Vivofit

I had been looking at and considering the purchase of a FitBit or Vivofit for a couple weeks or so.  I researched and price compared online.  I thought it would be a good motivator plus everyone I talk to always recommends getting a pedometer.  

Now the thing about pedometers, the kind you hook to your waist, is that they don't work for me.  I've bought a few, had one given to me, got a free one from some promotion, and not a single one accurately tracked my steps.  I have two theories, or perhaps they both contribute to the problem.  For the pedometers that wouldn't seem to register any steps, I don't move so well, and my movements are by no means fluid.  When my hips move, I don't get that rocking back and forth movement that some pedometers seem to require.  Therefore, it doesn't see my steps.  For the one pedometer that went crazy when registering steps, let me be honest, I jiggle when I move.  When I walk, when I shift my weight, when I sit, whenever... it happens!  I am pretty sure it was registering jiggles, not steps.  Also, there is no good spot to hook it onto my pants.  Once I sit, everything goes out, and the pedometer digs into me.  If I hook it onto my pocket instead of my waist, well, I invariably manage to knock it off or catch it on something have it pulled off.  What this all comes down to, is despite my desire for a pedometer, I have given up on the cheaper models.

After all my researching, I had pretty much decided on a FitBit Charge.  Most reviews said FitBit has the better website and I chose the Charge because I really wanted to be able to tell the time with one device and not wear a watch in addition to the device.  Once I had decided, it was then time for deliberation.  I know, shouldn't that have come first?  

Well, when I decide I want something, and it is a lot of money, I have to consider whether or not I will truly need it/want it long term.  I hate impulse buying, even after two weeks of considering, for me it could be an impulse buy.  I can't even tell you how many things I have in storage that I was sure I had to have, didn't give extra consideration to, and now they sit in storage.  But the reverse may be true as well, and I consider too long and just never buy it.  There is a matching bathroom floor cabinet and space-saver that I have decided 6 months ago that I want.  I know storage in the bathroom is lacking, I have but to walk in there to see it.  But I have those links in my favorites, and I don't know if I will ever buy them now despite both my need and want for them.

Anyway, what this is boiling down to, is that after deciding to get one, I promptly closed all my research and put it out of my mind for a few days.  Then, last Thursday, I get an email from Amazon.com that the deal of the day is the Garmin Vivofit.  For $59.99, much cheaper than I found the FitBit anywhere.  So I reread the reviews and decided to take a chance.

It arrived on Saturday, but I didn't open the box until Sunday night, not an auspicious start.  But open it I did, and successfully created an account and synced it up.  Then, since I had read that FitBit's website was better, I attempted to sync my new Garmin account with my new FitBit account.  I had read in reviews this was possible, and found it online as well.  This was not successful.  Despite my efforts, the website could only tell me that syncing had failed. So I put that thought aside and concentrated on learning how to use my new device.

After wearing it all evening, I decided to sync it up with my computer again before going to bed.  Fail.  I wore it all day Monday and tried to sync it several times.  Each time I was met with failure.  By Monday evening, I was frustrated and had determined that if I could not track and use the features with the website, then I was going to return it.  (I had not yet been swimming with it at this point.)

As a last ditch effort, I got out my tablet and downloaded the app.  I hadn't used my tablet for the past two weeks, so when setting everything up, I just went with the computer and the ANT drive originally.  I had to enable the Bluetooth on the tablet which I am pretty sure is a first for me.  Then I had to pair it and try syncing.  After all the waiting... success!  But I was able to sync once with the computer too.  So I would wait until Tuesday night before thinking about keeping or returning it.

I used it all day Tuesday.  I synced multiple times.  I synced this morning too.  I found my sleep data fascinating.  I am happy with the Garmin website and since I could never use the FitBit website, I suppose I don't know what I am missing there.  I have found seeing my steps to be motivating already.  I have some work to do in that area.  It is pretty accurate with my steps, although much to my disappointment, it didn't track a single movement while I was at my water fitness class.  I will deal with that though.  I like that you can change screens to see the number of steps until goal, mileage, time, date, and change it to sleep mode where it tracks your activity while sleeping. 

Decision made, I am keeping it.

Surgery Date is Set!

I got the call this morning that my surgery has been approved.  The date was set for Wednesday, May 27th.  It is all very exciting and nerve-wrecking.  The pre-surgery testing date was set as well as another date for the pre-surgery class.  All in May. 

It is time to step up my exercise game.  Walking has been doing good for me at three times a week.  But I will have to exercise 5 times a week after surgery, so I am going to start increasing now.  Tonight, I am going to take an Ai Chi class at the Y and then I will swim a bit after during free swim.  My ankles and other leg parts have been hurting from walking, so I plan on walking in water from now on, especially if I am going to do it 4-5 times a week.  There is open swim every evening, but not till 8-8:30 at night.  That part is kind of a bummer.

Once I feel comfortable, I want to take their water Latin fitness class, because it sounds fun.  They have some other more high energy classes as well.  Plus, I need to start considering some weight and flexibility training.

Last time I attempted to go to the Y during the day, it was about 10 AM.  The parking lot was packed, as in not a space left.  So I'm not sure when I will be going for the other activities.  But I got to figure it all out now so post-surgery will be smooth.

About a month ago we took a before picture.  We had a family portrait done to give to family on Mother's Day.  But we requested single portraits and face shots so we would have an official before picture.  Everything is coming together now.  At some point, I may get brave enough to post my pictures on here.

5.5 weeks to prepare myself the best I can for surgery!

Recipe: Tuna Pot Pockets

I created this recipe based off of HG Chicken Pot Pocket recipe which I posted about a few weeks ago.  I decided that if it worked with chicken, why not tuna?  I was not looking forward to the very hard edges of the egg roll wrappers, so on the spur of the moment I decided to use a fat-less, no sugar added bread dough recipe.  Also know as french bread dough.  It worked out quite well I think.

Dough:

2 c. white whole wheat flour
1 1/2 c. unbleached all purpose flour
1 t. salt
1 1/4 c. warm water (yeast packet recommends 80 degrees Fahrenheit for a bread machine)
1 (.25 oz) packet active dry yeast

1. In a small bowl, combine the flours.
2. Place all ingredients in the bread machine in the order recommended by your bread machine.  For my machine, the order is: water, salt, flours, yeast.
3. Set the bread machine to a Dough cycle, press start.  My bread machine takes 1.5 hours to complete the dough cycle.

Meanwhile you can get started on the filling.

Filling:

2 (7 oz) cans tuna packed in water, drained

1 (10.5) 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup

1 3/4 c. frozen peas

1. Combine all filling ingredients in a medium bowl.  Set in the refrigerator until the dough is done.
2. Once dough is done, turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface.
3. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
4. Divide in half. 
5. Take one half of the dough and use your hands to stretch into a somewhat rectangular shape.  you could try using a rolling pin, but I used my hands.  If you stretch too much and break the dough, just smoosh it back together again.  Try to avoid doing this though.  The rectangle should be approximately 10 inches by 12 inches.
6. Cut in half both length and width wise, this should leave you with 4 smaller rectangles.  I used a pizza cutter to do this, hardly pressing at all because I did not want to cut into my silicon mat. 
7. Place approximately 1/2 cup of the filling to one side of the center of each rectangle.  Keep it away from the edges, or the dough won't seal.  Fold the dough over the filling to create a pocket.  
8. Seal the edges, I used a fork and pressed the edges together. 
9. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling.
10. Place pockets on a baking tray lined with either parchment paper, or foil that has been lightly sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.  I did one tray of each, and both came out fine.
11. Bake for 15 minutes, or until edges are golden brown and filling is hot.

Serves 8, Nutritional Information from myfitnesspal.com per serving: 303 Calories, 2 fat, 49 carbohydrates, 7 fiber, 2 sugar, 22 protein

The edges on this recipe still get a little tough.  I think I will experiment with other ways to seal the dough that keeps the edges hidden so they can't get tough.  But upon reheating the leftovers, in the microwave, wrapped in a damp paper towel, the edges weren't hard at all. So it is just right out of the oven that they are a bit crispy.

Pending Surgery Date and the Tax Refund

I have been thinking about when I will try to schedule my surgery for.  The way things are going, it looks like I might be able to have it done as soon as the second full week of May.  But May is a very busy month with Mother's day, three relative's birthdays, Memorial Day, and my volunteering obligation which will not be over until the last week of May.  Also, there is always the chance I will die.

My husband's maternal grandmother died on his twelfth birthday.  For the entirety of his teenage years, he never his birthday celebrated because, for his Mom, the day was a reminder that his grandmother was gone.  I hate the thought of that for anyone I love.  So I won't have surgery right before or on any of their birthdays.  The last one to be celebrated is on May 24th, so my surgery will have to be after that.

On a lighter note, we have gotten our tax refund and have made a few of important purchases.  I purchased a member ship to the zoo.  As soon as it stop raining on a daily basis, I plan on going there to walk.  Some days I might even take a nephew along.  In addition to that, we purchased a new dryer.  The previous one died on us about 6 months ago, and it had not been drying things well for a good 3 months before that.  Taking heavy wet laundry to the laundromat all winter long was such a pain!  The new dryer should be installed in the next couple of days or so, yay!

My husband needed a new phone since his has not been working right for a while.  We found the one he wanted as cheap as possible and when we checked out there was an unadvertised sale and they took another $20.00 off the price.  Bonus!  He started playing with it as soon as he got home.  It was all setup before he went to bed.

Also, I purchased two generic key fobs for my car off Amazon.  The connections in my key fob went bad back in 2010 and the second one never worked.  I called the closest dealership for pricing and was told it would be $30 to program a key fob, but $130 for the key fob itself for a total of $160.  That is outrageous.  I told the man that I had found a generic one that was supposed to work with my car online.  I asked if I bought it would the dealership still program it for me?  He said yes for the $30 fee.  Amazon gladly took my $25 for two key fobs, and once I get them both programmed it will have cost me $85 total.  Now that is a deal.  I wished I had done that 5 years ago, I could have used the remote start these past two winters!

There is still a bit of money left.  I have a few ideas where that could go, but no set plans yet.

Surgeon appointment

Tuesday was my appointment with the surgeon!  It started as any typical doctor appointment... late.  The time in the waiting room wasn't bad actually, only 15 minutes long, during which I watched Live with Kelly and the guy (I don't know his name) on the TV.  This is not a show I usually watch, hence not knowing his name, but it was entertaining.

The nurse came and collected me.  First, I got to have my picture taken, I was warned about this and wore something I like.  Then, I was taken to the weigh-in room.  She had me take off my shoes and socks.  She obtained a height and weight.  It was a special scale you had to be barefoot on.  She said it would calculate my BMI... but I still don't understand why I had to be barefoot, surely shoeless would have been enough?  Regardless, I was please to learn I had lost 9 lbs since my last visit.  I am sure being shoeless helped that as both my previous weigh-ins were with shoes on.  So, I have officially lost 25 pounds now.  I think their scale must be whacked out though, because by my own calculations I've lost just over 19 pounds.  Or they fudged the beginning weight a bit?  I don't know but something doesn't add up.

Next, she took me to an exam room.  She took my vitals, wrote down a brief family history, personal medical history, and my medication list.  Then she explained that the doctor was still seeing the previous patient, once he was done, I would be taken into the doctor's office.  He would discuss the procedures (Roux-En-Y Bypass and the Gastric Sleeve) with me and the pros and cons of each and decide which one was right for me.  Following that, I would come back into the exam room I was in and taken off everything except my underwear and put on a gown.  The doctor would come in, along with the nurse, and examine me.  Yikes!  Unexpected!  Let's just say I would have worn different underwear, not to mention a different feminine hygiene product.  Because yes, surprisingly enough, four weeks later, I am having another period.  Oh yes, and I would have shaved.

So, she left me to wait for the doctor.  I stewed in my mortification regarding my attire and my hairiness.  I grew bored and flipped through a Q & A book regarding plastic surgery along with pictures of before and afters.  I considered the thought of my body after surgery and the idea of plastic surgery.  I realized that I may never like my body naked.  I am flabby now, and later I will be saggy.  But at least I will look better with clothes on, and I will feel better.  I will be able to do more.  How often do I stand in front a mirror naked anyway?  Daily... Hmmm... perhaps I should remove the mirror from the bathroom.  Or get dressed before attending to any activities at the sink.  I guess that would be more logical.

And I waited some more.  I had returned to the thought of my impending nearly naked exam.  I couldn't sit still.  I paced the room, small as it was.  Four steps in one direction, turn, repeat.  I probably paced for twenty minutes.  Finally, the doctor opened the door.  I think not finding me in the chair threw him a bit.  But I followed him to his office.  He asked me for more details regarding my medical history.  I obliged although I had to think hard.  You know how when something finally happens and you think you were prepared?

Yes, my mind was a blank, he had to pretty much coach me though the answers, for instance, how has your PCOS manifested?  Ummm...?  Do you have irregular periods?  Oh yes!  What about any excessive hair growth?  Oh yeah that too.  Do you have ovarian cysts?  Yes.  You get the point, and then later when discussing the surgery, I couldn't think of a single question to ask him.  His speech on this was very informative actually.  For each complication, he gave me the percentage rate of it occurring as well as his own personal record of it occurring in patients he has operated on.  His numbers were impressive.

Based on my answers, he told me I am a good candidate for either surgery.  I told him that due to my love of sweets, I wanted the gastric bypass.  Even as I said it, doubt filled me, thinking about the sweets.  Really, never eat the sweets I love again?  Maybe I should get the sleeve, some inner voice cried.  But no, that just reinforces to me that if I know I am able to eat the sweets, then I will.  He had me go back to the exam room and undress.

Upon his arrival, with the nurse, he did the basics.  He felt my neck and listened to my lungs and heart.  Then he did a breast exam.  Blech, there is a reason I have a female gynecologist.  It just weirds me out having a male doctor touch me.  He palpated my abdomen.  He looked at my feet and my hairy legs.  Finally, it was over.  He left and the nurse told me to change.  She said she would be right back.  She was.  She told me that the doctor would dictate his report today and it would be faxed to the insurance on Wednesday.  I asked how long it usually takes.  She said she is supposed to tell patients two weeks, but that my insurance is usually pretty fast.

Once it is approved, a scheduler will contact me to setup my surgery date.  A day of testing will be planned for EKG, blood tests, esophageal scoping, etc and then a visit to PT to learn about the post surgery exercises I will need to do to optimize my recovery.  All in all, with tests starting first thing in the morning I will probably be done around 2 to 3 o'clock on the afternoon.  Then, at some point prior to surgery, I will attend a group class given by her.  I wasn't really sure what the class was about, but I figured I find out along the way.  We were done and I went home.

Support Group

Monday, we went to our first Support Group meeting.  It really wasn't like I imagined it would be.  I pictures us all (maybe 15 people) sitting around in a circle commiserating about our trials and tribulations.  Perhaps an attaboy or two for challenges overcome.

Instead, there were five rows of chairs of chairs (three rows facing two rows) and about 60 people there.  The meeting started off with a presentation from a guest speaker.  This month the speaker was a fitness coach and wellness counselor from a local fitness club.  He gave a fifteen minute speech about exercise and how we needed to incorporate cardio, weight training, and flexibility into our routines.    For the next fifteen minutes, he answered questions.

Once he left, the surgeon and dietitian had an open time for any type of questions.  Then we went around the room sharing our first name, surgery date, type of surgery, amount of weight lost, and this time an added bonus of what kind of exercise we do.  Depending on what people said, this had a tendency to spark additional questions and discussion.  All in all the meeting was about 1.5 hours.

We plan on going back again.  It is a monthly meeting.  I know we are going to need support, and having people to talk to that have already been through it should help.

Home again

The last two weeks have been extremely busy.  I spent most of it out of town for a family wedding.  The wedding was beautiful, if somewhat chilly.  It was great seeing family I hadn't seen in a while.  My aunt insisted that a year or so after surgery, I come back for a makeover.  One of my cousins is in school right now to be an esthetician.  She did our makeup and hair for the wedding and was fabulous at it.

I was very happy to see that after being out of town for so long and eating out a lot that my weight only went up about one pound.  That being said, my appointment with the surgeon is on Tuesday, only two days away!!  So I am being super strict with what I eat trying to get it off.  I am contemplating doing something tomorrow to ensure I lose some more weight.  But it isn't healthy... taking a laxative.  

I know!  Not even remotely close to any reason why I should take a laxative.  Obviously they are not recommended for weight loss.  I've never used one before for such purposes, but I feel like I am down to the wire and I need to at least lose two pounds by Tuesday to show that I am on track.  I certainly don't want to show a gain, it might jeopardize my chances of getting insurance approval.

Crazily enough, this was recommended by my aunt and her boyfriend.  They said I should do a colon cleanse (like prep before a colonoscopy, not just a cleanse) because the last time he did one he lost 7 pounds.  Now, that might be a little extreme, but I may have to take smaller measures.