Weekly Weigh-In 5/19/08

Good Morning, Gang! Here it is another Monday and time for yet another weigh-in for us. Hope you all had a great weekend and the weather was good. While weekends are wonderful, they tend to get me off schedule and I eat more. We ate out several times this weekend and it's harder to make good choices. We divided an entree on Saturday evenng which helps but it is easier to stay on track during the week when my schedule is more stable. How do you deal with weekends? Do you plan your meals or are you more flexible? Even if I have a plan it seems that I'm more tempted to eat out when given half a chance! Speaking of meal planning, if you do plan your meals, when do you formulate your plan? Do you use FitDay or another program or use paper and pencil? Many of you have children, do you end up cooking more than one meal? Are you buying the family healthier snacks to keep yourself from being tempted? What is your relationship with food lately? Food can still "call" me if there's something in the house that I don't normally "allow" myself to eat. Thankfully, with just my husband and myself here, I'm able to keep many things out of the house but I worry about those of you with children! And, if I buy something that is a problem, I'll often tell my husband to take it to work just to get it out of my sight! What are your exercise plans for the week? With the weather being nice and warmer, we can do more outside! Our bikes are all cleaned up and ready for the season. Tomorrow I go back for a check up with the PS and I'm still worried about my face. My face is still somewhat swollen but most people wouldn't notice. I'm worried about it being hard too, especially my neck. Wanda, I'm so glad your PCP gave you some reassurance and I'm sure you will finally heal and love your results! I said last week that I knew my lowest weight was unrealistic for me and I am up this week. I'm not at all surprised so I'm not upset! Beginning Weight: 245.25 Last Week: 126.50 This Week: 128.00 Gain: +1.50 Total Loss: 117.25 BMI: 22.0 Hope you all have a great week. Be conscious of your choices and get your exercise! CeCe

I was afraid to weigh myself because I have been eating non-stop and because I have that awful post-surgery swelling. I weigh 144, but I deserve to weigh even more than that! My goal was to always be less than 140. I guess I have to treat this re-surgery as a real surgery and not exercise for four weeks! Every time I start to get back to my routine something prevents me! As far as meal planning, I was wondering if it would be easier to set a limit of 350 calories per meal with no snacks. It seems like when I allow myself to eat between meals, I just continue to eat. My lab work showed that I was low in protein. The PCP said that if it goes too low, it's very hard to build back up. I drink two protein shakes a day. I'm sure I get in 100 grams of protein most days, but apparently my body needs more than the normal person. I'm still anemic too, but I have decided to treat it with the meds and not try to eat more iron. It all gets too complicated. I was also slightly dehydrated. So, I'm going to concentrate on better nutrition before it's too late! Let us know what the doc says about your face. I know you must be worried. You can't hide your face under clothes like you can other body parts! Thanks for keeping the thread going! Wanda

Wanda, Even though you say you've been eating nonstop, I'll bet part of the weight is from the surgery. I'll bet the weight will drop again but you and I (all of us really) have to be more careful in our food choices now. Did any of you hear that after 18 to 24 months the body more or less adjusts to the malabsorption of calories so it gets much harder to lose or even maintain weight? I don't know if it's true but I do know it's easier for me to eat more now and I'm certainly more tempted to eat things I have no business eating. I also tend to want to eat when I'm not hungry. I think we are at a critical stage now in that it would easy to step back into old habits if we allow ourselves. I'd like for all of us to post what you do or what you think we all could do to prevent us from regaining weight or to keep us from drifting back into old habits? I know planning is essential and tracking our food intake in whatever manner works for us but what do you do when you are face to face with something tempting? Last week I went to a recognition banquet and ended up eating almost all my dessert. I had told my husband I was just going to accept it and he could eat it. Well, I ate tiny bites and waited in between but instead of just one or two bites, I ate almost all of it. That was stupid because I knew I was going to be called up front for my pin and picture. Thankfully, our department was THE LAST one and my head felt like it was screwed on straight again by that time but WHY did I eat that cake?????????? My "no sugar" rule was serving me so well but now I've allowed myself little bits and I'm backsliding. I didn't have this surgery to fall back into my old routine. What can we do, what do you do? We have to fight this together! CeCe

Beginning Weight: 202 Last Week: This Week: 116.4 Gain: Total Loss: 85.6 BMI: 19.9 I haven't been on in a few weeks, so I don't know what my last weight was. But it was somewhere around 114 or 115. I hit 116 last week, and that is my new high since my revision surgery. I'm feeling much better these days. Though burning the candle on both ends by not getting enough sleep. My whole relationship with food is probably different than most of you. I still struggle with eating whatever I want. Some of that is left over from trying not to starve, so I eat anything, and everything. Just now, I'm starting to be more careful in my choices, though. I try to stay away from fried food. Though I had to take 2 bites of my deep fried pickle from dinner yesterday. That was one weird thing, but good! I don't hardly ever feel hungry. And I don't feel full. I have to gauge my fullness by looking at how much I eat. And when I eat too much, my heart races. My PCP says it probably has something to do with my Vagus nerve being cut in my first surgery. It can't send indication to my brain that I am full, and the food just sits up in my esophagus and it causes my heart to beat faster than normal. Kind of uncomfortable and scary at the same time. But it is not painful. I don't have cravings at all, and most times, struggle with what to eat because nothing seems to sound very appealing. That doesn't keep me from eating, though. But there are days, like yesterday, where I only eat one meal. And that's not good. Of course, I slept till nearly 1:00 so I slept through 2 meals. But my overall calorie count for yesterday was low. I am thankful I don't have any problems with food and my relationship with it at the present time. I don't obsess or dwell on food. I don't worry too much about eating too much because my stomach can't hold much. And I don't graze all day. So it doesn't seem to be a problem. I just need to be careful about eating healthy. And most times I do. I do seem to like salads quite a bit, and sometimes worry I don't get enough calories and protein with that, even through I put chicken and shrimp on my salads. Overall, I'm happy with where I'm at. Whether that calculates out to a year and half, or half a year past surgery. I feel like I'm finally going to be able to enjoy a summer this year.

Kim, Your situation has a bit of a blessing and a curse. Lke you say, you don't crave foods or even think about eating but yet you have to eat and you certainly need to get in the calories and nutrition so you don't lose weight again or your levels get too low. I wish I could have your lack of obsession or dwelling on food but I always seem to be worried about how much I'm eating. I'm just glad you are able to eat without pain and you are no longer under 100 pounds!!! CeCe

Hi gang! CeCe asks some good questions. I haven't been doing well at tracking my food or even planning lately. Before the fire I did both religiously and it kept me focused. Now, living out of someone else's home, it is harder to plan. I have been trying to make the best choices available but sometimes, the best is still not very good. I have to plan my meals and allow for snacks. I am not a 3 times a day eater. I know this, I accept this, and I make plans accordingly. Usually I shoot for 200 cal breakfast- 100 cal snack- 300 cal lunch- 100 snack and 300 cal dinner- and another 100 cal snack- this keeps me at about 1100-1200 per day. My body loses 1-2 lbs per week on this plan typically. Exercise- well with working so hard to get us into a home of our own, I have not been to the gym in 3 weeks. I have been scrubbing, painting, climbing ladders and lots of bending. I suppose these count somewhat toward exercise. I know I walk out every night soaking wet from sweat. Must be burning some calories too right? Stats: Beginning: 349 Last Week: 192 this Week: 191 Loss: 1 lb Total Loss: 158 lbs Not too bad for not planning. I will be better this week. I would love to see 189 by next week. Hugs, Valorie

Valorie, I was hoping you had gotten moved over the weekend. Did you get the new stove yet? When is move in day? Soon, I hope! I guess you are thankful for your job right now because it does provide the structure that the rest of life is missing right now. With your living with friends, is your son's schedule changed? How is he doing? Hey, considering what is going on in your life, I think it is fantastic that you are still losing at all. I'm afraid I would be gaining, gaining, gaining! Sounds like you are doing Hot Cardio Housecleaning too!!! WOOHOO!! Oh, yeah, you are buring calories and scrubbing builds muscle too! With your persistance, you WILL see 189 or LESS on that scale next week. Show me!!! CeCe

No such luck CeCe! We got all of the painting finished and cleaned 2 rooms of carpet. Now I am finishing the cleaning one room at a time and putting up new blinds and hardware as needed. I spent 2 full hours last night working on the kitchen, again. The sad thing is, 2 hours and I only finished cleaning 4 cabinets. Yep, that is how dirty this place is/was. One thing is for sure, when it is finished to my standards, it will look like a brand new place. The rentors were bad but I blame myself just as much. I should have been doing monthly checks from the get go. You can bet if we decide to rent it again, I will be on top of anyone living there. I also know that it probably should have been painted several years ago. Well, you live and learn. We will be "moving in" this weekend for sure. I say moving in but it is really just moving in clothing. We still have to get beds, living room furniture, dining furniture and on and on and on. People have been very generous and we have plenty of dishes, pans and etc. I have been promised 2 beds from reliable sources, they just haven't arrived. We are going to borrow the little plastic table and chairs from my friend for the dinning room. Living room will come later. I am not really worried about that. Someone gave us a small television with dvd player. So we have the basics covered. We will be glad to have our own place with a door to the bedroom! Yeah, privacy! I will get a new stove and a new dryer this weekend too. I have a washer that was in my garage. That is a funny story. About 6-8 months ago I decided I could no longer live without the new state of the art front loader washer and dryer set. We paid about $2000 (on credit card) for this lovely LG set (still making payments too). Well, after I had been using it for a while I noticed my clothes just weren't getting clean. I mean every little spot remained. I decided about 2 months ago that it was either replace my new washer with my old faithful one that was in the garage or go out and buy my family a new wardrobe. My DH grumbled and complained the whole time he was doing the switchout for me. But he did it and the new washer went right into the garage. Now I get to use it again! I will eventually replace it with a regular washer but not till some other things get done. Has anyone else had any problems with the new front loaders? They just don't have enough water go in to get the clothes clean. Maybe it is just the LG or maybe it was just the one I had that has a defect. I could never even see the water or soap on the glass front. Oh sorry for the rant. D.J. has been a trooper. He is so resiliant it is unbelievable. I can tell there are days and times when he feels displaced. He gets very clingy and whinny some evenings. He loves his aunt and uncle but he wants some privacy and private time with Mommy and Daddy too. He really loves all of the motorcycles, atv's, tractors and other big boy toys that uncle Gary and his boys have around. If it has wheels, they have it in one of their 4 garages. they like their toys and so does D.J. Even on his worst day, if you tell him he can go ride the motorcycles, he perks right up. Funny little thing. I still haven't had "time" to work out at the gym. I am hoping to get there tomorrow afternoon. I am working 0700 to 1600 this week so I should have an hour to myself before daycare closes. Hugs, Valorie

Good Morning CeCe - Ok good afternoon but it's still Monday so I figure I'm doing OK. Food wise. Hmmm I track but I generally know what I'm going to eat. If I go up I begin to track again. That said I'm up a little today but I had a monster migrain yesterday and ate anything in sight!!! Didn't realize until I got my head to stop hurting what I was doing. I also didn't drink as much as I should have yesterday so I'm up some today. I think that it will probably be gone by tomorrow or the next day. Boy the headache and eating over it really blindsided me. I haven't had a migrain ****il yesterday) since surgery. -- They used to be a twice a month affair. I walked in a 5K on Saturday - my goal is to run in one next year. It was fun and I wasn't last so ... that good enough for me. We have been working on our bikes too and I think if we have time tonight we will go for a ride. I really should keep better track of my weekly. - so here is a guess on last weeks. Beginning Weight: 358 Last Week: 168 This Week: 171 Gain: +3 Total Loss: 187 BMI: depressing!!

Trudy, Being dehydrated can keep us from showing a loss on the scale so I hope you are down again tomorrow. Also, I'm wondering if the pollen from Saturday's walk led to your migraine on Sunday? Sometimes I'll start out with a sinus headache that develops into a migraine. I always thought the headaches were just bad, bad sinus but when one lasted for days, I went to the doctor and they thought differently. I'm glad yours is over! My daughter has bad migraines. Glad you enjoyed the 5K. I'm walking in the Relay for Life later in the month. CeCe