06/27/17, Hump Day

I began my day starting my annual survey for the Weight Control Registry, ( Graham Thomas at [email protected] or 1-401-793-8154, if interested). The registry studies people maintaining their weight, looking for tips and trends. I weigh 1.2 pounds less than last year. Yeah !

Lots of rain here, helping my perpetual efforts to regrow patches of burned out grass a la dog urine. I have not and will not train them to pee in one small area, so it is what it is. Looks like I?ll be adding meat tenderizer to Atlas?s food. Thanks, Peps ! My vegetables are growing like crazy !! Tomatoes and squash are looking particularly robust. I?ve been picking fresh basil, parsley and dill, trying to add it into salads and marinades.

Cecily, eager to hear how you make out at the doctor. Do you have any swelling in your arm? Mine blew up with my post VSG DVT, although I had minimal discomfort breathing. Kudos to the movers and groovers, foreign language acquirers, trip planners, animal lovers, land tamers and everyone looking to live in the moment and get the most out of every day. I love starting my day with my people pack !

Edited to include:

NWCR Facts

You may find it interesting to know about the people who have enrolled in the registry thus far.

• 80% of persons in the registry are women and 20% are men.

• The "average" woman is 45 years of age and currently weighs 145 lbs, while the "average" man is 49 years of age and currently weighs 190 lbs.

• Registry members have lost an average of 66 lbs and kept it off for 5.5 years.

• These averages, however, hide a lot of diversity:

• Weight losses have ranged from 30 to 300 lbs.
• Duration of successful weight loss has ranged from 1 year to 66 years!
• Some have lost the weight rapidly, while others have lost weight very slowly--over as many as 14 years.

• We have also started to learn about how the weight loss was accomplished: 45% of registry participants lost the weight on their own and the other 55% lost weight with the help of some type of program.

• 98% of Registry participants report that they modified their food intake in some way to lose weight.

• 94% increased their physical activity, with the most frequently reported form of activity being walking.

• There is variety in how NWCR members keep the weight off. Most report continuing to maintain a low calorie, low fat diet and doing high levels of activity.

• 78% eat breakfast every day.
• 75% weigh themselves at least once a week.
• 62% watch less than 10 hours of TV per week.
• 90% exercise, on average, about 1 hour per day.

Weight still ?, calories 661 (protein 98,carbs 12,fat 23). Today I'm going to start adding back dairy. I already had creamer in my coffee!

Exhausted... We left for Boston at 11 am yesterday and didn't get home until 7:30 pm. Then DS called because he had hit a tree with his car avoiding a deer (he is fine, car is likely totaled). I had to go sit with him until AAA came because his membership had lapsed. This morning I have to drive him to where it was towed to figure out what to do and minimize costs, then drive him to work et****il he gets a replacement vehicle. You may be wondering why insurance isn't assisting. He let that lapse too...

I want to get to the beach today to vegetate and calm down. There wasn't much sleep last night. Tomorrow we are up early to go to Boston again (last appointment for a while though).

I almost forgot - I have my in-person support group tonight. Good timing to keep me on plan through the end of Friday (weight on Saturday am)!

Have a well Wednesday!

So glad that kid of yours is ok!!!!!!

(The mom in me is bummed he let things lapse. But, these things happen.)

I'm glad he is too but sigh...

Grown children-- (at times). Ours were such easy keepers as they grew up. One (DS#1) uber responsible and on solid ground. DS#2 still finding his way- ground a bit bumpy now and again. Learning curve very steep at times, but we've learned that old can't tell young- young has to find out on their own. For the most part we just love them both, and let them (unless they ask for advise) muddle through and solve life's puzzles on their own. A mom's sympathy is totally with you-

Yes, exactly!

Diane O-what an interesting survey. I was talking to my mom about this the other day. Someone somewhere (here?) suggested they'd just raid lapband had a 90% failure rate! Idk if this is true but I know it's high. Anyway, that prompted a discussion about what qualifies as "successful" or "unsuccessful." Please anyone who knows chime in! I thought I once read maintaining 60% excess weight loss qualified as success. I don't know how to feel about that. One tidbit that was glaring back at me was the exercise. I definitely don't get that much exercise. Nowhere near as close. Tbh, I'm kind of amazed so much of the group does! I do think oneself is important. How else can you know where you stand? And I'm a big fan of breakfast! I was 154 this time last year and 166 now. 18 months ago I was 167. New goal: be in the 150s this time next year. That's doable, right!

Diane S.-luckily I have survived the funky cream soup. I think they might have used more broth to cream, but the chicken based tasted more like turkey so ut oh.

Weight today was 166.2.

The big news here is that Oklahoma just passed one of the most liberal medical marijuana laws. We're not in Kansas anymore.

Anyone here ever worked from home/spouse worked from home? DH is being kind of crummy recently and I think it's because he's having trouble turning his brain 'off." Perhaps we really do need to go workout after work to make a mental break.

Since we're all honest here about all kinds of things--I had botox injections a couple weeks ago. I was shocked at how popular it is among people of my age and sold as a preventative of sorts. Well, I don't like it at all. I guess I'm just going to have to wrinkle. It's actually making me kind of anxious if I think on it too long! For those of you who haven't had the injections, to me it feels like that tight sunburn where your muscle moves underneath but the skin doesn't go along for the ride. I actually feel like my face is straining more, which I know in reality it's the opposite (because it is not moving). At least it's not permanent whew. I just hope it hurries up and wears off.

I don't buy that botox prevents wrinkles. (I don't buy a lot of stuff.)

But, I have no objections to peeps using it, of course. I haven't tried it and loved your description of straining beneath the smooth facade. (Very sci-fi)

I was thinking about wrinkles yesterday as I saw a mid 90 year old with the most amazing web of deep creases all over her face. Like mud that dried in the hot sun except her skin didn't look dry. Just deeply etched. More art than "old." (And, much nicer, imo, than some facial piercings/tattoos I have seen on others.)

Did that change my mind about my own wrinkles? No. It did not. Beginner wrinkles have no cred.

Yeah that's kind of my feeling about any kind of intervention. If you want it, cool. If not, that's cool too. Just know that it all has limits and can only fix certain things. And please don't judge me for not wanting some (eyeing the explant still)

Bonnie, I "worked from home" (telecommuted) a total of 22 years of my life. It becomes ALL-CONSUMING! The challenge is that if you don't schedule work hours, everything turns into work. And boy, was that my challenge, since I actually loved to work.

Another issue is that you get to see and empathize with all the stresses your husband feels when he's working -- and since this is a "new job" for him, he's got more than the usual kinds of stresses.

My recommendation would be that your hubby begin to put significant discipline into when he will work and when he WON'T work. And that his work schedule make sense not only for him and his clients, but for you and the baby.

Early on, my husband said: "I wish you would just BE with me when you're with me and not working."

Eventually, I got better at that. But it truly is a challenge. Especially when you've made commitments to meet clients' deadlines, but you don't have enough information to propose a realistic deadline. And that's how "all nighters" were born.