It’s been a long time since I posted. Some of you know already why. My brother died on January 2nd and it really threw me for a loop. Close to three months later and I am still feeling a little lost and just going through the days, heading to my freelance projects and doing what needs to be done, but not really feeling completely like myself.

Soon I will be in Matera again. Hopefully, it will help me feel whole again as a person and a writer as it did after my dad’s death.

But a few things are happening that at least give me something to look forward to. First, I am going to Matera, Italy for a writer’s retreat 10-15 April. I can’t wait. I need to be in the company of writers, I need to be in Matera and feel the love and warmth of that wonderful town. I have not written a word of fiction since my brother died and I feel incomplete not being able to write fiction.

And in May I will celebrate 20 years of being married to my wonderful guy. Just think: we started off as that couple everyone thought would only be a summer fling. We’ve been together as a couple now since 1993 and got married in 1999. And I absolutely adore him.

Weightwise, I am in a stall and I am not stressing about it. I know that, since January, I have not always been as vigilant about what I eat as I should be. However, my clothes continue to feel looser so my body is still redistributing things. I am getting back on track though. And I am hoping that now that I am seeing a grief counselor to deal with my brother’s passing that this will help me regain the structure I’ve lost.

Friday lunch at Pom & Flora on Odengatan in Vasatan, Stockholm

One thing though that makes me happy is that I am only around 15 pounds from my goal weight. And I feel good physically, even if mentally I feel a mess. One thing at least that has made me happy is discovering Turmeric Tonic at Pom & Flora, a café here in Stockholm. It was zingy (thanks to the ginger in it) and not too sweet. And today’s lunch–Thai style vegan sweet potato soup with chickpeas and glass noodles–was delicious!

So, no, I have not forgotten about my blog…I’ve just been dealing with my own emotions and trying to come to grips with the fact that one of my favorite people in the world–my younger brother–is no longer with us.

Bear with me. I promise I will be back to normal soonish.

Popsugar and YouTube are helping me get fit

November 7, 2018Leave a comment

Now that I am freelancing and working from home, I have more time to focus on feeling stronger and getting fit. Part of this is walking more, but I am also taking other steps to feel stronger.

One of those ways is exercising more. I recently began checking out POPSUGAR Fitness on YouTube and their 10-minute workout videos. Since I spend a lot of time sitting at a desk writing, these are perfect for me when I need to take a break and move my body but don’t want to go out for a long walk yet.

via GIPHY

I can’t say that I am an enthusiastic exerciser. I used to work out a lot, more from necessity than anything else. That’s why it’s imperative that any exercise I do feels fun or doesn’t feel like a chore. I’ve found three that I’ve tried and really like.

10-Minute No Equipment Flat Belly Workout

The 10-Minute No Equipment Flat Belly Workout is good for beginners and more experienced exercisers. The modifications for beginners are great, even for someone like me who’s got a bum knee. I’ve done this workout twice so far and it’s challenging enough that I don’t get bored, but not so challenging that it feels impossible. This is definitely a doable workout and you get a nice burn afterwards.

Tightest Arms in Town 10-Minute Workout

I’ve done the Tightest Arms in Town 10-Minute Workout twice as well and it’s fun. Yes, your arms will be tired afterwards. Yes, you’ll feel a burn…and I am pretty sure you will like it. I know I did. 🙂

10-Minute Toned Booty & Thigh Workout

I’ve only tried the 10-Minute Toned Booty & Thigh Workout once so far, but I like it. It will definitely be repeated. My booty and thighs were seriously tired by the time I was finished, so those ten minutes were not wasted. 🙂

If you’re going to work out at home, make sure you have a good yoga mat and some hand weights.

A few other POPSUGAR Fitness 10-minute workouts that I am going to try:

I also found Ashley Graham’s Curvy Girl Fit Club from netaporter.com and Tracy Anderson 10-minute workout from goop which I think I’ll try as well. I like having variety, so having different ones to try will keep me from getting bored.

The great thing with creating my own routine to follow is that I can easily fit two or three videos workouts into my day without feeling like it’s impossible. And now that I am doing NaNoWriMo and spending even more time at my computer as I try to get my daily word count goal in, these fitness videos are a welcome break when I feel like all that plotting and character development is making me loopy.

What are you doing to get toned post-op?

Catching up: I know…it’s been a while

October 23, 2018Leave a comment

I know…it’s been a while

It’s been a long time since I updated here, and I am sorry for that. Life got in the way. After a stressful spring, a somewhat restful summer that inevitably became yet another stressful autumn, I decided I’d had enough. It culminated in me deciding to resign from my position and focus on freelancing and fiction writing again. This is my first week of writing full-time and so far, so good. I am still open to finding another full-time job, but right now I am enjoying being in charge of my own time and being able to choose the projects that I work on and the people I work with.

How am I doing?

I’m getting there… 🙂

My weight loss has been a bit slower than I’d expected, but I expect some of this was due to the stress I was under and not having enough time to exercise as I should. Now that I am freelancing, I have more space in my schedule and I’ve already booked two yoga passes for this week and gone on two long walks. Next week, I’ll be returning to strength training.

Back to meal planning

Another good thing about working from home is that I can focus on planning my meals again. I lost focus of it during the summer and never really got back into it. I started again last weekend and made Skinnytaste’s turkey meatball stroganoff (though I substituted chicken for turkey since my local supermarket was out of ground turkey) in my slow cooker. If you haven’t tried this recipe, you really should! It’s delicious.

I’ve already got a few dishes planned for next week:

Pinch of Yum’s Creamy Thai Sweet Potato Curry
Skinnytaste’s Beef and Kabocha Squash Stew (though I will substitute with muscat pumpkin since I don’t think my local store will have kabocha squash)
Pinch of Yum’s Coconut Tandoori Chicken (which I will make in my slow cooker since I do not have an Instant Pot)

Buying winter clothes

My new winter parka (Photo: lindex.com)

Since I’ve lost quite a lot of weight, most of my winter clothes are now too big. I was hoping I could continue using the same winter coat (which I bought last year at H&M and loved) but it fits like a sack now. I’ve added it to the donation bag, along with an autumn-weather coat I purchased a few years ago from ASOS, and several pairs of jeans that are in excellent condition but that slide off my hips now.

Yesterday I went to H&M to look for another winter coat. I tried on three, but none of them really spoke to me and said they wanted to follow me home. I ended up going to Lindex and found a green parka that looks exactly like the one I’m donating. Plus, it’s got sherpa fleece in the hood and lining. I love it! 🙂

I also stocked up on socks, since you can never have too many pairs of socks.

I’ve already got two pairs of great winter boots, so I don’t need to worry about those. But I need to find some thicker pull-on pants for the weekends and another pair of jeans. That’s a project for next week.

And how are you?

How’s it going for you? Have you reached your next major weight loss goal following surgery? Hit a stall? Or what’s your favourite workout? Drop me a line! 🙂 I am still trying to figure out what mine is (or will be) any tips you have will make me a very happy camper.

Time flies — it’s time for a late-July update

July 26, 2018Leave a comment

I’ve just come back from my hometown of Philadelphia. (Photo by Fredy Martinez on Unsplash)

Sorry I haven’t been very good about updating here. Most of the spring was pretty hectic and I’ve been feeling a bit disorganised and unfocussed lately. I could blame it on the heat, but that would be dishonest. The craziness of my spring bled into my summer and then suddenly it was time for me to fly to the US for a three-week vacation. It was all a bit of a whirlwind. Now I am back and I am jet lagged.

Things I have learned so far this summer:

My sleeved stomach is still too sensitive for very spicy or fiery food
Avocados and almonds are great for getting rid of leg cramps caused by magnesium and potassium deficiencies
Instead of craving candy, I now crave parmesan cheese
My surgery scars still sometimes feel sensitive or itch — apparently will be the case for a few more months
Honest T Moroccan Mint Green Tea makes me happy — unfortunately, now that I am back in Sweden, I can’t find it in any stores here so I will have to make it myself
Guacamole is still one of my favourite snacks
I can walk long distances again without having knee pain or back spasms
As much as I love cheesesteaks, my stomach still can’t handle them — maybe next year
I worked out in a gym while I was in Philadelphia and it felt good
My weight loss stalls when I don’t get enough calories in
I hate the way most protein shakes taste — they actually make me nauseous
Peanut butter flavoured Kind bars make good snacks when travelling
My peanut butter craving is still alive and well

So what else is new? Well, since my surgery in January, I’ve lost 56 pounds, which means I’ve nearly reached my end of July/beginning of August goal. In fact, I am only 2 pounds away from it and that makes me very happy.

My goal for August and onwards? To be better about keeping you updated and to start working out at the gym again since I’ve mostly only been walking a lot and working out at home.

Now if I could only get rid of this jet lag…

A little update and a little clothes shopping

May 20, 2018Leave a comment

one pot salsa verde chicken and rice

Ever since I started this weight loss journey, one of the things that I hadn’t really thought about much was that sooner or later I would have to buy new clothing. Realistically, I knew that losing weight would mean either going through everything in my closet and seeing if I’d saved anything that was once too small…or daring to go into stores and see if I’d lost enough weight to buy smaller sizes. It was going to happen sooner or later, right?

But…even when the scale doesn’t always seem to be budging much, I’ve begun to notice differences in how my clothes fit. My favourite t-shirts and sweaters are now very loose and all most too big to continue wearing to work. My favourite pairs of skinny jeans now feel a bit too saggy. But…I don’t really want to spend a lot of money on new clothing when I know that I will probably lose more weight very soon.

I’ve made a few purchases so that I can have shirts and pants to wear to work. At the weekends, now that it’s getting warm here in Stockholm, I’ve mostly worn in lightweight pants and t-shirts. The shirts and pants below I found at Lindex. I was able to buy them in an XL — and they’re a little loose.

I thought this t-shirt summed up my mood. (Photo: Lindex)

They didn’t make my butt look big. 🙂 (Photo: Lindex)

I can’t resist slouchy linen shirts. (Photo: Lindex)

I’ve focused too on finding underwire-free bras since the underwire rubs on my surgery scars and feels uncomfortable. I found some at KappAhl and will buy a few more when I’m in the US in July. I also bought these in XL.

And then I bought some pants, two blouses and a spring jacket from H&M. Again, the nice thing was that–even though these were still part of their plus-size range, I was able to buy them two sizes smaller than what I wore pre-surgery.

I’m pretty satisfied with how things are going, even if weight loss in May has been a little slower than expected. I won’t complain. My surgeon and nutritionist say I am right on track, so that’s all that matters.

By the way, my husband and I are trying a new recipe today, one pot salsa verde chicken and rice. It’s from Lexi’s Clean Kitchen. I’ll keep you posted, but I think it’s going to be delicious.

Hair today…gone tomorrow?

May 3, 2018Leave a comment

Now that I’ve hit the three-month mark since I had my gastric sleeve operation, I’ve started to notice a few things:

I always seem to go through a weight loss stall the week before my period starts
My stomach does not like fried eggs so much, it prefers omelettes and scrambled eggs
My hair is starting to shed…a lot

I’ve learned to accept the weight loss stalls. Now that I’ve noticed they always seem to be in conjunction with the oncoming start of my period, I don’t bother to panic. I met with my surgeon and nutritionist last week and was assured that my weight loss was right on track and to keep on doing what I am doing, so yay me. 🙂

My stomach not liking fried eggs right now is also something I can deal with, even though I do appreciate perfectly fried eggs. At least it likes scrambled eggs and omelettes–which happen to be my favorite sort of eggs.

My hair though…well, this is not the first time I’ve gone through hair loss.

Back when I was around 27 or 28 and my PCOS problems were at their worst, clumps of hair fell out. I woke up one morning to a big clump of hair on my pillow. I also went through a period of hair loss when I had an allergic reaction to birth control pills. It took several years for my hair to regain anything close to its original thickness and coverage. Luckily, a nurse at my local health clinic recommended some hair vitamins that helped when things were at their worst.

But now, due to losing so much weight, I am going through it again. I haven’t bothered to get into a panic about it, though it did take me by surprise yesterday morning when I washed my hair and I saw just how much hair I was shedding.

It was a lot more than normal.

It was enough that it made me realize that it’s time to start taking hair vitamins again. Luckily, I’ve already been using a shampoo and conditioner for fragile hair, so I think that will help a bit too.

I just started using the Coriander Strength Source range from L’Oréal Botanicals Fresh Care. I like how it makes my hair feel.

In the meantime, I am looking into how I should cut my hair so that I won’t think so much about how much hair I am shedding. I know it’s only temporary, but still…

Maybe one of these styles will be perfect for me?

Have you experienced hair loss or excessive hair shedding since losing weight? Which products are you using to help with slowing it down? And which hairstyle do you think I should try?

Kim Goes Down

adventures in weight loss, life, food & travel

Category: Life in General

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