OK, I’ve been really bad about blogging lately. I just haven’t really thought about it. I have a lot of new updates to report on, so here goes –
I had an appointment on May 1 with a nurse practitioner to review blood work. Everything looked good except my Vitamin D level and my potassium level were both a little low. I’ll have another appointment in August to review blood work. On the same day, I had an appointment with a nutritionist. She said I need to concentrate more on solid protein intake, and not rely as much on liquid protein drinks, so I’ve been working on increasing my solid proteins.
Then, on May 6, I had a follow-up appointment with the surgeon. She re-iterated what the nutritionist said about solid protein, and also said I should try and get more water intake, so I’ve been working on that too. My next follow-up appointment is June 10.
On May 15, I had a fitness evaluation and started working out at the weight management’s fitness center. They have more physiologists on hand than a regular gym, so they’re a big help, and they’re helping me come up with my own individualized exercise routine. Right now, I’m going three times a week, but I’m going to up that to six times a week. I’m doing both cardio and weight training.
On the weight front, I had a stall about a month ago, but I’ve started going in the downhill direction again. I’ve decided not to post my weight again until after my next doctor’s visit, because there’s too much of a difference between the doctor’s scale and my home scale.
So far, the new exercise program is going pretty well, but I’m still a little frustrated because my walking is still not getting much better. My arthritic hips and my legs, where I experience sciatic pain, have not been cooperating very well. The physiologists want to wait until I lose some more weight before they start weight training on my legs, so I just need to be patient.
Other than that, I’ve gotten more accustomed to my new dietary routine, except sometimes I still try to eat too fast. I have to eat very slowly now. I did an exercise in therapy called mindfulness eating (also mindfulness meditation), and using the mindfulness principles has helped me to eat slowly. It’s also very interesting how textures and flavors change when you’re really paying attention.
I’m going to make a note to myself to start updating this blog more often, since I’ve been doing a really bad job of it lately, and this is the time I should be doing a lot of updates. I hope everyone out there is well.
Peace
REDUCTION ROAD ODYSSEY 