Sunday Morning Coffee Musings 4/14/19
A few things happened this week that made me think of where my life has been and where I hope my life is headed. I’m making positive changes to my relationship with food and my body.
I had a follow-up appointment with my doctor on Wednesday, only to get a call at 7:30 in the morning that the doctor had a family emergency and wasn’t available. There had been some bloodwork done that I needed the information from, so I asked if perhaps someone else could see me, as it was just a follow up. They did have a PA available, and I was scheduled to see her instead.
It’s no secret that I am a big lady. Not as big as I used to be by any means, but still bigger than what the doctor would like to see. Since I’m currently in the second week of a Whole 30*, I asked that they not reveal my weight to me, because I was more focused on NSV (non-scale victories) and I wanted to do more than just lose weight.
The PA asked what I was doing, and I told her it was a low carb elimination diet to help me identify what foods were causing me to blow up like a balloon. I sometimes had hand and leg edema which made it look as if I had slipped on flesh-colored gloves and stockings full of water. My asthma was flaring up, and I felt achy all the time. So, until the end of April, no dairy, grains, beans, alcohol, or sugars – including no sugar substitutes such as agave nectar, stevia, or erithrytol. So far I was feeling much better and sleeping much better.
She did not reveal my weight. She did reveal that I had still managed to keep off the 35 pounds I had lost last year. (YAY, I already knew that because my pants were still fitting better and looser.) My cholesterol was higher than she’d like to see it (239) but I had also brought my HDL (good cholesterol) up from 29 to 53, and my triglycerides while still higher than normal were down a good bit. My LDL was high as well, but it was down. And my very important A1C level was 4.6, which is exceptionally good for someone with a long family history of diabetes.
She did try to talk me into taking a statin drug again. I refused. I asked for some time to alter my diet, as my cholesterol had been at 175 when I wasn’t eating cheese all the time. I was given four months to bring it down on my own.
Being able to advocate for myself instead of being told what to do by my doctor – that’s a big step for me. Knowing that the food I put in my body has such profound affects on more than just satiating my physical hunger and being able to make the changes needed to be healthier is another big step.
The other thing that happened this week was visiting my brother, five weeks after his triple bypass. ICYMI: He’s 7 years younger than I am, has had multiple heart attacks starting at age 38, and the last one in early March landed him in the hospital facing a triple bypass at the age of 46. After each heart attack his food habits would improve, but they would slowly creep back to supporting the local pizza and grinder shop on his own within 6 months.
When I brought him home from the hospital, his home was in a shambles (roommate trouble and I suspect a little depression) and there was a pot of oil sitting on the stove. Apparently the roomie loves to deep fry food, or so my brother claims. I suggested an air fryer – we had just gotten one and it does fabulous chicken wings and coconut breaded shrimp. My brother liked the idea, and finally got one for himself. This past week he was happily air-frying a panko-crusted fish filet, and planning on popping some baby red potatoes in to go with the fish. He’s still not eating much in the way of vegetables, but he’s stopped eating the greasy stuff that was killing him. And we learned that it did Brussels sprouts nicely, and little golden potatoes were awesome in it with a tiny spray of avocado oil and a no-salt herb blend.
Tomorrow I am attending an anniversary party for a group I belong to. Normally there is a big pot luck dinner and those who have read my rant post about the Rules of Pot Luck know that this is a danger area for me. I turn into a MASSIVE CONTROL FREAK and start smacking people for stepping out of line. Literally, if I must. So a few months ago I had suggested doing an ice cream social since this should be after dinner for most folks. Then someone suggested we have appetizers and cake and ice cream. Note, this was all before I decided to do a Whole 30. Since I am not doing sugar and have no wish to go back to Day 1 for being tempted, I will bring a fruit salad and make deviled eggs to bring to the event, and make damn sure I’m eating a good dinner before.
So, moving in a positive direction, and hopefully helping others to move in that direction as well.