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.