Three H: Holy, Healthy, Happy

In my last post, I mentioned working three days on the week of my surgery which was scheduled for Friday. On the morning of Wednesday, March 18th, the surgeon's office called... I was afraid they were going to cancel on me. But no, they were just checking that I was still planning to come on Friday for my surgery. Yes, I sure was! The rest of the day went about the same as any work day. I had taken a shorter lunch so I was leaving a few minutes before 5:00 and as I headed to my car, the phone rang. It was the surgeon's office again. Uh oh.  PAUSE When I answered the phone I knew instantly by the tone of her voice that they were cancelling my surgery. They didn't know yet when they'd be able to do it... they imagined sometime in May, but couldn't say for sure. It was a blow. I took it pretty hard. In my mind, all the worst-case scenarios began. The pandemic would put it off indefinitely, dragging out until September or later when it would be a year since I started th...

Well, on the day my daughter would have gone back to school after being out for two weeks for her tonsillectomy and recovery, school was cancelled. Her school has scrambled to determine a way to continue instruction remotely for the duration of this pandemic situation. I had to visit 5, nay 6, stores before I found a sizable pack of toilet paper which will last my family a couple weeks. I've still been unable to find hand sanitizer so my husband and I split the contents of one 75% bottle between us, using that little bottle to refill an empty one we had laying around. My dad, in his 80's, has stayed home more than usual, but not as much as would make me feel secure.  My husband is home from work and intends to stay home as long as this lasts, especially since he is home with our daughter. I had planned to only work three days this week anyway because of my surgery, but honestly I feel the need to hunker down at home. We've had our first case in my county; it's t...

Well, it’s officially the New Year! Welcome to 2020! I’ve already been making some small changes the last couple of months. My breakfasts are looking ok as I usually have an Atkins shake; that’s one thing that has stuck with me from doing the low carb-high protein diet. Well, except today I had some chicken mini’s from Chik-fil-a. I have those on occasion; maybe once a week. I’m still not doing great with lunches and dinners, but I am trying to make slightly better choices. Some days I’ll go to Harris Teeter and do their salad bar for lunch. I stick mostly to the greens and veggies but also add sunflower seeds and either vinegar or balsamic dressing. I usually do have a tablespoon or two of pasta salad or seafood salad, depending on what’s available. I like when they have the little seasoned balls of mozzarella. I like getting the super basic side salad at McAllister’s and I top it with Thousand Island dressing. Those are examples of good days; bad days usually happen at Taco...

Today completes four full months on the diet and medications prescribed by Dr. Pate at BioSymmetry medical weight loss. Thus far, according to my own scale at home, I have lost a total of 44 pounds. That's great! I lost more quickly in the beginning, but I am still continuing the downward trend as you can see in the graph below. I could be moving along more quickly if I were stricter, but I am still living my life in a world filled with holidays and birthday parties. Progress during November 2015 Here are some notes I made to myself in my daily weight log: 11/13: Big victory for me! I went to Belk to do a little Christmas shopping for my mom. I wanted to get her a couple of nice vests and long sleeved tees to match. As soon as I walked in, there was a large selection of vests right by the door and I saw several I liked for myself. Luckily, they had them in my size - 3x! So I grabbed a few to try on and was shocked to find that the 3x was TOO BIG! I've been wearing a ...

Starting weight: 296.6 pounds Weight lost in August 2015: 19 pounds Weight lost in September 2015: 11.8 pounds; 30.8 total  August 3: You can tell I was doing well just to get up that first morning and take a photo... August 17: After two weeks, I'm holding my head just a bit higher. I'm feeling much better overall and it's easier to get around. I no longer have the constant stiffness in my muscles and joints. I finally had a period... it had been MIA since May. September 2: By September I was feeling good enough that I bought that new shirt you see me wearing in this photo. While 19 pounds is significant weight loss, those who do not know me well will not readily see the loss. I'm tall and lost the weight all over my body- but I can tell my waist is smaller, and thighs are smaller. My neck is the easiest place to see that the weight has come off. This is the day I had my weight checked at the doctor's office. According to their sc...

Well, despite all my progress so far this year, I'm feeling a bit discouraged. I just left an appointment with my OBGYN. I was proud of how well I have been doing with losing weight, but he never mentioned my weight. He usually mentions if I have made any gains or losses, so I asked what I weighed last time I saw him. He said "274. You've come down half a pound." Arrrrrgh!!!!!!! I told him I've lost quite a bit but I always seem to gain and lose between seeing him again. He said I probably gained when I stopped taking the metformin (which is true) and then came back down again as I started taking it again and dieting (also true). *sigh* In my head, I can hear Hermione lashing out at Ron Weasley at the Yule Ball; "You know the solution, then, don't you {Ron}?! " Only it feels like I'm lecturing myself. So what do I do? Comfort my wounds with a Snickers bar like I used to do, or renew my resolve which had already begun to dissolve anyway? Bef...

Earlier this week I began experiencing signs of ovulation. I have been having these symptoms preceding my period per usual, however this go round I seem to be producing more of the “EWCM” one reads about in Trying-to-Conceive message boards. I’ve also had a heightened sense of smell which has, in the past, caused me a false sense of excitement when I believed I might be pregnant but never actually was. (Earlier this week I even thought I could be pregnant... but this is also after I got to hold a cute baby on Monday!) After reading about other women’s experiences online, I discovered that sometimes the heightened sense of smell is common between ovulation and the period arriving. So I'll take that symptom with a grain of salt from now on.  I have a feeling that, although I haven’t lost a huge amount of weight, perhaps my fertility has been restored. Women with PCOS often go through their cycles as usual but that doesn’t mean an egg is actually released; this is why some wome...

16.8 Pounds Lost in Two Months!

In the beginning I was hesitant to put a face to the name on this blog. I've since decided that "Before" and "During" photos would help motivate me on days when "After" seems either impossible or forever far away. I didn't take any measurements or photos on the day I started and, since I'm usually the person taking photos, I am not in very many of them. I had to go back to September to find one of me for the "Before" image. The "During" image was taken just a few moments ago, after 7 weeks of dieting and about 17 pounds of weight loss. Much of the weight has come off my midsection, but I've also noticed that my face, neck, and chin are feeling and looking a bit smaller than a few weeks ago. "Before" and "During" Project 52: Health Improvement Week by Week

Adding Exercise Next Week I’m gearing up for adding exercise into my plan for improving my health week by week. So far I have only been cutting out carbohydrates (rice, bread, cake, pancakes, sugar, ice cream, candy, potatoes, and corn). In 7 weeks I have lost and kept off 16.8 pounds by diet alone. That’s less ass to haul. :) It will really help my feet, legs, and back for when I get started exercising next week. In addition to giving myself a chance to lose some weight, I decided to wait until the first week of March to add exercise to give the world a chance to tilt itself closer towards spring in the Northern Hemisphere. Warmer weather makes exercise easier. We’re still a bit too far out for this weather forecast to be very accurate, but it looks a heck of a lot better to walk in than the ice and 15 degree temps we had last week! The days circled in red are the days I'll be walking the first week.  Walking Goals for March I’m starting incredibly small by walk...

On days where the number on the scale ticks up a pound or so, it helps to step back and look at the overall trend. I zigzag up and down, but the overall trend is downward. 

Progress How am I doing? Well, my weight has crept back up a tad, but it’s also the week of my period so I’m not overly concerned. This morning I weighed in at 270.6. I’m trying to focus on the overall trend rather than the day to day zigzags… and so far, I’m still trending down. Since I’m Catholic and yesterday was Ash Wednesday, I found myself fasting (one normal meal with two lesser meals just enough to keep me going) and abstaining from meat as we begin the season of Lent to prepare for Easter. (FYI- We Catholics are the reason that the fast food chains boast about their fish sandwiches “coming back” each spring. Think about it! We fast from meat every Friday between Mardi Gras and Easter. That’s a lotta beef they’ve got to make up for!) We recently had an ice storm in our area; weathered northerners would find it laughable, but since we don’t have as much infrastructure here to deal with ice and snow, we basically just hibernate and sit tight until it’s over. By yes...

I have had great success recently and I couldn't be happier. Truly, this time I am going to do it!  I weighed in at 269.0 this morning! Not only have I escaped the 280's, I have outrun the 270's! This achievement, however small it may seem, is monumental to me.  I am also feeling tremendously better overall. My energy levels and stamina have both greatly improved. I think I'm also sleeping much better, and that is just based upon dietary changes alone. Since I mentioned sleeping better, this is also a good time to confess that I have sleep apnea. Sleep apnea gets a bad rap as being something only really fat old guys get, but really, anyone can have it. Carrying around extra fat on your body can make it worse, but you don't have to be fat to have it. In fact, in one episode of Mythbusters, Adam Savage couldn't complete the sleep study needed for testing the myth because he wasn't sleeping well enough. He was having apnea episodes.  What is sleep apnea? In sim...

I'm a musician, nerd, and I like Disco. A few years ago, my husband gave me this for Christmas: It is a bust (no pun intended!) of the Marvel Comics character Dazzler. She's a mutant with the power to transduce sound into dazzling light displays. She's also a singer and performs on stage wearing rollerskates. In short, she totally rocks. While I don't look anything like Dazzler, this is a bit how I see myself. In my mind, Dazzler is sort of an ideal version of myself. I don't mean that in a harmful "I-played-with-too-many-Barbie-dolls-as-a-kid" sort of way. I mean it more in a "Dazzler is a sexy woman and so am I" sort of way. It's just that the blonde hair and bust are about all we have in common (right now).  My daughter found this little statuette one day and told me, "Mommy, I found your statue of you." I laughed and asked her, "Why do you say that's me?" and she replied, "Because she has the blond...

What am I doing to stay on track? The biggest thing that has helped me stay on track with this year's resolution to improve my health is the way I constructed my goal. Instead of saying "I want to lose X pounds by the end of the year" I said "I want to make a health plan and follow it all year long." This simple change has made a huge difference in my mindset and ability to stay on track. I feel that I finally have the horse in front of the cart. If I do the steps and take the measures, the weight loss will naturally follow. While seeing the weight come off has been motivating, there are days that the weight has gone up. Having PCOS, I cannot rely on weighing in only once per week to see my progress. Because my body responds inappropriately to certain foods (similar to a diabetic) I can't go an entire week between weigh-ins because progress may be easily masked. In the past I have fluctuated as much as 5 pounds overnight. Suppose such an outlying data po...

It's February and I'm sick. No big surprise there. Usually around this time of year I end up catching some kind of cold which leads to a sinus infection. Surprisingly,  the sinus infection part of the deal lasted very briefly this time. Only a couple of days versus a week. Yellow drainage was only a part of my life for about two days. I'm still having some congestion and cough, though, so I went to the store to pick up some Robitussin. If you're on the South Beach Diet or need to watch carbs and sugar, consider sugar-free medicines and cough drops. They'll ease your suffering without adding unwanted carbs to your diet. My local grocery store didn't have sugar free Robitussin, but I did find it in a generic. Not only is it sugar-free, but it is also dye-free which I like. I had some a couple of hours ago and the flavor wasn't too bad. It does contain aspartame, so if you're not a fan or have issues with it, you may want to forgo taking it. But I haven...