So many, many things going on!

Last Saturday I was astounded to get on the scale and see that I'd gained 5 lbs.  Yes, FIVE pounds.  I have no idea where it came from, but it was very disheartening to see.  On Wednesday morning, I just did a quick check to see where I was and I was up 2.5 more lbs. 

I decided I needed help in figuring this out and getting a plan together, so I called the Memorial Weight Loss and Wellness Center.  I spoke to them for almost an hour and got a lot of my questions answered.  I have an appointment for my Global Health Assessment tomorrow at 7:30 a.m. in Springfield.  I will meet with a doctor, a physical therapist, nutritionist, and counselor, among others.  It is a 4-hour appointment, so this will be exhausting, I'm sure.  After their assessments, they will meet and decide the best course of treatment for me.  I am not interested in their physical therapy as I am already taking care of that.  If I like their plan and feel it will benefit me, I will go to Springfield once a month to meet with the doctor and do whatever I need to do. If I think it's a waste of time, I can just walk away.  I feel like I have to at least try.

On Friday I met with my endocrinologist to talk about my inability to lose weight and these sudden gains I'm experiencing.  Mathematically, they make no sense and shouldn't be happening.  According to my Fitbit report I get weekly, I am in a deficit between what I'm eating and what I'm burning. Therefore, I should be losing!  But I'm NOT!

We talked for 40 minutes about a lot of different things.  She went over my labs from the past 2 years and we discussed the results in detail.  I feel like I have a better grasp of this disease now.  She did agree to increase my medication so I do hope it will help.  She also wants to see me every 3 months and keep a closer eye on my levels. So I'll be getting lab work done every 3 months as well.  She wanted to change my meds, but right now I want to get this weight loss thing going, so I prefer to stay on what I'm on for now.  Once I get that sorted out, I am not opposed to trying a different medication.  I just worry about changing too much at once. 

So yesterday I weighed in and was happy to see I'd lost 1.5 lbs.  I wish I was more, considering this was of the 5 lb surprise gain, but I'm happy with a loss.  Nick and I also went to Macomb to do the Inaugural Purple and Gold Rocky 5K Run/Walk.  We had a great time and we weren't last. We were close, though.  Even if we were, I told Nick it didn't matter because Dead Last Finish is greater than Did Not Finish which is greater than Did Not Start.  We won because we were out there doing it and not sitting on our butts.  For a $15 registration fee we got a really nice Under Armour moisture wicking race shirt.  I was surprised that it was so nice considered the inexpensive fee.  I've paid more for races and got cheap cotton shirts that shrank 3 sizes in the first wash.  So BONUS!

I dread having to get up at 5a tomorrow to make it to Springfield in time for this appointment, but I'm also anxious to hear what their suggestions might be.  I will not do something weird, such as drinking meal replacement shakes, or buy boxed foods, or go on a super-restrictive diet.  I refuse.  I want to do something that I can do for LIFE.  I will not drink a shake for life, I'm not going to eat pre-packaged food all the time for the rest of my life, and I'm not going to restrict myself from eating any food groups.  If it works for you, that's great because that is YOUR life, not mine.  That's not how I want to live.  I'm not asking anyone to follow exactly what I do, either.  What I do won't necessarily work in your life.  Stepping off that soapbox...

I also met with Dietitian Jennifer for my next-to-last meeting last week!  It's been a very good experience working with her, even if my weight hasn't moved in the right direction.  I still feel that I've learned a lot and have become very aware of some of my attitudes and feelings toward food.  We had some discussion and then she took me on another tour of the store.  I had already seen most of what she showed me, but it was good to get a refresher because I had forgotten about some of the products.

This time she told me about chia seeds and gave me a sample to take home and try.  Some feel that chia seeds aid in weight loss because they will swell up to 10 times their size in water.  The theory is that if you ingest them, they will do that in your stomach, making you feel fuller faster and for a longer period of time.  I'm not sure I buy into that, but they are also a great source of Omega-3s, so I figure it can't hurt.

She also encouraged me to try Activia yogurt and suggested adding some Kashi Go Lean cereal.  So I got all of that and added the chia seeds to the yogurt, along with the granola stuff.  It was very, very tasty.  However, if you have never had Activia and the granola, you should be aware that Activia is an ancient Indian word for "cleans colon."  Kashi is a Japanese word for "with pain."  So when you mix the two...it's not exactly a delightful walk in the park.  At least that was MY experience.  I would use caution when trying these foods and be sure you are near a restroom in which you feel comfortable being for a slightly extended period of time.  And that's all I'm going to say about THAT. 

In other news, only a couple of weeks left in this semester and I'm so glad.  Once it is over, I will have the rest of May and all of June to devote to ME, ME, ME!  My online class starts July 1 and ends July 25, so it will be an intense time and I will not have much ME time.  In the Fall, I'm taking 2 Weekend Academy classes, which will be a new experience.  Each class only meets 3 weekends.  One of them is on Fridays from 5p - 10p and Saturday from 8a - 6p.  The other one meets Sat/Sun from 8a - 5p.  Of course they are all on different weekends.  This will start in September and I will be done in early November.  I'm not sure what my time for me will be like, but I think I will still have time to workout through the week. 

How are things in your life?  What is your weight loss/get healthy plan like?  What are the things you absolutely refuse to do in order to lose weight (drink daily shake, take pills, etc)?  Any upcoming 5Ks in the area you are doing?