Lots has happened since I last posted and I pledge to post more often. Not that anybody is reading this missive, but to help me stay on track.
Since I last posted, I helped move my dad from NYC to NC. That was tough. I got frustrated with Weight Watchers and decided to give Jenny Craig a shot.
I think Jenny Craig would be great if I wasn't a reasonably decent cook. A few weeks of that and a trip to West Africa to visit hubbie and I decided that JC just won't work with my lifestyle. Oh well. Sigh.
Rededicated myself to Weight Watchers -- went back last night -- and attended my first meeting in almost three months. Astonishingly I'm almost the same weight as I was when I started at the first of the year, just down a pound from that weight. So ... I guess things could be worse.
Still looking to lose Jennifer Aniston, but I need to set smaller goals first. Like losing that first 5 percent. Then 10 percent. Baby steps.
I'm looking for my inner cheerleader to spur me on. Does that mean it's all right to talk to myself? Here goes.
Message to self:
Go Carol, go. You can do it. If you bite it, write it, as WW leader Judi (sp?) Hixon would say. And if you drink it, ink it. This is doable and you'll feel a whole lot better, especially your knees. Go, go, go.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Overcoming a setback
It was such an easy thing to believe. I have sleep apnea, which could be at least partially responsible for my weight.
And I had this hopeful, irrational hope that maybe weight would just drop off almost effortlessly ... if I just stayed on Weight Watchers.
But I did stay on it and journaled and ended up gaining .4 pounds -- almost half a pound. The week before I lost 2 pounds, right after I found out and started using the CPAP machine.
I'm getting ready to help move my dad and that's a huge stress magnet. My goal is to work out as much as possible and really, really watch my eating and drinking. And journal.
One day at a time. I can do this.
And I had this hopeful, irrational hope that maybe weight would just drop off almost effortlessly ... if I just stayed on Weight Watchers.
But I did stay on it and journaled and ended up gaining .4 pounds -- almost half a pound. The week before I lost 2 pounds, right after I found out and started using the CPAP machine.
I'm getting ready to help move my dad and that's a huge stress magnet. My goal is to work out as much as possible and really, really watch my eating and drinking. And journal.
One day at a time. I can do this.
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Turning a sleepy corner
June 17 is a day I may celebrate in future years.
That because June 17 is the day I found out I have mild sleep apnea, courtesy of my new ear/nose/throat physician giving me the results of my sleep test. Of course, if you have mild sleep apnea, you don't think it's mild. Waking up 13 times in REM sleep ... and having your oxygen drop to 82 percent overnight doesn't sound very good to me.
And June 18 is the day I got my CPAP machine on 30 day trial -- to see if I can tolerate it. CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure.
The first night with the CPAP was tough. Tough to go to sleep, tough to deal with the mask on my face, tough to get over the strange feeling of the humid air that's coming at you.
But the first day after the first night was amazing. Usually, I'm very drowsy and turn off the alarm multiple times. That morning I popped out of bed clear-headed and was that way all day. In face, since this experiment started, I haven't had a microsleep and haven't gotten sleepy in the afternoon. I haven't had to take a nap since I've been using the machine. This is all incredible to me.
Probably the only problem is my husband's reaction to a photo I sent him of me in the CPAP mask. Maybe that was a mistake, but his reaction was -- am I going to have to wear it to bed when he's there (he's working overseas right now) and surely I'm not going to have to wear it forever. Hopefully, he'll be able to get over the shock of my looking like Hannibal Lecter or a small elephant, with that hose hanging from my nose.
Hopefully, he'll understand the downside of sleep apnea -- like a tendency toward high blood pressure, depression, weight gain and a higher tendency toward strokes and heart attacks. I want to be around for a long, long time.
And hopefully the CPAP will help my metabolism come back up. I had felt like I don't have any metabolism at all and was getting resolved that I was just going to have to get used to being a fat person forever. Now I'm very hopeful that's not the case and it's given my Weight Watchers efforts a big boost.
Onward!
That because June 17 is the day I found out I have mild sleep apnea, courtesy of my new ear/nose/throat physician giving me the results of my sleep test. Of course, if you have mild sleep apnea, you don't think it's mild. Waking up 13 times in REM sleep ... and having your oxygen drop to 82 percent overnight doesn't sound very good to me.
And June 18 is the day I got my CPAP machine on 30 day trial -- to see if I can tolerate it. CPAP stands for continuous positive airway pressure.
The first night with the CPAP was tough. Tough to go to sleep, tough to deal with the mask on my face, tough to get over the strange feeling of the humid air that's coming at you.
But the first day after the first night was amazing. Usually, I'm very drowsy and turn off the alarm multiple times. That morning I popped out of bed clear-headed and was that way all day. In face, since this experiment started, I haven't had a microsleep and haven't gotten sleepy in the afternoon. I haven't had to take a nap since I've been using the machine. This is all incredible to me.
Probably the only problem is my husband's reaction to a photo I sent him of me in the CPAP mask. Maybe that was a mistake, but his reaction was -- am I going to have to wear it to bed when he's there (he's working overseas right now) and surely I'm not going to have to wear it forever. Hopefully, he'll be able to get over the shock of my looking like Hannibal Lecter or a small elephant, with that hose hanging from my nose.
Hopefully, he'll understand the downside of sleep apnea -- like a tendency toward high blood pressure, depression, weight gain and a higher tendency toward strokes and heart attacks. I want to be around for a long, long time.
And hopefully the CPAP will help my metabolism come back up. I had felt like I don't have any metabolism at all and was getting resolved that I was just going to have to get used to being a fat person forever. Now I'm very hopeful that's not the case and it's given my Weight Watchers efforts a big boost.
Onward!
Saturday, April 4, 2009
So much for my resolutions. I stalled out and lost motivation. Hopefully, I've got it back and am restarted down the path leading to a healthy weight. I was doing better and then I visited Lagos again, where I ate and drank my way through a couple of weeks while visiting Bob. No good excuses on that, except that I always seem to eat and drink more when Bob's around.
Hormone testing yielded some interesting info ... my cortisol (stress hormone) is 20+ in the a.m. and should be 2 or 3. Probably a result of not sleeping well because of bladder issues and having trouble shutting down and sleeping. This is nothing new.
One interesting thing is that I'll be doing a sleep study Monday, April 6, and I'm eager to see if it turns up anything. Bob says I snore loudly and that's one thing to watch out for. I'm a little nervous about it, but it's probably a good idea to do it.
I'm on the way back down and working the Weight Watchers Web site message boards for more encouragement and input.
Never, never, never give up. I think that's how it goes. Thank you Winston Churchill.
Hormone testing yielded some interesting info ... my cortisol (stress hormone) is 20+ in the a.m. and should be 2 or 3. Probably a result of not sleeping well because of bladder issues and having trouble shutting down and sleeping. This is nothing new.
One interesting thing is that I'll be doing a sleep study Monday, April 6, and I'm eager to see if it turns up anything. Bob says I snore loudly and that's one thing to watch out for. I'm a little nervous about it, but it's probably a good idea to do it.
I'm on the way back down and working the Weight Watchers Web site message boards for more encouragement and input.
Never, never, never give up. I think that's how it goes. Thank you Winston Churchill.
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
More motivation
A trip to my doctor for a regular checkup yielded more high blood pressure. More high blood pressure medicine. And it turns out, after a fasting lab, I learned I had higher sugar readings. Yikes. Not scary as in Type II diabetes, but 20 percent increases are a bit scary especially when my feet hurt as much as they do.
And thinking about it, a glass or two of wine with dinner nightly wasn't getting counted -- like it was nothing. But it isn't nothing. It's probably six to eight points and metabolizes like sugar.
Blame it on a bit of a case of nerves -- with no shortage of things and people to worry about, but also to suck it up and not articulate them and be a good little trooper. And wine is a gentle way to calm nerves.
It's not an excuse, but I'm going to stop it anyway. And let's get on with getting healthy and feeling better.
I only lost .2 pounds last week, but I ate supper before I went to Weight Watchers, which I hadn't before. And I wore jeans, which are heavy. So I'm probably ahead of what I weighed. I've lost weight each week. I can do this and I can do better. Onward.
And thinking about it, a glass or two of wine with dinner nightly wasn't getting counted -- like it was nothing. But it isn't nothing. It's probably six to eight points and metabolizes like sugar.
Blame it on a bit of a case of nerves -- with no shortage of things and people to worry about, but also to suck it up and not articulate them and be a good little trooper. And wine is a gentle way to calm nerves.
It's not an excuse, but I'm going to stop it anyway. And let's get on with getting healthy and feeling better.
I only lost .2 pounds last week, but I ate supper before I went to Weight Watchers, which I hadn't before. And I wore jeans, which are heavy. So I'm probably ahead of what I weighed. I've lost weight each week. I can do this and I can do better. Onward.
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