Facebook Covid 19 recovery support group: we're not crazy or lazy

Hello dear reader friends! I've been sharing about our (my husband's and my) ongoing struggle to recuperate fully from Covid 19 infection in May. (<--that's us in sillier, more energetic times, LOL) Cuz for me, it's been exhaustion like no other. It's made me wonder if I'm just crazy or lazy. However, in my research and discussions with fellow sufferers, I discovered that many of us have lingering aftereffects, particularly slowed metabolism and lethargy,  from Covid 19. So I started a Facebook group for us to unpack those experiences. I'm calling it "Covid 19 Recovery Support: We're not crazy or lazy. 

If you're dealing with Covid 19 issues, or caring for someone who is, either from the actual infection or vaccine side effects and you need support, please join me! This is a place to share frustration, like the poor gal I spoke with who has been working thru exhaustion since Oct. 2020! It's a place to offer compassion (prayers, good thoughts etc.) It's a place to ask questions or contribute ideas. Above all, it's non-judgmental. 

This is NOT a place for conspiracy theories, rants, politics or polemics. God knows, the last thing any of us actually dealing with Covid 19 need is that kind of bullshit. The group is set to private and you will have to request permission to join. I only did that because some of the things shared may be of a sensitive or personal nature. It's also to keep out anyone who only wants a platform for his/her pet agenda. 

So if ya need us, you know where to find us! You're always welcome and I keep a pot of coffee warming 💝💓💪😍

Covid 19 recovery update: When weight loss is a bad thing

When is weight loss a bad thing? When you lose weight due to illness, especially one like Covid 19. Here's a quick update on the post Covid 19 recovery. From my perspective, it's still a lot of exhaustion, dehydration recovery and metabolism boosting. I've started a stricter self-imposed regimen to increase electrolytes. I say self-imposed because we've been pretty much self-directed in our Covid 19 recovery. There's no real guidebook so we're creating our own and it's trial and error and trial again. 

My husband's most dangerous outcome of Covid 19 was a 17# weight loss (NOT a healthy way to lose weight). He was not overweight and so what he lost was muscle mass (that was scary as shit). We've been using metabolism boosting plant protein powder to help him regain weight loss. We're both also increasing protein intake overall, and trying to eat good carbs to rebuild muscle mass. 

Thanks for reading! Please, do what you need to do to stay safe from this devastating illness called Covid 19. I've had campylobacter jejuni (c.jejuni, a long-term food poisoning that went into dysentery). I've had strep B virus and swine flu. I've nursed a toddler through seven weeks of pneumonia. Husband has had pneumonia and we both agree that in 57 years this is THE worst illness we've ever experienced. 

Gentle weight loss: How I lost 100 pounds learning to make less more

Greetings readers (whom I hope I may call friends). Back from a much-needed weekend at the beach! Are you thinking about weight loss or working a diet program to lose weight? You may have heard that  shedding obesity takes hard work, that ya gotta roll those sleeves up, put the pedal to the metal, yada yada.

But I lost 100 pounds (without gastric bypass) and I say, unfurl the sleeves. Kick back and relax. Take it easy. As we learn in Al-Anon, easy does it does it best. Am I saying weight loss is easy? That it doesn't require perseverance, willpower and determination? Not exactly. I'm saying that moderate intermittent fasting or calorie restricting beats extreme dieting to lose weight. 

But it's not even about calorie restricting or intermittent fasting or any kind of diet as such. Al-Anon says we must adopt a slower approach to life in general. Many of us GOT overweight trying to live a break-neck, crazy paced lifestyle. I don't mean we exercised too much...I stressed too much. I ignored health problems, including rising obesity. And part of how I lost 100 pounds was by learning to make less more. 

I now eat less and enjoy food more, both to avoid being overweight but to just be a better human. I've cut down on spending, shopping, buying and consuming in all areas of my life. I'm practicing enjoying simple things: the animals in my backyard, my dear family and grandkids, a beautiful sunset walk with my sweet husband, petting the two lil rascals, Moishe and Mordecai (shown above). 

My goal is to to live simply that others might simply live. I'm not sure if that was Gandhi or St. Theresa of Calcutta but it's good wisdom for weight loss and overall mental health. Instead of overconsuming I'm "calorie restricting" in all areas and "intermittent fasting: from obsession with things. I'm so much happier and at peace! My mind is not so "overweight" with the constant chasing and my heart is lighter and freer! 

Thanks for reading and be sure to stay tuned for more on how I lost 100 pounds and more! 

How I lost 100 pounds with St. Francis and the Serenity Prayer

Today's weight loss post is going to be written by a guest blogger, namely dear St. Francis of Assisi. I've written a lot about how I lost 100 pounds with Al-Anon slogans and I realized that the most important of all was the Serenity prayer. It goes:

"God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference."

You may be asking, what the serenity prayer has to do with obesity and weight loss. And I'll tell you: everything. More than any diet, the serenity prayer is THE path to lose weight (get sober, beat any addiction, get closer to God, heal myself). Al-Anon explains that discerning and accepting what we can't change (people or situations) and changing what we can (obesity, with weight loss, etc.). 

I also follow (or try my best to follow) the Prayer of St. Francis

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.

Where there is hatred let me sow love;

Where there is injury, pardon;

Where there is doubt, faith;

Where there is despair, hope;

Where there is darkness, light;

Where there is sadness, joy.

O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek

To be consoled as to console;

To be understood as to understand;

To be loved as to love.

For it is in giving that we receive;

It is in pardoning that we are pardoned;

And it is in dying that we are born to eternal life.

Amen. There's a lot to unpack here. And each day I understand it a little more. And then I realize how much more I have to learn. So I'll just let the words of this dynamic prayer speak for themselves. Namaste, Pax, Shalom. 

When weight loss isn't enough: The obesity-guilt-blame-shame game

Today in my ongoing weight loss narrative, I'm thinking about how guilt and the blame-shame game affect obesity. I had to laugh at the label on my keto bread, "guilt-free.." Oh Honey, if only. I've never been guilt-free in all my 57 years. We chronic low self-esteemers feel ashamed about everything and everyone. I feel guilty in my dreams!  And getting overweight? Whoa-- that one tops the scales, literally! 

I am not alone. Just watch "My 600-lb Life." The gastric bypass patients on "My 600-lb Life" are extremely overweight. But they are not unique or even uncommon. Obesity is more pandemic than even Covid 19 and obesity-guilt is endemic. Each "My 600-lb Life" story leaks blame-shame, miserably low self-esteem and bitter self-loathing out of every pore. 

I empathize. Lose weight and the world rejoices with you. Gain and they laugh (and you cry alone). When I wrote for Yahoo! as a morbidly overweight woman, I wasn't taken as seriously as I was after weight loss. I was mocked and that made me feel guiltier. We all know that mockers have their own self-esteem issues. But it's hard to remind yourself of that when you're already so ashamed of being overweight. And I don't why that should be. And sometimes even weight loss isn't enough to interrupt the cycle. You can lose weight all you want but the problem goes deeper.   

Cause, see, I can blog all day about how I lost 100 pounds, but if you ask how to lose the guilt-blame-shame-game, I'd have to answer like Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof: "I'll tell you...I don't know!!" So maybe I don't have the loser playbook, but I know a place that does: Al-Anon. You know, those good people who gave us the 12-step program, Al-Anon slogans and sayings and other self-help goodies. Al-Anon is where I began to break that guilt-blame-shame cycle. I learned to face down bullies and that sometimes I was my own worst bully. And I learned that regardless of body size,  THIS is the key to mental health. 

How I lost weight using Covid 19 lessons, rainbow diet and beefed up electrolytes

Hey there! Just mar with another update on how I lost 100 pounds and beat obesity without gastric bypass surgery, and kept it off. Today I'll explain how I used lessons learned from Covid 19 about weight loss to lose weight gained back after shoulder surgery. 

What Covid 19 taught me about dehydration and hydration: first electrolytes are essential to prevent dehydration (and obesity). Hydration involves not just drinking water but also keeping electrolytes, minerals and vitamins up. Hydration also helps weight loss because it boosts metabolism and reduces stored fat. 

The electrolytes sodium and calcium are fairly easy to get. Magnesium less so and potassium hardest of all because the RDA is 3,700-4,000 mg. The good news is that its easy to boost potassium within the intermittent fasting, 5:2 diet, Zone diet, calorie restricting, keto or 1200 calorie diet. Foods high in potassium (and calcium and magnesium electrolytes) top of the list of recommended foods for weight loss (yay!) namely fruits, vegetables, seafood and legumes (double yay!)

During Covid 19, I was calorie restricting but not for weight loss. Everything tasted terrible and the nausea was crippling. So I did lose weight but also electrolytes and metabolism. I got into advanced dehydration. In recovery I'm back still calorie restricting on my 1200 calorie diet, to avoid getting overweight. But I'm also bumping those high-potassium, calcium and magnesium foods using a modified rainbow diet. 

A rainbow diet includes colorful fruits and vegetables: tomatoes, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, squash and sweet potatoes, bananas, avocadoes, watermelon, grapefruit, mangoes, peaches, almonds, pistachios, spinach, potatoes, purple cabbage, peas, edamame, black beans, salmon, tuna, shrimp and whole grain keto bread. Keto frowns on the fruits and sweet potatoes and squash, but if you're doing keto there are keto there are plenty other foods on the list that you can have. And a rainbow diet is also hugely vitamin-rich. 

So I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass. But I do follow a 1200 calorie diet, with some intermittent fasting (5:2 diet) like gastric bypass surgeon Dr. Now of "My 600-lb Life" advocates. The "My 600-lb Life" diet allows most all of these except large amounts of fruit, potatoes and avocadoes. "My 600-lb Life" treats with morbid obesity so extra sugar of any kind is restricted while that overweight. 

And regardless of which diet you're on, all will allow low sugar coconut water such as Bodyarmor. Bodyarmor and other such coconut water are the only "hydration drinks" with potassium and magnesium. I prefer the zero sugar peach mango Bodyarmor Lyte coconut water with 15 calories and 10% of RDA. 

 you can have. 

"My 600-lb Life" proves obesity-gender links and how weight loss can be harder for men

Weight loss is a big challenge, regardless of gender. I lost 100 pounds without gastric bypass, by calorie restricting. And it was no picnic (pun intended!) We tend to think that women struggle more with obesity than men. Women do have more reasons to get overweight, with menstruation, PMS, pregnancy and menopause. But men have some unique "predisposers" that are often overlooked. The reality TV show "My 600-lb Life" demonstrates why it often harder for men to lose weight than women. The video above features "My 600-lb Life" Sean Milliken who passed from obesity complications. 

1) Those things between your legs. I'm not trying to be prudish, avoiding the T-word and P-word. Blogger will slap me down if I print them 😒. They're considered obscene (!?) And yanno, that is part of the reason men struggle more with weight loss. They're shamed for talking about their bodies, except in jest. Like it's somehow dirty to have male body parts. When they try to lose weight, they may not have the support network women have among their own gender. 

2) Which came first, ED or obesity? We know that excess belly fat causes ED (erectile dysfunction). But I believe it works the other way too...that male reproductive system fail causes obesity. When the male reproductive system can't or doesn't do its job properly and routinely (I also can't label those two E-words🙄), it stalls metabolism and leads to erectile dysfunction and weight gain. Many of the male participants on "My 600-lb Life" struggle with erectile dysfunction along with obesity. Certainly being morbidly overweight is going to cause issues down the line. But it's important to keep the P-word and T-word in good working order, too. 

3) Gender-based stats. "My 600-lb Life" shows more women than men seeking gastric bypass. But that's because women are quicker to seek weight loss. And the odds are evenly stacked: about a 5% success rate. However deaths from obesity favor men (although women are catching up). The men begin more overweight than the women, many in the 700-900-lb range. Sean Milliken was the heaviest at over 900 pounds till a woman topped him at 940. 

4) Skewed gender expectations. Some men avoid dieting or talking about weight loss because they worry it's not manly. Even some diet foods are thought to be unmanly. Well, as outlined above, obesity kills "manhood" so, yeah. The good news is that men can and do lose weight if they work the calorie restricting 1200 calorie diet. Or any healthy diet. Keto, 5:2 diet, intermittent fasting, Atkins, South Beach, they all have weight loss success stories. 

5) Diet misconceptions. I've heard a lot of guys say they can't diet because they won't get full. This was Sean Milliken's problem, along with an enabling mother. At first, when you're overweight, you will struggle more with hunger because it takes more to satisfy a big stomach. But it gets easier as you stomach shrinks. And extreme calorie restricting does create hunger and stall metabolism. Many men like keto and a high protein1200 calorie diet. Keto is great for burning fat. And the 1200 calorie diet allows to you eat enough to feel comfortable.