Pages

Thursday, April 21, 2011

THANK YOU!

I could find poems or songs to help me express the gratitude I feel for everyone who participated in the Second Annual Lovely Rita Fundraiser to benefit the National Kidney Foundation, but two words say it best:  THANK YOU.  

Thank you to everyone who participated in the calendar photoshoot, bought a calendar, donated raffle items, bought raffle tickets, attended the dance recital, donated money through Rita's kidney website...  Thank you to all of the girls who danced on Sunday.  Thank you to their friends and families for allowing them to share their time with us.  Thank you to Andrea Becker, who helped choreograph a couple of the dances and donated many items for the raffle.  

THANK YOU TO THE GIRLS WHO PARTICIPATED IN THE FUNDRAISER:
Dancers:

Marilyn
Tina
Grace
"Stephanie Nicole"
Yolanda T.
Sam
Jenelle
Paola
Gina
Chelsea "Pink Flamingo"
"Shimmies Galore"
Sharon
And, of course, RITA!  (ADORABLE performance, by the way!)
(Oh yeah, and me too -- Lori.)

Pole Cleaners:

Isabel
Carmen
Jessica
Jenny
Samantha
Sandra

To Edna for selling raffle tickets at the event for us!

(I went through that list three times and if I forgot anyone, I AM SO SORRY, please let me know and I will update this list!)

To our amazing singer, Yolanda B., who rocked it TWICE for us!  You have an amazing voice, lady!!!

I thanked her above for dancing, but THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to Stephanie Nicole le Dream, who came out to perform for Rita even though she had another show that night at Club 1220 in Walnut Creek.  If you ever want to attend a fun drag show, check out Stephanie, along with a host of other amazing girls, on the first and third Sunday of each month, starting at 9:30 p.m., at Club 1220.  

Thank you to Shelly Lamb, who is now teaching at Twirly Girls, and is about to go to New York for competition.  GOOD LUCK!  You have the entire Twirly Girl family rooting you on.  And thank you, Shelly, for coming out to the fundraiser and performing, even though you had been teaching so far away that day.  You are an amazing performer and so fun to watch.

So far, we have raised about $2,000 for the National Kidney Foundation.

THANK YOU TO THOSE WHO DONATED TO THE RAFFLE:

Bel Jeremiah of Twirly Girls Pole Fitness
www.twirlygirlspolefitness.com

Doug Korb of DK Designs
Doug's e-mail

Twisted Silver 

hOney

Inspire Fitness Boot Camps 
Mighty Grip
http://www.mightygrip.com/

Sephora items donated through Isabel Sum Contreras

Baskets donated by Shelley Clark

Jenny Gain, Wellness International Network
http://www.synergywellnessgroup.com/

Theresa Taylor Grutzeck at The Rouge
www.massimos.com

Bruce's Tire in Fremont 
(510) 651-4701

Jennifer of PoleSkivvies 
http://www.poleskivvies.com

Gerri Levitas of Bay Healing
www.bayhealing.com

Joe Baptist (retired Air Force firearms instructor)

Just By Touch
Primal Fit Boot Camp
www.primalfitbootcamp.com
Roxanne Freitas-Souza at Motives

Toni Reyes at Christopher's Salon

Rocco's Pizzeria
We also want to thank:

The Real Karaoke Joe
Cake Queen, Michael Villa 
underwater@sbcglobalnet

And let's not forget the companies that helped fund the printing of our Lovely Rita calendar (we still have a three or four available for sale...only $5):

Physicians' Youthful Resolutions
www.youthfulresolutions.com

Penninsula Women's Health
www.penninsulawomenshealth.com

Tri-Valley Bodyworks
www.trivalleybodyworks.com

The Pole Dancing Shop
www.thepoledancingshop.com

Douglas Korb, Remax
www.dougkorb.com

Thank you to Andrew of Liquidpulp Photography (www.liquidpulp.com) for taking the photos at the calendar shoot AND at the fundraiser; and thanks to Anh Thu Tran for doing make-up the day of the shoot (and supporting the Twirly Girls by coming to the fundraiser).

Rita and I again would like to thank Bel of Twirly Girls Pole Fitness (www.twirlygirlspolefitness.com) for being so generous with her time and studio!  We know she is a busy lady, but she always makes time for her Twirly Girls and we love her for that!  

I personally want to thank Rita for being a good friend and keeping my life interesting and fun.  She is one of the most honest and trustworthy people I have ever met.  I appreciate her sharing her daughter, Kate, with me.  And I even appreciate her sharing her husband, Dave, with me (no, not in THAT way).  He says the funniest $hit sometimes.  

One of the things I love about Twirly Girls is how supportive all the girls are of each other.  We are all at different levels.  We are all different ages, shapes and sizes.  Hell, some of us aren't even actually girls.  But we all get along, love each other and support each other.  It truly is a family.  It is a beautiful thing.  And I am thankful every day to have the Twirly Girls in my life.  

We have one last fundraiser at Rocco's in Walnut Creek next Thursday, April 28th.  If you let them know you are there for Rita's fundraiser, they will donate a portion of the sales to Rita's walk.  This is valid all day, for take-out and dine-in.  Rita and I, along with many others, will be there in the evening for dinner if you would like to join us.  


If you'd just like to donate to TEAM KIDNEY, please check out this link:  

You can also join the Lovely Rita fan page on Facebook to be kept up to date on future events:

Rita and I (along with many others) will be doing the Kidney Walk in San Francisco on Saturday, May 7th.  Please feel free to join us for a beautiful walk along the Embarcadero!  
I know this is really long and I apologize for that, but before I go, I wanted to let you know where you can find photos and videos from the event.
Flickr link (this is my account but I am gathering photos from all over to keep together.  So far, I have photos from Andrew, Rita, Grace and myself.  Keep checking back because I know there are more photos coming): 

Videos on my YouTube account (might have to scroll around...look for videos uploaded around April 18, 2011):

Videos on Rita's YouTube account:

Videos on Twirly Girls' YouTube account (might not have any videos from the fundraiser but there are other fun videos on there):

See you next year!  Check out my blog from yesterday...where I set a goal for the THIRD annual Lovely Rita Fundraiser!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Vitamins and gastric bypass surgery

After gastric bypass, you're given a list a mile long of vitamins you should be taking.  The American public in general should be taking vitamins since the soils have been stripped of many nutrients and most people eat so much processed food.  However, after weight loss surgery, it is even more important to take your vitamins since you are malabsorptive and won't absorb most vitamins from your food.  I could get into fat and water soluble vitamins here, but that would just make this post way too long.  Just be aware that some vitamins dissolve and absorb better in different conditions (which is why having a little REAL salad dressing on your salad isn't necessarily a bad thing...fat can help you absorb some of those vitamins). 

I wanted to list all of the vitamins I take and why.  Everyone's list will be vaguely different.  I am seven years out from surgery, and each year I go in for my blood work, I'm low in some vitamin or another, and so it gets added to my list of vitamins to take.

I take a multivitamin.  There are many theories about which vitamin is best.  Store brand?  Designer brand?  I find that a prenatal (even a cheap store brand) works best for me.

A lot of patients have to take iron after surgery.  I do not take iron (other than the prenatal vitamin is supposed to have a little extra in it).  You have to be very careful not to take iron with calcium supplements, and can cause constipation, so be careful if you are advised to take iron.

For the fun of it, I take an echinacea-golden seal supplement.  I know there are conflicting reports about whether it actually helps you avoid colds, but I figure it doesn't hurt to take it. 

Sometimes I get cold sores, so I usually take a daily dose of L-Lysine.  If I have a break-out (which I haven't in a really long time), I take three doses twice a day and it usually helps it clear up quickly.  I am a stress case (and also have psoriasis, which is sensitive to stress), so taking a daily pill seems to help keep them away.

I take acidophilus/probiotic.  This is especially important for women if you are prescribed an antibiotic.  Stripping your body of the good bacteria can cause yeast infections.  You can also get probiotics from yogurt, but a lot of yogurts are very high in sugar, which isn't good for gastric bypass patients.

The number one vitamin a gastric bypass patient should take is B12.  They say you should take a sublingual dose (meaning it is dissolved under the tongue) twice a week.  I sometimes skip this pill (yeah, I know, I just said it was the most important pill), so when I'm taking it, I take it daily.  I was low on B12 early in my post-surgery days.  The tops of my feet tingled.  Getting too low in B12 can cause MS-like symptoms, so I suggest you don't skip the B12.  Some people can go to the doctor for shots if you aren't absorbing the pill or if you get too low.  I also suggest you not get to this point if you can help it.

I take a B1 (Thiamine) supplement as well.  I used to take a B-complex, but I am sensitive to Niacin (B3), and it makes my face red.  I stopped taking the B-complex a few years ago and then I was low in B1 two years ago.  So I added B1 back in.  B1 helps with food absorption.

I take a calcium supplement, which includes Vitamin D and magnesium, to help with absorption.  It is VERY, VERY important that we take calcium citrate, not calcium carbonate (Tums, etc.).  A lot of gastric bypass patients become lactose intolerant after surgery.  Even if you are able to drink/eat milk products, the malabsorpotion issue still gets in the way.  When you are overweight, you have a lower chance of getting osteoporosis (your body weight is keeping your bones strong).  However, once you lose weight, you need to make sure you are doing everything you can to keep your bones strong and healthy.

Last year, after my blood work, I had to add an additional Vitamin D pill.  I was low in Vitamin D (something you should be able to get from the sun but I must be spending way too much time indoors lately).  It's a tiny pill and I hardly notice I'm taking it.

I also take a Vitamin E natural pill.  My chiropractor recommended it years ago before I had plastic surgeries.  He said it helps with skin elasticity and healing. 

I now take a joint supplement.  That has nothing to do with surgery.  I just find that when I work out a lot, I hurt, and that helps keep my joints lubed and happy.

I also take an Omega-Three supplement.  For awhile, I was taking a "wholemega" pill, which claimed something like 16 omegas.  Now I just use the Trader Joe's brand.  It's just fish oil.  Ewww, I know.  But I take it with breakfast and it keeps me from burping fish taste, which would really bum me out.

Of course, another supplement that I try to take daily is my whey protein shake.  I still find that, even after seven years, that's the best way for me to make sure I get enough protein into my system on a daily basis.  I am currently trying to switch up how I eat, so I may be changing this to dinner instead of breakfast.  I use Champion Pure Whey protein powder.  However, there are many good brands out there.  Just make sure its high in protein (25 grams is plenty...the 55 gram shakes are a waste of calories) and low in calories and sugar (mine is 125 calories and I think 3 grams of sugar or less).

I also add whole ground flax seed to my protein shake.  It helps with constipation issues as well.

I take other vitamins and medications on and off but these are the ones I feel are necessary.  Yes, it's a lot of pills.  I usually just pack them into a little container and pop them as I'm driving to work after I've eaten breakfast.  And, as much as I hate popping so many pills, it's better than dying from malabsportion!

Wednesday, April 13, 2011

Update of all pole goals

I had been setting goals I was calling "pole goals" (stolen from PoleSkivvies posts).  :-)  I guess most aren't really even pole-related -- more fitness/strength related.  They are reasons I'd like to be in better shape.  "Non-weight/scale related goals" I should call them.  Anyway, it's time for an update.

I don't think I've improved much on any of them.  But I am still working to get stronger and more flexible.  I especially have issues bending backwards so I am focusing on back bends.

Here are pictures from March:






Here are pictures from April:


So, not a huge improvement but I'm still working on them. 

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Gastric bypass support group

As some people know, I help facilitate a gastric bypass support group in Walnut Creek, California.  I started as a member pre-surgery...over eight years ago.  I met a lot of great friends that way.  The group was mostly made up of Kaiser members who were being sent down to San Diego (to Pacific Bariatric) for their surgeries.  Kaiser now does all surgery in-house (and locally), but our group still remains.  A lot of people (like myself) had surgery in San Francisco, and didn't want to travel to the city on a work night for support.  It was nice to have a local group to meet with.  We are one of the few free groups who allows anyone to attend.  Most of the local groups limit membership to those who had surgery through their program. 

Anyway, a few years ago, the facilitator, Ginny, moved away and asked one of the members, Sandy (who had surgery around the same time I did) to take over for her.  Sandy then asked me to help her out.  So, for the last two and a  half to three years, Sandy and I have been co-facilitators.  The group size fluctuates.  For awhile, we got pretty small and thought about possibly shutting it down.  But we now get between 8 and 12 members attending each month.

Last night I started a Facebook group to help keep people in touch during the month.  It is called Bari-Buddies Walnut Creek (thanks to Burnette for the cute name idea!).  You can join HERE.  I know that having support after surgery is one thing that helps us be successful.  Sometimes getting to a meeting in-person isn't always an option, so online support is the next best thing. 

Hope to see you all at a meeting soon.  If not, I hope to see you on Facebook.  :-)