because along with helping me drop weight it will also help my skin and body stay healthy.
Speaking of staying healthy, I had another doctor appointment about a problem I was experiencing right about the time I started Ideal Protein. The cause of the problem was my excessive weight. I have been checking in with the doctor fairly regularly on this issue to make sure it's clearing up and that there's no further treatment needed. I am happy to report that as of last week, the doctor said there's no need to see her again until my annual check up!!
My doctor was also amazed at how far I've come since my first visit with her.... she actually gave me a high five after reading my chart!! She told me that not only is my blood pressure down into a healthy range, that by slimming down I've also reduced my chance of developing ovarian and breast cancer.
Have a marvelous week!
-Lanza
No comments:
Post a Comment