Meeting with a Wellness Coach

I was getting a little bored with the workout on the machines so I met with the wellness coach to be re-evaluated. She told me that I had plenty of arm and leg exercises but I needed some core exercises. She went with me from machine to machine to make sure that I was doing them right and she set me up on some additional exercises for my core. She also told me that if I had any questions to let her know. She asked me what my goal was and I told her that I would like to weigh between 150 and 160 pounds but I work on ten pounds at a time. I lose ten pounds and then start working on the next ten. The more I lose the harder it is getting. I have been working on this last ten pounds for three weeks and have lost four pounds. I sometimes think that I should cut back on my food intake but Clarence tells me that I'm doing fine. He said if I cut back too much my blood sugar will drop and I will not be able to exercise.

Clarence also saw the wellness coach and she said that he was stronger than the last time that he was evaluated. She also said that he needed to lose a few pounds. He is satisfied with the workout that he is doing so she didn't give him anything else.

I really liked meeting with the wellness coach. It was free because I am a member at the HealthPlex. She was very helpful. When I am struggling with losing the weight I think she would be very helpful to keep me motivated and find other exercises I could do to help me achieve my goal.

Update

I have a little update. I went to the doctor last week for a checkup and the doctor was very happy about the amount of weight that I have lost. She said she has seen people on T.V. before that has lost a lot of weight but never in person.

A couple of months ago I went to the sleep apnea doctor and he was also very happy with my weight loss. I use a cpap machine at night right now but the doctor said with the weight loss I could possibly be taken off of it. He was willing to retest me for sleep apnea but I decided to wait for six months and get more weight off first.

How I Got Started

I didn’t get started with exercise to lose weight. I started to exercise because of my torn meniscus. The doctor recommended warm water therapy so I looked around and found a program at the Mercy HealthPlex. I also started in with some exercise through physical therapy.

Starting in the water was really good for me and these classes had people in them just like me. I also really liked the instructor.

I started in the arthritis program for a couple of years and when it started getting too easy I moved up to the FIT program in the warm water pool.  I also talked to a personal trainer and she set me up with an exercise program on the weight machines. After about another month we added the Aqua Power class in the lap pool to our routine. That brought the grand total of two hours in the pool and two hours on the machines per day, three days a week.

I didn’t get to this much exercise in a month. It took me years.

I was getting plenty of exercise, but I was still eating the same or even more and still gaining weight.

That’s when we talked to Mike Combes at the Mercy HealthPlex and he gave me the book, “On Target Living” by Chris Johnson. I read the book and understood it. I could do this.

Now I eat healthy and exercise and I have lost over 100lbs. I’m not on a diet. I don’t count calories. Diets don’t work and believe me I’ve tried them all. I didn’t give up everything at once (baby steps).

There were a lot of people who helped me. There are caring people out there to help you too.

I just went shopping for a new pair of jeans this past weekend and was very excited that I am now in a size 18!  (I started at a size 30)  Now I can shop for clothes at regular stores and maybe find better deals!

How are you doing this week?

What Motivated Me to Lose 100 Pounds?

I want to share with you why I decided to lose weight and what motivated me to make it work this time. I’ve had my ups and downs.
Here’s where I started.

When I turned 60 everything seemed like it just fell apart. I had a torn meniscus. The doctor told me that I needed to get into a warm water exercise program to strengthen the knee. I checked around and found out that the Mercy HealthPlex had a warm water pool and that is when my husband and I joined. I worked out for a few weeks and then went in for surgery to repair the meniscus. That didn’t do any good so he gave me shots in the knee. That also didn’t help so after I told him that my 80 yr. old father got around better than I did. He decided to do a knee replacement and he did the left knee first. I don’t do very well with surgeries. Usually a person stays in the hospital for four days for a knee replacement but I was in for three weeks. The knee surgery went fine but everything else popped up. I was very sick after the surgery and they took all kinds of tests to find out what was wrong with me. They found out that I had an infection in my colon, my carotid artery was 90% blocked on my left side, I had diabetes, had sleep apnea, I had the tremors caused form some medications that they gave me in recovery, I had diabetes and on top of all of that my mom died and I was too sick to go to the funeral. The only thing that kept me from having a nervous breakdown was my husband Clarence. He was there every day form the time I woke up till bedtime. He’s my rock and always has been. After I got out of the hospital I went to the sleep clinic and stayed overnight for a sleep study, of course I was in a wheel chair and had a cast on. They determined that I had sleep apnea and sent me home with a cpap machine.

Then a few weeks later I went in to the hospital again and had surgery on the carotid artery. I didn’t have ay problems with that one, thank goodness. I had physical therapy at home for a few weeks for my knee and then finished my therapy at the Mercy HealthPlex. I was so weak from all of the surgeries that I had a hard time doing the physical therapy so when I got done with it the therapist recommended that I go into the cardiac rehab to get my strength back and I did. I was in cardiac rehab for a couple months. When I finished cardiac rehab I started back in the pool.

The main reason that I’m telling you this is it is one for the reasons that I gained the weight to begin with. I wasn’t able to do very much exercise at all. My husband would bring me into the HealthPlex in a wheelchair.

About six months later I had the other knee replaced. The hospital stay was a little bit less but it was still eight days. I had an infection in my stomach again. I also had a detached retina while I was in there.

When I got out of the hospital I went back into another hospital to have surgery to repair the detached retina. They replaced the fluid in the eye and I had to sleep in my recliner in a sitting position for a couple of weeks.

This was my main motivation to lose weight:

Last year I went to the doctor for a check up and she told me I needed to lose weight. I weighed more than 340lbs and she said I could die. She gave me a referral the Christ Hosptial weight management clinic. My husband and I decided that since we belonged to the Mercy HealthPlex why spend more money for another program.
There's so much more to my story.  Check back to find out how I began my 100 pound weight loss journey.
I'd love to hear your story!

My name is Joan and I've lost 100 pounds.

I’m not on a diet. I don’t count calories. Diets don’t work, I’ve tried them all and if your counting calories your thinking about food all of the time. (what can I have for my next meal, etc.)                     

I am starting this blog for 2 reasons. The selfish one is that by writing and reliving my journey I can stay on track. I still have a lot of weight to lose. The second one is that I really want to help others who are trying to lose weight. I know there are many people out there like me. I want to tell you my story so that you can learn from me and maybe you can be inspired to lose weight, too.

Just to be up front, this blog is sponsored by the Mercy HealthPlex in Cincinnati, OH. But you don’t have to go to the Mercy HealthPlex to lose weight. You can do it any where. Just do it.

I’m not any different than anyone else. I’m 66 yrs. young. I have been married for 47 yrs. I have two boys that are married and I have three grand children.

When I turned 60 everything seemed like it just fell apart.

In the past six years I not only lost my mom but I lost my younger sister, my father and my niece and I didn’t want to be next. I weighted 340lbs. or more and I needed to do something quick.

This isn’t a short story. This is just the beginning. I have so much to say about my journey. I look forward to sharing. Please comment or ask questions. The great part about the Mercy HealthPlex sponsorship is that if you have questions that I can’t answer I can get an expert to help you.

I’m still losing weight. Do you want to join me?