Day One – First Visit With My Nurse, Debby

For those who don't already now, I got accepted into a really great free weight loss program offered through my company's onsite health center. After having blood tests done, and completing a health evaluation, I had to wait to hear if I got to be one of the first 40 people to be part of this pilot program that will help me meet by weight-loss goal and be healthy, not just happy, for the rest of my life! 

Well...here I go! I was a little anxious and stressed running down to my appointment at 2 today. Couple things going on, like meeting my new boss via a telephone conference call right before, and also anxiously awaiting news on a car loan. Enough to stress your average person out, so probably not the best idea to do it during lunch on the day of my 1st appointment. But hey…life is not easy and so what better way to start off my program giving a pretty realistic picture of my life. 

Good thing, my next appointment is next Monday with my health coach, and group sessions begin on Tuesday! So really still excited and so looking forward to finding out what plan they will come up for just me! But for now, I guess I better get to my homework! Have a great week and Fourth of July!!!

Surprisingly, my blood pressure was lower than it was 2 weeks ago. Course, I have to admit I owe a lot of that to Debby, my nurse. She is one of those genuinely nice people who has a natural calming affect on people. When I first got there, I told her I was nervous as I ran down there. Right away, she said she wasn’t going to take my blood pressure (bp) right away then. Started with my weight, and guess what? I lost 2 lbs since she last weighed me. Which I’m thinking it might have been more if I didn’t have the celebration root beer float after my niece, Victoria and her team won their championship. But letting go of the guilt. One, because my feelings of guilt are one of my biggest self- sabotashers, and secondly, I hope there are many more celebrations in my future, so it's pretty cool that I celebrated responsibly and still lost 2 lbs!!!!

Next, Debby measured my height again. Here’s where I am once again shocked. I have been just under 5’9” ever since I finally stopped growing. When they took my measurements for this program, I was completely shocked that she said I was just barely 5’8”. I was shocked as to how I could lose and inch already since I have no osteoporosis, or had any vertebrae removed. But today, she had me remove my shoes, which were flats, and I am now down to 5’7.5”!!!! Seriously need to make Bailey stay awake during the night to find out where all my height is going? And if I have to lose inches, I wish it were from my dang long legs!!!! Yes! My legs! All you ladies who wish you had long legs – STOP! Trust me, trying to find slacks and one piece dresses is not fun. Even in my slimmer days, it was very difficult to find clothes that fit my unproportionate long leg/high- waisted frame. So really, God. If you’re going to zap inches from me, could you please figure out a natural way to shrink my legs? 

Oops, sorry…back to the weight loss journey. 

Next, Debby took measurements of my neck, waist and hips. I’m happy to report that while my waist and hip measurement are significantly higher then where I plan to be, they are within the prefect proportion range for eliminating me from the high cardiac risk….based on that measurement. Debby was careful to say being not a high cardiac risk is not only based on this measurement. Being at risk takes into account numerous factors. But going through this program, they plan on finding out everything about my health to make sure they know where I’m at and what risks I could have. It includes everything from the blood work before, the measurements today, and anything they find in the future, including thyroid, kidney, liver or any other issues. As for my measurements, the ratio came out to 7.1. According to Debby, that was in the prefect range. They want around 8 + or – one. Sorry, not sure how they figure it all out, so go have your doctor tell you. According to Debby, even people who seem thin, tone and healthy, could have a dangerous ratio for this measurement. For example, we all know those who seem like they carry a lot of weight below their hips or on their waist without much more on the hips, could be at risk. But those some who are so tone or thin that they lose their waist or hips so that they are almost both the same size, that could be a high risk for cardiac disease. So again, don’t freak out and go measure your neck, waist and hips. At your next check up, ask your doctor or nurse to tell you. 

After all the measurements and recording the biometric results I took for the program over into their online records for me, Debby handed me some papers. First, was a consent form to share my medical information with the health coach and any other medical professionals they could end up decided I would need to see. Plus it also included a confidentiality agreement not to share the personal health information the others in my group my say. Similar to Vegas, what happens in group FUSE, stays in group FUSE, when it comes to personal info. But sharing tips and recipes and my own info is still ok. 

After signing all my papers, I got homework! 

One sheet is a couple questions with various boxes with numbers to rank. One sheet reminded me a lot of the “how do you feel right now” questionnaire I used to complete during my therapist sessions when I was suffering from situational depression. This sheet was reassuring in a way. It let me know that they were serious about tackling any emotional issues that are preventing me from goal. So again, a little Woo Hoo went off in my brain.

Next sheet also had a couple questions, but with the “check all that apply” options. Basically, what is my motivational reason for wanting to be in this program, and what are do I think will be my biggest obstacles. Debby advised me to make sure I am completely honest. This form will be turned into my health coach. In order for my health coach to help provide a program that is best for just me, she needs me to be 100%. 

Then the final sheet is a food and exercise tracker. But for this first week, I should try to eat as I normally was for 3 days. 2 weekdays and 1 weekend day. She actually told me to avoid Wednesday, as Holidays aren’t typical days. Another Woo Hoo, went off in my brain at that thought. But at the same time, I don’t want to put on the 2 pounds I just lost, so I’ll be good. The point of eating as I was, is also for the health coach to plan to best program for me. Its was explained that its very dangerous to just dramatically drop too many calories at first. Not only could I be more likely to dump it from feeling hungry, but it could cause stress on your organs, including your heart, and prevent them from functioning properly. And the exercise tracker, as I learned from trying to do too much too soon in January, I could cause damage to muscles, tendons or bones. So again…gotta be honest and not try to do too much yet. 

Good thing, my next appointment is next Monday with my health coach, and group sessions begin on Tuesday!   So really still excited and so looking forward to finding out what plan they will come up for just me!   But for now, I guess I better get to my homework!   Have a great week and Fourth of July!!!