Saturday, February 22, 2020

Weight 129.2, WW blue points 10. Bouncy weight as usual. At least I have seen 127 so it might linger by the end of next week.

It was cold for Florida yesterday barely getting out of the 50's with a brisk breeze. Justice and I had to walk quickly around the pond. I cleaned most of my place yesterday - just the lanai needs to be done. I also slipcovered the pillow on the ottoman. Two more pillows on the chair remain, then I am done with that project,

It will still be on the cool side today though not as much. I'd like to finish cleaning, and slipcover at least one of the pillows. Other potential plans include getting some body cream on sale at Bath and Body Works ($6 vs usual $14.50), getting some fish for dinner, and checking out an craft fair nearby.

Enjoy the first day of your weekend!

Weight: 137.0
Veggies/Fruits: 8
Macronutrients: Cals - 1,375, Carbs - 102, Fats - 37, Protein - 112, Fiber - 28
Green SmartPoints: 33
Water: 1
Fitbit Recorded Sleep: 6.0 hours
Exercise: 20" weightlifting, 10" yoga@home, 12,488 steps

More scale bouncy-bouncy here, too. I think we forget how much bouncy-bouncy went on when we were first losing weight. In fact, this is why some people put their scales in the attic for the duration.

But more importantly, I wish for us all a happy Saturday before Mardi Gras, which is a Big Damn Deal, even here in Smalltown, USA, where I'm going to a Mardi Gras party tonight. I know you believe me when I say have a bigger Mardi Gras closet to dress out of tonight than anyone else in town. :)

Great hip-hop class last night. When I walked into the studio a young girl (8 years old?) was finishing up a private hip-hop lesson with our instructor, and she was STUPENDOUS! My Lord, that girl knows ALL the moves. She's a hip-hop savant. She was having so much fun that we said, "Stay and dance with us for another hour." So she did. Needless to say, she ate us for lunch. Her grandparents who brought her to the lesson said she's been an incredible dancer since she could move any of her body parts. Her parents are going through a tough divorce right now, and the grandparents thought the girl could use something special in her life. I think they found it. Seriously, that child is fly!

So in honor of the extraordinary therapy that dance and celebration offer us, today's theme is this famous quote by Voltaire: "Let us read, and let us dance; these two amusements will never do any harm to the world."

Finally, no one better exemplifies today's theme than my mostest favoritest Mardi Gras marching dance troupe from the City of New Orleans, those ordinary men with extraordinary moves--the 610 Stompers! Here's a video of them appearing in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. They are some of the sexiest, happiest people I have ever seen. Plus, they raise a ton of cash for charity!

I didn't realize we were coming up on Lent until one of my Brazilian friends posted a picture from Carnival. The stompers are joyous!

Liz, my Mom was commenting on the cold day too, they are a few hours north of you, so this cold air must have grabbed all of Florida. My Mom said their neighborhood looked like a ghost town, everyone all tucked up in their houses and no one out walking.

The wine bar we checked out last night was just what I didn't know I needed. Rustic chic vibe, incredible music, delectable cheese boards and velvety wine. Only negative, too easy to drop more money and imbide more calories than I promised myself I would. No regrets though, it was a great evening. And so far, the scale is not making me pay, at least not today.

The movie The Assistant was unusual, but kept my attention every second. The actress playing the assistant was incredible, and conveyed her internal struggles with the smallest and yet powerful facial expressions. It is a quiet movie that just follows the main character through her day, but speaks volumes to the decisions people make when their career ambitions collide with their own code of ethics.

Not much planned for today. As it is close to 40 degrees today, I think DH can tolerate grilling some steaks (which I should go buy) and we'll use our outdoor hot tub tonight. I am feeling relaxed.

Today is the third anniversary of our daughter donating bone marrow through Be the Match. At the time, she knew the marrow was going to a 13 year old girl with leukemia. Beautiful outcome, the girl is considered cured, and she and her family are in contact with my daughter. While all this was happening, I explained to my students why I was going to be absent for a week. So many kids came up to me and told me I'm praying for that girl. Some still stop me in the hall for updates. There can be so much good and light in our world, it moves me deeply.

Sounds like a good bar and good info.

And thanks for your review of The Assistant. Sounds good.

Your daughter is a champ! She's already saved someone's life. I should try to do that, too.

What a beautiful gift of life from your daughter!

First... I could totally be a 610 Stomper! I would so sign up for that. It speaks to me on so many levels...LOL!

Liz, your Yankee drive is almost exhausting for the onlooker! You do keep yourself busy. Even when Paul was having difficulties you were always so damn productive, at least from my point of view!

A lovely full night's sleep was had with only minimal waking. Got up to let the girls out at 5:50, but went back to sleep until 8:00. Even little Dinah settled right back into her bed and slept, which made it perfect for me to fall right back to sleep. Heavenly sign.....

So, I think WW is going by the way side for me. Not that I am giving up on weight loss, by any means. No, I finally succumbed and agreed to call the RD that my shrink has suggested I see for about a year now. I made the call right after my session on Thursday and left a message. The RD called me back last night. I have my first appointment on Monday. Not sure where WW will fit into this.

I am actually feeling excited about seeing the RD. We talked for a few minutes last night. She was very upfront that weight comes off slowly for her clients because it's a process, not a diet. She also wants to track my reactions to specific foods to build a personalized, workable and sustainable way of eating. Then she said something I don't think I've ever heard anyone say to me: "We will need to figure out why you gain weight. It's individual, you know. That's why one size fits all plans are hard for people with deep eating issues." Whooo hoooo! I will enjoy having the support of someone like that. One of the niceties of living in a highly populated area - a lot of specialized services.

Worked out last night - 30 minutes on the arc trainer, leg presses, leg curls, inner thigh presses. Have a training session at 11:30. Going to ask to work on back, chest and abs.

I did a hard thing for me yesterday. I looked at myself multiple times in the mirror while on the arc trainer. I get a side view when I do that. Just gonna say FUUUUUUCK.... I a big boy! LOL! But it was a good exercise in accepting that even at this size I am super strong and that I have not let my size keep me out of the gym. I also noticed that under some areas of the fat layers, I could see my muscles moving and working. I liked that.

Since being sleeved do any of you notice that it is super important to time food around exercise? If I eat too close to a workout I am dreadfully uncomfortable - almost to the point of wanting to vomit to get rid of the discomfort. Just curious if any of you experience this prior to yoga or other exercise. I can eat and do cardio, but I can't eat much before lifting weights.

Well, off to enjoy a Saturday....

Devon ... of course, you could be a Stomper. You SHOULD be a Stomper. You could even start a new chapter of the Stompers! Or you could start a competing marching dance troupe ("495 Stompers" or "101 Stompers" or "5 Stompers" or East Bay Stompers or Bay Bridge Stompers ....) and challenge the 610 Stompers to a World Stomp-Off!

Re eating before working out ... our yoga teacher advises NOT to eat breakfast before yoga class. Of course, class starts at 8:00 am, so that's not much of a hardship. Given that most days I get up at dark o'clock, drink several homemade skim milk lattes and that my breakfast of choice, whenever it happens, is a 170-calorie GNC protein shake, "eating breakfast" probably wouldn't impact my yoga workout much.

HOWEVER, I could no more eat a real-sized (for me) meal and then work out within two or even three hours afterward than a man in the moon. Gag! I need to digest my food and sometimes also need to rest after meals, even take a nap.

Post-eating there are some specific physical responses that would surely affect our ability to exercise after a meal. For example, after eating (I've read that) some of the blood in our extremities gets drawn back toward our cores to work on digestion activity.

That's all I know, or think I know.

I am productive because keeping busy keeps me functioning. Not doing anything let's me dwell too much on what I shouldn't.

Good for you seeing an RD! She sounds like she may be able to help you navigate your way to a healthy weight without feeling the negativity of a "diet". WW definitely is essentially a one size fits all (with minor tweaks). It works well for some, but certainly not all people.

Weight 189.6 nearly back to my pre-Monday blowout fiasco weight

Water was falling from the sky today! I think it's called rain? But I'm not sure, we haven't seen that happen in a while.

Yesterday was an on-plan day. And it feels good in a different way than the bingeing feels good - it's calmer, less joyous, but also without the plummet to self-loathing afterwards. More in line with my 2020 equilibrium goal than the extremes.

I just realized today is my 3 year surgiversary. I'm 14.6 pounds over the top of my range, but that's better than the 32.8 I was over. Given that I haven't ever maintained a weight loss for longer than it takes to blink, I'm actually pretty happy I am where
I am. I'm grateful to myself for choosing to do the sleeve. And grateful to the sleeve for making the binges I used to be capable of an impossible thing of the past.

Today Ferg let me sleep until 9 (after 6:30 pills, but I don't even open my eyes to give those so it doesn't count). I am knitting and binge watching a British tv show on Amazon Prime. Hope everyone is having a good Saturday!

Happy Surgiversary! It didn't take too long for you to get back under 190, so that's pretty good.