My No S Journey and New Found Key to Success
Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 7:33 pm
Happy summer to everyone. (Warning-this post is mostly all about me and what’s been a part of my journey-my health issues that have consumed me-but No S is a part of that landscape-read at your own risk-I tend to be a bit wordy! If for no other reason, it’s been rather cathartic to put all this down in words!) This whole post leads to my new-found mod to No S which is definitely working!
For those who are relatively new to No S, I am a stranger but I have been No S-ing off and on for five years. I first joined soon after purchasing the now famous Women’s World magazine featuring No S on the front cover about the time Reinhard’s book came out in spring 2008. Wow-what a great discovery. I bought a bunch of the books for gifts and have become a great believer in the system and have tried to follow the plan since then. I have definitely fallen off the wagon a number of times and always return as many other No Sers have done. I really feel like a true No S cheerleader even though I haven’t been as consistent as I should. However, reading some of the recent posts (I lurk a lot!) I have come to some realizations about my implementation of No S or more aptly, my lack of sticking with it. Many members write about working toward their 21 day challenge or trying for a perfect streak of green days and I would rarely be that “perfect.†Now logically, that shouldn’t have mattered and I should have listened more carefully to vmsurbat’s sage advice to “mark it and move on.†I even reminded people to do that and even started the thread that became a sticky called “No S Catch Phrase Glossary.â€
Then I’d get distracted and go back to my old habits, rejoin the “count your points†money making outfit, rarely stay within my points and here I’d be again. I have concluded. . . and it is working for me THIS TIME that I do best with having two HabitCals. I definitely think those new to this brilliant concept need to stick with Vanilla No S with no mods or tweaks for a SIGNIFICANT period of time. . . as in months or more before you even attempt any tweaks. . . but I strongly urge people to not view this whole thing as black or white or that you have failed if you have a red day or even a string of them occasionally. It’s OK. Same thing with the scale. I’m doing my best to stay away from it. I definitely can tell a difference in my clothes and when I happened to see my physical therapist yesterday for the first time in a few months, the first thing he said was, “that plan is really working for you isn’t it-I can tell you’ve lost.†Woo Hoo—see big smile on my face as my ego shot up immediately, of course.
So here’s my recent history and what I’m doing that has made the difference to help me turn the corner. Feel free to skip this pity party and go to the next post for my mod. . . It entails a lot of health history, but all of this plays into my mindset and mood over the last couple of years.
• Fall 2005: Messed up right knee followed by arthroscopic meniscus repair-did not prove to be highly successful but at least it eliminated the ugliest pain in my right knee. When I voiced concern that I was still having issues, that orthopedist said something to the effect that considering my age and my weight, I shouldn’t expect much. I was 55 at the time and probably about 40 or so pounds overweight at that point-still buying clothes in the misses section of the store! Well, that was certainly encouraging. After all, he was the doc-I thought I was doomed to a life of discomfort at that point. So on I trodded. . . not exercising at all and failing at every diet I tried. . . and I tried a bunch.
• Spring, 2008: Discovered No S! Yea!!! I began to “get it†although I didn’t lose much. . . even put weight on, but strangely with the No S thoughts stuck in the back of my head, I think it’s a miracle I didn’t just stuff my face and double my weight!
• Fall, 2009: My husband looked across the table at me on night and said, “what’s wrong with your face?†Uh, I don’t know, dear. . . turned out to be a tiny freckle sized melanoma on my right upper cheek. Wide excision followed with reconstructive surgery which resulted in a, what I thought was huge, scar. The scar faded over time and I was good to go. Thankfully, it was stage 1, in situ maligna lentigo-meaning it was only in the epidermis and had not progressed deeper or spread elsewhere.
• Fall, 2010: Took a nasty fall on vacation-look out for those speed bumps at resorts! Left knee issues persisted but my new wonderful PT took good care of me and it got much better. . . as in I could walk again without wanting to cry! A few cortisone shots to both knees bought me some time but pain still persisted and I had given up all physical activity that didn’t just have to be done. And my weight continued to climb. I wasn’t remotely inclined to do anything (including No S) except try to get from one day to the next.
• Winter, 2012: The fact that I had favored my “bad†right knee while the left one was more messed up, truly took its toll and the right knee completely went wacky on me. My orthopedist (a new one since I’d never been pleased with the first one on 2005) determined surgery was needed and said he thought I was probably too young (62) for total knee replacement so we should try to scope it again but it was my choice. Geesh, it had been so long since anyone had told me I was too young for ANYTHING, that I was so flattered that I decided to have it scoped again in April, 2012. It was evident early on that the surgery wasn’t enough. I was to the point that I’d sit in my car in the garage when I got home and listen to the radio rather than being willing to face the seven steps to get into the house. Upon hearing that, my PT said, “you know, they say it’s time for a TKR when your quality of life has deteriorated to such a degree that you can’t carry on your everyday tasks without significant pain.†He had this idea that my just sitting in the garage wasn’t a good thing! I shared that story with my surgeon and told him that he might have thought I was too young for knee replacement. . . but I had decided I was too young NOT to have it. He looked at me with a huge realization across his face and promptly said, “you know, I never thought about like that.†I didn’t want to lose good quality time with my family, chasing around my granddaughter, waiting till I was “old†enough to have the surgery.
• June, 2012: Total right knee replacement-a real “pain†to deal with, but a relief to know it would be a vast improvement. Continued PT with Scott. That knee progressed well, but it was obvious that the left one was in pretty bad shape too.
• October, 2012: Made plans for left TKR for November, then a guy ran a light and totaled my less than a year old Camry. Are you kidding me? After I realized I was ok but that it was equipped with knee airbags (who knew?), my first thought was, this better not have messed up my new knee! Good news-no serious injuries there and had a new Camry in less than a week.
• November, 2012: Left TKR. And surprise, surprise-when the doc opened it up, he discovered my patella tendon was in shreds from the 2010 fall I’d taken. Oh, geesh, maybe that’s why that knee had been swollen and painful for all that time! So he repaired that too. Ironically, the initial therapy for TKR is to get it moving ASAP to prevent scar tissue buildup; however, the treatment for a patella tendon repair is to keep it immobile for six weeks. Hmmm. . . a little contradiction in treatments. I had to wear an immobilizer for what seemed like forever but when I went to PT, Scott was allowed to take it off and do PT on the table with it. What a mess.
• December, 2012: Had an ultrasound to check for possible pulmonary embolisms (a common side effect of TKR’s) and they spotted a 2.5 cm (yeah, that’s over an inch) asymptomatic kidney stone lodged in my upper kidney.
• January, 2013: Lithotripsy (blasting it) failed to budge the stone. Put that on hold since it wasn’t giving me any problems. . . and have I mentioned, my weight had continued to climb to my highest EVER!
• February, 2013: Lost my dear mother-in-law and our precious little 15 year old poodle within a few days of each other. More pounds. . .
• April, 2013: Discovered two new “freckles†on my melanoma scar line. Although the biopsy was stage 1, in situ again, significant treatment ensued. Wide excision on April 22 then even wider (more than an inch and a half) on April 30 till the margins came back completely clear. Be grateful I’m not posting pictures-it was definitely not a pretty picture. . . but at least the melanoma is gone.
• May 9: Plastic reconstructive surgery, entailing more than 55 stitches plus staples and a “reverse flap facelift.†(Guess I’m going to look really young on one side!) Scar is HUGE but already looks much better and the doc is confident that it will virtually gone in six months. . . well, we shall see about that. Oh, well, when I complained about the messing up of my face, my husband was quick to point out that “skin grows back, I just don’t want to be a widower.†That was one of the sweetest things I’ve heard in years!
• May 25: School’s out and I am back, baby, No S speaking. I cancelled every subscription, plan, blog or whatever that is not related to No S. I’ve gone back and re-listened to Rein’s podcasts and I came out swinging. Even throughout the last few weeks till now, I’ve managed to stay on track with the “mod†that I have finally come up with that is truly working for me. Those details in the next post.
• June 11: PCNL-Urologist cut a hole in my back, snaked a tube to my kidney, broke up the stone with a laser and sucked all the little pieces out.
• June 19: Oh, yeah, hub had his knee scoped. . . but I’m married to Iron Man-he’s already up and at ‘em-he just finished vacuuming!
• And now I’m Good. To. Go. Period. I. Hope.
I am so done with doctors and appointments.
For those who are relatively new to No S, I am a stranger but I have been No S-ing off and on for five years. I first joined soon after purchasing the now famous Women’s World magazine featuring No S on the front cover about the time Reinhard’s book came out in spring 2008. Wow-what a great discovery. I bought a bunch of the books for gifts and have become a great believer in the system and have tried to follow the plan since then. I have definitely fallen off the wagon a number of times and always return as many other No Sers have done. I really feel like a true No S cheerleader even though I haven’t been as consistent as I should. However, reading some of the recent posts (I lurk a lot!) I have come to some realizations about my implementation of No S or more aptly, my lack of sticking with it. Many members write about working toward their 21 day challenge or trying for a perfect streak of green days and I would rarely be that “perfect.†Now logically, that shouldn’t have mattered and I should have listened more carefully to vmsurbat’s sage advice to “mark it and move on.†I even reminded people to do that and even started the thread that became a sticky called “No S Catch Phrase Glossary.â€
Then I’d get distracted and go back to my old habits, rejoin the “count your points†money making outfit, rarely stay within my points and here I’d be again. I have concluded. . . and it is working for me THIS TIME that I do best with having two HabitCals. I definitely think those new to this brilliant concept need to stick with Vanilla No S with no mods or tweaks for a SIGNIFICANT period of time. . . as in months or more before you even attempt any tweaks. . . but I strongly urge people to not view this whole thing as black or white or that you have failed if you have a red day or even a string of them occasionally. It’s OK. Same thing with the scale. I’m doing my best to stay away from it. I definitely can tell a difference in my clothes and when I happened to see my physical therapist yesterday for the first time in a few months, the first thing he said was, “that plan is really working for you isn’t it-I can tell you’ve lost.†Woo Hoo—see big smile on my face as my ego shot up immediately, of course.
So here’s my recent history and what I’m doing that has made the difference to help me turn the corner. Feel free to skip this pity party and go to the next post for my mod. . . It entails a lot of health history, but all of this plays into my mindset and mood over the last couple of years.
• Fall 2005: Messed up right knee followed by arthroscopic meniscus repair-did not prove to be highly successful but at least it eliminated the ugliest pain in my right knee. When I voiced concern that I was still having issues, that orthopedist said something to the effect that considering my age and my weight, I shouldn’t expect much. I was 55 at the time and probably about 40 or so pounds overweight at that point-still buying clothes in the misses section of the store! Well, that was certainly encouraging. After all, he was the doc-I thought I was doomed to a life of discomfort at that point. So on I trodded. . . not exercising at all and failing at every diet I tried. . . and I tried a bunch.
• Spring, 2008: Discovered No S! Yea!!! I began to “get it†although I didn’t lose much. . . even put weight on, but strangely with the No S thoughts stuck in the back of my head, I think it’s a miracle I didn’t just stuff my face and double my weight!
• Fall, 2009: My husband looked across the table at me on night and said, “what’s wrong with your face?†Uh, I don’t know, dear. . . turned out to be a tiny freckle sized melanoma on my right upper cheek. Wide excision followed with reconstructive surgery which resulted in a, what I thought was huge, scar. The scar faded over time and I was good to go. Thankfully, it was stage 1, in situ maligna lentigo-meaning it was only in the epidermis and had not progressed deeper or spread elsewhere.
• Fall, 2010: Took a nasty fall on vacation-look out for those speed bumps at resorts! Left knee issues persisted but my new wonderful PT took good care of me and it got much better. . . as in I could walk again without wanting to cry! A few cortisone shots to both knees bought me some time but pain still persisted and I had given up all physical activity that didn’t just have to be done. And my weight continued to climb. I wasn’t remotely inclined to do anything (including No S) except try to get from one day to the next.
• Winter, 2012: The fact that I had favored my “bad†right knee while the left one was more messed up, truly took its toll and the right knee completely went wacky on me. My orthopedist (a new one since I’d never been pleased with the first one on 2005) determined surgery was needed and said he thought I was probably too young (62) for total knee replacement so we should try to scope it again but it was my choice. Geesh, it had been so long since anyone had told me I was too young for ANYTHING, that I was so flattered that I decided to have it scoped again in April, 2012. It was evident early on that the surgery wasn’t enough. I was to the point that I’d sit in my car in the garage when I got home and listen to the radio rather than being willing to face the seven steps to get into the house. Upon hearing that, my PT said, “you know, they say it’s time for a TKR when your quality of life has deteriorated to such a degree that you can’t carry on your everyday tasks without significant pain.†He had this idea that my just sitting in the garage wasn’t a good thing! I shared that story with my surgeon and told him that he might have thought I was too young for knee replacement. . . but I had decided I was too young NOT to have it. He looked at me with a huge realization across his face and promptly said, “you know, I never thought about like that.†I didn’t want to lose good quality time with my family, chasing around my granddaughter, waiting till I was “old†enough to have the surgery.
• June, 2012: Total right knee replacement-a real “pain†to deal with, but a relief to know it would be a vast improvement. Continued PT with Scott. That knee progressed well, but it was obvious that the left one was in pretty bad shape too.
• October, 2012: Made plans for left TKR for November, then a guy ran a light and totaled my less than a year old Camry. Are you kidding me? After I realized I was ok but that it was equipped with knee airbags (who knew?), my first thought was, this better not have messed up my new knee! Good news-no serious injuries there and had a new Camry in less than a week.
• November, 2012: Left TKR. And surprise, surprise-when the doc opened it up, he discovered my patella tendon was in shreds from the 2010 fall I’d taken. Oh, geesh, maybe that’s why that knee had been swollen and painful for all that time! So he repaired that too. Ironically, the initial therapy for TKR is to get it moving ASAP to prevent scar tissue buildup; however, the treatment for a patella tendon repair is to keep it immobile for six weeks. Hmmm. . . a little contradiction in treatments. I had to wear an immobilizer for what seemed like forever but when I went to PT, Scott was allowed to take it off and do PT on the table with it. What a mess.
• December, 2012: Had an ultrasound to check for possible pulmonary embolisms (a common side effect of TKR’s) and they spotted a 2.5 cm (yeah, that’s over an inch) asymptomatic kidney stone lodged in my upper kidney.
• January, 2013: Lithotripsy (blasting it) failed to budge the stone. Put that on hold since it wasn’t giving me any problems. . . and have I mentioned, my weight had continued to climb to my highest EVER!
• February, 2013: Lost my dear mother-in-law and our precious little 15 year old poodle within a few days of each other. More pounds. . .
• April, 2013: Discovered two new “freckles†on my melanoma scar line. Although the biopsy was stage 1, in situ again, significant treatment ensued. Wide excision on April 22 then even wider (more than an inch and a half) on April 30 till the margins came back completely clear. Be grateful I’m not posting pictures-it was definitely not a pretty picture. . . but at least the melanoma is gone.
• May 9: Plastic reconstructive surgery, entailing more than 55 stitches plus staples and a “reverse flap facelift.†(Guess I’m going to look really young on one side!) Scar is HUGE but already looks much better and the doc is confident that it will virtually gone in six months. . . well, we shall see about that. Oh, well, when I complained about the messing up of my face, my husband was quick to point out that “skin grows back, I just don’t want to be a widower.†That was one of the sweetest things I’ve heard in years!
• May 25: School’s out and I am back, baby, No S speaking. I cancelled every subscription, plan, blog or whatever that is not related to No S. I’ve gone back and re-listened to Rein’s podcasts and I came out swinging. Even throughout the last few weeks till now, I’ve managed to stay on track with the “mod†that I have finally come up with that is truly working for me. Those details in the next post.
• June 11: PCNL-Urologist cut a hole in my back, snaked a tube to my kidney, broke up the stone with a laser and sucked all the little pieces out.
• June 19: Oh, yeah, hub had his knee scoped. . . but I’m married to Iron Man-he’s already up and at ‘em-he just finished vacuuming!
• And now I’m Good. To. Go. Period. I. Hope.
I am so done with doctors and appointments.