I haven't been posting much, as I've said the last few months. There just hasn't been a ton to report. Things are moving along. The weight is coming off much slower - only three pounds in the past four weeks. I really need to start working out to get it going again. But the thought of that is not too pleasant. Part of it is that I hate exercise. Part of it is that my rheumatoid arthritis is getting to be very painful. Walking is not my friend most of the time. I am supposed to be starting on some medicine soon for the RA. Hopefully that will make things easier for me physically.
The doctor's visit I mentioned in my last monthly update finally yielded my blood test results. Everything looked good - except for the raging rheumatoid factor. Years ago when I first was diagnosed with RA, one of the things that threw off my treatment was that I had an elevated ALT liver enzyme. It was "mildly" inflated, but enough that doctors were worried that I had liver damage already - and that the RA treatments would further hurt it. The liver enzyme could also have been attributed to damage, alcohol (never had any, so that wasn't it), or fatty liver. The fatty liver could have been genetic or due to obesity. Turns out that it must have been the obesity. The number is now 21 - it's dropped like 40 points. So that allows me to start milder treatments. Yay!
Last weekend we went down to Orlando. I had some meetings on Friday and the kids were out of school, so we all went down for the weekend. It was good to see our old friends down there and hang out with them. (The kids getting sick wasn't so great.) Several of these people hadn't seen me since we moved, so the weight loss was pretty startling to them. So often, I am just doing my thing that I forget just how much has been accomplished. I don't see the change much because it was so gradual. I'll see it if I look at old pictures. But I don't think about it every day. When you are around people like that, though, it is a real reminder.
The crazy thing is that several people told me they have been reading the blog - and that they actually have started working on their weight. That is always stunning to me. After being the human weight gain machine over the last fifteen years, I am never prepared to hear someone is losing weight because of me. It is pretty humbling to hear that.
This trip was different than most of my trips to Orlando. I wasn't alone, so I didn't just get to hang out in Mexican places and BBQ joints. I had to take into account Heather and the kids - and the people we were meeting. I try to avoid places that have been big sources of failure for me over the years. But, to other people, those don't have the same stigma. This trip, it ended up that we went to many of those places I usually avoid. On the way down, we stopped at Denny's. In years past, Denny's made me do baaad things. I loved their cheese sticks. I usually got chili cheese fries with my meal. And their breakfasts were always a huge problem for me. Thank God I already developed the egg allergy ten years ago or who knows how many Grand Slams I would have devoured. This time, I was able to find a pretty good option: bbq chicken breast with vegetable rice pilaf and corn. It was tasty and very good for my efforts.
The hotel provided breakfast. This means that it has tons of stuff I can't have: donuts, cereal, yogurt with aspartame, bagels, muffins, danishes. I didn't get to go by Publix on our way in since we arrived so late, so my breakfast was just some nuts. Lunch we ended up going to Macaroni Grill - a minefield what with all the pasta and cheese running through the place. But my kids love the place, so we went there. (And someone else was paying, so who was I to complain?) I was able to find their grillers menu items and had Italian sausage with roasted veggies and some marinara sauce. For dinner, friends of ours invited us join them at Mimi's and use their coupons for free kids meals. If you haven't been to Mimi's, well I'm sorry for you. That was one of those places I loved going - their food was incredible. BUT most of it was sooo bad for me. They bring out fresh bread to every table - including unbelievable pumpkin and carrot bread. I decided to be a little more lenient there and had fried pickles with my meatloaf, veggies, and brown rice. (I ate too many pickles - the next day my fingers were so swollen I couldn't get my ring off.)
On Saturday, we had a birthday party to attend. My dear friends, the Sharps, were throwing the bash for their three year old. They were very sensitive to me, so they had chicken breast and fruit for me to eat. I just had to steer clear of the cake and sugar cookies and cheeseburgers. For lunch, the ultimate struggle appeared. We had gone out to Downtown Disney - one of our favorite places to go when we lived in Orlando. You get a taste of Disney without paying admission - and they have a Lego store! Well, dinner time rolled around and we decided to go to Pizzeria Uno. You got to understand something - the only way this place would be harder for me would be if they served donuts. It is one of the biggest sources of failure in my life. In my last serious weight loss effort, my birthday lunch at Uno began the destruction of my diet. So for me to go was tough. The added problem was that this Uno has jacked up prices due to its proximity to Disney (on top of their already jacked up normal prices).
I looked all over the menu. Avoid the pizza pages. Avoid the pasta pages. Avoid the appetizers and sandwiches. There wasn't much. And my usual bailout foods were ridiculously priced. The chili was $6.29 for A CUP!!! I was getting frazzled and did the only thing I could do. I ordered nothing. I couldn't find an option and just didn't order. Then I watched my kids and wife eat my favorite pizza in the universe. I was starving, but it wasn't worth messing up or paying exorbitant prices for something I didn't want. I have had to resort to this before. Just the week before at the Corn Maze we went to, I had to go without lunch because they didn't have anything I could eat.
This time, it was painful, but it was the right thing to do. On the way back to the hotel, I drove by a Del Taco and got two "Big Fat Chicken Tacos" and ate those at the hotel. I just dumped the innards onto a plate and ate them. Turns out, the next day after church, we joined several friends at a different Del Taco. I got the same thing and added a bowl of refried beans. [Side Note: I wish their was a Del Taco in Tallahassee. Their food is really good, really cheap, and an AWESOME option for me on the run.]
I know this post isn't that deep or thoughtful. It is just some of how my life has changed. Things have gone well enough that I just don't think about things most of the time. But there are those times when I have to really make hard choices to do things right. In years past, I never would have done that. I would have justified making a bad choice. There is no way I would have sat there at Uno and eaten nothing. But I can't afford to make that mistake any more. I know that now. I just can't buckle. And that is the mindset I have to have coming up here for the holidays. This is a tough time of year - very easy to mess up. There is the Halloween candy, the Thanksgiving pies and sides, the Christmas cookies and baked treats. It is a good thing I've had to strengthen my resolve now. I really want to lose 100 pounds by the end of the year. It is going to take that kind of commitment.
PS - I posted a new picture of me now. Thanks to Rich Blann for the shoot.
You seriously look GREAT!!!! We are so proud of you!!!!
ReplyDeleteI may have taken the picture, but you are the one who did all the hard work to make a great picture. You have been doing an outstanding job!
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