Sunday Weigh in July 23, 2023

[Barb135]

Good morning.  How is everyone doing this morning?  It sounds like the heat wave is affecting a good share of the country now, so I hope you're able to stay cool and hydrated through it.  It's been at/near 100° for several days here.  Stepping outside is like stepping into a furnace.  

So - my week has been okay - mostly spent with medical issues. Tuesday, I had the surgery done on my left wrist and elbow for the carpal tunnel and cubital tunnel syndromes.  I have one incision at the wrist and 2 at the elbow.  Instructions said I could remove the wad of bandages on day 5, which is today, so you can bet getting those off was the first thing I did this morning (well, after turning on the coffee pot!!).    I still have to be super careful, since the incisions are far from healed, but it's a lot more comfortable without the bandages.   I'm supposed to clean the incisions every day, then put light bandages on them for protection.  Instructions say to wear wrist brace to protect my wrist, but I think it's just the right length to hit the elbow incisions.  We'll see how it works after I get them all cleaned.

In view of the surgery, my week has been "non-busy" since I haven't been able to do anything with that hand.   I did a lot of sleeping, though.  

On Friday, I went back to the cardiologist to get the results of the PET CT I'd had last week.  Everything turned out well with the test (pharmacological stress test, which is different from the nuclear stress test), so it doesn't sound likely that I'm going to drop over from a heart attack any time soon.  Although I'm thrilled to know that my heart seems to be doing well (other than issues we've known about for years), I'm disappointed that the test didn't provide any indications of why I'm so tired all the time and get short of breath so easily.  I'm beginning to believe that the tiredness is related to the high parathyroid hormone, but the NP at my doctor's office does not know enough about that to be able to be helpful.  

Anyway - the surgery is done and the heart tests are done, so it's time to move on.  I haven't weighed this morning, but yesterday, I was up 2 pounds from last week - yep, going in the wrong direction - lack of exercise, too much food, high parathyroid hormone and low thyroid hormones!!!  That's quite a combination - some my fault and some not.   I'm hoping this week will be cooler so I can get outside more - if not, I'll have to start cleaning the house again!!  :-)

So - that's my story.  I hope you're doing better than I am. I have started the week with more resolve, though.  Anyway, I hope you were able to meet your goals. .  

~~Wishing everyone a wonderful, successful week~~

[Athena_M]

Hi Annie and Barb. I'm with you Barb up 2 pounds. It's been hot here too and I've been eating ice cream. The pounds come back on  fast for me. I have to get back to healthier eating. I weigh in at TOPS on Friday and don't want to have a gain.
Annie thst is wonderful about your pilates class! I'm so happy for you.
Barb I'm glad your surgery is done. I hope you find the reason for your tiredness and get back your energy. Maybe as your wrist heals you will have less inflammation and get back your energy.  

[Barb135]

Oh, I feel the pain of your 2 pound gain... of course, it's hot and a taste for ice cream is hard to resist.  When we have weight issues, it doesn't take much to put the pounds back on.  

I'm going to go with Annie and hit the exercise... I'll try to do my own, here at home.

I'm glad my surgery is done, as well - not looking to find the reason for my tiredness until I see my primary doctor (not the NP) in October.   You're right, the wrist/arm issue might have been causing inflammation.  I'll see how it goes as the incisions from the surgery heal.  Thanks for that reminder.  

Let's hope the heat eases and we don't need to resort to high calorie "coolers".  

[AnnieBrooke]

Sometimes if I'm on a sweets jag, I substitute something "less bad" but that still handles the cravings. I used to do banana smoothies, which would abate the craving for ice cream. Maybe something like that (if not a smoothie, something else that gives you a sweet taste) would help.

[AnnieBrooke]

I'm down a tiny fraction, about .3 of a pound on my scale. Not horrible, because we had gourmet food last night, though I'm always pleased if the drop is more than just what could be written off by having salty food in my most recent meal or not. :-)

I've been taking the Pilates classes; signed up for two a week until I get used to it, so I won't be sore and want to quit. If everything goes well I'll sign up for a more full schedule, if I can afford the time and fees. I went Wednesday and Friday last week. It's probably the easiest class -- I'm well able to do the stuff physically, though there's a tendency for the instructor to use terms I'm not familiar with. (The unfamiliarity is likely to wear off pretty fast, and also I'm not hesitant to ask the instructor what she is directing us to do.) Anyway, it's an interesting form of exercise -- a lot of stretching and extension, and you do resistance things with your own body weight as the "weight." I think the shoulder and side stretches have done me some good even this soon, where I always have a sore muscle where my neck meets my back. I only have one pair of exercise pants, so I ordered some used exercise clothes on eBay. There are some quite cute ones at the Pilates studio, but they're super costly (and besides, I'm not keen on showing up in brand-new togs. Talk about making it obvious that I haven't been working out! lol) I guess once all the broken-in shirts and tights arrive, I'll be armed for bear, plus won't have to wash my one set of exercise clothes over and over.

My son and I have been unpacking and sorting boxes, a tedious chore we've put off since our move. It's hot and muggy in the garage (where many of them are), but our cat keeps us company and teeters in and out of the boxes, making us laugh. And we're finding some useful things, such as the contents of the guest bathroom from our old house. Soap, hand towels, t.p. -- just the basics, but nice to not have packed up in a box somewhere. As cosmic compensation for such dull work, the neighborhood had a block party last night, and next week a different neighbor is allowing a small Shakespeare company to put on Julius Caesar in his (very spacious) back yard. That's pretty classy for a neighborhood party! It's clearly summer.

Hope everyone has a great week!

[AnnieBrooke]

And, Barb, does the result of the heart exam rule out anything sinister from what they found when you were examined when on vacation? If so, that's sure great. :-)

[Barb135]

Being down a tiny fraction is better than the alternatives, so Congratulations on that.   We don't eat much in the line of gourmet food, but you're right - it's good to know that a loss wasn't just due to the salty food you ate yesterday.  

Yay for you, signing up for Pilates.  I've never really done that, but from what I've seen it can be pretty fun.  2 a week isn't bad to start and maybe you won't need a lot more than that.  From what I've read about Pilates, it's pretty simple (if one is in decent shape?).  In some ways it reminds me of yoga, in which you're stretching, etc is a main thing.   I have a dvd - Yoga for Weight Loss - that I used for quite some time.  It, too, uses body weight as the "weight".  I've looked into programs that use your own body weight and it's a pretty simple concept - best of all it works.

"I think the shoulder and side stretches have done me some good even this soon"  That's very possible because there are ways to move the body that will help with a lot of pain/discomfort.  

Congrats on your new (to you) threads.  I love it - I've never thought of buying used exercise clothes in order to camouflage my lack of exercising.  I just figured people only had to take one look at me to know I'm not an exercise aficionado but you're younger, so I'm pretty sure you're in better shape than me.  Of course, having clothing that's "broken in" could give the appearance of an exercise guru.  And there's the added benefit of not having to wash your one outfit so often.   Go you.  

I hadn't realized that you still have boxes that haven't been unpacked.  It's great that your son will help with that in the stifling heat.   It's always nice to have the pets "helping" so they can create diversion, not to mention finding things that you can actually use.  

Your neighborhood block party sounds really fun.  And Julius Caesar next week... yeah, pretty classy.  

Yes, I think the result of the heart exam pretty much rules out anything they might have seen during my vacation.  I had the chest CT after I got back, which showed nothing and now the full heart work up, so I'm pretty confident there isn't anything going on with my heart and/or lungs.   I agree that it's awesome, though I'm disappointed that there were no indications as to causes for my tiredness.  I'm wondering if I just need to pull myself up and "get over it", but not sure how to do that, since I can't get through a day without naps.