For the past year, I have been dealing with something that’s been driving me crazy. My cycle (previously 31-33 days long) would start out with a 7-8 day period, the first 3 days of which would be excruciatingly heavy to the point that I couldn’t leave the house without risking certain bleed-through. This would be followed by 5 more days of moderate to light to spotty flow. But it wouldn’t stop there. Oh no! I would get a 1/2 day at most to finally recover from Aunt Flo’s visit only to start spotting again until the day I would ovulate (day 17). This would mean a full 2-2 1/2 weeks of pads (no, I don’t use tampons). Spending 1/2 the month on the rag was irritating at best. 

I finally decided to seek the advice of my OB/Gyn. He outlined for me the 3 possibilities; hormones (to be solved by going on the pill), Sonohysterogram, or Hysteroscopy. Hormones are out of the question. For some reason, my PCOS doesn’t allow for me to take the pill and still remain sane. The hysteroscopy just seemed a bit much for trying to evaluate the problem. So a sonohysterogram it is! And that is what I did today. 

Let me tell you something. That was PAINFUL! But it lead to a diagnosis. Of course it also leads to a hysteroscopy. The point is, they found a rather large abnormality. Again, my OB/Gyn, being good with the options, laid them out for me fully. I could get the hysteroscopy and have the polyp/fibroid removed, and risk having it grow back. I could have an Endometrial ablation to kill any remaining pieces of the blob, and also kill any chances of being able to get pregnant again (if I so desired). I am also a prime candidate for a Hysterectomy. WHAT??? Heck no! I’m only 38. I am not ready to have my uterus removed. Besides, Hubby would never be able to find anything again (the uterus is a tracking device you know). 

So this is where I’m at. A golf ball sized blob has invaded my personal space and all the other choices don’t seem like choices really. So a hysteroscopy it is!

Here’s a normal uterus during a sonohysterogram. Notice the black space? That’s what it’s supposed to look like. 

This is what a normal uterus looks like during a sonohysterogram.

Meet the Blob. Hubby has decided to name it Kuato. 

"Kuato" the uterine invader.

Notice the white blobular mass? That’s not supposed to be there. But there you have it. All girlied out now?

But here is the news: I have been on TSFL for 4 months as of today. I have lost 42.4 lbs with only 13.4 lbs left to my original goal weight. I have gone from a size 20 to a size 12! And I’ve lost 23.5″ (arm, chest, waist, hips, thigh)! How incredible is that? I’ve never seen such a loss on any program I’ve tried before. Here’s the before & during pic (taken today) – I’m not to my goal yet:

Before & During - 42.4 lbs lost! 13.4 lbs to goal.

Let’s not forget about my partner in diet and the love of my life; my Hubby. He’s lost 55 lbs (really he did that in 3 months and has been transitioning off the program for the past month) and 23.5″ as well! He looks fantastic! Here’s his before and after:

Before & After - 55 lbs lost!

Isn’t that incredible? All I can say is “WOW!” I can’t tell you how much it thrills me when I see someone I know and they say “Hey Skinny!” Me? Skinny? Ha! I’m grinning ear to ear just thinking about it. I’m very happy. I’m finally getting close to my goal and I feel awesome! Thanks to everyone for your encouragement and support!

Big Fatty vs. Less of Me

Not too shabby, eh? Yes, that’s the same shirt. You can actually see space between my arms and torso now. I still have 30ish lbs to go, but I WILL GET THERE! 

Pretty cool…

At least that is what I believed until one day… I was straightening up and making a slight attempt to de-clutter when I moved a knick-knack from in front of the decorative sugar and creamer set on the kitchen window ledge. (Note: I said decorative. There is no sugar in the bowl.) Low and behold, there she was, nestled between the two bowls; a little spider. And beneath the spider? A pile of ant carcasses. I know…ewww. But how efficient is that? No wonder the ants were walking all funny. They had escaped the clutches of the spiders web, but not without injury. 

It’s the first time I said, “that spider can stay.” Of course, about a week later, hubby was cleaning the kitchen and wiped down the bowls, and with them the spider. I’ve posted the entry position of “Natural Pest Control Specialist” on the web (ok, pun intended there), but so far (wait for it…) no bites. I just couldn’t resist. 

Feel free to comment your puns…

Now this hasn’t been all fun and games. I have to sprinkle some honesty in here too. The first 3-4 days were pure hell for both of us. Not only did we feel like garbage, but we had horrible headaches as our bodies were detoxifying from all the garbage we had been feeding them for years. But I can say it’s definitely worth it. And it really keeps me from wanting to cheat; knowing that I would have to go through all that again. No way! But that’s not all. The cravings are still here. It kills me to make a pb&j for Super Dude. The smell of the fresh, soft, white bread begs for me to take a bite. But I stay strong. I just keep telling myself that it’s nothing that I haven’t had before, I know what it tastes like, and it’s not worth it. I did have a little more than a week where I didn’t lose any weight. A plateau can be discouraging, but you just have to power through it. 

Are you ready for my secret? I’ve been doing Take Shape For Life (Medifast). If it’s something you are interested in, let me hook you up with my coach. He’s a true inspiration. Hubby and I have no plans to become coaches, but we are more than happy to talk to you with complete honesty about the program, our struggles, and our successes. Plus, we’ve been searching out some great recipes for the lean & green meals. I suppose I should post the ones we love the most. 

So now beans are spilled…

I can’t wait to get through this so I can share it. I know a lot of you have been asking what I’m doing. I won’t tell until I get to where I’m going. Now that I’ve gotten through the first week, I will only be posting about it once a week. Tuesdays is “weigh & measure day.”

Wish me luck!

Had Chicken Noodle Soup for lunch and Pork Tenderloin for dinner. And I’m losing weight! Need to get more sleep though. This lack of sleep is making difficult to keep up. Still drinking lots of water.

Peppermint tea in hand before bed. Ahhhh…

So the diet is going okay. I just have to remember to drink lots and lots and lots and lots of water. Hubby is in his size 38 pants and is thrilled. I’m so happy for him. I know that he will lose the weight faster than me and that’s okay. 

I may actually do something today. I’ve got a lot of orders. What is it about the end of the month? We are just slammed! 

Day 5 – I feel really good! Was up late last night sewing my fingers to the bone (exaggeration) to get caught up on inventory. We got up this morning and I made a not-so-much-looking-like-an omelet. It was super tasty but I couldn’t finish it. Now I have a ton of energy and am ready to Go Go GO! I have to remember not to overdo it though. I could throw myself out of the place I need to be to lose this weight. Time to get my butt in gear…

My microwave is usually icky. I avoid cleaning it because it would take a lot of scrubbing to get it clean. I tried a product a couple years back made by Easy Off where you would put a packet in the microwave, nuke it, and then let it cool. The bag would pop open letting a bunch of steamy chemicals out that were supposed to make it easier to clean. It wasn’t that much easier than spraying with something and wiping with a paper towel. Not such a great product.

So here I am, 2-3 years later, staring at my filthy microwave. Last night I heated up spaghetti sauce for the kids’ dinner and it popped sauce all over. What a mess! I didn’t feel up to cleaning it last night. I would have to spend forever scraping off the sauce bits. And then it hit me, the answer to my laziness… I took a micro-fiber hand towel I got from Costco and wet it down. I wrung out most of the water, put it in the microwave, and heated it until it steamed up the window.

Loosely piled towel in the microwave

My microwave is pretty powerful (1250 watt) and it took 2 minutes. I turned it off but left the door closed and waited about 3 minutes for the towel to cool. Then I opened the door, carefully took the very hot towel out and started wiping the inside of the microwave. It worked like a charm! Every bit came off so easy that cleaning took only a couple minutes (it was really dirty). So there you have it! Clean microwave!!

But just so I’m clear on this: The towel WILL BE VERY HOT! So be careful not to burn yourself.

So here we are, day 2 of the new me and I’m whooped! Took a pic yesterday for my “Before” and my measurements. Here it is:

Profile view…so sad…

 Measurements are…

Upper Arms: 12.5in.
Chest: 47.5in.
Waist: 41in.
Hips: 47in.
Thighs: 24.5in.

Yesterday I felt a little jittery and had a headache. Today I’m really tired. I still have a headache. Just one more day off ickyness after today and I should be feeling much better. I’ve never drank this much water in my life. I really want a nap right now but what I have to do is drink more water. Maybe I’ll have some more tea…