Dr Follow Up

I saw the PA yesterday at my Dr. office for my one month follow up after starting on the Phentermine.


I have lost 7 pounds.  I will take it!  I have lost 14 pounds since losing the band on March 12, 2012.  So I am convinced that I can do this.


She went over my food and exercise logs from SparkPeople and told me that I am doing a good job balancing my food choices and getting in my water and protein.  She thinks my food choices are very good.  She was also impressed with my exercise commitment.  She believes that I will achieve success and that I just need to keep up the great job! I have to go back in a month just for a blood pressure check and weigh in!


Jennifer is totally against weight loss surgery.  She said that she believes with support and training and help in redirecting people's addiction to food, that they can change their lives forever without the need for surgery.  But the important thing in that equation is that they address their addiction to food.  Without doing that, they will simply at some point fail, and regain weight.  I am not against weight loss surgery as I know what it can do for people.  I do believe that we are allowing surgery on people with too low BMI's though.  I think that needs to be addressed.


She told me she as a medical professional is tired of seeing these weight loss clinics and practices sell people, desperate people on choosing surgery, and even then they do not help them address their food addiction. Just having them attend support group meetings in not addressing anything in her opinion.  Simply by having LapBand or Gastric Bypass or even the sleeve procedure does not guarantee you will never regain your weight.  She has many many in her practice she advised who have had the surgery and have regained their weight.  In fact, statistics in her practice long term after 7 years for her patients shows that most gain some weight back.


Another component she talked with me about is the commitment to exercise and making it habit, one that will not accept excuse.  I told her that I had blogged about that very thing.  In fact NO EXCUSES was what I had given up for lent, before surgery sidelined my ability to comply.


I am thrilled with how I am feeling both physically and emotionally.  


I am also happy to report that Nichole also saw the Dr. yesterday for her one month and she lost a whopping 17 pounds!  To say she is on top of the moon, is hardly a way to describe it.  She feels she can finally gain control over this monster that had overtaken her.  She and I love working out together, and have made commitments to one another to continue this forever. She is 295!!!!!!!!


Cole is riding for St. Jude this morning in his Trike A Thon, I am also excited that he collected the most pledges in his school.  Not bad for a little guy with Autism if I do say so myself!

Cole getting ready for the Trike A Thon for St. Jude

Happy Friday everyone!

Cole Long's Page

Cole Long's Page

Cole is participating in a "Trike A Thon" for St. Jude this Friday at his school.  He is riding in memory of my son Adam.

If you would like to sponsor him, please click on the link above and you can do so online!


Thank you for your support of this great cause and all of the little children who are still suffering and the ones to yet be diagnosed with these horrible diseases.


God Bless You All

What one thing might be sabotaging your weightloss?

Do you find that you are eating better, exercising more consistently, but you are still not losing weight as you think you should be?  Do you find yourself tired, and even less energetic after the end of the day?  There is a reason and most likely you have heard about it or read about it.

STRESS!!


There is a scientific link between stress and weight gain.  Although we all handle stress differently, researchers believe that when handling life's stressful periods, people change their eating behaviors and usually NOT for the better.  Food is not the only factor that influences stress-induced weight gain, a persons gender, the type of food they eat, and whether or not you are already over weight or obese are all contributing factors.  This explains why some people gain more weight under stressful circumstances while others may gain little or even lose.  


It is obvious to gain control over our weight loss, we have to gain control over the stress in our lives.  Sounds simple, but it is not, however there are things we can do to help manage our stress.


First we must understand how our bodies react to stress physiologically.


Stress serves an evolutionary purpose.  Think back to the early caveman days when bills were not an issue but sabor-toothed tigers were.  In preparation for an attack our bodies neuroendocrine system would send out a "fight or flight" set of hormones.  Adrenlin, corticotrophin releasing hormone (CRH) and cortisol.  Adrenlin gives us instant energy, CRH decreases appetite initially, but later after the threat is gone;  Cortisol can increase appetite to make up for that burst of energy that was lost fighting the tiger or running away.


Today tigers are not attacking us, but we are facing huge stressors that effect our bodies in the same way as they always have.  Even though today's stressors  are not usually physical in nature leading us to  burn calories, cortisol does not know this and it keeps coming - and making you hungry for simple sugary carbs that provide you instant energy.  Making matters worse moving the sugar we just ate from our blood to our muscles requires the hormone insulin.  Our bodies are filled with sugar and insulin right after stress, this is a fat storing combination.  Even worse fat storage due to stress eating is usually centered around the midsection or visceral fat.  This has been linked to diabetes and heart disease.  This is not good news for those of us who suffer from chronic stress.


Many of us experience stress when we feel like life is out of our control or that we can't do what we need to do because of time or situational constraints.  We may eat to fulfill emotional needs or to procrastinate.  You may not have enough time to fit in your workouts,  or the lack of energy to exercise as long or to the intensity that you would like.  You may forget to pack a lunch, or not have enough time to go to the grocery store, or find you have frequent cravings for high-fat, calorie dense foods.  Fast food may seem like the only option that is both tasty and quick enough to scarf down over lunch.


However, just like everything else, eating when stressed is somewhat a learned behavior.  Yes there is brain chemistry involved, but over time, we can rewire our brains to not let stress effect our eating or energy levels. We can follow a simple plan to hit stress head on with positive reactions.  When you have control over your life, you find it easier to maintain your healthy eating and exercise lifestyle.  Make a stress reduction plan; you have to identify your stressor's and then decide how you can make them go away or reduce them.  

Stress Busters

Then commit to a daily stress reduction activity that doesn't require a great commitment of time ( unless you have the time of course) because this will only stress you more.  List three things that make you feel more like yourself and then take 5-10 minutes each day to do that activity.


Some ideas are:
Mediation
Yoga
Playing with a pet
Deep breathing
Take a nap
Take a bubble bath
Sit quietly 
Work out
Take a walk
Read a magazine
Play a game
Get a massage


Once you begin to take 5-10 minutes a day for stress reduction, you will begin to feel better.  Then you need to focus on the signs of stress that you may not be paying attention to, are you irritable or anxious?  Are your muscles tight?  Is your appetite increased?  Are you breathing quickly?  Pay attention to these hidden signs of stress and how they may affect you.  If you find you are having cravings remember that your bodies hormones are being tricked, and this too shall pass.  Take a walk, drink some water, make a cup of hot tea to help get you through the craving.


These things can help to make you a happier and healthier person, and it will also help you to eat healthier and keep your high energy levels for your workouts.  

I know that life is crazy for most of us, and stress is everywhere.  I firmly believe that once you recognize stress and identify it, you can beat it before it packs on the pounds, or sabotages your weight loss program.


We had a great weekend with Nichole and the boys.  Nichole and I went to Zumba on Saturday and ShBam on Sunday and let me tell you we worked our asses off!  Have Zumba tonight with Jose` and I am not sure how that will go as I am sore as all get out.  I am however, looking forward to it!  I am down 2 more pounds and I feel in control again!  That in itself is amazing!

So Proud

I am so proud of Nichole today,  and I just had to share.  She hopped on the scale this morning and is 299!!!!!!! She has lost 40 pounds on her own since August 2011.  I cannot tell you how proud I am of her.


She graduated with her Bachelor's in August and will walk for her diploma in the ceremony on June 24th.  She has grasped the healthy lifestyle like a bull by the horns!  What an inspiration to others she has become!


It is not easy being a single mom of two boys!  She went back to school after her divorce got her degree and is ready to  get into the work force.  Cole has kept her from doing that already, as she does not want him in daycare with the Autism.  Sadly, there are few who really understand Autism and how to deal with an autistic child.  She is frightened of him being abused.  I do not blame her, neither I nor her father want him in daycare either.

Cole being cool !

He will start kindergarten in the fall!  Our goal is to get him potty trained this summer, so he can be in Adam's school.  If that does not happen, then he will be in a special education school.  I am going to work really hard to help him get there over summer.  


He is academically above where he is suppose to be, it is his verbal skills and social where he is lacking.  He does not really play with other kids, and he only speaks if you ask him questions.  He sings, he talks to himself, but he will not just automatically begin speaking to you.


This is Autism Awareness Month, I want everyone to know that I would not change Cole!  I love him the way he is.  This child is incredible on the things that he is able to do with electronics and his IPAD.  He reads, he figures things out totally on his own, he is a perfectionist, and he is loving.  He loves to kiss and hug me!  Yes, he is different, but he is special because of those differences.


My prayer is that people will learn, and educate themselves about Autism, and that these kids are NOT dumb, they are not less because of this, they in fact are probably better at something than anyone else you know.  To be more understanding and accepting of those with Autism will help them to grow.  Kids are cruel, we all know this.  I think ignorance makes kids tease.  When we educate our children about diversity, we grow adults that are also more accepting of others who may be different than us.


I can only hope!

Adam Clash Day!!

Today is clash day at Adam's school........isn't it great!


I am off to ZUMBA with Dawn tonight, not JOSE` but still a great workout!


I am down another pound this morning~  Rock On!

All I can say is...SHBAM ROCKS!!!!

Nichole and I got up on Saturday morning and it was pouring rain, we quickly did not let that change our plans, we headed down to the RiverPlex and our new class Les Mills SHBAM!  I can tell you it was fabulous and I loved it!


It is only 45 minutes, whereas ZUMBA is 60 minutes, but did I ever sweat my ass off!  I truly felt like I had done something when it was all said and done.






I popped on to the scale this morning just because and I am down another pound.  It may be slow, but I will take it coming off anyway that I can get it. Still loving the Phentermine as I truly have no hunger, not even a little bit.  That in itself blows me away.


After my workout on Saturday we headed out to Adam's soccer game....in the rain...eeeeek!!!  It was not too bad it stopped pouring and was only misting a tad.  The kids loved it!  Oh to be 8 again.  LOL  I used to love walking in the rain with Kristie (aka my bestie!!).  They lost but it was a good game, and they all had fun which is the most important part.


The boys were with their dad this weekend so the house was quiet.  I did not do a whole lot on Saturday, I sort of just relaxed.  Something that I am not used to by any means.  It was nice. Neal (Nichole's best friend) was in town from Chicago and we all went to lunch together.  He has just purchased a Condo in downtown Chicago and it is super nice.  I am so excited cause I will have a place to stay whenever I am in town now.  How awesome is that!  He is like a son to me, he has been in our lives for 16 years.  He is the boys Godfather.  He is pretty special.  We are going up Memorial Day weekend and taking the boys to the aquarium and Adam to see "Sue"!  


I have ZUMBA tonight with Jose~, I cannot wait!  So looking forward to it!.  There used to be a day when I would never have said I was looking forward to working out ya know!  I love the new attitude that my healthy life affords me.


Church yesterday with Pastor Joe was awesome!  Great sermon about being a servant and how I need to be living.  I firmly believe that my positivity on my whole band loss has come from God's grace.  He is keeping me steadfast in this journey no matter what.  I have affirmed that no matter what that nasty scale says, that I just "keep on keeping on" and I will prevail!


Hope you all have a blessed week!

Fabulous Friday!

I am at work today, after being off yesterday.  I work four tens so Thursday is my day off.  I had a busy Thursday, but it was so relaxing at the same time.


I have to tell y'all I am thrilled,tickled pink and all hell's and bells with this Phentermine.  I got on the scale today and have lost another three pounds.  10 pounds lost since my band was removed!   This is amazing to me.  Yesterday my dose went up to 37.5mg from 15mg.  I had mentioned before that my Dr. starts you out on a low dose to help your body adjust, in helping to alleviate any side effects.  I am happy to say that I am not having side effects at this time.  Just massive amounts of energy, and NO FREAKING HUNGER!!!!!  Yes, I am still not hungry.  I have to remind myself to eat.  I could do this forever.  Food is not constantly on my mind.  In fact I sat at work on Tuesday during treat day and watched as my fellow coworkers ate themselves into a FOOD COMA!  LOL  They had so much sugar, it was incredible to me. 




 I am still logging my choices daily and making sure I am getting all my protein, water and lots of fruit and vegetables.  Do you know it has been over 4 years since I could eat fruit.  I could never eat it because I never had room for it with my band.  I always ate the protein first, then some veggies ( which was also very very hard for me to do)!  I am loving the taste of fruit again.






Nichole is doing fab as well.  She is down 10 pounds, and will soon scream ( probably this weekend) as she descends below 300 pounds since way before Cole was born.  I am so happy for her.  She is loving how she is feeling as well.  To see her not just sitting on the couch and actually going out and walking twice a day 3.47 miles is amazing.  She even has Adam and Cole walking with her once a day!!!!!  Adam has lost some of his tummy that he had gotten over the winter.  He is now running at lunch recess at school, they have a running program that they can voluntarily do.  He is loving it!  I am stoked that my family is getting healthy right along with me.


Nichole and I are doing a new exercise class on Saturday mornings at the Riverplex.  It is called Shbam!  Here is a description of the class:

Les Mills: Sh'Bam SH’BAM features simple but seriously hot dance moves and is the perfect way to shape up and let out your inner star – even if you’re dance challenged. Set to a soundtrack of chart-topping popular hits, dance music that is heard in the hottest nightclubs around the world, familiar classics remixed and modernized Latin beats, SH’BAM is the ultimate fun and sociable way to exercise. Each 45-minute class is vibrant, unique and varied.

I will let you know how it goes, I am excited.  I love ZUMBA so much and this will be a nice change up!


I have a soccer game at 11am on Sat after this class and it is suppose to be raining YUCK!  Oh well, he is my grandson that I love and adore so I will be there.


Well I must get back to work, I want this Friday to fly!!

ZUMBA Rocks!

I had my first class of Zumba (since before my band removal on 3-12-12), it was awesome!  I missed Jose`.  Nichole went with me and we laughed and had a great time.  My tenderness has all but gone now.  I will still get a twinge now and then but for the most part I am ok.


I have now lost the last of the 7 pounds that I had gained right before surgery.  Woo Hoo!  That made me happy.  I have not had any major side effects from the Phentermine.  Just a couple of sleepless nights.  Otherwise I am doing good.


I cannot believe the energy that this little pill gives me.  I also love never feeling hungry.  I really wish I could take it forever.  I know that I can't, but I am going to work my ass off while I am.  I literally have to remind myself to eat!  How awesome is that!


Easter was blessed at my house.  Mom spent the night, and we all went to sunrise service at church.  That was wonderful.  Cole loves church, he seems so relaxed and happy there.  I think that says a lot.  He loves the music and the pipe organ.

I have not heard one word from the surgeons office about their appeal of my surgery.  Humana did not cover it as they deemed it not medically necessary, as you may recall.  I am planning on calling them this week, to see what is happening.  We are a self funded company, so my HR department will be getting involved if I do not get somewhere with this on my own.  My supervisor told me that it was BS, that anyone around me, knew that my band should be removed.  The pain I was in alone was reason enough.  That pain resolved once the band was out, so what is Humana's problem.  I have no idea.


I have to say that I am not feeling very supported by my Surgeons office at this point in the game.  I quite frankly feel they dropped me flat.  Now, with that being said I have not seen or spoken to my actual surgeon,  for my follow up after surgery he was stuck in surgery and I had to see the APN. Heather was very hands on and had been since this all began with me, she is who unfilled my band.  She said that the band did need to come out and that she believes that I was probably beginning to erode.  She also said that all they needed to do was send a letter to the insurance.  So, we will see what my surgeon has to say when I go back on the 26th.  I know he is going to push Bypass and I will not be doing that.

My emotional state has been good, I have been trying to focus on finishing this blindingly hard quarter of school that I am in right now.  I am so glad that I took the summer off.  I am looking forward to not having to worry about school or homework for a few months.  


I also am enjoying my Thursdays off.  The ten hour days can get hard sometimes, but for the most part I worked them anyway just five days a week instead of four. Now I can take a day off and do something fun.  I am still working OT and coming in at 5am and working for four hours on Sat mornings.


I must get back to it! This is my really long day won't get home from class til 9:30pm tonight....ouch! 

Good Friday and it is GOOD!

Today is good Friday and for me this is a somber day.  It is the day that Christ died for me.  I always reflect on this day.  I certainly have had much to reflect on this year.  So many things going on in my life.


The loss of the band, which a month ago seemed like the worse possible thing I could go through,  now seems like it was for the best.  I am no longer in pain, and I am well focused on the rest of this journey.  I realize now that the band gave me the confidence to succeed.  It gave me the will to follow a program for a very long time.  Yes, the restriction helped, but honestly, I PB'd far more often than not, and for me that is an eating disorder.  I am glad to be done with that part of it.  I no longer have to hope that last bite won't due me in.  I now enjoy even more the taste of my food.


You might be asking, isn't she scared.  Hell yes, I am scared.  But I also know that I have inside of me, what I need to succeed.  I need to stay the course of healthy choices and keep my eye on exercise and incorporating it at every turn.  No excuse is a valid one, unless I am in a hospital bed.  I am serious.


Sometimes, we make it so easy to sabotage ourselves, by allowing excuses of life to get in our way.  I know this is a long haul.  I am a slow loser.  I am just going about living my life and being happy, and healthy.


I know that my body will eventually, let go of what it no longer needs.  I am happy with Phentermine at this point.  I have been on it a week, and I can honestly say I do not even think about food, not once.  So it is working.  I have no ill side effects of it at this point either.  I am hopeful that the low dose to start for two weeks, will help those.


I am just walking at the moment, but I want to run again.  I know I will, but I am still sore so I am waiting til that is gone.  I woke up yesterday morning with a new softball size bruise on my lower abdomen.  Not sure why it is just now appearing but it is ugly indeed.  It goes to show why I have been so stinking sore.


I am looking forward to my weekend, lots of homework and time with family and friends.


What could be better indeed?

"For God So Loved The World That He Gave His Only Begotten Son, That Who So Ever Beliveth In Him Should Not Perish But Have Ever Lasting Life"  JOHN 3:16


Easter Blessing to all of my BOOBS!  

April and I am BETTER!!!!

It has been three weeks today that I had my band removed.  Wow, how time flies.  I have to say that for the most part I am feeling mostly back to my old self.  I still have tenderness and sometimes pain at the port site incision.  I expect that will be with me for awhile still.


I went back to work last Wednesday, and it never pays to be gone from work.  I cannot believe how behind I am.  When I left I had everything on my desk caught up.  Unfortunately, that was not the case upon my return.


I am not going to stress over work.  I will get it done.  I have made up my mind that stress is a horrible thing, and I have to take steps to reduce it in my life.  It is up to me to take it to God and let him help me with the stress.


I saw my APN on Thursday at the Dr. office and I began taking Phentermine.  She truly thinks this will help me get to goal, and she also believe that I have all the tools I need inside of me.  She said I am living a healthy life already, I log my food, I exercise regularly and I try to make good choice 94% of the time.  This is where it is at, in her opinion.  This is not about deprivation, or giving up food groups.  It is about MODERATION.


I let that sink in for awhile when she told me.  MODERATION, you know I have never been a person to do anything in moderation. So I have to focus on that with my food.  She said if you want something that is not all that healthy, then allow yourself three bites of whatever it is, and be done with it.  Or, do an extra workout for the extra calories.


It truly makes sense to me, I know that I never want to be that woman who used to eat out all of the time, who would grab to go food, because it was easy and tasted good....right?  


I wanted to tell all of you that I do still have restriction.  Is that not crazy.  I think either, I am still swollen in there after three weeks, or my esophagus is damaged from the band, or it just is constricted after five years of having the band around it.  I do not know, but I do know I always had restriction with my band even when it was not filled.  I have not gained a pound since I had the band removed.  Though I did gain 7 pounds before it was removed.  I have lost 4 of them since I began the Phentermine.  So we shall see.  I am just going to live, and love life, and see where it takes me.


I walked 3.47 miles with Max and Nichole yesterday and it was great, but my port site was on fire when I was done.  I will keep it up, because I can not no longer not work out, it is freaking making me crazy.


I want to thank you all for the support you showed me during this awful ordeal.  I love you all!