Thrive Without Janelle: The Accountability Group

[Yeah No]

On 9/25/2023 at 11:12 AM, AZChristian said:

We do our wardrobe switching in November and May.  Makes no sense to me to have summer clothing in my dresser drawers and/or closets during the winter.  Not into having things around I'm not using.

Speaking of which . . . every November 1st (before holiday decorations go up), we go through the house and touch everything we own.  If we haven't touched it since last November 1st, it's probably not going to be here next November 1st.  (This excludes tools and kitchenware which we don't know when we're going to need it, so we keep it.)  It take less time to do this every year, since we have less stuff to go through.  This year . . . hubby's baseball card collection is going to be massively trimmed down.  Yay!!!

Hah, me too about the wardrobe switch in Nov. and May.  Although where I live I start with a few things around this time of year, like moving out the really summery looking stuff and bringing in some 3/4 length and long sleeve tops, flannel shirts and some lighter cardigans.  My jackets and coats are in a separate closet so they stay the same.  Other than some heavy Winter leggings my bottoms pretty much stay the same with a few exceptions.   And around November the boots and booties come out and take the place of the lighter sneakers and flats.

I keep my off season stuff in big plastic tubs on heavy duty Costco shelves in our oversized garage.  Like you, I've streamlined it to the point that it's easier every year.  The only thing that made it a nightmare this year is losing that 25 lbs. !   I kept all my 'skinny' clothes so I had to try them on and then keep out only the ones that fit, then put away my 'fat' clothes.  I sold some of those 'fat' clothes online already but I still keep a few things because I never know.....Not that I plan on gaining that much weight again but I always do this and so far it has saved me a lot of money and hassle.  And it's great to get back into stuff I couldn't fit for a few years.  I know a lot of people wouldn't do that but I don't have the money to buy new clothes every time I go up and down in weight and never mind how hard I am to fit, so if I find stuff I can wear I don't want to part with it because I may never find it again.  Plus you just can't find some of the nice stuff I have in my closet anymore.  A lot of brick and mortar stores have closed and forget about shopping online when you're short and hard to fit!  And so I am happy I saved that stuff.

We usually have a yearly major purging of stored stuff but this year's hasn't happened just yet.  I am doing it a little at a time.  I got rid of so much stuff in the past 3 years already that I don't think I need it right now.  Clothes were the biggest purge after losing all that weight.  Plus it just seems like a lot of stuff I wore 3 or more years ago is not what I would want to wear now.  I have tubs full of stuff to sell online too.  I try to keep that down to a minimum so as not to end up keeping stuff I never sell.   Lately the online selling hasn't been so great anyway.  Lots of reasons for that but don't get me started on how it has become so much harder to make any money that way unless you are a full time thrift store or something.  A lot of the stuff I don't think I could make much on goes to charity.

 

[Gramto6]

5,117 steps yesterday.

Still no internet... watching data closely...

@Yeah No will look into that decongestant. Thanks!

[Gramto6]

5,705 steps yesterday. 

I am becoming a lump in the chair playing card games on laptop... :(

Finally got an estimate on when service will be back Oct 3 10PM!!! UM NOOOOOO! Signed up with.  HughesNet yesterday soon I hpe to be rid of Century Link forever!  

Burning through data so no posting other than here for a while still. Miss reading all my topics! :(

 

[Gramto6]

5,675 steps yesterday.

Still no internet, playing phone tag with HughesNet installer. Already burned through my whopping free 600MB of data from AT&T!  I am going over to Consumer Cellular once I have internet squared away! 

[xwordfanatik]

Consumer Cellular is a good phone service.  They give a discount if you're an AARP member.

I just hate internet troubles.  I hope yours gets its stuff together for you, @Gramto6.

How's the kitty situation going?

[Gramto6]

6,260 steps yesterday.

Quick post out of data again and AT&T charging me way too much for more. New internet service being installed tomorrow. Yay!

Still a few kittens to catch but we are giving them a chance to settle down before trying for them.

I will be so glad when things are back to normal!

[Gramto6]

6,872 steps yesterday.

Tidying up a bit and quick run to PO and grocery store. And endless solitaire on the computer.  :(

Picked up the Meloxicam yesterday at the. PO, boy the tablet is tiny!! It did seem to take some of the aches and pains away after only 1 pill so this may help me stave off any hand surgery for now.

Can hardly wait for internet to be back today!!
 

[Absolom]

I take meloxicam also 1 pill am and another pm.  It does work very well for as tiny as it is.

[Yeah No]

I reached a kind-of milestone today - It's been exactly a year since I started my food diary.  It has been an invaluable reality check and accountability tool for me as I continue my journey toward weight loss and health.  What it has taught me is that it's not all in my head.  I think we can tend to blame ourselves when we don't meet our diet and health goals.  We think we didn't eat right, we didn't exercise enough, we didn't do SOMETHING we needed to do.  Well, my food diary begs to disagree with me.  As I look over what I ate on the days when I first started the food diary last year, they look remarkably similar to what I'm eating right now.  My step counts, my calorie intake, how many ounces of something I ate, and even the exact types of food are all the same or very similar.  I was completely amazed that today's menu looked almost identical to a menu I ate a year ago only a few days later.  Only back then up until the Spring of this year I was losing about a pound a week (something I also noted on my food diary). 

Well, all of that ground to a halt for no apparent reason other than my body just decided that was as much as it was going to let me lose.  Subsequent attempts to kickstart myself into more weight loss have proven unsuccessful.  I've tried intermittent fasting, and stepping up my exercise with no luck.  It's just unbelievable.  In fact, when I had Covid I finally lost those 3 lbs. I had gained over the Summer because basically I didn't feel like eating much of anything for 2 weeks, but since then one of them came back.  Why I don't know.  It wasn't even that meal I had at "Hell's Kitchen" restaurant at Foxwoods, either, because I gained the pound back before I went there.  I actually didn't gain anything from that meal, probably because it was all I ate that day and I didn't eat much the next couple of days.  My appetite isn't even back to where it was pre-Covid.

I am jealous of people that can take medications to help them lose weight, like Ozempic and Wegovy.  I don't dare try them because the doctors told me that people whose stomachs can't tolerate Metformin usually can't tolerate those either.  My luck.  My 25 lb. weight loss was great but I still have at least 25 more to go to be where I would feel comfortable with my weight.  I am tired of being a size 16.  I would be happy at a size 12.  I couldn't possibly go on a starvation diet like I was on when I had Covid.  That was not done purposely.  I was sick and didn't feel like eating.  My stomach was sensitive and I couldn't taste anything for a while.  It wasn't healthy.  I knew that and forced myself to eat a little more, but it still wasn't that much.  Plus I knew my body was burning calories at a faster rate as my immune system shifted into high gear fighting the virus.  Too bad it couldn't stay that way.....Oh well.

Anyway, I am feeling better every day and almost back to normal post-Covid.  I still have a little fatigue and some loss of taste but only intermittently and at certain times of day and with certain foods.  I find that I have the most issues with the mildest flavors.  My tea tastes like sweet water.  I don't taste the tea, just the stevia.  It's a delicate tea so the flavor is mild to begin with.  But for me it's still pretty much absent.  Many tastes are back 100% but others are still lagging.

Now I have scheduled myself to get the new Covid vaccine later this week.  Hopefully it won't give me too many side effects.  For me that would be like Covid PTSD all over again.  My doctor said it was a good idea to get the vaccine now because these new variants are not giving any grace period of immunity from the virus after you have it like previous variants did.  So I would encourage anyone that wants to get this vaccine to do it sooner rather than later, if you can find it!  In my area the rollout is going slowly and a lot of places don't have it yet.

[Gramto6]

7,516 steps yesterday.

Lots of tramping around in the yard futilely looking for a place to get signal. Sadly no direct line of sight for Hughes Net so no go with their internet. Called another company, a local one recommended by friend from TNR and they are coming today. They are radio broadband and get signal from a tower. They say should be no problem. I sure hope so. I miss being able to look up things online and chat on my forums!!

[Absolom]

13 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Well, all of that ground to a halt for no apparent reason other than my body just decided that was as much as it was going to let me lose.  Subsequent attempts to kickstart myself into more weight loss have proven unsuccessful.  I've tried intermittent fasting, and stepping up my exercise with no luck.

I had to start measuring water intake not related to weight loss, but the extra 2 to 4 glasses of water a day have induced weight loss.  I don't know if you've tried that or if it would help.  

[altopower]

14 hours ago, Yeah No said:

As I look over what I ate on the days when I first started the food diary last year, they look remarkably similar to what I'm eating right now. 

@Yeah No That may be part of the problem. I like to eat the same things much of the time, but it's when I really change things up a LOT that I see the scale move more. Try increasing your protein. That usually helps me. Adding more liquids. Moving more. The body sort of lulls into thinking whatever I was doing is the new normal and stops responding with losses. Which isn't at ALL what I want to do! 

I don't know what kind of food plan you're following. If you have the option, also cut back on your carbs. I thought it would be really hard coz I love carby things, but it's making a difference.

[Absolom]

Changing up the exercise program is also beneficial.  If you usually walk or cycle then try having some days of weight work or maybe something off the wall like bouncing on a small trampoline or rope skipping.  I hate swimming, but if you can do that it helps.  When I first needed to lose weight, I went virtually no carb for three days and it jump started weight loss.  Three days isn't bad, but I wouldn't go longer without fruit and vegetables.  I have a friend who swears no carbs besides green or yellow vegetables one day a week keeps her weight where she wants it and she's thin - about a size 4 maybe.  She wears small and extra small.  If she starts gaining, the first thing she does is go buy a turkey breast and roast it.  She has that with all the salad or cooked green vegetables she can consume until her weight drops to where she wants it.  I don't know if it matters but she only buys sourdough bread.  There are no sweets or snacks in her house unless they are home made and that done infrequently.   

[Gramto6]

I'm finally back!! This new service is great and much faster.  The installer very helpful and even tried to get my printer running but not successful there. He said maybe when I upgrade it will work as it is all installed and should work.  Tomorrow for that, I'm just going to catch up on the forums today and take it easy!

[AZChristian]

30 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

I'm finally back!! This new service is great and much faster.  The installer very helpful and even tried to get my printer running but not successful there. He said maybe when I upgrade it will work as it is all installed and should work.  Tomorrow for that, I'm just going to catch up on the forums today and take it easy!

I used to work in tech support, and we would go back to the basics with must customers before we started "deep diving" into why things didn't work.

Have you done this (in the exact order listed)?

- Turn off the printer and disconnect the power cord.

- Turn off the computer and disconnect the power cord.

- Reconnect the power cord and turn the printer back on.

- Reconnect the power cord and turn the computer back on.

Sometimes you have to slap the equipment around and say, "HEY . . . THERE'S SOMETHING NEW HERE.  TALK TO IT!!!!"

[Gramto6]

Thanks @AZChristian! I have a laptop not a desk computer, but I will go through all those steps tomorrow and hope that works.  I hate to try new things in the evening as my brain is already starting to shut down after dinner time.

I started running the upgrade on laptop this afternoon and it started great but then timed out again... there may be a new laptop in my future... this one is a 2018 model MacBookAir running Mojave. I am very bad at doing updates!

[AZChristian]

59 minutes ago, Gramto6 said:

Thanks @AZChristian! I have a laptop not a desk computer, but I will go through all those steps tomorrow and hope that works.  I hate to try new things in the evening as my brain is already starting to shut down after dinner time.

I started running the upgrade on laptop this afternoon and it started great but then timed out again... there may be a new laptop in my future... this one is a 2018 model MacBookAir running Mojave. I am very bad at doing updates!

We only have laptops, too.  But some of the same processes work with desktops and laptops.

Let me know what happens!!!!

[Gramto6]

27 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

We only have laptops, too.  But some of the same processes work with desktops and laptops.

Let me know what happens!!!!

Will do!

[Yeah No]

13 hours ago, Absolom said:

I had to start measuring water intake not related to weight loss, but the extra 2 to 4 glasses of water a day have induced weight loss.  I don't know if you've tried that or if it would help.  

 

12 hours ago, altopower said:

@Yeah No That may be part of the problem. I like to eat the same things much of the time, but it's when I really change things up a LOT that I see the scale move more. Try increasing your protein. That usually helps me. Adding more liquids. Moving more. The body sort of lulls into thinking whatever I was doing is the new normal and stops responding with losses. Which isn't at ALL what I want to do! 

I don't know what kind of food plan you're following. If you have the option, also cut back on your carbs. I thought it would be really hard coz I love carby things, but it's making a difference.

 

11 hours ago, Absolom said:

Changing up the exercise program is also beneficial.  If you usually walk or cycle then try having some days of weight work or maybe something off the wall like bouncing on a small trampoline or rope skipping.  I hate swimming, but if you can do that it helps.  When I first needed to lose weight, I went virtually no carb for three days and it jump started weight loss.  Three days isn't bad, but I wouldn't go longer without fruit and vegetables.  I have a friend who swears no carbs besides green or yellow vegetables one day a week keeps her weight where she wants it and she's thin - about a size 4 maybe.  She wears small and extra small.  If she starts gaining, the first thing she does is go buy a turkey breast and roast it.  She has that with all the salad or cooked green vegetables she can consume until her weight drops to where she wants it.  I don't know if it matters but she only buys sourdough bread.  There are no sweets or snacks in her house unless they are home made and that done infrequently.   

Thanks to all of you, I know you are all right and the key may be to change things up because my body is a creature of habit and is probably way too used to what I'm doing after a year of doing it.  It's what I've read myself which makes me ask why I didn't think of it.  I think I'm just tired of trying to psych. out my body after all this time. 

Also, why didn't my dietician suggest these things?  That's one reason I never went back to her.  She was so focused on getting me to be happy about my 25 lb. weight loss that she didn't even see the urgency I have to continue to lose weight much less make any great suggestions like these, even though I ASKED for her help!  Her solution was to just stick with it and maybe exercise more.  Well, duh, but I need more than that.

As for cutting back carbs., I'm already on a reduced carb. diet so cutting back at this point would be very close to cutting out starches altogether, which is something I have great difficulty doing.  If it meant cutting down on carbs. like vegetables, there's very little left to eat except meats and cheeses that may not be so healthy for me for other reasons unless I stick to the same type of reduced fat ones I've been eating already on my diet.  Or nuts and certain grains.  I find that once you eliminate the unhealthy stuff there really isn't that much left other than fresh vegetables, healthy nuts, grains, some dairy and lean meats like turkey and chicken and seafood including fish and shellfish.

Also it's hard to change course when you are already following a diet plan and have it drilled into your head that you should eat no more than 5 oz. of protein in a serving.  If I ate more protein I'd have to cut back on something else because the calorie count would go up too much for me to lose weight.

Unfortunately it's a challenge because when you're already eating a lower calorie diet there isn't a lot of wiggle room for anything to change.  I feel like I need professional help doing this but unfortunately I didn't feel like my dietician was willing to go there with me.  I think they are so used to just giving people weight loss drugs to do their jobs that they are not even focused on doing it the "hard" way and giving someone like me who can't take those drugs some serious help.  

One thing I would like to do is join a gym now that I am on Medicare and get free gym membership so that I can add some new types of exercise to my repertoire other than just the walking and stationary bike.  My only problem with that is that I quit going to gyms years ago because I caught every single cold.  It got ridiculous, I was catching a cold every month for a while and I knew it was from the gym because it was the clear culprit.  And this was in spite of wiping everything down before I used it and trying to stay at a safe distance from other people (and this was pre-pandemic, too!).  Once I stopped going to the gyms, I stopped getting sick.  I know that supposedly gyms have better ventilation now but knowing how easy it is for me to catch stuff I worry that it's not enough.  So that's an issue for me. 

Speaking of catching stuff, I'm still trying to figure out how I got Covid.  Unless it was from my hairstylist (who I will see again at the end of this month and will ask her) I've ruled out anyone else I got close to.  I normally don't go near too many people so it was easy for me to rule out anyone that might have given it to me in the 2 weeks leading up to getting it.  Unless these new variants pass more easily from touching surfaces, which was not the case with earlier variants.  So now I'm back to being more careful about sanitizing before and after I touch ANY communal surfaces such as doorknobs in stores or rest rooms and even supermarket keypads.  

Anyway, thanks for your help, I will start to see if I can make some of these changes on my own going forward.  And it can't hurt to look into some gyms just to see if maybe there might be one I can join that isn't too busy in the middle of the day on weekdays which is when I'd most likely be going.

 

 

[altopower]

@Yeah No I've been gaining and losing pounds since I was 10. Right now I'm in the pre-op process of bariatric surgery (gastric sleeve) which will be postponed at least 6 months because of heart problems I didn't know I had.

But I started 2 months ago eating with the limits I'll be using post-op, and have lost 31 lbs in 3 months.

• 1200 calories max (I'm usually closer to 1000)
• 70-90g protein
• 70g carbs
• 50g fats

It's hard. I adore carbs and love eating fruits and veggies - but they all have so many carbs that I've cut a lot out. 

I usually have one protein shake a day, a big meal with friends, and little sandwiches for dinner using street-taco size tortillas. I drink 60-72 oz of water or Crystal Light. Surprisingly, well, probably not because of the protein levels, I'm not usually hungry and I can stick to my limits pretty closely.

[Absolom]

9 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Also it's hard to change course when you are already following a diet plan and have it drilled into your head that you should eat no more than 5 oz. of protein in a serving.  If I ate more protein I'd have to cut back on something else because the calorie count would go up too much for me to lose weight.

That's the thing with doing only three days of no carbs.  You don't count amounts, servings, or calories.  You eat to fill your hunger.  Surprisingly for me it worked like a charm. Because of nutrients though it should only be done for a very short time period.  It's an easy way to shake up the body even if by day 3 you're craving carrots.  Nuts are not on the list for the 3 day protein plan.  

5 ounce servings of protein doesn't quite sound like enough for weight loss at a size 16 based on people I know.  Most of them are closer to 6 to 7 ounces.  Oh and there's the 30/30 plan which due to my new med schedule I can't do anymore but I did lose 5 pounds on it.  You get 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of getting up.  I couldn't quite go 30 grams so usually aimed for 20 grams.  Sometimes you have to do something if you've been on reduced calories a long time to convince your body you aren't living through a famine and shake it out of starvation mode.  

[Absolom]

31 minutes ago, altopower said:

But I started 2 months ago eating with the limits I'll be using post-op, and have lost 31 lbs in 3 months.

Good for you to have so much weight loss before the surgery and preparing yourself for the plan you'll need to follow afterward!

[Gramto6]

6,370 steps yesterday.

Again lots of back and forth, inside/outside with installer. So glad to be back online!

@AZChristian, well I tried turning off the laptop and unplugging the printer.I waited close to 1/2 hour and turned everything back on. Tried to print a page from online and got a Filter Fail message. Thanks for the suggestion. I am trying to upgrade laptop still, got very close with new internet service, 8.34 GB of 12.86 GB before it timed out once again. Will try once more and then not sure what to do next short of a new laptop...

[Absolom]

13 hours ago, Yeah No said:

Speaking of catching stuff, I'm still trying to figure out how I got Covid.  Unless it was from my hairstylist (who I will see again at the end of this month and will ask her) I've ruled out anyone else I got close to. 

I always wear a mask to get my hair done.  The stylist is so close and we always talk so it would be concerning to me.  She doesn't mind and until this summer always put on a mask for my appointments.  

[AZChristian]

6 hours ago, Gramto6 said:

6,370 steps yesterday.

Again lots of back and forth, inside/outside with installer. So glad to be back online!

@AZChristian, well I tried turning off the laptop and unplugging the printer.I waited close to 1/2 hour and turned everything back on. Tried to print a page from online and got a Filter Fail message. Thanks for the suggestion. I am trying to upgrade laptop still, got very close with new internet service, 8.34 GB of 12.86 GB before it timed out once again. Will try once more and then not sure what to do next short of a new laptop...

If you google "filter fail Mac" . . . there are many suggestions.  I'm not a Mac person, but google and youtube have bailed me out of a lot of computer issues.  Don't give up!!!!

Have you tried googling about the upgrade failure????

 

[Gramto6]

2 hours ago, AZChristian said:

If you google "filter fail Mac" . . . there are many suggestions.  I'm not a Mac person, but google and youtube have bailed me out of a lot of computer issues.  Don't give up!!!!

Have you tried googling about the upgrade failure????

 

I will google the "Filter Failure" tomorrow.  With my new internet service, and faster speeds, I was finally able today to do the Upgrade!! Yay! Tried the printer, just in case it now worked, but no such luck. Hopefully Google will help! Thanks!

Edited October 6, 2023 by Gramto6
typo

[Yeah No]

16 hours ago, altopower said:

@Yeah No I've been gaining and losing pounds since I was 10. Right now I'm in the pre-op process of bariatric surgery (gastric sleeve) which will be postponed at least 6 months because of heart problems I didn't know I had.

But I started 2 months ago eating with the limits I'll be using post-op, and have lost 31 lbs in 3 months.

• 1200 calories max (I'm usually closer to 1000)
• 70-90g protein
• 70g carbs
• 50g fats

It's hard. I adore carbs and love eating fruits and veggies - but they all have so many carbs that I've cut a lot out. 

I usually have one protein shake a day, a big meal with friends, and little sandwiches for dinner using street-taco size tortillas. I drink 60-72 oz of water or Crystal Light. Surprisingly, well, probably not because of the protein levels, I'm not usually hungry and I can stick to my limits pretty closely.

I'm on a 1200 calorie/day diet too but I'm allowed unlimited non-starchy vegetables even if the calorie count goes above that.  I don't even take advantage of that so much, though.  Everywhere I go I hear and read that all carbs are not equal and the fruit/veggie kind are OK in moderation. 

I once went on a super-low carb. diet back around 20 years ago when that was all the rage and found it very hard to stick to, plus I lost an initial 10 lbs. but hit a hard plateau I never came off despite constant exercise, and actually started to gain the weight back until (ironically) I went on Jenny Craig and lost 30 lbs.   But that was just before I went into the worst of perimenopause when after a while even Jenny didn't work for me if you can believe that.  I had gotten down to 150 lbs. and stayed there for a few years but it was torturous to do so and eventually post-menopause the weight crept up again no matter what diet I went on (and I went on several).  And supposedly a 5' 1.5" person is still overweight at 150 even though I wore a size 8 at the time (and that was a less inflated size 8 than today).  I went to 2 gyms at the time AND I rode my bike on most weekends in the decent weather but the weight would not budge after a while.  I eventually went to a diet doctor in my area who was recommended highly.  I felt like I was starving all the time on his diet and even he couldn't believe that I wasn't losing weight (or inches!). 

One thing I have realized after so many years of dieting is that there are two kinds of overweight people.  The people who are overweight because they have an eating problem and the people who are overweight because they have a genetic/metabolic problem (and in some cases there are people with both problems to varying degrees).  I can honestly say that I was NEVER a person with an eating problem.  We tend to blame people for their weight gain in our culture because let's face it, a lot of people overeat in our culture and eat the wrong things.  But I was never one of those people.  I was afraid to say that to anyone for a long time because people always assume you're either in denial or lying about it.  I was doing neither and after a while I got sick and tired of being made to feel like it's something I'm doing wrong.

For a long time my husband thought he was a person with a genetic/metabolic problem but only just recently realized and admitted that he was not eating right.  As soon as he went on pretty much the same diet I've been on the weight just FLEW off of him.  Then he admitted to me all the stuff he was eating when I was not around that he knows made him fat.  I was NEVER one of those people.  I was a normal weight until my 40s without even dieting per se.  Then when the weight crept up I was able to control it with diet for a while.  After menopause, though, forget it.  Nothing works all that well.  It's amazing that I even lost this 25 lbs. at my age with all the difficulty I have.  I have NEVER, even when I was 20 or more years younger, been able to lose more than a pound a week on ANY diet and exercise program, no matter which one, no matter how much exercise!  I am short and the cards are stacked against me.  I've read that shorter people have more difficulty losing weight.  So that may be a factor with me as well.  It seems to blow people's minds that this could actually be the case but the facts don't lie and neither do I!

Note that right now I am weighing in at about 191 lbs.  Supposedly the more you have to lose the easier it should be to lose it but this is the weight my body likes to be right now, obviously.  Incidentally this is just around the weight I had gotten to pre-pandemic after all my gallbladder issues and operation.  And I got stuck here then too until the pandemic when the weight crept up again and I was under too much stress to fight it at the time after losing my dad and my husband losing his business.  I am just glad I was able to lose it again.  But I want to lose more.

Re: the super low carb diet:  I found it hard to eat that much protein.  Unless I ate nothing but turkey or chicken breast and seafood there was too much fat in it for me.  It's definitely not a diet I could stick to on a long term basis nor do I think it would be that healthy to do so.  It's great if you want to lose a few pounds on a short term basis but I'm trying to find a diet I can live with for the long haul too.  I definitely think it can be great in a situation like yours where the goal is to lose the most weight you can in a short amount of time in advance of surgery.  I wish you all the luck and success in the world, you are an inspiration!

Edited October 6, 2023 by Yeah No

[Yeah No]

15 hours ago, Absolom said:

5 ounce servings of protein doesn't quite sound like enough for weight loss at a size 16 based on people I know.  Most of them are closer to 6 to 7 ounces.  Oh and there's the 30/30 plan which due to my new med schedule I can't do anymore but I did lose 5 pounds on it.  You get 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of getting up.  I couldn't quite go 30 grams so usually aimed for 20 grams.  Sometimes you have to do something if you've been on reduced calories a long time to convince your body you aren't living through a famine and shake it out of starvation mode.  

I don't always stick to the 5 ounce rule with protein.  If it's low enough in calories and/or fat I sometimes go to 6 or 7 ounces, like with fish and lean chicken or even pork.  I generally stick to 5 or under with stuff like lean sirloin steak or deli meats, which I try to limit because of the sodium.

And usually once a week or so I eat out, which although I don't eat my usual amounts the rest of the day is certainly a wake up call for my body that I'm not in a starvation situation.  But my body does not work according to the rules it's supposed to - actually that's true of it with just about anything.  When doctors tell me that something is very rare and not to worry I tell them that I have often been the person to have to worry about so-called "rare" reactions and stuff like that.   Take this loss of taste thing with Covid.  Now that this is not really a thing anymore with the newer variants, try telling that to my body.  I lost my sense of taste and it's still not 100% back after a month.  It is almost back to normal, though.  I am never an average case with just about anything.  I get prescribed drugs that they tell me virtually no one reacts to and I will have a reaction.

[Yeah No]

12 hours ago, Absolom said:

I always wear a mask to get my hair done.  The stylist is so close and we always talk so it would be concerning to me.  She doesn't mind and until this summer always put on a mask for my appointments.  

I wore a mask with my stylist until I saw her in late August, when around here the Covid numbers were infinitesimally low.  So low that there were hardly any people hospitalized or dying in the entire state.  I mean crazy low like single digit low.  Of course, leave it to me to catch Covid in that situation!  Supposedly the numbers have gone up a little since then but not by much.  I get the stats emailed to me about hospital admissions and deaths weekly for my town and state and even NY state. 

Pretty much NO ONE was wearing masks in my area all Summer long.  And in the town where this stylist is (which is adjacent to mine) there were some die-hard hold outs wearing masks but even they petered out by the Summer.  It should be interesting when I talk to my stylist again whether she had Covid recently.  I'll bet she didn't.  Who knows where I got this?  It's probably going to be a fluke.  But of course that's MY crappy luck!  The MINUTE I stop wearing a mask and WHAMMO!  ☹️

My husband works with people that travel a lot and are around a lot of people and I know that until I got Covid he wasn't wearing a mask around them in the car but did he EVER catch Covid?  Nope!  He even went on a freaking CRUISE to Bermuda with his sister in June and didn't get Covid, (which I sat out due to having had a recent bout with vertigo and because of my tendency to bad motion sickness).  Again, MY luck is unbelievable! 😏

Edited October 6, 2023 by Yeah No

[ginger90]

 

People can be infected with a virus and their immune system can be working – and they might not feel sick. Even if they don’t feel sick, they can spread the virus to others.

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, ginger90 said:

 

People can be infected with a virus and their immune system can be working – and they might not feel sick. Even if they don’t feel sick, they can spread the virus to others.

Yup, I know and that's also one of my and my friends' theories, but one I'll never be able to prove, unfortunately.  And of course he doesn't like me suggesting that.  He tested negative on a Covid test the day after I tested positive and for days after too.  But I've read that you can get it from someone who was asymptomatic but by the time you show symptoms and they test themselves, they're already testing negative.  That would be my stellar luck, too, because now he probably thinks he's "immune" to the virus and might not be as careful in the future!  Although he will be getting the vaccine tomorrow, so that's good.  (I'm getting mine today.)  I told him he might have been lucky this time but next time he might be the one sick in bed.

Anyway I do have to consider the fact that I didn't get it in early 2020.  We dodged several lethal bullets before anyone knew what was going on in NYC.  I was visiting my Dad at his apartment every week for a while up until the very last day of February.  He got Covid that March and died on April 4th of 2020.  I suppose I should consider myself lucky I didn't get it back then and didn't die.....

Edited October 6, 2023 by Yeah No

[Gramto6]

6,643 steps yesterday.

Couple errands to run today and then back to trying to catch the kittens that I can find. There are 3 so far I am aiming for so some steps will be involved...

I feel your pain at being the "abnormal one" @Yeah No! I too am sensitive to many medications. If the dr says it is totally safe with no problem "maybe .001% of people have bad side effects"  that is the category I fall into! That is one reason I was so surprised that the Meloxicam caused me no problems and has actually helped my pain. 

As far as diet, we are all so different, what works for one may not for another. I think we have to experiment and find our own "way of eating" to achieve our goal be it lose weight or in my case to add some back. When I was dx'd with Diabetes,  I did a lot of experimenting and finally settled on low carb/high fat/moderate protein. It has kept my diabetes in normal range since 2012 and in the first couple of months  I lost 50# that have stayed off ever since. I don't feel deprived and do occasionally eat a bit off plan but not often. We are all different and what works for me may not work for someone else. 

I sincerely wish you and @altopower much success in your weight loss journeys and in finding the plan that works and is doable for life for each of you.

Edited October 6, 2023 by Gramto6
typo

[Absolom]

Last night I had trouble falling asleep and was thinking about @Yeah No.  When I was taking a nutrition class in college one project we were assigned was to eat the exact same foods for a week as someone else in the class to see what our weight experiences were.  One of the people in the class lived down the hall from me and she wanted to lose weight while I needed to gain.  We hoped this would help us.  So we did eat together for a week even to waking me up to have a cheeseburger with her one night.  I was underweight and lost a pound.  She was maybe 10 pounds overweight and gained two.   We weren't supposed to exercise except walking to class and our walking totals were close.  The only thing explaining the difference was our basic metabolism.  So we had a 35 pound or more difference in weight while we found we did eat similar amounts and foods, were the same height, and exercised similarly.  

[Yeah No]

3 hours ago, Absolom said:

Last night I had trouble falling asleep and was thinking about @Yeah No.  When I was taking a nutrition class in college one project we were assigned was to eat the exact same foods for a week as someone else in the class to see what our weight experiences were.  One of the people in the class lived down the hall from me and she wanted to lose weight while I needed to gain.  We hoped this would help us.  So we did eat together for a week even to waking me up to have a cheeseburger with her one night.  I was underweight and lost a pound.  She was maybe 10 pounds overweight and gained two.   We weren't supposed to exercise except walking to class and our walking totals were close.  The only thing explaining the difference was our basic metabolism.  So we had a 35 pound or more difference in weight while we found we did eat similar amounts and foods, were the same height, and exercised similarly.  

Wow, thanks for posting this!  I have been wishing for years that someone would do a scientific study like this but if anyone's ever done it I haven't heard about it.  They could have everyone in the study eat exactly the same food, maybe even give it to them and portion it out so it's as precise as possible.  I'd love to participate in that study or at least learn about it.

The closest I ever came to that was with a friend I worked with at my last company.  This was actually not when I was on any particular diet and I was at my highest weight ever, which was about 228 lbs.  We used to eat together in the subsidized company cafeteria on most days.  She would eat something for lunch like a burger and fries or a sandwich and buy an entrée to take home to eat whole for dinner, and I would cut the entrée in half and eat half for lunch and take the rest home to have for dinner.   I might make a small lettuce/tomato/onion salad with a light vinaigrette dressing to go with it.  On other days I would eat a light lunch, like a half sandwich (which they would make for you) and a small side salad, then take a whole entrée home to split with my husband.  It was usually something very good, like fish, chicken or lean pork loin.  They sometimes had Japanese food or a Greek Gyro, or quinoa stuffed peppers.  I also liked the lasagna, which was amazing, BTW.  I would normally eat a small breakfast (a mini bagel with light cream cheese and a cup of fruit salad, or a hard boiled egg or yogurt with fruit) while she would typically eat some greasy fried egg sandwich or wrap with bacon and then have that big lunch too.  

When the two of us would go out for lunch she would order the most ginormous, greasy, fattening thing on the menu and eat the entire thing.  As usual, I ate the lightest thing possible, like a salad or fish dish with vegetables.  

Now mind you, right now this woman is 70 years old (we are both retired) and stands no taller than 4'11" tall, maybe even shorter if you can imagine that.  And I am sure she takes a size 2 or 4.  She is so thin, she can't weigh more than 100 lbs. soaking wet!  I don't know if she still eats that way because I can't imagine her BP, cholesterol and sugar levels could be very good eating like that anymore at her age.  We last worked together in 2016 and are still friends.  We still go out to lunch now and then and I've noticed she does eat a little less and more healthy than she used to, so that's good.

But the point is that it used to floor me how much she could eat and get away with it without gaining a pound.  Meanwhile I was eating healthier foods and probably less than half the fat and calories she ate and was still struggling not to gain any more weight.  Oh, and even worse, she did absolutely ZERO exercise other than going shopping and house cleaning while I was going to two gyms and biking on the trail as much as possible in addition!   Yeah, I know, life is unfair, but does it have to be THAT unfair?  I know I must sound like I'm always carping about my bad luck with certain things, but it really sucks when you're doing so much and not getting where you want or need to go while others have it much easier.  If only I could take those diet pills....Unfortunately I'd probably need to go to Yale/New Haven medical center to find anyone that might be able to help someone like me, and that's an hour away from here.  Right now I don't qualify for weight loss surgery as I'm not heavy enough but I don't think I'd be a good candidate with all of my specific issues.

BTW, I just got my Covid shot this afternoon.  So far I'm feeling a little tired and sluggish.  We'll see how it goes.  My body is probably reacting like, "This is like deja vu all over again.  So tell me something I don't ALREADY know how to do", LOL.

[Gramto6]

6,434 steps yesterday.

Don't know whether to try wrangling kittens or trying to get printer working. Both are getting harder and harder to do!

 

On another. note I found the most interesting thing at the grocery store yesterday. Kiwi buds! I had never heard of them before!  They look like an elongated green grape, smooth skin, you just eat the whole thing, though the stem tip and the blossom end are a bit tough, so I cut them off.  Very sweet, probably bad for bg but one or two in my yogurt probably won't hurt much. They are soft inside much like a grape but with a bunch of those tiny black seeds but they are soft to. Yum for a special treat!

 

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 10/6/2023 at 3:08 PM, Yeah No said:

They could have everyone in the study eat exactly the same food, maybe even give it to them and portion it out so it's as precise as possible.  I'd love to participate in that study or at least learn about it.

Here's your chance:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/05/19/1176905832/our-bodies-respond-differently-to-food-a-new-study-aims-to-find-out-how

[Yeah No]

7 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Here's your chance:

https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/05/19/1176905832/our-bodies-respond-differently-to-food-a-new-study-aims-to-find-out-how

Thanks, it's too bad the closest enrollment location is in Boston or I'd love to join the study.

I'd love to see the results with a breakdown by age, sex, height, weight, etc. but it looks like it'll be a while yet until that's done.  We already knew that blood sugar and cholesterol were things affected by one's personal genetics, etc.  Now we'll see how genetics plus other personal factors can impact weight.  I've read theories about how gut microbiome and hormones changes at menopause can affect weight.  If they can get closer to figuring that out maybe one day they can find a solution to the problem.

Edited October 9, 2023 by Yeah No

[StatisticalOutlier]

I read an article not long ago that had an example of a woman who was trying to eat right and all that, but wasn't getting the expected results.  It's all super vague in my memory, which is probably why I can't find it again, but one of the things she was doing was eating some particular food that everybody knows is healthy.  Maybe raw tomatoes?  Something along those lines. 

She wasn't eating massive amounts of it or anything--just regular.  But it turned out her body processes whatever food it was in an unusual way that made it actually work against what she was trying to accomplish. 

I don't know how they figured it out, but when she stopped eating whatever it was, she started seeing the results you'd expect from everything else she was doing. 

[Gramto6]

Guess I didn't hit Submit with yesterday's post....happens sometimes. 

5,959 steps Saturday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

5,999 steps yesterday.

The colder weather is kind of making me want to hunker down in my recliner and enjoy the warmth from the furnace. Plus feeling a bit punk with sore tooth that came on Saturday evening. Jaw a bit swollen Sunday morning but it is better today. Need to find a new dentist, mine retired just after the first big wave of Covid. Time to get going and do it!

Dang, I went out to make another shelter out of a big Chewy box and got a bloody nose! I thought those were a thing of the past! Maybe the cold brought it on... sigh.

[Yeah No]

23 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I read an article not long ago that had an example of a woman who was trying to eat right and all that, but wasn't getting the expected results.  It's all super vague in my memory, which is probably why I can't find it again, but one of the things she was doing was eating some particular food that everybody knows is healthy.  Maybe raw tomatoes?  Something along those lines. 

She wasn't eating massive amounts of it or anything--just regular.  But it turned out her body processes whatever food it was in an unusual way that made it actually work against what she was trying to accomplish. 

I don't know how they figured it out, but when she stopped eating whatever it was, she started seeing the results you'd expect from everything else she was doing. 

That's interesting.  A couple of years ago I took some holiday gift money and spent it on one of those expensive DNA tests that tells you all about what medical conditions you might have or get, plus it also predicted which kind of diet would work best with your genetic makeup.  Basically it told me that my issue is with starchy carbs so I should be on a reduced starch Mediterranean-type diet, with occasional meat like beef, pork and lamb.  Incidentally that is remarkably like the program they put me on in that medical weight loss plan I joined last year.

But because of stuff like what you say above (and other things I've read) I think there's more to it.  They know now that one's particular gut microbiome has a lot to do with how we metabolize food, but just how that works in individual cases is something they're still figuring out.  They are saying that if you get your gut biology in order it would help you to maintain a healthy weight.  The theory is that with some post-menopausal women hormonal changes also affect the gut "flora" in ways that make them prone to weight gain.  But this is all very general and I think they're a ways away from figuring out how it all works.

Plus they are still working on figuring out how food sensitivities play into all of this in terms of what foods make a person gain or lose weight.  Some people are sensitive to fat and fat is what makes them fat.  Others are more starchy carb. sensitive, etc.  Knowing that for me it's the starches has helped a lot but it's still not the whole enchilada.  Also, food sensitivities like being sensitive to the particular substances in the foods might make the difference.  For example, I am allergic to salicylates in high doses, such as what is found in aspirin and ibuprofen.  I'm talking about anaphylactic shock here.  However, salicylates are in a lot of foods too, although I do not have allergic (or any other) reactions to foods high in salicylates because they still don't have nearly as much in them as pain killers do.  But who knows - I may still have some kind of adverse reaction going on there that may impact my ability to process those foods. 

A person with issues with tomatoes may be sensitive to the acid in them and that may impact their gut microbiome in a negative way for maintaining a healthy weight.  It gets very complicated and specific and I think we're not quite there yet in terms of figuring it all out.

[Gramto6]

5,350 steps yesterday.

Bug spray guy comes this afternoon. That means gathering up all the cat dishes and putting in the garage and kitchen. Then putting them back out. I think he will spray under the house this time. Don't think the kitties will like that.

Other than that, I think I'm going to start my search for a new dentist, check with my secondary ins and see if I can add dental, and then take it easy...

[StatisticalOutlier]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

I think we're not quite there yet in terms of figuring it all out.

I'd say that's the understatement of the century.

But the one-size-fits-all advice continues.  A chief part of which is that it is bad to have a diet that is rich in ultraprocessed foods and sugar.  But WHY is it bad?  They always say because it can lead to obesity and diabetes.  But what if you can eat like that and not be fat and not be diabetic? 

(Actually, this is probably more suited for one of the health discussions, so I'll just leave it at that here.)

[Yeah No]

21 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I'd say that's the understatement of the century.

But the one-size-fits-all advice continues.  A chief part of which is that it is bad to have a diet that is rich in ultraprocessed foods and sugar.  But WHY is it bad?  They always say because it can lead to obesity and diabetes.  But what if you can eat like that and not be fat and not be diabetic? 

(Actually, this is probably more suited for one of the health discussions, so I'll just leave it at that here.)

Don't worry about the health discussions, it relates to weight loss so I don't think you have to hold back.  I'm cheering at the "one size fits all" comment because I say that often myself about more than just dieting, but anything health related.

True, there are people that are not sugar sensitive - I didn't used to be until post menopause myself.  I could eat any amount of sugar and my blood sugar and weight were perfectly normal.  Not that I ate that much of it but I know I could have.  I wasn't fat or carb. sensitive before perimenopause either and I was brought up by a mom that cooked and loved healthy foods.  Dessert and sweets were only for "special occasions".  Those Depression era parents weren't extravagant with those things.  There were rules about food like how much was an "appropriate" portion.  I never finished what was put on my plate.  I never won the "clean plate club" badge in day camp, LOL.  I cringe at the ginormous portions of unhealthy, fat laden foods that people eat today and think are normal.  I don't know if I would have been so skinny if I ate anything like they do now, though!

 

[Gramto6]

5,028 steps yesterday.

Seem to be slowing down a bit.  Maybe it is the weather, makes it too cozy bundled up in the recliner.

Major run around with the auto responses in trying to get through to my secondary ins.  45 minutes getting bounced around even sent to Access Medicaid?? WTF? Gave up and will look for a local senior dental plan. Argh...

Tooth/Jaw is much  better today, but it does need looking at. So dentist search will continue too.

Edited October 11, 2023 by Gramto6
typo

[Gramto6]

6,387 steps yesterday.

Not much to write home about, but at least I am getting up and walking each  hour. The steroid shot really helped my knee and with the Meloxicam the pain level over all in my body is less. And no bad reactions to the new med! That is a big bonus!

[Gramto6]

6,527 steps yesterday.

Just doing household things. Long gone are the pushing to get high number days. My only goal per se is to be sure to move around some each hour.

I've been building new shelters out of the huge Chewy boxes to replace the ones ruined by the rains. These are a little better than the first ones I made. I'm covering them with cut up shower curtains and taping it securely down, put them on plastic and turn on the side so they can walk in. Then putting rags and old clothes inside for them to cuddle on. Sometimes there are 4 cats snugged inside! Still trying to figure out what to do when Winter is really here.

I have an unused shed that would work, but making it raccoon and skunk proof is the problem. Plus it needs lots of cleanup. Well, it is something to do...

[altopower]

I had my angiogram yesterday, and guess what?  They found nothing wrong! I was expecting to get a stent and have my bariatric surgery postponed for at least 6 months.  Instead, I got cardiac clearance and can go ahead with planning for the next big thing. Thanks for your support and prayers!

[Gramto6]

Great news @altopower!! So glad to hear that and that you are on you way to your surgery!

Edited October 14, 2023 by Gramto6
typo

[Yeah No]

5 hours ago, altopower said:

I had my angiogram yesterday, and guess what?  They found nothing wrong! I was expecting to get a stent and have my bariatric surgery postponed for at least 6 months.  Instead, I got cardiac clearance and can go ahead with planning for the next big thing. Thanks for your support and prayers!

Yay!!!  This is the best news I've heard in quite a while!  Let us know when you have a date set.  (((Many hugs))) and best wishes.  

[Gramto6]

5,689 steps yesterday.

Going to take it easy today. Weather is cloudy with a rain shower due at the time the Solar Eclipse is supposed to be most visible here. Sadly that probably means no sightings of it this time.