Life Gets Busy

Summer is in full swing and it may seem like I haven't been keeping as close track of my weight since I haven't updated my blog lately. That couldn't be further from the truth, I am still weighing myself every thursday (and Sunday) and continuing my healthy lifestyle. I have just been so busy with yard work, projects, and taxi-ing my son to his sports that I haven't had time to sit down and post whats been going on. So today will be a big catch-up day on my progress.

So last time we chatted I told you about the protein goals that the Dr. told me I needed to be following. In order to make sure I meet those goals I decided to download an intake tracker on my phone, My Fitness Pal. I love the program and since downloading I make sure I get in my 60-70g of protein per day. One of my favorite things about the program is the reminder notifications, if you haven't logged your breakfast by a certain time it sends a reminder notification to your phone to remind you to log it in. I love that and it has helped me to log diligently. The other thing it allows you to see is your daily intake percentages of carbs, protein, and fat. I like to keep my carbs the lowest percentage, but its more typical that they all are about equal percentages. This program will also let you track your exercise, and while I am exercising, I choose to not track it.

Using the food tracker helped me see that I needed to increase my protein and decrease my carbs, so I went to Pinterest to find some gluten free high protein, low carb snack options. I found a couple that I decided to try. A Blueberry Muffin protein ball, and a Pumpkin protein ball. I bought all the ingredients and whipped up a batch of each of these snacks. OH Mhhhy GURRR, they were DISGUSTING! And it's not because I made them wrong, they were just plan grotesque. Needless to say they were immediately thrown out and as I type this I am gagging a little just thinking about them. After that failure, I went on the hunt for a high protein, low sugar, low carb, gluten free protein bar. I found a couple I really like, the brand is Quest and I really like the flavors coconut cashew and cookies and cream, both really good. I usually have half a bar between breakfast and lunch and the other half between lunch and dinner. A full bar contains 20g of protein so that has really helped to boost my protein numbers. Another snack I have found that is low in carbs but high in protein is greek yogurt, I get the low calorie kind and depending on the flavor they have about 10-12 grams of protein. Another gluten free snack I have found in gluten free cinnamon Chex. I love that stuff, but honestly it's not that healthy and really increases my carbs so when this box is gone I wont be buying it again. I divided the box into single servings in ziploc bags so my portion sizes are already measured and I don't overeat, but like I said, I wont be buying them again because they are not helping me reach my goals

Before WLS I was never a burger eater, I just had a thing about any pattied meat, something about the texture grossed me out. Something has changed, my husband was grilling out the other day and the smell of the burgers he was cooking was DIVINE. So I decided to try one, it was so juicy and delicious in my mouth. So I have officially been converted to a burger eating fool. Every time we have grilled out since I have ate a burger and loved every minute it was in my mouth. I eat my burger with a slice of cheddar and it is amazing, all these years I have been missing out on burgers!

So my family has slacked on the family fitness challenge. I was probably the first to jump ship. I hate running, I especially hate the treadmill. I am one of those people that really needs to actually go the distance, otherwise it's too easy to just jump off the treadmill when I get uncomfortable. If I walk 3 miles one way I still gotta get home somehow, so that means I gotta go the 3 miles home. I haven't been walking or running, but I have been riding my bike about every other day. I am averaging around 8 miles in distance and each time I go out I try to push myself a little further each time. I have only found 1 hill I haven't been able to completely climb up, but I will conquer that by the time I post again. It's really amazing the difference of how my body feels riding a bike, I feel like I have better balance and my rear doesn't hurt nearly as bad on the seat. I've been doing it so often it doesn't hurt at all, but I am only on the bike for like 45 minutes. Also, since the last time I posted I went and worked out with a childhood friend. It was great to catch up with her, but the workout felt like a circut workout without the weights. You know where you move station to station doing a specific workout for a set amount of time, and I am just not into that. I'm a little artsy fartsy, if I workout I want it to be fun, like dancing, pole dancing, or arial silk fitness. As of today I am 20 pounds from my goal weight range, and I can't wait to see what my body looks like when I get there.

Slow Progress is Still Progress

For this last week I have really tried to meet the protein quota, 60-70g of protein a day. It has not been easy. Every morning has been egg beaters with a quarter cup of cheese. I never thought I could tire of eating eggs, but it has definitely happened. When I figured how much protein I was getting from 3 meals, I am still shy of hitting 60g so I thought it would be a good idea to have add a protein bar to my meals, one a day, half in the morning the other half in the evening. I have been eating the Quest Coconut Cashew bars. It has 20 grams of protein which really boost my protein into that 60-70g range per day. Not to mention the protein bar tastes amazing, I really enjoy eating it. So my goal this next week is to find some high protein breakfast options so I am not stuck eating egg beaters everyday.

My week has been uneventful but extremely busy. I spent 2 days sanding and refinishing a used patio set I purchased. The backs of my legs hurt from all the standing and bending over to sand and paint and my right arm hurts from using the spray paint cans. My husband did not have a lot of faith in me to transform what looked like trash into a treasure we could use. I did it, and he was impressed with how well it turned out. I decided after doing that that I would refinish two old patio chairs that we have had a long time. Those chairs turned out equally as well and I am super happy with the results.

It's finally warm enough that we have been able to swim nearly everyday this week, I got to work on my tan while my kids wore themselves out in the pool. My family has been continuing our fitness challenge that I mentioned this week. I am amazed by both my husband and my son, both have set personal records in their one mile runs. My son is running a 7 minute mile, and my husband ran an 8:19 minute mile. My best time is 10:47, and it likened to kill me. My end goal is to run that mile in less than 10 minutes. I am still struggling with sit-ups, but I do what I can in hopes that the next day I can do more. I have been able to do 25 push ups and can hold a plank for 1 minute 30 seconds. I have found that music is really important when I run, I tend to keep pace with whatever I listen to. If you have suggestions for great running or workout songs I would love to hear them.

Doing Everything Right, WRONG.

This week is a mixed bag of emotions for me. I am so happy to have lost the weight I have up to this point, but in the last couple weeks my weightloss can be measured in ounces and not pounds, for that I am frustrated. I feel like I am doing everything right, but something must be off. I went in for my 3 month post-op check up and the Dr. said the calorie intake sweet spot for weightloss is 800-1200 calories. He also said I should not be concerning myself with calories only meeting my protein goals, if I meet the protein goals I should be in the sweet spot calorie range. To refresh my memory about what my diet should be I looked back through my WLS nutritional guideline book. I should be getting about 60-70 grams of protein a day. I have been getting 40-50 grams, so this could be part of my problem. I also have been recording my calorie intake and most days I barely meet the calorie sweet spot. So this next week, I will be taking great effort to increase both my protein and calories to see if that will add some fuel to my metabolism.

This week I found a couple of new super tasty things to add to my menu. Both can be found at Costco and my entire family loves them both. This really says a lot when my red meat and potato lovin' husband says my gluten free healthy food choices are really good. So the first is Andouille Chicken Sausage. Each link contains 5g of fat, 15g of protein, and has 120 calories. One link and I am FULL. What is strange about this for me is that prior to WLS surgery I did not enjoy spicy foods, but these sausages have a little kick and I really like them.

The second item is more of a snack food item, I don't do a lot of snacking but when I do I want it to be good for me. This is a dip. Remember those gluten free Chipins Chips I told you about a couple of weeks ago...this dip is really good with those (both the cheddar and cinnamon flavors). Two tablespoons of this dip contains 3.5 grams of fat, 2g of protein, and has 50 calories. This is a gluten free product that is made with probiotic yogurt, so it promotes healthy digestion (something I need).

So this last week I have cleaned out my closet and only about 1/3 of my clothes still fit, that's great right! Most women have an outfit that they can put on and feel pretty in. Mine was this adorable curve hugging, cleavage revealing, short black dress. I loved the way I looked and felt in it. I was a little saddened when I tried in on during my closet cleaning and it hung on me like a sack. I loved that dress, but now it doesn't fit my new body. At this point I don't have a LBD (little black dress) that gives me that same feeling. In fact when I try on new clothes I am struggling to find things that I think flatter this new body. Enough whining. I am just trying to adjust to the changes and I know I will, it will happen in time. For now I am not looking for a replacement LBD because I know my weight will still do a lot of changing and I want to wait until I stabilize to look.

Also this week my family decided to do a one month fitness challenge. In one month we want to see how we can improve in 4 fitness areas: 1 mile run, 1 minute sit-ups, push ups, and planks. Believe it or not I ran the mile, I am slower that molasses, but I ran it which is a pretty big deal for me. Last night was our third night of the challenge, I opted out of running because my thighs hurt, but I did the other activities. Both my husband and myself are feeling the pain from the push ups and planks, but we don't really notice the pain until we have to use our upper body muscles. The area I am probably the most sore today is my abs. Folks I can barely do a sit-up, I really try hard but it is a struggle. My stomach muscles are so sore it hurts to pee. I am looking for alternative core exercises to avoid the strain sit-ups cause, if you have suggestions please send them to me. Once I build some core strength I hope to do sit-ups with ease.

Florida Vacation

We just got home from a week long vacation in Fort Myers, Florida. It was a great vacation and I am happy to say I did make my first goal of being in "one"derland before we left. I did make a second goal of 190, which I was a couple pounds shy of making. I am okay, because I know if I continue my new lifestyle those pounds will come off. When I sat in my seat on the plane, I noticed right away that I didn't feel squished in my seat as I have in the past. My hips did not touch the arm rests and I could comfortably cross my legs. It was hard to be away from a scale that long, I like to weigh a couple times a week just to check in on my progress. Our hotel, like most, did not have a scale in the room. So you can imagine the first thing I did when I got home was weigh. For several reasons I was not surprised that the scale hadn't moved much for a week. Like many people when I go on vacation my bowels also go on vacation, so I was plagued with constipation. This was exacerbated by Aunt Flo's visit for the month.

I have to say since weight loss surgery Aunt Flo's visits have been very different. Several years ago I had the endometrial ablation procedure. This procedure had been successful, I had not had a period since...until my weight loss surgery. Now I get visited once a month, it comes with all the symptoms of a regular cycle. I am not thrilled about this. I go for my three month post op follow up next week and I will be asking if this is normal.

While on vacation my eating was pretty much as it would be at home with a few exceptions. Splurges I indulged in: Dairy Queen strawberry shortcake blizzard, I had only a few bites, but it was goooood; A chocolate covered strawberry, yum; a desert sampling tray, again only a few bites; and a quarter of a bagel. During the week I thought I was keeping my indulgences in check, but now as I type them for my blog that seems like a lot of indulging and I will be working really hard this next week to make up for it.

I was pretty active on vacation. My husband and I walked 4 miles one morning. I also went paddle boarding with my son. That was a first for me, it was a lot of fun and as difficult as I thought it would be. Paddle boarding is a serious leg workout, my thighs hurt for several days after. I can't wait to go on vacation and try it again. I kicked the soccer ball around with my son and we played paddle ball on the beach. All sports are better and more fun when they are played on the beach.

The last time we had family pictures was about 10 years ago, I was close to the weight back then that I am now. My family was overdue for family pictures so even though I am not the weight I want to be I went ahead and scheduled family pictures on the beach. I haven't got to see them yet, but I think (hope) they will turn out great. I will let you know.

Feeling "One"derful

So this was a good week, I was really expecting it to be after last week. I have enjoyed some good things this past week, and really yummy thing but not very nutritious. I really miss crunchy things like chips, so I set out to find a healthier, gluten free alternative. I found these chips at Walmart. They are called Chipins and my favorite is the cinnamon sugar flavor. They are crunchy, a little sweet and a lot good. In between soccer games this weekend my family went to the Cheesecake Factory, it's not my favorite food place, but I gotta say they do cheesecake right. I ordered some chicken dish, it wasn't good so I only had a couple bites, but I did order a piece of blueberry cheesecake. It was heavenly! I enjoyed that piece of cheesecake for 3 days, and relished in every bite. Enough talk about that or I will work myself up into a food frenzy. I have tired of eating tuna, if I am going to eat protein I want it to be warm. Another thing that I have reintroduced in my diet is hard boiled eggs, love them.

I have been very active this week. We opened our pool and it has been a serious arm workout getting it ready. I scrubbed the pools walls Tuesday, and just today I am able to lift my arms over my head with out terrible pain. My arms and shoulders were like overcooked noodles and extremely sore. We have been vacuuming the pool a couple times a day. I am not complaining, I actually like doing it, it's kind of relaxing like mowing. Anyway, all of this pool maintenance just adds to the soreness of my arms. I have also been working in my yard installing solar lights. I like the way it looks with my new lights. So while I haven't been formally exercising or working out, I have been very active this week.

The Hubs and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary this past week. We didn't do anything special, but every year we do write love letters to each other to celebrate. It's something I really treasure and love that we do this for each other. I can't say enough great things about my husband, I am deeply, madly, crazy in love with him, even more today than 19 years ago.

Frienemies and Weight Loss (or lack there of)

My food consumption this week has been very similar to the past several weeks, however my weight loss was non existent. One ounce, that's the difference between my weight this morning and my weight one week ago. I am feeling discouraged. I did notice that it was about 4 weeks ago when I felt like I had a weight loss stall. At that time, my frienemy Flo was visiting just as she has been this last week. So keeping my fingers crossed that the bloating and hormones are causing me to hold on to weight. If I don't see more of a weight loss next week I will be calling my doctor.

So even though my diet is now unrestricted, I am sticking to what has been working plus adding a few things I have missed, like salad. I love salad, especially a good spinach leaf salad. So for Mother's Day my family took me to Houlihan's and I had their grilled chicken fruit summer salad. I made 4 meals out of that salad. It was so good and I look forward to the next time I get to have one. I also tried a martini. I don't think this smaller stomach is interested in tolerating liquor. A little sip burned all the way down, so it will be a long time before I attempt liquor again. Although, I did have a drink of my husband's beer a few days ago did not feel that burning sensation.

I think I have mentioned before how much I love to shop, and I still do. However, shopping for myself has become less fun, I just can't seem to find things that I think flatter my figure. Hopefully, as I lose more weight my perception will change. I have broke down and bought new bras, my boobs aren't really smaller, but my band size has definitely changed. This next week I hope to get further into one"derland."

8 Weeks Post Op - Last Week of Lock down

This has been another good week for many reasons. Today was the last day of class for me, so I am officially on summer break now. This week I also completed all my final assignments and projects for the classes I am taking and it is a relief to be done. On top of all that my weight continues to decrease. Although, this week weight loss has been a little bittersweet. This week the goal was to get to "one"derland, and it didn't happen, kinda. This past monday I was feeling particularly good and had a busy day doing yard work. So when I came in for the day I weighed....my weight was 199.2, I took a picture. I was so happy. I decided not to weigh again until my normal weigh-in day....Thursday. I fully expected to get on the scale today and be less than what I weighed Monday. It didn't happen and this morning I weighed 200.0 lbs. I was really disappointed. I had to remind myself, that I am less than I was last Thursday and that is what is important. Hormones and hydration can cause weight fluctuations, and to make myself feel better I am totally using both as a cop out for mine. I have set a new goal to be at 190 lbs before we leave for vacation, I am really going to try to get there.

I haven't tried any new foods, but I look forward to my unrestricted diet starting tomorrow. I plan to continue with the following changes in my diet: Avoid breads, pasta, and flour foods, eat the lowest amount of carbs at dinner and highest amount for breakfast, eat a high protein lunch around 2pm(ish), avoid snacking. I feel like this has been the key to success so far and I want to continue down this path. This last week I had a fun size york peppermint pattie, one of my favorite candies. After I consumed it I had to look up the nutrition content, it has 50 calories, that is almost half the calories I consume for dinner when I eat fish. That's a lot of calories for such little nutrition benefit. Needless to say, it just wasn't as good as it used to be, and I just don't want to spend time consuming calories that don't really benefit my body. When you consume about 800 calories per day, there just isn't room for 50 calories of crap. It's a weird thing to say, coming from a recovering crap lover.

I finally weigh less than my husband, so I am calling off my mission to sabotage his dieting efforts. Don't get me wrong, my husband is a hottie, but it sure feels good to have a lower number than him, even if it's just by a few ounces. I mean really what's a healthier longer life without the man I love by my side?