Virtual Route 10

I'm still plugging along on my trip to New York City. I honestly didn't realize it would take this long to get this far. I mean, I knew it would take awhile, but I thought I'd be closer after 7 months of steady exercising. Oh well. Just for fun, I'm going to put a poll up on my sidebar so you can vote when you think I'll arrive. Again, I stole the idea from Sarah. Without her, I wouldn't have a single good idea. *smile*

Anyhoo, here's where I am:


















As you can see from the picture (if you click on it to enlarge it), I've finally entered Nebraska. I'm pretty excited whenever I enter a new state. It takes so long to get through a state! I'm really looking forward to getting back east; maybe it'll only take me a couple months to exercise my way through some of those smaller states instead of the 4+ it took me to get through Colorado.

Stats:
Start date of this leg: 7.28.09
# of days traveled: 28
# of stationary days: 5 - vast improvement from last month's 12!
Miles traveled: 104.2
Hours on the road: 26.6
Calories burned: 13,595
Total miles traveled: 846.8
Miles 'til NYC: 1509.8

Thoughts:
I definitely feel better with my performance this leg compared to July. I worked really hard to not miss as many days as last month. I didn't quite accomplish my goal of only missing 4 days, but I'm pleased that it was just one day off. I'm also pleased to have accomplished my goal of traveling 100 miles this month, especially since there were several days that I played tennis or racquetball, which I don't count towards my mileage since I don't know how to say how "far" I exercised. It's fun to have some variety, though, and they boost my Calories Burned and Days Traveled, so I'll keep adding them into the mix as often as possible.

Ideally, I'd wake up early every morning and ride my bike or walk, then either play tennis/racquetball or walk every evening. Ideally. The "problem" has been my new friends who are so much fun I stay up late to hang out with them, making it hard to wake up at 6:30. However, they are also the ones with whom I play tennis and racquetball. I just need to get better at saying goodnight earlier. Yeah, wish me luck with that! *smile*

Again, overall I'm pleased with the month. I feel really good and, despite the decreased sleep, feel pretty energetic. Oh, and playing tennis has become so much easier! It's easier to run after balls and even my swing is smoother. I didn't play tennis last year, but I bet I wouldn't have enjoyed it. I was so heavy, I probably wouldn't have been able to play for very long without dying of a heart attack. And, I know I wouldn't have liked racquetball - it takes quite a bit of energy and I wouldn't have had it. Now I love it! I can't help but think about how much better I'll be as I practice AND as I get even lighter! Something to work towards, definitely.

Next Month's Goals:
1. Miss 4 days or fewer. This is such a do-able goal! I'm going to accomplish this one in September even if it kills me!

2. Travel 100 miles or more for a 2nd month in a row. Really, if I'm ever going to get to NYC, this is going to have to become a regular occurrence.

3. Wake up 4 mornings a week to exercise - 3 times during the week (non-weekend). This is also totally do-able, I'm just not doing it lately. If I wake up to exercise, it'll really help out with goal #1.

Purple Purse and Other Things

Purple Purse
I had decided to stop rewarding myself for 10 lb achievements - it was getting kind of costly - but this morning, when I discovered I'd reached 110 lbs lost, I couldn't help it. I had a doctor's appointment today, so I'd be close to Target, my favorite place to buy purses. I realized that I've had my yellow purse since January or February, so it was definitely time for a new one! teehee. I wanted a purple purse. Or maybe an orange one. I'll decide when I get there. Well, I found identical orange and purple purses and had the toughest time deciding, but I ended up choosing the purple purse because it would go with more of my clothes.

This summer has been tough, and my weight loss really slowed down for a bit. So, I was really happy to reach 110 lbs, especially since I achieved it 5 days before I'd hoped to. I really had to buckle down and get back on the "straight and narrow" in order to do it, so I'm pleased. I deserve a little reward. *smile*

Doctor Appointment
It's been two and a half months since my last visit, and it's been hard. Talking to Dr S helps me a lot because he knows what he's talking about and I trust him. He confirms the things I'm doing right then he steers me to do things that I'm not doing. Things that maybe I didn't need to do until now, when I've reached this point. For example, he's always complimented me on how well I keep up my exercising. Today, he asked me about strength training, and when I told him I don't do it, he encouraged me to add that to my exercise routine. He instructed me on certain exercises, advised me on how to know what weights to get (5lb, 10lb, etc.), and suggested how often I should lift weights. It was really helpful.

When it came time to decide whether or not to get a fill, we talked quite a bit. I really don't want to use the band as a crutch; I want to develop good habits that will last the rest of my life. However, I got the band for a reason, why not use it the way it's intended? Like I said, we discussed it for a long time and he asked me a lot of questions. In the end, we both came to the conclusion that a small fill would be worth a try.

Have I mentioned how much I like my doctor? I do. I can't believe how fortunate I am to have such a great doctor, especially since I didn't research him at all. *sheepish grin* I just went with my gut (pun intended); I guess my gut was right. Too bad I'm doing my best to get rid of it. *smile*

The Fill
This was the worst experience with getting a fill that I've had. A couple times, Dr S was the one who gave me the fill because his nurse practitioner wasn't available. Those were the best times because he's in and out with the needle in a heartbeat. No bruising afterward, no pain, and no nausea. Another NP gave me my first fill, and though not as smooth as Dr S, it still was ok, with minimal pain and nausea afterward. The NP today has worked on me before. She's the one who took out some saline when I entered the Red Zone in March. At that time, she'd only done it a couple times but I was desperate so didn't care that it took a little time for her to find the port. This time was worse.

She couldn't get the needle into the port to save her life. And let me just tell you that after losing 110 lbs, I have a lot less stomach so it's easier to feel the port. She kept saying she could feel the port, but she couldn't get the needle in it. So, she's got the needle in my body, swirling it every which way trying to find the port. Every so often, she'd hit a spot that wasn't numb because it wasn't even close to where the port is, and the pain would make me gasp. Seriously, it was making me nauseous just being able to feel the needle moving around, but at least there wasn't pain...until she hit another spot that hadn't been numbed. Finally, after several minutes, she pulled out the needle and let me relax a bit before she plunged it in for another attempt. More of the same; nausea, pain, pushing out my stomach as far as I could to try to help her find the port - lasting another 5 minutes or so. She took out the needle again, still unsuccessful, and told me she'd try one last time then go get Dr S. I wanted to plead with her not to try again, but I didn't. I'm too nice. After a few minutes of the same, she found the port. Thank heavens!

I now have three small puncture wounds from the three attempts, a growing bruise, and I still feel pretty nauseous and am in quite a bit of pain - 5 hours later! I know nothing has been permanently damaged, it's just going to take my body awhile to recover from the experience. I really want to lie down and not move for a very long time.

Fortunately, the fill wasn't too much, I can eat and drink without a problem. And, I can tell the difference with the amount of restriction I'm getting, and it feels good. It will help me as I work on getting back on track. So, it was worth the horribleness of getting the fill.

That's it. Other than not feeling very well, I feel great. My clothes are falling off of me, literally! I lost my slip at my mom's house last night. Stood up from the table, walked a couple steps, and felt something slip to my ankles. I thought at first that it was my skirt (which is also really loose), but it was "just" my slip. My family thought it was pretty funny. Yeah, well they don't have to buy a new slip. *smile*