Exercising my butt off (literally)

Each day that passes since the surgery, I find it easier and easier to exercise on a more regular basis. The pain that I was experiencing on my left side under one of my incisions seems to have subsided.  So, I have really been kicking up my exercise.  I started going back to the gym this week. I cannot lift weights yet because of surgical restrictions, but I am doing things like walking on the treadmill, using the stationary bike, and elliptical machine.  Believe me, I definitely am sweating hard doing those things.  I also have been out walking in my neighborhood or at the beach and really enjoying the weather. I am pretty amazed at what my body is able to handle.  Today a dear friend and I went to the San Diego Zoo Safari Park and got in exercise but also had a great time hanging out together and seeing all the various animals at the park. Here are some great pictures of us enjoying our day.

 

We somehow managed to get in about 10,000 steps walking all over the park.  It was my first time having food away from home. It's a little scarier being away from the safety of my home but I just had to trust that something would be available to me. We ended up ordering a fish taco plate. I know that doesn't sound like the best thing in the world to have, but it actually worked out pretty well given I'm still limited to soft foods and seafood. Yes, the fish was battered and it came with a mound of tortilla chips and other things I couldn't eat. However, I took one of those battered fish while she had the other and removed all of the breading. That left me with about a one ounce piece of cod.  It also came with pinto beans that we both shared and a dipping sauce I put on top of the fish.  It actually worked out pretty well. Everything was moist so I did not experience dumping at the park. I was really grateful for that because I was worried that might happen while I was out in public.  After surgery, many people worry about having food in public because of the fear of dumping.  This is something I cannot take for granted because there may come a time when I will experience that away from home. But, thankfully today, I just was able to have a good time with no worries.

We got in some great exercise and I got a lot of sun on my face. By the time we came home, I was exhausted and needed to rest.  I do need to pace myself and remember to rest when I become tired. This is something that I take for granted sometimes because I forget that my body went through major surgery. That's a blessing, but also a curse at the same time.  I will be returning to work next Thursday, so I need to listen to the cues my body gives me when it's telling me I'm tired.  I am still in recovery mode so I need to be especially alert.

One other thing I'm working on right now is going through some of my clothes that have become too big on me. I know it's a nice problem to have!  The thing is that a lot of my clothes are hanging on to me, especially my pants.  For some reason, it's just so hard to let go of those bigger clothes. I remember that when I was on Optifast and I had lost a ton of weight, I gave away a bunch of my bigger clothes and, when I gained weight back, I had nothing to wear. Now I look at it as a different experience.  I don't want to live in fear that I am going to need to keep my bigger clothes so that I can perhaps one day fit back into them if necessary.  I want to be able to move forward and know that the process I'm going through is one of health and that when it's time to let go of things like those clothes, it's okay.  In fact, one of my girlfriends gave me a bunch of clothes that are in the next size down for me and they actually fit now.  I'm a little hesitant to start wearing them yet because they fit perfectly and I like things a little bit looser but I know that that's something I can work on in time.  I'm grateful to have the experience of having clothes that are too big. I will take that any day of the week!