This is my journey to become a healthier me. It began on January 26, 2010 and stalled out... I got a type 2 diabetes diagnosis on March 30, 2022 and started to focus on my health again. On November 8, 2022 I added Ozempic to my toolbox to help me shed some pounds and inches!

Thursday, December 28, 2023

Holidays in Moderation

 I've seen so many comments about people worrying about how to handle the holidays while trying to lose weight. I must admit that I'm bothered by them, because it worries me that people feel the need to be all or nothing. While the holidays aren't specifically about food, food is often a major part of how we celebrate with family and friends and really there isn't anything wrong with that. 

It's not the calories between Christmas and New Year's that make you gain weight; it's the calories between New Year's and Christmas. As long as you're making good choices the majority of the time, go ahead and have the cookie or the cornbread stuffing or whatever particular holiday food looks delicious. Try to have a sensible portion and enjoy it, but if you overindulge a bit? Don't worry about it. It's one day- just move on.

Realistically, we're trying to lose weight for the rest of our lives. If you reach that number you have set as your goal weight a week or two sooner, what affect does that really have on your life? Nothing. It's whether you'll be able to maintain your loss over time, not about the date on the calendar when you finally reach there. 

And if you learn to indulge in moderation, even if your loss is slower, it makes it far more likely that you'll be able to maintain it because you'll have learned a better way to balance food in your life. All or nothing diets don't work, and there's a lot of studies that show that. People can only handle feeling deprived for so long, and then their willpower fades and they start eating those foods again, and in greater quantity because they feel like they've missed out. And that's when the pounds start coming back on.

There is nothing wrong with enjoying your favourite treats during the holidays, or for a birthday, or on vacation, as long as the rest of the time you're doing your best to be more sensible.

So I've chosen not to do my weigh ins during the holidays this year. I know the scale will be going up with the salt and whatnot, and I'm okay with that. And I'll be ready to get my focus back again once the holiday break is over.

I hope you all have a wonderful holiday, however you choose to celebrate it! And have a cookie for me, too!

Wednesday, December 20, 2023

Exercise Update!

 


I just love this comic (by Sarah Anderson)! It's so true for many things in life, and really shows you how just a little bit of sustained effort can really pay off.

It has been about a year now since I started exercising, and I'm really proud of how far I've come. This is the first time in my life where I've managed to sustain an exercise program for more than a few weeks. While I have had my battles, especially with trying to restart again after I got sick in August, I've managed to keep fighting and even paid for those gym classes at F45 so that I really do have to go or lose the money! Yesterday I really, really wasn't feeling it- but if you cancel with less than 24 hours' notice you forfeit the class credit. They're far too expensive for me to do that, so I got up and I went and I let my trainer kick my butt.

Admittedly, I did make the mistake of telling her that she was right! A few weeks ago when I was in, she told me she thought I was getting stronger already. I didn't believe her- it's been what, a month? And now that my 2 week trial offer is over, I can only really afford to go once or twice a week at most. How could I possibly have gotten stronger that quickly? But then I did a Walk at Home video the other day that incorporated a resistance band, and I pulled out my trusty blue band that has been working just fine for me the whole time... and this time, I could tell it wasn't giving me enough resistance for a good workout. Well shucks- guess the professional that I pay to see is right about something! And now I need to get a stronger resistance band to use on the days I'm at home! 

Why did I call it a mistake to tell her that? Well, the outcome is that for some reason, the smaller weight dumbbells disappeared from the circuit today. Oops. At home, I started with 3lb dumbbells a year ago, and moved up to 5lb weights not too long after. I think I was starting to work up to 8lb weights when I got sick, so I hadn't had much time working with them yet. Well, my trainer had started me with 4kg weights which is close to the 8lbs and I figured I'd be there for a while, but after the first week the smallest weights were now 5kg weights. Then each session she was pushing me on the final set to move up to 6kg weights. Note the change from lbs to kg which is a big difference! And yesterday? Somehow, the smaller weights weren't there and the only ones out for me were 7kg! I've been trying to stick to that suggestion and do at least one set with a heavier weight each time but I wasn't expecting to move up that quickly. She told me she wants to see me at 10kg by the end of January. I think that's not going to happen since the bad weather will likely keep me from going as often as I'd like (it's a half hour walk each way to the gym) but it was certainly scary!

The biggest change, though, I think is my attitude. I still don't like exercising, but it's starting to feel like me time. Like something I am doing for self care, whether I like it or not. And that's really important, and I think it's helping me keep it up. This is something that I need to do for my body. It's good for me, and ultimately it will help me feel better and be a better version of myself, which is far more important than a little boredom or temporary discomfort. My heart will be stronger and work better. I'll have more energy. I'll be able to do things for myself around the house rather than asking for help (if I can press 10kg dumbbells, I will certainly be able to lift the 30lb jugs of water onto my water cooler by myself!), and it will boost my metabolic rate which means that even when I'm done losing weight, I won't have to go to a very low level of calories for maintenance. A body with a higher percentage of muscle burns more calories than one with a lower percentage of muscle, even at the identical weight. Even before maintenance- I should burn calories quicker, lose more weight, and my body will be more toned and have more inch loss because a pound of muscle is smaller than a pound of fat.


So do I still dislike exercise, even after a year? Yup. I don't like being all sweaty and there are always other things that need doing. Am I going to keep doing it? Absolutely. If you're able to- just get started! You don't have to buy a fancy gym membership or expensive equipment. There's lots of free bodyweight workouts on YouTube, or you can try a free week of the Walk at Home program and if you decide you like it, it's only $8.99 a month so not a big outlay. And you can do everything in the privacy of your own home!

I spent years ignoring what my body needed and instead did what I wanted. Now that I'm getting older, taking care of my body is not only a quality of life issue, but a quantity of life issue. My doctor told me when I got my T2 diabetes diagnosis that if I kept on the way I was going that I would die young. That was quite the reality check! Humans are very well known for having difficulty appreciating long term consequences. We should change now because something *might* happen in the distant future? Our brains simply aren't wired to fully recognize the gravity of the situation when it's so far from being immediate. I wish I had been taking better care of myself all along so that I wouldn't have gotten to the point I was, because there's certainly some damage that can't be repaired. I can't undo the past... but I can rewrite the future.

Things that have helped me keep going: The first one is wearing a fitness tracker. That little bit of feedback that reminds you to move your body, and to keep track of how you're doing over time really is a helpful push! Secondly, having a friend as an exercise supporter. It doesn't even have to be someone who is local to you- just someone who you can chat with about how you're doing and your struggles. And you can always do the same exercise video online wearing a headset with a friend who's far away (ask me how I know!!) and suffer together! Thirdly, finding something that challenges you without overwhelming you. I learned from the past if I try to do something that's just too hard to willpower through it, at some point I just won't be able to keep going, and then I give up entirely. By starting smaller and slowly ramping up to suit my fitness and energy levels, I can still make a lot of progress over time! I'm not Superman, and I can't leap tall buildings in a single bound no matter how hard I try to force myself to. But maybe I can jump higher and higher over time (OK, we all know I'm never going to be Superman, but I might just be able to be Super Susie!).

So take that first baby step... even when you hit the inevitable snags, have to backtrack a little, or stay in place for a while... you might be surprised at how far you can come in a year.

Monday, December 18, 2023

Week 58 Weigh In!

Well, at least it looks like being consistent is working for me again! I have tried very hard to get my exercise in and stay in a reasonable calorie deficit this week and it's nice to see some results! I'll enjoy it for now since I know that doesn't always have a direct payoff.

Not to mention this week has all the holiday events, and I plan to enjoy myself in moderation. After all, balance isn't about deprivation. It's simply making sure to get right back on track after an occasional indulgence.

I have had a hard time lately getting back on track, so I have to commit to focusing this time. To that end, I signed up for the (totally free) $5,000 HealthyWage Jackpot Challenge. Unlike when you make a wager to lose weight, for this challenge HealthyWage puts up a $5,000 pot and anyone can sign up for it. However many people achieve their weight loss will split that prize pool. Is it going to be a lot? No, but it might be more than usual around the holidays, and free money is free money! The challenge starts today and goes until March 11. Feel free to join me! It's a great way to try out HealthyWage without having to spend any of your own money.

I do have a very busy week ahead since I'm hosting Christmas this year, but if I have time I'll try to share some healthy appetizer recipes for events that I have found everyone likes, whether they're trying to cut calories or not.

Hope you all have a very happy holiday season, whatever you are celebrating!




OZ Week 53 gain: 1.4 lbs continuing dose at 0.75mg
OZ Week 55 gain: 1.6 lbs
OZ Week 56 loss: 0.6 lbs
OZ Week 57 loss: 2.0 lbs
OZ Week 58 loss: 2.4 lbs

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 70 lbs

Monday, December 11, 2023

Week 57 Weigh In!

 Lately, I'm just feeling overwhelmed with life. And I guess that is life, but it sure makes it so much harder to prioritize my health. I've made a point to try and stop the emotional eating, because I've been doing it when I'm not hungry. It's definitely a mental trigger rather than a physical one, but it doesn't make it any easier to deal with. Between that and feeling emotionally drained so I have little energy to exercise, I really am struggling.

The difference between now and before? I have Ozempic to help me keep going or at least tread water rather than backsliding too far. It's still not easy on those days where I just feel like making terrible decisions because I feel terrible. And it sucks that I'm losing the same weight back and forth that I've already lost. It's been a month since my one year post and I'm still not back to what I was at then.

But the reality is that some times are going to be hard. There's no magic bullet that will cure the emotional eating- that's pure and simple work that I'm going to have to do on myself. And it's going to take time, and it's not going to be easy.

In the meantime? All I can do is give myself grace and keep trying my best. Some days, my best is going to be better than others, and that's okay. Hopefully I can keep losing at least slowly if I can't be perfect.

In some ways I miss that I haven't been able to work out and in others I just don't want to do it. But I love how my body feels stronger when I've been exercising, and I like seeing in my healthcare stats app that my cardio fitness score is improving. When I don't exercise for a bit? I notice a pretty quick decline in my cardio fitness. Apparently I have to really keep it up, if I want to have a good score for my age, weight, and sex. When I'm feeling totally run down though it's really hard to summon the motivation to expend more energy.

So, it's been really hard lately. I think it will keep being hard for a while. Hopefully I can keep moving in the right direction. There's no need to raise my dose anytime soon because this one is controlling my hunger levels very well. I just need to control my non-hunger eating myself and do my share of the work!




OZ Week 53 gain: 1.4 lbs continuing dose at 0.75mg
OZ Week 55 gain: 1.6 lbs
OZ Week 56 loss: 0.6 lbs
OZ Week 57 loss: 2.0 lbs

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 67.6 lbs

Monday, December 4, 2023

Week 56 Weigh In!

Well, we're definitely at the stage where weight loss becomes a grind, rather than a sprint! But that's OK. Maybe slower loss will give my body some time for this loose skin to tighten up. And to be fair, I did say last week that I wasn't ready to get myself 100% back on track. I did exercise, but I haven't been tracking calories for several weeks now with all the upheaval in my life, and I only made the decision that I was ready to get started again two days ago.

So realistically? A loss is a win, even if the scale is still higher than where I wanted it to be. I have made very little progress over the last couple of months, but I'm ready to start focusing again.

And as part of that? I wound up buying myself a 25 class pack to the F45 gym as a holiday gift to myself. I really do enjoy the atmosphere there, and I like how the trainers will offer modification exercises if I'm not able to do the posted activity at a station. While the other members all seem fit, none of them has looked down on me for being fat or out of shape- to the contrary, they've all been super encouraging! 

I could have bought myself a monthly pass and it would have cost a bit less than paying per class, but I was worried that I'd get sick or wouldn't want to do the half hour walk to get there in the winter, or life would happen and then I'd be out that money. This way, the class pack doesn't expire and I can use them whenever works for me. I do plan to use them only for strength training classes, since I can do Walk at Home in my living room for far less money- I can get an entire month for less than the price of one class at F45!

Hopefully, the combination of kicking my exercise up a notch to build some more muscle tissue and paying attention to my calorie intake again will get the scale to start moving in the right direction again. After all, I've got a HealthyWager to win! 

I don't plan to make any adjustments to my Ozempic dosage. While I've been overeating, it's absolutely been on the emotional side. I wasn't actually hungry, I was just eating. That lesson came in crystal clear on Saturday when I decided that I wanted to be back on track with my food consumption and noticed no hunger pangs at all- I just had to keep an eye on when my body needed food so that I wouldn't go hypoglycemic because of my diabetes. Yup, even with the A1C under control, I will likely always have hypoglycemia since I experienced it long before the diabetes diagnosis. So it is important for me to continue to eat every few hours, but that doesn't stop me from being mindful of what and how much I'm eating, especially if I'm not having to fight those hunger pangs (thank you, Ozempic!).

Current plan: continue dosage at 0.75mg, strength training 2x a week at F45, Walk at Home 3x a week, and calorie range of 1500-1800 daily with a balanced, nonrestrictive diet. With the holidays coming up, there's going to be some wiggle room, but I'll do the best I can until then. One day at a time!



OZ Week 53 gain: 1.4 lbs continuing dose at 0.75mg
OZ Week 55 gain: 1.6 lbs
OZ Week 56 loss: 0.6 lbs

Total loss on Ozempic so far: 65.6 lbs