A Day in the Life...

Another post so soon? Am I sick? Is something wrong? Nah..I just wanted to do a little updatin. I am down to 296 which is such a fantastic feeling. After stalling for 2 weeks at 301 it was such a great boost to see I am below 300! That's a total of 61 pounds overall and 41 pounds lost since surgery. I am 9 weeks out from surgery today so I am averaging 4.5 pounds a week. That is freaking outstanding and I am thankful to my therapist for pointing this out to me. It's hard when you don't see the scale move every time you get on it but if you look at an average, hot damn I am killing it.

Now I am going to walk you through my typical day, since I've been promising that for some time.
My body wakes me up at 7am but on weekdays I have to get up around 6:30am. The nice thing is it's not as much of a struggle these days. I am sleeping through the night which hasn't happened in years! I also fall asleep much quicker. It's been the most noticeable change for me so far.

Once I am up and ready I make myself one of these beauties...

It is a pod from our Nespresso (my all time favorite coffee device) with a premier protein shake (I can FINALLY get these babies down again) over ice. It's wonderful to have my coffee again and to be able to get my protein in at the same time. I drink it on my way to work and usually finish it by the time I get there.

Next up at around 10am is any flavor of Dannon Light and Fit Greek yogurt.

 

It has the lowest sugar of any yogurt out there and has some of the highest protein. It also doesn't take awful. I used to like Oikos Triple Zero but not anymore. It has such a strong aftertaste for me now.

Then comes Lunch. The timing of this depends on how busy I am at work but typically by 1pm. The food itself can vary day to day depending on what dinner we had the night before. Today's lunch was thanks to my beautiful and talented sister who made this divine Lemon Chicken Soup with Orzo.

It's hard to get a size perspective from this but I would say I had about 3/4 of a cup. My sleeve can hold a whole lot more food now a days. It's still not much but it's not just a 1/4 of a cup. That's normal though, especially when it comes to a soup.

All through out the day I am also drinking water. It's still very hard for me to finish my water bottle (which holds 32oz) in a day. I also drink water and Diet Snapple at home so I am not too far off from my water goals. However, it's a big change from the fact that I would have anywhere from 64 to 92 oz of water at work alone before surgery.

Dinner time is typically between 6:30 and 7:30pm depending on what it is I have to make. This was last nights dinner. Ruben stuffed pork tenderloin (recipe from Skinnytaste) with 1/4 cup of coleslaw from Ben's Deli and a half sour pickle. Mother flippin delicious! I have to remember to eat slow but it's so hard when it's sooo good.

I have also been tracking my food. Something I never wanted to have to do again in my life. It holds very negative memories for me since I have been dieting since childhood. However, I got over myself and realized that if I wanted to see what I am eating and how it impacts my weight loss I have to track it. I am using MyFitnessPal which is great as it also connects with my Fitbit so I can track everything all in one. I am even tracking things like the cookie I had last night. A small cookie but a cookie none the less. I wrote it down and while to some it might seem trivial, it's a huge moment for me. I don't know about you but if I eat something "bad" I wouldn't write it down. I am doing my utmost best to be as honest I can be without making it a judgement on myself. I won't succeed at this if I keep telling myself I am awful and a failure every time I do something "off plan".

Exercise. Oh exercise. It is still a massive challenge for me. I am trying to get more steps in during the day but traditional working out is not happening right now. That's ok, it's still a goal of mine and not all goals get reached every single day.That's another thing I have never been good at. Goals. I don't typically set them because I don't want to fail. Failure is and has always been my greatest fear. I haven't tried many things in my life because of it. Another challenge to face thanks to this surgery.

Next time, on as the stomach churns (my own personal soap opera) I would love to take questions from you. Is there something you are dying to ask me? It doesn't have to be surgery related, maybe you just always wanted to know something about me. You can either leave it here in the comments, message me directly here or on Facebook. Until next time....

Let's talk Turkey

I would love to give you a reason for the long span between posts but honestly, I just haven't had much to say. Or perhaps I have had too much going on in my own head to really put into words. Either way, I have been hiding a bit inside of myself. However, since it's the start of the Christmas season (my absolute favorite time of year) I figured I would give of myself and let you all in on the madness. No need to thank me!

On the food front I am now back in the realm of the living...Solid Foods! 

Thanksgiving was my official first day of eating with everyone else and it was lovely. We spent the holiday with Brian's family in Connecticut. The dinner was at their country club, buffet style. I avoided the appetizers (Which was super hard given they had grilled cheese strips with a tomato soup dipping sauce) and focused my buffet choices on protein. Turkey isn't my favorite so I went for the prime rib. While delicious it was a bit fatty and went down a little heavy. I had a few bites of mashed potato and a few of stuffing. All in all I feel I got the Thanksgiving experience without feeling that I was going to explode. 

Later on we had dessert back at Brian's Aunt and Uncle's house and of course, I had to try some pies. My brother in law is an amazing pie maker so it  was out of respect(wink wink). I was worried it wouldn't end well but of course, the pie went down better than anything else that day. I now know I am in trouble. I will really have to watch myself around sweets. Not that I had a lot of pie but still, it's something to keep an eye on.

Now the real work begins. It's up to me to make the best choices I can for myself (not really my forte). I have to dedicate more time to figuring out what I should be eating instead of on what I could eat. I can pretty much have anything I want now. I can't have much of it and I can't eat too fast. I ate lunch a little to quickly the other day and let me tell you, that was zero fun. I also need to get on the exercise bandwagon. That is the hardest of all. I do have more energy now that I am able to get more protein in but it's painful. I am still over 300 pounds so while it's better than it was it's still a lot of pressure on my joints. Going to the pool to walk is really my best bet but that takes time and planning.

Reading that back to myself , I am just a big ole whiny baby. I knew this surgery was just a tool to help me to make a healthier life for myself. The trouble is being healthy is no fun. However, I am working everyday to get over myself. I am own biggest roadblock as are we all. Nothing can stop me if I put my mind to it except for that big ole whiny baby.


I am officially down 53 pounds which is nice. I think I will get excited once I get below 300. Until then I will have to push myself to do the things I don't want to do and eat the things I don't want to eat. I am an adult, damn it!

Until the next time, my friends!