What I'm Eating-Five Weeks Out

Several people have asked me lately what I'm eating these days; I think a lot of them are still trying to figure out if it's okay to ask me out to lunch or eat in front of me (it is :)). So, here in no particular order, are a few meals as of late.

Breakfasts:

Egg Bites! These are my new favorite things. I made them the first time for a brunch; they are super easy, and protein based and freeze well. They are basically crustless quiche that you make in mini muffin tins for portion control. I found the recipe on another blog written by a fellow "sleever". Here's the link:http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/

Lunch

I usually eat lunch at my desk, but I have gone out a few times in the past few weeks. The first time, I had some grilled salmon and a tiny bit of sauteed spinach. All of the other times, I had half of a half of a turkey sandwich minus the sandwich part.

At work, its usually 2 ounces of turkey or chicken, or a 1/4 cup of tuna or chicken salad. Sometimes, I'll have a few bites of greek yogurt or a half of a piece of string cheese. Just this week, I add in a tomato slice. Technically, I'm not supposed to have raw veggies for another couple of months but I remove the seeds and skin, so its actually going down very well. Here's lunch on a typical day:

Chicken salad, babybel light cheese, tomato. I ate all of the chicken salad, one piece of tomato and saved the cheese for later.

Dinner

Since most of the other foods I eat are cold, I try to have something hot and fresh for dinner. I'm a BIG fan of the George Foreman grill; I can take a piece of fish or chicken out of the freezer, pop it on the grill, and I have dinner in six minutes. I am also a big fan of spice blends; I use Cavendar's Greek seasoning, Adobo seasoning, Old Bay, Spike and several others to season my fish or chicken. I also bought a couple of new ones at Penzey's, a spice store by my apartment.

My other new favorite things: salmon and chicken burgers from Whole Foods. I figure since I'm spending less than half of what I used to on food, I can splurge on some Whole Paycheck Foods now and then. They have a big variety of flavors; the spinach and feta is my favorite. Very protein friends, and really flavorful! I have half for dinner, and the other half for lunch or dinner the next day.

So, that's about the long and short of it. I'm still supplementing with protein shakes; I finally settled on the Muscle Milk light and got a pretty good deal on a case of them at Sam's Club. I've tried the powder in the blender; still can't do it. It's just...gross.

Clean Car Day

Tomorrow, my friends and I are going to a baseball game, and because I'm "on the wagon", I offered to drive. Of course, that meant I would have to clean out my car.

As many of my close friends, and anyone who has ever parked next to me, know

(not my car; dramatic re-creation. for the most part)

I am a bit of a car slob. Now, I'm not like those people that have six years of newspapers and phone books stuffed into their 86 Honda; I just spend a lot of time in my car, and I am terrible about throwing things

like newspapers, water bottles, bags, and magazines out.

Now, in the past, cleaning out my car was one of those tasks I absolutely despised and totally procrastinated, thereby making the situation even worse. I can't tell you the number of times I've had to dash out to the parking lot to shove stuff under the seats so I could drive my co-workers to lunch.

So, tonight as I started reaching under seats and into the glove box, I was surprised. Where was all the crap? Had car elves been hard at work while I slept, sweeping up fossilized french fries and old Quik-Trip cups? Was I cleaning out the right Pontiac? After all, there are a LOT of silver Pontiac Vibes on the road. Where were the McDonald's bags, the thousands of napkins, the millions of empty cigarette boxes? WHOSE CAR WAS THIS??? AND WHY WAS I CLEANING IT???

Then I realized: it was my car. Yeah, there were a few old NY Times, several empty water bottles and a couple of popsicle sticks. It occured to me then just how much my life has changed in the past five weeks. No more McDonalds on my way into work in the morning; therefore, no McDonald's bags. No more 44 ounce Diet Cokes; therefore, no 44 ounce Quik-Trip cups. No more lighting up a smoke every time I got into the car; therefore, no more Marlboro boxes or ashes to vacuum up.

I got the car cleaned out in about five minutes, and then went for a walk. I guess Clean Car Day isn't so much a big deal anymore. Hee.

(again, not my ride. yet.)

Four Week Update

So sorry it's been so long since I've posted; I've been kinda swamped both at work and at home.

Wednesday was my four week surgiversary. I'm down 47 pounds. I really don't know what to say about that other than YAHOOOOOO!!

Okay, now that I got that out of my system, on to other things.

Like I said, its been a busy week. Work is ramping up; big event in November and it's starting to cook. I've also had a busy week at home. I started the week off by visiting a new church attended by a volunteer of mine at work. It was a great service, and I think I will be returning for another. It's a very liberal, open community and they have a ton of activities and classes like yoga and intergenerational hip hop (for reals). Here's a link if you want some more information: http://stpaulslenexa.org/

After church, I had some friends over for lunch. One of the biggest worries I had going into this surgery was that I wouldn't be able to entertain anymore. I think that one of the best sounds in the world is the sound of good friends around the table, enjoying a meal and each other's company. I love not many things more than making a meal, putting on some good music and setting the table for six or more.

Usually, the menu would involve some kind of comfort food; chicken and noodles, chili with all the fixins, pecan praline french toast casserole (for real; it's like sex in a baking dish. but with more butter). This time, I knew that I would have to change up the game a bit. So, I turned to a couple of the blogs written by other post-surgical folks and came up with a great menu. Crustless mini quiches, courtesy of http://theworldaccordingtoeggface.blogspot.com/2009/10/party-time-confetti-bites.html.

I also cooked up some turkey sausage links, put out a big plate of bagels and pound cake for my carb lovin crew and for the piece de resistance: homemade blueberry cobbler, made with blueberries grown and picked by an organic farmer. My plate had three quiches, and one sausage; I ate two of the quiches and most of the sausage and was full. A little later, I had a tiny bite of blueberries; it was divine and just enough of a taste to satisfy.

All in all, I was very proud of myself. I realized that I can still do the things I loved to do, with a few small changes. So, here's to many, many more meals shared by friends around a table, laughing and passing plates.

Three Weeks-Getting my Groove Back

So, today I'm three weeks post-surgery. I'm feeling pretty great, actually. I've adjusted well to the "mushy" food stage, am doing a pretty good job most days of getting my fluids in and I feel like my activity level is increasing. I joined a gym near my house, and have walked the track a couple of times because it is so sweltering hot outside right now. I'm actually looking forward to being released to do other kinds of exercise because I get bored with walking pretty quickly.

So here is what I've learned at three weeks:

* My body gives me a signal that I'm full, even if my head hasn't caught on yet. It's called a "soft stop" and mine is a hiccup. Most people have these, but don't know to listen for them.

* It's very easy to overeat if I don't pay attention. I've paid a lot more attention to eating my meals at the dining room table instead of on the couch with the television or a book.

* Too much cheese can cause certain bodily functions to slooooow down, if you get my drift.

* Milk of Magnesia is really gross and should be only administered when you've got about four hours in the house alone.

* Canned chicken tastes just like canned tuna.

* Greek yogurt is awesome and full of protein. Bye-bye Yoplait.

http://www.ochef.com/257.htm

* It is possible to go out to a bar on a Saturday night and have a good time with getting a cocktail. Who knew??

1 Month Pictures

Well, it's been a month since I started the liquid diet so I decided to take a new set of pictures to compare. It's funny; no one has really commented on my appearance at all, until today. Six people have come up to me and asked me how much I've lost! I guess these are good jeans.

The pictures on the left are me a month ago, and the pictures on the right are me today. Honestly, and don't get all "love yourself" on me in the comments, I don't see much difference. But that's okay; I know I will soon!

Two Week Update

Yesterday was my two week "surgiversary". I hopped on the scale today; another five pounds down for a total of 38 pounds in a month. That's like four bowling balls. Off my ass. Hee.

Things are going well, for the most part. Here's what I've learned two weeks post-op

1. Vitamins are very important; I definitely have noticed a big difference in energy levels on the days I've forgotten.

2. Hormonal changes and mood swings can be pretty vicious, and it's best to just be alone when I feel them coming on.

3. Hormonal changes cause very vivid, very strange dreams.

4. A person can save a LOT of $$ eating only three small meals a day.

5. Starbucks gives iced water for free.

6. Decaf iced tea is much better with lemons.

7. 105 degree weather is a lot easier to handle 38 pounds lighter.

8. My mom is the coolest, bravest, kindest and giving person I've ever met. (Well, I kinda already knew that one but I got several reminders of it in the past two weeks.)

Tonight, I'm going to try adding unflavored protein powder to some yogurt for dinner, and see how that works.

A Lovely Weekend

What a difference a couple of days makes!

This was my first weekend post-op on my own. I started it off by treating myself to a couple of goodies from Whole Foods. Now, in the past, this would have meant a lemon sugar cookie or a piece of wood-fired pizza. What's the harm, it's organic, right? This trip, I went with something a little more botanical and a LOT longer-lasting.

I felt pretty great when I woke up on Saturday, so I got up early and headed out to run Saturday errands. Then, my friend Leira called and I decided to chuck the trip to the drugstore, Target and the dry cleaners and do a little exploring.

I picked L up and we headed out to a mall near her house. There was a shop I wanted to check out; it's called Vintage Market and it's phenomenal! It's a small antique mall that specializes in shabby chic/cottage style products. So cute!! I didn't buy anything but I will definitely be back. Check it out: http://www.vintagemarketkc.com/

We did a bit more shopping; Old Navy, Dilliards, Marshall's. Pretty soon, it was lunchtime. Now normally, I would have found myself at Tomfooleries or Granite City Brewery, with a big burger or a plate of nachos. This shopping trip, I popped open my insulated lunch bag, removed the two blue ice packs, and had my string cheese in between Old Navy and Marshall's. I popped over to Starbucks and got a free large ice water, voila! Lunch. I finished up my two ounces of sliced turkey at Leira's later.

Sunday, I again got up early, caught up with Charles Kurault and then headed out again. I hit Starbucks again, (love the free water!) and browsed through the NY Times, something I haven't done in ages. Then I headed to the Kemper Museum, a local modern art museum where I saw an incredible exhibit of portraits and paintings by an artist named David Bates. Bates painted the pieces in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and they are haunting and brilliant. http://www.kemperart.org/

After The Kemper, I headed out to do the errands I put off the day before. Target, drug store, and dry cleaners, check. After Target, I headed to Bed, Bath and Beyond where I found the perfect piece to hang up on my bedroom wall:

I love it! Perfectly encapsulates how I am feeling these days.

So, what was the point of me telling you the boring ins and outs of my weekend? The point is, I was busy, I was happy, and I did it all without overeating a bunch of junk.

What a difference a couple of days makes.