Let’s play catch-up!

The photo on the left was taken in Maui a little over 2 years ago. The photo on the right is what I look like now.

It’s a brand new day, a brand new life and it’s time to catch you up on what’s been happening. It’s been well over 9 months since I wrote my last blog post. I wish I had a fabulous excuse like I decided to drop out of life to live in Tahiti for the last 9 months; but alas, I do not. Life happens and sometimes it’s necessary to prioritize the things that are most important and allow other things to sit quietly in the corner until you are able to pick them up.

The last nine months have been filled with wonderful things as well as not so wonderful things. It’s been a roller coaster of emotions and an abundance of physical and mental exhaustion.

Here’s a quick recap of what’s been going on:

• My baby dog, Bryce, continued to deteriorate health-wise and in January it was time to let him go.
• In November 2015, my husband tried to jump over a 6 foot fence; and, let’s just say, he was unsuccessful.
• In March I started a new diet and workout routine.

I will spare you the gory details and just give you the Reader’s Digest version of my life during the last nine months.

Bryce is now in heaven

In the fall of 2015, Bryce’s appetite had slowly started to degrade. By December, his eating was sporadic. I kept in constant contact with his veterinarian. We tried a variety of things to improve his appetite (including trying to give him filet mignon) but nothing worked really well. Since he ate hardly anything, giving him his medication became even more difficult. I resorted to getting his meds compounded into liquid form when I could and I mixed pill content with chicken broth and put that in a syringe. It got to the point where Bryce would run away from me every time he saw me with a syringe in my hand.

I’d like to dispel any belief that I had been unfair by keeping him alive for as long as I did because I feel that there were some people in my world who thought I had been a little selfish. I am one of those people who will do everything humanly possible to care for someone I love. I never want to have any regrets about that. That included sacrificing my own needs and my own sleep for this dog that I loved so much.

I knew Bryce well enough to know when he was in pain, and when he was not. Would some people have let their pet go sooner than I did? Absolutely, they would. Had Bryce been in pain, I would not have hesitated to let him go. That was not the case. In January, when he had grown weaker because he lacked the nutrients he needed, it was clear that it was time to let him go. I still miss him every day and still talk to him daily. Some might think I’m crazy, but it brings me comfort to do so.

My husband took on a fence and lost

In the midst of all this dog stuff, my husband, Gary, attempted to go over a 6 foot fence to chase down our other dog who had crawled under the fence to go after a cat. The fence buckled when he attempted to hop over it. He landed on his right leg, and put his right arm out to break the fall. He ended up breaking/partially crushing his right tibia just below the knee, dislocating his right shoulder and fracturing one of his ribs on the right side. He was completely out of commission.

So, the months of November – January became extreme care giving months. I had to do everything around the house. We got Gary a hospital bed and a wheelchair. He had had surgery to fix the tibia the day after his fall. Post-surgery, his doctor did not want him to put any weight on his right leg nor did she want him to move or extend his right arm for at least 6 weeks. He could type so he was able to work from home but that was about it. I’m grateful that Gary wasn’t one of those grumpy or needy patients. He felt pretty bad for the burden he put on me because now I had to care for:

• A broken husband
• A senior dog whose health was deteriorating rapidly.
• A young dog who has a lot of energy who wanted to walk all the time.

I was exhausted!

New diet, new workout, new life

Bryce died on January 22nd, and it was around that time that Gary was getting back on his feet again. He was able to put some weight on his right leg and therefore was able to ditch the wheelchair and use a crutch instead.

I think it was a couple of weeks after Bryce was gone that a friend of mine told me about a diet/workout challenge she was going to do. “Lose 20 in 6” is the tag line for the gym/challenge. That’s 20lbs in 6 weeks! It seemed rather extreme. After all, that’s an average of 3.33 lbs per week I would be losing. Gary encouraged me to do it. I think he wanted me to focus on something other than Bryce. So, I went ahead and signed up for the challenge at Achievement Fitness in San Jose.

The challenge started on February 29th and ended on April 9th. I’m not going to get into major details here because I plan to go in depth about it in my next blog post. What I will say is that this challenge changed my life in so many different ways.

The gym provided a meal plan that had to be strictly followed, and 6 days a week I got up early to get to the gym so I could do a bootcamp style workout. For most of my adult life, I have been a gym rat, but I can honestly say that this experience was completely new to me. I worked harder and pushed myself harder than I had ever done before. The results have been amazing.

I didn’t reach the goal of losing 20lbs in 6 weeks, but I did lose 11.6 lbs which, for me, was incredible! After the challenge, I joined the gym and have continued to follow the meal plan (though not as religiously) and work out. Since that time, I’ve continued to lose weight and am now 23 lbs lighter and in the best shape I have been in in my life!

I’m incredibly excited about the progress I’ve achieved and the changes I’ve made and continue to make in my life. For those of you who lack energy, are tired of yo-yo dieting, tired of feeling achy, dislike the way your clothes fit you, I encourage you to check out Achievement Fitness and the “Lose 20 in 6” challenge. I’m not going to tell you it’s easy because it’s not!! But I will tell you, if you put the work in and “Follow the damn instructions” it does work. You will not only lose weight, you’ll also gain confidence, better self-esteem and so much more. You are SO worth it!

Stay tuned for my next blog post where I will go into more detail about the meals and workouts.