Here are the numbers from Monday:
Starting
Weight:
|
239.0
|
Original Target*:
|
254.0
|
Adjusted Target:
|
237.2
|
Actual Weight:
|
240.4
|
Loss/Gain:
|
+
1.4
|
Total Loss:
|
62.2
|
% of Goal:
|
44.9%
|
Avg. Loss/Wk.:
|
–
2.3
|
*Original target calculated from a
starting weight of 302.6 lbs. and an average loss/wk. of 1.8 lbs.
|
|
Last week, I wrote on Monday as my mother lay dying in her
bed. She passed the next morning, surrounded by her family. My sister had come
in on Sunday; two uncles and an aunt arrived in the wee hours of Tuesday, just
in time. More family arrived in the next three days. And the eating and
drinking commenced.
Despite my good intentions, calorie tracking went out the
window for a week. Thank God I stopped drinking to excess in my twenties;
otherwise, my weight gain would have been much more. Moreover, I still managed
to keep a limit on my intake — except for the first night, when we had fried
chicken from Babe’s Chicken Dinner House (which, if you ever visit the DFW
area, you have to try). Still, by Sunday morning, my siblings and I were
“fooded out”; we were all ready to go back to our weight-loss regimens.
And the food just would not stop coming.
My poor, dear sister Peggy, bless her soul, tried gamely to
empty our fridge of leftovers and perishables. But the food kept coming in,
ultimately defeating her intentions. One night, my oldest uncle made chicken
fettuccine alfredo with garlic bread. The day of the funeral, some women of the
parish not only served us lunch afterward but sent the leftovers home with us.
Monday night, my oldest aunt, who’s now the matriarch of the family, had Olive
Garden cater dinner. And this Tuesday, as the last of the relatives were leaving,
my brother learned that some women in his office had put together a dinner from
Dickey’s Barbecue. Ted chuckled, “It was all I could do to put a smile on my
face and say, ‘Oh, thank you!’ when I really wanted to say, ‘Please, God, make
it stop!’”
Let me make a suggestion: I understand that good-hearted
people will give a family in mourning food to help reduce the burden of cooking
for a large number of people who are coming for the funeral. But once the
funeral has passed, the guests begin to leave. Giving great heaps of food to a
dwindling crowd will inevitably result in waste. If it’s five days or more
after the death, send flowers or a card, or make a donation to a good cause in
the deceased name (such as the American Diabetes Association), but don’t
send food.
So between August 10, the day after we brought Mom home from
the hospital and started in-home hospice, and August 20, the day our aunts and
uncles left for their homes, I put on 1.8 pounds, an average of 900 excess
calories a day. Since I didn’t track my food, I don’t know for sure, but I can
guess it came from more starches, sweets, and alcohol than I normally consume
in any given week.
Tuesday, I began tracking again. I was at 240.6. Yesterday,
I weighed in at 238.6. I had a follow-up visit with Dr. Chandi, my primary-care
physician (whom I call “my Indian mom”); she was very pleased with my numbers. This
morning, I weighed in at 235.2. I checked — the scale was exactly where I had
chosen to place it for consistency and I wasn’t using anything for support.
In two days, I’ve lost 5.4 pounds. The mourning weight is
gone and I’m 0.8 pounds below the target line for the plan month. In fact, I’m slightly
below where the target line would have me for this coming Monday, 8/26 (235.3).
If I stay within budget, I can still make the secondary goal of ≤ 233.3 (50% loss) by
Sept. 1. It’s almost as if the last couple of weeks didn’t happen … except for
my mom not being here to say, “I’m really proud of you for sticking with it.”
That’s okay, too. Mom said that often enough over the last
six months of our lives together. She also said every night, “I love you. Thank
you for all you do for me.” And, if God is good, then should I be struck by
dementia or Alzheimer’s disease at the end of my own life, those words will be
the last to leave my memory before the Lord takes me home.
My life is going on. I’ll be alright.
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