CASTing my cares away

I'm sporting a lovely baby blue cast on my right foot.

Oh boy I forgot just what this surgery was going to entail for me.  No driving, lots of pain and NO independence.  

I am happy to report that my weight did go down a little after I got weighed and knew what my weight was post surgery and casted up nicely.

The most surprising thing is I'm not really hungry and attribute that to my lack of burning much energy to move around.   I'm not having to refuel my muscles after a workout so there's no need to eat more to offset the muscle rebuilding.

The best part of being home for the last 3 weeks is the time I've spent with my 9 month old Grandson Isaak.

My oldest daughter has been "Old Lady Sitting" me while my Father is at work and my husband is working.

Isaak giggles as soon as he sees me. It's so cute how he smiles and gets excited to see me.  I'll be in baby with-drawl once I go back to work and don't see him so much.  I play a little game to distract him while Mommy tries to change his diapers, he likes to crawl away while being changed.  I grab his foot and blow a razzberry on it.  He giggles and grabs his other foot. I grab the other foot and do it to that one and he giggles again.  Now I just blow a quick puff of air at his face and he starts laughing.   I guess I'm the funny Grandma now.  

Being unable to go to the gym to workout has been tough.  I miss the endorphins of a good hard workout session.  Pulling my kneely wheely up and down the 3 steps in the garage is not a great weight lifting session, but it is an arm workout.  I've got to get into a routine of using my hand weights and doing some bed yoga.  If I lay down on the floor I'm not getting back up without help.  I'm not allowed to put any weight on my right foot until November 10, 2012.  That's 9 weeks away.  I have caught up on a LOT of missed sleep however.

Before I went in for surgery I got my haircut and had some family time to prepare.  I knew this recovery was going to be rough. 

When a fellow blogger died a week after my surgery I was stunned.  She had just turned 49 that morning.  Please go get your heart checked. I'm talking blood pressure, if it's high get on meds!!!  If your cholesterol is high get medication for that and work on changing your diet.  Less saturated fats and more fresh fruit and vegetables.  It's the little things that will help the most.  Getting daily exercise is extremely important too.

I'm keeping this short today because it was just 2 weeks ago that Lynn Hudson left this earth to be with God.  I wanted to Honor her memory by dedicating my blog to her.  God Bless You Lynn and may the Love you poured out on all who knew you be a light to our path to a bright and happy future. I'm blessed to have known you and honored that you promoted my blog so freely.  Love and Blessings, Diana

Pretty toe nails with my pretty baby blue cast!!

 

Lost in............

Lost in translation!  That’s how I’ve felt these last few months.  I’ve lost my translation book for weight loss.  I started out knowing the language and translating for anyone who would listen.

Look I know how hard it is to stay strong and keep my mouth off the sugary stuff.  I’m addicted to FOOD!!!!  (I saw this last night and felt it might be something to look into http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-18560_162-57481946/is-sugar-toxic/?tag=contentMain;cbsCarousel )

I don’t enjoy being a food addict.  

It makes me sad inside and beats up my self esteem every time the addict gets a fix.

Every Saturday I go to my Weight Watchers meeting for my “Accountability time” as I call it on my “foursquare” check ins. http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/mtf/index.aspx

https://foursquare.com/

I need to keep being accountable to myself. I can cheat when I write down what I’m eating, but that dang scale NEVER cheats.  It says “Yeah I know you took one bite of that cookie even if you didn’t eat the whole thing at one time”.

A bite here and lick there all adds up as calories even if we don’t log it. It still happened.

I’ve been up and not losing weight in the last few months.  I’m not blaming anyone or anything, but me.  It’s my fault and I’m taking responsibility for my own weight gain.  

This no longer fits me, its TOO big. Husband and I 8/16/08 for my 30 yr reunion

Now don’t get me wrong here, but sometimes when I see someone losing weight faster than me I get embarrassed, I guess it must be that feeling, because I’m happy for them.  I love seeing others lose their weight.  I know they are gaining heath and their own happiness.  I just can’t help but be embarrassed that my own weight loss stalled. All the questions like: “Why can’t I lose it like he/she is losing it?” come into my mind.  Well, DUH it’s because that person is not me!  Plain and simple they are on their own journey.  I hear so many stories at my WW meetings of people just 5-10 pounds from their goal weight and they struggle for months to get there. 

To my thinking that last 5-10 should be easy to lose, but those can be the hardest.  It got me to thinking of how frustrating weight loss can be for anyone.  Some people start out with hundreds of pounds to lose and others have just mere single digit pounds to lose.  I think (I do a lot of thinking) that when a person has more pounds to lose say 200, they begin a program like Weight Watchers and begin losing it in 5-10 pound increments. Why do you suppose that is?  They get more points than those with say 80 pounds to lose who get a minimum of 30-34 points plus per day.  The usual lowest is 29 points plus per day with the extra 49 points plus per week.  The extra 49 is what I call the party points. If I go to a party I have extra points for that party to enjoy more points plus for the event.

Me 11/26/09

The weight seems to drip off the person with more to lose than the person with less to lose to reach their goal weight.  So my slower loss is nothing to be embarrassed about because it’s my journey.

I can do this.  I’ve been working at it for years already and look how far I’ve come.  I’m NEVER giving up because this is my journey and I’m seeing it to the very end. 

With that stated I’ve got a new battle that begins this Friday, August 10^th, 2012.  Foot surgery L I know I need it because the last few weeks has felt like I’m walking on a pin that jabs into my foot at random moments.  Getting old sucks big time.  Arthritis is not for sissies.

Isaak 8 months old

I’ve got my plans set I just need to get everyone around me on my plan too.  I know what I can eat and have begun planning my menu with charts to log what I’ve eaten.  Plus I’ll have my oldest daughter to help me out while my husband and father are at work.  The best part is my grandson Isaak, who turns 9 months the day of my surgery, will be visiting with Mommy.    I get Grandma time while home for 3 ½ weeks.  The 3 months of not putting weight on the foot will be tough and the no gym workouts will have its own challenges.

I have my own hand held weights and medicine ball to use so I can workout at home in my own handicapped way.  Imagine losing your mobility for 3-6 months i.e; no driving, running, stairs or swimming?  That will be very hard for me.  I like to be independent and will miss my own autonomy.  Being dependent on others is hard for me.  I’ll try to do as much on my own as possible.

Now I’d like to mention a few things about “Weight Loss Surgery”  

It has been in the news a lot lately.  It has its pluses and minuses.  For the record in 1980 I had a Gastric Bypass using the 20/80 stapling technique.  They stapled the upper portion of my stomach 3/4ths of the way across and left the lower portion intact and attached.  I was just weeks shy of my 21^st birthday.  I weighed 254 pounds.  I wore a size 26/28 and had tried everything short of stapling my mouth shut.

So you see WLS is not a permanent solution.  I popped staples, got an ulcer and needed additional surgery in 1985.  Plus, I had my gall bladder removed in 1982.  I also was more of a guinea pig back then, it was before the “pouch rules” came out.  This is the link to everything you need to know post op for bariatric surgery http://bariatrictv.com/

If I were looking into doing and WLS at this time of my life and had not had previous surgery I’d choose Lap Band surgery, but I’m lovin WW and its approach to safe weight loss.

Have you struggled to stay on your own journey?  Do you feel frustrated by your slow weight loss?  Do you feel empowered to keep on your own journey when you see others being successful as they travel on their journey?

Offer someone an encouraging word today.  Let your friend know how much you admire him/her. Give that barista a big smile when he or she hands you your coffee or tea.  Everyone needs an “Atta Boy” “Good Job” “Thanks I appreciate that” every now and then.  You might be the only person to give any cheerfulness to them today.  Go ahead Make Their Day!!

Me and my husband 9/7/09 down many pounds and enjoying the Minnesota Renaissance Festival

What does it mean to live your life with Joy, Purpose, and Conscious Choice?

Far too many of us live lives of worry, rather than lives of joy. It doesn't have to be that way. Every life is full of challenges - some lives are given seemingly insurmountable challenges. But each of us, at every moment, has the ability to make conscious choices about the life we have been dealt. To some extent, we can make positive changes in our circumstances. To a far greater extent, we can choose to accept and adapt to our circumstances with grace and joy. Living joyfully is always a choice.

May today be your day to dance lightly with life.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie