Yes it is, Steph, yes it is.

Rabbit, rabbit! Happy June!

June 1st is gray, foggy and chilly. But I can look out my window and see that they've raised a pride flag on the pole which normally just has the American flag.

I think I'll have a mushroom omelette for breakfast today.

I'm sorry about the Covid, Sheryl. I hope you both recover quickly.

Woot, Consuela! Have fun storming the castles. eta: and lisah!

Happy June! I have Pride nails. Neutral base with rainbow tips. 5 fingers so we skipped red, mostly because the other colors were prettier. I've received numerous positive responses. Mostly I think they are super summer-like and will have a hard time giving them up next trip!

So..... I have (in my mind) given up on my frustrating weight loss efforts and will start on the GLP-1 this week. Picked up the just in case, Rx for nausea meds this morning. The other should arrive in the next couple days. I have already completed the labs, which are good. I've been struggling to stick with my diet efforts, with 2-3 days being good, then undoing the efforts in just one day. The last straw was the most recent Ortho visit. The left hip degenerated, the right knee bone on bone. (Did I tell you that my 3 sibs are joining with me to form The Degenerates rock group?) The number one thing that can be done to relieve my poor old joints is to lose weight. Yes, I can replace joints, get cortisone shots, etc., but the most effective thing is getting rid of the stress. Despite all my efforts my weight has been in the same 5 pound range for over 6 months. So, I feel like I am giving up, but yay science giving me options.

I weighed between 95-105 until I was about 40, then between having kids and menopause I put on the pounds. In my discussions with my doctor, I told him I didn't expect at 5'5" ever to be 100 again, because I know I was too thin all those years, and with all the mileage I put on the joints at that time I ate whatever I pleased. I'm thinking 135 is an age-appropriate goal, and he agrees.

We'll see how it goes. One of my fellows at the dog park has been bone on bone with his knees for decades. He is thin as a rail now and walks several miles a day. He lost 100 pounds and said that he has gone from barely able to get out of the chair to being able to manage the pain with an occasional Tylenol. This is encouraging!

He lost 100 pounds and said that he has gone from barely able to get out of the chair to being able to manage the pain with an occasional Tylenol. This is encouraging!

What I've read (in general) is that exercise is excellent for fitness and health, but isn't a huge factor in weight loss; weight loss is pretty much just linked to diet (as in food intake, not a specific diet). But sometimes you have to lose weight so that you can do the exercise, or do it longer/with better form/etc.

Concur, Steph. I'm cranky about my knee because it means I cannot run, and so interferes with my exercise routine (and emotional health), and the weight gain makes the knee worse. It's only 20 lbs, but between work and the omnishambles of the world, I cannot focus on weight loss enough to make a dent in it.

I have lost weight in the past, and kept it off for at least a decade, but I'm over 60 and too stressed out.

I’m a huge fan of the GLP1 drugs, Laura! They’ve helped me so much. And while I haven’t been running at all (I need to go back to that, it was good for me) having less weight on me helped immensely when it came to trying to run! It’s wild though, and Friday I was like “dang I know I’m not hungry why do I feel like I need to eat more?” And then realized I was due for my shot. So for me a lot of it isn’t just the decreased actual hunger, but the relentless brain going “eat more now!”

GLP1 drugs have been recommended to me, but I am scared to try them. I read through the list of common side effects, and I already have many of them -- fatigue, nausea, muscle loss and attendant weakness and balance issues, diarrhea, bloating and burping, stress on kidney function....

I fear I couldn't handle them getting worse.

I’m having the same great for four days, stuffing my pie hole for two pattern and I’m thinking of doing the GLPs. Partly cause I’m just getting so down on myself about it.

I'm not remotely interested in doing marathons again, but I live at the beach, and just walking the shore is a struggle. I love to kayak in the summer but getting in and out of the kayak is a challenge. Routine things like gardening or shopping would be a lot easier if my poor old joints didn't have so much to handle. The last time I made an effort at weight loss I lost 60 pounds in a year of Keto, but this try I just can't keep it up. It could be the overall stress level in life. I'd rather try this than replace my knee and hip. I may have to do that eventually, but recovery from surgery is a whole lot easier with less weight too.

Hope it goes well for you, Laura! They've worked well for me. Still want to drop another 20 lbs., though I'm not sure a dose increase will do that for me. But we'll see. But, yeah, the not constantly feeling the urge to eat whether I'm hungry or not has been the most mentally positive result for me.