Ask Roni _v15s2 – Dogs, Tummy Tuck Anxiety, Reader Map, Hair Loss and the Wendie Plan

21 Responses to Ask Roni _v15s2 – Dogs, Tummy Tuck Anxiety, Reader Map, Hair Loss and the Wendie Plan

1. Inny says:

   November 14, 2008 at 1:49 pm

   The hair loss might be happening just because winter’s coming. I’ve always had long hair and I’ve noticed I always lose some of it around this time of the year but by January it gets thicker and shinier.
2. Sandy says:

   November 14, 2008 at 1:53 pm

   Hi Roni!

   Just wanted to comment a little bit on the Wendie Plan. First of all, it is TOTALLY within the Weight Watchers program. You get the same amount of points as you would doing regular WW, the Wendie Plan just dictates when you use your extra 35.

   I have done the Wendie plan several times for several months at a time. It seems like I see a larger weight loss the first week or two I am on it, and then the weight loss evens out again and I really don’t see much difference between the Wendie Plan and regular WW.

   What I DO like about the Wendie is, for me, it motivates me to stick to the plan and to journal more diligently. Because you get a different number of points every day, it is kind of fun to say “O.K., great, this is a higher day!” or “Okay, this is a lower day, I have to put my nose to the grindstone.” For me, that mixing of points gives me variety and helps to keep me motivated. In addition, when I get the same amount of points every day, I tend to slack off journalling and start trying to keep track in my head. The different points every day makes it harder to mentally keep track and therefore I am more careful to write things down.

   So, that’s just my take on it from my experience. As far as whipping up your metabolism–I haven’t really seen it. But mentally, sometimes, the variety keeps me going.

   Once again. Thanks for all you do!
3. Vicki - Michigan says:

   November 14, 2008 at 2:09 pm

   I am 42 and I also lose a lot of hair when I diet. I have lost weight probably about 5 times in my life and I lose a lot of hair each time. I will admit some of my diets haven’t been the healthiest but even when I did Weight Watchers and Richard Simmons I still had the hair loss. I’ve never found an answer for it but some people do and some don’t. I’ve taken plenty of vitamins but that doesn’t seem to make a difference. I have thin hair to begin with so I always wonder if the weight loss is really worth all the hair I lose. I’ve never kept the weight off long enough to see if it will eventually come back. Not sure this comment helps much but just wanted to share a similar story.
4. Bonnie says:

   November 14, 2008 at 2:35 pm

   I have an experience with diet and hair loss. The last time I lost a significant amount of weight (75 lbs. in 1994), I lost the weight in a very unhealthy manner….by starving myself, basically. (I was screwed up back then). But my hair fell out really bad. And this time, I’ve lost 91 pounds in a very healthy manner, and I haven’t noticed any hair loss at all….besides the regular. I mean…I am 53, so, that plays into it also. But I just haven’t noticed anything like a significant amount of hair loss this time.

   You’re just so much fun to watch and listen to, Roni! I really apprciate you!

   Check out Bonnies last blog post..Kay
5. Fitness Surfer says:

   November 14, 2008 at 4:13 pm

   Pepper Spay =). I like dogs, but if they ever attack I would pepper spay them, along with any strange men attackers as well =) Seriously, no matter how strong you are it isn’t safe to run alone with out protection. They have defense classes and they might even cover attacking dogs. I don’t have a fear of dogs, so they don’t bother me. Dogs sense your fear. Don’t make eye contact and don’t even acknowledge them. I use to go running with my dog when I was a teenager, and that would make all the dogs in the neighborhood act up. Luckily there is a law in my neighborhood that all dogs must be on a leash, and they were good at enforcing it, or at least my neighbors were. Call them in. Your doing the owners a favor, the dogs could get hit or worse pepper sprayed =).
6. Ellen says:

   November 14, 2008 at 4:27 pm

   I had to respond to this just because I know someone with the loose dog issue. My mom is a runner and she lives in a somewhat rural area. For some reason as the area gets more rural there are more and more loose dogs. I’m not talking about someone’s golden retriever that got out of the backyard. The number one dog in her community seems to be the pit bull, followed by a variety of dogs that are gigantic 1/2-wolf (or 1/4, whatever). She has no idea who most of the dogs belong to, so it is not really possible for her to ask the owners to keep their dogs tied up (unfortunately). So, I understand the loose dog issue more than I used to. I used to think she was paranoid, until I visited and had to avoid hitting loose dogs while I was driving!

   My mom gets around the loose dog thing by:

   1) Not running in her neighborhood. She drives to park in a different area and runs there, only when other people are around. There is a strict dog-leash rule at this park, so there are rarely loose dogs.

   2) She always carries pepper spray. She carries this for protection against any threat (human or animal) since she is a small, grey-haired woman running alone. Even if it is light out she has it tucked in her hand as she runs. It makes me feel relieved that she’s keeping herself safe.
7. Karenski says:

   November 14, 2008 at 8:56 pm

   Hi,
   I think the fear of dogs issue is valid. I’m not terrified of dogs, but I don’t like them anymore. I have been bitten before by a dog that came up behind me (supposedly dogs will never do that!). We also had a little dog that bit a walker in our neighborhood—and we got rid of her as a result of that. I now live in a neighborhood that has one family (8 houses down from us) that has THREE large dogs running loose. They have charged at me more than once. NO, I don’t make eye contact. Yes, I try to ignore them. The last time they lunged for me–all three of them running and growling at once, I was backing up into the street screaming at them and hoping no one was going to hit me with their car because I didn’t have time to look! The owner came out and started half heartedly calling for her dogs. I told her they did it again!

   My husband has talked to her and I have talked to her—unfortunately she thinks dogs are like people and you can befriend them and they’ll like you. We’ve tried all that and they still chase me. I know—you can’t be chased if you don’t run, but I don’t want to be bitten either! And one of these did nip at my husband who is the best when it comes to dogs. He can intimidate them. I can’t. Sigh.

   This situation has gone on for the whole time we’ve lived in this neighborhood—and no, I can’t walk another way since this is a dead end street. So when it is warm again and I’m walking outside (I’m using the treadmill for now), I am going to use pepper spray–now I’ve got to find some! And I really don’t care if they don’t like me as a result. We’ve tried to be nice and short of calling and making an appointment to walk and make sure they take their dogs inside, I don’t know what else we can do. It’s not fair to not be able to walk on my own street without being harassed by dogs! I am determined to continue to exercise somehow whether they contain them or not.

   Thanks Roni, for all you share with us!
8. Carol says:

   November 14, 2008 at 10:56 pm

   On hair loss…I was noticing that I was losing a lot of hair over the past few months. I assumed it might be that my thyroid medication needed to be adjusted. When I mentioned the hair loss to my endocrinologist, she tested me for an iron deficiency and sure enough, I was anemic. I’ve been taking an iron supp (along with my multi) for a few weeks and I think it has made a difference. My Dr. also does Weight Watchers (I think she’s at Lifetime) and she says women tend to not get enough iron on the plan because they pick lower point protein options that don’t provide the same amount of iron as beef.
9. Cindy says:

   November 15, 2008 at 12:43 am

   Hi Roni,
   Many years ago I was charged and then cornered by a loose dog while on a walk. Though I love dogs, ever since that time, I am really paranoid about dogs on the loose. Like everyone else, my answer is pepper spray. I’ve been carrying pepper spray for years and haven’t had to use it yet. My feeling is that the spray makes me feel more confident, which weirdly comes across, even to dogs, and they are less likely to bother me. Does that make sense? It might be working to keep the human animals at bay too…so far no problems…and I usually walk alone.
10. christy says:

    November 15, 2008 at 9:01 am

    I have heard of people really enjoying the Wendie Plan…i am good on the regular plan though.
11. Fitness Surfer says:

    November 15, 2008 at 11:07 pm

    PROTEIN helps with hair loss, along with a B Vitamins and a good balance of nutrition: If you don’t get enough protein in your diet you could lose hair. I upped my protein intake and it helped a lot. The same thing happens when mothers nurse due to the protein being pulled from the body to make milk. There could be other things involved too, but if it’s that, it’s an easy fix.

    Check out Fitness Surfers last blog post..What I Want More Is…
12. E says:

    November 17, 2008 at 10:25 pm

    Iron is definitely a contributing factor for the hair! I was just at a conference and listened to a speaker who discussed how important iron is for women…I really can’t stress it enough!! Especially since “healthy” foods like whole grains, soy, and even spinach (!) can inhibit the absorption of iron. I wrote a blog post about it, but that’s the gist…moms in particular can be really affected by iron deficiency.
13. E says:

    November 17, 2008 at 10:25 pm

    iron blogpost should link here….

    Check out Es last blog post..Up the Iron
14. Sabrina says:

    November 19, 2008 at 8:42 pm

    Got your email today! Thanks so much for touching on the Wendie plan. You did answer my question and I so understand what you’re saying about the old Roni and the new Roni fighting things out. Unfortunately in the past year I’ve let the Old Sabrina over rule the new Sabrina…Of 140 weight loss, I’ve gained 30 of them back. Bad choices, death of my best friend, allowing myself to slip back into old habits, bad job…u name it…all those excuses I’ve allowed myself. I think I will take your advice of hanging in there, as I KNOW it works, rather than doing something drastic. Thank you so very much for being real and HONEST!!!
15. Amy says:

    November 23, 2008 at 3:47 pm

    Hi Roni,
    For the reader who has a fear of dogs, I recommend brining dog bisquits. My mom has a terrible fear of dogs and carriers dog bisquits. When they get close, she holds out the biquit or tosses it to them. I am sure pepper spray works well, but the dog bisquits have worked for her.
    Amy
16. nancy says:

    November 23, 2008 at 8:11 pm

    On hair loss ~ I lost 60 lbs and 75% of my hair. I use Rogaine for Women, Target has a generic version, also Natures Bounty Hair, Skin & Nails ~ this has Biotin, also as has been stated is the amount of protein, shoot for 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight. My hair is finally coming back. Good luck. Thank you Roni for your wonderful and informative site, help, everything, really enjoy it.
17. Nina says:

    November 24, 2008 at 5:41 am

    On the dogs: my father was attacked by a German shepherd when he was a kid and he still is really afraid of dogs he is not acquainted with. So I can kind of understand where this is coming from. And I had another phobia once, too, so I know what it feels like. But you should confront it in some way. Not by confronting owner-less dogs if you live in a rural area, but more by empowering yourself. Try to put your fear into perspective and on a more healthy level. An angry dog chasing after you is something threatening and a reason to be afraid, but most dogs are not like that.

    First of all, try to find out if your fear really is about dogs because of experiences in the past, or if it was another situation that made you feel overpowered and helpless. Sometimes fears or phobias make their way from one area of life into a completely different one. Secondly, learn about dogs and the way they generally react. Maybe with a dog of one of your neighbours who even might go walking with you, the local kennels, the web, etc. That way you will learn that most dogs are not that bad and how you can decide if a situation really is dangerous.

    I know I might sound like another smartass giving you tips which do not work, but I really have had phobias at a younger age and I had to have therapy for two years. The longer you wait with overcoming your fear, the harder it will be.

    And finally, if your fears are totally justified because those owner-less dogs have already attacked people: carry pepper-spray or something similar, go to another area with less dogs, maybe there are some public sports grounds near to you or join a gym, but don’t let that stop you walking.

    On losing hair: I have lost some more hair while losing weight, too. And my mom had read about it and said it’s normal to a certain extent. But I cannot tell you the reasons right now. If you pull out thick streaks of hair, however, you should see a doctor about it.

    Love,
    Nina
18. Christy says:

    November 25, 2008 at 4:52 am

    Oh I love, love, LOVE the idea of a readers map. It would be great to find out if there are any readers here in Germany with me.
19. Helen says:

    November 25, 2008 at 3:39 pm

    Hi Roni,

    Thanks so much for answering my question on my dog phobia and thank you all for your wonderful advice. First of all let me clarify, I too love dogs, I HAVE a dog and grew up with my Mom’s three german shepards. It’s not all dogs I’m afraid of when walking, just the big, badly behaved, badly trained ones owned by irresponsible owners who don’t tie them up or fence them in when they know they run out after people simply walking down the street in front of their house. Your reader Ellen kinda described the area I live in when she was describing where her Mom lives. My town is rural and there are alot of dogs. Unfortunately there are alot of irresponsible people that shouldn’t have dogs too. On many occasions, while walking with or without my sister, a dog has approached. Sometimes just curious, often agressive (you are a stranger near their territory after all) and I even had an occasion where one up and came at me from laying on his front doorstep and nipped the cuff of my coat. I have even see other people harassed. I too thought I was just being silly at first and should just deal, but, the frequency of these occurences was getting ridiculous! Why should I have to go walking in another area? Stay inside? Or find some alternative to the walk I use to enjoy so much (and had at one time helped me lose almost 80lbs)? Why can’t the owners simply control their dogs? Pepper spray sounds like a good option but I’m not so sure it is legal in Ontario, firstly, and furthermore as mean as the dog may seem, I feel like it would be receiving punishment for the sins of the owner (not taking the time to train/contain).
    Well…thank you for letting me vent and I will certainly mull over your wonderful suggestions.
    Take care.
    Helen
20. Celina says:

    January 27, 2009 at 4:02 pm

    Dear Roni,
    Thankyou for answering my question I was so excited that you were able to do that. About (anxiety post tummy tuck) what I ment was that after getting the tummy tuck I experienced alot of shortness of breath and wierd heart palpitations, I felt like I was going to die,especially at night if /when I did too much (which is hard not to do when you have five children) I am now about eight months out and I’m doing much better but still have those feelings from time to time. I guess it was the whole stitching up your abs having an internal corsette that you can’t take off thing that caused it. I wondered if you or anyone else had exp that. (sorry so long).. thanks for blog info was very helpful -Celina
21. Celina says:

    January 27, 2009 at 4:12 pm

    Hey Roni,
    about the dog issue(Helen), when I lived in New York, there were atleast four times that I had almost been attacked by a dog or dogs. Once when I was walking to school a pit bull came running towards me and I opened my umbrella he turned around and walked away. Another time while running I heard three dogs behind me I stopped in my tracks and they were so surprised that I stopped they snifed around me and kept running ahead. It’s not every day but if she’s afraid she can carry a cane, stick or umbrella with her. I was very lucky, but that doesn’t stop me from going out that goes for any thing.-Celina