Fast Forward to 6 months later - 74 kg and starting to have normal BP

I am so full of good news! The first one is that I am so glad to report that I have continued my health and wellness project faithfully these past 6 months with almost no absences in my attendance. I am indeed very happy with the results.

My weight is now exactly 73.9 kg or 163 lbs ( 17.1 kg lost and 23.9 kg away from the original goal of 50kg ) when I woke up today. Another major milestone also that happened this week is my crossing over from "Obese" to "Overweight" BMI!! Second good news is that today is the first time my blood pressure hit below 120/80, and that is something to celebrate about. Since June, I have also been able to track my measurements and have been losing 1 inch on my waistline every single month. There have been also changes in my wardrobe. I have gotten rid of most of my pants and all I have left from my old pants are about 3 pcs with good fit and 1 pc that is still tight. I also got rid of other blouses and shirts which are too big for me.

On the gym, there have also been changes. Last May, my trainer took a one month leave and endorsed me to a newly hired personal trainer. She said it is also helpful because he is a graduate of Physical Therapy. At first I resisted because I was scared of having a new trainer who has no experience. I even went as far as going back to my fitness consultant who assigned me my original personal trainer to ask for a trainer that was recommended by our close friends. Secondly, the trainer was now male, but that was pretty much a minor issue as I feel much more at ease working out at the gym in front of strangers. Anyway, in the end, the fitness consultant could not accommodate my request and I ended up just accepting the trainer assigned to me. Now it’s been 3 months now and all I can say now is that I am glad I was forced to stay with this new trainer. I have gained a lot of strength, flexibility and lost a lot of weight without any injuries and I am so glad especially of the latter. I also feel a bit more at east that my trainer is also a licensed Physical Therapist now. In the end it all worked well. My trainer is skilled in solving the issues I have encountered. One example is my weak neck - during and after abs exercises my neck hurt. With the help of some exercises that were usually meant for rehab, my neck’s problems disappeared in a matter of a few weeks. My routine nowadays is composed of the following:
Core exercises: planking (1 minute 3 sets), sit-ups (10-15-20 reps), leg raises (10-15-20 reps), obliques exercises all on the floor. I am still amazed that a few months ago in May/June I could not even do those things (lunges, push ups and planks for example). I also have cardio exercises that involve jumping jacks, back and front kick jogging. I also have usually some kind of stair climbing thing, kettle bells, dumb bells for arms and occasionally the battle ropes and other special circuit style workout which I hope to have more in the future. Last few weeks I had hit some kind of plateau, but it was probably due to my trainer’s 2-week absence and some work stress I encountered. Now, we are experimenting with gym machines for both legs and arms. Last week for the first time I even used the Smith Machine and that was both scary and exhilarating. Thankfully no injuries happened. I usually get sore after performing a new workout but I am glad I can go back to normal within 2-3 days. Like for example now, I’ve had sore calves for 3 days from the jumping jacks last Monday. I am still enrolled at PowerStretch (30 minutes per visit) but I am wondering if I need to continue it or lessen the frequency every week. I also availed of a massage subscription plan and have it once a week for one hour. So far I like it.

With regards to my eating, I have gone through various stages of plateaus and have adjusted my meals accordingly. I think the progress in weight loss was helped a lot whenever I adjusted the servings of the dishes and the amount of salt. I monitor my blood pressure and weight daily and I make adjustments based on the results I get. Nowadays I am taking the following supplements: magnesium, B-12 stress pills, and fish oil. A few days ago I attempted fasting for 48 hours but I ended up having a 2 day gout on my right big toe. I suspect it was because I took a collagen supplement which I have since stopped taking. I tried taking it because the last weeks I have seen the return of my knee problem again, the one where it was giving way. However the severity was not as bad because it goes away if I rest properly. However, one time I almost fell forward while on a client visit so it is something I am taking seriously that this Saturday I am having an ultrasound of my knee. My PT at the gym thinks it might be osteoarthritis. I hope it’s not because it might mean limiting the kind of workouts I can do.

Another thing I did was to sign up for a 5k marathon - the Music Run. I started to attempt my training by doing 1 min walk 1 min run. I wonder if that was the cause of the return of the knee problem. That is why I stopped doing that for the meantime. I plan to start it again soon, maybe when I hit 70kg which is not that far away from now. My average weight loss so far is about 2 to 2.5 kg per month so probably I could hit that weight around mid September, which gives me about 2 months to train seriously.

Oh and by the way I must admit, my weight loss journey is not all suffering and serious work. I am actually having fun after all. I look forward to attending the group classes (dance and boxing) at least 2 times a week and the training 2x a week as well. I am so glad it is working out so well that I’ve had other trainers, random people working out in the gym and dance class ladies approach me and tell me they have noticed my “significant” weight loss over the past few months.