Anniversary Waltz

Well, I'm not actually waltzing but a couple of days ago I reached my second anniversary of my gastric bypass. I had my yearly follow-up visit with my surgeon's office.  They feel I'm doing fine in spite of the fact that I've gained a few pounds.  According to the official office scale I'm up 14 lbs from my lowest.  For me its a warning beacon to start working harder because  I want to lose about sixty more pounds.

There are habits I need to break but I haven't gone completely wacko here.  I still abstain from carbonated beverages which could inflate my pouch.  I've had a little sugar here and there but I don't go crazy.  I don't drink fluids during or right after meals.  I still exercise!  I faithfully get to the gym a minimum of three days per week.  This past week I've doubled my reps on my weight training.  I sometimes walk laps at the school track.  One day I actually jogged a little in the last quarter of the lap.  I try to skip the high impact stuff but I felt good enough to jog a little that day.

I've been scheduled for a visit with the dietitian in a couple of weeks.  I think a little tune up will do me good.  Besides I want to learn more about carbs.  Some packages talk about net carbs.  So some don't count?  Does this make any difference?  Hopefully I'll get some insight here.

I'm scheduled for some extensive dental work next week.  I have several problem teeth that were negatively affected by my diabetes.  I know I don't really chew properly.   I think if I get my teeth in better shape I'll be able to chew my food better instead of swallowing too soon.

It's discouraging to backslide but if I look at old pictures of myself I'm reminded that I've come a long, long way.  I got my life back.  Thanks Dr. Choi.  Thanks to all my doctors who encouraged me to have my weight loss surgery.  Thanks to all my family and friends who supported my efforts.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan

Still Hanging in There

The other day a belligerent, drug-seeking patient told me he hated the woman "over there" with the curly hair and eyeglasses.  I looked over at the desk where the only occupant was a security guard who did not fit that description.  I told him there was nobody there who had curly hair and glasses.  He looked me straight in the eye and said "you do".  Realizing it was me he hated I was delighted that he did not use any reference to my weight when he was insulting me.   It's nice to know that it wasn't my most obvious characteristic.

Some days I really  don't feel like going to the gym.  But I do it.  I'm trying to keep my daily steps over 7000 on non-gym days.  I moved my pedometer to my hip which seems to register more steps than where I had it before.    Some days I get careless with my eating but I try to avoid empty calories.  Wendy's had brought back my favorite salad for the summer.  The berry almond chicken salad has big strawberries and blueberries with grilled chicken, sliced almonds and a raspberry vinaigrette dressing.  It does not taste like salad from a bag but fresh and delicious.  So far I've had it twice in the past three days.

Usually I bring a Lean Cuisine for lunch but today I brought some leftover salad from home.  (Not the Wendy's salad.  I never have any of that left over).  It had  lots of cut up cucumbers and radishes and I topped it with some shrimp.  With only 30 minutes for lunch I didn't have enough time to finish all the crispy veggies.  There was just too much to chew in that amount of time.  I ended up bringing them home and eating them with dinner.  It is sad to say though that our workday rush is not suited to a nice healthy salad with lots of fiber.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan

My New Blog

I've started a new blog to chronicle my adventures as a nurse over the past 34 years.  I plan to add experiences of other nurses to my own.  You are all invited to read NURSICLE.

   http://nursicle.blogspot.com/

Love,
Marlena of Mohegan

Sticky

Our winter in the northeast this year was pretty mild.  We had very little snow accumulation and an early spring.  April showers were rare and everything bloomed much earlier than usual.  I liked it.  It was nice to have relatively few frozen schleps to work.  With so few storms I had less weather-related aches and pains.  One could get used to this.  In fact, I did once.  I lived in Utah for ten years.  I especially enjoyed the lack of humidity in the summertime.  Our dry spring was almost like being out there.

Then came May.  We're making up our rain deficit now.  For the past two weeks most days have been damp and dreary.  My knees and fingers are achy.  It's been warm and sticky, especially at the gym.

Certain adaptations are needed for either climate.  In hot, humid weather salt clumps up in the salt shakers.  My mom always put some dry rice in her salt shakers to combat this problem.  Crispy foods like chips and crackers must be sealed well so they don't get soggy.  Bread gets moldy unless you keep it in the fridge. In Utah chips and crackers stay nice and crisp but bread gets stale very quickly.  Lawn watering is mandatory in many municipalities out west because grass won't grow unless irrigated.  In the east most lawns don't require routine watering.  In fact, during drought years communities often prohibit lawn-watering and car-washing.  

 Air conditioning in arid regions is more likely to be done with evaporative coolers.  I had a friend who made one out of a window fan, a furnace filter and some copper tubing.  She dripped water from the tubing onto the furnace filter which was suspended in front of the fan.  The water was collected in a tray under the fan and was then piped to her garden.  This worked surprisingly well.  When moisture was added to the room by the fan it left you feeling cooler when the dry air absorbed it.  In damp regions this would not work at all.  The air is already saturated with moisture so nothing else gets absorbed.  The wetness just sticks to you and your clothes.  Many homes need a dehumidifier to combat mold and mildew.

I started thinking about all this tonight at the gym.  The dampness caused clouds of condensation on the windows from all the sweating going on inside.  The air was redolent with the scent of "eau de armpit".  I kept thinking about how much I hate sweating.  I don't like touching sweaty people.  Even worse is getting dripped on by someone else's perspiration.  I don't enjoy my body parts sticking to each other without my permission.

On the other hand, my hair curls better in the humidity.  If I'd stayed permanently in someplace arid I might be more wrinkled by now.   I'd choose curly hair and less wrinkles over crispy chips any time.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan

What Are You Waiting For?

Camels galore but no pigs.  

A friend and fellow blogger is now living in Saudi Arabia.  Her family relocated while her husband is working there.  While she enjoys the cultural experiences there are sacrifices.  She has lamented in her blog about missing certain foods from home, especially pork, which is not available in any form in that country.  She said she'd kill for a pork chop.  I've never lived in a foreign country but when I resided in Utah, I craved certain food staples from NY that were not available there.  It was annoying but it was not as much of a challenge as living abroad.   My friend's plight got me to thinking about the mental obstacles I faced when considering bariatric surgery.

Among other considerations, the commitments to bariatric surgery include forgoing certain foods.  Some temporarily and some forever.  Facing this obstacle was not easy.  We form loving relationships with our food.  After all, we do not eat just to make the hunger go away (actually that's a mantra of a fond but annoyingly thin friend of mine)  We eat to celebrate, to console and to mourn.  We share favorite foods to comfort, to love and to reward.  In spite of our regrets for our lack of control we are reluctant to give up those things that we truly love.

One of the big no-no's after bariatric surgery is carbonated beverages.  The carbonation can stretch the pouch and, in the early post-op period, even undo the staples.  This was a HUGE hurdle for me.  I drank a lot of diet coke.  (I'd drink caffeine free diet Coke when available so it was not only for a buzz.).  On the day before my surgery I was only allowed liquids.  Much of it was diet Coke.  Now, nearly two years later, I don't really miss it.  It didn't kill me.

Anything with sugar as a major ingredient is forbidden because of the risk of dumping syndrome.  Solid food was out of bounds for months. Even now a few foods can cause pouch blockage and only be relieved by vomiting.  It was really difficult to commit to living without this stuff.  But, as my bacon-loving friend who voluntarily moved to a pork-free country would attest, the benefits of choosing to make these adjustments in my life was worth it.

Last night my husband and I went to a wonderful wedding reception.  There were tuxedo'd waiters circling with yummy appetizers and a middle eastern dipping table.  I enjoy this type of tidbit eating where one gets to eat just a bite of something good.  The non-alcoholic bar mixed up fruit smoothies.  Later, there were three buffet stations.  One salad, one cold foods and one hot foods.  The cold food buffet had some delicious cold salmon.  I was filled up by the time I finished my salad and cold food choices.  I never made it to the hot food table.  I itched a little to see what I was missing out on even though I had no room for anything else.  In the end I just gave it up.  I really didn't need anything else.  Later on I got the bartender to mix me up a sugar free smoothie (they found some artificial sweetener for me).

When deciding about weight-loss surgery some people get snagged up because they feel they won't be able to enjoy social situations afterwards.  One of my motivations for doing this blog is to encourage friends and family members to make healthier choices.  Perhaps reading about my experiences will inspire them to choose weight-loss surgery.  This path is not right for everyone but other choices may be made which can improve your life.

There are so many things I could not do two years ago.  Back then I could barely make the walk from my driveway to my house. I'm so glad I had my gastric bypass.  I enjoy my life so much more than I did before.

Donald Loyal Reynolds 1948-2012

I lost a cousin this week who had a year-long battle with pancreatic cancer.  Some people in their 60's go to bingo and sit in a rocking chair.  At 63 years old Don was training for an iron man competition when the diagnosis was made.  Now, at 64, he is gone.

We never know what life has in store for us around the next bend in the road.  It is worth the effort to make the most of our time here while we have the chance.  You were an inspiration Don.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan

Not Available in Stores

In my last post I mentioned a product I'd seen on an infomercial.  Some people find these marathon commercials entertaining.  I'd rather avoid all types of  TV ads thank you.

Billy Mays 

Some of the personalities who've hawked products in this way have reached celebrity or notoriety for themselves as well as their products.  One household name was Billy Mays, who proclaimed the wonders of Oxyclean, Kaboom, Orange Glo and Zorbeez.  His death at age 50 was well touted in the media and had he not died the same week as Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett we might have seen his funeral on TV.

Ron Popeil and the Veg -o-matic. 

TV hucksters have been at it as long as there has been TV.  Back in the 60's Ron Popeil sold millions of the VEG-O-MATIC food slicer and dicer.  He ultimately earned two billion dollars with this product and others including the "Pocket Fisherman", "Smokeless Ashtray" and the "Inside the Egg Scrambler".  He was hilariously parodied on Saturday Night Live by Dan Akroyd with the "Bass-O-Matic" (check this out on you tube) and also mocked by the comedian Gallagher with his "Sledge-o-matic" routine.  Weird Al Yankovic recorded the musical salute "Mr. Popeil".

Slice up a beer can with your Ginsu knife

In the early 1980's the Ginsu Knife was on late night TV almost constantly.  Since I worked swing shift I got a lot of exposure to this so I got sucked in and bought a set.  My first ever stitches were from a wound on my thumb slicing turkey with my Ginsu steak knife.  It made a nice little serrated pattern in the skin. The end of my thumb was numb for about ten years.  I still have some of the knives from the set.  One eventually had a broken handle but I threw it out without trying to cash in on the fifty year guarantee.  Call me frivolous.

Crank those skins away with the Rotato

The "Rotato" seemed like a interesting concept.  It is a potato peeler that does the job by turning a crank.  It worked really well on TV but I didn't feel like spending $19.95 on a potato peeler.  Apparently I wasn't the only one who felt this way.  I found one in a liquidation store for $1.99 and brought it home.  I didn't even make it halfway through the first potato before the blade broke.  It had spare blades but I used them all up before I finished the maiden spud.

She loves her Shake Weight

Men take the Shake Weight very seriously

Some concepts are a little suspect in my opinion.  Is it me or does  the "Shake Weight" exercise tool look like a sex toy?

Suzanne Somers and the Thighmaster

  Remember Suzanne Somers and the "Thigh Master"?  Was it her quads she was firming up or something else?  I bought a Thigh Master at a yard sale for 50 cents.  It didn't seem to have much impact on my  thighs.  A machine with a similar action at the gym is almost exclusively used by women.  I'm thinking it was really meant to be used for kegel exercises (google this if you don't know what they are) but they didn't want to say that on TV back in the 1980's.  In the 21st century Headset Vince can hawk the "Slap Chop" with statements like "you should see my nuts" and nobody blinks an eye.

We've seen the "Sham Wow", world's most absorbent cleaning cloth to the "Snuggie", easily the most frequently given Christmas gift of the 21st century.  The infomercial style marketing has sold us the "Garden Weasel", "Chia Pets", "Krazy Glue" and "Liquid Leather".   Have you been tempted or taken in with any of these marathon adfests?  Let me know what item you couldn't resist.  Did the item meet your expectations or did it just earn a drop kick to the dumpster?  I'd love to share your story with my followers.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan

Caveat Emptor

On Saturday, while I was on the stationery bike at the gym,  I noticed on one of the TV screens an advertisement for a new weight loss product called Sensa.  It is a powdery substance that is sprinkled on your food and it allegedly triggers your brain to know when you are full and stops you from eating too much.  What I thought was a single commercial actually was an infomercial.  There were lots of before and after comparisons with frowning droopy fat bodies and toned happy thinner bodies thanks to Sensa!  I'm not planning on buying any.  The infomercial genre does not work on me.  If somebody needs to keep your attention for thirty or sixty minutes at a time to convince you to buy their product then it probably isn't worth buying.  The claims of a new scientific breakthrough will probably impress a lot of people to waste their money.  If something like this actually works word will get around.

I googled Sensa and found that the main ingredient is maltodextrin, which is a type of sugar made from cornstarch.  It also contains silica and tricalcium phosphate, soy and some milk products.  Nothing earth shattering here.  $139!!  For sugar, sand, calcium, soy and milk.

Weight loss parasite sold in early 20th century.  

The market for weight loss products is increasing exponentially with the obesity rate.  There is a lot of money to be made for the unethical, unscrupulous entrepreneur.  Of course the idea of marketing a miracle weight loss is hardly new.  In the early 20th century pills were available which supposedly contained eggs of tapeworms.  The worms grow to about 15 feet in length and eat themselves silly on anything that passes their way.  The idea of unlimited eating while losing weight is understandably appealing.  However, a fifteen foot worm with an insatiable appetite must put on some poundage of its own. Opera soprano Maria Callas claimed to have used a tapeworm in this way although it was rumored to be an accidental ingestion.  The fad never became widespread because, like so many others, it didn't really solve the problem and had many negative side effects like vomiting, diarrhea, organ damage and seizures.  Getting rid of the worm might be problematic too.

Are you supposed to eat the soap?

Another present-day "miracle product" is green coffee extract.  The claim here is malabsorption, which enables more eating with less consequences.  In an article from the LA times I read that the product is inexpensive but extremely bitter tasting.  The problem with limiting absorption of calories is that nutrients are not absorbed well either.  This issue is addressed by gastric bypass patients with vitamin and protein supplements. Green coffee extract has had limited testing in India.  The company is based in Texas but they conducted clinical trials in India?  Aren't people starving over there?  Did they have trouble finding enough obese individuals in this country?  Hmmm.

Olestra, a fat substitute, sounded promising before it came on the market.  It is a fat that cannot be absorbed by humans.  Labled as Olean, it was marketed in snacks by Proctor and Gamble.  In fine print was the warning that anal oil leakage was a possible side effect along with other "elimination changes".  Imagine serving these snacks at a party and giving your guests this little problem to take home.

Xenical, a prescription medication and Alli, available over the counter, both contain Orlistat which blocks absorbtion of fat.  Like Olestra, anal leakage and diarrhea are possible (probable) side effects.  In order for this to work properly one must eat a low fat diet. I actually tried this product and quickly gave it up.  The manufacturer should have suggested avoiding most fats for a week before beginning the medication.  The onset of blocking occurs right away and what I'd eaten for the previous few days was targeted which  made me socially unacceptable for a few days.

Hoodia, a product from a plant in the Kalahari Desert in Africa, reportedly decreases appetite.  A study with a mere SEVEN participants (some of whom took a placebo) in Pennsylvania had a result of losing an average of 3.3% of their body weight in 28 days.  There was a lot of advertising for Hoodia containing products for a while.  I don't remember any mention that the " incredible scientific proof" was based on the outcome of such a small study.

All this is very discouraging to those of us who've struggled with weight loss.  Self proclaimed "MIRACLES" are tempting.   Consider the old adage "If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is."  The desperate are likely customers for promises of cures for not only obesity but also baldness, impotence, cancer and infertility.  Some, but not all, are harmless.  Others delay seeking of effective treatment because the advertised cure seems much more attractive. My advice is to research before buying any of this stuff.  There is plenty of documentation on line to check out a product before spending money on something questionable.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan