Gastric Bypass Update and the dreadful belly shot *gasp*

I had Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass surgery done in August of 2012. Nine months later I had to have my gallbladder taken out three days after my birthday (kind of sucked.) I kept my surgery a secret because I always thought it was something to be ashamed of. I thought people would think I had "taken the easy way out." Let me tell you now. It has not been easy. The surgery is only a tool. Like going to the gym, it only works if you put in the effort to make it work. 

I have hit a plateau. Nothing seems to be working. But, I know that I cannot give up because if I do then all of the obstacles I have overcome thus far would go to waste. I would fall down that ladder and the weight would pile on. But, I am not going to and this is why. 

I have lost 70% of my excess body fat. I was only ever expected to lose maybe 60%. I don't want to give that up, ever. Now lets get more into the update part. 

I have lost 70% of my weight and I am currently sitting at about 150 pounds or so as it changes from day to day. My overall go is to get to 115 pounds. So far the only real issues I have had is my gallbladder. I got it removed in May of 2013 because it was filled with stones. Fast forward to the present, I still get "Phantom Gallbladder Attacks." Those hurt so bad sometimes I go without really eating for a few days. 

Skin, hair and nails are another thing I always worry about but so far all of those things are pretty dang good. My skin as a bit loose. It looks the worst on my arms and belly. My bum and thighs look fine. No extra skin in those areas. My hair is currently growing at a normal rate. I bleached my hair in early 2013 and a lot fell out then but everything is great now. My nails grow long fast but they are not very strong. 

Now onto the belly shots. These are current. I took them while writing this.

 As you can see I have a pooch. I don't like it but there is not much I can do about it. right now

From the side. Yes, that is the top of my bum. No, that is not my cooch. That is the bottom of my skin pooch lol

Anyways this has been my update. I will be doing a post specifically about how I keep my hair and nails healthy. So, stay tuned for that. 

Have an awesome day. Leave any questions below. Stay beautiful. Stay healthy. Stay you.

XOXO- Bethany 

The Holiday Weight Gain

Photo by Trey Ratcliff

Cookies, pies and potatoes! Oh my! 

Yes! We are almost through this time of year! The plethora of cookies will finally go back into hiding only to come out again on those oh-so stressful days. But, lets be honest should we really be worrying so much about gaining "a ton" of weight over the holidays. In my opinion, no, you shouldn't worry. Unless you are doing nothing but eating everyday and eating nothing but rich foods. Then, you don't have to much to worry about.

Use the main rules of a healthy lifestyle:

• Get in those seven servings of fruits and veggies. Especially veggies around the holidays. Go slow on the fruits if you are going to be eating lots of desserts. There are 14 grams of sugar in one medium banana. That is the same as a small to medium gingerbread man, depending on the recipe. 
• Get a good dose of cardio! Start a snowball fight, shovel, rake or if you are in a warmer climate (lucky) go for a nice long walk with the family or run. Just stay active. If you don't want the calories staying on your bum then shake it. 
• Don't eat huge portions of everything served. You don't need to. If you are the kind of person who likes trying every food offered take one bite's worth of everything on your plate. That way if you like something you can get more of it. Plus, you can figure out what you might not like without feeling guilty about not eating the oh-so obvious amount left on your plate.
• Try not to overdo it when it comes to the desserts. Like I said one medium to small gingerbread man has 14 grams of sugar. The average delicious red velvet cupcake has  20 grams of sugar and is about 240 calories. 
• Never go hungry! Do not starve yourself all day before a holiday party. Eat like you normally would. You are less likely to overeat if you aren't extremely hungry already.
• Drink water. Drink it. Drink it. Drink it. This is so important and something most of us forget about. At least I know I do. I often forget to drink water around the holidays. Usually because I am chasing after little kids, playing tag and kickball and/or getting hit in the head with pillows and cushions by them. Then, I end up with a major headache.
• Lay off on the alcohol and breads. Empty calories are not your friend around the holidays or any time of year for that fact.
• Most importantly enjoy yourself! Even if you follow one of these rules or heck, if you follow none of them don't stress. The extra pound will not put a huge dent in your fitness regimen. Just focus on being happy and healthy with your family and loved ones. 

I hope you all have a wonderful time these holidays!

I love you from your hearts to your hips!

XOXO- Bethany ♥

My thoughts about "Skinny-shaming" and "Fat-shaming."

Oh where do I start. Skinny-shaming and Fat-shaming is something I know I will see the second I log onto any social media. Whether it be Facebook, Twitter or, the one I see it on the most, Instagram body-shaming is a huge topic. My question is why? Why do we shame other people's bodies?

From the research I have done one main commonality between any body-shaming post I have seen seems to have a root of insecurity. Now, I may be wrong about that in some cases but most of them seem to be from peoples own insecurities about themselves and how they seem flawed to themselves.  Well all are insecure about something. Whether it is our weight, stretchmarks, wrinkles, freckles, being to pale, being to dark, etc. The list goes on and on. Now instead of us focusing on ourselves we seem to always take it out on others.

Lately I have been seeing so many memes that are telling women "Love your curves" or "Real men love curves. Bones are for the dogs." First of not all men are different some like women who are thin and some like women who are big. Yet, they are all still real men. Just like not all women are the same but they are all still real women. Regardless of size. We are all real human beings. 

As a curvier girl myself I have been teased or shamed many times about my body without them knowing at all about my health. It is usually something around the line of "oh your bmi is still too high that means you need to lose weight so your health doesn't get worse." Little does that person know my health is perfectly fine I have no health issues besides a pesky little cold right now. My doctor says everything is okay in there. On top of that I am losing weight. I have lost around 100lbs. However, I am doing it the healthy way through diet and exercise. What else does this person expect me to do? Starve myself? No thank you. I will pass.

Although, I have been teased and shamed I can not imagine "skinny-shaming" anyone or using their health as an excuse to bash them. Some of my best friends are super thin. Guess what? I don't notice that when I am hanging out with them and enjoying having them as my friends! They are my friends regardless of their size. They are still absolutely beautiful to me, from their hearts to their hips.

We as women (and men too) need to stop shaming others for our own issues with society. Yes there may be a few people who are big that skinny shame and a few people who are thin that fat shame but that doesn't mean every single person that fits into a certain category should be shamed for the way they look.

Blame the person who shamed you or blame society for fucking (sorry for the language) everyone over and turning everyone against one another. But, do not sit there and act like you are better for shaming a whole group of people because you are not any better than the person who shamed you at that point. Instead why don't we all, as a whole, try ending it together. Working together to end the shaming. I know that there will always be people who will shame others for being themselves but if more of stop shaming then those people will slowly disappear or look ridiculous for trying. Either way everyone then can start focusing on making themselves healthier mentally and physically while also feeling beautiful and loving themselves.

I hope you all think hard about this. I love you all.

XOXO- Bethany ♥

Review of ZonePerfect® Greek Yogurt Bars

To start off I have tried many, many "Health Bars." Some good, some terrible at least in my opinion. This one, that I received from Influenster to do a review on,I neither love nor hate. It has a lot of things I look for in a bar. A good amount of protein and fiber. They taste pretty good overall. In my opinion the Greek Yogurt coating is a bit to sweet. It over powers it a bit. 

On top of the coating being super sweet, the coating melts easily and can be very messy. So, I wouldn't suggest leaving it in your purse, back pack or car if it were even a slightly hot day. You c

an also just make sure you have a napkin and you should be fine.

Now lets get on to the Nutrition Facts. The bar I had was the "Greek Yogurt Chocolate Bar." It is 190 calories and has 12 grams of Protein, 3 grams of Fiber, 21 grams of Carbohydrates and 14 grams of Sugar.

The main two sources of protein in this bar are milk protein and soy protein. The Greek Yogurt coating contains Milk Protein Concentrate. The chocolate layer has Milk Protein Isolate and the Chocolate Soy nuggets contain Soy Protein Isolate.

Now for the average person this is a fairly good amount of protein for a bar. I usually need about 50% more protein than the average person so these aren't the best for me. But, overall I do think they are very good. So, for someone who is looking to add a bit more protein and fiber in their diet I suggest these!

PICTURES!

See Melted....

New blog?

Hey guys and girls!

Welcome to my new health and fitness blog! I will be posting reviews on products, recipes and exercise routines as well as a weekly weight loss and health update! I hope you enjoy and can learn something from me or give advice to others!

Thank you XOXO- Bethany ♥