Category Archives: health

Snorkeling with My New Hip

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Snorkeling with my new hipJohn Pennekamp State Park

Now that I have my doctor’s approval I am about to try snorkeling with my new hip. I’m a little nervous. The last time I’d tried snorkeling I was swimming lopsided because I couldn’t really kick with my left leg. I’m pretty buoyant and when I’d get tipped over it was hard to get back on track. I arrived at John Pennekamp State Park first thing in the morning. If I messed up I didn’t want witnesses laughing at me. The dive shop was open and quickly outfitted me with rental fins, mask and snorkel. The dive master warned me that there wouldn’t be a lot to see but I assured him it was just a test for me to try out my new hip.

Snorkeling with my new hip Cannon Beach at John Pennekamp.

Cannon Beach is not very big. There are some picnic tables but mostly you stake out a section of sand. I went down to the far corner of the beach where I saw another snorkeler enter. It was pretty rocky. Most of the shoreline was covered with chunks of coral. With the waves about to knock me off my feet I gingerly worked my way into the water. Once I was in deep enough I sat down and pulled on my fins. Then the mask and snorkel and I was off. Lots of little fish in the shallow water. As I went deeper those became more scarce. After what I thought was about 10 minutes I turned around to head back to shore. My test was a success!

Getting out of the WaterSnorkeling with my new hip

I was feeling pretty good about the way my first snorkel went. It felt good, my kicks were strong and balanced. But I hadn’t thought the whole thing through. Although I managed to get in the water without injury getting out was turning out to be a whole different matter. I explored along the shoreline but it was all sharp coral. Finally I just went for it, for about 2 steps. A nice lady with flip flops on came down the beach. She took my fins from my hand and took my arm to help me over the sharp coral rocks. Oh Man it hurt! But with her help I was able to limp back to my things.

Snorkeling with my new hipNot 10 Minutes

Back at my beach towel I dried my feet and stuffed them into my shoes. My watch lay on the sand with the time staring up at me. I thought I’d been in the water about 10 minutes, just a short swim but it was closer to two hours. It was actually lunch time! Except for my feet my muscles felt better than they had in years. I think I can handle the snorkel trip to the reef once they give the go ahead. 

 

Back to Real World Weight Struggles

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Back to Real World Weight Struggles

Vacation is over so it’s back to the real world. For me that’s not just work and daily routine That’s the real struggle with weight. As the saying goes in for a penny in for a pound so I’m going to continue to bring you along with me for now. I hadn’t been near a scale all vacation and I didn’t check when I got home on Monday night. I need all the help I can get so I always weigh in first thing in the morning.

 

Real World Weight struggles - lunchTruth or Consequences

Tuesday morning I took a deep breath and stepped on my frenemy, the scale. Wonder of wonders it was only up .5 lbs! That’s amazing and I’ll take it. Like most people on vacation I didn’t exactly restrain myself. I had Florida Lobster 4 times, yes 4 Times! I just couldn’t get enough. Don’t forget the famous “Pink Shrimp”.  Fried , cooked and chilled, and in seafood scampi, I ate them any way I could get them. If I had been in heaven I’d have been thrown out for seafood gluttony. Yet the scale was only up 1/2 lb! I was so happy! I didn’t share the news because it wasn’t a Saturday, my “real” weigh in day. It was just a check in .

 

Real World Weight Struggles

8 Hours of Shut Eye?Back to Real World Weight Struggles

So I’m back to my regular routine and the real world weight struggles. I’m logging my steps and watching what I eat but I am not getting a lot of sleep. A good part of that is because I have an hour plus commute every morning and afternoon.  I’m up at 5:30 am to go to work and get home between 6:30 -7 pm.  If I went to bed in time to get 8 hours I’d be going to bed at 8 pm. Usually I’m just finishing up the dinner dishes at that point so I don’t see 8 hours in my near future.

Why am I talking about sleep? Since I’ve been back my weight has been creeping up and I couldn’t figure out why. Were all the calories from vacation just catching up now? Apparently it’s more to do with sleep deprivation. I just found out that if you get less than 7 – 8 hours sleep your metabolism slows, you burn less calories and your cravings for sweet, dense foods increase. Weight goes up! I’m doomed!

This time it’s for real

According to my Fitbit I’m averaging only 5 hours and 15 minutes a night since I returned from vacation. My step count has gone up but not enough to offset the lack of shut eye. The scale has crept up 1.8 lbs since my last Saturday  weigh in before vacation.  I’m going to try to get some more sleep this week and see if I can reverse that trend. I’ve got my meals pretty trimmed down, 1 egg for breakfast, salad with cold cuts for lunch and dinner can vary from chicken broth  to fish to a mini hamburger (no roll). I hit my calorie budget consistently. The wild card is the sleep. 

Back to Real World Weight Struggles

Deb 10/25/ 2019

My co workers think I’m getting thinner and I started wearing jeans a size smaller but the scale isn’t reflecting these changes. Guess I’ll just have to say I lost that battle but its only the beginning of the war. 

Another Saturday Weigh In

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It’s Weigh In day

It’s time for another Saturday weigh in. I bet you were all hoping I’d forget. Or maybe I’ve gotten sick of this weight loss stuff. Chalked it up to another failed attempt at the impossible but Noooo. I’m still plugging along. I’ll admit that this week was discouraging. I am faithfully logging my food. I’m weighing and measuring. I am making sure its healthy and low carb but my daily weigh in’s weren’t too promising. The scale and therefore my weight  has been up and down all week. Of course the only weigh in that counts is today.  Depending on what the scales tell me this morning I may have to cut out the fruit. I dropped grapes last week…too much sugar in them. That leaves apples. They have been  my go-to snack all week. I don’t think my body liked that. I figured it was better than candy but we’ll see. Here goes nothing!

Saturday Weigh in Results

Come on scale you are breaking my heart. Yesterday I was down another .4 lbs (Celebrate!) but this morning you’re back up .4 so in other words- No Change. Maybe it’s water weight. I ate fish yesterday and fish like the water right? Ok maybe that’s a stretch but this is really frustrating. Good Bye Apples. I’m going to have to give you up for now. Maybe I can bring you back next year. What can I put in for snacks to take the place of the apples? Maybe rice cakes? They worked before but they are all carbs. Dried fruit is all sugar. Ugh Got to think about this.

Next Week’s Weigh  in  is Canceled

Next Saturday you can feel safe to come by. No weigh in next week. I am going on vacation so I won’t have my scale to weigh in on. I firmly believe that weigh ins only count when they are done on the same scale.  Since I won’t be here to use my scale no weigh in will count even if I have access to another one somewhere else. Thanks for letting me vent. I’d go kick the scale but then I might break it or my toe and I don’t need to do either. 

No Change!

 

Scale Aversion- the Struggle is Real

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Scale Aversion

One of the hardest things about trying to lose weight is the daily weigh in. Did I or didn’t I lose. If the scale goes the wrong way it’s such a let down. But when those few ounces slide off its cause for celebration! Too often that celebration is allowing a forbidden food. Then I spend the next day wondering why the number on the scale went up. 

Books Vs Programs

My Doctor wouldn’t sign the medical release so I could join Awaken 180 , a popular weight loss program. I’ve tried Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers. I thought NutriSystem was way too expensive for a packaged food program. Tried it on my own by eating Lean Cuisine. That didn’t work out. I tried supplements like Apple Cider. All of them provided some weight loss but it never stayed off. So my Doctor started pushing gastric by-pass surgery. I know many people who have had this surgery and quite successfully but after serious consideration I decided it just wasn’t for me. So my Doctor gave me a book to read. The End of Overeating  by Dr. David A. Kessler.  So boring. I can’t read a chapter without falling asleep. I need something different or I’ll be fat forever.

NOOM

Noom, Noom Noom Noom…makes me think of zoom, zoom zoom. A little car just speeding along. I don’t know how long NOOM has been around but it’s a little different. Nothing is off limits. Its all psychology based. I admit I am skeptical but nothing else has worked so why not give it a try? I got my Fitbit first to try to get myself moving and added NOOM a couple of weeks later. Between the two I’m been plugging along. Some success some back sliding. Like I said last week, I’m not ready to say what my weight is right now but I am ready to share the results so far.

The Weigh In

Sept 26, 2019

Its time to bring you guys into the loop. I began the struggle (this time) on September 13. As of my weigh in this morning, Oct 5, I am down 2 lbs exactly. Whew!  There were so many times it was two steps forward  one step back or sometimes 3 steps back that I wasn’t sure what this morning would bring. Now I’ve got a definitive goal in mind for next week. To keep this momentum going! 

Oct 4, 2019

 

 

Weight Loss and Me

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The Weight Loss Struggle Is Real

I’m not Oprah Winfrey. I don’t think my weight loss struggles are for public consumption. Weight Watchers and I have never been a comfortable fit. All those meetings and public weigh ins. Nope, Not for me. So I find it a bit out of character to be writing this blog post. My current weight loss program wants me to share. It’s supposed to make failure more difficult. Seems to me it will just make it more humiliating if I fall off track. Weight loss and me, always a struggle. The Battle of the Bulge so to speak. Sometimes I win but more often than not the weight wins.

Oh To Be Thin Like I was Fat

I thought I was fat when I was in high school. Boy would I like to be fat like that now. The only place I’ll ever see 140 lbs again will be in my dreams. Still I have to put a stop to this steady weight gain. It’s bad for my health and it affects the things I like to do. I’m not getting any younger but I still like to hike. Tough enough when you get to my age without lugging around enough weight to have a 2nd person on your back! Can’t go horseback riding. I weigh more than the maximum, unless I want to ride a plow horse. And lets not talk about what I look like in a bathing suit. Airline seats are shrinking so if I keep expanding they are going to make me buy 2 seats! I’ve a new hip and artificial hips can fail if you get too fat. I love my hip. I am not going to go through that surgery for nothing!

How Times Have Changed

I remember when it was cool to smoke. Now smokers are ostracized. Public buildings are non- smoking. No smoking in restaurants. Being fat is well on the way to the same thing. There is a lot of prejudice against  fat people. It can be hard to get heath and life insurance. It leads to diabetes. There’s even evidence of discrimination in the workplace. It’s just not good and I don’t want to be a part of it anymore. So that brings me to this post. I’m supposed to share my weight loss journey. Forgive me if I don’t post my weight. I promise I will a some point but that’s too much to ask of me right now. But I will post a photo each week and any weight change, for better or worse.  Maybe my struggle will help someone else.

September 26 , 2019—Fat Fat Fat- Next year I’ll half the woman I am here