I like to think of myself as a horse. Sometimes I'm soft and cuddly and people can wrap their arms around my neck and lean on me. Sometimes I buck and kick and run away.
Some people are like sweet little deer. They are doe eyed and a little misty as if filmed through the soft lens of a camera. They seem almost to float through life with a certain glow about them.
Some people are blood sucking leeches. Not the cute, fluffy kind you're probably thinking about. The toxic, vile, acid leaking ones that suck out every ounce of joy and happiness until you're left a hollow, vacant shell of a person.
The line is clearly defined between leech and deer. Some deer have leech tendencies, but rarely does a leech act like a deer. If you are confused about whether a person is a leech or a deer, consider the following:
Example A:
Your mother, whom you haven't visited for over a year, has just died. After complaining about the heat several times and about the long drive, you hit up several family members for gas money during the visitation. Since they are paying for your place to stay while you are in town, and many of them came from farther away than you did, they refuse to give you any money. Failing to achieve your goals, you ask the funeral home for money for gas. - Deer or Leech? If you guessed LEECH, you are correct!
Number 2:
Your girlfriend is cheating on you. You refuse to admit it. After seeing numerous emails and text messages between your girlfriend and another man, you come home from work to find your unemployed girlfriend and her "friend" watching movies while curled up on your couch. You find out that they've been drinking and he has been there all day. You ask what's for supper and are told they ordered pizza, but already ate. When you go to the fridge, you see that she didn't do the grocery shopping as she had promised and now you have nothing to eat except a piece of stale bread and a carrot. You understand though, she has been stressed out lately about not working. She needs to kick back and relax sometimes and you probably haven't been around enough with working all that over time to pay the bills. To make up for it, you load the dishwasher and ask them if they want some wings since you're placing an order. - Deer or Leech? DEER!
Tres:
Your father is ill. He did very well for himself during his lifetime and has plenty of money to pay his medical bills and for someone to take care of him. You realize that he probably will never be able to drive again and he has a very nice truck. You take the keys and have him sign the title over in your name. No sense in a new truck going to waste. After several months in a nursing home you never visit, he passes away. You find out that he had put in his will that you were to get the truck and your sister is to get the house. You get angry because now you don't get anything and it cost you money to get that title switched over. He spent all his money on the nursing home. So, you break into the house and steal some of his guns and items that he willed to grandchildren and other people. They should have been yours anyway, right? - Deer or Leech? LEECH!
So, let's all try to be something besides deer and something besides leeches, shall we? We don't like roaches either.
This has been a public service announcement.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Day 7 - Still Going Strong
So, I fell off the wagon a little bit on Saturday. A friend invited me over for dinner and movie night. She made chicken piccata, fresh corn, salad and fresh watermelon. Her original menu was chicken piccata with hashbrown casserole and corn fritters. She laid off most of the fried foods for my benefit and served my piece of chicken with fresh lemon instead of the lemon butter sauce. It was delicious. I called it "Chicken Crack" because after not having anything fried at all for over a week, it tasted heavenly. Plus, she is an excellent cook.
I had weighed myself that morning and was down to 271.6 by my scale. For those of you keeping track at home, that's 11.5 pounds lost in a week (if my scales and the scales at my doctor are the same). True, I still know that most of this is water weight and yes, I know I can gain it back as fast as I lost it, but it still feels pretty darn good. If I can lose almost 12 pounds in five days, imagine what I can do in a year!
Sunday, I did 23 minutes on the treadmill at 2mph. I haven't worked up to having any incline on the treadmill yet. I was sweating by the time I was done. Best feeling I've had in a while. I can't remember the last time I sweated that much or the last time I was so proud of myself. I did it. I did the 20 minutes and when my calves were cramping and my mind was telling me that I was going to die if I didn't stop, I pushed through it by closing my eyes and refusing to look at the timer or the lap indicator. My husband put some music on to inspire me. It worked.
Today I have a doctor's appointment at my internist's office. I plan to have her check out my heart, thyroid, etc. and make sure there is nothing wrong with me physically that could be causing the extreme fatigue and lethargy I have been feeling. I want to know that my only problem is my fat. If I can get over the fear of having a heart attack while I exercise, I will be able to push myself harder and I won't have any excuses left.
I have been suffering from extreme edema over the past two years. At one point, I was hospitalized with chest pains and edema. I was put through a battery of tests and then released with high blood pressure medication. For a year I took the medication. The entire time I was telling the physician's assistant that I thought it was killing me. She refused to take me off of it saying it took some time to get used to. After going to a different doctor in the practice, she weaned me off of it over a period of two weeks and brought me back for testing. She proclaimed that indeed I did not have high blood pressure and didn't need the medication. My normal BP readings now are around 110/70. I have asked numerous times what is causing my edema and they always say the same thing. My weight.
Today's appointment is with a new doctor at a new practice. I want a second opinion. I want to know for sure that my edema (which is getting much better already) is a direct result of my weight and not a result of heart disease. Heart disease is rampant in my family as is congestive heart failure. I want to know for sure that I'm not in danger of that happening to me on this diet.
This is shot day as well. I will take my shot after I return home this evening. My husband says he wants to give me my shot. I'm not sure I want him to, but I have no problem giving it to myself. We'll see how that goes.
Found out over the weekend, that a group of us girls are supposed to go to Savannah, GA one weekend next April. Imagine how much more comfortable and energetic I will be if I continue to lose weight and walk until then. The exercise alone will help me. I struggle with it more than the diet. I need to get motivated! I plan a trip to the DVD store today to look for some yoga and pilates routines. I've never tried either, but I need to work on my flexibility and range of motion. Back to the chiropractor on Thursday for another adjustment. I always feel so much better after leaving her office.
Today's lunch - Smart Ones Salisbury Steak. Yum!
I had weighed myself that morning and was down to 271.6 by my scale. For those of you keeping track at home, that's 11.5 pounds lost in a week (if my scales and the scales at my doctor are the same). True, I still know that most of this is water weight and yes, I know I can gain it back as fast as I lost it, but it still feels pretty darn good. If I can lose almost 12 pounds in five days, imagine what I can do in a year!
Sunday, I did 23 minutes on the treadmill at 2mph. I haven't worked up to having any incline on the treadmill yet. I was sweating by the time I was done. Best feeling I've had in a while. I can't remember the last time I sweated that much or the last time I was so proud of myself. I did it. I did the 20 minutes and when my calves were cramping and my mind was telling me that I was going to die if I didn't stop, I pushed through it by closing my eyes and refusing to look at the timer or the lap indicator. My husband put some music on to inspire me. It worked.
Today I have a doctor's appointment at my internist's office. I plan to have her check out my heart, thyroid, etc. and make sure there is nothing wrong with me physically that could be causing the extreme fatigue and lethargy I have been feeling. I want to know that my only problem is my fat. If I can get over the fear of having a heart attack while I exercise, I will be able to push myself harder and I won't have any excuses left.
I have been suffering from extreme edema over the past two years. At one point, I was hospitalized with chest pains and edema. I was put through a battery of tests and then released with high blood pressure medication. For a year I took the medication. The entire time I was telling the physician's assistant that I thought it was killing me. She refused to take me off of it saying it took some time to get used to. After going to a different doctor in the practice, she weaned me off of it over a period of two weeks and brought me back for testing. She proclaimed that indeed I did not have high blood pressure and didn't need the medication. My normal BP readings now are around 110/70. I have asked numerous times what is causing my edema and they always say the same thing. My weight.
Today's appointment is with a new doctor at a new practice. I want a second opinion. I want to know for sure that my edema (which is getting much better already) is a direct result of my weight and not a result of heart disease. Heart disease is rampant in my family as is congestive heart failure. I want to know for sure that I'm not in danger of that happening to me on this diet.
This is shot day as well. I will take my shot after I return home this evening. My husband says he wants to give me my shot. I'm not sure I want him to, but I have no problem giving it to myself. We'll see how that goes.
Found out over the weekend, that a group of us girls are supposed to go to Savannah, GA one weekend next April. Imagine how much more comfortable and energetic I will be if I continue to lose weight and walk until then. The exercise alone will help me. I struggle with it more than the diet. I need to get motivated! I plan a trip to the DVD store today to look for some yoga and pilates routines. I've never tried either, but I need to work on my flexibility and range of motion. Back to the chiropractor on Thursday for another adjustment. I always feel so much better after leaving her office.
Today's lunch - Smart Ones Salisbury Steak. Yum!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)