Nana Needs To Lose A LOT of Weight

I've posted before that I have an image of myself that is thinner than I actually am. It gets me into trouble when I'm trying to maneuver around and sometimes I've been shocked and embarrassed when I couldn't fit somewhere. Mostly, I can't bear to look at pictures of me.


Who is that? That can't be me,. I think. I don't look like that!

But I do. And now I'm the heaviest I've ever been in my life which is why I need the surgery. I haven't been able to get the weight off using other methods and I'm tired of pain and tired of people staring at me like I'm a freak. Usually when I post pictures, I either don't post any of me or I crop everything out except my head. But here is the truth of it from when I was outdoors blowing bubbles with Little T.



I remember feeling surprised when people didn't notice or realize I'd had a breast reducton. Now I understand why--that's a big belly that takes up a lot of the picture!


I have a pretty smile but I don't think that's what people are staring at when I walk by. They don't smile at me--that's how I know. There's a look of distaste or disgust which really annoys or upsets me. It's definitely time to do something!

I realize I won't get down to what I weighed when I graduated high school. Maybe I won't be able to even get this far. This picture was taken a little over 15 years ago. I was about 25 poounds overweight.



I'd e happy with my weight in this picture, taken 5 or 6 years ago.



That's my darling TB on the left of me, by the way. He's in on this with me too.

So here is the big reveal. I'm at 318 lbs now and need to lose at least 100 to feel healthy again. Wish me luck!

Just another thing to add to the list of complications...

After posting about our decision to get bariatric surgery I read an article that came in my email from CBS news:

Fat Belly Linked To Dementia
NEW YORK, March 26, 2008(CBS/AP) Having a big belly in your 40s can boost your risk of getting Alzheimer's disease or other dementia decades later, a new study suggests.

It's not just about your weight. While previous research has found evidence that obesity in middle age raises the chances of developing dementia later, the new work found a separate risk from storing a lot of fat in the abdomen. Even people who weren't overweight were susceptible.

That abdominal fat, sometimes described as making people apple-shaped rather than pear-shaped, has already been linked to higher risk of developing diabetes, stroke and heart disease.

"Now we can add dementia to that," said study author Rachel Whitmer of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, Calif.

So if we're not done in by a heart attack or a stroke, we might just lose our minds. Wonderful. If ever there was good reason to lose weight, it would be the risks of getting hit by any one of these things.

Read the whole article here.

Surgery or Not Revisited

Well...never say never. I was positive I did not want weight loss surgery and if I even considered it, I would only be interested in the lap band. Many months later of pain, increasing disability and inability to enjoy life, TB and I have come to the conclusion that we need and want the surgery.

Yesterday we went to the N.J. Bariatrics Center. This wasn't our first visit. A couple of weeks ago, we went to an informational seminar about the two types of surgery and we had the opportunity to meet both of the doctors, Dr. Brolin and Dr. Chau. The seminar provided a great deal of information and input from a man who'd had a bypass a couple of years ago. We were especially impressed with this man and decided to schedule ourselves an appointment to see Dr. Chau, the surgeon who does the lap bands. Dr. Brolin does riskier bypass surgeries.

If we thought we were informed at the seminar, we learned even more at the consultation. We met with Dr. Chau who explained in detail the benefits and risks of each surgery and what they entail. We also met with a dietician who explained what our lives would be like -- food wise anyway -- post surgery. An insurance specialist explained all the steps we needed to take for precert. The whole process will take 3 months.

TB and I decided that since he is in the most intense pain and the one who needs to get back to work, his procedure will come first. Our next step is to get letters of support from our doctors and to begin a paper trail that shows we are getting counseling about the surgeries.

TB decided that although he is terrified of it, he wants the bypass because it will help him faster. It scares me but I can't sit here and dictate to him what to do when his pain is so severe he gives his quality of life a 1 on a scale of 5. That's pretty sad for a man of only 54.

And so we're off on this new journey.

Always Hungry

One of my biggest stumbling blocks to eating healthier to lose weight is that I always seem to be hungry after the second dzy on the plan. Some plans say I shouldn't let myself get to the point of feeling hungry; others say I just ought to suck it up and get used to it. To lose weight, we have to suffer the hunger pangs. So when I got my daily Managing Diabetes newsletter I was interested to see an article about constant hunger. The link for the article is here.

The first question I have to ask myself is: am I feeling genuinely hungry or do I just want to eat? Hunger is a physiological response and all you want to do is fill that empty stomach. Appetite is different. You just seem to want a specific food--like potato chips, maybe?

How many calories would I need to not feel hungry all the time? The article says:

If you go on a very-low-calorie diet of less than 1,000 calories each day, you will feel very hungry much of the time. It is better for you to eat more calories each day — say 1,200 to 1,500 — for a slower but longer-term weight loss. In the long run, severely restricting calories can backfire, leaving you feeling constantly hungry and constantly wanting to eat. And no matter how much you cut back while you're on the diet, you can't eat so little forever. You'll eventually need to learn to eat at a higher calorie level to maintain your weight.

Well, I don't know about this...when I was on Weight Watchers, I'm assuming I was eating the upper limit of calories 1500-1600 and I still felt hungry! I can only stand feeling hungry for so long before I start raiding the pantry for everything I can find and then I gain it all back! I don't seem to have the will power I did when I was younger.

I should see a nutritionist...

Here I am, like the proverbial bad penny, showing up here again. I'm sticking with blogger this time--it's just easier.

I really enjoy reading my newsletters about diabetes. One offers some delicious recipes and the other very useful information. This article is about insulin resistance:

10 Fascinating Facts about Insulin Resistance
By Amy Tenderich of www.DiabetesMine.com

If you have diabetes, you're surely familiar with the phenomenon of insulin resistance, or the body's reduced ability to respond to the action of the insulin hormone. Insulin resistance is typical of Type 2 diabetes, in which – unlike in Type 1 – the body still produces insulin but is unable to use it effectively. What happens is, your cells fail to break down glucose molecules to generate energy, so your blood glucose (or blood sugar) runs abnormally high.

Having spent the last three years researching a variety of topics around diabetes, I've learned some fascinating facts about insulin resistance, which remind me what a complex system the human body is. For one thing, I've learned that what scientists really know about it seems to fit into a walnut shell. For another thing, it's far more widespread than you might imagine.

Let's have a look at some of these amazing particulars about insulin resistance:

1. Scientists are still not sure what causes insulin resistance, and massive research efforts are underway to determine the cause. Some researchers think a defect in specific genes causes insulin resistance, but little more is currently known.

2. People with insulin resistance often over-produce insulin that their bodies can't use. This causes something called "reactive hypoglycemia" or low blood sugar following meals. In other words, the body "overshoots" its own insulin needs, causing a large spike in insulin, followed by a drop in blood sugar. Over time, these repeated insulin spikes may lead to a decrease in pancreatic reserve, or more insulin resistance, and eventually Type 2 diabetes. Therefore – counterintuitive as it sounds -- hypoglycemia is often an early sign of Type 2 diabetes.

3. Here's one that puzzled me: it's estimated that 20-25% of the healthy population may be insulin resistant, but not all people with insulin resistance develop diabetes. Scientists simply do not yet know why some people with insulin resistance eventually develop diabetes and others do not.

4. What we do know is that insulin resistance is aggravated by physical inactivity and obesity, because too much fat interferes with our muscles' ability to use insulin. Lack of exercise worsens this effect. A recent study showed that even in sedentary people aged 60 and older, adding regular short-term exercise into their routines not only improved insulin resistance, but also significantly enhanced their beta-cell function – which helps the pancreas continue to do its job producing insulin.

5. Ever heard of Syndrome X? This much-hyped combination of physical problems is now more commonly referred to as "Insulin Resistance Syndrome." The reason is that people with insulin resistance and high glucose levels tend to have the following factors in common: excess weight around the waist, high LDL (bad) blood cholesterol levels, low HDL (good) cholesterol levels, high level of triglycerides (yet another fat) levels, and high blood pressure. This can be a deadly combination, leading in particular to heart disease, if not treated aggressively.

6. When it comes to diagnosing insulin resistance, there is no single test that can directly detect it. Instead, a doctor has to look at the full clinical picture, including checks for the above-mentioned indicators of Syndrome X, and several others. Nothing is ever easy with diabetes!

7. There's a link between insulin resistance and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), a health problem that can affect a woman's menstrual cycle, ability to have children, hormones, heart, blood vessels, and appearance. Many women who suffer from PCOS have problems using the insulin produced in their bodies. Some researchers conclude it's insulin resistance that causes the PCOS, but others say the cause is unknown. It's estimated that 30-80% of women with PCOS are also insulin resistant. PCOS is the most common cause of infertility, which – in case scientists can eventually prove a cause-effect relationship – would mean that insulin resistance indirectly presents itself as a leading cause for infertility.

8. ... and men get hammered, too. There's some scientific evidence that men who are insulin resistant also have low levels of testosterone secretion, the most important sex hormone in the male body. Low testosterone can spur decreased sex drive, erectile dysfunction (ED), and lowered sperm count that reduces fertility.

9. Osteoporosis is another potential problem resulting from insulin resistance. As noted, insulin is a "master hormone" that controls many anabolic hormones such as growth hormone, testosterone, and progesterone. Your bones are actually built upon the command of such hormones. When these hormones are reduced, the amount of bone building is reduced, and the amount of calcium excreted is increased. So you end up with brittle bones, susceptible to fracture.

10. Finally, the good news is that you can heal insulin resistance. I don't say "cure" because that concept is quite controversial. Changes in your diet and exercise habits can substantially aid the body's ability to balance insulin levels. This begins with avoiding processed food, sugar cereals, high-sodium snacks and soda, and instead concentrating on lean meats and dairy, high-fiber grains, and vegetables. Regular exercise of 30 minutes or more per day, 3-5 times a week is also beneficial for regulating metabolic function and hormonal balance. Many new drugs are also available to increase insulin sensitivity, including Metformin, Januvia and Byetta. But does bringing your insulin resistance into check mean you have cured it, or "cured your diabetes"? Most doctors would say no. As long as your glucose levels are in good range, and you're living healthy, it depends on your perspective, I suppose.

Amy Tenderich is creator of the popular web log www.diabetesmine.com and co-author of the guidebook, "Know Your Numbers, Outlive Your Diabetes."

I didn't mean to do this but I've learned that copying the entire article--even when I mention the author's name--still violates copyright. I was looking to try and find a direct link to the article and haven't been able to yet. The blog by the author, Diabetes Mine, has so much useful information! That link is here.