March 2010

March 1st

I know, I've been MIA for a few weeks. Here's the scoop. Brian came to SC to spend about 10 days with Wayne and I studying for the Ohio Bar exam. I picked him up at the Atlanta airport on Sunday, Feb 7th. By Wednesday he was in excruciating pain with a pinched nerve in his neck. We were able to get him into a chiropractor on Friday here is SC but the relief was minimal. Sunday we headed by car back to Ohio to get him into an orthopaedic doctor. Without some type of treatment he wouldn't be able to sit through the 3 day Ohio Bar exam on February 23rd.

Luckily, Danielle was able to get him into a Sports Medicine MD and an acupuncturist.  He couldn't take any high powered pain medication 'cause he needed to b e able to think clearly for the tests.

Between the two physicians' treatments,  he was able to sit for the bar exam... all three days. We are so proud of the way he handled the entire fiasco. The next step is finding a way to treat the problem on a long term basis.

I left Ohio on Sunday, February 21st and headed to Nashville,TN where Dale was attending a week long conference. We stayed at the Gaylord Opryland Resort. WOW is all I can say about that facility. It was great to spend time with Dale since I haven't seen him since October 2009.

Check out this link to see pictures taken at the hotel....
http://picasaweb.google.com/morganalexadesigns/NashvilleGaylordOpryland?feat=directlink

While there I had to eat one meal a day and use Optifast the rest of the time. I passed the 15 week mark on the full Optifast program and had to begin to eat 1 meal a day.  It wasn't easy to find something to eat off the menu in the fancy eateries in the hotel. Most of the time I ordered shrimp or chicken without any sides. It worked out pretty well and I didn't eat any bread or anything else.

It was a real test of my will to be with the grandchildren for one week and then be at a fancy hotel for the other week....and NOT eat anything I shouldn't eat. Both Dale and Brian tested me by having peanut butter waffer cookies and potatoe chips within my grasp. My resolve held and I made it through.

I got home from my travels on Sunday, February 28, knowing that I would have to weigh-in on Monday, March 1st. Although anxious about getting on the scale, I knew that I did my best to keep on the program.

TO MY DELIGHT....I lost 9.9 pounds over the two weeks.  I am now down a whopping 36.8 pounds.

Life is good!


March 19th

I had blood work drawn on the 10th and it was abnormal. My calcium and the thyroid values were really out of whack. So, today I had to go to my internist and have a little chat. 

She increased my thyroid dose and redrew the calcium level. She said the weight loss affects the thyroid and the fact that I need to bump up the dosage may have contributed to the decrease in weight loss. So, once I get the dosage adjusted I probably will begin to see better weight loss results.

I'm happy to announce that I bought a pair of jeans the other day. That's probably not a big deal to anyone but me.  I never wear jeans because I find them uncomfortable. Now that I've lost 40 lbs I decided to give them another chance and was pleasantly surprised to find they actually are pretty comfortable. Another perk of losing the excess baggage.

I have an appointment with the dietitian on Monday to put together a plan to continue weight loss while introducing more food into my diet. Since I started eating one meal a day I find that cravings for carbs is lurking just below the surface. It was easy when I was full Optifast because there were no choices to make. Now, I have to put together a meal and I'm having a problem with keeping the meal small.

Have you seen what 3-4 oz of meat looks like? Well, it's a hell of a lot less than I EVER ate at one meal. Gosh, no wonder why I was so fat. Portion control is going to make or break me for sure.

Monday, March 22
So, today officially ends my Optifast Program. I've completed the 21 week program with a total weight loss of 38.2 lbs. Now the hard part starts...actually eating 3 meals a day. 

I was so pleased that Dawn, the dietitian, sat down with me for an hour and a half putting together an eating plan with only the foods I like.  Now I know exactly what I can have at each meal, staying within the calorie restrictions to continue losing weight. Although I'm thrilled with the weight loss, I still have another 20-25 to lose.

People I haven't seen in awhile really notice the loss in my face and the fact that I'm not huffing and puffing after taking a few steps. I do feel better and I think my stamina has improved.

I'm also happy about the fact that I got the Medicare and BC/BS authorization to get a new oxygen system. My new concentrator weights only 31 lbs, so I'm sure that will make my family happy when they have to carry it to my room when I visit. The system also includes a portable oxygen concentrator (POC) which completely does away with carrying oxygen tanks. Since it's a concentrator itself it provides oxygen on a continuous basis, doing away with the tanks completely. The main reason I got it is it's accepted on all airlines.  Because I couldn't carry-on my oxygen tanks on a flight, I really avoided airline travel. Now that I can take the POC with me, I'm a lot more confident that I can make it on a longer flight.  So, California here I come!

Tuesday, March 30th

So, I've had a week on real food and it's harder than I thought. My main problem remains... portion control. I never realized that MY portion and the RIGHT portion are not even close in size.  I've measured everything and it's a joke to actually see what a third or a half of a cup really is. But, I gotta do what I gotta do to get healthy.

I'm happy to report that I followed the menu that the dietitian set up for me at my last visit. On my scale at home I've lost 5.5 lbs this week.  That is another milestone because my loss crossed the 40 pound mark!  Whooooo Hoooooo 4 me!

My friend Teresa and I are going to drive down to Charleston this weekend. She is getting married in May on Folly Beach. Since I'm performing the ceremony I'm looking forward to seeing the location before the big day.