Dissolution's Solution

[Rosey]

Your looking great. Congrats.

[Debbie]

You look AH-MA-ZING!! Great job!! You should be very proud.

Got a small chuckle that in the first pic your wearing glasses and your wife isnt but it's reversed in the second (much younger looking) picture.

Keep up the good work.

[Adrienne]

I agree with Debbie! You look great and you certainly look much younger now than in 2009.

Congratulations on all of your success so far.

[Timkerbelle]

No, it was not just because you weren't smiling, you definitely look a whole lot younger! The last picture is just lovely, you look so much happier.
I can imagine how painful it must have been for your wife to be mistaken for your mother. Age is a sensitive topic for a lot of women, and on top of her existing insecurities that must have been hellish for her.
I really hope for both of you that she will start taking better care of herself, regardless of the dietary path she wants to follow.

Sounds like you had a great trip!

[nicoles]

However the wife did get upset a couple of times this week, when strangers asked her if I was her son.

Oh no! Your poor wife. That would be upsetting to anyone. I hope it serves as a motivation for her. Because, the way I see it - if she did what you are doing, she could look just as you do now.

I hope her ankle heals quickly

I agree with Timkerbelle - Smile, schmile! You look younger, no two ways about it! And you look so happy and alive - thanks for sharing the pictures, they are really amazing.

Yay skiing! Yay exercise! It is sooo much fun!!

[Gramma Jackie]

Your weight loss is certainly noticeable. Congratulations!

Sorry to hear about your wife's ankle injury. I've been off my feet for almost 2 months myself with achilles tendonitis. I can imagine how painful that must have been for her. Hope her recovery goes well.

[carollynne]

Hey hope that you are doing ok, and that wife is getting around ok, with her bubble cast too. I can remember so well when I was losing some of my chins, and one of my sons said, mom, you lost one of your chins somehow. My face was THE last place to slim up at all. DH loves to keep a beard that hides his neckline and so on. But you 2 are so young, and she will be on board with you one of these days, never fear it!
have a good night!

[Dissolution]

Thanks everybody for the compliments!

I had to borrow a wheelchair for my wife this morning. She's really really bad at using crutches. She's fallen twice now since her ankle injury. I've tried to explain and demonstrate how she should use the crutches, but she thinks the only reason I can use them the way I do (properly) is because I am stronger. She uses them more as a hopping assistance device. Which means she always off balance and has now fatigued her good leg so much that it's weaker than normal. Hopefully the wheelchair will help. I borrowed a walker to, figure it would help moving around in the bathrooms, but she refuses to use it.

Here's something that we have "discovered" in the past week. My wife's allergy to yellow dye #5, shell fish, and citrus. Those "allergy's" are caused by her bottom denture plate. She had to get the bottoms replaced last year because she lost them. All of those allergy's started after getting the replacements. She left them at home (on purpose) this past week, and was able to eat all of those products without a problem. Weird huh....

Personally I discovered that I no longer enjoy oatmeal without flaxseed meal in it. Was glad to get my flaxseed meal back today. I did notice that my hands were much drier than normal this past week, some could be weather I guess.

Looking forward to fasting day tomorrow.

[yarnpetter]

Thanks everybody for the compliments!
I've tried to explain and demonstrate how she should use the crutches, but she thinks the only reason I can use them the way I do (properly) is because I am stronger. She uses them more as a hopping assistance device. Which means she always off balance and has now fatigued her good leg so much that it's weaker than normal.

She's probably correct about why she has more difficulty with crutches than you do. Most women don't have the upper body strength needed to swing thru the crutches and hop instead. Your right that hopping isn't safe or energy efficient. The easy answer is to use a walker but I can see why she is resistant. Especially after being mistaken for your mother. How about something like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrZ6ZK25ky0 She might not like it being called a knee walker but its what I would get in her place.

[fulenn]

Your pictures are amazing--such a big difference! You look at least 10 years younger than you did before the weight loss.

Sorry to hear about your wife. Funky about the whole denture thing, but I'm glad it's that rather than a permanent thing that cannot be reversed.

Fulenn

[carollynne]

Hope all is getting better for the wifey! You are doing wonderfully well, so just keep it up, and lead the way in the family like you have been doing!

[Vola]

Your before and after pictures are astounding. You look great, and so happy, too!

[Dissolution]

yarnpetter The knee walker is very very cool. I never knew it existed. Thanks so much for the link.

fulenn My Mom is 70 and could pass for 50, and everybody says I look just like her, so I guess genetics has it's good points sometimes.

carollynne I'm leading...It's just that nobody is following. When my niece (100 lbs over-weight) came to visit us and the vacation place last week, she was sick. She also had a cold when we went up to WI for the funeral. She pretty much has a cold every time I see her. I got real angry at her a couple of years ago, cause she would come over for Thanksgiving and I would catch a cold from her and be sick the next couple of weeks. Anyways I asked her if she always had a cold. She said it seems like it, and I'm sorry if I get you sick. I said, you won't get me sick this time, I have Vegan Super Powers, then I struck a superman pose. She thinks I'm weird. But hey, I'm not sick.

Vola Thanks, but remember that's not my after photo, that's my during photo. I still have the suit from the older photo, maybe I should use that when I eventually get to do an after photo.
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Ok, not sure what exactly is going on with the weight thing. I might be suffering some inflammation from my skiing "accident". I know I wound up eating too many sweets and flour products Sat, Sun, Mon. So my weigh-ins were;

Tuesday: 237
Wednesday: 235
Thursday: 233

Think I'm going to give myself til next Wednesday for "corrections" before I adjust my tracker up if I have to.

I also did not do my fasting day on Tuesday. No real major reason, other than I just wasn't feeling good. I'm still in a bit of pain from my fall on the slopes. Then there was an accident on the interstate and I got off at the exit where I used to always get a Subway sandwich on Tuesday nights. So I went in and had my veggie delight sub. Then I ate broccoli and broccoli stalk soup for dinner.

I watched the Melanie Joy - Carnism: The Psychology of Eating Meat video from the recent advanced study weekend.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vWbV9FPo_Q

It was very good. Mostly likely does not have the impact of Earthlings, but it was a very calm and logical approach to moral reasons to not eat animals. Baby steps.

[LauraA]

Oh my gosh! I haven't read all of your journal, just the last couple of pages. I'll get to the rest soon. I thought that you were your son in the last picture! I do feel for your wife. My husband is big, still lots of muscle at 67, and sometimes I'm glad that he's not trim, or I would feel even bigger. I do understand what your wife means about being like an alcoholic, not able to eat meat or have fat again. That is the case with me, but I now see that as a lucky thing, because I see that our way of eating would be healthier for all, so aren't we lucky to have found out how we need to eat! Take care, Laura

[Potatohead]

You look Awesome..congratulations...Hopefully your wife will hop aboard the McDougall train...