My Heart Will Go On!

Today I had an appointment with my cardiologist and an echocardiogram.  (basically an ultrasound of my heart). He was delighted to tell me that I have completely reversed my left ventricular hypertrophy.  A year ago my heart was working extra hard because of all my excess weight.  This caused the walls of the left ventrical to increase in size because of all the extra effort required.  Additional symptoms were increasing heart rate with exertion and edema (swelling) of my ankles and lower legs.

Comparing a normal heart with one with LVD

cross section of heart with thickened walls of left ventricle.  

Its no wonder I feel so much better.  Dr. Jarrett told me he is very proud of me and that I should be proud of myself.  I just know I feel fantastic compared to one year ago.  Naturally the heart problems would have contributed to worsening symptoms and death.  There is no way to know how soon that would have happened but I know that I was literally dying last year.  We have no guarantees in life.  I could die tomorrow in a traffic accident.  I could get struck by a falling meteor or a stray bullet from a drive-by shooting.  One thing for sure is that I am no longer suffering from chronic congestive heart failure.  Live is wonderful and I'm enjoying my rebirth!

Love to all, 

Marlena of Mohegan

Nearing My First Anniversary

I am one week away from my first anniversary of one of the best things I've ever chosen to do.  On June 28th it will be one year since my bariatric surgery.  I have now lost a total of 150 pounds.  I still plan to lose at least 75 more lbs.  This picture of Oprah Winfrey was when she rolled out a wagon full of 67 lbs of fat that equaled her own weight loss some years ago.  If I had all I've lost in a wagon it would be nearly three times the amount in Oprah's wagon.  It is almost too amazing to be real!  To think that I carried all that weight every day and every where I went.  I was literally dying under the burden of my own doing.  Every step I take today  is a step of freedom.  I've embraced life with new enthusiasm.  Even the most mundane chores are thrilling to be able to accomplish without the sheer physical struggle of one year ago.  

Like Oprah, I've had ups and downs with weight all my life.  My battle with fat is not over.  I know I still make unwise choices at times.  Confronting the consequences quickly keeps me in control.  I find if I write down everything I've eaten it doesn't always add up to as much as I expected.  Knowledge is power.  Also it is easier to stop nibbling if I don't take the first bite.  I don't fool myself into thinking I can stop at one cookie. Last night in the supermarket I stood in front of the shelf of Glucerna Chocolate Peanut Snack Bars.  I wanted one to eat on the way home.  I knew if I bought that box I would have eaten at least two or three of those bars before the night was over.  I made myself walk away.

I need a current picture to show my progress.  I'll have that in the next post.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan.

A Day at the Zoo

On Wednesday I went with my daughter, Amanda and my grandson, Lorenzo to the zoo.  First let me say that the Bronx Zoo is HUGE.  I don't know how far we walked but we were all toasted by the time we got home.  It was a beautiful day about 85 degrees with a breeze and clear skies (not too humid).  For anyone who has never been to the Bronx Zoo you'll find that watching the people is as much fun as watching the animals.  You can hear every language imaginable and colorful clothing from around the world.  The children's smiling faces are all equally excited to see the sights.

My daughter Amanda was impressed that I was able to keep up with her and rarely needed to sit down.  I handled the walking much better than my trip to Manhattan last September.  Lorenzo kept us both busy as he did not always want to stay in his stroller.  When he was walking he kept trying to pick up stones that were embedded in the pavement.  When he did find a rock he could pick up he threw it immediately.  He found a few puddles to step in and kept awake all day till we were heading for the car.

Today normally would have been a gym day but I didn't need it today.  Only four more days of vacation and back to work.  I made wonderful bean soup on Tuesday.  It was nice to come home from our day at the zoo and just warm up some of the soup for dinner.  My recipe makes a big pot of soup.  Unfortunately not everyone in my house is a bean eater so I may have to put some in the freezer.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan

Looking Back

As I come upon my one year anniversary of my surgery at the end of this month I looked back at the start of my blog.  Last year I said I wanted my life back, I wanted to shop without back pain.  I wanted to be able to sit in a chair and not wonder if it would hold me.  I wanted to be able to tie my shoes and breathe at the same time and I wanted my lap back so I could sit my grandkids on it.  Well, I have reached all those goals and more.  I can fit in a restaurant booth again!  I guess that means I need some new goals.

I need to stop eating for the wrong reasons.  I still eat compulsively at times.  Last night while I was playing on the computer I was not hungry but I kept noshing.  Why?  Who knows.  The other day I ate because I was bored.  I need to eat less packaged food and more fresh vegetables.

I also need to give up the Glucerna snack bars for the summer.  Yesterday it was really hot in the house and the bars became really soft and stuck to the wrappers.  They're really nice and chewy though.  They taste way too good.  I need to keep them out of the house and avoid the temptation to eat more than one.

There is one original goal I haven't reached.  I want to wear jeans!  I don't care if they're MOM jeans.  I might be able to wear some but I don't feel ready yet.  Jeans have changed a lot since I last wore them.  I don't want a "muffin top" so I want to get something that comes near my waistline.

It is nice to know that I when I go to a plus size store I won't find that the biggest size is too small.  I have bought most of my newest clothing items at Walmart or Fashion Bug.  I don't need to buy the biggest size they sell!

The women's organization in our church is having a pool party on June 23rd.  I don't know if my swimsuit will fit.  Am I brave enough to show the other women my saggy arms and thighs?  Maybe it will be a scorching hot day and I won't care who sees me.

Life is pretty good.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan

All Bars Are Not Alike

I eat a fair amount of bar-type snacks.  I have trying to limit myself to those which have 100 calories or less.  There are some that I love that have more calories but since I've been trying to eat more real food I've given those others up.  Glucerna has mini snack bars with 70 or 80 calories.  I like the chocolate peanut butter or the oatmeal raisin.  I was eating the Slim Fast chocolate mint mini snack bar.  It kind of tastes like those mint Girl Scout Cookies.  One day I bought a large box of Slim Fast peanut butter crunch bars at a warehouse store.  When I tasted one I felt that it had a strong resemblance in taste to Butterfingers candy bars.  I checked the ingredients and found those bars are loaded with sugar.  Way too much sugar for me.  I checked the ingredients of other Slim Fast bars and found they all list sugar as the first ingredient.  This means there is more sugar than anything else.  So I gave the rest of those disguised candy bars to my husband.  Even though the calories were reasonable I did not like how I felt eating all that sugar.  I'm not used to it anymore.

For years I drank mostly diet soda.  I would have the occasional non-diet soda but I preferred to drink the diet. Now, of course being post-bariatric surgery, I don't drink any carbonated beverages at all.  I remember the first time I got a jolt about how sugar can affect us in a negative way.  I was at a family picnic on a very hot, humid day.  The only beverage available was soda and none of it was diet.  I was so thirsty because of the heat that I kept drinking can after can of the soda.  It seemed that I kept wanting more.  My thirst was never quenched.  I was not a diabetic at this stage of my life but I felt the effects of the sugar causing my thirst to increase.  A diabetic who does not control their blood glucose level feels the same way.

So the advice I have here is READ LABELS BEFORE YOU BUY!  I've learned my lesson.  Since Glucerna is targeted to diabetics I feel they're ok.  Beware of disguised sugar.  High fructose corn syrup and evaporated cane juice are the same as plain old sugar.  If a product uses all three in smaller amounts none might appear as the first (and therefore more abundant) ingredient.  However, the sum of all the parts might have quite a large chunk of the product being sugar.  Other ingredients to beware of are honey, brown rice syrup and agave nectar.  These may be presented as more healthy but in essence they are sugars that are metabolized quickly and can cause rapid spikes in blood glucose.  I'm always interested in hearing about tasty low sugar treats.  Let me know what works for you.

Love to all,
Marlena of Mohegan