Editing My Life -- Buh-Bye Bread and other Resolutions

OK, confession time. 

I'd been playing with three or four pounds for several months now, flirting with Onederland (often in the 100s, but continuing to not be totally rid of the 200s which kept popping up on my scale.) It was discouraging to say the least. You don't go get half your stomach cut out not to keep losing weight and get to goal.

Blame it on traveling during the summer to a travel bloggers conference in Keystone, Colo., for about four days in June; 17 days in late June and July in Lagos, Nigeria, to help my husband repatriate (hooray he's back working in the States and really most of what there was to do there was just eat); Barcelona, Spain, for about 9-10 days in late July to visit darlin' daughter who was studying abroad — yes, more eating and drinking; and San Franscisco over the long Labor Day weekend  for hubby's and my fifth anniversary — loved the seafood and drinks in the Redwood Room at the Clift Hotel. Fun times, but watch out — they'll kill you.

We ate too much (well, maybe not too much, but not the right things.) We drank too much, which is something we gastric sleevers must watch like the majestic red-tailed hawks that are so prevalent in Oklahoma and Texas. Gotta swoop down and especially purge that.

When I got back from San Franscisco, I decided something needed to change. On the advice of my weight-loss physician, I'd stopped strength training about 15 months ago. And I'd never done quite as much as the recommended cardio.

So I found a new personal trainer and started working out a few weeks ago. And instead of my weight going down, it's been creeping up and about a week ago was back up to 203.4 pounds, which was still 70 pounds lost, but down from 78 pounds lost at my lowest point. I know some is muscle, but this has gotta stop and now.

I decided about a week ago to examine where I could make improvements and here they are:

• Cut out the alcohol, unless it's a really, really, REALLY special occasion. And then limit it and count it in my online tracker.

• Portion control on everything. If I bite it, write it; if I drink it, ink it. That's not an original saying by the way, but unfortunately I don't know where it came from or I'd attribute it. Let me know if you know.

• Buh-bye bread. I'd let bread and some other starches creep back up on my a little. Complex carbs have gotta go until I make goal.

• Move more, whether it's 30 minutes of walking the dog (dog likes that!) to hitting the stationary bike at the gym. Today's it's an hour of yoga, and doing a whole bunch of gardening tonight (which will make me happy when I drive up.) And I'm resolved to find more ways to move more in ways that make me happy and feel good. Maybe next week I'll buy one of those old Schwinn bicycles and a bike rack I've been coveting.

• I decided kitchen clutter and grime was a metaphor for sloppy eating. Looked up Flylady for inspiration and I scrubbed every inch of my kitchen this morning, throwing numerous out-of-date items out of the frig and washed all my frig shelves and crispers. I washed the fronts of cabinet doors and the tops of the countertops, relocating most of the clutter that had found it's way there. 

This morning, I edged back into Onederland thankfully. Now the goal is to hang onto it and keep making progress. I figure sometimes you just have to hit yourself in the head and say I'm not going back to the bad ol' days.

So that's it for now. I feel unstuck and moving again.

All encouragement is appreciated. You and I can do this and be healthier. 

Onward,
Carol

P.S. Here's my new ticker, with my back to Onederland weight on it:

Comparing Visits to Two Island Prisons, Two Years Later

At Alcatraz Island with San Francisco in the background, September 2012.

Two years ago in September 2010, almost to the day, hubby and I visited Robben Island in Table Bay off Cape Town, South Africa, where legendary SA President and Nobel Peace laureate Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for 18 years (of his total 27-year imprisonment) along with many other political prisoners.

In spite of the shape I was in, I remember it as a fabulous vacation — one of the best ever — and thankfully, I didn't have to walk much. That was a good thing because of my much higher weight at the time. I'm guessing I was probably in the 250s and now I'm in the 190s.

At Robben Island, South Africa, September 2010

My husband snapped lots of pics of me in South Africa and one is to the right. I have no idea how much I weighed at the time, but believe it or not, I thought I was looking pretty good even if I was somewhat self-conscious and wanting him to shoot from the waist up only. I remember how bad my body felt at the time: sluggish, painful knees, painful feet, out-of-breath constantly. Not good. On two blood-pressure meds, one anti-inflammatory, one anti-depressant, size 24 jeans.

Last weekend, hubby and celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary in San Francisco. We did lots of walking, but what struck me was when I saw the picture taken from our tour of Alcatraz Island, where the country's worst criminals were kept.

When the Alcatraz pic was snapped, above, my muscles were sore from having walked up and down about 20 blocks of San Francisco's super steep hills the day before en route from the hotel to Fisherman's Wharf, but it was a different kind of sore. It was soreness from using my muscles in a new way going up and down the hills. A good kind of soreness.

I'm now off all my meds except for one blood pressure med and in size 14 jeans. I wasn't huffing and puffing up the walkways at Alcatraz, and didn't have to take the tram for elderly and/or disabled people to get to the top or down from "The Rock."

What a difference two years make. My journey toward better health has slowed down since my gastric sleeve surgery Dec. 27, 2011, but the progress continues.

Another notch in my belt, so to speak.

Onward,
Carol

Hairy Dilemma

Bald is beautiful. On Jean-Luc Picard — yes. On Shaquille O'Neal — yes. On LL Cool J — most definitely yes.

Baby hairs growing back now that the hair loss is slowing down.

But usually not on women, although I think my "sisters" battling cancer are all beautiful. I don't have cancer, so that's a whole 'nother deal.

One of the things they don't tell you about before you get weight loss surgery is that many people have trouble with excessive hair loss three or four months after surgery.

My hair loss hit at four months almost to the day and with a vengeance. Every time I brushed it, blow-dried it, touched it, ran my hands through it — out it came. Usually in a handful of four or five long strands. Or more.

Fortunately, I have or had a thick mane of prematurely silver hair and a lot to lose. And I've always shed a lot and gotten teased about it.

This was different. It was coming out fast. It was all over my car, my house, everywhere.

I did a lot of reading on my favorite gastric sleeve surgery website, verticalsleevetalk.com. Apparently it's not uncommon to lose hair after having any kind of anesthesia or major surgery. I don't remember having hair loss after I had a C-Section with my now 26-year-old daughter, but I've slept since then and she was one heckuva distraction. I probably wouldn't have noticed anyway.

Mine is starting to grow back out and I have little baby hairs like crazy around my part. Hubby and I were in San Francisco celebrating our fifth anniversary over the long weekend and those baby hairs frizzed up and I was actually happy about it. Hubby says I'm "regenerating." I understand this is pretty common.

Here are some of the suggestions I've read. Of course, I'm not endorsing any of the products, obviously, because I haven't tried them all. Just throwing them out there:

• Cut your hair shorter. I didn't, because darlin' hubby likes it shoulder length and I like it too. Hasn't made a lot of difference to have it longer. Suit yourself on that one.

• Don't put it in ponytails. I do this a lot when I work out or just around the house or gardening. I hear that if you pull it tight, it can be tough on the roots. I've cut back on pulling it back except for working out or gardening in 100-degree Oklahoma or Texas weather. But I don't pull it back hard.

• Take Biotin. It turns out there is 600 mcg or 200 percent of your daily needs in the Bariatric Advantage multivitamins I take like religion daily, so I don't take any additional Biotin. Read your labels.

• Nioxin shampoo. I haven't tried this and I understand it's expensive. I'm just throwing it out there. I personally use Kiehl's shampoo (also not cheap) and love it. Now if I lost more hair, I might do some experimenting.

• Aveda Invati Scalp Revitalization System shampoo, conditioner and spray. I just learned about this and it has some great reviews online.

• Nutri-ox from Sally's Beauty Supply. I also haven't tried this, but ditto on the good reviews.

• Stay hydrated. I understand that being dehydrated can aggravate hair loss. Who needs aggravated hair loss? Nope. Not me. And staying hydrated has so many other benefits, like making your skin look good, systems function right, etc. My doc recommends no less than 64 ounces a day, which I usually take in via PowerAde Zero, Fuze Slenderize or Sobe Life-energy drinks, which have less than 15 calories per eight-ounce serving.

• Massage your scalp. Hey, that's going to feel good anyway. Or better yet, get your significant other to do that.

• Start early. Make sure your locks are good and healthy before surgery or the dreaded three or four-month hair loss. The more you have, the more you can lose.

Hope that helps if that's an issue you're having.

Onward,
Carol

Thank You, My Friend

A few months ago, I commented that I didn't know if anyone was really reading my TALO blog. My philosophy was mostly that I wanted to hold myself accountable and if anybody else got something from it, that would be gratifying.

I got a Facebook message yesterday from a dear friend and former colleague who moved out-of-state a couple of years ago. She's also married to a tall, lanky drink-of-water kind of guy, whom I suspect has the same kind of hollow legs as my 6'2" hubby.

"I know as a writer you don't always know that you have been an inspiration or help to someone. You even commented you didn't know if anyone was reading one of your blogs. Well, I'm writing to say thank you and let you know you've been a big inspiration to me for the last several months," she wrote.

With a couple of 'Alien' street performers in Barcelona in late July 2012.

She dieted for about six months for insurance reasons before Roux N-Y surgery mid-summer. And she has many of the same co-morbidities that I've struggled with — sleep apnea, high blood pressure, bad knees, etc. 

My friend is probably a little younger than I am, but we're both in about the same place lifestyle-wise. And I have a feeling we're both lucky women in that our hubbies love us no matter whether we're lean and mean or maybe not so much.

Here's a bit more of what she wrote:


"In January, I was looking for a blog from someone who had been through it. Imagine how excited I was to find one from a person I know and respect!! (I need you to write more, by the way.) So, I've been following it and you!

"It was great because we also do the wine on the patio thing and travel and just flat love to eat. ... I lost 15 pounds before and 16 so far since. So thank you for the times I wasn't sure I would be able to go through with it. And for lately. I've been looking back through to see how you handled what and when. This is crazy stuff but I think it's all going to be well worth it. (Oh, I had the Roux-N-Y). I so want a glass of wine! We are going on a cruise in September ... maybe then."

I was so touched and her message made me all teary and it's still having that effect. I'm not going to use her name for privacy reasons, but I know she'll be reading this and I wanted her to know how much her message meant to me. Thank you for that, dear friend.

I wrote back what a great tool that my gastric sleeve has been, and one thing I know for sure is that a person still has to do the hard work of staying on the weight-loss program. There's nothing like making a permanent lifestyle change and not giving yourself an out on it.

I've had some challenges: extended weight-loss stalls, hair loss, occasional nausea when I eat out with friends and sometimes slip into old habits of eating too fast.

The most obvious victory is my about 75-pound weight loss and how much better I feel, especially my knees, feet and back. 

And I've had lots of NSVs, also known as non-sleeve victories. I'm off all meds except for one — a blood-pressure med. My sleep apnea is lots better, and I'm hopeful that one day I'll be able to go without the Hannibal Lecter look-a-like CPAP mask. And forgive the indelicacy of it, but even my stress incontinence is much better. My new size 14 jeans purchased for the Barcelona trip are already getting loose. I think just by looking at the look on my face in the picture above, you can tell how much happier I am.

My hubby is amazed at how much better I'm feeling.  He tried hard to talk me out of having the surgery, but now is enjoying my increased energy and general improvement in my healthy well-being and comments on it frequently. I think he's come around.

Probably my biggest complaint is my whine about wine, or the lack thereof, to get off the weight. Can't have it often and lose weight. Plus, I just don't enjoy it as much. It kind of bothers my stomach some. I'm also finding the times I've had what I'd call a Carol Cosmo — vodka mixed with some Fuze low-cal fruit drink — I can't metabolize the alcohol very well and it hits me like the proverbial ton-of-bricks. Pretty much knocks me off my rocker. Not a good thing.

There are bumps, but they are getting smaller and the NSVs are getting more and larger. I'm going to stay after it.

Thanks, my friend, for the encouragement. Sometimes you get it when you least expect it. I'll be rooting for you and stay in touch!

Onward,
Carol




 

Getting a Grip on the Roller Coaster

OK, I have no more excuses.

I need to get back to blogging and back to holding myself accountable, now that I'm healthy again and have no excuses.

For those who didn't follow my TALO blog, I had a series of health issues. First an abscessed molar while in Africa. Rambo antibiotics to get me home to the U.S. so I could get it addressed. And a day after getting the bad molar pulled, I had a couple of days of high temps, flu-like symptoms and Montezuma's like you wouldn't believe. The temps and flu-stuff went away, but the explosive "Monte" stayed around — for three weeks, including a long-planned trip to visit my daughter in Barcelona. I went anyway, but it was tough.

Many (negative) tests ensued, included a negative malaria test. My doc said I just had a virus. OK, virus begone — please.

My weight see-sawed during this time down to 193 pounds and back up to 203. I even threw up in some big-time places on my trip, including during turbulence on the way to Barcelona and in a two-Michelin-star restaurant and after eating my first goat ever, which I think was just too rich for my sleeve.

My system finally settled down and I got back to normal at about 199-200. I wasn't complaining.

I was just trying to string together some healthy days, and now I have.

During my sick three weeks, I tried to blog on our travel blog, ToAndFrowe.com, and was informed by my lovely and protective daughter that, "it's not up to your usual writing standards. Don't blog, Mom, until you feel better."

Now I'm back on that horse and riding it. I've started edging down again and was at 197 this morning. And I'm blogging.  

OK.

Onward,
Carol 

Sizes and Pounds and Measurements -- Oh My!

I don't get it.

I'd pinned up my second set of jeans -- Size 18s -- for a couple of months now, and finally decided to buy smaller jeans before my July 22 10-day, trip to beautiful, exotic Barcelona, Spain, to visit darlin' daughter who had been in the study abroad program. 

Hooray, I slid comfortably right into Size 14s!!!!

En route to Montjuic on the Teleferic with Barcelona in the background.

OK, here's the confusing part. I took my measurements this morning and they're virtually the same as they were three months ago.  I don't get it. I know I'm a smaller size and a lighter weight. And I look better and my cheekbones are emerging. Lots of NSVs or non-sleeve victories too.


In this picture on the Teleferic (gondola) en route to the top of Montjuic in Barcelona (that's why a pole is sticking out of my head,) I'm wearing a blouse I formerly couldn't get into. My favorite NSV was that my knees and feet didn't hurt on the about 2-mile walk weaving down through all the gorgeous gardens and the Joan Miro' museum.


And I even went to the Sitges (pronounced sea-CHAISE) beach the day before and spent time in a SWIMSUIT on the fine, sand beach at the sparkling, clear Mediterranean.


So here's the offending measurements:

Aug. 2, 2012
Bust w/o bra: 41", -2"
Waist: 39", -4"
Hips: 45", -5.5"
Neck: 15", -1.5"
Upper right arm: 15", -1"
Thigh: 27", -3.25"
Right Calf: 17", -.75"


April 1, 2012
Bust w/o bra: 42", -1"
Waist: 39", -4"
Hips: 45", -5.5"
Neck: 15", -1.5"
Upper right arm: 15", -1"
Thigh: 27", -3.25"
Right Calf: 17", -.75"

Jan. 20, 2012 (The first time I measured after my Dec. 27, 2011, gastric sleeve surgery.)
Bust w/bra: 43"
Waist: 43" (makes me wonder if I'm a tree trunk ... I think getting a waist back will be sublime!)
Hips: 50.5"
Neck: 16.25"
Upper right arm: 16"
Thigh: 30.25"
Right Calf: 17.75"

Those measurements will be better next month. That's it. No discussion. They just will be.

My internal system has been malfunctioning for more than two weeks straight now, since returning from our West Africa trip July 14. I know this is too much information, but still can't seem to solve the problem, no matter what I eat or don't eat. Still hoping it was the antibiotics for my now-extracted tooth. I was as a bit better this morning, but then the problem came roaring back after breakfast. Hoping my innards will settle down in the next day or two. Looking forward to seeing how my weight settles out after I'm not dehydrated anymore.

All my tests taken between West Africa and Barcelona came back negative, so if it doesn't stop soon, it's more tests for me. Sigh.

Other than that, it really wasn't that hard to travel with my sleeved stomach. More on some of that famous Barcelona food especially the tapas and coping with that soon. I even had some molecular gastronomy, which was blow-your-mind-kinds of food.

Onward,
Carol

Not the Way I Wanted to Make it to Onederland, But Happy to be Losing

At Can Majo', a wonderful seafood restaurant on the Barcelona waterfront.

I made it to Onederland last week, although not the way I planned. For those who don't know, Onederland is when you get to the 100s from the 200s. I'm at 195 pounds and down 78 pounds at the last check before I hit the road again July 22 to Spain.

I got back from 16 days in West Africa on July 14, and immediately became very ill. Had my abscessed molar extracted Monday, July 16, then became ill from something we still haven't figured out. High fever, chills, sweats, aches -- 102, 103 for a couple of days, the 17th and 18th, also raging diarrhea which has continued and not slowing down. Fever broke early Thursday morning. Can't remember being that sick for about 10-15 years.

Figuring I brought home some varmint (parasite) from West Africa, I went to my physician on Thursday, July 19, and they did a bunch of tests. Blood tests, stool tests (yicky.) Gave me some Lomotil (actually the generic.) Worked a little. The good news is that I didn't pick up malaria in West Africa, although I didn't think so because I was taking the preventative med Malarone, you never know. Malarone has flu-like symptoms btw.

Complicate it by my getting a flu shot each year like clockwork, so I didn't think it was the flu.

Had a long-planned trip to Spain July 22, to visit my daughter who has been studying abroad in Barcelona. Took it anyway, even with system somewhat dodgy. A little turbulence and I lost my dinner in a plastic cup though. The Delta flight crew was extremely understanding and helpful.

We're having a good time, planning my bathroom breaks often and I'm hanging in there. Drinking LOTS of water, trying to stay hydrated, but it just runs right through. Sigh.

More soon!

Onward,
Carol