getslimnow

Well I have been back to work since 12/09 and stopped using the Optifast Program at that time.  In the approximately nine months that I have been off the program, I did gain 7 pounds according to my home weigh in on Monday, so my total loss was a net 140lbs.

I missed Buddy Slim.  Actually I missed the people in Buddy Slim.  There is such a wonderful group of unselfish people here, all striving to lose weight and support each other, and I am pleased to return and find many of my old friends remain (and show success)!  An old Buddy Slim friend contacted me and made me realize that it is time to  return to the path of weight loss, and there is n0 better place to be to lose weight that I know of than here.  I did have a photo of myself in the position of the thinker as was in my first picture here at Buddy Slim, but as it turns out, that computer is no longer operational, so that direct comparison is not available.

So last week as I was heading in to my optifast program weigh in, my Doctor called.  I had done some blood work the day before as I had spiked a fever for the past week.  Some of the tests were back already and were positive and he wanted me to do more tests ASAP.  I changed routes slightly, and his office faxed what they had to the hospital ER room.  I did not quite expect the warm welcome I received including admission and the corresponding six day stay.  Babesia is a tick born disease, and usually not a big problem.  In this case, I had a high density of parasites in me and enlarged spleen etc.  I needed antibiotics and even blood transfusions.  The mortality rate is less than 10% of those IDENTIFIED cases and I appear to be “out of the woods”.  I continue on antibiotics and testings but at least I am discharged from the hospital.

Well today I did that weigh in at the optifast program and lost 9.9 pounds for the two weeks and updated my weight ticker and mini goal, which I passed a couple of weeks back.  It looks impressive, but when I look over the hundreds on booster notes and personal emails, the wonderful hints and encouragements, and the incredible friendships and supports I have received here, I can honestly say that this has been a group effort and I thank all of you for all you have done!

It has been such a joy to return to Buddy Slim and notice how well most of my wonderful buddies are doing.  Those of you who have continued to write me and send booster notes are truly special.  I continue on my long journey to good health and your encouragement and well wishes mean so much to me that failure is not an option.  I did have a big set back though, not in my weight loss, but in my career.

I have been out of work for over one year due to a back injury.  In many ways, my PRIMARY motivation for weight loss was associated with needing to improve my health to return back to work.  I have never been one to think of myself first, and when my back was injured, it impacted my ability to financially provide for my children’s college education, and as a single parent with three children, this was a huge financial blow.  Luckily because my children are able bodied, they are able to work and help out too.  Anyway so when my back was injured ,  I worked out three times weekly in Physical Therapy until finally a couple of months ago I was cleared medically to return to work.    My place of work has declined to give me a return date as of this writing, and many matters remain to be solved in their eyes.  The process is unfolding and I suspect I will be returning soon, but it is not certain.  As I am somewhat close to being able to retire, I suspect this may bear some relationship to the delay.  Some friends from the agency have expressed to me the fact that I am ranked first on the promotional list and will need to be interviewed for each opening may also be a consideration effecting my return date. My long years of experience with the agency and my work performance have been judged to be excellent by my direct supervisors, but my last supervisor has retired and politics often plays a role in these matters.  In any event, this situation has impacted me, and I write this quickie blog with tearing eyes.

Even with this emotional pain (and some lingering physical pain as well), I continue to lose weight, knowing fully well that in some small way I can help those here by example.  I have not deserted you my wonderful buddies and looking over all the love and caring you have sent my way, it warms my heart and I know you have not deserted me.

I am heading out to vacation this week.  Time shares mandate a use it or lose it.  I will be back and will be very pleased to once again journey with all of you to the land of good health and appearance.  I am now only TWO POUNDS from my first mini goal, at the half way mark.  Thank you all for your wonderful continuous support.  I hope to get a new picture up soon too.  The last one was over 50 pounds ago.

Well my friends I have not been on as much these last ten days.  I have been spending my time getting ready to return to work after a long absence due to an injury.  While working long hours in a stressful, but sometimes rewarding, job will not deter me from my dieting, it will cut drastically into my time to be available at Buddy Slim.  I hope to log in once a day, because you are all so wonderful to be with, you are all so helpful to me, and I treasure these friendships.  I hope to “keep on keeping on” and hope you will all stay with me as you have since the beginning.

Today’s blog is entitled inspiration.  It is impossible to put a value on inspiration, but without it we are less human and less able to reach our goals.  This youtube is about as inspiring as anything I have ever experience and I hope you all will take the time to view it and comment on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lp0IWv8QZY

You will not regret it.

As I continue to work on this weight loss I see so many folks on the same journey who discuss things that have prevented them from losing weight.  We all make excuses and I know that fat people usually have as many reasons for eating as alcoholics have for drinking.  But please use Buddy Slim for support and not food for comfort.  I pledge to always try to help anyway I can.  And I have to say the support I have received from the community here has been outstanding.

The fact is that while we can not control the numbers on the scale, we have the ultimate control over what we put in our mouth.  And we all know what we should and should not put in or mouths most of the time and the internet will allow us to google the needed information whenever we are in doubt.  Temptation may lie before us, but the choice remains ours.  Each of us has the power to say no.  We have all done that at one time or another.  If it is hard at this moment, ask for help.  I have never seen a buddy here that did not get tremendous support when he/she has asked for it.  So no one has to say no alone.   There are others here to help us.  Nonetheless the ultilmate responsibility for seeking help and for not giving in, is ours and ours alone.

Yes the fat cells retain water.  But they can only do that for awhile so if you control what you put in your mouth, the weight will come off.  So remember you are the architect of your body, though the Buddy Slim community is here to advise.

Yes life is stressful.  But if you are overweight you know that eating will not make your life better, only worse.  The pain of being overweight is illustrated over and over here.  The health problems, the feelings of low self worth, the shame and distain towards oneself are illustrated in the pages of these blogs over and over.   Not in one instance did anyone make those problems better by eating.

Yes your significant other can be a big hinderance, but ultimately again we are responsible for what we put in our mouths.  And we are responsible for our choice to stay or not to stay with that significant other.  And we are responsible for our choices to log or not log food choices and to exercise and not to exercise.  We all know the consequences of these choices and know which ones are best for us.

In the end, you can’t determine which direction the wind blows, but you can adjust the sails.

So let us as a community reach out to all and together make this a success for everyone we can, joining together in a journey of mutual goodness for all and dedication to each other’s success as well as our own.

Well this last week was a challenging one.  I had weighed in as usual on Wednesday with the disappointing results of no weight loss.  In the past dieting was relatively easy.  I would design a program and follow it and lose lots of weight, reaching my goal weight.  I would keep off the weight, usually for two to five years, and then I would choose to go back to being heavy again.   I had made these choices based upon my needs and desires at the time.

I had planned to stay big this last time, but the complications came quickly.  Diabetes,  high blood pressure, sleep apnea, and arthritic  pain attacked my body with a vengeance, but this time I was older and the programs I had designed in the past for myself were no longer effective.  Choices became more limited.

The optifast diet I selected and follow is a strict, medically supervised one and I follow it 95% of the time with 100% compliance, which amounts to about 1000 calories per day.  I chose this diet because other diets were no longer working for me even with good compliance and I was not interested in the gastric bypass unless this diet failed me (or I failed this diet).   The diet has been good for me.  I have lost over 60 pounds thus far; I have a greatly decreased level of arthritic pain; I have eliminated two diabetic medications, actos and  glipizide; and have consistently good blood sugar readings and good blood pressure readings.  Finally the pressure needed to control the sleep apnea on my auto CPAP machine has been greatly reduced.  Mobility is better, strength is better, my ability to exercise is improved.  There are many other advantages I have already noticed as well. This is after 14 weeks on the program.

I note these things because sometimes it is good to reflect on the progress of the journey for motivation to continue the journey, especially if the short term results are not as expected.   It terms of my goals I am but 25% of the way there, so most of my journey lies before me.  It is still an exploration and I wonder what other improvements lie before me.  Will the medical problems continue to dissipate as the journey continues?  Will they go away?  The march forward continues and the answers lie ahead awaiting me like the answers to a tricky puzzle still being solved.

I want to thank all of my buddy slim buddies who cheer me on as I make this j0urney.  I can only hope that I am a good buddy  for each of you as you have been to me.  So often I am able to come online and gain momentum needed for optimal program compliance.  This is not just my progress for in so many ways it is our progress.

One of the most important things I have discovered in my life is that I am the creator of my own thoughts.  These thoughts can help me or hinder me as I navigate my way towards my weight loss goal.  Take the event of getting on a scale after you have not weighted in for one month.  Consider a reading of zero loss and zero gain since your last weigh in and that you are wearing the some clothes (or lack of clothes) as your last weigh in and it is the same time of day as your last weigh in.

Now the thoughts start.  What are your thoughts, or your “self talk”?  Are you angry that you did not lose any weight?  Do you blame yourself?  What emotions do your thoughts bring to you?  How do you feel if you have tried hard and have followed your diet?  How do you feel if you have not followed your diet?  These are your feelings as a result of your thoughts.  What are the consequences of these thoughts?  Do these thoughts cause you to be more likely or less likely to reach your goals?  Some of us will think that we can do better on our diets and resolve to do so.  Some of us will think about reaching a  plateau as a natural part of weight loss.  Some will get discouraged and may lose sight of their goals.

Everyday I try to read the blogs of  others on Buddy Slim and I see these and other thoughts while reading.  I love taking the positive thoughts and the positive outcomes I see and adopting them to help me reach my goals.  I love  reading of the success of my buddy slim buddies and others.   I love your comments and support as I too struggle with this journey.

Just for today I hope that if anyone feels any negative thoughts that will not help them reach their goals, that they realize that they are the creator of those thoughts, that those thoughts effect their emotions, and that those emotions and thoughts effect their behaviors and their goal attainments.   Stop your negative thoughts and create positive ones.  Everyone has that power.  They are your thoughts and you are their creator.  Use this wonderful community of buddies to help as needed.    And always know that I am here to help as well as be helped as we continue on to our successful conclusions.

Sorrow looks backwards.  Worry looks around.   Determination looks forward.  Today’s thoughts are expressed in these simple sentences:

Sorrow looks backwards.  We have all done things we regret.  Our histories of eating have  been one catalyst leading to our needs to join Buddyslim.  We can look back and express sorrow over the events associated with our excess weight.  Someone once told me that a fat person has as many excuses for eating as an alcoholic has for drinking, but I think he was “misunderestimating” me.   I bet I can create even more.  My mother told me to eat all the food on my plate, I have no time to prepare good meals, I don’t like healthy foods, My significant other left me; cheated on me, beat me; I have no willpower, I already blew my diet today so I can eat more, etc.

 I can’t control what others do, but I can control what I put in my mouth.

Worry looks around.  There are always things to worry about as we look at the temptations of taste.  Maybe there are many foods available that I have not enjoyed in a while.  I may have cravings. I have learned to savor foods which are bad for me.  I see a comfort food.  I have failed at dieting in the past.

 I can’t control what others do, but I can control what I put in my mouth.

Determination looks forward.  I know where I want to be weight wise.  I know what I must do to get there.  I know the benefits I will receive by losing weight.  I know what I want and why I want it.  I have a plan and I follow it.  I relish my success and am inspired by this success and the success of others.  I learn from others.  I accept the wonderful support here at BuddySlim and support others.   I can use my faith and the support of others to move ahead to my goals.

I look forward to a healthier slimmer me and hope you all will look forward with me to the new you in this new year!

The other day I was in my weekly weight loss group at the optifast program I attend.  In this group there are usually between 20-25 people.  The three largest men, of which I am one, generally sit on the right side as you enter the room.  Each group begins with the group facilatator asking each of us how the week before has gone.

 So the biggest man in our group, a former police officer, mentioned in passing that he was not able to exercise now due to physical problems, but that he had been a body builder before.  The other large man, who has just resumed working out, indicated that he too had been a body builder.  As a former body builder myself, I wondered if there is a correlation between stopping weight lifting and obesity.    When it came to me, I too confessed that I had been a body builder for a few years, and stated, “Now look at the body I have built.” 

All kidding aside, we are the sculptures of our bodies.  To a large extent we choose to eat the right foods or not to eat the right foods, to exercise or not to exercise, to be healthy or not.  While we cannot control much of what happens in this world, we can control what we put in our mouths.  For some of us making the corrrect choice is harder to make than for others, but the choice remains ours nonetheless. 

How lucky I am to have my Buddy Slim friends to support me in making the right choices!  I thank each of you and cherish each of you for your support as we continue to embark upon this journey!

Vision without action is daydreaming.  Action without vision is a nightmare.  How often I hear people say “Reward yourself for doing well”.  Last night was my weigh-in and the joy of seeing the scale read 5.5 pounds lighter was an incredible reward.  Joining a strict, medically supervised diet, was the first step. For no matter how much I longed to be thinner, it was all just a daydream without my taking action and doing something about it.  I have always been a thinker, an idea man, but follow through has always been my weaker side.  Yes vision without action is daydreaming.  It is simply not enough.  Michelangelo could envision a flying machine, but it took the Wright Brothers to build it.  You must envision which diet will work for you and embrace it. You deserve it.

But action without vision is not enough.   If the Wright Brothers had not envisioned how to build and then land their plane, their vision would have been an invitation to tragedy, a nightmare.  Let us lose this weight, acting upon that vision, but then let us remember after the weight loss comes the maintenance.  In so many ways, weight loss is really the short term goal and  the maintenance of that weight loss is the real goal.   So as these pounds dissipate, please envision the maintenance and then take the action needed so the nightmare we collectively have experienced need never terrorize us again.