Issues affecting the scale

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jcavanna2
jcavanna2 Posts: 782 Member
Hi All! Apologies in advance as this is a very long post!

Wondering what issues you have faced when dealing with our dreaded/beloved scales?

The past month or so has been rough. My gym removed my classes from the schedule and I have seen my trainer at a different place and done some spin and mixed spin classes but due to cost (and a 40 min drive at 4:30 am to get there), I have made it typically 2x/week and occasionally 3.

A new awesome gym, Lifetime Fitness opens in my area in November so my entire family joined. It's pricey but they open at 4 am daily and have a ton of classes and amenities plus stuff for my daughter to do. Unfortunately I will have to drop my 30 min weekly training sessions because it costs me $170/mo plus the cost of this gym. Even if I did a Lifetime membership just for me, I am looking at almost $300 if I kept my trainer which is a lot since I am the financial head of household and have most of the bills to take. Are of. Family membership is $210-220/mo. which considering my training alone is not much more, and actually save money since I used to pay &80/mo for the gym I just quit plus my training.

Anyway, over the past month or two I have gained 2.8 lbs and kept off 84.5 which is awesome and I will knock the 2.8 off but am concerned for my weigh in tomorrow. Have had a couple of not so great days and some that were good. I give myself 1,200 cals/day and not sure if that is enough or not. I see my nutritionist in a few weeks so will address with her and do a fitness thing at Lifetime tomorrow so will speak to the trainers as well.

That said, over the past month or two I have had to deal with:

Taking my daughter to both a neurologist and an ADHD specialist to identify any issues not previously found and getting the right medication. Still dealing with this, and the next 2 weeks will be hell as she has 3 appts with these docs alone

Having to work from home multiple times due to having to be a shuttle to and from these doc appts since my husband works in a bank branch and doesn't have the flexibility I have

My dog died and I am still devastated and have fostered 2 since -- I so badly want another dog and my husband thinks we should only have the one who is still alive, but he is fine with fostering to a degree

I had vertigo last week and on meclizine for that

This past Sunday I broke out in hives from my face, neck, behind my neck, very top of my shoulders and back of my ears. I think I got bitten by something unless it was from stress. Saturday and Sunday last week were very stressful since my one dog attacked my foster over 2 piece of kibble and some toys. I broke up 4 dog fights in 2 hours and it was all my dog (other than that she was great with him and zero issues with my prior foster). I really wanted to keep this foster and Sunday I brought him to an event and a nice family is in the process of adopting him. Fortunately I met them before and we swapped info while they were waiting for their app to be approved. The dad is the assistant principal of what will be my daughter's middle school in a little over a year so at least I have some connection to him still. Love this dog.

My skin is so dry from getting over these hives and I am miserable. This morning I woke up and my right side hurt though it is subsiding. In September I have to get an ultrasound of my gall bladder since last fall I was in the ER with pain and they found a very small polyp.

Anyway, getting on the scale tomorrow for my official weigh in at WW. My home scale shows me up some - maybe a pound. I really don't want to keep creeping up but have had a horrible couple of months generally, and keep reminding myself how much I have kept off.

I prep meals on Sunday for the work week, and today I am going to guzzle even more water (and I get decent water intake daily), and having a shake per meal today, plus a hard boiled egg which o had when I got to work, I have a danno. Light and fit yogurt for this afternoon and a string cheese. Will have an Amrita bar on my way home and a protein shake for dinner.

Anyway, I know there are some of you out there who have had crappy weeks/months like I have and am looking to hear what happened to help you break through? I am not sure if I am eating enough and do try to eat as much Whole Foods as possible, though I do admit there are days when my snacks aren't the greatest but they are portion controlled.

Hoping that my official weigh in tomorrow is t too terrible!

Replies

  • Shull_rachael
    Shull_rachael Posts: 430 Member
    edited June 2017
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    Omgosh I'm so sorry about everything you've had to go through here recently. That's a lot for anyone to be dealing with. I understand about being the bread winner I'm a single mom and everything falls on my shoulders at home. I know the gym is very expensive but do you have other things you could cut out of your life so you'd be able to do the training? Idk tv, downgrading cell phone packages stuff like that. I'm sorry I don't have any good advice for you but if that's something you really enjoy for your physical and mental health it may be worth the splurge. Maybe don't force on the scale as hard as that is and just Focus on being healthy and fit.
  • jcavanna2
    jcavanna2 Posts: 782 Member
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    @Shull_rachael kudos to you for being a single mom! Parenting is hard work!! Unfortunately there isn't really anything that I can cut down on since we already only have basic cable and our cell phone data usage usually has to get increased. Don't get me wrong, I have the $ for the training on a monthly basis but I do want to put that $ in savings since the only activity we have for my daughter is horseback riding which she loves and I won't take it away from her. I send my dog to doggy daycare and we have a dog Walker but the doggy daycare is a must because she is a lab and 20 mos old so she needs to burn energy. Need to keep my walker especially when I foster dogs because they will need to go out. Aside from that everything is a basic expense, and really nowhere to cut too many corners.

    I do enjoy my training and love my trainer - followed her from my other gym. I waited 6 mos and asked 3-4 times if they can give me a quote for an unlimited monthly package plus training 1x/week with no luck.

    Lifetime has training too but it sounds like it will be more $ though I am trying to get them to talk to her and see if they can entice her to work for them. I connected them because her boyfriend is also in the fitness industry and looking. Hoping they can both be influenced to make a move.

    We'll see how things go with training..would love to keep working with her but Lifetime also has a set of classes where it's almost like a group training and you graduate to the next level once you hit a certain level of fitness which could be good.

    I will definitely try not to focus too hard on the scale but need to make sure I stay on track but not sure if the vertigo last week and the hives and face swelling I experienced this week will affect the scale...tomorrow should be interesting to say the least!
  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,894 Member
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    I am so sorry you have had to go through so much!

    I went through a bunch of stuff that completely threw me off my game, starting last summer. I stopped seeing a guy I was dating for two years. A close friend died and I had a mini meltdown. Last fall, my trainer passed away from cancer. I had been friends with him a very long time and my heart was broken. It was hard to feel motivated during those months because I was so sad and heartbroken. Shortly after Thanksgiving I got a bad case of vertigo too. (I wonder if that's a side effect of WLS?) The vertigo was so bad I struggled to work out. It finally passed, but during the holidays I decided that it was ok to eat all of the cookies ever. I was sad during the holidays because most of my family is in another state. After the holidays I decided that I HAD to get back on track. I started off great but then during the first few months of the year I had a cold about every three weeks because everyone was coming to work sick. Finally got rid of all that and then I had to buy a new car, which was huge because I haven't had a car payment in 10 years. I really wasn't sure how I was going to pull through so I just started from square one. I am using the refocus plan on Barifit.com and it's working great. I recently started with a new trainer who I love but I can only see her once a week because I can't afford to go to her more than that. I upped my cardio. I continue to see my therapist so that I can keep my head in the right place.

    I was seriously afraid that I wouldn't be able to get back on track. I had nightmares about gaining all my weight back, then I though, *kitten* that, I did not go through all of this to go back to that. I had to remind myself what my goal was and is - to be fit and healthy. In the big picture what I regained isn't anything compared to what I have kept off, but I don't want to keep creeping back up.

    All that said - it is HARD to stay focused when life throws you one curve-ball after another. I don't feel like what I have been through was a fraction as challenging as what you have been through, but you are getting through this!
  • jcavanna2
    jcavanna2 Posts: 782 Member
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    @garber6th Wow - I am so sorry for your losses as well as dealing with vertigo and getting sick. Vertigo sucks and I had it 3 times but not in years so not sure if WLS has anything to do with it. I know that @NicoleL874 also really likes barifit. I will look into that over the next few weeks and see what happens in the meantime.

    Today I am going back to almost basics..protein shake each meal, morning snack was a hard boiled egg, afternoon snacks were string cheese a little while before my shake and a dannon light and fit Greek yogurt now, after my shake.

    Will probably get some coffee in an hour or so and my drive home will have either an Amrita bar or somersaults, with dinner being a shake. I need to get some sugar free jello for a snack too so going to the store on my way home.

    I need to be very disciplined with myself right now because the past few weeks it has been easy to not be as good.

    At least we have both caught ourselves and are working towards staying on the right path. Whatever the scale says tomorrow won't break me but will hopefully get me really back on track.

    Going to also look for new breakfast and lunch recipes for work because I feel like I am getting bored. Bought 2 1 lb blocks of cheese so I can cube and weigh them for snacks.

    :)
  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,894 Member
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    I am also a Sunday prepper, and I like to try new recipes too. I have been making this and it's delicious. http://www.kalynskitchen.com/2014/01/green-chile-chicken-mock-enchilada-casserole.html
  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,894 Member
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    Also for breakfast, I make egg "muffins", I basically mix together the ingredients I would use for a frittata and bake it in jumbo muffin tins.
  • Puppies4Lovies
    Puppies4Lovies Posts: 27 Member
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    (((Hugs))) I am so sorry to hear about all those hardships! I really can't imagine.

    I just wanted to mention something that could help move the scale. It sounds scary at first but I swear it is easy! It is "intermittent fasting". I know the word "fasting" puts the breaks on but if you look at it closer, it has a lot to offer.
    The program is two days a week of half day fasting. So it is fasting until after lunch, then limiting the rest of the day to 500 cals. It is working beautiful so far and I just eat normally (1200 cals) the other five days a week.
    The book I read is called The Fast Diet by Michael Mosley. It's cheap and a super fast read.

    Just wanted to put it out there in case it appeals to you! Take care my friend!
  • jcavanna2
    jcavanna2 Posts: 782 Member
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    @Jen_VSG2017 I have heard of that but not sure it is for me especially on days I work out. Basically you would fast and only have dinner and enough calories to get you to 500 on fasting days?
  • JamesAztec
    JamesAztec Posts: 524 Member
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    I'm sorry to see all the challenges people are facing. But it does make me grateful about how lucky I am with my life in the moment.

    I can't stress enough though trying to stick with WHOLE FOODS. I see so many people on here eating processed stuff and eventually that leads to cravings and weight gain. And then getting "back on track". I eat a TON of food throughout the day. Yes, I exercise a lot but I think anyone post op should be eating MINIMUM 1,200 calories and much more if you exercise regularly. I'm probably at about 2,500-3,000 a day. But my added sugars are LOW and rarely eat out.
  • Puppies4Lovies
    Puppies4Lovies Posts: 27 Member
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    @jcavanna2 Here is a link that thoroughly explains it in a nutshell. There is a lot of science behind it that the book goes into...benefits beyond just weight loss.
    http://the5-2dietbook.com/basics
  • KarlaYP
    KarlaYP Posts: 4,439 Member
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    So sorry for all of the struggles for each of you here!

    My two cents with regard to how much you should be eating: I recommend you use a TDEE (total daily energy expenditure) calculator to find a balance for yourself. They're available online and can help you a lot with daily intake needs.

    Also, I agree with @Aztec4Life! Only eat Whole Foods. Drop anything from a box or bag! Most of them shouldn't even be labeled as food because the ingredients aren't found in nature.
  • NicoleL874
    NicoleL874 Posts: 684 Member
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    @jcavanna2 GAH! Sorry you're struggling! I think being super diligent for a while definitely helps reset the brain. I'm doing that myself right now. Been going out a bit too much.

    Vertigo sucks. I have a form of recurring vertigo that I have exercises I do most mornings before my feet even hit the floor. @garber6th Vertigo can be a signal for dehydration. Ironically enough, it's also a sign of fluid retention.

    Lifetime Fitness is a beast! We have them out here. They are amazing gyms! Their programming is like no other. If I didn't pay $9/month for LA Fitness, I'd be tempted into a Lifetime.

    We all know what we need to do and how to get there, it's just a matter of pulling ourselves up and doing it. The mental games are huge. The excuses are easy. We all need to break that cycle and remember that healthy eating is a must.

    I'm always here. Reach out any time!
  • loveshoe
    loveshoe Posts: 365 Member
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    jcavanna2, Wow you've had quite an ordeal. I'm sorry about the loss of your dog. I have three furry family members and I know the loss of one of them would hit me hard. Don't be too hard on yourself when mistakes happen. Life happens to all of us and some days you're just trying to get to the next day. Focus on one thing you can do differently today if you realize yesterday wasn't so great food wise. You can't fix the past food mistakes but you can control the future. Two pounds may just be a fluctuation based on extra sodium or water retention if the 2-pounds have been with you only a few days. If they have been there 3 days in a row then I always count that as a real gain. If you're paying for WW then ask them to review your food intake and make suggestions after all you're paying for their expertise.

    A note about the Scales, Scales lie. It's a well-known fact that they have a secret organization and take turns at providing bad results to humans trying to maintain or lose weight.
  • garber6th
    garber6th Posts: 1,894 Member
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    NicoleL874 wrote: »
    Vertigo sucks. I have a form of recurring vertigo that I have exercises I do most mornings before my feet even hit the floor. @garber6th Vertigo can be a signal for dehydration. Ironically enough, it's also a sign of fluid retention.

    @NicoleL874 I went to the doctor when I first had the vertigo and she upped my vitamin B and D and said that would help. She also upped a couple of other vitamins due to my being pre-menopausal - that can throw your body off a LOT and could be a contributing factor too. It did eventually go away, and so far it hasn't come back - fingers crossed.