Tuesday December 5, 2017

Weight 116.4, calories 875.

We will be back in the Northeast a week from now. Hard to believe!

Last night I went to a local WLS support group meeting. They had a speaker (physical therapist) on exercising. He was pretty good - his theory was that the smallest number of exercises needed to address the important areas is best and will result in more consistent application. He suggested sitting on one of those exercise balls while watching TV to strengthen your core - once you get good at it bounce a bit, roll a bit backwards and forwards or side to side. For triceps which he felt were important he showed a motion using a soup can for a weight OR doing a push-up off of the wall. He said walking was a great exercise. For those who don't like sitting on the seat of a regular exercise bike, he suggested removing the seat and sticking a regular chair above the seat turning it into a recumbent bike. His recommendation was trying to get 20 minutes of exercise a day at minimum. Interesting ideas. The group was friendly but it was a very short meeting (nothing other than the speaker). I guess the format of the meetings varies each time. I'll give it a go again in January and see how it is.

Tonight we are hosting our friends for dinner. DH needs to get a regular bedtime schedule. He keeps getting annoyed with me for suggesting he go to bed before me, but he needs 12 hours vs. my 8. If he were to stay up until 10 pm (when I've been up to this week), he'd miss his 10 am water aerobics class which he really enjoys. Also, I'd have to stay quiet until then which is really late in the morning for me. Last night because I was out, he was in his Pjs when I got home and went to bed at 7:30.

Have a tasty Tuesday!

Weight 164.4, calories 1592

I made some food choices yesterday that were not the best. I got a doughnut in the morning and had fries with dinner. I logged what I ate and it wasn't like a binge or secret eating (my old habits). It's not that I want to exclude such things from my life, but two in the same day probably isn't the smartest choice.

The hike was lovely and about 6 miles. I went to my WLS support group too. Only 5 of us there. One who had a bypass 10 years ago and is struggling with regain, 2 who were within 3 months of surgery and still learning to navigate, and one who was 18 months out from bypass and still losing slowly. The last hardly had a hair on her head - I felt terrible for her. I wonder why some have it not grow back and keep falling out? It made me feels silly for ever worrying about my level of hair loss.

So the happiness topic was colored a lot by where everyone was in their process. The one regaining after 10 years was frustrated and angry, the two newbies were tired and frustrated by figuring out eating, the 18 monther was mostly complaining about her job. And I was the happy one. But the leader asked me how I define success with all of this and I said while I feel good about the weight loss and where I am, I didn't feel like a success yet because for me success lies in keeping the weight off, not in losing the weight as that part has always been fairly easy for me when I could muster up the motivation to do it. So then she asked what would happen if I kept the weight off for 10 years and then started regaining, would I no longer be a success? Hmm. I guess I would think of the 10 years as successful? And I suppose I think of each day I keep it off as a success. But I don't think of days when the weight goes up a pound as unsuccessful so...

How do you all define success for yourselves with WLS?

Hope everyone has a good day!

I'm with you 100%: "success lies in keeping the weight off". I think that I have instituted habits that will keep from significant regain unless I drop some or all of them. Can I be sure that in a crisis or severe loss that I won't? No, but I did find some strength in following routine this weekend while mourning Duchess. But as Ann once put it (more or less - I'm not good at quoting) we are just one day from f_ _ kdom at any given time.

I don't think there's ever a weight / success finish line with WLS. Nor do I think there's a weight / success finish line for anyone who hasn't had WLS. I think I'm either being currently successful or currently unsuccessful -- just like when I was pre-WLS.

My current standard for "successful" is that I'm under 135.6 pounds, which is 100 pounds lower than my highest weight pre-WLS. Of course, that's an arbitrary standard chosen by me. But hey -- it's MY success. ;)

On the other hand, when we come back home from one of our 2-3 week luxe cruises and I weigh 138 I don't think I'm unsuccessful. I just know it's time to cut bac****il I'm back under 100-pound mark.

Maybe we put some unnecessary "weight" on our concepts of what "successful-post-WLS" means for us.

And obviously, "successful" isn't an either/or thing -- but, as with most things, it's a matter of degrees. I'm a huge appreciator of nuance, which, of course, affords me rationalization super powers. :)

BTW, I don't know that "under 135.6" will be my standard for success ten years post-op. It could be 145 or 125. Or more or less. I know that during that time my bones will loss some mass. I know my wrinkles will be deeper. My knees probably won't be as useful then. But I can't control that from here.

The older I get the more I'm focusing on now and less on the distant future. I just want to try to control my nutrition and exercise today. :)

I like the "currently" thinking. Heaven knows there will be changes over time, sometimes really big changes.

Yes, good point on "currently", as my comfortable "range" may change over time too.

Love the idea of not being rigid in what "success" means and that it changes based on what our lives look like at the moment...

Fly by!

Liz, is it harder to manage different sleep schedules in Florida? I assume (tho I am not sure why) that the Florida home is smaller than Cape Cod?

I define success by being "able." Cecily, you mentioned wanting to be one of your hiking buddies when you grow up. Me too! That isn't a number on the scale. My original lowest weight (with accompanying low fat percentage) might have been too low.

Having muscles to support my activity aspirations trumps number on scale. (I have to keep repeating that, mantra-style.)

Peace and Hope,

Shel

Love that answer!

Shel, I love your answer, too.