Thyroid & TOPS

This entry is an example of the blog I'm doing for an organization I belong to called TOPS, which stands for Take Off Pounds Sensibly. I am 8 pounds from goal and am the current leader for the group (an elected position). I had been slender pretty much my entire life, but thyroid surgery helped put an end to that. Half of my thyroid was removed due to a lump (benign thank goodness, but the size of an egg) and the other half, unbeknownst to me, revolted and decided not to work. I put on 25 pounds in less than six months which when added to the 20 I had put on over the past 30 years meant I was now 45 pounds over on a rather small boned 5'2" frame. I called my friend D who had struggled with her weight her entire life and said HELP! How do I deal with this, what do I do? She invited me to join her at TOPS and the rest as they say is history.

By the way, thyroid medication does not take the weight off for you. It helped with a whole slew of symtoms including rapid weight gain, but losing the weight already gained takes the usual method of consuming less calories then you expend by using exercise, good nutrition and portion control. I've been really slow taking it off because I'm not very disciplined and love my goodies, but I am making progress.

I went to the doctor eight months after my surgery because of depression and when they tested my thyroid the doctor said "Well, you're not depressed, your thyroid is." I registered almost none at all and that was the cause for the various symtoms I was trying to attribute to turning 50 or to menopause. I was depressed, exhausted, gaining weight, losing my hair, my skin was so dry it felt like sand paper, and my brain was so foggy I couldn't make the simplest of decisions. I was used to having oily skin and a brain that worked. Thank goodness for medication, even if it did take a couple of years to get it regulated.

July 7 meeting -
We had lots going on at the meeting this week. It was awards day and we started our new game. Kay handled the presentation of awards and they were as follows:

Division 2 - Judy
Division 3 - Christine
Division 4 - Doris

Best Loser - Christine

Vacation Charms - Geri, June, Penny, Marilyn, Roy, Agnes, Charlene

KOPS $5.00 award - Leta, Betty, Mary

Our net loss for the month of June was 43.25 pounds. Wa-hoo - let's keep it up!

We have a new member that just joined this week, her name is Margaret. We also saw the return of member Linda R. who had not been coming this past year. Welcome Ladies!

Diane explained the new game we'll be playing this summer and divided us into teams. The response was really terrific. We had 27 people sign up to participate and everyone seemed really excited about the game and duly impressed with Diane's creativity and the beautiful gameboard she made. We're going to send a picture of it and the rules to TOPS magazine. The purpose, as with all of our contests/games, is to provide motivation and incentive to lose those pounds. Sometimes you participate in them as individuals and sometimes as part of a team. The team games have a secondary purpose which is to learn to provide each other with support through phone calls and notes of encouragment.

Julie and Sylvia provided the group with copies of some salad recipes and we closed with the recitation of Hand In Hand Together We Can.

Rockaway Beach

There were no clouds in the sky so the sunset was very simple in appearence, but still very beautiful. Once it reaches the horizon it disappears so quickly that it makes you aware of how fast the earth is really moving.



Our weekend at Rockaway Beach was wonderful as always. It was a family weekend with Big Bear's cousins and we enjoyed their company, the beach and of course the seafood. Everyone pitches in to help with the preperation and the cleanup and then we sit down to enjoy the food and catch up on each other's lives.



Maybe someday more of the family will decide to join our yearly excursion.

Garden Update

Yesterday and today I spent some time in the garden weeding and watering and admiring the growth and the greeness of it all. It's just a small salad garden, but I enjoy it and it gets me outside in the sunshine. I'm not much of an outdoorsy type and limited in my gardening skills, but enjoy the planting and watching it grow. I'd just as soon sit at the computer, watch TV or read a book and yet I really do enjoy being out in the sun. Plus I'm using the increased sunlight (now that summer is here) to cut back on my anti-depressant in hopes of eliminating it at some point especially now that my thyroid level is being kept higher.

Now to make you all green with envy - I'm off to the beach tomorrow! Big Bear and I will be meeting his cousin & wife at a little cabin in Rockaway for two days. We've always enjoyed their company and a few years ago we started doing a yearly weekend at the beach just to keep in touch. Several years back as all of our parents were dying one by one, we decided we'd like to see each other sometime other than just funerals so we arranged to meet at the beach one year and it became a yearly tradition, a way to keep some family ties. The cabin is right on the beach with large windows looking out at the ocean. I love going there. I'll take some pictures. :o)

Friends

On Tuesday I took D (best friend) to the hospital for foot surgery. She expected me to just drop her off as her husband would be picking her up later in the day. As we parked I turned off the engine and as she's saying "You don't have to go with me", I look at her and say "You think I'm going to drop my best friend off for surgery and then head home? NO WAY! What if I get home and then find out later" (at this point my brain puts the brakes on my mouth as I quickly realize I don't want to say 'you died' and make her even more apprehensive) and instead said the more general phrase "something happened." Oh well, at least she knows me and my mouth well. She was relieved to have me there as she is very, very nervous about stuff like this. Neither of us is good at waiting around if we have nothing to do, so she had her Sudoku book, I had my crochet and between that and conversation the hours of waiting weren't so bad. The surgery took less then an hour, but there was 3 1/2 hours ahead of it (questions and prep) and then a couple of hours after for recovery. Everything went really well and she'll have the other foot done in a month.

Lovely Weekend

What a lovely weekend we had. On Saturday one of Big Bear's co-workers invited him to go fishing on the lake near his home and in the evening our Son & DIL took us out to dinner at a very nice restaurant. On Sunday BB went out to breakfast with his good friend K and they goofed around for awhile. Then in the afternoon we went over to Son's house for dinner and a movie. It was very nice and relaxing and our son fed us for two days (well, dinner anyway). Seeing as how we had to feed that skinny kid with the hollow leg until he grew to 6'3" and 200# it's kind of nice to have him reciprocate once in awhile.

Hope all you Dads out there had a great weekend, too.