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Weight Watchers


pprovost

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Well, I am facing the music now as many stroke survivors are doing. Being disabled is a reason that some people gain weight after a stroke. I have decided that being overweight is NOT for me. Having never had a significant weight problem before my stroke, I scorned the masses who went to their weekly WW meeting in hopes of encouragement on their journey. My Mom has attempted several times since I was very small but only to give up and gain more weight. My stroke gave me a big wake up call in that I realized I had inherited some rather dangerous genetics from both my parents who had weight issues, my dad eventually passing away from heart failure at age 74. Now I am retired and have time to take care of my health so I started to follow many of the popular programs in our pop culture today. only to get bored and go back to my learned habits. I was really lucky to recover my ability to walk albeit I wear an AFO and use a cane and have a great deal of spasticity on my left side. BUT I can walk! My first instincts after the stroke was that I needed to find a way to burn the energy I was consuming or else walking may become difficult in the future. My staircase became my gym for a month or two until my rehab was done and I could confidently take walks on my own in our neighbourhood. We have bike paths which make walking quite safe from traffic.

We also have severe winters with lots of snow.Sidewalks are rarely visible from December until mid- April and if we get freezing rain they are hazardous for anyone. This meant I would have to find a way to walk indoors somewhere. In Canada we love indoor malls and St. Bruno has a beauty. Two floors and two elevators with a few coffee shops to have a cup of jo after a 30 minute stroll around one floor, My municipality provides handicap transportation from my house to the door of the mall for less than 3$. It is really a no brainer.

Now the logistics have been dealt with, I have everything I really need to stay healthy for life.

My Mom has had some real success with Weight Watcher this last year and has been trying to coax me to join so I figure that because I have been getting poor results on my own, I would be stupid to not give it a try.

August 28th I signed up. I have lost 5.6 pounds in little over a month. I feel health returning with all the fruits and vegetables that I now eat. This weekend is Canada's ThanksGiving and there will be much to deal with so I expect that I will be hitting some rough waters before my next meeting next Tuesday. At least my seritonin levels have been replentished by the glorious Indian Summer we are enjoying this week. I can do this. I survived a stroke so losing a few pounds is just another challenge among others I will have at some point. Nothing to sweat about. Small stuff indeed.

 

 

Wish me luck

 

Pat

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Pat

 

Best of luck to you. You're off to a good start. Wouldn't it be nice to have a metabolism like the guys do and lose the weight quicker. You're eating healthier as well, which in the long run is a good thing medically. I can empathize with that genetic thing - I inherited my Dad's side of the family's tendency for weight gain. You'll do fine for the holidays - I've learned the best way to not let the holiday take control is to closely watch portion sizes. Keep us posted.

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Pat,

 

Good for you! We all put the weight on a tiny bit at a time and we take it off the same way. Don't get discouraged if you have a bad week once in a while. Weight Watchers is a great organization for keeping you on track and making good choices.

 

Jean

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Guest lwisman

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Congratulations Pat. Nothing ventured nothing lost. :D

 

My local mall opens an hour early just for walkers. Since there are no shoppers, it is less hectic. Check to see if yours opens early also.

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pat, i understand perfectly what you are dealing with. i too have weight issues since stroke but slowing i have begun losing some, just by walking more outside. it does help. i'm sure ww will keep you focused so you can lose the weight. good luck and keep us posted on how you are doing.

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Wishing you success! I just started NutriSystems today and am excited. So far, the food taste great and the customer service, whether by live chat or phone are great. I can't drive yet so going to a center for meetings wouldn't work for me. Plus the food gets delivered to you which is a plus. It's a bit pricey but I figured I would give it a shot. I am on the Diabetic program and my daughter is on the Woman's program. The Daily Menu Planner is a great tool and I can see where all the literature I received, will be an awesome guide and will help me in the future even when I am off the program. It will be an asset in learning how to live a healthier life and maintaining, physically and emotionally.

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Congratulations Pat. Nothing ventured nothing lost. :D

 

My local mall opens an hour early just for walkers. Since there are no shoppers, it is less hectic. Check to see if yours opens early also.

Well Lin I am down over 15 lbs and I believe that a daily walk is key.how grateful I am to have recovered enough to walk as well as I do. In winter I do walk at the mall Hubby, Carl, is working from home right now and with the economy as it is he may be home alot this winter so he may decide to walk with me this winter.

 

I intend to be more active as a SN member this fall. I have developed an interest in reading blogs of all kinds. It is great therapy I think.

 

Pat

 

P.S. Thanks for the pesto tip. I gonna get to that this weekend if weather permits.

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