Dyneshia
I have never really need a "small person". Only later in life (approx Summer 2009) did I discover why I had allowed myself to become so unhealthy. Thankfully I did some deep soul searching & got that figured out. Now I can finally shed these extra pounds & stop hiding behind the weight. Great news! Right?
I'd have to answer that with a Yes& No.
In theory it all sounds so easy; especially since I absolutely LOVE grilled boneless/skinless chicken breast. Add that to a salad & I could live forever. Add to that, that I have never really cared much for breads. So this weight lose should be easy; easy I tell ya... I got this "in the bag".... a piece of cake. No never mind, skip the cake, I don't care much for cake or desserts either. Now fried foods, that's a whole 'nother thing; well it used to be a 'problem'. But then again Texans fry anything & everything. Figure in that I have lived in Texas the majority of my life you'll understand where those extra calories came from. I mean, really, check out the State Fair where it's a "big thing" to see what will win the contests. Glad I'm not a fair-going-fried-food-eating-person or I'd be in worse health I'm sure.
Anyway, back on topic...
It's a long story for another day, but unfortunately back in 2002 I became disabled & unable to work... or even leave the house the majority of time, especially without my husband. Being much less active I found myself 75 pounds heavier a year later. So in 2003 my husband & I decided to cut all of the frying. Threw away the "Fry Daddy" deep-fryer because we didn't want to 'enable' someone else & contribute to their health problems. Sure, at first it was weird to have things cooked in the oven that we HAD usually fried. For instance, we didn't (still don't) usually have french fries, but the first time we did... wow, big difference. But well worth it I must say. Now, the few times a year when we do have something like that I just add a little Mrs Dash, minced onion, garlic power, etc & they turn out great.
We had also bought a George Foreman grill. Now, this was when they first came out; when they were much smaller. With a family of 5 it just took too long to cook for everyone so unfortunately I pushed it to the back of the cabinet & rarely used it. Now they have much larger ones (for a family), but now our kids are all grown & moved out with families of their own so we don't need the larger one. But, I DID ours back out, washed it up & started using it. Mmmm... boneless skinless chicken breast marinated in either Italian Dressing, "taco seasoning" or with a "french onion" package. The Foreman grill keeps the meat so moist unlike baking chicken in the oven. Ok, before I start sounding too much like a commercial I'll move on....
June 2009 I went through the sleep lab & discovered, yes, I did in fact have sever sleep apnea. So bad that there is a possibility I will still need my medication and/or c-pap even after I lose weight. But that's ok & something I'll deal with if/when that happens. Right now the important thing is to deal with the here & now.
Many moons ago, back when I was 13yo I took Square Dance lessons. I continued dancing until my life got too busy. Thankfully my husband gave in & said he'd go through lessons during the Spring 2011. Now, this is a man who even if he did dance, it would have probably been some 'headbanging' to some rock 'n roll, not Square Dancing. But since he said he would take the lessons I made sure that he followed through with the promise. It's said that when dancing you can burn between 200-400 calories. Some say that a night of dancing equals approximately 5 miles of walking. Whatever... no matter how much, it's many more calories than burnt while sitting on the couch watching TV, right?
Now this is where I am not understanding things. I'd been in to see my doctor every few months for quite a while. He knew we were going to start dancing & agreed that it should help. During the Summer 2011 I started with monthly doctor appointments to help monitor weight & health. August 2011 we also joined a local gym. Went through an orientation & evaluation then the specialist wrote up an exercise program for me (us since hubby was going too). We went to the gym & worked out every evening that we weren't Square Dancing; meaning that we were exercising every night (most, since we are human & missed a day here & there). You'd think that between dancing, the gym & eating better that I would have dropped some weight. Nope, unfortunately I have basically maintained my weight for the last 14 months. February 2012 the hubby & myself quite smoking. During that time I gained 12 pounds. But between June-August 2012 I lost that weight so I was back to 333... the weight I have maintained for 14+ months.
I have used the same family doctor for 23 years, so he knows me pretty well. Last Fall he asked me if I'd ever considered some tyype of gastric surgery since I was having such a hard time losing the weight. I told him that yes I had thought about it but that I figured I could do it on my own if I basically followed the same guidelines like using a small saucer to eat from, using super small bites, eating very slow, watched the carbs/fats/sugar/etc, staying active & all the other things that go alone with it.
After Square Dancing 2+ times a week for 8 months & going to the gym to work out on the other days (between August-December) my stamina started decreasing. Unfortunately my last dance (for now) was New Years Eve 2011 Dance where I couldnt even make it through one complete dance.
Since I wasn't going to continue Square Dancing in the near future I had to find other things to keep me busy so that I didn't end up bed-ridden. In Decemeber I learned about Geocaching. Being called a "Worldwide Treasure Hunt" made it sound fun. There are many times that it doesn't take much more than just getting out & in the car pretty fast but other cache require some walking. Since it could be done at my own pace & not slow others down as my dancing had started doing, this sounded like something I could do. Having PTSD makes it hard to find activies as well. But Geocaching hasn't bothered the PTSD much since I (we) can decide which cache to go after.
Not only did I quit dancing in January, but the machines started hurting more at the gym, so we stopped going there for a couple months. By March & April I had gained back a little (very little) stamina and decided it was time to get back into the gym. My knees, ankles & back were literally a pain so I decided I'd just work out in the pool; which I did as often as possible. I even competed in a "walking" competition in May. I purchased a pedometer at the gym a couple weeks previous to the competition so I could get an "accurate reading" as to how much I was currently walking. Yikes! I was lucky some days to even take 1200 steps. I blame most of that on the fact that I am basically homebound like I mentioned earlier. I mean, there is only so many steps you can make while walking i the house, right? Well, I used that couple weeks to slowly increase my steps. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I'd even place within the top 20. Honestly! How can a 333 pound person even compete agaist some of those who only have to 'carry' half the weight? Well, by the start of the competition I'd increased my step count to at least 2,500 on most days even before going to the gym. Thankfully the fitness instructor said that my "water jogging" counted. Since my pedometer couldn't be taken into the pool I of course took it off right before I entered the pool. I opened the calculator on my cell phone & placed it slightly elevated & on a towel to keep it dry. I kept an extra towel there to dry my hands. Then I'd head out into the pool & start running in the water. Every so often I'd go over & add the step count to my calculator. I then made sure to document it on my chart daily at the gym. To my complete surprise, at the end of the competeition not only did I have a total step count of 199,121 for the month I also won 2nd place.
Thank God I have been blessed so far & I don't have to deal with many health problems a lot of obese people deal with. I do not have high blood pressure, no diabetes nor cholesterol problems. Nothing really besides PTSD, sleep problems (severe sleep apnea, loss of REM atonia, parasomnia & restless leg) & arthritis in my knees and ankles as well as some back pain. Oh yeah, the other diagnosis is I am FAT. There! I said it. Not just "full-figured"... I am morbidly obese & fat.
Thankfully some of those health problems will cease to exist once I can finally lose the weight. Which WILL finally come off. I decided during the Summer 2012 to get a referral from my doctor to go to a gastric surgeon. August 8 2012 was my first appointment (the consultation). During that apppointment we (the whole room full of potential patients) were told about the various proceedures that the surgeon does, what is done with each, what to expect with each one. We also heard from several nurses who work there & have actually gone through the proceedure. One by one people in the group were called into the surgeons office to speak with him so that we could talk with him & decide which proceedure that we wanted. I opted for the Roux-en-y (RNY) which he agreed would be best for me. Next I had to go into the nurses office to discuss further, more specifically, about the proceedure as well as what my insurance company (Medicare & Humana) require previous to gastric surgery.
Since that appointment I have gotten all of the requirements completed. Monday October 22, 2012 I received a phone call from the nurse at 12:15 verifying the requirements have been met. Then she asked me when I would like to schedule my surgery. What!?! Really !?! Oh my!... I replied, "tomorrow" knowing that that was impossible, but... well, I don't know, was just joking with her LOL She looked at her calendar & asked if November 5, 2012 would be ok. "YES! Of course" I said. But really.... so fast? I just completed the requirements last Tuesday. One of the requirements had been the test for H. Pylori. Because my family doctors office is much closer I had opted to get the test done there which means it was actual blood work had to be done instead of the simpler test done at the surgeons office. So anyway, I knew those results would be in this week. But from reading through the folder of paperwork (which I've done many times since August) I thought it'd take the nurse 5 days or so to even have all of my paperwork sent to the insurance company, then that it'd take 10-14 days for them to make a file on me & then for them to make a determination. Approval for surgery already?!? Really?!?
I guess you can tell I am shocked & surprised at the speed for approval. Hopefully the informational package will arrive in the mail today (10/24/12)
