60 Pounds in Three Months!

Well, here it is… the 28th of August. Irene came for a visit, in Tropical Storm form. Here's a photo of the devastation in my yard. Not sure what Glory's sticking her nose into!  :) 

It occurred to me, as I write this, that it's been three months since I started the liquid diet, two weeks before my gastric bypass surgery. In those three months, I have lost 60 pounds! That's 20 pounds each month! Today, I weighed in at 188. I am halfway to my original goal of 125. Amazing… simply amazing.

I apologize for not posting an update last week. I forgot and I was sick. I had another stomach bug and came down with an ear infection in each ear. Thank goodness I only have two ears! But, the illness put a damper on getting much exercise last week and I missed Tuesday's group two weeks in a row. :(  Illness is gone now and I'm feeling GREAT and I hope to catch up on my exercise and get back on track again this week.

So, anyway, I waited too long to get treated for my ears. I called my doctor's office, during office hours, but got voice mail and I didn't leave a message. Instead, I thought I'd run down to CVS's Minute Clinic to see what the nurse practitioner would do for me. I've only started getting ear infections in the past three to four years. Never had one before that, but now I get them once or twice a year. It's quite annoying, but I do know what I need to fix them. Even by the time I got to CVS, my left ear canal was so swollen that she couldn't get that ear instrument in it. She confirmed that, yes, I did, indeed, have an ear infection and the Minute Clinic's protocol says I need ear drops. I explained to her that I would not be able to get the ear drops IN to the ear and that I needed antibiotics to get the swelling down, from the inside out. But, no. She was only able to prescribe ear drops and I would need to follow-up with my doctor for antibiotics. Basically, a waste of my time and money. I was feeling pretty miserable and, by the time I was through with the nurse practitioner and ready to fill my prescription, there were 7 people in line at the pharmacy for their prescriptions. I never even filled the ear drops prescription. I won't go there again for an ear infection. So, by the time I got to my doctor, two days later, my right ear was also swollen up tighter than a drum. And my doctor, God love her, prescribed antibiotics, ear drops AND prednisone to help the swelling go down. Now, you KNOW I have a real issue with most prescription medications, but I really do appreciate those miraculous prescriptions that almost instantly fix simple ailments. And I do not have an issue with temporary medications. It's those drugs that are advertised nonstop on TV and in magazines that drive me crazy. It's all those drugs that appear to be just the thing to cure imaginary ailments or ailments that many physicians imagine you have that drive me crazy. But, again, I digress. Please read my first few blogs to get an idea on how I really feel about modern medicine.  :)

So, now that I'm feeling quite well, every day that goes by, I am feeling more and more energetic. Whether I'm exercising or not, I know I am definitely moving more than I have in a very long time! I don't like to sit for very long periods of time any longer. Even at the computer, where I used to love to sit for hours either working on a project or playing games. Except for using the bathroom, I could sit for hours on end and never move a muscle, except for my finger muscles, as they typed, or moved the mouse around. Not anymore. I get restless, even playing games… even watching TV. I get up during commercials and find something to do… dust, pick up trash, put something away. I just don't like to sit idle for long periods anymore. And I get up and do things that I would never have done just a short three months ago. I climb on furniture to get to things. I walk out to my car to get something. I go up and down my stairs more than once a day. Time was when I'd bring everything I would need for the day downstairs with me when I got up, so I wouldn't need to go back up there until it was time to go to bed. Now, I'm up there three to four times a day for one thing or another and I don't need to worry about making sure I have everything when I get up in the morning. When I was 60 pounds heavier, it really was such an effort to even move and I remember getting so down and frustrated and mumbling that to myself so many times… "It is such a freakin' effort to move!" Not anymore!!   :)

In fact, on Friday, I, Judith A. Stickney, went to Water Country! I would never have gone to Water Country 60 pounds ago!  Too much effort. Too far to walk from the car to the park.  Too much walking around the park itself! I would never have gone, but go, I did! And we had a ball! I met my Scotty and Kirsten and their two girls there and I had Cailey with me. The weather was absolutely perfect and we stayed until the place closed! So, I didn't get the gumption to go down any of the slides, but I did go into the wave pool with my youngest granddaughter, Taylor. I was content to watch over everyone's belongings and do a lot of people watching. The wave pool was just my speed and not far from the picnic table we put claims on. I ventured out, from time to time, just to see where the kids were and what they were doing… and to get up and move some! That was for the first half of the day. The second half of the day, we ventured over to the other side of the park, where there are two great areas for smaller children, but the older girls loved it just as much. There was nowhere to sit there, so, I did get a lot of walking around for an hour or so, just walking back and forth, trying to keep up with where the kids were. Then a few chairs opened up, so I plopped down for awhile. Overall, a great time was had by all!  Here are the kids on one of the kiddie slides. 

So, what do you do when there's a storm comin'? I cook. You know… just in case I won't be able to cook or get to a store for more than 8 hours. So, I made about 60 gwumpkies (golabkis), those Polish stuffed cabbage rolls. I made ground turkey ones and regular beef and pork ones. And I made a pan full of manicotti. Now that the storm is winding down, I'm thinking dessert. Maybe a peach crisp. I can make that without too much added sugar and may be even able to eat some of it, sans the required vanilla ice cream!  :)  I must look for a recipe!

Well, that was my week! How was your week? Talk again in a week.    :)  

Here I am with Caiden, bracing against Irene's wind!

I am ONE-derful! :)

I am delighted to report that I AM ONE-DERFUL!  I now weigh 197 pounds… forever out of the 200s! Yay!  I've lost 51 pounds since May 23. This is just unbelievable! If anyone reading this has even had just a fleeting thought of having bariatric surgery, all I can say is… DO IT! DO IT!  I wish I'd done it a long time ago! Read up on it! Go to an informational meeting. Salem Hospital has informational meetings all the time. Go to them! I was so afraid of having this surgery… terrified, really, but after attending the informational meeting and the monthly support group meetings… and after completing all the prerequisite evaluations and tests, I was more than ready to have the surgery. So far, it's working. I have every reason to believe it will continue to work, as long as I can follow instructions and manage to … oh… here's that dreaded word… EXERCISE!

But… here's more good news! I have exercised four days this past week! FOUR days! That's like a record for me! I tried the belly dancing (oh… quit yer laughin!) on Exercise TV. It's actually fun! I actually ENJOY it! Shhhhhhhhhhhhhh… don't tell Joanne that… I'll deny it! She's the personal trainer at group therapy on Tuesdays.  So, two mornings this week I did the belly dancing routines. There are three of them. One day I did all three. This morning, I just did one… so far. One day I went walking and then there was the group therapy exercise class. Four days of exercise. I can hardly stand it! So, I'm hoping this is the start of getting it all together! I just need to keep that up. It's much easier to get through if I can get it done first thing in the morning… well, after Kerry's gone. LOL  And I think my neighbor and I are going to start water aerobics Monday. If it works out, we'll go Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. So, there's three days right there! And I'd still like to take a look at the line dancing. I found a class right in town, at the Senior Center. They told me I could go as a "senior in training."  LOL  :)  Some of those seniors will probably outpace me in the dance class! Their classes are Mondays and Thursdays. I think I'd enjoy that, too!

I'm still working on getting enough protein and water in. I don't think I'll ever get enough water in. I used to drink MUCH more water before I had the surgery, but, since the surgery, I can only sip a little at a time and I just am not sipping enough in the course of a day. If I sip too much or too fast, it's not comfortable and feels like it's going to come back up… it did once. 64 ounces is the recommended minimum, and, when it's hot and humid out, they want us to drink even more. I don't know how people fit it in, but I continue to try.

Protein is another story. I've sort of given up on getting enough protein, which means, I may be losing some of my hair. Well, I know I am losing hair, but it isn't noticeable yet, unless you look at the bath tub or my hair brush. Yikes! Well, I've always liked hats. Even when I fill in the day's menu with Greek yogurt (it has more protein than regular yogurt), I still don't get the recommended 60-70 grams a day. I just can't eat that much. I can't eat beef. Beef makes me uncomfortable. I can't eat pork… same result. I don’t really like eggs. I can eat chicken and seafood, and that's what I've been existing on. I did discover that I really like turkey burgers and they really like me! I had one last night at a cookout we went to. I brought them and I had one and Kerry had two. We both thought they tasted just like beef burgers! I had mine on grilled Texas toast (to cut down on the carbs, I sliced one slice into two, before grilling -- thinner bread) with provolone cheese. So, okay… I probably added too much fat with the provolone cheese, but, I must say, it was DELICIOUS!  And, once again, I can feel normal at a function!  Yay!  :)  I have some veggie burgers in the freezer that I haven't tried yet, but, that may be another option at a future cookout.

I was with "my girls" last night… my best buds… the girls I go to Florida with each fall. They are a crazy bunch and I love them to death! We got to talking about Sanibel this year and, it saddens me, because I may not be able to go with them this year. ::sniffle::  :(   I may have to go on a cruise, instead. So sad. Here's the deal. In March I got an e-mail from Norwegian Cruise Line inviting me on a free cruise to enter their qualifying slot tournament. I looked at the e-mail and said, "yah, right… what's the catch?" So, I got out my NCL casino card and called the casino marketing number on the card, rather than the one on the e-mail. Yah.. that's right. I do have a casino preferred player card for NCL cruises. LOL  Kerry and I like the slots and, apparently, NCL knows that. And, yes, the e-mail was for real. They are inviting me and a guest to a free Caribbean cruise, to qualify in their slot tournament. I could choose from four dates, one the end of March, one the beginning of April, another at the end of July and the last one in October. Well, by the time I got the e-mail, the March cruise would be coming up in a week or so. That one was out. Kerry and I were going on a cruise the second week in April, so the April one was out. We were going to Maine the last week of July, so that one was out. The only one I could go on was October 22. So, I booked it. Now, if I qualify for the final tournament, I'll have to go on another cruise that leaves November 13. The girls are going to Sanibel on November 12.  :(  While no one, including me, wants me to lose the qualifying round, we all want me to go to Florida! So, we'll see what happens.  :)  In any case, I get the free cruise and, by using frequent flyer miles, I have free first class flights to get there as well!  ;)  And I DO so love cruising! But, I'll miss my girls!

Well, that's about it for this week! I am now officially ONE-derful! How are you?  ;)  Talk atcha next week!

Two More Down..... 75 to go! :)

Another week and another two pounds! One more pound to the ONE-derful Club!  Today, I weighed in at 200 pounds! Woohooo! I've now lost 48 pounds since May 23, the day I started the liquid diet, two weeks before the surgery.  And, I feel GREAT!  My standard comment this week has been… "I should have done it a long time ago!"   :)

Exercise… it's still a dirty word. I just can't get myself motivated to exercise on my own. I bought weights. I bought exercise bands. I borrowed yoga books from the library. I haven't opened the weights. While I did take the exercise bands out of the box, they have yet to be opened… really. The yoga books were returned… unopened. What's worse… I can't be trusted to get any exercise when left to my own resources. I have a neighbor who goes to water walking class with me. She couldn't go last week, so, neither did I. It makes me very disappointed in myself when I do that. Other than my support group day, I got virtually no exercise this past week. That's just not good. It's been my worst week yet for exercise. I didn't even reach my goal of getting to the Y to work out twice this week. Hell! I didn't get there even once this week! The only thing I did do was half an exercise class on TV. It was hip hop dancing and it was too fast for me… and there was jumping involved. I'm still too heavy to jump. Go ahead… I know you want to ask… What in hell were you thinking? HIP HOP??? Well, I thought it might be easier than belly dancing. Although, God knows, I have the belly for it!  :)  And, those were my two choices, as far as I could see. I'd like to do some line dancing. Maybe I'll look for that somewhere. I used to love line dancing, when I used to dance. Maybe… just MAYbe I can find something I like to do and just do it!

So, I'm at Stop & Shop yesterday, shopping for ingredients to make ground chicken stuffed peppers. They were having special gas points if I bought certain products, so I did. I bought the baby back ribs, the bag of frozen shrimp, and a family pack of chicken drumsticks, in addition to my stuffed peppers ingredients, when who should I bump into, but the therapist who directs our exercise at support group. I wanted to jump into the shopping cart to cover the ribs and drumsticks! God knows, I won't be eating them, but I didn't want her to think I would be eating those! Good Lord! I can't eat more than a bite or two of ribs and I might be able to eat half a drumstick. If she saw them, she didn't comment, but I don't even think she looked into my shopping cart. Thank God for her, really… else I wouldn't have gotten any exercise last week at all. She pushes us to do more than we've ever done before. While I absolutely hate it at the time, it makes me feel good when I'm done. I feel like I've accomplished something… something more than I've ever done before. She's very good at what she does. But I was relieved when we parted ways at the supermarket. "Yup! See ya next week! Bye-bye!"  :)

Two of my grandchildren were here this weekend. My grandson is my youngest grandchild. He'll be four in October. He can be the sweetest little thing and a minute later have you pulling your hair out. This morning, he decided to be sweet. I was up around 6:30 this morning. I was at the computer, wasting time until I could eat breakfast (1/2 hour after thyroid meds), when I heard him making his way upstairs. He's almost always awake before his sister and the both of them are almost always awake before their father. So, up they come to visit with Granny until Dad gets up. My grandson was still half asleep when he came up and crawled up on my lap to gaze out the window at the "pretty slowers" (flowers) hanging outside. I'd just bought the hanging petunia at Ingalsby Farm on Friday for $10!! What a deal! So, he hadn't seen it before now. He was just mesmerized with it. It's white petunias with deep purple veins and very full. He wanted to go outside to pick a few for Granny, but noticed that it was raining, so Granny sang him the "Rain, Rain Go Away" song… "Rain, rain, go away. Come again some other day. Rain, rain, go away. Little Caiden wants to play." The boy loves flowers and he loves it when Granny sings. Finally SOMEone who appreciates good music!  :)  He wanted me to sing it again, using his sister's name, instead of his. Naturally, I obliged. He decided he was tired and soon went back downstairs and back to bed for awhile. But, I cherished that time with him. It was a sweet rainy morning.  :)  And, just to give her equal time, here's my youngest granddaughter. Beautiful teeth, eh?  LOL 

That's it for my week! How was yours?  Talk to you again next week!  :)

Back From Vacation -- 3 to go to the hundreds!

What can I say about spending ten days in the forest with 15 other family members? One might think that nine adults and six children under the age of 10 -- all under the same cabin roof -- might make for a hectic week, yes? At times, yes, it was, but, for the most part, it was quite relaxing. I was disappointed that I didn't see one bald eagle, but, other than that, a great time was had by all! Low game sighting count this year… all we saw were one doe with her sweet little spotted fawn running through a meadow, one very healthy looking coyote, and one cow moose. That's it. :(

My sweet little granddaughters hopped on their 4-wheelers on day 1 and didn't get off of them until: 1) they broke; or, 2) when the time came to load them back on the trailers for the ride home. Granny never got on a 4-wheeler all week. I did, however, go kayaking… something I was unable to do just two years ago, because I couldn't get myself into the damned kayak! This year, I got in like a champ… it was the getting- out part that almost had me face down in the lake! LOL But, with a lot of help from Kerry (and we almost BOTH went in face first), I got out with just one wet sneaker. :) Getting to the lake was a 10-15 minute walk, each way, over rough, hilly terrain, so that was somewhat of a workout as well, and I made the trek twice in 10 days.

I was completely delighted to find that I'd lost 6 more pounds while I was away! Eating properly was a bit of a challenge, but I brought some soup and Greek yogurt to eat if there was something I couldn't eat on the menu. For the most part, I did the cooking (I'm one of those weird people that find cooking a relaxing activity -- even when it's for 15!). But, I couldn't make everyone eat chicken all week, so there were days when I had to rely on my soup -- most notably, those days when hot dogs and hamburgers were on the menu. But, I did eat some shrimp scampi (Hey! We eat really well at camp!). And I had some ham and bean hole beans! Yes, we cooked our beans all day in a real bean hole, in pots surrounded by hot coals from a fire that had burned all night the night before. And they were delicious! I had some turkey from the deep-fried turkey we had one night. I left the frying up to Frank, my brother-in-law and the turkey fryer owner. Our 20-pound turkey was perfectly cooked in one hour! And, on most mornings, I had an egg, one-half of an English muffin, and a slice or two of crispy bacon. I did bring my oatmeal, because eggs sometimes don't agree with me, but the eggs worked out well for me this week. Even though I fry the eggs, I only eat the yolk (the whites are too rubbery feeling to me -- it's a textural thing) and I scoop it out of the white with my English muffin, so I get little to no added fat with it. The last day we had two pasta dishes -- homemade macaroni and cheese and homemade baked ziti with meat sauce. I had neither, but the mac and cheese got rave reviews! I used up all the various cheeses we had left over from the week! There was cream cheese, shredded Mexican cheese, shredded mozzarella, sharp cheddar, and cheddar with horseradish. Everyone loved the concoction! :) No leftovers there, but there were leftovers of the baked ziti! The raccoons feasted on that. I made a few pies for dessert. We had strawberry rhubarb pie (it was purchased -- all I did was bake it), key lime pie, triple layer lemon pie, and sky-high peanut butter pie. They were delicious, but had too much sugar for me… even in the small 1/16 of a slice that I ate… didn't sit well with me. But, they were yummy going down!

Even with those six little kids and their four-wheelers, the injury count wasn't bad, either. We had one knee that was non-seriously cut from a piece of glass in "the pits," the gravel pit and the preferred place for these youngsters to ride their 4-wheelers. We had another who decided she wanted to try the "beans" she saw growing in the field, on the way to the lake. The "beans" were actually seed pods for the beautiful wild lupine growing there. A bit of panic ensued when her mother discovered the pods can be poisonous (on her iPhone). She just had a taste, spit it out quickly when she discovered the bitterness and hurried back to camp to wash out her mouth. She was fine. Another child had to be "iced" when he tripped over something on the front deck, smashed his shin and stubbed his toe. That was another ordeal, but he survived nicely. My fair-haired and fair-skinned 4-year-old granddaughter and her mother were covered with red welts from bug bites, despite the gallons of insect repellent they were doused with daily. Granny brought some Bite MD (When I bought it, I thought the label read "Bite ME".) that was used frequently during the week to get rid of the itch! A few other minor bumps and bruises, but all survived nicely.
My nearly 4-year-old grandson discovered the joys of peeing outside and headed to the same spot every time he had to go, peeing with great abandon. Oh, how he enjoyed making circles and loop-de-loops! LOL (TMI?) Now we're concerned he'll want to do the same when he gets home, to the horror of his mother, I'm sure. We tried to convince him that it's only a Maine activity. LOL We'll see how that works out. It may be his last Mom-sanctioned trip to Maine. LOL

Well, that was my last coupla weeks! How was yours? :) Three more pounds to the ONE-derful club… I'll be in the 100s!! Wooohooo!