Sunday Weigh in January 7, 2024

[Barb135]

Good morning and welcome to the first weigh in of the New Year.  I hope everyone's year is off to a good start.

Mine has been very busy.  I think I mentioned last week about going through some things and weeding out "stuff", as my New Year's goal - well, I've done just that.  I've cleaned out 2 closet (have one to go), undersink cabinets, dresser drawers and other storage areas.  Some just got sorted out and reorganized; others got totally dismantled and most of the stuff was either thrown away or hauled off for donation.

I've tried to do some sorting/cleaning every day of the new year - not always in the same room, but trying to finish a room within a couple of days!!  I'm leaving some of the floors and until last because I keep dragging dust/sand from one room to the other.  This morning I've been going through my calligraphy supplies - I have so much "stuff" I almost tend to forget what I have.  Sorting it out reminds what's here and that I need to use it before I buy more supplies!!  

I'm also trying to convince husband that we need new cabinets in the kitchen, but he's not getting on board so I'm hoping that I can prove that getting rid of stuff will allow us to get by with a lot more cabinets than we currently have, especially, if we redesign and put the cabinets into a different configuration!!  

In addition, I've been trying to walk most days.  It's been pretty cool here, so instead of going in the morning we sometimes wait until after lunch, which has helped keep me awake in the afternoons rather than taking a nap.  I'm still very tired all the time and sleeping all night doesn't help, but I keep trying to convince myself it's going to get better but don't really see it happening.  I go for blood work on Wed, so hopefully, that will turn up something meaningful.  

I haven't weighed today, but Friday when I stepped on the scale, I was down 1.2 pounds from last Sunday.   I last saw my doctor on October 12 and I've lost 10 lbs in 3 months (approx 3 lbs/month).  That's just before my neighbor arrived back from OR and we started walking most days, plus we made some changes in my thyroid medication, as well as my neuropathy medication and I guess that's what I needed to get started... I can tell my appetite has changed, as I'm just not as hungry as I was.   I'd like to drop another 35 lbs, but we'll see how it goes!!  At least it's coming off slowly, so hopefully, I'll be more likely to keep it off.

So that's my story - I hope you're off to a good start and are reaching your goals.  I look forward to hearing about them.  

~~Wishing everyone a wonderful, successful week~~

[Athena_M]

Well my weight went down to where I wanted it, but it was because I was sick with nausea.
I love to read how the two of you are doing. I don't always respond, but I do read the posts.

Do you two have any success with Prozac? My doctor prescribed it for anxiety but I don't want to take it.
I have anxiety about close family members passing away. My mind trails off thinking about planning a funeral and I make myself so sad. I did have a friend and some extended family pass away recently.
The  doctor said it could help weight loss. If I take it and lose weight then when I go off I will deal with the weight gain.

[Barb135]

Hi Athena.  It's okay if you don't respond to   Annie's and my posts, but of course, you're always welcome to.  We do a lot of chit chatting about every day things, which is what weight gain/loss is made of.  

I'm sorry you've been sick with nausea... is that due to the anxiety you've been having or to something else?  I ask because when I'm upset and anxious, I, often, get nauseous.  

I'm also very sorry to hear about your family and friend passing away.  That's never easy to handle, especially, if it's someone you're particularly close with.  If the funeral(s) have already been planned and held, you might try to avoid thinking about planning one, but of course, that's easier said than done.  You might try distracting activities whenever your mind wanders to that topic - like folding laundry, going for a walk, sweeping floors, call a friend - anything to redirect your thoughts.    You might also consider seeing a therapist to help you over the tough spot.  Some insurance plans will cover therapy.

I've never taken Prozac, but my own experience with anti-depressants/anti-anxiety meds is that they're more likely to cause weight gain than weight loss.  I did a quick search of Prozac and here's what I found:  "In Prozac studies, weight loss has been reported in about 2% of patients (2 out of every 100), but patient self-reports of weight gain have been much higher, up to 37% in one survey."  Drugs.com

You're right though - if you took it and lost weight, you'd probably re-gain the weight when you go off the med.  

I wish you well.

[AnnieBrooke]

Regarding Prozac affecting weight gain or loss -- I've been on Zoloft before and it never impacted my weight. It did help with stress and anxiety, which was a bigger deal to me than my weight anyway. If anxiety is a big problem for you, serotonin re-uptake inhibitors are definitely worth trying, the same as if you had diabetes and needed insulin.  

[Athena_M]

Thank you Barb for your suggestions. I took a screenshot of them to remind myself. Wow only 2% lose weight in Prozac. Thanks Annie for telling me about your experience.

[AnnieBrooke]

I got over my case of Covid, and though while sick I lost weight, of course about a pound of it has come back by this morning. My weight is still lower than before Covid, but we finally went grocery shopping last night (something neither my husband nor I was well enough to do until this last couple of days) and bought tons of favorites, and I noshed a lot when putting everything away. So I'm sure the weight is waiting in the wings to come back! Ideally I'd like to be down 6 or 7 pounds from where I am now, but don't look too bad, (my stomach was not sticking out when I was at my lowest but of course it's waiting in the wings, too!) It's only when I get above the 10-lbs.-over-ideal-weight that I think I've entered the danger zone and try super hard to alter my habits.

When sick, I didn't go to Pilates. I assume it will be obvious that I had a week off, both for good and bad. The good is, I strain my muscles at the classes often enough, and going every day means no time to recuperate, so I'm often sore and now I'm not sore. The bad of course is that I probably won't be as strong tomorrow as when I got sick. At least I go. Any other time I've signed up at a gym, I haven't liked the trainer (or the method) well enough to stick with it. Pilates agrees with me more than a lot of exercise approaches. Maybe it's just not that hard! but at least I do it.

Our son went to the school's Winter Ball last night. Off he went in a black suit, narrow-cut blue and black tie (his date's dress was blue), and silver masquerade mask (theme of the dance was Masquerade), with a bouquet of white roses for his date. He looked like James Bond. Husband and I were very amused. None of us are quite ready for him to grow up, but he's handling it.

Hope everyone has a great week!

[Barb135]

I'm glad you're over your COVID.  It's pretty normal to lose weight when we're sick, but it doesn't usually take long to regain, at least part of it as soon as we start eating normally again.  You're lucky if you only have 6-7 lbs to get down.   I have a lot more than that.  

If you're straining your muscles, going to Pilates every day and are still sore in the morning, you should probably take a day off in between.  I was told when I went to PT that the old adage of "no pain, no gain" is definitely not the way to go.  Your body needs time to recuperate after exercise and if you don't give it time, you just keep re-damaging those same muscles.   I find that I'm better off taking a day or two/week off from walking to give myself time rest and recup.

It doesn't seem like your son should be going out to school dances - it hasn't been that long ago, he was struggling with starting junior high.   If I recall, this is at least his second dance, with date, to boot!!   Sometimes kids handle growing up better than we  parents do...  :-)

Enjoy your week.

[AnnieBrooke]

Well, the date is not what we'd call a "date" date, she's a friend. They discussed it the next day and confirmed that they don't want a romance, a good thing they cleared it up before either made assumptions and then felt stupid later. When I was a teenager, you'd go on a date with anyone nice even if he was someone towards whom you had no romantic inclination, especially if it was to one of the fancy school occasions like "Winter Ball." But now kids don't go on a one-on-one date unless they're an "item;" they go out in friend groups instead. I guess in a way it's lucky she even wanted to do it as a date, he can now say he's been on one! But either he flunked the potential-boyfriend tryout or she changed her mind by the time of the dance, because she was pretty fast to provide clarification the next day. :-)

[Barb135]

Well, it's always good to be upfront with things like that.  One of them getting the idea that the "friendship" could be something more could actually ruin the friendship.  My daughter actually had this happen not too long ago with a guy she's known for years and been super good friends with.  He thought they should be more than friends and she thinks of him as a brother type friend... it caused a big rift between them for several months and they're just now getting their friendship back on an even keel.    I thought, years ago, they might have been headed for a romantic relationship, but it didn't turn out that way.  Who knows?  I still might.  

Your son is young and friendship is more important than romance!!   I'm betting she changed her mind, but that's something you may never find out.   At least, she didn't drag it out and lead him on, making him believe there might be something more than there was and hopefully, their friendship came out unscathed.  :-)

[AnnieBrooke]

I think they didn't damage their friendship. I think he actually was more flattered by her perceived interest than inclined on his own volition, and even if not, the whole thing didn't hurt his feelings. He was only a bit concerned that he might have acted like he was assuming too much. She assured him he hadn't acted more proprietarily than he should, or anything. :-)  All in all, I think it was a good experience to have the fun of a formal date and then to get some practice in the ticklish business of learning to politely decline to take things further. And I commend her, bringing it up immediately the next day made the whole thing simple.