As I mentioned in my last post, I am really lucky to have found the person who I am dating. He was right under my nose and I had very pointedly kept him strictly in the "friend zone" for nearly 4 years! In fact, I remember telling him "I wish I had a friend to set you up with!" because he was honestly the nicest man I had ever met... aside from my dad of course. But I just wasn't in the mind set to see him in a romantic light. Afterall, I was still dealing with my ex husband (pre - him being a husband, but perpetually being ex and not ex) and I was in no position to move on to anyone, let alone B.
Well, when I moved into my own place, I texted him, which is no shocker. Throughout the past 4 years we have texted on occasion and discussed everything from my relationship with RB to the weather. But this time I simply told him that I had moved out FINALLY. He responded by telling me that if I needed anything at all, to let him know... and we continued on the conversation to discuss the 49ers being in the championships that upcoming weekend.
Well, long story short, he invited me to the game (as friends!) and I of course, jumped at the chance to see my very first football game. And the rest is kind of history. He has been an absolutely amazing support throughout this entire divorce and custody battle, and I cannot imagine being without him. And I credit all of this to my old coworker Dave whose famous words make me laugh even now "Can I date him?! Seriously! He sounds like a keeper!". I guess I finally pulled my head out of my butt and snagged B before someone else got to him!
Anyway, the point of the story is that one thing about our relationship that I really appreciate is that he is always supportive of my weight loss and consistently encourages me to make good choices and stay on plan. He also is a "big boy" and has some weight to lose. And now that we are together he claims that I have inspired him to get healthy and make some life changes. And he really has! Since February 1, he has lost 45 lbs! Holy smokes!
I think that one key to long term success after surgery is having emotional and physical support to maintain weightloss. I am very guilty of "stress eating" as I mentioned before, so to have someone I can discuss this with who understands what it is like to be overweight and to have lost a bunch is critical. I am not saying I have to be romantically involved with the person, but it just so happens to have worked out that way in this situation!
Also, I have tried to be proactive in doing things that I have always WANTED to do, but for whatever reason have not been a priority. So a few weeks ago I decided that Saturday morning, B and I were going for a hike! The good sport that he is, he was game. What neither of us realized was the intensity of the hike! I downloaded a trail app on my phone to find local trails and we ended up at Henry Coe State Park, about a 15 minute drive from his house. This particular weekend was a record high after many weeks of rain so we expected heat and had "prepared" with water, sunscreen etc. When we parked the car, a ranger was at the parking lot and I thought it would be a good idea to ask about the trail I had chosen, etc. She said that she would recommend taking a different trail which was not as steep and more shady, and she also recommended more water for each of us. Thankfully we had more in the car and grabbed it before heading up the 1780ft ascent to the top of the ridge!
The hike up was fairly easy for me. Afterall I am only lugging around about 135lbs and am much more physically fit than I used to be. I was more concerned with getting a tan and swatting away bugs. B on the other hand was sweating, that's for sure! But with that said, he did an AMAZING job. Not once did he complain, not once did he give up... he just kept on trucking. And he did it with a smile. To say that I am proud of him is an understatement. After about 2 hours for our ascent and Lord knows how many switchbacks, we reached the top of the ridge! And of course had to take a picture to commemorate the success!
The way back down we thought we were slick and just going to take the direct trail back down the mountain. The ranger had advised against this and told us that it was a "knee jammer" but it had taken us so long to get up there, we just wanted to get back to the car to go shower and enjoy the rest of the day! Ummm BIG MISTAKE!!!! I had worn running shorts and there were parts of the trail that were covered in some type of spiky bushes and also weeds up to my chest. My legs were so red and swollen and in some parts even bleeding! That is not to mention about an 80% decline in parts of the trail. I was running my own switchbacks just because I had visions of toppling down the mountain! But alas, we made it to the parking lot, and were SO very glad that we got back when we did. I needed a nap and a shower!
But the moral of that story is that both of us were super proud of our accomplishment that morning. And both of us have memories and the ambition to attack the trail again, hopefully beating our time and also remembering that the way up is the way we need to come back down! Slow and steady wins the race.
So with that fabulous saying, here are some pictures of B's progress... the first picture is on our first "not a date" date.
And with that, I say sayunara.... tomorrow night we will be on a plane for the vacation of a lifetime... details to be revealed upon our return!
Great job to BOTH of you!!! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's great you're so happy! :) love this blog :D
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