Sunday, March 4, 2012

Future Goals

I think for those of us who have weight-loss in mind we have many of the same goals. Some of these goals range from being able to walk again without being winded or playing with our children. There are also the vanity goals which, let's face it, we all think about at some point. But what else do many of us think about when we think of losing weight and taking our life back? I'm going to dig into this subject in today's post.

For me, I realized about two years ago how difficult certain things had gotten in my life. I live in a city that is filled with waterfalls. We are actually known as
The Waterfall Capital of the World
. I love going to look at waterfalls. We also live very close to Niagara Falls and we go there very often in the Spring and Summer. But sometimes it's nice to check out things in our local area. However, to enjoy the vast array of falls in our city requires one to go up and down a mountain of stairs or steep inclines. Now, the going down is not that bad...but then you have to travel back UP. I literally had gotten to a point in my weight that I felt like I was having a heart attack while doing this activity. It made me very sad because this can be a very fun and healthy activity to do with our children. There is nothing more fun than enjoying a picnic and seeing some beautiful waterfalls while hanging with some of my favorite people in the world; my husband and children. I cannot wait to be able to do this with ease in my future.

Now, I'm the mother of three beautiful children. At the time of this blog, they are 6, 12 and 13. I am also the wife of a very fit and healthy husband. So to have gotten to a point where I can't be active with them is hard on all of us. We live in Canada which means when Spring/Summer/Fall is here you need to get out and enjoy the weather; especially the summers! However, the last couple of summers, most of my days are spent sitting at our home while my kids and husband go out and talk long walks, ride their bikes or go to the park. We live on a "mountain or escarpment" so where one goes down...you must come back up. So on the days when they ventured out on their bikes to "explore," I would stay home. However, on days when they would go to the park, I followed them in our car. So last year I asked my husband to buy me a nice bike for my birthday in May. He was so sweet and bought me a really nice one in my favorite color; PURPLE. I rode it maybe once or twice and the pain in my back was so awful I couldn't stand it. All of the extra weight was too much on the bad disks that I have in my back. It has since been sitting in the shed collecting dust. This is another change I would love to see in my life; being able to ride my bike with ease.

What about the smaller goals that some of us never think of? One that comes to mind is being a passenger on an airplane! I don't believe this is something I would have thought of had I not had the experience in the last year. Ten years ago, there was a time in my life that I had to fly frequently. This was before my excessive weight gain and not long after having been discharged from the Navy (a story I will get to later). I never had any problems with fitting in the seats or buckling up. But most recently I flew home for my 20 year high school reunion and found out just how small those seats really are. I fit in the seat just fine. However, I had a hard time getting the buckle around me and I was too embarrased to bring attention to myself to get an extension or something. When I finally got it around me it was really tight in my belly and uncomfortable the while flight home. So, yes, it will be nice to fit on an airline seat without complications or feeling as though I'm making the person next to me uncomfortable.

I believe that some people take for granted just how easy it is to do some of the simple things in life. Riding a bike, taking a walk, swimming, running with my kids are all things that I look forward to being able to do with ease again. I know that my back disability is something that I will always have, but getting off the excess weight should make it easier to manage. To some people these may seem like silly little goals. For me, they are goals that say I've gotten my life back! :)

Cheers and Much Love! 
         
 Ellen  

2 comments:

  1. How did you come to your decision to have gastric bypass? Did you try to lose the weight by exercise first?

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  2. Hi There,

    Well quite honestly I was always a small person...I had to be because I was in the Navy. Then 10 years ago when I became a civilian again, I stopped smoking...put on 30 lbs QUICK! Then I started going to night school to get my teaching degree AND had a third child (via c-section)...The weight kept coming on. So over the course of the last 8 years I have tried Weight Watchers, Jenny, Atkins Diet, very few calories per day, pills...you name it, I tried it! LOL I had a hard time with certain exercising once I got really big because I am disabled in my back/hip/leg after being injured in the military. I swim, but not enough to lose weight. I have a treadmill and can barely walk because of the pain. I can't even sweep my floors or stand to wash dishes for long. So about a year and a half ago I found out that in my country our health care will cover it especially if we have co-morbidities...I have high blood pressure and most recently found out diabetes as well. So we applied and it has taken a while but I am finally having the surgery very soon. I was not planning on telling anyone about it but realized that in all acutality I am getting my life back...this surgery is literally going to save my life. So I feel it is important to share my story with others and hope that I can be someone they will come to with questions or understanding.

    Thanks for reading my blog :)

    Cheers,
    Ellen

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