Sunday Weigh-In December 23, 2018

[Barb135]

Good morning... Well, it's still dark in my world, so I'm not sure what kind of day it's going to be, but we have a beautiful full moon, with lots of stars in the sky... that sounds like a clear, sunny day ahead to me, even though it got colder than I thought it was going to.  It's only 38° (I know, sounds pretty warm to some of you) this morning, which is colder than I thought it was going to get and I realize I should have covered some of my more tender plants... I guess I better make sure I check the forecast and be ready to cover them tonight if it's going to be equally cold or I'll lose them.

Not a lot happening here, other than being busy getting ready for Christmas.  I still have a couple of things to get wrapped but other than that, cleaning and cooking, I'm ready for my daughter and her crew to come tomorrow.  They'll be here for lunch, if she doesn't change her plans again - yeah, she's good at changing things.  First, she planned to come Christmas Day for lunch, then she changed it to Christmas Eve evening, then she changed it to Christmas Eve lunch... and she'll probably still be late.  Yep, she's got a reputation for that, too.  lol

Other than getting ready for Christmas, I had to go in for an ultrasound on my legs on Friday... That was interesting.  We all know that technicians aren't supposed to say anything, but every once in a while we manage to get one that loves to talk and show how much they really know.  That happened to me this time and he didn't think I was smart enough to put enough thoughts together to come up with a conclusion.  I surprised him and came up with my own diagnosis.  When I presented it to him, he was so shocked all he could do was agree.  He did stop short of telling me the severity of the problem or what he thought the doctor might want to do...  

Anyway, the diagnosis is venous reflux, which means that some of the blood in the veins in my legs is flowing the wrong direction... the arteries take the blood out to the extremities and veins bring it back to the heart.  There are valves in the veins that keep the blood moving in the right direction.  Sometimes these valves fail and the blood refluxes or flows backwards and pools in the feet, ankles, lower legs... that's what's happening.  Symptoms of this match mine, exactly - swelling/edema in the feet/legs, severe muscle cramps, thickening and/or discoloring of the skin of the lower legs, muscle weakness in the legs, plus several more.  There are numerous causes, some of which apply to me and some don't... treatments vary and I don't know what my doctor will decide he wants to do.  That will depend on the severity of the reflux and by the time we got to that point, I could tell the tech was angry with himself for having revealed as much as he had so he totally clammed up... I see the doctor on Jan 2 for "official" diagnosis and treatment options, but he already suggested that I wear support stockings to help keep the swelling under control better.  I do have some and don't mind wearing them during the winter when it's cold because I'd be wearing socks anyway, but in the summer, it's simply too hot to wear something tight/constricting around the ankles/legs... that's to be addressed.  I do know that there are certain times I'll have to wear them whether I want to or not, such as when I travel, etc.

So - that explains the swelling/edema I have most of the time and according to my research two of the biggest issues (barring blood clots, which I don't have) are weight and muscle weakness with treatments being weight loss and exercise. I guess we know what that means...

Anyway, I had forgotten to weigh last week when I posted and my weight has been all over the map this past week, ranging from equal to where I was 2 weeks ago to being 4 pounds higher.  This morning, I'm 1.8 pounds higher than I was 2 weeks ago, so I'm still going in the wrong direction, but it's not as drastic as it has been.

I don't really have the foggiest idea what's going on... I've been kind of lax on taking some of my supplements, so that may be part of it, because digestive enzymes and probiotics are, typically, part of my regimen.  I'm out of the digestive enzymes right now, so have to get to the health food store to restock and get back into the groove again, then we'll see what happens from there.

So that's enough (probably too much...lol) about me... how about everyone else?  How is your journey going?  Have you been able to make it through the holiday season with weight intact?  Many of us still have Christmas to celebrate.  Do you have special plans and recipes you've adapted to help keep your weight loss going or do you just go with the flow and try not to eat too much?

~~Merry Christmas to those who celebrate and wishing everyone a wonderful, successful week~~

[Barb135]

It sounds like you're really scurrying around to get things done.  Now that neither of us work anymore and we don't have family here, we only have one "event" and that was today with our daughter and granddaughter.

This morning, I was down 1 pound from yesterday, so there's got to be "something" going on because I know I couldn't have lost that much fat over night... We had ham for our Christmas lunch, so I'd guess that I'm probably back up by that pound this evening... it's frustrating when I fluctuate so much...

[AnnieBrooke]

One Christmas party down and five to go. My sister-in-law served two kinds of pasta and I brought pie, and partook of a couple of pieces. However, I weighed this morning exactly what I did last week at this time, no change down or up, but still, since last week was my lowest since the weigh-ins began, I'm pleased. Possibly the fact that it hadn't popped back up means it wasn't just a fluke.

Haven't finished Christmas shopping or gift wrapping yet, and I need to make and take salads to three parties in the next two days, so I've got a busy day at the crowded stores upcoming. Ho ho ho.