Losing a part of me

Category: body

  • Day 962

    Leslie is coming today! Woohoo! She won’t be landing until late tonight, but at least I know that when I next get into bed, she will be next to me.

    The procedure went well yesterday, and when I got home, I was finally able to have my first solid meal since Thursday afternoon. It was a relief to say the least. I was energized, and I thought that when I came in from walking Princess Sophie, I might even walk to the supermarket to pick up some provisions. I was hungry an hour after eating, which I suppose is not much of a surprise… especially knowing that the preparations for the procedure involved laxatives and whatnot. Her Floofness and I went out for her usual walk… and it was not long into the walk that I realized that I would be satisfied with getting home; I would not be walking anywhere after that.

    The problem that I was still hungry was still there. I was not allowed to drive because of the anesthesia, and I did not really have any food in the house. In my weakened state (both body and mind) I ordered Chinese food. It was not as good as it should have been for how much of a cheat meal that it was, but it was still tasty. Because of it, knowing how much sugar and MSG there must have been in it, I did not expect to lose weight this morning. It was a pleasant surprise to see that I dropped over 1.5 lbs. from yesterday. Phew! I am still over 290 lbs., but hopefully over the next couple of days I will be able to drop below that mark… again.

    It is a beautiful but cool day in Burlington. I am going to go out to the supermarket quickly, and then I plan to relax on the balcony with a cigar until it is time to prepare a late lunch. I had invited Eduardo over for a cigar, but he told me this morning that he has a family obligation, so he had to decline. It will not bother me one bit to sit alone with my thoughts… and possibly a book, a cigar, and a cup of coffee.

    Leslie’s flight is not landing until 11:00pm, so I will have a quiet day to myself. I might go for a walk, depending on how I feel. Either way, either after my walk or around 8:30pm I will shave and shower, and then get ready to head out to the airport. It will be so good to see her again… it has been way too long!

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 960

    I did not do better yesterday, gaining another two pounds this morning. I was scared last night about today’s fast day – the preparation for my procedure tomorrow started this morning – and so I splurged last night. Today I am limited to clear liquids only. I am feeling weak already, and not happy at all. With that said, tomorrow it will be over and done, and in the late afternoon I can eat again, I am not even allowed to drink my meal replacements until it is over! As such, I will not be walking today.

    Yesterday’s walk was another good one. I walked 9.5km, each split kilometre under 10 min/km. I wish I could go out for a good walk today, but with the limited intake I do not think I would have the energy.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 957

    While I was not pleased to see that my weight was slightly up this morning, I am comforted to know that I did everything right yesterday, and that the slight rise was likely just a blip. How often have I said that it is not about the points on the graph, but rather the downward trend that matters? I had a very good jog/walk yesterday and did the same today. I ate the same thing both days, which is also the same as what I have been eating these last few days. I am not too upset about it and know that tomorrow my weight will be better.

    Yesterday’s workout started with a 1km jog, and then I walked another 7km. I am not sure why my walking time was so slow – over ten minutes per kilometre, except for the first and last two walking kilometres. I am not sure that my choice of footwear is not a factor, and I am not terribly upset by it. This afternoon’s walk (also just over 8km) was walking only, and the slowest kilometre (the first) was the only one slower than 9m30s per kilometre. I was quite pleased with that, and came home, showered, and then made my lunch. It has been cooler these last couple of days than it had been, but I do not think that was a factor because the weather both days was similar.

    I have finally had a successful bowel movement! Ah, the weird things that we share when we are writing about weight loss. It had been several days since I had really succeeded, with minor attempts yesterday morning and today. It was not until nearly 4pm today that I sat down on the potty and really felt good when I got up again. I am hoping that will contribute to a decent number on the bathroom scale tomorrow morning. Here’s hoping!

    I have still not been sleeping wonderfully, but at least I am sleeping. I hope as I continue to exercise and to lose weight that my sleep might improve. We will see. As it stands, at least from Sunday when Leslie arrives, I should be sleeping better for a few nights. I always sleep better when she is next to me.

    My buddy Eduardo came over for a cigar after lunch. We had not seen each other since June, and it was great to catch up with him. I have been remiss in seeing a few of my friends of late. It is not that I do not think about them, but sometimes it is hard, and life just gets in the way. Later this evening another friend is coming over for another cigar. I am glad that I got my exercise in early!

    We are now in the month of September, and you can feel it in the air. While the days are mostly still warm, I have had to don long pants in the morning and the evening. Pretty soon the high temperatures will be in the teens, and autumn will truly be upon us. I will continue to remember that complaining about the weather is not the most effective use of my time… for all the good it will do.

    This Saturday I have to go for a procedure that I am a bit nervous about. As a fifty-two-year-old man, I need to have parts of me checked that I am not looking forward to having checked. I am less excited for all of the preparation that needs to happen, including no solid foods starting Friday morning, plus a regimen of what seems to be to be laxatives… I assume to ensure no unpleasant surprises to the doctor performing the procedure. None of this sounds fun, and I have just made a list of what I need to purchase from the pharmacy this afternoon… including the meds and broth mix (which may take me to a supermarket). Rest assured I will have a proper meal the moment I get home. To make matters worse, I will not be allowed to drive for the rest of the day following the procedure, so I have had to ask a friend to drive me home. I have also been told that I cannot take any more fibre starting today (well, Saturday really… but I only read the instructions this afternoon. I am going to try to reach the clinic to find out if this is a deal breaker requiring me to reschedule, or if we are okay). On the plus side of all of this, I should expect pretty decent weight loss results after not being able to eat solid foods (including my meal replacements) for thirty-six hours.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 953

    I woke up this morning and went about my routine, thinking all the while that today was Thursday. It was only when I logged onto Facebook and saw a call in one of my groups for a Free-for-all-Friday that I realized… Yes indeed, the long weekend is upon us.

    After the tremendous drop yesterday morning I did not expect great things today, but I was quite pleasantly surprised to see another drop of 1.2 lbs., bringing me below the 285 mark! If I can keep it up, then I will almost certainly be able to achieve that first short-term goal… that of weighing less than I did when Leslie was here for her last visit. I am one pound from my best weight from her last trip; unless I fall off the wagon hard then I will surpass that with room to spare.

    My bowels are still not cooperating with me. I have been adding fibre to my meal replacements, but I wonder if I should be adding more. I am worried that too much will mess with my innards like they did in June. With that thought in mind, I think I will simply stay the course.

    It is another beautiful day in Burlington. I am going to chat with my wife for a bit, and I am going to go out for a long walk. I have to remember to stretch before I begin so that I do not strain my back as I did last week. I have a couple of things I would like to get done, but nothing urgent… except staying on track with my weight loss. My friend who dragged me to the pub the other night is coming over later today to play some backgammon, which is still my favourite board game. Yay!

    Since today is Friday, I might be tempted to pick up a challah for Shabbat. I will not do that. I have been tempted these last few days, but the only real aberration to my progress was the pub meal I had with my friend the other night, and while she is coming over again this afternoon, I will not be tempted to eat like that again. If we do go out for dinner again, I will stick to a salad.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 951

    Despite getting out and exercising my tushie off yesterday, I felt like I had failed yesterday because my friend from out of town took me to the pub for dinner. I should have politely declined, but she is not in good health, and she wanted to continue our conversation. It is great spending time with friends, but I hate that sometimes I have to do so at the expense of my success. In any event, I was wrong… my weight this morning dropped 1 lb. From yesterday. Yay! 

    I am teaching all day today, so my plan is to stay the course… which is much easier to do when I am teaching than when I am not. It is not as if I could go out to pick up food, right? Before you say it, I do not think I have even once ordered food in to this apartment since I am living here… which might be three years today if I’m not mistaken! No, lunch will be a meal replacement shake because I don’t have any other option. Yes, I could go out shopping after class… but as of right now I have no intention of doing so. I want to stay on track. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if I could get my weight down below 280 lbs. in time for Leslie’s visit?  

    I had a follow-uo conversation with a medical office yesterday about a colonoscopy which my doctor assures me I need to have. It does not sound like anything enjoyable. Sigh. The joys of getting older. I suppose it does beat the alternative, right? 

    Have a great day folks! 

  • Day 949

    Yesterday went from good to bad in a hurry when a very close friend called me to tell me about something that is going on in his life. I will not go into details but he is close enough that his pain hurts me. I ended up eating more than I should have… but only by a couple of peaches – the last of the bag that I bought on the farm on Friday. It also stopped me getting out to exercise… but only partly. My back and leg and foot pains were also contributory factors. The leg pains are not related to the knee pains I was experiencing; they are clearly muscular and caused by extreme exertion, and my foot pain was caused by a blistered heel. I should be good to go again today… as long as I put something on my heel before I head out.

    My weight was up marginally this morning, almost certainly thanks to the peaches I ate last night. As much as I love them, I am glad that I have no more left. I was hoping that by this morning my weight would be down enough to check off another line on my chart. That will now have to wait at least one day more… probably two.

    It is a beautiful day in Burlington. I have a few things to do this morning (not the least of which is talking with my wife), but hopefully this afternoon I’ll be able to get out for a walk.

    Have a great day folks!

  • Day 948

    I was saying to Leslie last night that considering my intake and exercise of the day I would not be surprised if I would have lost over a pound from yesterday to today. Not quite… but I did drop nearly one pound. It was not enough to allow me to cross off another number on my fridge chart, but down is better than up. The fact that my weight was down despite not moving my bowels is a good sign.

    I suspect it is a combination of several factors that led to my back aching and spasming this morning, including not stretching before exercising (with excessive weight), a lot of time in a chair that might be comfortable but is not sitting right, and a bad sleeping position. I ended up taking a couple of Aspirin when I realized how much pain the occasional spasms caused. My first instinct was to say to myself that I would not be exercising today. I then realized that I can go out, I should just stretch before I start… and maybe curb the distance somewhat. We’ll see.

    It is another beautiful day out, and I will spend much of my time outside. I will likely at long last try the konjac noodles that I bought over six months ago on advice of my diet buddy. They have zero carbs and are fat free. My diet buddy told me that they are a great pasta replacement and seeing as I have all sorts of pasta sauces in the house I might as well try them.

    Have a great day!

  • Day 945

    I was on the phone with an old friend last night discussing life, the universe, and everything when he mentioned something that let on that he reads my daily weight loss blog. I am always surprised to hear that people read it because unlike my other two blogs (which have been dreadfully dormant for months) I do not advertise this journal anywhere. Hey buddy! 

    This morning was another disappointment with regard to the bowels, despite my adding a teaspoon of fibre to one of my meal replacements yesterday. I will double down on that today, adding a teaspoon to two meal replacements. Remembering how much I did not enjoy having diarrhea for nearly two weeks a few months ago, I will do that only one day. I know… that affliction was more likely connected to my stopping the anti-depressants, but I am not taking any chances. 

    Speaking of coming off the meds, today will be the last day I take an anti-inflammatory. I have one pill left, and then tomorrow my pill intake will drop to four pills of three meds per day. I know that I am getting on in age because of that number, but four is better than five. 

    I told Leslie last night that I decided that this morning my weight would finally drop to or below the 290 lbs. mark. Even with two days of clogged bowels I am happy to say that I did just get to that number this morning. Just imagine what I would be at if I were regular!? The way I am feeling this week it is likely I would weigh ten pounds less… but realistically at least half a pound. I am still feeling bloated and my jackets are still tight on me, and I suspect that a good de-clogging might relieve that. 

    It is a lovely day out, and Princess Sophie and I had a nice and easy walk around the park this morning. I do not think I have any errands to run, so after class I will take Her Floofness out again, and then I will relax on the balcony. Tomorrow morning I am planning on driving down to Niagara Falls to run an important errand, so it will be a busier day (with a lot more kilometres than I’ve done in some time. While I am there, I might consider going into New York State for lunch, but more likely I’ll just run my errands and then head back. We’ll see. It should be a lovely day for a drive, and hopefully I’ll be able to drive with the sunroof open and a cigar between my lips. We’ll see. 

    Have a great day folks! 

  • Day 944

    Welcome to another day of constipation, and another day of my weight being slightly up. Those two seem to go hand-in-hand most of the time. Hopefully, as was the case yesterday, sometime later this morning I will finally be able to move my bowels… but it has not happened yet. Grr. To make matters worse, I have also been quite bloated, which means that even the sports jacket that usually fit me is tight. I am not a happy camper, but I know this will get better tomorrow. 

    My knee is being a bit tricky. I don’t feel a thing, but then there are moments when I feel it. I tried the last couple of days to take lower doses of the medicines (both the anti-inflammatory and the regular gout meds) and I suspect the occasional aches are a result of that. This morning I did not skimp, and I will continue to take the proper doses. I learned my lesson. I am glad there are only two days worth of anti-inflammatory pills left, so after tomorrow I will be able to drop one of the pills from my morning routine. Phew. I take them because I have to, but I do not enjoy it one bit. 

    The weather has been cooler than it had been these last couple of days, and that will continue today. That is not to say that it has been frigid, but the daytime high temps have been around 21°C… and in the evenings I have needed to wear long sleeves. The forecast for tomorrow is slightly warmer, and by the weekend it will be back up to 28° during the day. A relief for people like me who prefer the heat, and who feel that the summers in Canada are far too short… and the winters are way too long. 

    Have a great day folks! 

  • Day 942

    After yesterday’s slight rise in my weight, it was nice to see a solid drop in it this morning. While I did not get out to exercise yesterday (owing not only to the networking issues, but also to a bit of an ache in my knee) I was a bit worried, but I ate better than I had in many days and was rewarded with a two-pound drop on the bathroom scale this morning. Yay! 

    I am teaching again this week, and hope that I will be able to stay on track. I did go into the supermarket over the weekend, and while I was tempted to buy things that I should not be eating, I was good. Yay. 

    Before I weighed myself this morning I had a bit of a bowel movement, but after my breakfast I had a much more productive one. The fibre that I add into my meal replacements is doing its job, even though I wish it would have happened prior to my weighing myself. Oh well. 

    Have a great day folks!