Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Evidently even my LIVER is fat!!


Long story, but I had an abdominal ultrasound today to make sure I don't have ovarian cancer. Wow, that was quite a sentence! I'll give the results when I have them.

One discovery - my liver is fat. Apparently having breast cancer wasn't enough to scare the fat-gal habits out of me so my body is shooting up another flare. Now I must get absolutely serious about losing weight, exercising, and eating healthy.

Now yes I'm a good cook, love vegetables, and truly enjoy a good long walk. But I'm basically lazy about those things. I'm so busy and active in other areas of life but OY the thought of washing and chopping veggies every day.

And I must really say goodbye to the Satanic Big Macs. I only have about one per month, but they are officially history. As our dear Dr. Monkey says "that stuff will kill you". I'm thinking heavily on the documentary Supersize Me wherein the hero nearly ruins his liver with a McDonald's diet.

So time to strap on the walking shoes and dress that salad. Any and all suggestions and encouragement are welcome.

16 comments:

Kireliols said...

Wow. That's a whole bunch of stuff in one short post. I'll be thinking about you and sending up some prayers on your behalf.

Husband has borderline high blood pressure and we've had to make some dietary changes in the past few weeks. And start exercising. I'm lazy about it too. I'll try and motivate you if you try and motivate me...maybe the girls and I will come hike in Nerstrand some day before school starts.

Missy said...

Oh I had a doctors visit today too and the doctor called my "heavy". I wanted to run out of the room crying in my gown.

A couple weeks ago I started a blog to help motivate me (yeah another blog) http://gettingtoknowgym.blogspot.com/
and I signed up on a site called Traineo where my friends and I can keep track of each others diet and exercise. I would glad to be your traineo friend! http://www.traineo.com

Missy said...

Oh, I meant to say that I could add you as a submitter to my gettingtoknowgym blog if you would like to join me. I would love company and support!

Missy said...

I hope your scan comes out clear and that your liver leans!

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

I've got my fingers crossed for you. This gal is a really good low fat heart/body healthy cook and she has several cookbooks out there:

http://www.kathleendaelemans.com/

Good luck buddy.

Missy said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Christopher Tassava said...

First of all, HOLY CRAP SCARY. I hope that the results of the ultrasound are good. No chance that wine will help the liver burn out that fat, huh?

Second, re. fitness: good luck! Can you bike to or from work? That'd be a nice little bit of exercise every day... And I know I mentioned it before, but the Rec Center is great. They have a program during the school year through which you can get a few cheap sessions with a personal trainer, which I found very helpful in getting myself on track. And come fall, the Rec Center staff will probably run another program (VERY low-level competition) for individuals and teams to work out a certain amount each week/month.

I hear that you can also get in better shape if you don't work at Carleton.

Fran said...

Holy crap- that is a lot! Sending good thoughts.

I am afraid to know about my liver... Yikes, I have let things "go" in the past 8 months or so and just yesterday started a new regimen.

Hang in there!!!

Sheleta said...

Girl you gonna make me join you. Liver fat? Hell, I thought I was doing bad when my feet got fat after I had my baby and I went from a size 6 1/2 to a size 9! Now that's gainins weight when your feet swell up like two glazed hams!

Like Kirelimel, I'm gonna be praying for you. You DID lay a lot of heavy stuff on us today. But I'm glad you did because we all need to be thinking about living healthier and eating better!

laurie said...

let's just say a big NO to ovarian cancer. i hope your scan is clean and perfect.

here's how i have lost 14 pounds since February:

1) i joined Weight Watchers online. very easy. it took a couple of weeks to get used to and then it became fairly automatic and simple. cost is about $20/month, and if you are honest and chart everything you eat, you will lose weight;

2) exercising with mr. darcy. i walk in the mornings and at noon. but i also needed aerobic exercise, which i find incredibly boring. the simple act of renting BBC dramas from Netflix and watching them in 20-minute increments on my laptop while i exercised is what has kept me going.

i want to know what happens next (in "pride and prejudice" or "persuasion" or whatever) and if i only watch while i'm exercising, it ensures that i exercise.

it is very easy, quite painless. worked for me, will work for you.

i don't know how much you want to lose, but be forgiving and patient with yourself. it took me months. but here i am. and here you will be too. (and you can still have an occasional Big Mac. though maybe not every month.)

best of luck to you.

Melinda June said...

As with everyone else, you're in my thoughts, my dear.

E. Anne Larson said...

OK MnMom. It's a hard thing to face. It hit me last winter when I saw that there was NO CARTILAGE in my knees. Not ready to give the originals up yet. What I know works....a support system...erasing the word "diet" from my vocabulary...learning what "full" feels like again...pausing...whole foods when possible...just moving and focusing of feeling whole. No magic elixirs, sorry to say. Weight Watchers' new "Core" plan has helped me alot--NO POINTS! Counting points feels like balancing my checkbook all day every day and who would want to do that? Good luck and visualize whirled peas. :) eal

Shannon said...

Oh my goodness. My prayers--such as they are--are with you and your family. I have a good feeling about you though. I think you're going to be fine, and I know you have it in you--I can just tell!--to do whatever you want and need to do, eating/exercise-wise. My husband might be a little nutso biking to work every day but he is right that the Carleton Rec Center is GREAT. And free!

Keep us posted! We're thinking about you!

Some Guy said...

Positive vibes coming your way, MNMom! I'm hoping for the best.

Billie Greenwood said...

Sending you love and prayers...

Gail said...

Why don't they make "Little Macs"? I mean, really....they're so friggin good, but do they really need to be "big"? They could me one burger, with wheat bread, and that special sauce isn't anything but thousand island dressing which they could either make fat free or use less. I'm tellin ya. I think I'm on to something here. I too cannot pass up a good big mac. #1 diet coke baby. I wish I didn't.