Down 36 Pounds! Woooohooooo! :)

Sorry for being so late getting this out this week! My photographer went back home and I don't have a photo yet, but I'll post one as soon as I can. In the meantime, I'm excited to report that I'm down to 212 this week -- 36 pounds all together. I haven't started exercising yet, but was given the go ahead -- no, strongly encouraged to start walking as soon as possible. So, I try to get out daily to, at least, walk around the yard.  LOL  Hey, it's better than sittin' on my duff at the computer, or in front of the TV, right?  :)  I shall start walking, in earnest, on Wednesday (yes, I will!) and that should help me lose weight, too. I did get a bit of walking done yesterday, around Boxford center for the parade. Two of my granddaughters were with Grandpa, in his fire car, in the parade. They were soooooo excited!  :)  Did Granny remember to bring her camera to the parade? Of course not.  Booo!  L

So, Wednesday night my son, Steve, drops in with four lobsters his friend got in his trap. One had to weigh 8 pounds! It was huge! So I cooked 'em up and Kerry and Steve had some and I had a couple of bites. We saved the rest of it. Thursday, I went out and bought a 1/2 pound of sea scallops and made a lobster and scallop pie for dinner. I really wanted scallops, but, I ate about 1/4 cup of the pie -- all lobster -- and was really full. No scallops for me.  :(   Kerry ate what was left of mine. I think that's going to be the norm for us. I'll have a couple of bites and he'll eat the rest. Trouble is... I'll be getting smaller and he'll be getting larger!

I had an appointment with Heart & Wellness on Thursday. They're the folks who will get me started on exercising, on their equipment. I'll also have to endure lectures each week on stress reduction, anger management, relaxation techniques and diet & nutrition. Anyone who knows me knows I'm generally a good natured person. I rarely get stressed and don't get angry without good reason... and I'm an expert in relaxation techniques.  :D  I know I can be moody, but I am also mellowing with age… I just avoid people and situations that make me irritable. I'm finding that there are some people in my life that I just need to avoid whenever possible.  Not many, but there are a few manipulators, liars and just plain old mean people who are not fun to be around.  So, I avoid them. For the most part, they're older than me and I do try to respect my elders, as I was taught to do. When I think I can't, I remove myself from their company.

But, I digress… the handbook that Heart & Wellness gave me has about 40 pages on anger management, for God's sake! Okay, so maybe THAT makes me just a teensy bit angry. Okay, maybe I do have anger issues.  LOL  :)  I am not looking forward to the lectures -- maybe the diet and nutrition information will be helpful, but the other stuff is basically crap, in my humble opinion. And now, I shall rant... just a bit. Psychology is hardly a science, but many of those who buy into it will try to make you believe it is an exact science and of all the psychologists I've met, almost all of them are nuts and trying to diagnose themselves, which makes it very difficult for anyone who actually needs therapy to find a therapist who's halfway normal. Okay, I'm done. So, basically, I'm not really thrilled to have to go through the Heart & Wellness 12-week mind-warping program, but I will endure. If nothing else, the exercise will help me get started and I can follow-up at the Y. I'll only be at Heart & Wellness for about 3 hours, once a week, for just 12 weeks, so I'll need to continue exercising throughout the week… as well as for the rest of my life… and I'm a member of the Y, so Y not?  :) 

Everything else was good at my appointment. I met with a cardiology nurse, Ann, who gave me my exercise target heart rate... darned if I can remember what it is, but I have a card somewhere in my purse. I must dig it out before this afternoon, my next appointment! And I met with the dietician, Melinda. She was very helpful and interesting to listen to regarding my protein and water intake. Got some good tips from her on ensuring I get enough of both and I'm doing much better with both -- still not getting the minimum, but I'm working on it and getting better at getting it in.

Friday, I met with my PCP and my thyroid numbers are still too high. :(  So, I'm doubling my 50mg levothyroxine to 100mg day and she wrote a new prescription for the 100mg tablets that I'll pick up when my 50mg tablets are gone. In the meantime, I just take two/day, rather than one.  Otherwise, everything was good there, too. Oh, she was a bit concerned about my blood pressure, but I think it was a fluke. It was 168/80, I think. I've been taking it every day since my appointment and it's been 121/66, 108/62, 105/68 and 107/64. Nothin' wrong with those numbers! 

Here's something new! I'm finding that I sneeze a lot after eating. Not always right away, but shortly after I've finished eating, I'll start sneezing… sometimes just once, but, most times, several times in a row. Not sure what that means, but it's something new and strange that I'll try to remember to discuss with the dietician later today. And, I had my first experience with "dumping" yesterday, because I ate too fast, I think. I'd heard of dumping (I hate the term, but it's a fairly accurate description of what happens) in my support group meetings. Dumping can happen if you eat too fast, too much, or swallow without chewing/pulverizing the food. I had some grilled steak and chicken… just about 1/4 cup's worth and probably less, but I ate it without thinking and I really do need to concentrate on eating when I'm eating, so I chew chew chew, until it's completely mush, or I get that "stuck" feeling. The food feels like it's stuck in my esophagus and won't move. It usually goes away in about 10 minutes, but it didn't yesterday and, eventually, it came back up. I'm sure it's because I ate too fast and swallowed pieces that were too large. And it was really difficult to figure out how and where I was going to do this, because I was outside at a large family barbecue, but I think I pulled it off without making a spectacle of myself -- at least no one said anything to me.

Well, that's it for this week! Happy Birthday, America! Talk atcha next week.  J