VSG Maintenance Group
Recent Posts
Liz, I'm glad Justice gets to enjoy the holidays with you. So easy to travel with a little dog in tow. My 50 pound plus size dogs make it a little trickier! LOL!
Oh, DD! You thought provoker, you!!!! You really got me thinking about adrenaline seeking vs. dopamine or serotonin. I think I have a bit of an adrenaline seeking tendency. I love roller coasters, and the feeling of "flying". I can see myself parachuting or parasailing, even extreme zip lining, but never ever bungie jumping. But I think I have an extremely strong proclivity towards dopamine seeking behaviors. I sought comfort food at a very young age, and by my teen years I was a closet eater, smoking pot, cigarettes and trying a few harder recreational substances... I didn't start with alcohol until well into my 20s. Probably a very good thing since I consider myself an alcoholic! I have always loved substances that change my mood and make me feel "good". Back in the late 70s and early 80s I loved the way Dexatrim used to make me feel - very zippy and tingly and really helped curb the appetite. I remember I was kind of sad when it was deemed unsafe and taken off the market. I know now that much of that seeking behavior came from poor neurological chemistry. Taking an SSRI was a game changer for me. I believe a lot of my chemical use was an attempt to self medicate. I wonder sometimes if my chronic depression had been diagnosed earlier how my life may have been different. Not being diagnosed until after 50, I'm sure depression was a major player in life choices. Anyway.... Today is today and it is best to look forward!
Weight is slowly going back down, but not as fast as I want it to. I'm very tempted to up my dose next month. Not sure I want to though. But, I do need to break this next decade sooner rather than later!
Another busy after school day - hair cut and then a dog client that will go until about 7 or 7:30.
Not much else... Wishing everyone a tuneful Tuesday! Sing like no one is listening!
I just booked a hotel room for Christmas - they take dogs!
Liz 5'3" HW: 219 SW: 185 GW: 125 LW: 113 Desired maintenance range: 120-125 CW: 119ish
Weight 119.6. It is so dark in the mornings here. It always takes me a while to get used to that. But weird to be sitting in the dar****il 7:30 am (up north it would get light 1/2 hour earlier). As the season goes on the discrepancy moves to an hour. But there is more than that in extra light at the end of the day so I guess that makes up for it.
Adrenaline or Dopamine seeker? Hmmm... probably the latter. I am definitely a sun seeker LOL.
DS got his glasses replaced yesterday and I did a bunch of errands while DH golfed. Today is likely a beach day while DS works. He has meetings all day. We are going back to the Beach Club for dinner tonight.
DD and her DH are likely not coming for Veterans weekend after all. The fares are jacked way up - at least double to almost triple the normal cost this time of year. Even though I have tons of points after charging most of the wedding, I still don't have enough for 2 round-trips. Kind of disappointing.
Trying to figure out Christmas - I would like to stay in a hotel in my former town on 12/24 and 12/25 to make it easier to go to DS' birthmother's on Christmas Eve and to my SIL's on Christmas. But we have the dog to consider. We might leave him in Florida with a friend or might send him to his caretakers on the Cape if she takes dogs over the holiday. Lots up in the air. Comes with change I guess.
Have a thoughtful Tuesday!
Liz 5'3" HW: 219 SW: 185 GW: 125 LW: 113 Desired maintenance range: 120-125 CW: 119ish
Gee, DD -- regarding your family's osteoporosis history, I didn't realize that sun deprivation plays a significant role in bone strength. I just asked the Google about this connection and learned that "Vitamin D deficiency not only causes rickets among children but also precipitates and exacerbates osteoporosis among adults and causes the painful bone disease osteomalacia."
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.
My northern sun deprived family has terribly crumbly bones. My mother had both hips replaced and 2 back fusions by her mid 70s. I have osteoporosis now, but not nearly the level one might expect from the experiences of my Mom, Auntie, and both Grandmas. I too have credited years of obesity making my bones stronger than the other women in the family. At least it gave me that. :)
We had relatives that lived in Galena, visited often when I was a kid but not since I was an adult. I know the boy scouts have a big event there every Spring (our troop went once but I missed that trip)
5' 4" tall, HW: 242, SW:215.4 Weight Loss - pre-op: - 26.6, M1: -15.4, M2: -16, M3: -11.4, M4: -11.2, M5: -12.2, M6: -7.4, M7: -7.8, M8: -2.0 Goal of 130 lbs. reached at 8 months, 2 days post-op!
Not an adrenaline seeker at all. My heart goes pitter, patter enough on its own, I don't need to encourage it! In fact, I avoid caffeine for that very reason!
5' 4" tall, HW: 242, SW:215.4 Weight Loss - pre-op: - 26.6, M1: -15.4, M2: -16, M3: -11.4, M4: -11.2, M5: -12.2, M6: -7.4, M7: -7.8, M8: -2.0 Goal of 130 lbs. reached at 8 months, 2 days post-op!
Yes indeed to things changing in a moment. The older I get, the more mindful I am especially when I'm driving. I also credit not having yet broken a hip to all the yoga I've done and still do. I alost hope that being heavy for so much of my life has strengthened me. I don't yet suffer from osteoporosis, although "osteopenia" is in my medical records.
And about my appetite for adrenaline ... I also do love dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. However, the big deal is that I suffer from clinical extroversion. I swear I get a huge rush just making eye contact with a complete stranger, so you can imagine how a conversation about capers on Aisle 23 at Kroger thrills me. I'm also a bit of a control freak, which is now being modified somewhat by being in a relationship with another control freak. As the saying goes, DF and I are discovering infinite opportunities for personal growth.
It seems we're never ever finished.
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.
I've done a little wine tasting here in Missouri. But having lived for 20 years in California where truly great wines are made, I really can't recommend the strange varietals grown around here. Missouri ain't got no Caymus.
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.
Liz, what bad luck that your DS had his glasses chewed up my his friend's dog. How often does that happen?
It was 83 degrees here today and in the 80s yesterday. People are calling it Augtober. In 2020 (that dreadful year) there was accumulated snow on the ground. I'll take this weather.
I was thinking about Ann's statement that she craves adrenaline. I thought I was too once, but now I think what I really am is a novelty seeker and what I'm looking for is dopamine. And I love, love the feeling of flow, where you are so immersed in what you're doing, that the world around you just fades away. I feel that the most when I'm reading. One time when I was a kid, I was reading in the kitchen and something on the stove was burning. The room was starting to fill with smoke when my Mom came in and yelled. I hadn't noticed. My daughter definitely likes adrenaline, which I think gets fed at the VA where she works. And fighting the rats in Boston. What say you tribe: Adrenaline, do you thrive on it or avoid it?
Weight was towards the higher end of my 2 pound weight range, but not over.
DH is finding some renewed success with Zepound. He didn't lose Weight with Wegovy for several months (but did maintain). On Zepbound, he lost 6 pounds the first 2 weeks. He's at 5, so he can keep going up in dosage for awhile, if needed.
Apparently my work friend who was injured broke more than his hip. He will probably be on medical leave for the next 3 months. It hit some of the students hard, and a lot of us teachers are reeling too. His prognosis sounds promising, but still, we learn yet again, things change in an instance.
