My Dad and Liver Cancer

My father's birthday is this Sunday.  He would have been 87 had he not passed away 17 years ago from cancer.  The disease actually started elsewhere, but ended up invading his liver.   I would be totally remiss if I didn't include a blog post on liver cancer (this is a liver themed blog after all).

The liver continuously filters our blood...turning the good stuff that was absorbed from the digestive system into a useable form while at the same time removing toxins and other chemical waste from the blood so they can be excreted.  Since all the blood in the body must pass through it, the liver is unusually accessible to cancer cells traveling in the bloodstream.  Most liver cancer is in fact, secondary - as with my dad.  However 2% of cancers in the US are primary liver cancers - meaning it starts in the liver.

Livers damaged by birth defects, alcohol abuse, or infection such as hepatitis B and C, and cirrhosis are prime candidates.  According to WebMD.com, more than half of all people diagnosed with primary liver cancer have cirrhosis.  Liver cancer may also be linked to obesity and...fatty liver disease. 

 

There's that disease again...the one which launched this blog...the one responsible for the weight loss so I can hopefully get it under control. 

 

How serious is liver cancer?  The last I heard the relative 5 year survival rate is 15%.  Wow.  Read that again.  15%.  Part of the reason being that most folks either have other liver problems, or the cancer started elsewhere and the patient has already been compromised by chemo or radiation.  The numbers do improve if surgery to remove the cancer in the liver is a possibility...or if the cancer is in the early stage and they are able to have a liver transplant.  Wonder how long the wait is on THAT list!

 

So let me put those words together, so the next time I just want to throw in the towel, I have this sentence with me.  Repeat after me:  Liver cancer may be linked to fatty liver disease and the 5 year survival rate is 15%.  I can picture how my dad looked the last few weeks...and days of his life.  Hopefully my readers do not have that mental image.   

 

Happy Birthday Dad.  I'm trying.

 

Weight Lost This Week:    0.8 lbs.

Total Weight Lost:           12.2 lbs.

 

 

The Jeans

Ever since I was young, I have had a belly.  As in a gut.  Beer belly.  Belly fat.  Whatever you want to call it.  Even  at 5 ft. 6 and 110 lbs.  There was always the stomach.  I knew my relationships with boyfriends were ending when they started complaining "When are you going to do something about that gut of yours?  Get rid of it!"  110 lbs and I was too fat to be loved.

Two abdominal surgeries and a pregnancy didn't help matters any.  The excess belly fat became worse.  I now understand that some of it may have been caused by the food I was eating (sugar) and surgery can do strange things to abdominal muscles but that doesn't help with self esteem.  Especially when it came to buying clothes.  In particular, pants.  Especially jeans.

If the jeans fit in the waist, they were ridiculously baggy through the legs and hips.  If they had a nice fit through the legs, there was no way I was going to be able to zip them up...and buttoning them was out of the question.  I finally resorted to elastic waist jeans - my only option as the weight...and the stomach...grew.  At first, the jeans only needed to have elastic in the back, but more recently they needed to have a full elastic waist.  Old lady pants as my daughter pointed out.  Didn't help that I turned gray in my 40's too.  My first question when I tried on clothes in the fitting room...pants, jeans (and yes, dresses and skirts too) was "How does my stomach look in this?"  Not how do I look in this, but my stomach.

As the weight has slowly come off I have felt a shift in the weight distribution in my body.  People were amazed when I said I had only lost 8 - 9 or 10 pounds.  I felt my clothes hanging differently on my body.  So a few days ago when I needed to pick up some clothes for my mom at the store, I found myself flipping through a rack of jeans that were on clearance.  70% off with an additional 20% that day.  I looked at the few that were left in my size and found one that I liked.  But of course, no elastic waist.  None at all.  I put them back on the rack.

Try me on the jeans called to me. What?  If I try them on, and they look horrid, I'll be depressed.  If I can't even zip them up, I'll feel like these past weeks haven't made a dent and I'll want to drown my sorrows over a Big Mac and fries.  But each time I tried to turn away, that little voice in my head urged me to take them to the fitting room.   

I listened to the voice.  I entered the little cubicle and started to put them on.  I could see that they fit  well in the legs - but the moment of truth was yet to come.  And then?  Good, I can get them over my hips, oh my! The zipper went up fairly easily...and...and...

It probably took all of 2 seconds for my eyes to fill with tears as I stood looking in the mirror wearing a buttoned pair of jeans with no elastic.

For the first time in years.  No - for the first time in decades.  I cried in that fitting room, over a simple pair of $6 jeans.  Because I could BUTTON THEM.  Truth be told, they were a little snug, but I could sit!  I could squat!  I could BREATHE.  And the legs looked great too! 

There was no way I was going home without them. I haven't even worn them yet, but during the weekend when temptation reared it's head, all I had to do was think about those jeans.  It was the perfect "gift" for losing those first 10 pounds.  A surprise one at that.  The best kind.

Weight Lost This Week - 1.0 lbs.
Total Weight Lost -        11.4 lbs.

10 Ways To Lose 10 Pounds

There's a party goin' on right here
A celebration to last throughout the years
So bring your good times and your laughter too
We gonna celebrate your party with you
           Kool & The Gang


It was either that or Dora the Explorer singing "We did it."  I'd prefer Celebration, don't you think?

I have lost over 10 lbs.  I lost 6 lbs. in the first two weeks, and it took seven weeks to lose the next 4 lbs.  Seriously. 

Google "Lose 10 pounds" and see what articles pop up.  It's mind boggling to me.  Everything from a generic article on how to do it, to a promise to lose 10 lbs. in 3 days.  That's right, 3 days.  I can't see how that would be healthy for anyone.  I also can't see where any of the quick fixes can possibly be a permanent solution.  We all need some wiggle room.  And let's face it.  In order to lose weight, we have to find that formula that works for US.  We are individuals.  Our body chemistry is different.  In many ways we know what will work for us and what won't - so the key is to figure out what makes sense for our own lives.  So how did I do it?

1)  Water.  I'd have to say this was the biggest change for me, and the one that I would give the gold star to.  I drank water.  Almost only water.   Lots of it.  In conjunction with that I stopped drinking soda.  Mind you, I rarely drank regular soda anyway, but I think giving up even the diet stuff did wonders for my system. 

2)  Better meat choices.  I've become a white meat/seafood eater.  The occasional red meat splurge is lean.  Very lean.

3)  White flour is bad.  I severely cut down on white bread.  It's wheat or multi grain 99% of the time.  Added bonus - we found a multi grain bread that even my husband likes.

4)  Sugar is bad too.  I've cut back, but I can't say I've been as good about this one.  Ice cream is still very tasty.

5)  Much less alcohol.  I don't want to say that I was a lush, but drinking is part of my social network.  I eliminated hard liquor, and now only drink wine and light beer in very limited quantities.  Not only am I not packing on the extra useless calories, but the willpower not to indulge in bad foods stays strong.

6)  Eat at home.  We stay home a lot more than we use to for meals.  Now if we go out to eat it has to be for a special occasion - or at least a gosh darn good reason.  Stopping at a restaurant to finally have a late dinner after spending hours in the emergency room with my mom IS a good reason to eat out.  Just because one is too tired to cook is not.  Added bonus - it saves a lot of money.

7)  Blog about it.  Hold yourself accountable.  Many times I'd eye a piece of cake and the thought of having to admit to my readers that I didn't lose any weight that week kept me on track.

8)  Potato Chips and French Fries.  I have not had fries in 9 weeks.  I've had a few chips, but probably not even a bag full over the same period.  Fries are considered one of the worst foods to eat ever.  Potato chips are also on pretty much every list for foods that make you add pounds.

9)  Meditate.  Keeps the stress down, and therefore, no need for stressful eating.

10)  Reading.  If I'm reading, I'm not eating.  I checked out several books from the library and am really enjoying getting back to one of my favorite pastimes.

Now for the next 10!

Weight Lost This Week - 0.6 lbs.
Total Weight Lost -        10.4 lbs.

Slow and Steady Wins The Race

I really, really, really wanted to do a post this week about how I was celebrating reaching the 10 lb. weight loss mark.  I had my entry written in my head and was looking forward to be able to say that I was finally in the double digits.  I have been eating healthier for 8 weeks now - you would think that I would have reached 10 lbs. awhile ago.  Except for the occasional treat, I've been disgustingly good.  My reward was going to come in that number on the scale.

But NOOOOO.  I didn't make it.  Yes, I lost weight this week.  But not enough to hit 10 lbs.  Not enough by 2/10 of a pound.  My immediate reaction?  You've got to be kidding.  Okay, so the language may have been a tad stronger than that, but I am trying to keep this blog family friendly.  All this work, all this denial of the foods that I love, and I STILL can't say I've lost 10 lbs.  Never mind the fact that folks are beginning to notice the weight loss and have complimented me on how great I look.  Never mind the fact that I feel better than I have in months.  Never mind the fact that I have now lost over 5% of my original weight.  This is an important milestone - research suggests that losing 5% will stop fatty liver disease from getting worse (it takes 9% to 10% according to studies to possibly reverse the damage done.)  On top of that, how many articles have we all read that state losing 1 or 2 lbs. a week is the healthiest, most efficient way to lose weight...and the one that will very likely lead to permanent weight loss?  Fad diets don't work in the long run.  I've seen too many cases of folks who have lost a good deal of weight in a fairly short period of time, and then gain anywhere from half to all of it back...in some cases, even more than the total amount lost!

Yet as a society, we want it, and we want it now.  We are a bunch of hares running here and there expecting instant results.  We obsessively count calories to a point that's frightening (oh no, this is 50 calories, I really need to have this one instead because it's only 45!)  I've never been the rabbit type in any aspect of my life, why here?  I like turtles.  They are peaceful, serene and wise.  One step at a time.  Week, by week.  Revel in the small victory.  I lost weight this week.  I'm still on track, still in the race.  Somewhere down the road I'll slowly walk by, the hares sleeping off a sugar/fat binge on the side, the finish line clearly within reach.

Weight Lost This Week:   0.6 lbs.
Total Weight Lost:            9.8 lbs.