Up & at 'em!

I've been a bit lackadaisical regarding hitting WW back full-steam. I'm not sure why. I guess I'm sort of afraid that I will get going well and then have us hit some sort of financial burp where we can only afford to eat ramen noodles or something. Yeah, I know... get over it already. Still, I've been making the effort to record what I'm eating, including the Points value, so that I can have some idea of where I am. If I can get a bit more in the way of fiber and protein so I'll be full longer, I might actually be OK. I also had DH get me some LF popcorn at the supermarket to use as my snack. It's low in Points and pretty filling. Mostly, I think I just need to get back in touch with my body and only eat when I'm actually -hungry-. A lot of my snacking lately has been out of boredom. I -am- craving sweets a lot, so I expect that TOM is stalking me. Being on the new pill makes predicting when it's coming a bit difficult. I've been keeping track of the 1st day because my doctors' offices always want to know. In addition, I've been counting the days between 1st days, and it has been varying widely. So, I dunno. I know that, if I'm able to get some of the weight back off, my doc will switch me back to the combo pill rather than keeping me on the mini-pill, so that's an incentive right there. My yearly visit comes in April, so I'm hoping to be down about 40# by then, if not a bit more. But I'll really need to work the program if I have any hopes of being that successful. I may need to adjust my WI day so that I'm not so lax on the weekends. I dunno. I'll ponder that. I'm thinking of arbitrarily setting it to Wednesdays again. I seemed to have a LOT better luck when I did that. I also need to be better about recording my food on the weekends. I don't know why I'm not as good then, but I'm not. Since I'm an online subscriber, I'm thinking of getting an iPod Touch. There's a free WW app for iPod/iPhone that let's you do WW Online via your iPod (if you are near WiFi). I've been wanting an iPod for several years, and this seems like as good a reason as any. :-) I'd pondered a Blackberry but it's an extra data fee per month on my cell bill. Yes, that makes the access a bit more reliable, but...

Anyway, I actually walked about 20 minutes yesterday rather than waiting on the bus. If I'm going to walk regularly, I need to make sure I'm not stuffing my satchel quite so full so that it's heavy, but I did OK. My hip wasn't what I could even optimistically call "happy", but it'll get happier as I continue to walk. DH & I are working on clearing all the clutter out of the living room so I'll have room to do Yoga. I'm also considering taking the Yoga class they offer at the Y. I'll just have to find out when it is. I am also thinking that walking in the pool would be a good idea for a while. That way I can walk longer than my hip would allow me to on solid ground. Plus, the water's warm, so it would feel good on my joints.

So, there I am. I just need to quit half-a$$ing this and get 'er done. :-) I'm determined to be one of those people who says that they are in better shape in their late 30's and early 40's than they were in their teens and 20's. Darn it.

Ponders for the day

I was writing in my pen-and-paper journal this morning and had an apostrophe. I started pondering the correlation between weight issues, clutter issues and financial issues. I've not fully thought it out, but I know it's there, and I think the crux issue is the clutter issue. However, I also believe that they are an unholy trinity wherein you cannot successfully fix one of the problems without also fixing the others. I say that clutter is the root issue because it usually comes from having too much stuff, so it's a symptom of disorganization and excess. The same tools you use to fix one problem - especially the food/financial dyad - will certainly help the others. For example, if you keep a food log, which all of the "experts" recommend, you tend not to overeat. If you keep a spending log (not just a transaction register, but what you spend $ on), you tend to spend less. I'm positive that this isn't new information and that there is a book out there, I just haven't found it yet.

I need to meditate about this some more and think about what tools I can use to fight all three issues like a broad spectrum antibiotic for issues. I need to tackle all three if I have any hope of being successful in reaching my goal weight, having a clean house, and having my financial house in order.

And if there isn't already a book out there, then maybe I need to write one. :-)

ETA: Of course Peter Walsh has written such a book. How could I ever doubt him? :-) Enough Already. I have it checked out from our library and will see if it helps me collect my thoughts on the subject.

Telephone Tag

Why is it that I can get extraordinarily awesome care while I'm physically present at my Internist's office and then get such crappy customer service, for lack of a better term, via phone. When you call to get a referral or a prescription re-filled, it takes a bolt of lightning, Deus ex Machina and three acts of Congress to get them to return your phone call. I guess I need to complain more than I already have.

Today's complaint brought to you by the fact that I'm still swelling in my lower legs and I've not heard about the Lasix I asked about, nor have they refilled my normal diuretic and I have only until Friday left. I forgot I only had the one refill left, so it's partially my fault. In my defense, I've been dealing with things that make people a bit spacey. I'm also feeling a bit off. I can't really describe it beyond that. I hope that it's due to the antibiotic working against the infection rather than just killing off my intestinal flora and making me miserable. It'll do that anyway, but that's OK if it kills the infection, too.

At least there is Glee tonight. :-)

ETA: Just got a call from my doctor's office. If I'd known all I needed to do was rant, I'd have done it two days ago. ;-)

There and back again

So, okay, I'm not a hobbit, but I do feel like I've been there and back again. When last we met, I had just seen my Internist about the digestive issues. All of the tests he ordered came back within normal parameters so he referred me to a Gastroenterologist. The GI did a super-whammy Celiac test which shows that I do not have, nor am I ever likely to develop (it's a genetic marker test), Celiac Disease. That's a relief. The GI had a tentative diagnosis of IBS with possible lactose intolerance. I could've told him about the lactose intolerance. :-) However, IBS is a diagnosis of exclusion so he had to run all kinds of tests. It is at this point that I wear my knees out thanking every holy being for the fact that I have insurance. So, I had an abdominal CT which only showed a slightly fatty liver. I'm told that the fatty liver should resolve itself as I continue to lose weight and bring my cholesterol under control. I also had an abdominal ultrasound which showed nothing more than the CT did. After that, I got to have an upper endoscopy, which showed a teensy hiatal hernia which the doc says is not only too small to need to treat, but also too small to be causing any of the symptoms. Then came the fun of a colonoscopy which got a "looks great, see you when you are 50". So, basically, all that testing only to be told that it probably is IBS. One good thing that has come from it is that I was told that I have a gluten allergy and not a gluten intolerance, which means I can have things with gluten as long as I keep track of how I'm feeling. But the GI told me that he doesn't have a problem with me being gluten-free because he's of the opinion that people in the US eat entirely too much gluten anyway.

Basically, at the end of testing, I was no closer to really knowing what was wrong than I was when I started. Thankfully, the nausea has subsided enough that I can keep a bit more food down, though it's still present on most days and my appetite is still low. All of this is by early October.

Fast forward to last week. In the continued efforts to take better care of myself, I actually went to the clinic only 4 days into UTI symptoms. Ordinarily, I let it go until I feel like I want to die and -then- I go. So, I went ahead to the clinic on Friday. By the end of the day on Friday, my back was hurting on the left side, which let me know that I'd made the right decision to go ahead to the clinic. When I got there, the Nurse Practitioner had me do a urine sample which tested positive for WBC and blood - neither is good. She also had a blood draw to check a CBC and electrolyte panel. All she got back Friday was my WBC count. The reference range in the clinic lab goes up to 10.9 and my white blood cell count was 10.8. Yikes. That told her that I'd probably had the infection for a long time and that it was now in my kidneys. So, I got a shot of Rocephin on Friday, then again on Saturday. I'm also on a 10-day run of Levaquin. She also looked at the swelling in my lower legs and prescribed 3 days worth of Lasix. Since Friday, I'm down nearly 7# so I guess I was retaining a bit of fluid. I have a call into my doctor hoping that he'll give me another few days of Lasix because my legs, while much improved, are still swelling a bit. And, as soon as I'm feeling a bit better, I'll go have us explore the why behind the swelling. It may just be due to the kidney infection.

We are all now wondering if the infection is what was causing all of the "digestive" issues, which explains why none of the digestive disorder diagnostics (say that 10X fast) showed anything that explains the symptoms. I'm still run down and not feeling 100%, but it's AMAZING how much better I feel than I was Friday.

The moral of this story is that the next time I'm feeling run down and my appetite goes South and I'm nauseated, I want them to check me for a possible infection first.

As soon as DH gets paid, we're getting me back on WW. Right now, I'm writing everything down, though I'm not counting Points. I figure that's a good first step. I've also poked my head out on the WWMSG list for support. I'm hoping that those two combined efforts can get me back on track - and keep me there. *crosses fingers*

Pooky tummy, the saga continues.

Still not feeling well. Thankfully, I'm able to keep more down. Unfortunately, it's in the form of carbs, most of which contain gluten. So... Either the gluten is getting me, or something else is, because I hurt all over. I'm using my cane for the first time in quite a while, which is saying something. Normally, I'm too stubborn to admit (even to myself) that I need a cane. So... I'm pondering an Epsom salt bath to see if I can draw off any possible toxins. Not really feeling up to exercise, even though I'm sure it would probably help. Should probably get back to counting my points, though I expect that would be depressing in its own right.

Mostly status quo. I keep telling J. to shoot me and put me out of his misery. He keeps saying that he'd be more miserable without me, or some such. :-) What're you going to do?

So, I'm keeping on keeping on. I'm trusting the 'Verse to help see me through to the other side of this with the lesson intact.

Pooky Tummy, part... Wait, what part am I on?

I'm still dealing with digestive issues. I'm eating a little more, but not much, and the nausea isn't quite so bad. I've not actually had to vomit thru all of this, which is good, but I've had a couple of extremely close calls while riding home on the bus. Not the best time to feel like you are going to throw up, let me tell you.

I finally broke down and went to see my Internist on Monday. He doesn't think that the pain I'm having in the upper part of my abdominal area has anything to do with my digestive system. He was doing the poking and prodding thing and said that one of my ribs didn't feel like it was where it was supposed to be and that all the coughing I've done over the last year may have caused the attachment point to "twist". If that's the case, a PT can get it back where it needs to be.

With regards to my tummy, he ordered a bunch of tests. Right now, he had had blood drawn so he can re-test me for Celiac. Thankfully I'd given in and had been eating things with gluten in them because otherwise the test would show negative even if its not. He's also testing liver enzymes and everything that can be tested with a CBC and a CMP. I also had to give a stool sample (ewww) so he can test for Giardiasis and any other parasitic or bacterial infection. If all the tests he's ordered come back normal, he's going to refer me to a Gastroenterologist and we'll go from there.

On top of all -that-, I've got an infection in my right index finger from a torn cuticle. I get hangnails and torn cuticles often, but I usually wash them with soap and water, douse 'em with peroxide and slap a bandage on 'em and that treats them so I don't get any sort of infection. Not this time. I guess whatever I'm dealing with has made it more difficult for me to fight infection. Since I had to turn in my stool sample yesterday anyway, I went to the clinic. The doc said that I was good to come in when I did because it didn't look like I needed to have it opened up. I'm on an antibiotic for 10 days and am supposed to soak my hand in epsom salts a couple of times a day. If I'm not seeing marked improvement by tonight, I'm supposed to go back to the clinic in the AM and he'll see about opening it up.

Still pretty fatigued, but I'm going to shoot for easy exercise next week. I can't keep sitting around doing nothing.

The suckage continues

I've realized something the past couple of weeks. It's finally gotten through my head that I need to be on a gluten-free diet, no matter what. You wanna know how I know? I'll tell you. :-) When I have a pooky tummy, as I've had the past couple of weeks, I used to have a few stand-bys that would get me through. Two of them are chockablock with gluten: chicken noodle soup and grilled cheese sammiches. Have I had either of those in the last two weeks? Nopey. I did have chicken and rice soup after the husband carefully read the label. It didn't say "gluten free", but there wasn't anything on the label that looked like it might be hiding gluten. Plus, I didn't react to it like it did, so... I need to find a recipe, or make one, for chicken and wild rice soup - assuming, of course, that wild rice is GF. :-) I was excited to find the Bob's Red Mill GF texturized vegetable protein (TVP), so I could get lucky again. Hey, it could happen.

I'm hoping that my stomach/GI tract starts cooperating soon so that I can eat a bit more at a time. Right now, I'm eating enough to take my meds and keep my blood sugar from plummeting, but not much more than that. For those who know me, this will tell you how bad it was: DH made GF spaghetti for us on Wednesday. I -love- spaghetti and it was something I had a taste for, so... Well, DH ended up finishing my portion. *sigh*

I really don't know if the issues with my stomach are due to my GI tract healing from all the gluten - which I wouldn't think would be an issue since I'm not Celiac but, rather, Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitive (NCGS). Maybe it is. Dunno. Will have to do some more research on that. Don't know if the issues are Fibro-related. The GI tract runs on muscles, after all. I don't know if Fibro affects those sorts of muscle or not, but I have to be open to that possibility.

I'm hoping that I'll be able to eat enough soon that I'll be able to get back to the gym. I feel like a slug right now. I wonder if I'd be okay with slow walking on the treadmill? I suppose I could try it and just keep in touch with how I'm feeling and whatnot. I was a little shaky yesterday, so I dunno. I'll get through the weekend and see how I'm doing. I'll test out my ability to be active by cleaning house. :-)

It's been an interesting few weeks

Not quite a month ago, I finally came to the realization that I could try to convince myself that I can eat gluten all I want to, but the truth is: I can't. Not even a little bit. So, I'm back being cleanly gluten-free. Thanks be to all that is decent and holy for Earthfare. When I go there, the only thing I have to make sure isn't in the ingredients is gluten. They already check for HFCS and artificial sweeteners, which are the two major things I'm trying to avoid in addition to gluten. I don't know if what I'm dealing with right now is my intestines healing or if there's something new and different that I'm having to cope with, or what. But for the last two weeks, I've been dealing with a re-run of the digestive issues I was dealing with in 2005, down to the same time of year. Hmmm. At least this time, my body is allowing some weight to go instead of holding on to all my fat reserves. I'm sure I'll hit the point of diminishing returns where my body goes "whoa, Nellie! Enough of that!" and shuts down the banishing of weight. I'll enjoy the weight loss while I've got it, because that's about the only good thing about whatever's going on.

You know, I just realized that I had a gastrointestinal thing the first year I was at UT, and that happened in August. Could it simply be coincidence, or is there something I eat or drink at this time of year that I don't otherwise? I shall have to ponder that. It was 10 years between the bout at UT and the bout in 2005. Now it's only 4 years later. Thankfully, at least at this point, I'm not vomiting. I hate vomiting. Probably why I was never bulimic. I'm nauseated as all get out, but I'm keeping what little I'm eating down. Not so much with the other end. Sorry, I know: TMI, but anyway.

I'm trying to stay hydrated as best I can and eating a little as I can. I'm having days where I have 10+ WW points left, which isn't good, and WW Online admonished me for losing 6+ pounds last week. Can't help it. It's not like I'm doing it on purpose. *sigh*

Thanks, SYTYCD!

Some readers know that I am an avid fan of Fox's "So You Think You Can Dance". I danced when I was younger, along with cheerleading and color guard. I absolutely LOVE dance and seeing dancers grow within their art. The show is perfect for that. The thing is, when I watch SYTYCD, I miss dancing so much, but I know that my knees would be shot after the second class if I went back to it weighing over 250#. So, I decided Wednesday evening, while I was watching the show, that this would be the -last- year I'm this heavy. I -will- get back to dancing, even if it's just a class taken at a community college. I have no dreams or aspirations of ever performing (though that might be kind of cool), and the only possible way in which I have -ever- thought I would be affiliated with dance professionally is as a teacher. I just want to get back to it for the love of the art form. Taking all of that into consideration, I thought about how I would accomplish this. I'm all about plans. :-) First off, I've -got- to add flexibility training back into my routine. Limber muscles don't get injured as quickly and loose hamstrings help prevent back pain. So, stretching: check. Next, I need to up the intensity of my cardio workouts to get the maximum amount of caloric burn that I can get, while still keeping it mostly low-impact. I will also continue to lift weights for strength, muscular endurance, and for the fact that muscle burns more kCal, even at rest, than fat does. So, fat burning: check. The third leg of the tripod is sticking to WW like glue. I need to really focus on eating filling foods and stay away from processed/refined/HFCS-laden crap and stay as close to "real" food as I can get. That means cooking more, but that's OK. I'll deal. :-) With upping the intensity of my workouts, I'll earn more APs, and I'll need to make sure I'm eating some of them. I'm not sure why, but the more I exercise, the less hungry I am. :-/ So we'll have to see how it goes. So, sticking to WW: check.

Proving that I'm putting it into practice is the fact that I came into work (I work late on Thursdays, but have to be here early because of bus schedule), had some brekkie, and read for a while. Then I decided that I'm not going to banish any weight by sitting on my tushie reading Harry Potter, so I went out to the fitness trail around the pond and walked. For 55 minutes. I did approximately 2.25 miles in that 55 minutes. Next week, I want to go out earlier and see if I can get a full 3 miles in, and how long it will take me, as that's within spitting distance of a 5K. When I get my 5K time to under an hour, I will start adding distance because I eventually want to do a half-marathon and there is an 8K (5 miles) in November that I'd like to do, but only if I can get my time to around 1:20 or so.

I'm working on a shopping list for next week which will have less processed/pre-packaged/refined stuff on it, and more actual food. Watch out world!

Um, yeah...

I didn't have the best weekend. As I said in my last post, I'd been battling headaches all week. When I went home Thursday, I started getting auras (lights in the edges of my field of vision). Knowing that was an indication that a migraine would soon follow if I didn't head it off at the pass, I popped 3 Motrin and drank some caffeine. Woke up Friday with a headache, but it wasn't a migraine, so I figured I was in the clear. Not so much. Woke up Saturday with the worst migraine I've had in several years. Yeah. Complete with pulsating head, nausea, sensitivity to light and sound, etc. The whole ball of wax, as it were. Even had to have DH call some friends with whom I'd had plans to cancel for me. Sheesh! I took more painkillers and went back to bed. Sunday, I awoke sans migraine, thanks be to all that is decent and holy, but was completely wiped. Because I was still wiped yesterday, no gym visit for me. Instead, I put new sheets on the bed and watched the pilot episode of "Ghost Whisperer". Not the most productive evening, but...

Tonight, I'm going home, and I'm cleaning house. It's driving me crazy. I know, I know. Who would notice? Still. I'm going to whack away at as much as I can this week and use that as my exercise. Hopefully, I'll have it back under control so that I can go to the gym -and- clean. Time to dust off my "control journal", huh? I wonder what Zone we are in? Hmmm. I just figure that a clean house would be more conducive to the other healthy changes I'm trying to make in my life. Let's see, shall we?

Craptacular Week

I don't really know when to expect TOM with the new pills. I am sort of suspecting it anytime now because I'm craving crappy food and my face is broken out. *le sigh* So, I'm writing off the week. I'm re-committing tomorrow, as my new week starts then. I've not made it to the gym at all this week and have been battling headaches, too. So...

I've got my plan in place for next week and will get back on track. I expect to not be happy with my WI in the AM, but at least I know why it'll be bad. :-/

Back in the gym next week, fewer carbs, keeping within my Points. I can do this. :-)

Woot! *happy Woofie dance*

I did my weight circuit Friday. By the end of it, I realized that a task I did at work that day strained a muscle in my back. So, no weights for me on Monday. :-( I did, however, do 60 minutes on my pedaler. Tuesday, another migraine. I've decided that it may be my new birth control causing the headaches, as it's progestin-only. Hopefully, it's something I'll get used to. If the headaches have eased off considerably by the time I finish the 3 months of pills I've got, I'll call my OB/Gyn and see what she thinks. Needless to say, no exercise for me on Tuesday. Yesterday, I did my weight circuit, wherein I upped the weight on all of my exercises (tho I needed to reduce the # of reps on my leg extension, as my knee gets cranky if I don't ease into it). Afterward, I decided that I would try walking home from the gym, which is about 2 miles. I may need to go to Map My Walk and see what it is, perzactly. It took me 55 minutes. But, seeing as it was 81 degrees and I was lugging my book bag, I'll graciously accept the near-hour and move on. :-) I'm a bit stiff and sore today, but that tells me that I have my exercise level about right for now. Any more, I'd be hurting, which is not the same as being sore. YKWIM?

Today, all I've managed to do is wrestle with the microfiche reader/printers to vacuum their insides. But that counts as exercise, right? :-) I have a walk on deck for this afternoon. Hopefully it won't be -as- warm as yesterday, but I feel that it prolly will be. That's OK. I have my water bottle and my hat with me. It's all good.

Oh, and did I mention that I banished 1.2# last week? :-)

Full of Win!

Despite the storm front induced headache that plagued me most of the day, I still managed to get in an abbreviated walk in the AM (15 min instead of 20). Thankfully, my head eased off in time for me to go to the gym. I did my weight circuit and then did 35 minutes on the recumbent bike. For some reason, my left foot started to swell and hurt as I was pedaling. If it continues, I'll go see the doc about it. I've got a short walk (15-20 min) planned for this morning (in just a few, in fact) and then a longer walk planned for this evening, weather permitting. I'll continue my weight circuit as is tomorrow, but I will need to up the weight on most of the exercises next week.

A strong, fit, healthy Woofie coming soon!

Full of Win

Made it to the gym yesterday (for the first time since AUGUST!!!). I was able to lift at the level I left. So, my muscles seem to be in decent shape. It's just my lungs that are pooky. I figure that, if I build up to it, the breathing issues won't be, well, an issue. ;-)

So, yesterday: 20 minute walk around the pond, weights, 35 minutes on the treadmill @ the gym.

Plan for today: 20-30 minute walk this afternoon

Plan for the rest of the week: 20 min walk in the AM and weights on W/F. I'll do extra time on the treadmill depending on time. 20-30 minute walk in the afternoon/evening on Thurs. Saturday will depend on whether I go out of town or not. Sunday is my OFF day.

That sked will remain in effect until summer classes start. Then I'll switch my Thursday walk to the AM before I report to work. I'll make Thursday my distance day eventually, but I'm still working up to it. :-)

Woot!

So, okay... I was admonished by WW Online for "losing too fast", but I did banish 5.8# this week, which got me under 270#. If I keep losing that much every week, I'll worry. But every once and a while, one has a woosh that enables one to lose a bunch of weight all at once when one hasn't lost at all for a while. The only real changes I made this past week were to get at least 20 minutes of exercise every day and to cut back on my carbonated beverages. I guess that I was doing something right. :-)

As I posted last week, I'm set to get back in the gym today. I've not been in an uber long time, so I'll have to make sure I don't over-do it. But I think that it's still an good thing. :-) As much as I bitch and moan about cardio, I -love- to lift weights. I just need to get back into the habit of doing so.

DH and I are talking about doing a week at Sandals for my 40th birthday (about 6 years) and I really want to have a bikini body by then, even if I -choose- to wear a one piece. :-) Truthfully, I want to have a bikini body before then, but... I want to be fit, healthy and strong. And believe me, when I am, I intend to show off all my hard work. :-D Darn it.

These shoes were made for walking...

...and that's just what they'll do...

I've managed to walk for at least 20 minutes everyday this week except Monday, when I was felled by the mighty migraine. Today's constitutional was 35 minutes. Woot! That means that I've earned 7 Activity Points this week. I'm okay with that. I'm going to start back to the gym next week so I can lift weights. Muscle may weigh more than fat, but it takes up less room and is metabolically active tissue. Fat's just, well, fat. :-) I'm hoping getting APs will turn the tide and help me banish these 4# once and for all, so I can go on to banish the other 100+. :-)

Have a good day, everyone!

*le sigh*

Okay. I have -got- to get my act together and treat my weight seriously. My cholesterol and triglycerides are back up. So much so that my doc has added another medication. Grrrr. I didn't go -crazy- with my Points last week, but I'm still up again, darn it. 3.4#, to be exact. This has -got- to stop. So, I'm pondering whether or not next week should be a Simply Filling week and see how I do there. Dunno. If I do Simply Filling, I'll have to start making my Bento again because there does not exist a SF convenience meal. :-) So... I'll explore the SF list and see if it looks like something I can do for a week. All I know is that eating out is killing me with regards to Points. I've put forth the idea of coming up with a meal rotation so that we know what we're going to have for supper every night. I don't know that I'll get far enough ahead of the game to start cooking once a week, but that might be what I need to do, especially when I start grad school. I really want to get a food vacuum sealer thingy. That would help me make my own "TV dinners" for which I already know the Points and know the ingredients (esp the sodium).

For now, though, I need to start exercising. I think that my food choices will improve as I start exercising. That's what happened when I lost 50#. Plus, if I'm paying for a gym membership, I should use it, right? I'll make that change (going to the gym) first and see if that's the trick. If not, I'll try gym + Simply Filling and see if -that- is. If neither is, well, I just don't know. I'll have to step back and punt, I reckon. :-)

Gained this week... sorta

As I expected, I had a gain this week. It was about 2#. I wasn't surprised and, in fact, reacted to it with the "oh well" shrug. I knew that the Prednisone-induced eating would cause me to retain fluid and I also knew that the 2# was more than likely not -fat-. So, I'm looking at the gain and knowing that I -will- have it back off by my next weigh-in. I'm optimistic that it will take some of its friends with it. :-) This is a bad budget week, so I'm having to really use my Points creatively. I may still end up going over on my weeklies, but I'm going to try my darndest not to. We'll just have to see.

The news that got me worse that the scale was the test results I got back from my doc. My cholesterol/triglycerides are way up again. :-/ So, he's wanting me to add a super dose of niacin. Part of me wants to not do it and just get it back down with diet, but he also wants to re-test in 2 months. So, I figure I'll go ahead and fill the scrip when we get paid and give it a shot for those two months. If I can't deal with the side effects, then I'll talk to him about not using it anymore. I have set a goal that I will be off some of my obesity-influenced meds by next year. I'll need to banish quite a bit before the doc will be willing to entertain the possibility, I'm sure, but I want to give it the old college try. I'd really like to be at goal by the time I start graduate school, which is tentatively scheduled for Fall 2010 (approximately 16 months). If I average 2#/week, that gets me darn close. I know I can't count on even full pound banishments, but... I'm thinking positively. :-)

Right now, though, I'm concentrating on getting my lungs in shape so that I can start exercising again. That will definitely go a LONG way towards upping my odds of success. Yes, you can banish weigh on WW without exercise, but you miss out on so many of the benefits from exercise if you don't. Right now, I'm just doing short walks that probably don't even get my heart rate into the cardio range - I'll have to check that. But at least I'm doing -something-, right?

So, onward and downward. I'm pushing a lot of water this week because we're doing a lot of cheap food that is high in sodium. I need to find cheap meals that are still WW friendly so that, if a next budget crisis hits, we'll be ready. :-)

Steriod beast

The next time a doctor tells me I need a steroid in either shot or pill form, I want a detailed explanation as to the necessity of said steroid and whether or not taking it will, in fact, benefit me to the point that eating the house while I'm on it is OK. I try to abstain from eating when I'm on a steroid, but I just get so gorram hungry. I've blown through all of my weekly allotment of Points and then some, and my week starts on Monday. I'm trying hard to stick to low Point foods to snack on, but I end up just eating more of them. I've pretty much decided that this week is a write-off. *sigh* But at least my lungs are to the point where I can walk more than 10 minutes at a time, so I guess that's something. Sheesh!

-So- not expecting a banishment this week. Heck, if I maintain, I'll be happy. Srsly.

I take the last Prednisone pill on Friday, so I'm hoping the effects of it (the eating like a horse and then eating the horse effects) are gone by Monday. I'll start fresh then. I'm still recording everything, so I can have a record of how bad it actually is, so that I'll have ammunition for the "nope, not doing that again" decision on steroids.

Hells bells, people! This is the second dose of them I've had this year. That's enough for anyone. Really.

If asthma treatment requires a regular intake of steroids, I'm just gonna suffer with it (the asthma) and make do.

To Breathe or Not To Breathe....

Asthma. That's what my doctor suspects at the moment. We've thought I might have it in the past, but my lungs will miraculously be symptom-free when he does the breathing test. But he thinks that the Whooping Cough damaged my lungs just enough that asthma is a strong possibility. So, he gave me an antibiotic for the current ick and I have a week on Predinsone and 2 puffs 3X/day of an albuterol inhaler to "tune up my lungs". Then I get to go through the fun of pulmonary function tests in 10-14 days. I guess all the meds are to make sure I don't get a false positive because of the current chest cold. Dunno. I'm a wee bit nervous about the tests because I've heard that one of them involves a blood draw from the artery in my wrist. Owie! I guess I'll deal, but, yeow.

In weight-banishment news, I've banished another 2#. I really wanted to be under 270 by our anniversary (that's today for anyone keeping track), but I missed it. So, that's my goal for the next WI. I know I'd be losing/banishing/releasing better if I could exercise, but even mild exercise tires me out so bad. It's gotten to the point where I have to rest about mid-way going to and coming from the bus... the stop is about 2 blocks away, people. I -know- I'm not in that bad of shape, so... I guess I'm just not getting the O₂ I need.

For now, my exercise is going to be attacking the office/guestroom. I'll only be able to do about 15-20 minutes at a time, I'm sure - if that - but I'll at least be getting activity Points. :-)

TTFN.

Woot!

I direct your attention to my weight loss ticker. (<---- over there)

Yep. I've successfully banished 5.8#. I think I'm doing something right, huh?

Now, if the darn pollen will let me actually be able to exercise some, that'd be great. :-) That and the cold. Who said it could get cold again? Not I.

Wow!

I was -so- right about retaining fluid. Out of curiosity I weighed myself this morning just to see what the difference was... 4.8# Wow!I'm very interested now to see how I do on my official WI day, which is Monday. I'm trying to remember what my 1st week on WW was like & how much I released then. I'll have to go through the archives and see. I know it was quite a bit, though. Prolly not going to release/banish enough to get to the 260s this week, but I should be darn close, I'd think. Yes, that's a LOT. But if you saw the state of my ankles at the end of the day, you wouldn't argue about my losing that much scale weight.

Anyway.

Day 1 OP was good, though I was craving junk by the end of the day. I didn't give into it, though! So far, day 2 is going swimmingly, as well. I need to get to the supermarket and get stuff to bring for lunch because it's risky to try to stay OP and just -hope- that there's points-friendly food available. So far, I've been able to make pretty good choices, but it's not always possible in the cafeteria. I just need to come up with lunch ideas that don't involve bread. Maybe wrap sandwiches... I can see how many points the brown rice tortillas I have are. That's a possibility. I'll ponder.

Wishy-washy Wolf

Deciding that it would definitely help me to put my money where my mouth is (in other words, actually paying for something encouraging me to do it), I joined WW Online this morning. I'm still going to have to be careful with my carbs because I know that too many of them will keep my blood sugar doing the loopy-di-loops it's been doing. I also need to stay away from wheat/barley/rye. Other than that, I should be perfectly fine with doing WW. It's the only program I've been able to stick to for any length of time and actually manage to banish the weight. As of this morning, I have approximately 145# to banish. Sheesh! But, my scale weight is up quite a bit because of how little water I drank over the weekend, and how much sodium I took in. So I'm pretty sure I'm going to get the "whoa, slow down nelly!" message that I've been told that WW Online gives you when you lose more than 2# per week. Maybe they'll give me some leeway in the first couple of weeks because a lot of it -will- be water weight. I guess I'll find out. :-)

I've tracked my first meal, and feel like I'm off to a good start.

Hope everyone has a GREAT day!

Wish me luck!

Well, I knew that continuing to scarf down the copious amounts of refined carbs (read sugar) that I'd been scarfing was not going to cut it, I have cut out sugar and other simple carbs. The sugar is the hard part, as I'd already cut out most simple carbs just because they almost all contain gluten. For now, though, I'm even cutting out GF carbs like rice, popcorn, GF tortillas, oatmeal, etc, except at one meal per day. I'm hoping that will get me releasing some fluid, as the Bakers cyst in my right knee has re-filled and it's making doing any real cardio nigh impossible. However, I am going to the gym tonight to start back to lifting weights. Since it's been so long, I'll start with just one set of about 12 reps at a pretty low weight. It's mostly just to start building the habit that MWF, I go lift weights. T/T will be my cardio days (starting small there, too), Saturday will be something like Yoga or Pilates and Sunday will be my sort-of off day. If I feel up to taking a walk, I will, but it's a day when I'm not going to beat myself up for not exercising.

Since I've cut out sugar and have upped my water again, I should actually have quite a banishment this week. I'm not "losing" weight - cuz I don't want to find it again. I'm not "releasing" weight - cuz that's just not strong enuf a word. I'm -banishing- weight. The 1/2 my current body weight that I need to remove is no longer welcome here. It needs to go. Darn it.

Yeah, I realized I currently weigh DOUBLE what I should. No wonder my poor knees hurt.

Okay, here's the deal...

For the time being (say until the end of February) I'm strictly going to concern myself with making sure that I eat a gluten-free diet. I will get my Healthy Guidelines (milk, protein, fruits/veggies, water, etc), but I'm not going to worry about counting Points for the time being. Once I'm back to being GF, I'll get back to counting Points later. Or, I may switch to the non-counting approach called Simply Filling (old Core). We'll see how it goes. But that's the news that's fit to print today.

Accountability & Apostrophes

Well, the steroid shot I was given to help ease the inflammation of my bronchial passages made me want to eat the house. Since I wasn't feeling well already, I had minimal willpower to prevent me from eating said house. Thusly, I'm no longer in the 260s. I hope I'll have myself under control soon. If nothing else, I'm getting plenty of fruits & veggies this weekend so that, if I do feel the need to eat something, I can have something that won't so completely de-rail my efforts.

I've also been a bit concerned... okay, more than a bit... about the frequency of the respiratory infections, both upper (sinus) and lower (bronchitis) that I've been getting recently. So I went to my quiet place and tried to figure out what might be causing them. Then it hit me. I've been allowing more and more gluten back into my diet. So, I went forth and did some research and it turns out that respiratory symptoms can be caused by gluten intolerance. I almost wish I had full-blown Celiac Disease because I'd know immediately that I'd been "glutened" and I would have a more regular and obvious reason to not eat it. Instead, I have Non-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity, which allows me to eat and eat and eat gluten and then, all of a sudden, I have a really intense flare of Fibromyalgia or a case of Bronchitis that I need a steriod shot and an antibiotic that they give to slow the progression of Anthrax to fix.

So, my goal is to come up with GF meals that are also Points-friendly so that I can have my (gluten free) cake & eat it too, as it were. I have nearly 130 pounds to remove from my person. I weigh 2X what I should. Double. That's just not right. I also know that I'm not ever going to budge from where I am if I don't cut the gluten back out of my diet. Thankfully, I love fruits and veggies and they are all naturally gluten free. :-) I have a book checked out from the library called 1000 Gluten Free Recipes. If I find a bunch I like, I may see if I can buy it for home. We'll see. I'm not sure if the nutrition information is included or not. I guess they figure that most people who would be using the book are Celiacs, who are typically diagnosed after losing a lot of weight and don't mind how many kCal is in something. *shrug* What are you gonna do?

So, as soon as I am able, I'm going to the supermarket and I'm going to start bringing my lunches again, and I will go back to being GF. Darn it. I vaguely remember how fabulous I felt when I was GF and really working WW. I want that again. Darn it.

Ugh

I finally finished my antibiotic. I am hoping that the nausea it induced will pass soon. Because of the nausea, I've only been able to eat certain things. Unfortunately, because of the steroid shot, I've wanted to eat the house. *sigh* I'm almost 100% sure that my WI on Monday will be back up in the 270s. I hope it's not, but I'm prepared for it to be. I don't feel quite the urge to snack that I did have, so I'm hoping that the steroid is working its way out of my system. DH & I are going to the supermarket on Sunday, and I plan on stocking up on things that I can eat loads of without really derailing me.

That's pretty much all the news that's fit to print.

Woot!

I finally broke into the 260s - with a vengence. :-) I'm down to 265.2, which is 5# less than last week. Yes, I know that is a lot for one week, but I was retaining water from TOM, so there. I'm also going to enjoy the fact that I'm losing big right now because, if my body stays true to form, my releases will get down to fractions of a pound soon enough. For those who are still sitting there saying "Whoa! That's too darn fast, missy", I'll have you know that I'm not starving myself, I'm not taking laxatives, I'm not making myself throw up, I'm not cutting out a type of food, and I'm not compulsively exercising. I'm following WW and I'm making sure I eat all of my Points everyday and making sure I follow my healthy guidelines wherein I'm getting plenty of fruits and veggies, 2-3 servings of milk, lean protein, whole grains, etc. Right now, this is the rate at which my body is losing, which I'm happy about.

Anyway. /Justification. :-)

Since I'm actually feeling better today, I'm going to do some work in the Room of Doom^tm. I promised the hubby I wouldn't over do it, so I won't. I just want to start getting that room de-cluttered. I am really praying that I'll feel up to starting back @ the gym next week. If I'm paying for it, I really wanna use it, darn it. :-)

Blargh, Hack, Patooey!

I finally broke down & went to the clinic on Tuesday. I'd called my doctor's office Monday in hopes that I could convince him to simply call me in an antibiotic. Unfortunately, their practice has seen too many cases of pneumonia this year for him to feel entirely comfortable doing that without someone listening to my lungs and taking a chest x-ray if necessary. Because it had been 3 weeks of near-constant misery, I relented and went to the clinic. The PA listened to my lungs and told me they sounded congested but clear (i.e. no pneumonia), but he prescribed an antibiotic that would treat both bacterial infection due to bronchitis (the official dx) AND pneumonia. Of course, this particular antibiotic will probably kill everything except cockroaches, so I should be as good as new soon... assuming, of course, that the antibiotic doesn't kill me. :-) In addition to the antibiotic, I received a steroid injection. That's supposed to help me get my voice back and help shrink any inflammation of my bronchial tubes. Dunno what it's doing to my bronchial tubes, but my voice is still squeaky. It -is- better than it was, so I'll graciously accept my blessings where I can find them.

I'm doing well sticking to WW - even though the steroid has made me very munchy. I hope to see a good loss on Monday, but I'll be happy with any loss - especially if it gets me back into the 260s. :-) Since I was at 269.4 this AM & 268-ish yesterday, I think I may just see the 260s again. I'm okay with that. I'll probably still not be able to exercise next week, so I'm really going to try to get in and de-clutter the office/guestroom like I'd been planning to do before I got sick. That will earn me some activity points but hopefully not be too stressful on my healing lungs the way actual cardio activity would be.

It's supposed to be in the 60s the next few days. I'm hoping that will further facilitate my getting better. Of course, it only will if we don't then suddenly have another cold spell. *sigh* When I go in for my yearly "please renew my prescriptions, thanks" appointment with my doctor, I may see if he'll either examine my lungs/respiratory system to see why the heck I keep getting all these respiratory infections, or refer me to a pulmonologist and let -them- do it. I'm tired of being felled by every respiratory bug that comes by. I've missed entirely too much work over them and I want it to stop. Darn it.

Sick and tired

Yeah, that old cliche about being sick and tired of being sick and tired... of course, things don't get to be cliched without being terribly true. I'm tired of not being able to exercise, darn it! I am hoping that my writing (oh, okay, I'll be honest here - whining) about not being able to exercise will help me bust through any excuses I try to come up with when I -am- able to exercise and don't wanna. I'm counting my Points this week and am trying hard to get all my healthy guidelines met - except for the glaring exception of 30 minutes of activity each day. My breathing is such that even light housecleaning is wearing me out this week. *sigh* I'm trying to figure out how much longer I'm going to put up with this before I break down and go to the doctor. With this bout, it doesn't feel "off", so I expect it's either a cold or some other upper respiratory infection. I'm drinking lots of fluids and not overdoing it, so I can't imagine my doctor would be able to do anything else. If it -is- bronchitis, I'm not sure how much good an antibiotic would do at this point. I don't -think- it's pneumonia...

Heck. I just don't know. All I know is that my head hurts (that's hormonal), my voice is still nearly gone (but no sore throat), I'm still coughing (non-productive) and feel like I could sleep for a week. So, tonight, I'm going to write in my pen-and-paper journal and go to bed early. Maybe a good night's sleep will improve my outlook.

Back on Track... I hope

After a release of 3.8# this morning, I must say I'm pretty happy with that. That was with just trying to get my healthy guidelines and just journaling. I kept a weather eye out on my Points, but didn't sweat going over. This week, I am back to faithfully counting my Points, so I can't wait to see how well I do on the scale on 02/02.

I'm so tired of not being able to exercise!!! I'm really fidgety because I have more energy to burn off, but no real outlet. It sucks. Thankfully, house cleaning earns me Activity Points, but it doesn't really use up all the extra energy. This week, though, I need to get into the storage room (which will eventually be the office/guestroom) and get it gone through and de-cluttered. That should burn off quite a lot of my excess energy. :-) Hopefully, the vestiges of the cough will be gone by the weekend so I can start back at the gym. That would be awesome! If nothing else, I'll start lifting weights and go from there.

Still hanging in there

Overall, I'm feeling a LOT better. Unfortunately, I don't have much of a voice and I'm still coughing. Hopefully, the predicted warm-up will have a beneficial effect on my lungs. We are also cleaning around the apartment, which is getting rid of a lot of dust and other allergens, so that should help, too. I've been pondering about exercise. I know that you are not supposed to do serious cardio when you are dealing with respiratory issues. But I wonder if something like Yoga or Pilates would be OK. That way I could get some activity without over-doing. I don't know. I guess I should research it. Failing that, I could try one workout and rely on my body to tell me if it's too much.

I'm still not officially counting Points, but I -am- writing down everything I eat in my food journal. Just the writing it down helps keep me accountable and I'm much more likely to make better choices, even when I'm not counting Points. I expect that, when the grand and glorious days of my maintenance phase comes, journaling will still need to be a part of my plan. I have to wonder if just making sure I get my healthy guidelines in and writing it down would be enough? That's not -official- WW, but... I don't know. For now, I probably need to get back on the wagon and start counting my Points. I'll just be glad when I can actually taste my food again.

I can't seem to win

So, I had Whooping Cough, and couldn't exercise. I finally get over it, and go back on WW. I took a 20 minute walk on Monday (a week ago). Tuesday, I wake up with the flu. Now, it's bronchitis. Gah! I -am- down 2.2#, which is a good thing, and I'm keeping a weather eye on my Points, even if I'm not being really anal about them and am, instead, pushing fluids to break up the chest congestion.

My sister told me about the diet her trainer has her following and she's had really good results with it. I'm contemplating it right now. I may give it a go, but I don't know yet. It involves drinking a lot of protein drinks, and I am not sure I can deal with that. But she said she's lost 15# in 2.5 months, so it is tempting. Alls I know is that I need to get this weight off and I seem to somehow be sabotaging myself or something. I told DH that, if I'm not careful, I'm going to associate WW with getting sick because everytime I've restarted it lately, I've gotten really sick.

Mostly, I'm just over it. And tired. Let's not forget tired.

Official Restart

I officially re-started WW today. So far, so good. I even went and walked for 20 minutes @ lunch. I'd allotted 30, but I'm listening to my body these days, and it said that if I tried to push it too much more, I'd regret it sooner rather than later. So... I can already tell I'm releasing fluid, if you know what I mean. :-) Hopefully that will translate into a downward trend on the old scale.

That's pretty much all the news that's fit to print. Have a good week!

Green for launch

I'm okay to go back to exercising. Finally. Sheesh! Between the lack of forward momentum/progress of my cardiovascular endurance facilitated by regular exercise, and the -backwards- momentum caused to it by the Whooping Cough, I'm decidedly out of shape now. I've also gained back ALL of the weight I'd lost on Weight Watchers, plus some. *le sigh*

And speaking of momentum... that's the name of the newly-launched Weight Watchers program (it replaces "Turn Around"). I don't know the full deets yet, but the info I've gleaned gives me the impression that it's just a combo between the Flex and Core plans, where you still count Points, but eat mostly "Filling Foods" (the old Core list). I believe this to be mostly marketing, because a LOT of people on my WW mailing list have been doing this, calling it Flore. *shrug* There are probably some other minor changes, but since I don't go to meetings, I don't know for sure. Anyway, because WW is a healthy, balanced program and I know I can be successful on it, that's where I'm landing. I'd like to get by the WW center and get a new 3-month Food Journal, as it's the best way for me to stay accountable. I've tried to just write things down on paper, but the actual WW food journal seems to give me the most success. Knowing that, when I go, I should probably just buy a couple at a time. :-)

I hope that anyone who might be reading had a good Christmas/Hanukkah/Yule and is having a great year so far!