I Am No Longer Obese!

I've always had issues with my weight.  When I was a child I remember a kid on the playground calling me "Fatty".  Looking at pictures from that long-ago era, I wasn't fat, not even really chubby, but that one comment left a psychological scar nonetheless.

I grew up, and my weight went up every year, until I reached 224 pounds and decided to have lap-band surgery.  I quickly lost about 40 pounds, and reached a plateau that I stayed at for the last 3 or 4 years.  I didn't do much to help break the plateau - I've always loved food, and don't exercise.  I weighed myself once when I got to my Summer Palace and had gained 6 pounds.  So I put away the scale and decided to just live my life.

About 6 weeks ago, I heard Dr. Oz talk about how people on Statins for cholesterol can get muscle cramps, and how a supplement of CoQ10 can help avoid that.  I had already experienced that side-effect several times, so I decided to give it a try, along with Glucosomine Chondroitin with MSM to help my achy joints.

I noticed that my pants were getting loose, and wondered if the cheap fabric in them was making them stretch out.  Just in case, I weighed myself too.  I had lost 10 pounds, and was only a pound away from getting out of the "obese" category!  As of this morning I had lost another 6 pounds, which is freaking me out a little bit.  I haven't done anything differently; my eating habits remain the same and I'm still not exercising.  Maybe the supplements gave my metabolism the boost they needed to break through that nasty plateau?

To get out of the overweight category, I still have to lose another 25 pounds.  Wonder if I'll see that number in my lifetime?

Gifts

People keep giving me gifts lately.  Sunday one of the guys that works in our campground gave me three roses that he found growing nearby.  He said that his church sermon that day had been about single people and how they might be lonely, so he thought of me.  Blah.  I told him I was not to be felt sorry for!  But I did appreciate the flowers regardless.

Today, Jack, my 84 year old neighbor knocked on my door at 4:30 and asked if I wanted to go have supper with him at the Speak Easy in town (he's 84, so 4:30 wasn't an unreasonable time to eat supper I guess).  After a delicious supper of pan-fried walleye he showed me his workshop.  He makes incredible bowls, vases, pens, and wine stoppers out of exotic woods from Africa, New Zealand, and even Minards.  He showed me some wine stoppers he had made that day and told me to pick one.  I protested of course, and he said it again, this time a little stronger.  So I have a beautiful wine stopper in my purse.  That, in addition to the pen set he gave me a few weeks ago.  And the bread and butter pickles.  And the pickled beets.  And the Lemoncello and Grand Marnier.

When I got home I went for a golf cart ride.  Part of the campground property is a former golf course that has been left to nature, with the exception of a mowed "walking path" that winds through the hills and prairie.  Nobody I know actually walks on the walking path, but it's nice to sometimes ride the golf cart there.  I braked first for a skunk.  Luckily the skunk went the other direction.  Then I saw a red fox in the distance leaping through the tall grass towards the woods.  The maintenance guys here saw this little guy this morning and got a great photo of the fox leaping on prey.  And I saw a deer too - second one in two days.    These sights were also gifts.

Just as I walked in the door, another neighbor came over holding a shepherd's hook with a cardinal on top as a thank you gift.  I said "thank you for what?"  I had given her access to my wireless is all, so she didn't have to drive to the community building to check her e-mail.  Oh, and the half a loaf of zucchini bread I gave them might have something to do with it as well.