Take it off | Week 58: Even my uterus gets NSVs!

To my right:

Aw. That's so nice. For a moment I forget where I am and you know what? I'm delighted I'm here too...until I look at what's in front of me.

Crap. That's right. The yearly trip to the gyno for the dreaded 'annual'. uuugggghhhhh.

I'm one of those people that gets really antsy about the gyno. My blood pressure sky rockets, I sweat and pre-baby I've been known to dissolve into tears as soon as the doctor walked into the room and said hello. Post baby, I chilled out considerably. I've resigned myself to the fact that this is just part of being a woman and that I much prefer a pap smear to a prostate exam. Score 1 for the ladies.

When I go to the gyno, I'm all business. No chit chat, no banter, just get down to the bid-nass and get me the hell out of there. But this time was different. For the first time ever I was not afraid to step on the scale at the doctor's office and I wasn't thinking about my Gunt and how it flopped over my lady bits. (You know what a gunt is...think about it.)

I wasn't looking forward to the appointment - but I didn't mind being there this time. My doctor is super nice, just a genuine sweetheart. And while she was never overtly judgmental about my weight, she always stressed to me at visits that I should try to lose weight. That losing weight would alleviate my PCOS symptoms and that it would be easier to get pregnant when I was ready and that I would be less likely to endanger myself and a baby with preeclampsia. (I was on the verge of Pre-E with Izzy, causing the need for her to be delivered at 38 weeks - which turned out to be a good thing anyway as she had already passed some meconium. Fun times.)

But imagine my awkward delight when Dr. M comes flitting into the exam room and the first thing she does is greet me with a huge smile and almost as big of a hug and says 'You want to know the grand total?' (as if I didn't know). I humored her as she squealed "Eighty five pounds!!!". There's an added level of excitement when you hear this news while wearing only a paper blanket and a hospital gown.

As she instructed me to put my feet in the stirrups and 'scooch down' she asked me what I had been doing. I told her all about Medifast and how it works. 

Have I mentioned how awkward it is to talk about carbs with your legs in the air?

Well, it is...especially when your audience is hidden by a sheet and your pelvis. However, nothing, NOTHING, is more awkward than seeing your gyno's head pop up like a gopher when you mention that you've been running and thinking about doing P90x. I wanted so badly to join in on her excitement...but ya know...there were things going on...down there...that sort of took me out of the moment.

Finally the exam was over and I was able to resume a more demure position. You may remember that I started this journey with several goals in mind: to get healthy, be a good role model for Izzy and have another baby and, this time, a healthy pregnancy. Dr. M said we have her seal of approval to try for another at my current weight. Woo-hoo! But don't get excited - we are still waiting for me to hit goal and most likely the Fall. (Ya know, in case you want all those details about sexy time with my husband.)

But my favorite NSV was finding out that my blood pressure, which is always high, was a PERFECT 120/80.

• • • • •

Not much happened on the scale this week and I'm still at 153. I'm disappointed because I've been working really hard to stay on plan and get my exercise in. I did pretty well over the holiday weekend. I won't tell you I was 100% on plan for Easter. But I'm proud to say that I only nibbled on some Robin's Eggs (and completely bypassed my absolute favorite, the Cadbury Cream Egg). I was in charge of Easter dinner and I made lots of great weight-loss friendly sides like asparagus, a cheesy cauliflower bake and for dessert, a jell-o pretzel salad - made with Medifast pretzels. I'll have recipes for you soon. I want to send them to my dietitian, Jen, to get the scoop on how they fit into the plan. (Another awesome perk about being on Medifast. We have dietitians to consult with and tell us if our recipes are Medifast-friendly and if they aren't how we can change them.)

I want to get this scale moving again. So I'm going to really examine what I'm doing this week; if I'm doing things wrong, not getting enough (or too many) calories, monitoring my water, etc. I've also recommitted to doing the 30 Day Shred. I did the first workout tonight and I will alternate with running. I really feel like part of this lull in losses lately is because I'm not building enough muscle. So we'll see. I feel positive about this week and what it will bring. I'm kicking this 13 pound's ass. It's coming off whether it wants to or not!

Lastly, I've been honored with a nomination in the 'Heart' category for BlogHer's Voices of the Year. If you feel compelled to do so, I would greatly appreciate you taking a moment to vote for me. It would truly be an honor to speak to the crowd at BlogHer in NYC this year.  This past year has been about so much more than losing weight. I'm finding the person I know I was always meant to be and I feel like it's my obligation to pay it forward by helping others do the same. Can you help me do that? Help me let others know that they are not alone in this struggle. Help me inspire others to make a change that they so richly deserve.

Month One: -16 lbs

Month Two: -5 lbs
Month Three: -6 lbs
Month Four: -6 lbs
Month Five: -6 lbs
Month Six: -8.5 lbs

Month Seven: -7.5 lbs

Month Eight: -5 lbs

Month Nine: -2 lbs

Month Ten: -5 lbs

Month Eleven: -6 lbs
Month Twelve: -4 lbs
Month Thirteen: -6.5 lbs
Week fifty three: -1.5
Week fifty four: -.5
Week fifty five: -.5
Week fifty six: 0 :(
Week fifty seven: -1
Week fifty eight: 0 bleh.

Total: 87 lbs gone forever! Current weight: 153 lbs Distance from goal: 13 lbs!!

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*FTC Disclosure: Medifast provides their products for my personal use for free. I am not paid or compensated in any other way for mentioning their products. All thoughts written here are mine. I love complaining so I would tell you if I didn't like something in the program. :) 
Medifast products and the Medifast Program are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or illness. Any medical improvements noted while on the program are related to weight loss in general, and not to Medifast products or programs.

~*Stephanie at A Grande Life*~ 
~*Jenni at Jenni From the Blog*~

~*Stephanie at Goober Monkey*~

~*Alison at O My Family*~

~*Jessica at The Unemployed Mom*~

~*Mariana at The Domestic Buzz*~