VSG Maintenance Group
Friday, February 23
Good for you Paula! Congrats on the return to normal BMI!
Weight 116.4, calories 1210.
DH, SIL and I went for a show at the clubhouse last night. The entertainer was a singer comedian who plays in casino shows. He was really good! We had an early dinner out prior to the show which was from 7-8:30. By the time we got back to our villa, BIL was pretty plastered. SIL was displeased (it is her brother, not husband btw). Though he was drinking coffee when we left for the show, he was clearly drinking otherwise while we were gone. I noticed that she didn't have a drink at that point which she normally would have. Hmmm...
We moved into this park partially because one of DHs best friends growing up is here. DH's other BFF and wife are renting about 1/2 hour away this year so we have seen them once or twice a week. They are buying a place where they are renting! The BFF is visiting midday today, then we are going to dinner with neighbors from Cape Cod who have a place about 1.5 hours north of here (they are coming for a spring training game this afternoon). If it is just the guys during the day, I may go walk doggies.
Have a friendly Friday!
Liz 5'3" HW: 219 SW: 185 GW: 125 LW: 113 Desired maintenance range: 120-125 CW: 119ish
Hello all!
Paula, congratulations on both the normal BMI and keeping up with self care! If I can be so nosey, but do they have you on 60mg Cymbalta now? It would be considered the long term therapeutic dose. (Best practices and all that jazz unless there is a reason not to increase....)
Cecily, congratulations on your surgiversary! The changes are amazing! By the way, my gym is a HIIT gym (Orange theory fitness) Its hour workouts also include strength training with the tools you described (hand weight/trx/etc etc) I think it has helped with hiking strength.
DianeS, can you feel me poking around Arcata on google maps? I'm such a peeper. It is not obvious to me where the fudge sign is.
We might stay at the Arcata Hotel (might be remembering the name wrong) that is right near the town square unless you tell me something terrible about it. Apparently it is a noisy area but we don't care about that. From google, it looks like a nice spot to wander in between hikes. I am sure pastries are to be consumed and hopefully hippies observed. We will definitely be there a couple of days before you leave town....don't have exact dates, yet.
Devon, if we were to catch you in SF, is there a day/time we should aim for? We are flexible. If not a terrible inconvenience, I wouldn't mind seeing an Kairk Airedale. We could meet for a doggy walk? (Full disclosure, the girls are very interested in the dogs. Diane, that includes your pack!)
I will need to get back to yesterday's posts. Long work day, today. Also, I didn't mention it but MIL went into hospice care this last weekend. She has developed a bad valve and DH (power of attorney) said no surgery (appropriate all the way around but still hard to be the one to make the decision) DH got a text this morning saying that she is worsening.
MIL's sister is in good physical and mental shape. When I was passing on news about MIL to her, I found out that her husband also has a bad valve now (plus bad heart) and will be going into hospice care in next few days. Poor Aunt Joann, it looks like she is losing her only remaining sibling and her husband at the same time.
Hug everyone,
Shel
HW:361 SW:304 (VSG 12/04/2014)Mo 1:-32 Mo 2:-13.5 Mo 3: -13.5 Mo 4 -9.5 Mo 5: -15 Mo 6: -15 Mo 7: -13.5 Mo 8: -17 Mo 9: -13 Mo 10: -12.5 11/3/2015 Healthy BMI Reached! Mo 11: -9 Mo 12: -8 12/27/2015 Goal Weight Reached!
It is worth asking about. One of the main reasons for my 2 week phone touch with patients is to increase dose at that time as long as patient isn't having side effects. This is true even if patients are feeling better. Not increasing dose is looked at by psychiatry as clinical inertia --- a defect.
I will eventually look where this practice pointer comes from (we do little that isn't evidence based) but can't look right now.
My usual patter to patients goes like this.....I'm glad you are feeling better already! However, sometimes that improvement plateaus or even reverses over time on the starter dose. We only use the starter dose to get you over the hump of the initial side effects. We know that the next dose up, the 60mg, is gives a more reliable....durable....benefit in most patients.
Now do some peeps do great on the 30mg forever? Yes! But most will do best on the 60mg and since it takes so long to fully kick in, we go ahead and bump up the dose now.
So, most patients will increase --- we can always decrease dose if we need but we usually don't need to. Some patients opt to never increase. It's all shared decision making.
By the way, if you increase dose your appetite suppression will likely temporarily appear again. :) I'm not saying that is a good thing.....just saying!
HW:361 SW:304 (VSG 12/04/2014)Mo 1:-32 Mo 2:-13.5 Mo 3: -13.5 Mo 4 -9.5 Mo 5: -15 Mo 6: -15 Mo 7: -13.5 Mo 8: -17 Mo 9: -13 Mo 10: -12.5 11/3/2015 Healthy BMI Reached! Mo 11: -9 Mo 12: -8 12/27/2015 Goal Weight Reached!
Shel, we are so lucky to have you on our team. Truly. Thank you.
ANN 5'5", AGE 74, HW 235.6 (BMI 39.2), SW 216, GW 150, CW 132, BMI 22
POUNDS LOST: Pre-op -20, M1 -10, M2 -11, M3 -10, M4 -10, M5 -7, M6 -5, M7 -6, M8 -4, M9 -4,
NEXT 10 MOS. -12, TOTAL -100 LBS.
Paula and Cecily, good job on you milestones ! Shel.. sounds like your trip is taking shape ! It is so great when any of us can connect with other members of "our family" ! Ann, looking forward to hearing more about modified FIKA.
We ended up with six inches of heavy snow yesterday, which I shoveled in two sessions, half way through and at the end. It was that heavy ! Up two pounds today, but that seems to be a normal fluctuation after lots of exercise. The three day trend and beyond is more what I'm looking at. By the end of the weekend, the snow will be gone, our "yard lake" will be back, and we'll muddle through mud again.
TGIF !
Age: 64; 5' 5"; High weight: 345; Start weight: 271 (01/05/15); Surgery weight: 218 (05/27/15); Pre-Op (-53); M 1 (-18); M 2 (-1.5); M 3 (-13.5 ); M 4 (-13); M 5 (- 8); M 6 (-12) M 7 (-5, Xmas); M 8 (- 9) Under surgeon's goal and REACHED HEALTHY BMI 12/07/15!! (Six months and one week.) AT GOAL month 8. Maintaining at goal range (139- 144) ~ four (4) years !!
Weight: 131.8
Macros: Cals - 1,649, carbs - 220, fats - 41, protein - 74, fiber - 22
Veggies/Fruits (goal 8): 8
Sleep (goal 8 hours): 6
Exercise: Yoga class
I've enjoyed reading others' comments to Devon's satiety thread. It's interesting to me that others also don't feel full after eating highly processed, sugary foods. Yet some of us are sometimes compelled to obtain and use those drugs. It's weird, because they no longer make me feel good physically, aren't even pleasing to my palate for longer than a few short moments, and don't make me feel full or satisfied in any way. So why would I continue to use drugs that don't make me feel good? Why is their power so ... powerful? They don't seem particularly physically powerful, but their emotional pull seems more so.
Am I so devoted to old memories of how those food drugs made me feel years ago that I'm still trying to relive old highs that never appear anymore?
These days it's more like Shel recently said: "Yes, food is a drug, but a really crappy one. 99% side effects, 1% relief."
Yesterday's 8 V/Fs were a little different - our yoga group had a belated holiday tea party yesterday morning. So I enjoyed more fruits (of all kinds) and more bready-carbs than usual. As a result, I didn't eat as much protein as I normally do. I don't particularly like going to food-centered events these days. I'd rather come home and fix my salad or veggie-laden sandwich for lunch and after dinner eat my blueberries.
Looks like I'm turning into one of those healthy, boring old ladies. :)
And I'm sticking with this week's theme: Eat, love, sleep.
ANN 5'5", AGE 74, HW 235.6 (BMI 39.2), SW 216, GW 150, CW 132, BMI 22
POUNDS LOST: Pre-op -20, M1 -10, M2 -11, M3 -10, M4 -10, M5 -7, M6 -5, M7 -6, M8 -4, M9 -4,
NEXT 10 MOS. -12, TOTAL -100 LBS.