Wednesday, July 11, 2018

Weight 117, calories 1027.

Change in habits is the key to weight loss/maintenance per Diane S. Yep! That's it in a nutshell.

Yesterday I had a good day visiting with my friends out to lunch, then at the beach. It was a good respite from DH. He had a good day too as his brother took him to the beach and watched some TV with him, then DS took him out for an early dinner.

Today is Street Fair day here! Every year the entire downtown is shut down the first Wednesday following July 4 for this huge Arts and Crafts festival. There are 4 rows of booths lining Main Street with the shops on each side participate as well. Some locals like the challenge of finding free parking, but SIL and I discovered that parking at the church is easy and only $5. Well worth it! SIL, friend and I are meeting at 8:30. We meet another group of friends for lunch at 11:30, after which we are usually almost ready to leave. The weather is going to cooperate (70's, partly sunny), so it should be a good day.

Have a winding Wednesday!

Hello all,

Let's start out by celebrating those Thai boys (including the 26 year old) and the rescue team! What an amazing story.

Liz, I love street fairs! DianeS, I love those Tesla and Tesla pics! You and DH look great, too. Peps, that Chuck is a Facebook charmer. This litter was mostly boys....what does that mean for the breeder? Happy? Not as happy? Neutral? BB, nice to see you back. Hoping Little Nugget is settling back in now that she is home. Carbon, enjoy those peeps. I'm glad they are happy to cook. Happy berrying.

I'm off work today, at least after I log in for an hour or so. Then off to appt with DD. Then, perhaps (probably) a local hike. I have been working on cleaning/scrubbing kitchen cabinets, too. Always a long process.

Work has been busy. The other pharmacist and I have shifted office space again; this time to our preferred spots, which happens to be no office at all. It will give us better ability to collaborate with team as needed: we want to be utilized by the team, not just by patients in our schedules.

The switcheroo requires different organization of our physical stuff. The other pharmacist has already lost a set of car keys! Plus, there are a ton of little logistical things we need to work out that sucks up any spare time. We will get it figured out. Between the two of us, our best strength is change and the rest of the team is supportive, too.

Food has improved, not much daytime snacking and night time is calming down.

Hug your peeps and pups and babes. Embrace change.

Shel

Truly amazing. I love reminders that miracles do happen.

So I did what I said I wouldn't do. I weighed because I wasn't feeling terribly heavy or bloated.

166.4! Not too shabby. Good starting place. Now I have a clean slate.

More musings. I've been thinking a lot. Have you noticed that anything someone does nowadays that's considered poor behavior now gets called an "addiction." I don't want to start anything here so hopefully I'm picking one that's a little far out--like a "shopping addiction." imho this is a way to take away any personal responsibility. Here's something I think we can all agree on, though--isn't it weird how most people do not afford obesity, which I think is mostly out of the hands of those afflicted, and a medical condition nonetheless, the same privileges as an addiction for which one should be treated? Sorry for the run-on sentence. What I'm trying to say is why are people so quick to tell obese people that thye just need to get some discipline in their lives and take responsibility, etc. and yet so many other behaviors get a pass.

This was prompted by my thinking of how unsympathetic people are toward obese people. As if we don't have it hard enough already. My DSS (whose own mother had WLS too!!!) was griping that a large lady sat next to him in the window seat and why wouldn't she have chosen the aisle. If only he knew how little that inconvenience/discomfort was to him compared to what she deals with constantly. That's when I started thinking the reason people are so rude to overweight is because they think we are to blame.

Oooh I do love street fairs. Hoping to take Becca to several of those. I feel a little more comfortable with taking her to things like that (or first friday art shows, etc.) because it's out in the open air and a little more casual.

We have a 4 month old!!!

What a well traveled beauty!

The currently MO wear their medical condition on the outside for all to see. Socially unacceptable to many. I agree that many people, including my relatives, are openly disgusted by the failings of the obese.

Sad for that woman on plane.

My sister, forever thin and beautiful, is now only beautiful. On rare occasion, she has commented her extra weight has nothing to do with overeating and leaves an unspoken ?like some people in this room? hanging in the air. Even in her new body, she doesn?t find compassion, empathy or understanding for others afflicted, in other words, me!

I can understand that she doesn?t want to be a member of my tribe. Me neither, and honestly who would? I am sad for her tho.

Most importantly, Nugget exudes delight and joy! So, so pretty and charming!

Addiction: the state of being enslaved to a habit or practice or to something that is psychologically or physicallyhabit-forming, as narcotics, to such an extent that its cessation causes severe trauma.

So, looking at it that way, I certainly DID NOT have a shopping addiction post WLS when at goal weight. Instead, I found untold joy in trying on, buying and wearing clothes I would never have even considered wearing as an obese man. I developed a passion, desire, unchecked impulsivity for buying dog show suits. I spent thousands upon thousands of dollars on clothes. BUT then reality hit and I saw the bills and realized that I needed to STOP post haste, and I did. It did not cause me severe trauma to stop. I had to take responsibility for my lack of financial responsibility and suck it up and pay the bills, which I most certainly did.

Food stuffs are different. I clearly have some type of dependency on refined sugars. I can eat just a little something sweet (say a single cookie) and rather than it being a satisfying bite, it instead serves as a trigger that creates an extremely strong urge for more. I am talking almost instantly once the item is in my mouth and the digestive process starts with taste and saliva production. When I make a concerted effort to go off of refined sugar, I have cravings, I rationalize with myself to get a fix, etc... I find it difficult to string days of "sugar sobriety" together (as they say in AA/NA).

I thought about posting something my father said last week, but chose not to, but it certainly illustrates one of your points. My dad and his brother are estranged and have been for many years. His younger brother, we believe, was for years either an undiagnosed psychotic or schizophrenic. He had episodes of hearing voices, abusive behavior towards his mother, inability to hold jobs, etc... Naturally, being unbalanced he blamed his parents and siblings and the world for his difficulties. He is now in the end stages of Alzheimer's/dementia. Last week my uncle was transferred to a hospital from a mental care facility. My father was informed of the move and decided it would be best to visit to see what sort of condition my uncle is in. My brother drove my dad the 200+ miles. My brother, who is also MO, reported that my father's big ***** was that his brother, "...eats to damn much." My brother said my father said this with great disdain and an air of superiority. I could so relate. About a year ago I mentioned that I found one of our relatives too thin and thought that a little bit of weight might be healthy for her. I followed it saying that as a woman closing in on 80 that a little extra weight could be beneficial if she were to get sick. My father retorted back to me something along the lines of, "Are you striving for some personal justification here?" I found that super hurtful. I thought I had done a good job at educating him about obesity and WLS, but apparently the lessons didn't stick. Ooooo...I just realized I'm still harboring some anger towards him about that remark. LOL!

And this is exactly what I think--we are calling things addictions that aren't (because they can be stopped with some restraint) and yet not realizing that food/sugar addiction is real. (Although I think that, too, is unique because as far as food as a whole...you need it...like being addicted to air. In that sense we're all "addicted" to food. But I truly do believe food can be a more chemical-ish stronghold on us.

My grandmother, whom I love dearly, and who suffered with weight herself, had a MO daughter (who had wls) and three MO granddaughters two of which got wls, never seems to get the weight thing. I begin to wonder if it's her own self confidence or something. Sometimes I think people who struggle with their weight internalize the nasty more and like to spread it around. Before my aunt had a revision, she'd say "I could just spank her for gaining back weight." Totally didn't get it.

I also totally identify with your comment about getting too thin. Actually, my mom and I were just talking about my uncle. He's been on a diet and is almost anorexic? He's a little guy, maybe 5'2 or 5'3 but weighs 121 now and looks GAUNT. He looks sickly. It's hard to say something because I know he's hung up on his dieting and proud, but there's a point where you should be more interested in muscle tone and health than just a number on a scale. Although he's only 64, I still worry if he gets sick he won't have anything to lose.

Yes! The superiority and disdain! (What a miserable trip for your brother)

Yes! Joyful shopping, which can be turned off!

Could that smile be any wider? And LOVE the dress!

Gorgeous girl! Who does she look more like in the family, you or your husband (or a grandparent!)?