Week 25 - Relapse Prevention

That's the fear - relapse and weight gain.  The most dangerous time is the first year after program, and the risk is serious - most people that regain any weight don't lose it.  This week's group was about relapse prevention.  Self-monitoring - like a food/activity log - is key so you can track down what went wrong.  Another key is having a plan: 1) Identify high-danger situations in advance, 2) Plan steps to prevent a lapse, 3) Have a back-up plan to get back-on-track, 4) Plan to forgive yourself if you slip up.

The past six months has been lots of work, self-evaluation, and learning to plan.  I have a really good toolkit, but honestly, I am more afraid now than I was on day one.  At least we have a monthly group session for support, and I'm grateful for caring friends and family for support.

One more group session to go.

Week 24 - Reinventing Myself

Good news – I was really happy to make it through several Thanksgiving celebration meal events without gaining any weight.  I had a well thought out plan and the plan worked.

It has been a really odd thing to re-experience my ‘thin’ body.  It is really quite something to get used to hearing myself called, ‘Skinny’ in a good way.  When people are talking about me as ‘the little guy’ I often don’t catch that they’re talking about me – “Hunh….  Who, me?”  It’s kind of funny.  On the other hand, it doesn’t always feel good when people make comments.  Simple compliments are always nice like, “my you’ve lost weight, you look good.”  What is frustrating is comments like, “You should stop losing weight – you look too thin!”  Or when my weight loss is all a person can talk about – I’m about more than just weight, you know. 

Now is a wonderful chance to reinvent my persona – who I am.  Despite the significant costs of buying new clothes, it is quite fun to shop for clothes and look at stuff that I would never have been caught dead wearing six months ago – or that wouldn’t fit me.  I get to be that energetic, active, fun guy that likes sports and activity.  I get to consider goals and pursuits that were totally ‘off limits’ to me before – it’s pretty cool.  It’s also very different as I go about replacing ID photos, like work, driver’s licence, etc.  It’s kind of like reaffirming the ‘new me.’  I find that I keep peeking in mirrors and shop windows to try and figure out ‘who is this new me?’

Today’s group session was about body image and the importance on maintaining a positive, healthy body image.  I really like my new body, for the most part.  I’ve been lucky to not have much loose skin, but I do have some saggy skin on my lower abdomen and upper thighs.  I’m trying not to be too depressed about it and hoping that some of these strategies will help:

• Continue drinking lots of water – apparently skin likes water
• Moisturize the skin
• Weekly sea salt bath – draws out toxins
• Eat soy protein like edamame beans, soy milk, tofu - to help generate more collagen in the skin
• Wait – apparently the skin often recovers given some more time

In the meanwhile, I’ll get to focus on building a positive self-image and focus on the how much healthier I am and how much more activity I can maintain.

On a side note - I have tried to be pretty low key about my weight loss adventure – other than this blog, but I have found it interesting how many people have come to me to talk about my weight loss program.  Some people have heard of the KGH program and want to know more about it – either for themselves or a loved one.  Others have not heard about the program (and don’t really care), but they’re interested in what I’ve done.  I mentioned elsewhere that I’ve been surprised by the doctors and nurse practitioners that don’t know about the program, and want to find out more information.  One of the reasons for starting this blog was to share my journey with others that might draw inspiration, information, or motivation from my ‘story’, so it is rewarding to be able to help others. 

Week 23 - Counting Down

 Only three short weeks of weekly group sessions left!  I feel like I need more information, more support, more time.  I am determined that this is just the beginning, so I really hope I am prepared for this journey.  How is this time going to be different?  It’s a very nervous time.  Well, I do have a plan….

1. I will commit to the monthly group session – without fail.
2. I will weight myself and record every day
3. I have set up an ‘alarm’ system – if my weight is 5 pounds above weight for 3 days in a row, I will drop down to the 1,300 calorie diet, and step up my exercise.
4. I will keep a strict food/exercise log for the first year
5. I will keep a healthy habits journal
6. I will continue my goal to achieve 30 minutes of aerobic exercise 6 days out of 7 days
7. I will set some exercise goals each year – Spring and Fall  (More to follow)
8. I will become a member of the National Weight Control Registry – you have to have lost 30 pounds, or more, and kept it off for one year to join.
9. I will become actively involved in helping others lose weight and make healthy choices – this should help me to stay more active and accountable
10. I will gather a support group around me to hold me accountable for my healthy habits

I would encourage you to keep checking back and see if I'm still 'on track'

It’s official – I’m not fat anymore!

I had my physical with my doctor yesterday.  After my exam, and after many questions about the program, he says with a smile, “I see we’ve got a morbid obesity alert on your file – I guess we’ll have to change that!”  (On a side note it’s surprising to me how little most doctors know about the Ontario Bariatric Network programs.) 

On the doctor’s scales I weighed 154 pounds.  That means that I am officially not overweight, based on body mass index.  At 154 pounds (daytime), I am in the ‘healthy’ range - (BMI) of 18.5 to 24.9 – even if just barely.  The BMI number is kind of an artificial number, but I started this health journey with the goal of increasing my health.  I never imagined that I would be able to get down to this weight, but now that I have this 154 weight will be my upper limit, my alarm bell so-to-speak.  It may be a little silly, but this number represents health to me; so if I can manage it, I'd like to stay just a little under - maybe 150 pounds, doctor's office.

Practically speaking, what this number means is that my metabolic syndrome (aka flubbergut + high cholesterol/high triglycerides/ high sugar) is gone, and I am at much lower risk of developing many nasty diseases – diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, cancer, Alzheimer’s and respiratory disease.  More important than the possibly longer life expectancy is the likelihood that I will be able to enjoy my life with less medical complications and more fun/freedom – yay!

On the other hand, I am no longer ‘normal’ – the most recent directly measured Canadian statistics reveal that 61% of Canadian adults are considered either overweight or obese.  Hmmmhh – does that mean that I will stand out in a crowd as the freak?

Week Twenty-two - A Calorie Prescription

I met with the nurse practitioner and the dietitian on Thursday to evaluate my progress – all good.  I was a bit taken aback by the ‘prescription’ of 1,300 to 1,500 calorie diet (the Optifast ‘maintenance’ diet).  They’re telling me this should lead to the 1 lb. per month loss that I wanted until I had built up a 5 lb. ‘cushion’ underneath my maximum or‘alarm weight’.  Since my weight loss had continued after Optifast but slowed down on the ‘maintenance’ phaseto 1 lb. per week from the 3 lb. per week during the active Optifast phase, I was expecting that I would be increasing to something like 1,800 calories per day.  Ok, well we’ll stay on the 1,300 – 1,500 diet for a while longer and  it and see what happens.

Oh, and apparently the bariatric team is talking about me as the ‘poster boy’ for the non-surgical weight loss program.  Not really sure what that means, but I guess it must be good, so I’ll take it.