Reflecting on my Weight Loss and Thinking About Goals

As I am about to have an abdominoplasty this coming Thursday, I was thinking back to the beginning of my weight loss journey. After many failed attempts at losing weight, what stuck for me was a lifestyle change. It's always been about health for me when I lost the weight. Any other time I tried to lose weight, it was never about health.

What started out as a journey to avoid blood pressure medication became something that turned my world around completely. Here I am, with a blood pressure taken a few days ago of 118/72, at the dentist. I felt so happy as I realized that my blood pressure stabilized on it's own... I never took any meds that my doctor prescribed for hypertension.

I never thought I would be plant based but the more veggies and fruit I ate, the more I wanted to be plant based. I am so grateful I found that way of eating as it allowed me to get healthy and fit. It also gave me a better awareness of the way animals are treated and I ultimately became vegan. Although I ate minimal animal products until Sept. 6th, 2016, I consider myself more plant based than any other eating plan for the past 6 years. My vegetables and fruit increased as my meat and dairy decreased until completely cutting them out in 2016.

As I was reflecting, I was thinking about some things I want to accomplish as well. I want to be some kind of nutritional coach. I love helping people change their eating habits to become healthy. I love learning about nutrition and advising others on exercise. That's one goal...

Then there's the vegan bodybuilding goal. I've been lifting weights regularly for the past couple years. The only thing that gets in my way is the loose skin. This itchy, unsightly skin around my abs is getting in the way of achieving my goal. If I ever want to compete, I can't do that with loose skin around my abs. I don't know if I would every truly compete, but I don't want something like my abs to stop my from reaching my goal.

I'm hoping that the abdominoplasty will be a way to show others how to heal faster by eating plant based foods. I want to show others that there's more than enough protein to recover and animal protein is not necessary to heal. I understand I will need more protein after the procedure and my friends on Facebook have been giving me great advice on what foods to eat. I've been stocking up on lentils, miso, long grain brown rice and quinoa, among other foods.

I do have an inguinal hernia that will most likely need to be repaired at the same time. A few years ago, my doctor told me that I wouldn't need surgery on the hernia but if it gets bigger, I would. The surgery is definitely not all about vanity.

I dread surgery though. But in a way, I can't wait until it's done so I can begin focusing on other things! I will keep you updated!