Hubby Guest Post: Watched “My 600-lb Life — Penny’s Story”

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Dot and I have watched a number of episodes of “My 600-lb Life”.  We’ve found many of the stories incredibly encouraging, and they’ve helped shore-up our own determination to lose weight.

And then we watched “Penny’s Story”.

The Internet can be a nasty place, so I won’t engage in the meanness burning up the message boards and comment sections of articles about this disturbing episode. Suffice to say, unlike every other story on this wonderful show, Penny really knows how to twist the screws.

A year after gastric bypass surgery, a patient weighing 600 pounds can expect to have lost as much as 350 pounds. In Penny’s case, in the year following her surgery, she’d gained weight. Her friends and family had paid for the surgery. It wasn’t stated in the show whether her disability money, her insurance or remaining charity was used to pay for her four months of hospitalization.  Regardless of who was paying for it, nothing was working.

With all this opportunity to succeed as a backdrop, it was particularly hard watching her sneak food throughout the entire episode. It was painful to witness the child she loves have to visit her in the same bed she declared is “my bed, my bathroom, and my dinner table.”

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Sometimes Life Gets In The Way

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Midtown Kabob's gyro wraps are large and tasty! Thankfully I only ate half.

Midtown Kabob’s gyro wraps are large and tasty! Thankfully I only ate half.

I just need to lose 2 more pounds to bring my total weight loss to 100 pounds. So you think with that milestone looming, I’d be at the top of my game this week. Think again.

Yesterday all I had to do was make a salad for lunch before heading out to the salon. Then I remembered I needed to fold the laundry. Thinking I had more than enough time before leaving the house, I headed to the laundry room. Besides, I wasn’t hungry (yet).

After the laundry, the dogs needed to go out and their water bowl filled. With the dogs taken care of, I noticed the dishes in the sink and promptly loaded the dishwasher. Then I remembered I needed to take my meds and multivitamins. Washing down the capsules, I spilled water and needed to change my shirt. By the time I looked at the clock, I realized I had less than 20 minutes to get to my salon.

No time for salad now.

I thought about hitting the drive thru at McDonald’s. My hair appointment would last nearly 3 hours, so I needed to eat. Common sense took hold for a moment and I skipped Mickey Ds.

What my growling stomach didn’t skip was Midtown Kabob across from the salon. My brain knew I could order a chicken kabob with veggies and no rice. Well my brain didn’t order. My stomach did. A gyro.  Oh, and not your ordinary gyro. The biggest gyro I’ve ever seen. Starving, I devoured half of it. It tasted so good. I don’t know how, but I stopped myself from ripping into the other half. Rather than feeling full, I told myself I was and trashed the rest of the gyro.

Not exactly a healthy meal, but if I’m going to break bad, I’d rather it was the gyro and not a crappy burger and fries from McDonald’s.

Sometimes your best plans go awry. What’s important is I only ate half a gyro and the very next meal I had my healthy salad.  I know it’s impossible to eat healthy every meal — and some slips are OK? If half a gyro is my only slip this week, I’ll take it.

I’m (Virtually) Running Across The Country

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Time to break out my pink chucks and rack up some miles for my virtual walk to Denver.

Time to break out my pink chucks and rack up some miles for my virtual walk to Denver.

Keep It Up, David! is one of my favorite weight loss blogs and I’m shamelessly stealing one of his terrific exercise ideas. I’m going to walk the country like Kane in Kung Fu and get into adventures!

Actually, I’m tracking my cardio miles — walking, running, cycling and swimming — and using Google Maps for a virtual run across the country.

I started keeping weekly totals of my miles about 4 months ago. It’s another great way to push myself. But I love the idea of tracking cardio miles with Google Maps. Tracking the miles is nice, but putting those miles against a map gives you a new perspective on what you’ve accomplished.

My initial goal was to run a total of 2650 miles, the distance from my home to Bakersfield, CA, where my friend (and one of my biggest weight loss boosters) lives. But thanks to my injury, that seems a little ambitious (sorry Miss E!). Pre-injury, I averaged about 55 miles a week. But since I’m not allowed to run and I’m giving up spin while my knee heals, I think I need a more realistic goal.

So now I’ve set my sights on Denver, CO. That’s roughly 1700 miles!

That doesn’t mean Bakersfield is out of the question. Heck, if I reach Denver before the end of the year, then I see no problem striking out towards California.

As For “Getting Into Adventures”
What really excited me was the little nuggets of info that Keep It Up, David offered in his Cardio to Vegas challenge about the areas his virtual path lead him. It reminded me when I lived in Arizona, how my roommate and I would toss a dart at a map of the state and take a day trip to where the dart landed. It’s a great way to go exploring.

Well now I can do it again with this little project, albeit after a workout and with the help of The Google.

Fun, healthy and educational. That’s what you want in a challenge!

Does Your Brain Trick You Into Eating More?

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Delboeuf optical illusion is why your brain may sabotage your diet.

Delboeuf optical illusion is why your brain may sabotage your diet.

I keep discovering cool little tidbits in Weight Loss Boss, like the little trick our brains play on us — The Delboeuf Illusion — which causes us to eat more than we realize!

According to the illusion, if you have two dots of equal size but surround one with a circle, the dot in the circle appears bigger.

So how does this work with food? Ever eat at super fancy restaurant that serves over-priced “small” portions? Well, the portions aren’t small…the plates are just large.

Put a piece of food on a large plate, and your eyes will tell you the portion is too small. Put the same food on a small plate and you think the portion is too large. It’s an optical trick our brains play on us.

So if you use the standard 12″ plate at home, most likely you’re eating more than you realize.

A couple of professors put the Delboeuf Illusion to a test by asking people to re-create a “target” serving size of soups in large and small bowls. Because of the optical illusion, people using the smallest dishes served themselves less food by as much as 12% and overestimated how much food they actually ate.

Likewise, those using the largest dishes served 13% more food than intended and underestimated how much they ate.

Even if folks knew about the optical illusion, the results were the same.

This tells me two things:  1) We are hard-wired that way and it’s difficult to overcome, and 2) Eyeballing it doesn’t work! We completely suck at estimating how much we are eating.

I use this guide from diettogo.com to help me remember portion sizes when I go out to eat.

I use this guide from diettogo.com to help me remember portion sizes when I go out to eat.

Tools To Outsmart Your Brain
There are a few things you can do to make sure you eat the right portion each time. 

  • Use Smaller Dishes — The average size of an American dinner plate has increased 23% since 1900!  Most dinner plates in the 1950s were 9″ vs. today’s 12″ feedbag plate. I use 9″ paper plates or my 8.5″ salad plates for our meals.
  • Use Taller Glasses — Apparently there is also another optical trick our brain plays on us, called T-illusion (very cool test at link). We tend to over pour liquids in short, wide glasses and under pour in tall, thin glasses. Even the best bartenders are not immune (good to know!) from the T-illusion.
  • Color Matters — Yep, the color of your plate can cause you to eat more food. Your eyes play a trick on you if your food blends in with the color of your plate: you tend to serve yourself 30% more!
  • Measure, Measure and Measure — Our eyes are horrible at estimating portions. I always keep my measuring cups and spoons nearby. But what about when you eat out?  There’s a great guide to help you — your hand! Check out Diet To Go’s chart showing portion sizes relative to your hand.

The real key to keeping portion control in check — pay attention to what you are eating.

Hanging Up My Spin Wheel…For Now

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spinning class, fitness

Sigh…I’m taking my cycling shoes out of my gym bag. No spin classes while my knee is on the mend. So sad.

After talking with my mom, I’ve decided to stop spinning for the time being. Yesterday my knee was hurting something fierce. I worried I’d pushed myself too hard during a spin class.

Mom, a retired doctor, relieved me of my fears and diagnosed that my *leg elevation technique, and not the spin class, was the cause of the fresh pain behind my knee.

She still suggested I hang up my cleats for the time being and work on babying my knee for a couple of weeks. “Push the exercise,” she warned, “and you’ll really screw up your knee.”

I’m heeding her advice.

New Exercise Regimen
I’m still going to see my trainer twice a week, but with a focus on upper body and core while the knee heals.  Also I’ll continue with my morning stretches and light yoga.

Since spinning is out, it means I’m going to buy that swimsuit this weekend.  Yep, swimming replaces spin class and it’s Dr. Mom approved! I need to keep the muscles around me knee strong, as it’ll help in my recovery (especially if I need surgery). My local rec center has a pool and it’s about $7 to use the facilities. I’m starting with once a week. If my knee responds to swimming, then I’ll add another day.

Moderate exercise is important if I want to recover fast.

*How exactly did I screw up elevating my leg? In bed, I propped my knee on 3 pillows and fell a sleep. The next morning, the back of my knee hurt like hell and walking on it was worse. The elevation was too high and I ended up stretching out the tendons behind my knee. Lesson learned. For now on, just one pillow under my knee when I sleep. 

1950s Portions vs. Today

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This little infographic from the CDC shows the growth of portion sizes since the 1950s.

portion size infographicI think the chart is interesting, but I’m not blaming the food industry for making me fat (sorry CDC!). I know there are groups that want to blame fast food restaurants for obesity because of the type of food they serve, but the responsibility for whether I eat healthy or not lies squarely with me.

I used to eat out all the time, picked the most unhealthy things on the menu, cleared my plate and got fat in the process.  But the fault lies with me. Not the menu. Not the chef. Just me.

It’s up to us to make wiser health choices, stop mindless eating and get out of the mindset of eating everything on a plate. If you become smarter about food, build good habits while purging the bad ones, what’s on the menu won’t matter.

My Contortionist Days In Public Bathrooms Are Over!

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I can finally use the smaller public bathroom stalls rather than the roomier handicapped ones.

I can finally use the smaller public bathroom stalls and not the roomier handicapped ones.

Last week, I noticed that I’ve lost enough weight where I can cross my legs.  Well, yesterday I had another small victory — I used a regular bathroom stall.

And by regular size, I mean the ones where the gap between the sweep of the door and the toilet is less than an inch.

That may seem a strange thing to celebrate, but for me it felt wonderful to walk into a small stall without having to purposely dislocate a shoulder, yogi-like, to fit.

In the past, a trip to the ladies room usually started with me staring at the open stall like a cow studying a Rubik’s Cube. Then came the laughable task of trying to slide around the wall without falling into the toilet. If I made it that far, I’d lean back like Neo, dodging bullets in The Matrix, to get the door closed. Then I’d repeat the process, in reverse, to get out.

For ages, I’d used the handicapped stalls, all the while secretly worrying I’d get reported by an actual handicapped person (to whomever one tattles to in those situations). Maybe they’d give me a ticket?  Maybe they’d put my picture on the door, frowning and sucking-in my stomach, with the caption, “Not Handicapped”.

My next challenge: flying coach without the threat of gangrene.

Food Variety: Too Much Of A Good Thing?

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Eating my go to breakfast - 2 eggs, 1/2 tomato and 1/4 avocado. This morning I added the left over asparagus and poached my eggs for a twist on my staple morning meal.

What I eat nearly every breakfast: 2 eggs, 1/2 tomato, 1/4 avocado and a spot of tea. This morning I added the leftover roasted asparagus and poached my eggs for a twist.

Did you know eating the same foods every day for one or two meals means you have a better shot at losing weight?

I came across that little tidbit a few years ago when I read YOU: On A Diet. It’s harder for some people to make smart food decisions when they have too many options. If you know what you are going to eat every day, you’re less likely to eat something unhealthy or have cravings.

At first I resisted the idea…it seemed unrealistic. I mean, variety is the spice of life, right? My variety consisted of eating out, ordering pizza or figuring out what to make at home. The result: I packed on the pounds.

For the last year, I’ve embraced the idea of eating the same thing every day for two of my meals — breakfast and lunch.

June of last year, I settled into a nice routine for breakfast —  2 eggs, 1/2 tomato and 1/4 avocado. Sometimes I might add bacon or another veggie like asparagus into the mix.

When I started weight lifting in October, my trainer gave me lots of suggestions for breakfast to increase my carb count. I felt overwhelmed. After a couple of months I went back to my eggs, tomato and avocado routine.  To give me a boost on days I’m strength training, in the mornings I’ll eat 1/2 cup of steel-cut oatmeal and 1/4 grapefruit.

Both options are pretty simple and only takes me minutes to make each morning, although I usually make the oatmeal the night before (steel-cut oats don’t cook quick). I never have to get up and figure out what to eat. As an added bonus, no points to calculate — I’ve already done the heavy lifting.

For lunch, a salad with protein. It’s a no-brainer and I love it. Sure I change-up the ingredients, but I know what I’m eating.

Dinner is where the magic happens, but within reason. While I normally stick to my weekly menu, I allow for spontaneity like making a healthy curry chicken and cauliflower rice on a whim.

As I start my Paleo Challenge next month, I don’t plan to make changes to my breakfast or lunch  (the oatmeal is a no-no for the challenge) other than organic veggies, cage-free eggs and grass-fed protein.

When it comes to food variety, I guess less really is more.  By limiting my food options I find that I stay on track, don’t miss meals and avoid eating when I’m not hungry.

Weekly Weigh-In: So Close To Losing 100 Pounds

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I've lost 98 pounds to date...so close to crossing the century mark.

I’ve lost 98 pounds to date…so close to crossing the century mark.

After last week’s peanut butter debacle I buckled down, tracking and weighing everything I ate. With the peanut butter safely locked away in a cabinet, I lost 8 pounds this week. It’s the first time I’ve weighed less than 230 in decades!

I weighed in today at an even 227, for a total weight loss of 98 pounds.  I’m hoping this coming week I finally cross over the century mark!  Woohoo!!!

As for my other goal – weighing 200 pounds by the end of April – I’m back on track. I’ve lost a total of 10 pounds in January. That gives me 14 weeks to drop 27 pounds – about 2 pounds per week.

I’ve so got this!

I guess I should buy that swimsuit after all.

The High Cost Of Weight Loss

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Swimming let's me workout without any weight on my knee. But if I buy a swimsuit now I'd have replace it in April. Decisions, decisions. Image courtesy of Rawich and FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

Swimming let’s me workout without any weight on my knee. But if I buy a swimsuit now I’d have replace it in April. Decisions, decisions. Image courtesy of Rawich and FreeDigitalPhotos.net.

I’m debating if I should spend $75-$100 for swimwear now or wait until April. Thanks to my knee injury I’m limited on the workout front. My doctor suggested adding swimming into my rotation. I got excited about the prospect of hitting the pool, but then my practical side kicked into high-gear.

I own 3 swimsuits. None fit.

New clothes is both the exciting and annoying part of losing weight. It’s awesome to fit into smaller sizes but replacing your wardrobe isn’t a cheap proposition.

Yes, I can buy swimwear now, but part of me doesn’t see the point since my goal is to weigh under 200 pounds by the end of April. That means what I buy now won’t fit by early spring.

I can still do my spin and yoga classes.  So it’s not like I’m not working out, right? Yet I get the nagging feeling that swimming would actually help my knee as its way more gentle than spin and yoga.

Before the injury I planned to buy new swimwear when I hit 200 pounds, along with clothes for spring. Swimsuits are not cheap and buying it in April will get me through summer. Buying now means I’ll end up buying two this year.  That really bothers me. Ugh!

I’m I needlessly worried or is my frugal side right?