The story of my scar

I realized I posted my pictures and some of you may be wondering where the huge scar on my abdomen came from. So here's the history on that.

Shortly after the birth of my son, I noticed the right side of my abdomen felt tight. The tightness turned into a lump I could feel under my muscles. Sometimes it hurt, other times I never even noticed it. I thought maybe it was a pulled muscle or tendon in my abdomen being stretched during pregnancy. I went to the doctor a year later and she wasn't sure what it was. She thought it could possibly be scar tissue or a pulled muscle. She ordered an ultra sound but my insurance deductible hadn't been met yet and I didn't want to pay $800 for an ultra sound when it wasn't causing me any major pain. Another year passed and it started hurting more and I could feel it had grown from a small mass on the right side of my abdomen to a large mass that stretched almost to my belly button.

Finally my husband got a new job and great insurance so I got it checked out. The ultra sound was inconclusive so the doctor ordered a CT. It was also inconclusive, but it said there was a possible desmoid tumor. I had never heard of this. I'm a nurse, and I've worked in ICU and the doctor's office for almost 6 years, so I've heard a lot of stuff. My doctor referred me to a surgeon and he had to cut open my abdomen for a biopsy. Being the type of tumor that was suspected, they couldn't do a laparoscopic biopsy. The result came back that it was, in fact, a desmoid tumor. A very rare type of tumor that was caused by the hormone changes during pregnancy. This tumor only occurs in 2 in a million people (literally). How did I get so lucky?

So after it was confirmed, I scheduled surgery for December 20, 2013. I had the tumor removed and I had to have part of my abdominal wall removed. I had mesh placed to help prevent a hernia (but there's no guarantee I won't have one.) All that resulted in a 5 inch scar. After a healthy pregnancy, with no stretch marks or c-section I ended up with a huge scar on my abdomen. But luckily, the tumor was benign. They just had to remove it so it didn't damage any surrounding organs.

I had a lifting restriction for 30 days and I had to wear an abdominal binder that whole time, 24 hours a day. A lifting restriction with a 2 year old makes life very tricky. But we got through it, and 8 weeks later I was cleared for exercise and that's when I started 30 Day Shred. I can tell exercising has made my abdominal muscles and the surrounding areas much stronger and hopefully, building those muscles will help prevent a hernia if I get pregnant again.

MaliBooty Review

Well, what I thought was going to be a 9 minute workout turned out to be over 20 minutes. At the end of the video the trainer said "Repeat this video twice." So I did!  Overall I think it was a good leg and butt workout and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a quick lower body workout.

Here's the link if anyone wants to try it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEL0GwuFBwI

Almost hit 10lb mark

I weighed in yesterday 9.4lbs less than when I started on Feb 9th. I can see so many changes in my body. I am going to restrain from taking pics until halfway through Ripped in 30. I'm finding some workouts online and I really want to start adding them to my routine. When I started this I never thought I'd want to work out twice a day! But, even though the Ripped in 30 workouts are challenging, I feel like I can do more. I'm going to start with something small like a 10 minute video and if I feel good, move up from there. I'll let you know what I've done and if I recommend them.

Today, I did Ripped when I got up, so I'm going to try the Tone it Up Girls Bikini Series MaliBooty this afternoon. (Workout available on youtube.)

Ripped in 30 Day 1

Today was my first day of Ripped in 30. I liked it. The first level isn't too bad. I like that each level is only 1 week. I won't get bored with it. Especially with cardio mid-week and boot camp class on Saturdays. I think I need to up my weights for some exercises. I started with a pair of 5lb dumb bells, but I think I can use 10s for some. She had some of the same exercises as 30 Day Shred, but she also introduced some new moves which is nice. I think it's going to be a good program. Looking forward to seeing what she has in store for the next levels.

Ripped in 30

I'm starting Ripped in 30 tomorrow. I decided to wait until I have finished the full 30 days before taking any pictures this time. My schedule is going to be Ripped in 30 on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. I'm going to do cardio, probably treadmill or elliptical on Wednesdays. Saturdays I go to a Cross Fit boot camp. And Sundays I will REST!

I was having some pretty major cravings for bad foods today. Pizza and donuts were calling my name today. I skipped the donuts and had a Lean Cuisine pizza for supper. I had a lot of sodium. So hopefully lots of water will help flush out some of the salt so I don't have any water retention. I already have my whole day planned out for tomorrow. So if I stick to that I can get some of these cravings under control with lots of fruits and veggies.

I'm going to try to record my progress of the different levels of Ripped in 30 at the end of every week. I'm hoping to see some big changes!

Final 30 Day Shred!

Today was my final day of 30 Day Shred. I feel so great! I have lost 7lbs and I can see changes all over. I'm getting stronger. I feel so much better and I have much more energy. I've still got pounds to lose but I'm on my way. I'm going to take a break from videos this week and do some workouts I've found on Pinterest. I've been making up some new recipes and I'm going to start sharing them here soon. But for now, here are my final 30 Day Shred Progress Pics. Thanks for checking in!

30 Day Shred Progress

Well today has been a little disappointing. I've been sticking to my diet and working out all week and the scale showed a gain of 1lb. I know weight fluctuates daily and working out can lead to water retention in the muscles to help them heal. But, I just want to know that all my hard work is making a difference. I took pictures to compare from last week and I don't see much difference there either. But at least it doesn't look like I've gained any. I will just keep it up, because I know putting in the work will make a change. So here are my progress pics from the last 3 weeks. No huge differences, but I can see small changes, and that's what keeps me motivated.