My journey back to health 11-9-09 t0 11-15-09

Monday, November 9th
I lost 2.8 pounds this week. Is it a sin to round it up so it sounds better???

I knew it would be less than last week… so I’m happy but a tad disappointed too.

I spent $100.00 toward the plan fee and bought 10 Chocolate pre-made shakes for $35.00. Oh, and $1.35 for a bottle of Dasani Grape flavored water. Who’d of thought that I’d be buying water... that’s the height of laziness, but it’s so convenient.

I have to admit that buying the pre-made shakes is a real convenience and they are smoother than the ones I mix in the blender. I can get them colder than the mix too.

I also had a meeting with the behaviorist. Since I know myself so well I think I surprised her. Most of the hour I had her in stitches talking about my family.

I had about an hour to kill before my group meeting so I went to the $ store. I guess the holidays are right around the corner huh? I bought a few glasses to put my shakes in…they have snowflakes on them…time to get into the spirit of the season.

Tuesday November 10th
After yesterday’s weigh-in I started walking. I know, I know…I didn’t get the OK from my doctor. That hopefully will happen on Friday when I see her.

I figured if I monitor my oxygen saturation with my pulsox, and keep it above 90, I shouldn’t croak. I ended up walking for 15 minutes on my treadmill.

That’s all I could do without pushing it. Tomorrow’s another day…if I can get out of bed!

You know, when I was healthy, back in 2006, I was walking 2.5 miles per hour at a 5 degree incline…without oxygen. Oh I pray I can get back to that again.

Wednesday, November 11th
Today Wayne took me to get my blood work done for the Optifast program. I have one more to do in December.

We went to Michael’s….50% off one item…couldn’t pass that up; then off to Wal-Mart for some more stuff to put in my water. The Wal-Mart brand is really pretty good and a lot cheaper than Chrystal Light.

Wayne found a bottle of Chocolate syrup (sugar free) so I’ll try it with the vanilla shake. Vanilla is one flavor that I can’t seem to get tasting good. If the chocolate doesn’t work I may have to mix ½ a vanilla with ½ a chocolate shake. Help...I’m running out of ideas!

The last place we stopped was Publix…had to get some yummy ham for the dog. Yep…the dog gets ham. Wrapping his night time pill in a slice is the only way to get him to take it.

I walked again tonight. I cranked my oxygen up to 5 liters per minute. It’s ok… the doctor at the Cleveland Clinic said 5 was good if I was exercising.

Here’s an interesting fact about oxygen therapy. The oxygen is not for my breathing. Really, it’s for my heart and brain. When I was having trouble with my “brain”… or old age, I’m not sure which… the doctor said to wear the oxygen more. So, I thought it would improve my Phase-10 scores with Brian but…. Nooooooooooo...he still beats me every time!

Back to exercise…tonight I did .6 miles in 30 minutes. I was turning the speed up and down as I could tolerate it. OK I’ll admit it…I did stop it one time for about 15 seconds.

So, what more can I do? No food and exercising… I should be a twig in no time!!!

Wayne has been so helpful. The other day, he was going to make fried shrimp, one of my favorites, and he cooked it in the garage so it didn’t tempt me. He has trail mix hidden in his bedroom. He also buys stuff that I wouldn’t eat if it was the last food on earth…like head cheese and spinach bread…yuck! That’s my man!

Thursday, November 12th

Wayne and I watched Pelham 123 the original. The storyline was basically the same as the new one and I was really surprised at the swearing in the movie. I didn’t think they said those words in movies back then. Oh well…we liked it but I liked the new one better.

Today I didn’t walk on the treadmill. My knees are a little sore. I didn’t wear walking shoes and I’m paying the price. What did I wear you ask...why slippers of course.

Tomorrow I have an appointment with my doctor…hopefully my echo cardiogram is good enough so I can start working out. If not, I’ll have to cancel my membership because I know Wayne won’t go if I can’t. I’ll let you know tomorrow…wish me luck!

Friday, November 13th

What a great day!  My doctor signed the form to let me work out at the Y.

My echocardiogram was the best it’s been in 4 years. When I was really sick, back in 2005, my ejection fraction was 30%. The test I had last week shows it at 60%.
That is really, really good news.

All labs were good too so I have no excuse not to get off my butt and start getting this body back in shape.

Today was the last broadcast day for three of my favorite TV shows. Tru TV (used to be Court TV) took Ashleigh Banfield, Jack Ford and Jamie Floyd off the daytime court shows because they are moving the show from NY to Atlanta. Tru TV is owned by CNN who has made some really bad decisions in the last couple of years. They went from informational programming to this reality “crap”. They have completely ruined the station IMHO. Although the programs continue they will have different hosts and who knows what else will change.

I’m really sick about it as I loved watching real court cases. I’ve watched court TV since it became popular back during the OJ trial. I’ve learned enough to be able to understand Brian and Dale when they talk about the law.

Today I watched 7 episodes of Flashforward. Brian told me it was a good show so Tivoed it but never watched it.  Boy...once I started...I couldn't stop. It was like watching 24...I couldn't wait until the next scene.  Like 24, it moves pretty fast and kept me on the edge of my seat.  So, what's up with the kangaroos?


Sunday, November 15th
I’ve spent the last few days making a ton of zipper pulls and earrings. Next Saturday a few friends and I are having a Holiday Bazaar at my house. We’re all members of etsy and sell our handmade items online. So we thought, why not get together, bring our stuff and invite our friends, families and neighbors to come and possible do some holiday shopping.

Here's a link to the flyer I put together. Feel free to come if you live in the upstate.
Upstate Holiday Bazaar

Today was a special day for my three granddaughters. David bought them all tickets for the Miley Cirus concert in downtown Cleveland. David is so thoughtful, he originally bought the tickets for Kim, Morgan, Madison and himself…but decided to let Alexa go in his place. Then to make the night extra special for the girls, he surprised them and hired a limo to take them. When they went to pick up Alexa, Brian told her Miley was in the limo. They all went out to dinner before the concert so Chase and Mason got to ride to the restaurant in the limo with the girls. What a wonderful, sweet and loving thing to do. David…you ROCK!

David left his truck at work so the limo driver dropped him off to get it…then David killed about 4 hours then went back to pick the girls up.

Here is a picture of the girls at the concert. Kim is there with them so don’t freak out!
Someone had to take the picture.

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY DALE AND JENN

Tomorrow I weigh in again. It’s been three weeks since I started this journey and I simply can’t believe I’ve gone three weeks without one bit of real food. Isn’t it amazing what you can do with a little motivation???

My Journey back to health November 2 to November 9

Monday, November 2nd
6.3 lbs.   WhoooooooHooooooo!  How about that for one week??? I'm really happy with that loss. I figured about 3 lbs max.  I paid my $100.00 program fee and bought 10 of the chocolate shakes that are premade. So, cost today was only $135.00.

We dropped Griffin off at the vets this morning and picked him up about 4:00.  The surgery went well and they said they got it all. He needs to return on Thursday for an antibiotic shot. There's no way we can give him a pill...he'd bite your arm off. They also put him in a collar to keep him from licking the incision. Now that's funny to watch. He bumps into everything and can barely see over the collar. He smells like a barn… seriously, I had to clean him up, there was green “stuff” under his chin and along his side. Even after trying to wash him off a second time…he STINKS.


Tuesday, November 3rd
Gosh the weather is like summer. Today it’s 70.

Wayne bought some extracts to add to the shakes. I tried banana and it’s really pretty good in the vanilla mix. I’ve cut way down on the water I add to the mix. You can add 6 to 10 oz. so I use 6…mix it in the blender and then pour it over ice. I think when I was grinding the ice cubes in the mix, it just added to the amount I had to drink and diluted the taste.

I need to buy some protein bars, but refuse to pay $17.00 for 7 of them at Nutrition Solutions. I’m going to buy it online where it’s $10.00/box of 7.

Wednesday, November 4th

Anyone happy to see that the republicans won in NJ and Virginia?

I sold three banner sets from my etsy shop over the last two days. Isn’t it funny how I can go a month or two without a sale and then get a few on the same day? Here’s what the finished products looked like…

Shops on etsy are getting ready for the holidays and like to change out their banners. Lucky for me...they bought mine!

I made a website for a friend and evidently messed it up the last time I worked on it. She called me last night to say she got an email from a potential buyer who couldn’t access her site. Looks like no one could access it since the middle of October when I attempted to utilize Google’s webmaster tools to get the site more visible in searches. I remember doing something in the total DNS access page on Go Daddy.com where I host her domain. I had to call tech support which I hate to do. They always treat me like a 10 year old. Anyway…this guy John took a look and told me what I did… and he kept reassuring me that he could fix it.
So…time will tell. I still can’t access the website but he said it might take some time, like 48 hours or so. I sure hope he fixed it because it took me 4 months to build.

Wayne and I watched “The Taking of Pelham 123” last night. It was good…what movie with John Travolta and Denzel Washington wouldn’t be…only problem is the language is really pretty bad. It’s the first movie I’ve watched since I came home from Ohio in September. Just not in the mood plus not much is out that I’m hot to see.

Griffin still smells like a sewer! Wayne called the vet, but there's no one there. We have to get him bathed...he really smells...and I swear it's getting worse.

Another thing, I placed an order on-line at BariatricChoice.com I decided to try the protein bars from another company to save money. I spent $57.94 and got:

4 boxes of BariWise Crispy Bars:  Peanut Butter, Lemon Meringue, Cinnamon Raisin and Double Chocolate.

1 Box WonderSlim Shake
1 Box BariWise Bar (Caramel Crunch)

Each box has 7 bars/shakes in it. The Crispy bars were $9.99/box, the Caramel Crunch was only $7.99/box and the shakes were $9.99/box. I figure I saved a ton because a 7 count box of Optifast protein bars is $16.99 and the shakes are $20.49/box.  Hope they compare in ingredients and taste better then the Optifast!!

Thursday, November 5th
First thing I want to talk about if Griffin. Wayne took him this morning to get a bath. They called about 3:00 and said we could pick him up. The receptionist said the smell came from his EARS….for God’s sake!! She said both ears were horribly infected, but that they cleaned them out and packed them and put medicine in them so we don’t have to do drops. (This dog will NOT tolerate me putting drops in his ears…past experience). So I asked…”You mean that green stuff all over him was infection from his EARS???” She said probably. OMG I was steaming. How could they even operate on this poor dog with bilateral ear infections????

SO, that means they never even looked in his ears before surgery. I thought (and Jenn confirmed) that one doesn’t begin a surgery without a cursory, once over of his general health, like his weight; listen to his heart etc. which should include looking in his ears.

Another thing… how could they release him to us that way???? I know, thinking about it in retrospect, we should have taken him back on Monday when we picked him up and got a whiff. But the poor dog was shaking like a leaf and we just wanted to get him home. My bad.

I think it’s time to get a new vet… too bad Jenn is so far away.

Friday, November 6th
I went to have blood drawn today in preparation for my doctor appointment next Friday. While I was there I asked if someone could see me because I have a horrible sore throat.

It started on Tuesday….after I choked on my pills. I thought I was a gonner…my airway was completely blocked …I looked at Wayne and thought… OMG I don’t want to die this way he will never get over it. Really, that was what came to mind. I don’t mind going, but not in front of him he’d have a stroke! Anyway, I’m still here and VERY grateful but this sore throat is killing me. I think maybe the pills that melted in my throat may have irritated the tissues or maybe the hour long coughing jag I had caused the soreness. I got an appointment for later in the day with the PA. The PA looked in my throat and said it looked OK. I asked if she was sure as it really hurt on the right. Nope…she said both sides “Look the same.” My lungs however are congested, so I got an antibiotic.

OK here’s the rub… I got home and got out my 10x magnifying mirror and a flashlight and said “Ahhhhhhhh…” Guess what I see? On the RIGHT is a, shall I say pustule, (sorry, but that’s what it is). I’m beginning to think there are no competent people left in the world. I think the treatment is the same either way, so I’m just happy she didn’t send me on my way without an antibiotic.

When I got home I had a box waiting. The order from Bariatric Choice was here. That’s fantastic because I ran out of the bars and I really like them. Took them only 2 days to get it here.

Since I have to take my antibiotic with food…I decided a Caramel Crunch Bar would count.

It was FANTASTIC!! Better than any candy bar I have ever eaten. I’ll have to treat it as a “Treat” because I can see me eating 5 of them a day and not drinking the shakes. The shakes have all the vitamins and minerals in them so I really need to get 3 a day down. But I’d eat this bar if I wasn’t on a diet.

Finally, after 2 calls to Go Daddy...they got the website I made running again. So, if you need a Christmas gift for someone who likes inspirational items this is the site to go to. Linda has some really neat T shirts, some of which I designed, the cutest little stuffed camels and great keychains.  BTW, the highest priced item is $20.00. Take a look and get your orders in...
http://www.lindahenrettadesigns.com/

Saturday, November 7th
Poor Griffin…he’s still in the collar and will be until the stitches come out on Thursday. I hate to laugh but he is funny, running into the walls with the collar and bouncing back.

I’m still doing great on the diet. I did reach for a banana the other day again…old habits die hard. Those Caramel Crunch Bars I told you about yesterday are going to be my downfall. Luckily I only bought one box (7 bars). They are sooooooo good that I could eat them all at one time. I’m serious!

My throat is still killing me, so I guess I’m lucky to be on a liquid diet…although drinking hurts too. Just waiting for the antibiotics to kick in.

Sunday, November 8th
Well, tomorrow is my second weigh-in and I also have a meeting with the behaviorist at Nutrition Solutions.
Since I didn’t cheat at all, I think I should have another good weight loss. I’m pretty sure it won’t be six pounds again. They told me that the first week you lose a lot of water weight.

I’ll know pretty soon!