My Daily Detour

RE-GAIN:

verb /riˈgān/

regained, past participle; regained, past tense; regaining, present participle; regains, 3rd person singular present

• Obtain possession or use of (something)
  again after losing it
• Reach (a place, position, or thing) again;
  get back to

Ummm…..yep, been there done that. Past, during, current, present—-I guess I will just pick:

D. All of the above.

Everyone hear about it. Everyone talks about. Many think it won’t be me. Never again. Those lbs are gone for good. I am “cured”. This not only includes weight loss surgery, but ANYONE that has every dropped a significant amount of weight.  When you are looking at that number on the scale, when you hit that goal weight or are in the ball park of where you want to be….you think NEVER AGAIN. So much easier said than done.

I had lost the same 100 lbs multiple times in my life. I lost it with Weight Watchers, with Richard Simmons….and then eventually with my gastric bypass. The day of surgery I weight in at 365. I said never again, and I will die trying to hold that true….however—– the lowest I ever saw on a scale was 178. That has been quite a while ago.

178 at that time was not healthy nor was it pretty. I was very gaunt, and pretty weak.  My nails were a mess, peeling and cracking. My hair was falling out. My face and neck was incredibly think and sunken in ( best way I can describe it). I was freezing cold all the time and soooo tired. I was thrilled to be that thin, was even wearing a size 10 pant ( just so we are clear, I think I had them on twice…lol) but I was nowhere near healthy. I was very gastric bypass post op. I had that WLS ( weight loss surgery) look, we all know the one I am talking about— the one I can recognize anywhere today.

Since then I have bounced around. The highest being 232. That was a really ugly time when I was living in Dallas, TX. When I moved cross-country to work for a gentleman that was doing a start-up Bariatric aftercare program. Ironic right….take a job in the community and it leads to REGAIN? I can laugh now, but I know it does nothing more than affirm what I know to be true—- Food is and can be an addiction. There is no cure. There is truly only management. Pound by pound. Day by day–and some days—-minute by minute.

As many of you know, I have recently relocated back to the Midwest. I am living in Chicago–closer to family and friends. It was a whirlwind move back–full of good, bad and really ugly….but I am glad to announce I am finally feeling settled. I spent a wonderful week with my family— and I truly believe I am where I am supposed to be in life right now. I closed out two storage units in Detroit that I have had for over 2 years. I finally have my things somewhat back in possession. Things are starting to fall into place….and it is starting to feel good.

It’s that time of year when people are finishing up their summer vacations, and everyone is getting ready to settle into fall. Back to reality. Back to a schedule. Time to get back to basics. I could not believe it when I realized it’s SEPTEMBER!!!! Where did the year go? I went back to my list of goals for 2011….so many things of changed so drastically. There was no plan of moving to Chicago! There was no plan of leaving Chanel. So many things yet to do……now what?  TIME FOR A NEW PLAN. Or I guess I should say–time to adjust the plan—-there was a detour so we need to remap the course.

So I grabbed a cup of coffee the other morning with Max and took it to the balcony with a pad of paper. Time to make a list. What is good about life right now? What isn’t? So we just started jotting things down. When was the last blood lab? Doctor visit? Dentist? Eye Doctor?  Am I taking my vitamins? What is my daily diet like? When was the last time I had a good work out? Am I happy with my job? When was the last time I spent time with the family or your friends? Did I have any idea what the scale would say? What are my priorities? What is important to me right now? How are my finances? What am I going to do with all of this stuff from the storage units? Do I need it? Do I use it? Do I want it?  The list just kept growing and growing…….

So then I got out my calendar. What did my schedule look like for the next week? Month? When can I make a trip home to see friends and family? What is on the social calendar? Need to find a gym and some class schedules–time to get back into a routine.  Where did I put that scale?????

Time to get back to basics.

Time to: REGAIN CONTROL.

So I pulled out the September calendar and wrote in the work schedule. Then I added a visit with my mom over Labor Day. Can’t forget Fashion Night Out on 9/8 across the country. Then my darling friend Emily Gomez is supposed to be in Chicago from Texas the weekend of the 16th. Add the huge Nordstrom Fall Trend Show on 9/17 ( our very own NYC Fashion Week show) Of course I can’t forget the St. Joseph County 4-H Fair in Centreville Michigan starting the week of 9/18. ASMBS is having a conference in  Chicago on 9/23-9/24.  WOW—-then it’s the end of the month. Peeking into Oct. I realized my Obesity Help Conference I am speaking at in Long Island, NY is right around the corner..10/21-10/23 …YIKES!!!

Time to: REGAIN CONTROL.

Time to find the scale. Face reality. Get back on a plan. Pick a number. Dig out the vitamins. Go to the grocery store. Time for a REALITY CHECK.

Here is what I know…..or I guess I should say what I feel…..my body feels “OK”….I however feel exhausted all the time. I need to be getting more sleep. A more sound sleep. I need to get back to whole foods–cut out the processed crap ( bars, canned soup, convenience, eating out etc.). Make sure I am drinking enough water. Make sure I am taking my vitamins. Am I eating enough grams of protein? How much sugar am I eating at the end of the day? Time to get out the food journal.

Has anybody seen the scale?

Here it is:

Sorry for the crappy picture….bad lighting this morning at 6:45. It says….210.8….we are going to just call it :211.  That is my reality today. 211. Going Back to Basics at 211.  So off I went to my handy BMI tracker…..

http://www.bmi-calculator.net/

and here is what I am—-

You have a BMI of 27.84.

BMI is between 25 and 29.9 (Overweight)
People falling in this BMI
range are considered overweight and would benefit from finding healthy ways to
lower their weight, such as diet and exercise. Individuals who fall in this
range are at increased risk for a variety of illnesses. If your BMI is 27-29.99
your risk of health problems becomes higher. In a recent study an increased rate
of blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease was recorded at 27.3 for women and
27.8 for men. It may be a good idea to check your Waist Circumference and
compare it with the recommended limits.

• Underweight = <18.5
• Normal weight = 18.5–24.9
• Overweight = 25–29.9
• Obesity = BMI of 30 or greater

So by using the chart, that would make my goal weight 189—-which would put me at 24.9…..”NORMAL”.  Hmmmm…..189, that would be a loss of 22  lbs.  It has been a long time since I have lived under 200. For those of you that know me, or have met me….you know I am not a “petite flower”…laughing. I have no idea what a HEALTHY 189 would look like on me. You know what…..let’s do it. Let’s see what:

NORMAL

look and feels like—- I am up for a challenge. Who knows if I can be normal…or if I will like “normal” and be happy at “normal”. SO….I decided to get the party started today. Made the list, dug out the tools—– GOT ON THE SCALE TO FIND MY REALITY…..

Time to: REGAIN CONTROL.

I am going to Regain Control of the REGAIN. But then I said to myself…..why keep this party to myself? Am I not the proud Facebook owner of Bariatric Regain?  There HAS to be somebody else to invite to this party…….

INTERESTED???? 

Let me know!!!

I am putting together some details now.  Thinking a limited group of people who are SERIOUS about working to REGAIN CONTROL. I am thinking a 30 day test pilot program with a dedicated and focused group. It will run September 1- September 30th.  For more information email me at:

bariatricregain@gmail.com

I will send you the guidelines to the PARTY!!!

See you there!

xoxo,

Laura

Filed under: Regain Control Tagged: | American Society for Bariatric Surgery, Bariatric surgery, Weight loss