My Weight Loss Journey

I was never a small or petite girl, even as a child...you could say I was a bit scrawny as a younger girl but as I grew into a teen I started to gain weight slowly.  We (my parents, brother and I) moved a lot while I was growing up.  My dad was a pastor and a truck driver and we moved where the churches and jobs were.  Around my 14th year my moms mom was diagnosed with cancer so we moved from California to Oregon to take care of her and manage their trailer court.  

It was the first time I was in a public school and things just kinda spiraled from there for me.  I got into the more secular part of life and soon learned some very hard lessons.  I don't regret where I came from because it helped make me who I am today.  

I got married at 20 and my husband and I  had our first child ten days before our 1st year Anniversary.  Our second child came almost exactly 2 years later and I had not lost all the baby weight (42lbs) I gained from our first.  Apparently you don't have to eat for two when your pregnant, who knew...lol.  The third child came 18 months later and finally the fourth 3 years after that.  I gained and lost, 4 times and never ever got back to my pre-pregnant days. 

When our 4th child and only daughter was about a year old I was diagnosed with Thyroid disease and in the following few years developed two other thyroid disorders.  Finally I was diagnosed with Thyroid cancer, had surgery, treatment and went through recovery.  The cancer was so bad it took a lot longer in surgery than the doctor had anticipated and I lost a lymph node in the process.  At the time I was overweight, sick and very out of shape.

After recovery and getting the all clear I decided that if I could beat cancer I could become a runner.  So I found a C25K program on the internet and started running.  At first I could barely run a minute without having to stop but here I am 3 years later and training for a half marathon.  Weight loss came with the running but not as much as one would think.  Apparently running makes you hungry...strange.  A few months ago I got more serious about losing the weight and here I am almost 30lbs lighter and smaller, more fit than I have ever been.  

To date I have lost 74+ pounds and am just about ready for maintenance and then I will be building more muscle to tone up some more.  I do weights now but will be doing a lot more from here on out.  I am so thankful that I am healthy and still in remission.  I plan to continue my journey of healthy living and I am so excited to see what the future holds for me.

After and Before

 

"Limitations only exist if you let them"

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck.

© 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

Sciatica Pain Anyone?

I have been dealing with sciatica pain since last year when I broke my pelvis and the pain at times is excruciating.  Since I am allergic to ibuprofen I cannot take anything that really helps ease the pain so I don't take anything, although I have recently found that heat helps tremendously.  

How does one not sit...I mean standing all day is just ridiculous right...so I have this weird schedule of standing, kneeling and laying on one side and then the other, and of course I am working out during all this pain as well.  I have pain every day all day but I know that this will pass and that the sciatica is a result of my injury last year, it may be time for some PT or something I can do at home like massage or use of a foam roller.  I was researching on this pain and last night read that sciatica is often a result of pelvic stress fractures due to nerve damage...oy vey! I've had it from the beginning but just never realized it!  When I was first injured I had this burning pain on my sit bones with tingling that ran down my leg(s) anytime I tried to sit for more than 2 minutes, it has not changed in a year.  

Seriously, if this is the worst thing I have to deal with from my injury it's all good.  I'm really not complaining, just trying to maybe find a solution or something that helps that maybe I have not thought of.

I'm still on track with my training for the half in September and will be doing a 9 mile training run this Saturday.  The sciatica pain has not stopped me from running or working out, it's really only painful when not exercising or moving.  It does hurt a little bit sometimes when the pain is bad and I'm at the gym but it never hurts while running so that is a blessing.  Does anyone have any tips or advice for me that are not going to cost me a lot of doh-ray-me?

Okay now on to my workouts for this week so far...
 
Sunday June 9

• AMT 24 minutes (2.54 miles)
• Arc Trainer 16 minutes (.85 miles)
• Weights 15 minutes

Monday June 10

• Ran 51 minutes outside (4.3 miles)

Tuesday June 11

• AMT 27 minutes (2.53 miles)

Wednesday June 12

• AMT 18 minutes
• Weights 30 minutes

Thursday June 13

• AMT 51 minutes (5 miles)

Weight loss for this last week was 1.6 lbs

 



Let me just say thanks for listening to my woes, family issues and many other rantings throughout the years...I truly thank God and consider y'all to be ♥ friends and blessings!  

"Limitations only exist if you let them"

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck.

 © 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

MIA To LOSER

I am sorry that I've been MIA but I just needed to take some time off from blogging to rest and deal with a busy family unit.  You understand, right?

Sunday was a total rest day

Monday

• AMT 31 minutes
• Weights 15 minutes

Tuesday

• Ran 58 minutes in the cold, rain and wind, good times...good times

Wednesday

• AMT 40 minutes

  

Still a loser...lol

I am still losing the lb's (1.8 this past week), eating healthy-ish (love those jalapeno Cheetos), and exercising 4-5 days a week...so it's all good.  I am still healing from surgery, although the stitches and pain are gone...my gums are still reshaping so my partial is not real tight.  I have to take the partial out to eat some foods...ermergerd!  Needless to say I cannot eat some foods at all, and some foods just take a lot more work than others.  I normally eat mainly vegan but I have been eating yogurt since I had my surgery just to get the calories and nutrition in my body. 'Nuff said!

Blessings and hugs to y'all, may your days be filled with sunshine and joy! Have a great weekend, cherish the time with your families and loved ones and hug yer dog/cat/bird/pig/alligator...etc!

"Limitations only exist if you let them"

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck.

© 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

Family Time At The YMCA

Thursday's gym time...

Arc trainer 16 minutes
Bike trainer 10 minutes
Total calories burned...310

My hubby asked to go to the YMCA with me and then told all the kids to get ready to go workout. This is pretty shocking, since my husband does not like to work out, at all, on the machines due to the fact that he is a big guy! 

I was pleasantly surprised, to say the least. I have wanted my husband to work out with me for a long time.  Last summer when I was recovering from my pelvic stress fracture we spent a lot of time together in the YMCA pool and had a blast as a family.  I am hoping that he continues to have this desire to go to the gym with me, lose some weight and get healthier.  He stayed on the bike for a whole 20 minutes today.  (last night he even asked me to go for a short walk with him)

On another note...Completely off topic

I spent some time at my Oral Surgeons office today talking about my surgery that is coming up next month.  I have bad teeth due to genetics and cancer treatment so I am having 4 upper teeth and 1 broken bottom tooth extracted.  I will also have an upper cast partial put in place at the same time.  I only have about 24 teeth total due to having several teeth extracted about 13 years ago (4 of them were wisdom teeth) which means I will only have 19 of my own teeth after this surgery. 

I have been unlucky in the dental department. The upper partial will replace the teeth I've had extracted and am having extracted.  I will have chewing teeth again.  Please pray that everything goes well and that there are no complications, as two of my teeth have roots very close to my sinus cavity.

Have a great day and weekend everyone, blessings and hugs.

P.S. Yay, my lateral hamstring tendon is feeling much better and I should be able to try running again soon. 

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck. 

"Limitations only exist if you let them" 

 © 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.

Gym Time and Cookies

Tuesdays gym time...

Arc trainer 20 minutes.
Bike trainer 23 minutes.
Total calorie burn...approx. 443 calories

I have started weighing myself every Tuesday now just to see how I'm doing and I've lost 5.2lbs in the last two weeks. Woohoo! I have been using myfitnesspal.com (plus the app) for the last few years, I've lost a total of 56.2 lbs since I started losing weight (after my cancer battle).  Last year I was eating at my BMR (basal metabolic rate) plus adding in some exercise calories (according to something I read) but was not losing anymore weight.  This year I am trying to eat no more than 1400 calories a day (total) and on the days I exercise I eat only 50-100 (if I'm hungry) of my exercise calories back. Basically I set my daily calorie intake at 1300 and never go above 1400 on my exercise days.  It's working for me so I'll keep doing this til I reach my goal weight (another 12 lbs).

Anyhoodles, moving on! My hamstring is feeling better every day, and that is progress that I can live with. The lump has not gone away totally but is not too tender to the touch.  I am hoping that what I am doing is helping it to heal (fingers crossed). Thank you so much for all your healing thoughts.  Have a great day!

Oh, wait...I found this great recipe on Pinterest and thought I'd share it with y'all! These are yummy!

Healthy Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies from The Skinny Fork. 

2 ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup reduced fat peanut butter
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Dash of ground cloves
Dash of ground nutmeg
1 and 1/2 cup quick oats
1/4 cup nuts
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut

Directions...preheat over 350 degrees.   Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Mix together the bananas, peanut butter, applesauce, vanilla, and spices.​ Add in the oats, nuts, chocolate chips, and coconut; stir until well combined. Spoon about 2 tbsp. of the cookie mixture onto the lined baking sheet, leaving an inch or two between each.


Bake for 20-30 minutes and allow to cool slightly.

Now these are her instructions.  I deviated a bit, I only had regular peanut butter and canned apple pie filling (I put in the blender) and I used apple pie spice instead of cinnamon.  I also added some butterscotch chips to the cookies...so mine are more calories for sure.  

This is the break down for her recipe...
Servings: 12 • Size: 1 Cookie • Calories: 75.3 • Fat: 5.4 g • Carb: 8.5 g • Fiber: 0.7 g • Protein: 1.9 g • Sugar: 3.6 g • Sodium: 75.7 mg

I'm not even going to try to figure out the break down for mine but it will be higher I am sure. Blessings and hugs!  

Godspeed...this comes from the Middle English expression "God spede (you)", a wish for success and fortune for one setting out on an enterprise, voyage, adventure, or travels. It may also mean good luck. 

 "Limitations only exist if you let them" 

© 2013 Shannon M. King. This publication is the exclusive property of Shannon M. King and is protected under the US Copyright Act of 1976 and all other applicable international, federal, state and local laws. The contents of this post/story may not be reproduced as a whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, without consent of the author, Shannon M. King. All rights reserved.