The Grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for. - Allan K. Chalmers
Day 177 AS
Today has been an "interesting" day. My work day started off with the dreaded white envelope and the words so many of us are hearing lately: "today is your last day of employment here." And remarkably, rather than feeling wildly emotional, I felt an incredible sense of relief -- like the Dementors have lost the battle and I've arisen victorious with joy and hope and optimism for a future that I haven't looked forward to in an awfully long time professionally. This in spite of now being a, as John coined it, 0ink family -- zero income no kids. He had a great interview himself yesterday, and although it may not pan out, there's hope that if this isn't the "one", the "one" will soon be coming his way. Now we need to hurry up and rush and see how much (cheap!) R&R we can squeeze in before the next round of insanity comes our way and enjoy some of this bench time together.
Does this mean I can no longer come up with excuses to not go to the gym with Fern? Hmmmm... I might actually have to consider it now! I feel more energetic already!! I've already threatened John with daily walks!! I'm going to miss Peggy threatening me, so I guess I'll just have to take on her role and threaten someone else instead -- pay it forward kinda.
Support group was good this week -- I'm now more than 170 pounds lighter than I was last April. Woohoo!! I suspect I might even look half way decent in that new suit or two I'll have to acquire for interviewing back in the real world. ;) I had been planning to start a new job search soon anyway as I've been so unhappy, but was holding back on investing in apparel until my weight stabilizes. Again, Fern to the rescue: buy a couple of good ones with good lines and get over it -- simply have them tailored later when I do. Sound advice. And shoes... hopefully these darn gout attacks will stop and I can wear some classy shoes instead of these lovely stretchy knit topped shoes. My feet have shrunk along with the rest of me -- it's all still a bit surreal to me.
Bumping up the protein intake has helped tremendously with my hair loss. While I still see some every day, it's lessened dramatically -- we're talking a few strands a day now vs. a few dozen strands a day.
John and I had fun toodling around town this afternoon, running errands together. I returned victorious to Tasters Guild tonight. The chef prepared a luscious sounding menu so I attended for the first course comprising some cajun-seared scallops over a bed of green papaya and other yummy things. It was so great to see the old gang, many of whom I hadn't seen since last April. The warmth of my reception was almost overwhelming!! The feedback was amazing -- the happiness for me and my new self surrounded me. I can't even begin to describe the feeling. Awesome awesome awesome!!
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
82% (excess) fat free!!!!
Day 165 AS
This is the week for statistics I suppose. Some really amazing ones! I really feel like I'm doing very well and I so wish I had had this procedure performed years ago now!! That being said, you can't force this on anyone -- they have to be ready emotionally as well as physically, and I wasn't until last year.
Tuesday night's weight loss surgery support group was interesting -- a plastic surgeon came in to talk about body contouring post major weight loss. Wednesday morning I saw my surgeon for the 6 month post-op follow up and yesterday afternoon I saw my endocrinologist for our now back to quarterly visits. Following are the recaps:
Plastic surgeon: Cool guy in Danville. John joined me and we both liked his approach -- he includes occupational therapy with his procedures to limit your risk of injuries post-op and maximize your comfort. You know me, the comfort queen! This summer I'll go see him for a consultation -- I won't be ready for a year or so for any work, but it's good to start researching -- not to mention saving your pennies! The stomach and back lifts are $20K if performed at the same time -- yikes! Insurance may cover a small, small part, but it sounds like it's a long battle to wage. If money were no object there are so many things you can do it's amazing. No wonder Phyllis Diller became addicted to this! These guys really are sculptors. A little nip here, a little tuck there -- move this fat from one undesirable location to a more desirable location or take it out altogether. Fascinating.
Bariatric surgeon: She was really pleased with my progress. Here's where the stats start. As of Wednesday I'm down 168 pounds. I've lost 82% of my excess body fat. Triglycerides are still a wee bit high, but better than last time and still to be expected as I'm still losing weight rapidly. Vitamin D is at low end of normal range, and recent research shows that women who've had this procedure need to be at the high end of normal to help avoid osteoporosis so I'm adding some more Vitamin D to my supplement list. I'm not getting enough protein so need to bump that up more. It's hard now for me to do so since I still don't enjoy any meat, fish or poultry and I'm sick and tired of the protein drinks and powders, but I guess I need to suck it up and just do it. I got some new low carb protein bars and hope those will help. John's plying me with other options too (I love John!!). He made some more of my new favorite vegie soup and included some edamame beans in it -- delicious. It's not just vanity around my now-becoming-major hair loss, but it's also about losing fat instead of muscle -- not enough protein and muscle goes first -- not a good option obviously.
More stats: kidney and liver function tests along with all of the other metabolic tests -- all normal. Woohoo!! And another med is now OFF the list -- no more Prevacid. My new stomach should be healed enough now to tolerate food without help and I haven't had any signs of reflux in months.
Endocrinologist: Best news of all! My A1c (average blood sugar over the last several weeks -- normal for a non-diabetic is under 6 and for a diabetic like me is under 7) -- wait for it -- 6.1!!!!! This is awesome -- the lowest ever recorded for me I think. I'm still on one oral med for the diabetes, and may be forever, but this is so much better than two orals plus max insulin! We talked about reducing the dosage of oral med I'm on now, but I asked, and he agreed, that I will stay on this dose one more quarter and see what happens. The med I am on does not cause those dreadful low blood sugar incidents I used to get, so there's no risk there.
The other good endocrine news is that my thyroid is catching up with my new body finally so he reduced my thyroid supplement too. I have to retest in a month to see if we can take it down even more. I appreciate his conservatism -- when my thyroid level is too low I'm exhausted all the time, so I like taking the supplement down a little at a time and see what happens.
So that's it on the medical updates. As for personal updates, pretty much same old same old. John's new job search continues, not helped by the higher than the national average unemployment state in California. He is getting leads though, so there's hope! We had a few dear friends over to enjoy the Oscars on the big screen and had a lovely evening. My stupid gout attack is diminishing, so I can walk with limited pain again - yay. There continues to be more work on my plate at the office than this one human can perform so frustrations still abound -- this too shall pass.
It's a gorgeous day today thankfully after yet another day of torrential downpours yesterday. The hills are bright green -- you can see why the Irish named our home town Dublin! In honor of the upcoming holiday I'll close by sending the Old Irish Blessing to you:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Thank you for your continuing support, love and light!!
This is the week for statistics I suppose. Some really amazing ones! I really feel like I'm doing very well and I so wish I had had this procedure performed years ago now!! That being said, you can't force this on anyone -- they have to be ready emotionally as well as physically, and I wasn't until last year.
Tuesday night's weight loss surgery support group was interesting -- a plastic surgeon came in to talk about body contouring post major weight loss. Wednesday morning I saw my surgeon for the 6 month post-op follow up and yesterday afternoon I saw my endocrinologist for our now back to quarterly visits. Following are the recaps:
Plastic surgeon: Cool guy in Danville. John joined me and we both liked his approach -- he includes occupational therapy with his procedures to limit your risk of injuries post-op and maximize your comfort. You know me, the comfort queen! This summer I'll go see him for a consultation -- I won't be ready for a year or so for any work, but it's good to start researching -- not to mention saving your pennies! The stomach and back lifts are $20K if performed at the same time -- yikes! Insurance may cover a small, small part, but it sounds like it's a long battle to wage. If money were no object there are so many things you can do it's amazing. No wonder Phyllis Diller became addicted to this! These guys really are sculptors. A little nip here, a little tuck there -- move this fat from one undesirable location to a more desirable location or take it out altogether. Fascinating.
Bariatric surgeon: She was really pleased with my progress. Here's where the stats start. As of Wednesday I'm down 168 pounds. I've lost 82% of my excess body fat. Triglycerides are still a wee bit high, but better than last time and still to be expected as I'm still losing weight rapidly. Vitamin D is at low end of normal range, and recent research shows that women who've had this procedure need to be at the high end of normal to help avoid osteoporosis so I'm adding some more Vitamin D to my supplement list. I'm not getting enough protein so need to bump that up more. It's hard now for me to do so since I still don't enjoy any meat, fish or poultry and I'm sick and tired of the protein drinks and powders, but I guess I need to suck it up and just do it. I got some new low carb protein bars and hope those will help. John's plying me with other options too (I love John!!). He made some more of my new favorite vegie soup and included some edamame beans in it -- delicious. It's not just vanity around my now-becoming-major hair loss, but it's also about losing fat instead of muscle -- not enough protein and muscle goes first -- not a good option obviously.
More stats: kidney and liver function tests along with all of the other metabolic tests -- all normal. Woohoo!! And another med is now OFF the list -- no more Prevacid. My new stomach should be healed enough now to tolerate food without help and I haven't had any signs of reflux in months.
Endocrinologist: Best news of all! My A1c (average blood sugar over the last several weeks -- normal for a non-diabetic is under 6 and for a diabetic like me is under 7) -- wait for it -- 6.1!!!!! This is awesome -- the lowest ever recorded for me I think. I'm still on one oral med for the diabetes, and may be forever, but this is so much better than two orals plus max insulin! We talked about reducing the dosage of oral med I'm on now, but I asked, and he agreed, that I will stay on this dose one more quarter and see what happens. The med I am on does not cause those dreadful low blood sugar incidents I used to get, so there's no risk there.
The other good endocrine news is that my thyroid is catching up with my new body finally so he reduced my thyroid supplement too. I have to retest in a month to see if we can take it down even more. I appreciate his conservatism -- when my thyroid level is too low I'm exhausted all the time, so I like taking the supplement down a little at a time and see what happens.
So that's it on the medical updates. As for personal updates, pretty much same old same old. John's new job search continues, not helped by the higher than the national average unemployment state in California. He is getting leads though, so there's hope! We had a few dear friends over to enjoy the Oscars on the big screen and had a lovely evening. My stupid gout attack is diminishing, so I can walk with limited pain again - yay. There continues to be more work on my plate at the office than this one human can perform so frustrations still abound -- this too shall pass.
It's a gorgeous day today thankfully after yet another day of torrential downpours yesterday. The hills are bright green -- you can see why the Irish named our home town Dublin! In honor of the upcoming holiday I'll close by sending the Old Irish Blessing to you:
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.
Thank you for your continuing support, love and light!!
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