One Step at a Time

Oh, good, that you're feeling better - and also for your excellent self-care while you were ill. :) Yes, indeed, illness isn't a time to fret about weight - being well come first, for sure.
Nice that you've seen some results from the work so far, though - 200 only seven pounds away, and spring (when you blossom out in from under the big coat) only a month or two away! :)
 
Glad you're feeling better. Yes good to just do what the body wants when you're sick!
 
Hey Ann, just checking in. I've been out of town on vacation with limited ability to keep up. Looks like you lost some weight but haven't checked in for a while. I hope all is well with you.

Check in and let us know how you are.
 
Hey guys. Sorry for the quiet time. I had a moment where I was struggling mentally a little (nothing to do with weight or food) and as that passed, I then completely forgot about the whole diet and weight loss and the days kinda just flew by before I suddenly remembered what I was supposed to be doing.

But I'm hoping to get back on track now. I have taken further steps in helping my weight loss journey as well. Due to some things in my past and wanting to figure out other things, I'm going to go for my first therapy/psychology type appointment at the start of March. But I've also talked with a trusted person a bit about what I've been going through and they said it sounds like PMDD so I should go to a doctor and see if I can talk to them either get it confirmed that's what I have, or find out what's really going on. If it is PMDD, then there are pills I can get balance out my moods and help me out and when I looked it up, I think it's very likely that, that's what I have. I did mention this a little to my mom and before I told her about the PMDD part, she guessed that I was going to check for bipolar. So I guess that's another I should look into if my mom thinks that a possibility.

So ya, the last little while I've not done much in the way of exercise since mentally i wasn't collected up and was kinda in the giving up with everything type of space. I didn't eat the way I should, but nor did I go crazy. I was craving certain foods so I did get them, but because of having eaten healthy, that food honestly made me feel sick so now, even though my body kinda wants it, the rest of me says an absolute no since it doesn't agree with me so that's a bonus.


The last few times I weighed myself, I went between 207 - 209 so I've been fluctuating between those. Not really gaining and not really losing. So I'm glad for that at least. Finances are a little tough so I am going to no longer do keto, but I will keep going with the keto principles of trying to get more fat some protein and little carbs, but not as strict or crazy as the full on keto diet. I'm also going to start up on the exercise again.



Of course, some pics of the critters. Also included a pic of my two cats who have been my biggest support at home. Tiger is the smaller one up top and is going to be a year old next month. I was also there when she was born and even had to bottle feed her at one point when momma cat took off for a bit and she's half siamese but dad was a stray. So she talks a lot and gets into a lot of trouble and is very smart. Oh, and she plays fetch lol.

Ivy, the brown tabby at the bottom, is a SPCA rescue I got 2 years ago now. She was the exact opposite of what I originally was looking for but she chose me so I got her and honestly, she's helped me out of dark spots a lot through the last 2 years and she means the world to me. She was a stray and was at the rescue for an hour before I got her and yet, she's been the perfect cat. She was roughly 6 ish months old when I got her but she never chewed cords, never scratched furniture, never did her business outside of the litter box, and literally has been perfect. She has the been the cat I needed in my life and am so grateful for her. And she plays tag. Like, we'll have a little square off where I step sidways towards and so she goes sideways and puffs up, and then one of us takes off. If she runs off, I just go and tap at her tail or something, then I turn and run and she comes and swats at my leg and we go back and forth like that. it's a lot of fun lol.

And honestly, Jack has also been a huge help during my dark moments. He's quite affectionate and a bit of a goofball but knows when it's time to work and then pours 110% into what's being asked of him. And even though I haven't felt in the right mental space to work with the horses, I can go there and he's the first to greet me every time and is my shadow and honestly brings a smile to my face every day. Sam is great too, but it's Jack that I've connected with on a whole different level.

So between Ivy and Jack, I haven't gone too far into the dark mental space and I'm so very glad for them. It's one reason I like posting them here because they do support me that much and if I'm not doing right mentally, it does effect my weight loss. And I think it's thanks to them I didn't go completely off track and just sit at home all day and do nothing but snack.


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Wow, your cats are as gorgeous as your horses! Well done finding a therapist if you know there´s some stuff going on that needs looking at. Therapy´s helped me a lot these past couple of years.
 
Hi, Ann. I'm glad that you have recognised that you need some therapy & have taken steps towards it. I know that is hard. I benefited from it in the past & will go again if I need it. Our son was in a very dark place for a long time before he found the right therapist & got on the right medication. He has BP2. He has a rescue dog & I think that dog helped rescue him as well. He is in a much better space these days, which is such a relief.
 
I'm sorry you've been in a dark place - blessings on Ivy and Tiger, to be there all the time for you, right there in the house! I love the description of your game with Ivy (sounds like good exercise, too!). And Jack - your relationship with him sounds so real and warm. But in addition to these great supports, I hope the therapy and medical attention help you to find your way through the difficult times.:hug2:

AnnSparks said:
Finances are a little tough
Click to expand...
I hear you on this aspect! My cheap-o standby is carrots - in Australia you can get them for around a dollar a kilo - but I know that in general diet foods can be very pricey, let alone the whole question of availability. (Once upon a time I lived in a rural area which was pretty much a "food desert".) Maybe we can talk about weight loss on a budget a bit later?
 
Hey Ann, good to hear from you! You are one of my favorite Canadians here!

I like your stories and the cats are great. You could not find someone with much less expertise in mental health issues than me, but I admire you for recognizing yours and doing something about them. That is great!

I also know that no matter what else if you can get back on track with your diet you will feel better and better about yourself. No substitute for getting other help, but it can't hurt.

Hang in her with us, you are an important part of the forum.
 
So good to have you back Ann. I can relate to mental health issues as well (anxiety disorder for me) I know what a struggle it can be. Really glad you are reaching out for help. Also so glad your animal buddies are providing such a good support for you too :)
 
Thanks for all your support guys. It's really nice to be able to talk about things here and have this kind of support.

Sadly, looks like things are taking another not so great turn. Had a meeting at work today and after the meeting, I was cleaning up some of the chairs when I tripped over my own feet and fell, hurting my right knee and being stabbed in the upper arm near the armpit by one of the chair legs. I couldn't put weight or really bend my knee at first so my supervisor took me to the hospital to get it looked at (I have had 3 previous injuries to this knee as well).

As it turns out, I've hurt it enough that I need to go to physio now and my boss sent me home for the day. Also, depending on how physio goes, I may need to take x-rays and have some surgery since the doctors pretty sure that due to one of my previous injuries, I've torn certain ligaments which are going to be just agrivated more with this latest injury and may get in the way of work and other activities and if it comes to that, then I have to have surgery to get some of the debree cleaned out from the tear which would then put me out of commission for a while.

So for the time being, I cannot do any exercise or even work properly and can only manage to feed my horses and can't do anything else with them. Even driving hurts my knee. So ya, I'm in a bit of rough shape lol. Honestly, I'm just laughing at the fact that I got hurt. It's just one thing after another that I seem to be hit with. Last fall, I hit my head at work so I had to go to the hospital, I've gotten sick several times through the winter, I've had a family member pass away, I've had struggles with one of my horses, and now, just as I'm getting in the swing of things again, I'm knocked down with an injured knee once more.

And no, I'm not complaining. I'm just kinda amazed at all this stuff that seems to be happening to me and it's to the point, I can't help but laugh. Though I do hope I don't need to go for surgery later, but it's a wait and see situation with that. Oh, and I have to use crutches if I'm limping too much, but am still cleared to go to work, just have it modified so I don't over do it with my knee. Hopefully this passes quickly.
 
Through all of that, you can still laugh? Good for you, Ann. I hope you don't need surgery. I'm surprised you have been cleared to go to work. Try to eat as healthy as you can as your diet is more important than exercise for weight-loss. The extra effort to do anything will burn extra calories.
 
Oh, that's rotten, rotten luck! I'm very sorry. :frown:
Whatever you do, don't strain the knee through the wait-and-see period - give it as good a chance as you can manage. Get as good rest as you can, and as good nutrition - I mean, really seriously, your body needs all the vitamins etc as it can get, to be in peak form to mend. I know if one of your horses injured his knee you'd be giving it really peak nutrition and care - same applies to you! :D and :hug2:
 
Sorry to hear about the accident, but given your injuries you seem amazingly upbeat and resilient. Good for you! Take care of that knee, wish I had taken better care of mine.
 
Oh dear Ann that is all really too bad :(
Yes as everyone else has said--please do take care of yourself--really hope you won't need to have surgery!
 
Surgery's never fun but arthroscopic removal of meniscus fragments (which is what I got from your description but I may well be wrong) would probably the least worrying out of the knee stuff. On the other hand (puts on work hat) if you've been getting hurt through "silly" accidents a lot these past months and you're sick more often than normal your autonomic nervous system may be leaning on its sympathetic branch a bit too much. Relaxation techniques could help to give the parasympathetic branch more of a chance. Yoga, tai chi, (guided) meditation, breathing techniques, progressive muscle relaxation... Is there any kind you might enjoy enough to do regularly?
 
I do plan to have good, or at least decent nutrition. However, one thing is that yesterday/today was supposed to be grocery shopping day but considering my boss sent me home yesterday to rest, today may be the same, depending how my knee is doing in a few hours. It honestly hurt a few times during the night depending which position I had my leg in, like how much of a bend I had in it or if I stretched out or such and there are a few times I woke up because the way I'd moved made my leg hurt.

So this morning, I plan to walk around on it a bit and do a few exercises/stretches that I was taught the last time I hurt my knee to evaluate it a little more and see how well I'd be able to handle going to work or, go shopping for groceries. If I can't get groceries, then I'll be eating some of the food from my grandparents which doesn't fit into any diet plan so my weightloss won't go anywhere really. But if I do feel good enough, then I'll get a few foods to tide me over at least a few days or such till my knee is doing a bit better.


Also, it's thursday which marks another week since I started this journey. I did weigh myself this morning and due the sick period and then honestly completely forgetting about exercise and the diet to a certain degree, I'm at 210 lbs. My weight has been fluctating but I'm glad it hasn't really gone up much and i'm sure that once I get on track again, it'll be going down pretty quick again. Also, my pants are still loose from the weight loss so there's that. And shirts fit a bit better as well so I'm glad for that.


Oh, and @LaMaria what you said there about that kind of surgery is exactly what the doctor was saying it was. I just couldn't remember proper names and such lol. And as for the relaxation stuff, part of that is going to be helped I think, when I go to see the therapist and am able to deal with some of the stuff going on my life or past stuff, as well as finding out if I do have PMDD and if I do and get pills for it, then it's going to stabilize my moods better which is also going to have a positive effect and help me to not get sad/depressed/stressed out as easily as it's helping now. And thankfully, my work covers pretty much all that so I'm hopeful I'll make progress and manage to stay healthy longer and better.
 
Sounds like you´re really thinking things out properly and taking good care of yourself. Glad to hear it!
 
It really does sound like you are thinking things through really well & taking good care of yourself. It's good that you have your grandparents to fall back on. Take good care of yourself, Ann.
 
I am so glad your grandparents are on the same property and can help you out.
Sounds like you have a good plan in place. I hope you will keep posting here whether or not you are currently sticking to any diet plan--it's nice to hear how things are going in general.
 
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