Samah's diary

I am sorry to hear about your father's turn for the worse. You have nothing to reprimand yourself over your food and water consumption or exercise under these circumstances. A saint could not and would not have done better than you in the same situation today. You had no time to prepare for the day - and had to head for the hospital as your father's health dictated.

In fact - you did well to get the exercise in that you did. Congratulate yourself for this.

If you are rushing back to the hospital tomorrow with the intention (or definite possibility) of spending the whole day there - you should be able to pack some suitable snacks for yourself to take with you. Take some fruit. You can take things like weetabix made up with sweetener and skimmed milk in a container with a lid - remember to take a spoon. A packet of cooked meat can make a good high protein snack. As another snack I often have a handful of honey shreddies which is a honey sweetened cereal - you could put a couple of handfuls of a cereal you like dry and feel is suitable - i.e. not one of the ones marketed for children that have a high sugar content. Take a bottle of water with you - that way you can drink from it and when it is empty you know that you have had your 2 litres. I fill up an old 2 litre pop bottle with tap water every night and put it in the fridge - the next day I know that I have to drink it.

Clearly your father is extremely seriously ill - but there may be an opportunity for you to leave his side for a short time - maybe 15 minutes. You could take such an opportunity to take a walk round a few hospital corridors. Exercise does not need to be in a gym or on a treadmill in order to be of benefit to you. Any walking at whatever pace is suitable will be of some benefit compared to sitting and not walking. Walking can also help you deal with the stress of the situation - and your father's illness must make you feel extremely stressed.

You may not be able to do some or all of these things - but any that you do manage will make you feel that you have accomplished something for your own health under the most difficult of circumstances.

Take a few headache tablets with you incase you get a repeat of today's headache.

Eating lots of healthy snacks and drinking a lot of water will keep many of those hunger pangs at bay. Naturally your father's health has to take priority - but there may be an opportunity with a little planning up front and a little preparation time to make the best of a truly bad situation.

In truth you would be following many of your new plans - but would have simply adapted and relocated them to fit in with the recent turn of events.

Thinking of you.

Take care
Love
Margaret
 
I'm very sorry to hear about the situation with your father. Don't feel bad about your intake, certain things are out of your control.

Hope your father gets well soon.
 
Not too bad 5/1/08

Thanks girls!

I felt a lot better this morning, especially after getting an early-morning call from hubby. It was good to let out a lot of the emotional baggage I seem to be carrying, which I dont even realise I have until I speak to him and let it all bare. I dont know if its the stress or PMS (I never know when Im PMSIng with such irregular periods, until it actually happens!) or just the fact that Im missing hubby sooo much, but I seem to get very weepy of late whenever I talk to him, (though he always leaves me laughing by the end!)... poor baby, he is lonely and miserable enough on his own, having to work long hours on these dreary, dark and cold days with no warm house, meal or wife to come home to... and I dont do much in the comforting department to make him feel better. But he's wonderfully supportive and has never made me feel bad about leaving him alone so long, right after getting married, to be with my family at this difficult time. If anything, he gives me the strength and patience to continue doing so.

However, I have not told him yet about how I want to take serious steps to lose a significant bit of weight, coz I want it to be a bit of a surpise if I DO lose an obvious bit till I meet him next, so I didnt really tell him about being upset I couldnt stick with it yesterday... thats where you wonderful girls helped! I felt so much better about myself after reading ur posts, and I realise now its important not to be hard on myself when Im in the midst of already difficult circumstances.

Margaret, your snack suggestions were wonderful...thanks so much!

Today I got in a bit of jogging on the treadmill before heading off to the hospital since I was up early, and then at the hospital too, I tried to take a few 15 minute walks up n down hospital corridors. When I come to think of it, I actually did get alot of exercise into my day yesterday, coz the hospital is huge and quite a walk taking my Dad from one department to another for various procedures.

It was quite a difficult day with my Dad still not doing too good, and he may be in hospital a few days more.

HOWEVER, In terms of food and water intake I think I did reasonably well. For once, I actually managed to finish my 2 litres, that too by evening!

And food... I didnt actually have any big meal (apart from an egg and toast at breakfast), but kept snacking on healthy stuff all day, including an apple, banana, orange, green salad, fruit yoghurt, a few mixed nuts, a cereal bar,2 figs, and a bowl of lentil soup.

Im wondering about the lentil soup which did not seem to have any obvious source of fat in it, yet tasted good and was quite filling for lunch. Even though this was from the hospital cafeteria, I felt it was a good food option, being protein and all. I know I can take a sandwich or cold meat from home,
but sometimes I need some nice hot 'comfort' food, and soups always make me feel better (my sister says they make her feel ill, as thats the only time she ever has soup!)

I will have a bowl of Kellogs Special K cereal with skim milk for dinner.

Im too tired to do the math, but I think I was ok with my food proportions today?

Like I said before, I couldnt be bothered with counting calories and grams this time, and especially not with Dad in hospital, but I figure as long as Im not starving myself, and Im happy with eating healthy stuff, Im doing ok.

Hope all you wonderful women are doing well! Havent had the chance to visit anyones diaries today. Too tired. Same routine tmrw- Wish me luck!


Cheers,
Sam
 
Hi Sam

I am pleased that I was able to be of some help to you. Dont even think of popping into my diary just to visit while you are stretched in so many directions unless you have a question for me. I know that you are on my side.

You had an excellent day under difficult circumstances. You were able to give your father the support that he needs and were able to look after your own health. You did exercise and you ate healthily. You even drank your water. Really - the only way in which it could have been improved is with a more substantial main meal - and really - you cannot expect yourself to be superwoman under such difficult circumstances.

A "for future reference" suggestion is that it may be worth you getting a pedometer. I wear one all the time - and it is brilliant for knowing what all those ad-hoc steps accumulate to (like that walking around the hospital). It really can make you feel good about the level of exercise that you have got in.

You speak of emotional baggage. This is another thing which appears to be par for the course for many PCOS ladies - although there seems to be little in the way of documentation of it. I have often considered that I have lived on an emotional knife-edge. A bit of a roller-coaster ride where things can seem to be very good or very bad. If you think about it "normal" ladies put such things down to PMS where what they really mean is that their hormones are giving them a hard time. Remember - PCOS ladies have a lot of extra hormones all queueing up to play tricks on them. Remember the posting where I introduced you to Kimberly

Omega said:
You have to remember that many PCOS ladies need added tranquility in our lives since we have extra hormones playing tricks on us. Janice and I are both convinced that the walking helps us be more tranquil.
Click to expand...

Be proud of your achievements. I hope that tomorrow goes as well for you.

Take care
Love
Margaret
 
Roller coaster days- 7/1/08

The last couple of days have been crazy... Been at the hospital pretty much the whole time, wth hardly any sleep, or proper meals. With dads health deteriorating, and a whole crop of complications arising as a result, its been very stressful, and usually I dont have the presence of mind to even plan when and what I eat. I have been snacking on healthy (fruit, carrot sticks, cereal) and sometimes unhealthy foods most of the time (couple of bites of lasagne, or a kebab on the go). theres never enough time for a proper meal.

No 'formal' exercise whatsoever.

The upside(?) is that Im down by a half a pound- or so the scales say!
However, I dont think this can be attributed to healthy habits and is probably the result of stress, sleeplessness and water loss (havent managed to meet my 2 ltr target, plus a bout of diarrhoea)

Im now home to crash into bed and get whatever sleep I can.

I feel excessively frustrated at things not going according to plan, yet again, but I know that its not my fault this time- just circumstances.

A request to please pray for my Dad- may be gain peace and comfort soon.
 
You and your father are in my prayers.

Be proud of having snacked at times on healthy food. Be proud of the scales going down. OK - it may be for a host of reasons - but under the same difficult circumstances the scales could very easily have gone up. If the scales are not going up - you are dealing with it very well.

I dont think that your lost weight is due to you drinking less water than 2 litres. That normally has the reverse effect. In other words - as I understand it - your body detects that it is not getting enough water so deduces that there may be a drought going on so it figures that it should make the most of the water it has so that you are ok. This means that you retain water. Once it sees a plentiful supply it figures there is no problem and releases the stores and lets everything go to the bladder.

I do hope that you get some sleep. It can be hard at times - but it is so good for us.

Take care
Love
Margaret
 
My father passed away 3 days ago. I dont feel physically and mentally prepared to pursue my weight loss plan right now, and it might be a while before I come back to this forum, though I hope it happens sooner rather than later.

Thank you all for your support, especially Margaret, who has been a angel during the short time Ive been here, and I hope I will be ready soon to think about losing weight, and resuming life in general.

Sam
 
Hi Sam

I am so sorry to hear your sad news. I hope that your husband is surrounding you with support and love.

In time you will feel stronger - and when you do return to the forum pop into my diary or PM me so that I know that you are back.

Take care
Love
Margaret
 
Its been a painful, difficult, stressful and heart-breaking month since the year began, and after losing my father 3 weeks ago, losing weight was no longer my priority.
However, life has to go on, and I am now back in the UK with my hubby, ready to start a new life. Ive decided Im going to give myself alot of 'me' time this month.

-I am going to get back on track with the weight loss (btw, Ive gained a little over a pound since my dad passed away...and I thought I was hardly eating all this time, but the scales this morning showed otherwise!)

-Over and above trying to lose weight, I am going to adopt as healthy a lifestyle as practically possible, and devote time to discovering and trying out healthy, easy-to-prepare recipes which I can use when I will be busy working/studying again. If I can master them now, and experiment with what I like, it will be so much easier to throw things together when I'll be busier, and will hopefully prevent the need to eat out or take-away.

- I know its a bit early in the year, but I am going to start major spring-cleaning. Get rid of all those clothes, shoes, books, etc that i havent looked at in the past year, and give them to charity. I am determined not to succumb to sentimentality- the major force which has prevented me from throwing out so much unused stuff so far.

- I want to take a vacation with hubby around valentines... since we've been married (its been 6 months now!) weve hardly lived together more than a couple of weeks at a time (being based in different cities in the UK), and, even though he's been wonderfully supportive and understanding throughout my dads illness and since his death, being far away and in different countries, it was often difficult to bond with my husband in the way that you can only when ur together. So...im hoping we can spend quality time in some nice quiet cottage in front of a lovely fire, roasting chestnuts...mmmm.

Right, so that lovely image has made me forget everything else i had planned to do for myself this month... and now im more determined than ever to try and lose as much weight as I can before that lovely vacation Im going to seduce him with! (he doesnt know about my plans yet! However, Im sure his patients can do without him for a week or so)

I sooo hope I can lose a significant amount of weight this month... I can practically devote most of my day towards it.

If it doesnt happen now, I dont think it ever will.
 
Hi Sam

I am so pleased to see that you are back and a little stronger than before. You deserve a lot of "me time" and I think that your plans are very good. I particularly like your idea of a holiday. I am sure that your husband will think that it is a good idea too as he will have been missing you just like you were missing him.

A pound gain is very little for such stressful circumstances. I think that you can congratulate yourself on that.

You feel that you have eaten very little - it is quite easy to put on weight while not eating too much. Some things are a lot more fattening than others. You can pile a plate high with fruit and vegetables and lose weight. A small amount of food with a rich sauce will make you gain weight. Exercise always plays a big part - in my opinion particularly for PCOS ladies.

Take care
Love
Margaret
 
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