Remember yo-yos? Did you ever have one? Have you ever been on one?
Ever since I gained 85 pounds when I was pregnant with Sarah (yes, it was controllable, and yes, my doctor was mad), I'm constantly on the weight loss yo-yo. Well, I'm at the point now when the yo-yo is in my hand and I'm getting ready to make it go down...my weight, that is. Image by PngTree.com
There are a lot of reasons.
- I'm tired of grimacing and being embarrassed when I see photos of myself - even head and shoulders.
- Every joint in my body hurts and I know that the added pressure of weight is doing anything but helping them.
- My left knee is still recovering from total knee replacement surgery (October, 2023). I'll need to do the other one eventually, and weight loss will help the healing and recovery of both.
- I'm planning to do an international trip to visit family in September and traveling is difficult when you're overweight and out of shape.
- Someday I hope to either dance at my kids' weddings or hold & play with grandkids, and I want to do both with fluidity, ease, enjoyment, and without embarrassment.
- But, the kicker was, my doctor noted in her visit record after a physical that I 'presented as obese' and said I was pre-diabetic. On a side note, I heard comedian Ricky Gervais say, 'If we aren't diabetic, then aren't we all, technically, pre-diabetic?' That made me feel a little better. But, really. WTF? Talk about a wake-up call.
What's the damage? How far does that yo-yo have to fall? Well, let's see. It's early, so let me grab my calculator. 45-55 lbs. Yes. In two months, equivalent to my age in pounds (on the high end). At my age. With my current physical limitations. It's overwhelming and disheartening. I have had trouble even finding the motivation to try because it's SUCH a HUGE number. Seems completely undoable without some sort of help or kick start.
Where do I begin, er...continue?
- Weight loss surgery, as in gastric bypass, is a hard pass for me.
- I'm already pescatarian and nearly dairy free, so no worries about red meat, high fat, cholesterol, and whatever else comes along with a carnivorous diet.
- I started on an estrogen patch, so I have some hope that will also reduce my 'trunk' weight.
- There's buzz about GLP-1 agonists (i.e. Ozempic, Trulicity) for weight loss. All the celebrities are doing it which has, honestly, never been a motivator for me. But I did asked my GI doctor about it when I went in for a check on a hiatal hernia - genetic, not weight related. She absolutely loves it and said something like, 'when the FDA approves it for weight loss, it will revolutionize the weight-loss industry.' The downfalls, it's not covered by insurance and it's expensive, there are significant dietary changes required, and it's for life. But, I'm keeping that on the back burner.
- Plastic surgery, as in tummy tuck & liposuction, is also out there.
My last self-propelled effort to help the downspin before heading down the Ozempic-brick road is joining a program offered by the company I work for called Way to Wellness. It used to be called Weigh to Health but I guess they realized there's more to wellness than health, and there's more than one way to achieve it besides weight loss.
I'll be meeting with a cohort of about ten participants and a dietitian to learn and implement micro-changes in lifestyle that will make me healthier. Hopefully, by having a healthier body and making more sustainable life choices, the weight will drop. We'll see about that. I'm not confident.
This program is one-year long and consists of twenty cohort virtual gatherings for support, advice, and goal-setting. I will also have three one-on-one meetings with a dietitian, one at the beginning, one halfway through, and one at the end. The bonus is that, if I meet the program goals - going to every meeting and actively participating - my insurance will pay for it.
So, I'm starting there and, if after four months I'm not seeing marked improvement, I'm gonna get me some Ozempic.
Updates to follow...in another post.