KarrieMassotti

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 I just had to post this because I thought it was a very funny NSV (Non Scale Victory).  

I had a Mammogram today.  It has been 2 years since my last one so last time I had I was 118lbs heavier.  

It didn't even dawn on me that the mammogram would be affected by my weight loss.  I know DUH  

The tech asked if I had lost considerable weight because she was surprised at how much smaller my breasts are compared to last time.  Don't get me wrong - I am still a DDD so not small by any means, but way better than the size H I used to be.  

Anyway, the NSV is she was able to do the mammogram with only the 4 usual shots they do for everyone.  Last time they had to do extra shots because my girls were too big to get in the normal shots.  

Benefits abound.   LOL

2 Ideas for portion control when dining out.

It was my husband's birthday yesterday so I took a few days off work and we were goofing off doing day trips.  

When I eat at home, I can easily control my portions because I weigh and measure everything.    Dining out can be a bit more tricky as I am sure you know.  

I wanted to share two things I stumbled upon that were helpful:   

First, we went to one of his favorite restaurants for dinner Thursday night.  It is an Italian place which is problematic for me because most of their menu was pasta and bread and I of course succeed best on low carb diet so don't eat either of those.   But, then I saw these large stuffed shells on the menu.   They were stuffed with Ricotta cheese and chicken.   There were 3 of them and so when they came I simply ate the filling out of one of them, left the shell alone and called myself good.    I thought this worked quite well.  I was able to have protein in a pretty small package and I was not tempted at all to dig into one of the other shells as I didn't want to disturb them so I was able to stop after just the one shell's filling which was approx 2-3 ounces of food.    

My other trick: We went to IHOP for breakfast yesterday.   I made him go because he turned 55 and was able to order off of the senior menu for the first time so I made him go there and take advantage of that.  It was mostly just to tease him about his age.  It was fun.  

Anyway.   Their menu is great for obese people (sorry to be so blunt) but it is pretty horrible for people who don't eat more than a few ounces and prefer just protein.   And their portions are just WAY too big.   2 eggs+ 2 sausages + 2 pancakes (who eats that much - oh yeah, I used to) I also don't eat pork so that added complexity into the mix.  And carb central, they even add pancake batter to their omelet's so they have carbs added.    I could have ordered one of them without the added batter, or they have a heart healthy section with egg beaters and fruit, but I don't eat fruit either because of it's high carb content ....  i was really struggling.  No matter what option there would have been part I didn't eat.  And all of them were still really over-sized.  We were out and about so leftovers wouldn't have been an option so ordering a full meal and only eating a small part of it would have just been a waste. 

So...

I got brave and asked if I can just order side items.   The waitress looked at me sort of weird but said that it would be no problem.  I ordered 1 egg and 1 turkey sausage patty.   

She asked if I was sure that would be enough food because "that wouldn't fill me up"   but you get used to reassuring people that you will be fine...

When the food arrived, It was a little more than 2 ounces of food because I didn't quite finish the patty and then the bill came and it was less than $2.  

I was one happy camper, I am going to do that more and more at places.   I don't know which all restaruants would do that but it is worth a try.   I am used to just not eating a large part of the meal (the carb rich sides) but why pay for them if you never will eat them.    For example next time I got to a place and order a chicken sandwich and not eat the fries and bun,  I will ask if I can just order a side order of chicken breast.  I think it is worth a try everywhere.   The worst case is they say "no".  no biggie, but you don't know unless you ask.  

Anyway, I better get off of this computer and go start my day.    Have a wonderful day everyone.

Walk from Obesity:
I did the Walk from Obesity last weekend. It was a lot of fun.  I highly encourage everyone to check to see if you have a walk coming up in your area and participate.  http://www.walkfromobesity.com/. 

There were many vendors and I got a lot of free goodies (photo), plus of course it is for a great cause of raising awareness on this disease of obesity.  

One of the vendors I really liked at my walk was a personal trainer who led us through the stretching.   I am going to be going to him a few times pretty soon to see if he can give me some pointers, you could tell he had a passion on education and was very motivated.  

There were also great vendors like Celebrate vitamins and other WLS stuff like protein shake samples etc.    

And, if you are still large and worried about doing a walk, don't be.  You can walk as little or as much as you are able.  No pressure.   

Anyway, I hope people take advantage or at least support friends you know who are walking.  And make plans for next years walk.

I often hear people talk about having trouble stopping eating or knowing how much is too much.    

I have found something that works well for me and I thought I would share it.   I shared it in support group the other night and was surprised that even some of the WLS veterans hadn't thought of this simple trick.

I weigh all of my food using a digital scale into around 2 ounce portions (or whatever your doctor recommends) and then put them into small containers in the fridge or freezer.  

For example when I get home from eating out or when I make a large dinner, all of the leftovers immediately go into these proportioned containers.  

this serves two purposes.   First, it is really easy to grab in a hurry and second you know it is all your body needs and you just stop when the container is empty.   

When I try to rely on my body to give me signals to stop I often push myself for that "just one more bite".  this keeps me from even being tempted to do that.  

I use these for lunch and dinner every day.  They are great to grab for lurches at work but even at home I eat out of these to keep myself from overeating.

I have really started to enjoy exercise.  I do a 10 minute workout in the mornings 6 days a week and I get to the gym 3-5 days a week after work for an hour of cardio and/or strength training.  

I recently made a large goal of 100lb loss and as a reward I asked for a WII Fit.

I finally took it out of the box yesterday and played with it.   

HOW FUN!!!

I can see this quickly being added in as a 3rd type of exercise.  I don't think I want to replace my current exercises but I think I will try to do this every day in addition.    Even if I just do 10 minutes, it is 10 more minutes of movement.  

What I really love for those who haven't had a chance to see it yet; not only is it fun, (they make everything a game) but, it also tests your balance, posture etc.   Every exercise has a target area to keep your posture in and then shows you a graph after wards of reality.   I have only used it yesterday and today but I can tell already that one leg is much stronger than the other and that I tend to stand with my body off center.  This is of course perhaps part of my knee and back issues.   By making this a focus I now can strengthen the other side and work on making them equal.      Traditional workout at the gym would never have pointed this out to me.

The one downside is each exercise is 2-5 minutes and then you have to take the WII remote and choose the next, so for aerobics you have a cool down in between, not too good for continuous exercise.   That is why this will be supplemental to my current workout instead of in place of.  

The Fit Plus has a few more stuff than the original Fit.   It has aerobics, yoga, strength training etc but it also has crazy games like downhill skiing or penguin tilt or juggling.    Stuff that really makes working out fun.    It is actually sort of addicting.  I find myself saying "just one more" instead of saying "oh man I have to do more".

So, for now my workout plan is the following:
-M,W,F - 10 minute Leg exercise in AM.  Pool for 1 hour in PM at Gym,  10 minute WII in Evening when arrive home.
-T, Th, S 10 minute upper body in AM, 1 hour treadmill and weights in PM at Gym, 10 minute WII in Evening
-Sunday  My gym is closed on Sundays, plus day for God and family anyway. I may do the WII if I get up before Church early enough like I did today.

I almost always do the M, W, F days.   I tend to struggle with the T, Th, S days because my job often requires me to stay late.  I have limited days I can do the pool due to the gym having classes in the pool (I prefer to do my own exercise instead of the classes) so my team at work knows I will just leave on M,W,F to make it to the pool and nothing can stop me even if I have to go back to work after. It is harder to do that with the treadmill days since I can do them any time so often they get overwritten.    Now at least even if I don't make it to the gym I can do this at home and at least still get 2 workouts in each day even on T&Th.

I am really excited to announce that I along with some members of my support group will be walking in the Walk from Obesity in September.

If you live in the Puget Sound please consider
joining our team and walking with us. You don't have to join our support group to join our walking team.

If you live elsewhere, consider joining a local walk or supporting me or someone else who is walking.

The funds raised through this event support the ASMBS Foundation and the Obesity Action Coalition's independent educational missions and fund programs focused on prevention, research, education and advocacy for all those affected by obesity.   Click here to support.

Here are some shocking statistics about Obesity that I learned in Support Group Leader class: 
  Americans spend $117 billion a year on obesity linked illnesses
  2/3 of Americans are officially overweight
  50% of Americans who are overweight are obese
  4.7% of American who are overweight are morbidly obese

How exciting to think that I will be able to do this walk.  A year ago I had trouble walking down the block, amazing what a 100 lbs can do. 

Guys,

I though this was worth posting. It speaks to the benefit of all of the egg (not just the white).  Good informaion: http://www.truthaboutabs.com/whole-eggs-or-egg-whites.html

I recently read and commented on a post about swimming in a public pool as a large person.    (http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4199275/quotFat-Cowquot-in-the-pool-help/)


I reflected in my reply how happy I am to have found a place to swim where I am accepted as I am on my journey to a better self. 

My husband and I are on vacation and I wanted to still get my workout in even so we headed to the pool.

What a difference a place can make.   

My usual pool is an Olympic sized pool, so was this.
My pool is indoor and heated, so was this.
Facility compared with facility was very comparable.  

But,   the pool here was filled with kids all day hogging the pool and tonight when we went it was full of teenagers with perfect bodies.  There were perhaps 15 girls under 25 who all had perfect bodies in bikinis.    And just as many young men with six pack abs too.

no negative comments were made to us and no one pointed or stared, but I still didn't' feel comfortable working out.  I sort of moved a little in the water  but not enough to draw attention to myself, not enough to break a sweat.  

I am still proud of myself for going there to at least get some movement in even though I am on vacation.   But, it really made me appreciate my home pool.

For those wondering, I swim at the fitness center of my local hospital (Valley Medical in Renton WA).   They have a full fitness center and most of the clients are elderly or obese so they are all very accepting.  I didn't know hospitals had places like this before I found them and I don't know how common it is. But it is worth checking out if you are looking for a accepting place to go.

Guys,

OH is soliciting honest replies to the following postings.  This info will be used in OH magazine.

Please take a few minutes and read the posts and reply. 

The links are:

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4199297/Are-you-a-food-addict-How-can-you-tell/

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/LapBand/4199278/Stuck-in-an-exercise-rut/#34428414

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/plasticsurgery/4199642/Liposuction-and-WLS-do-they-go-together

http://www.obesityhelp.com/forums/amos/4199275/quotFat-Cowquot-in-the-pool-help/

Hey gang, I finished the OH leader classes on Saturday.   They were very wonderful and full of a lot of great information. 

I now have even more tools to help our group.   

Please check back often for info.  I will try to post at least one article, fact or tool per week.