Well I had my second class today. We started off with some simple exercises. Mostly just stretching. After 10 minutes of that we walked around the building twice, some did once. I had spent all day yesterday at Disneyland and I was sore, but did it fine. We then discussed ourselves. Why we hadn't had success in the past and why we think lapband or gastric would be successful for us. I think most of us were at the point that we have done everything else and this is our last option, our last chance. I think this may be a group that sheds tears. none yet, but I can feel them coming. I still think some of the group may be delusional in how they will be able to become healthy eaters before the surgery. I just feel I've done it all before. I know every diet in the book and I sure know how to eat healthy, I just don't. We talked about how food is an addiction like alcohol or drugs. I truly feel it is. I have 4 siblings, (2 deceased) and we are all overweight or alcoholic. I chose food to console and comfort me. I chose food to calm and soothe me. I know I need to combat that but just understanding why I do it doesn't really help. Our teacher has stressed this is not a weight loss class and we will not be talking about being "good" or "bad". Easy to say, but years of thinking like that will be hard to stop.
This next week I need to spend more time learning to say no to people without guilt and do what is best for me. By doing that I will minimize the stress in my life and lessen the chances I will eat to comfort myself or reward myself for working hard or doing for everyone else. I need to learn to put my needs first for a while. If I don't I won't be able to help anyone. My oldest says she agrees but she still makes me feel guilty if I don't come up to help her for the day. My youngest totally understands and encourages me to take care of myself. I think my oldest still feels I'm just weak and need to control myself. she would never say it out loud though. He actions speak louder than words.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Sunday, October 24, 2010
My first week
I'm on the beginning of my 6 month or more, journey to live a healthier life. First a bit about me. I'm 60 years old and have type 2 diabetes. I've had it for 10 years and was pre-diabetic for 10 years before that. I'm married(40 years) have 2 children and 5 grandchildren. The main reason I'm doing this is because I want to enjoy my grandchildren and participate in activities with them for as long as possible. Right now I have arthritis and have trouble walking any distance. I am a size 18/20 and I'm 5'7". After I've lost about 40 pounds I'll let you know what I weigh. I'm in pretty good health right now and plan to keep it that way. I've been overweight since I was 11 years old. Of course I've done many many weight loss plans over the years, weight watchers, phen-fen, Optifast, you name it, I've probably done it. When I turned 50 and became an "official" diabetic, I stopped dieting. The diets worked but I didn't. I have never been able to keep the weight off for more than a few months. I feel lapband will be a good tool for me. We shall find out. Kaiser is paying for this and agree it is a good solution for me.
I had my first of 24 classes last week. We are going to meet once a week for an hour and a half. There are 10 people in my class. Most of them are around my age, 60. There are 8 women and 2 guys. I was expecting to see really big people but they weren't much bigger than me. They seem like a nice group of people. Most have done Optifast, some have done it 3, 4, and one has done it 6 times! The first week consisted of filling out paperwork, introducing ourselves to each other, and getting a few basics of what to expect. Before any of us got to this stage we had to get approval from our doctor, do a bunch of blood work, attend a nutrition class for 3 months, and then get final approval from their gastric bypass doctor. What made me nervous was they can't or won't guarantee I will have lapband. They usually don't do lapband on diabetics as they have better luck with gastric bypass. That seems too severe for me. Lapband is considered a procedure not surgery. It is also reversible. However their doctor said I may be a good candidate for lapband also. This will be decided later on. My classes are on Tuesday so I hope to update this blog every Tuesday night.
I had my first of 24 classes last week. We are going to meet once a week for an hour and a half. There are 10 people in my class. Most of them are around my age, 60. There are 8 women and 2 guys. I was expecting to see really big people but they weren't much bigger than me. They seem like a nice group of people. Most have done Optifast, some have done it 3, 4, and one has done it 6 times! The first week consisted of filling out paperwork, introducing ourselves to each other, and getting a few basics of what to expect. Before any of us got to this stage we had to get approval from our doctor, do a bunch of blood work, attend a nutrition class for 3 months, and then get final approval from their gastric bypass doctor. What made me nervous was they can't or won't guarantee I will have lapband. They usually don't do lapband on diabetics as they have better luck with gastric bypass. That seems too severe for me. Lapband is considered a procedure not surgery. It is also reversible. However their doctor said I may be a good candidate for lapband also. This will be decided later on. My classes are on Tuesday so I hope to update this blog every Tuesday night.
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