Cooker's Throwdown Friday... 3-22-13

[Superbob]

Okay, here is the traditional Weigh-in Eve, weekly Throwdown starter. Hope all are doing well. We trust that the cold start to Spring soon will pass, and we will be basking in warmth and enjoying spring flowers very soon.

Superdawg and Superbob just took a walk in a cold wind, and the dysfunctional knee was barely working at all. Thought for a minute might have to get family come to haul us back home, but we made it. Hoping Superdawg will be patient after the surgery when I will need to recover and rehab enough to walk her again. She is a smart dog, and was patient after my heart surgery, so I think she will understand. :thumbup:

Superbob will weigh in tomorrow morning.

Thanks to Duffey for starting NCAA tourney pick-ems, which are fun to follow. Superbob has suspended his superpowers in order to be guessing at game results like everyone else. Prediction: Some big powers are going to fall. Always happens. Gotta love the underdogs!:wink2:

 

[Duffey]

I also will weigh in tomorrow and hope the scales decide they want to move in a downward trend.

I just checked on our valve group picks. It appears that Superbob and I are on the same wave length; time will tell!:smile2:

 

[Wise]

I'm a hopin' and a prayin' for the state of my childhood in the NCAA. I completed only one bracket this time, but win or lose I'm rooting for IU, Notre Dame and Butler! Of course, anyone except Louisville for the championship will be fine, even Duke, and that's saying a lot!

 

[Wise]

I'm at 189.6 this morning, which is down 2.7 from last week. Ain't no explaining that to me. I'm down 4.9 for the year. Hey, I'll take it!

 

[Superbob]

Congratulations. Mr. Wise -- that's great!

As usual, there is ambiguity with Superbob. :redface2:

I put the Weight Watchers scales on a little skinny throw rug in the bathroom and got a very pleasing reading well down in the 250s. But now I sadly conclude that putting the scales on even that slender surface "cushions" reality. For I then set the scales down on the hard floor and got a reading of 261.7. :confused2:

So I assume the scales are sensitive to surface and are falsely down some 5 pounds on the softer surface.

I am not going to beat myself up, given that the 250s are still in sight and even with the harsher reading, I'm still down 3.3 pounds from the beginning of the year.

This, despite being barely able to walk a half-mile now. My knee was so dysfunctional yesterday that I briefly thought of calling home and asking for a ride home for Superdawg and me. I am afraid to try new kinds of exercise right now because I worry about causing further damage for the surgeon to deal with. So I make do with the most sensible eating I can manage and a side of a little exercise.

Surely if the surgery is successful April 9 .... when I then start doing an amazing 6 hours a day of rehab, and then two more months of PT, and then hopefully being able to do longer walks more easily -- all that will come together into a plan, somehow. :thumbup:

 

[Duffey]

Congratulations, Wise! Good going!
Superbob, you're getting pretty close to your surgery date. I bet rehab and a functional knee will soon have you walking circles around the rest of us.
As for me, although I've walked 9 miles this week, and have stayed within my calorie limit, my scales only inched downward by a tenth of a pound. CRAP, I just don't get it!:confused2:
Good thing I don't discourage easily!:biggrin2::biggrin2:

 

[AgilityDog]

I'm FAT. The scale is going in the wrong direction, despite diet and exercise. Should I blame age or the beta blockers?

I did my third weekly yoga class on Wednesday, and I am SORE. But it will help me build strength, improve flexibility, and make me do something on the mornings I can't face the elliptical.

 

[Duffey]

Laurie, it's most likely the beta blockers, although I think it does get harder each and every year to lose weight.

I've thought about taking yoga, but I've never taken the next step and put it into action. I hope you keep us updated on your progress. Maybe it will spur me into taking action.

 

[Wise]

Laurie, Cindy told me this morning, "I'm fat!" In fact she weighed in at 160. She told me to report it or I wouldn't do that. She decided that it was time again to face reality. What bothered her most was not being able to fit into some jeans she wanted to wear. I just got out of the way and kept my mouth shut. I was not born yesterday!

 

[epstns]

Yes, Wise, you are truly a wise man! We all know what it feels like to have to admit that we aren't where we wanted to be. Give Cindy some time and I bet she will recover and reach her goal. We certainly know she insn't a quitter.

I'm still here on the sidelines. Was thinking about taking a walk this afternoon, but chickened out. I'll wait until I actually have some direction from my surgeon about exercise, then organize and do it in a controlled environment. In the meantime, I'm just not going to get all cranky about it. Once I've healed sufficiently, I'll readjust, set new goals and get on with it. I enjoy the exercise too much to worry about not being able to get back into shape. It will come.

 

[Cooker]

I have been walking by the scales once or twice a day ... They have not invited me to step up as of yet :tongue2:

 

[Duffey]

I have been walking by the scales once or twice a day ... They have not invited me to step up as of yet :tongue2:

Are you saying that your scales are anti-social? If so, I'd bet they're not yours!

 

[Superbob]

Are you saying that your scales are anti-social? If so, I'd bet they're not yours!

Go ahead, Ref -- throw a flag at The Chimp --- 15 yards for "taunting"! :tongue2:

 

[Duffey]

Go ahead, Ref -- throw a flag at The Chimp --- 15 yards for "taunting"! :tongue2:

Your wish is my command: Penalty! 15 yard loss.

 

[Cooker]

Your wish is my command: Penalty! 15 yard loss.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA :tongue2:

 

[epstns]

I'm not afraid of my scale. I could lay right down next to it and go to sleep. . . of course, I'd be stiff from sleeping on the floor.

I'm beginning to feel like myself again, after hernia surgery on the 15th. I saw my surgeon yesterday and he said all is well. We took off the steri-strips, and everything looks great - I'll have another scar, but only about 1 inch long. Given all of my other surgical scars, nobody is going to notice this new one.

He said that I can start distance walking again whenever I'm ready (going to the gym today), but not to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk (what's that?) until I see him again in about a month.

So, I've got most of my life back within my own control. The weight restrictions will curtail my strength training, push-ups, etc., but he did say it is OK to do light free weights, as long as I keep it under 8 or 9 pounds. I can even start back to full-time work next Monday. I guess I'm on track to recover again, hopefully I won't need to do this again for a long time (if ever).

 

[Duffey]

Good news, Steve.:smile2:
I was told post-AVR not to lift anything heavier than 5-7 pounds. The first morning home, I got a cup of coffee, then lifted an unopened gallon of milk out of the fridge to add to my coffee. I immediately realized that a gallon must weigh more than I thought, and I got a definitive answer later on in the day when my incision started oozing blood. I learned the hard way that there's a reason for those weight restrictions.:tongue2:

 

[Superbob]

Great that your recovery seems to be proceeding smoothly, Steve. Yep, I remember those weight restrictions, and they are for a good reason. You will be back to your customary gym routine soon enough. And the joy of TD weigh-ins awaits you, too.

For my part, I am beginning to think back on all my rounds of PT since hitting the big Six-0 -- for back, cardiac rehab, for knees, for back --- and coming soon, what they say will be about two months' worth for the pending bionic knee. It will be a challenging time, but I have become a real believer in Physical Therapy. My first round almost 10 years ago put me back on my feet and motivated me when spinal stenosis had me down almost for the count. A PT named Michele made a big difference in my quality of life; what she taught me carried through the heart surgery, and the cardiac rehab, and to the present day.

We can accomplish much when we put our mind to it.

Aging definitely ain't for wimps! :biggrin2::biggrin2::biggrin2: