Head Games..

Yesterday was a tough day mentally for me.  I woke up feeling like I was that 300 lb girl again and couldn’t see my current self in the mirror.  I tried to not let the day defeat me and decided to look at before and after pictures to try to get the head caught up.  It worked somewhat..

I still have a hard time believing I went from this:

 

To this:

 

I posted these comparison pictures on Instagram and had many questions about loose skin.  I will be honest, right now I’m not brave enough to take a picture of my lower belly area or inner thighs for the world to see but trust me when I say it’s a scary sight!  LOL  I have a bunch of loose skin in those areas.  The picture above may say otherwise but let me just say it’s those workout pants that I am wearing that are sucking it all in!  I also was training for a half marathon when that picture was taken and I was a bit more tone than I am now.

Someone asked me if I planned to get plastics.  My answer right now, no.  I’m a pansy, I don’t like pain and after following some other post-op folks who have had plastics I don’t think I could put myself through that.  Plus financially, I’d rather spend that money on traveling the world!  So for now, I’m trying to embrace my loose skin and use it as a reminder of where I’ve come from and where I never want to return.

QUESTION:  Have you lost a lot of weight and deal with loose skin?  If so, do you plan on getting plastics? 

 

Operation “Eat What We Have”

Operation “Eat What We Have” is in full effect right now!

A month from today the hubs and I will be on our way to Europe for our backpacking/rail trip and our goal is to get through as much food as we have in our freezer, fridge and pantry before now and then.

This shouldn’t be to tough, the only thing that I think will be tough is making sure I don’t buy things when they are on sale!  The goal is not only use what we have but get us down to the bare minimum so that we can start stocking our pantry and freezer with healthier foods.  We want to start eating cleaner, smarter and focusing more on organics and grass-fed proteins BUT we also do not want to waste the food we have.

Ignore the mess I call my pantry!

We have a lot of beans and frozen meats – time to get creative with meal planning!

 

 

Eliminating Artificial Sweeteners and Frustrations.

Frustrations…. this journey lately has been one big frustration after another!

You see, while tracking my food for the last several weeks I’ve learned that all of the Sugar Free items/products I’ve been consuming were destroying my gut.  I’d be bloated and extremely gassy for hours.  I’d have horrible pains where I felt like someone was stabbing me repeatedly with no end in sight.  I also noticed I was having a lot more headaches.  It wasn’t until I started examining my food intake that I put two and two together and realized it was the SF items I was ingesting that were causing my issues. My solution, I’ve started eliminating SF items and artificial sweeteners from my diet.

I’ve been doing a lot of reading lately to educate myself on food nutrition and I’m learning that just about everything I’ve been doing post-op isn’t allowing me to be healthy.  It’s allowing me to get by but not allowing me to be the healthiest I could be.  I understand that as a post-op we are advised to stay away from sugar, that a lot of us will have “dumping” episodes from it.  However I’d rather deal with a little dumping here and there than to have longer irreversible damage from artificial sweeteners.  If you don’t know what I am talking about do the research yourself, here are a few good examples (click both links one and two).

I’m in no way telling anyone how they should live.  What you choose to put in your body is your choice.  Just like what I put in mine is my choice!  For me I chose to have surgery to gain my life  back and to start living a healthy lifestyle.  That healthy lifestyle for me and my husband will no longer include knowingly ingesting artificial sweeteners.  We will be researching/using healthier real sweeteners such as honey and “real” maple syrup , we will be eliminating highly processed foods, do organic as best as we can, eat more grass-fed proteins and focus on eating “real” foods.

So you may be asking where is my frustration coming from?!  My frustration is with those in the WLS community who feel they are experts.  Just because something works for you does not mean it’s perfect and works for everyone else.  Hence why I’m in no way stating anyone in the WLS community should follow my lead.  This is what I am doing for myself.  I’d rather indulge in a square of real dark chocolate than have something artificially sweetened and suffer for hours.  You can shun me if you want and say I’m not following the WLS rules BUT to be completely honest I’d rather eat a healthier diet free of artificial sweeteners than suffer the consequences of ingesting those products later down the road.  I feel that those who are always preaching need to get off their high horses, you’re not perfect and last I knew you do not have a medical degree.

In closing, my advice to those in the WLS community.  Do what’s best for you!  Do your research!  Educate yourself on the foods you’re ingesting! Just because the masses are not doing it does not mean it’s taboo and not right for you.  Remember, everyone’s journey is different and you should focus on what you feel is a healthy lifestyle for yourself.

 

 

 

 

Not Eating Enough..

Last night while scrolling through facebook I came across a link to my friend Sam’s blog, it was a guest post by our mutual friend Melissa.  The post was about online friendships and touched base on my friendship that I have developed with these two ladies.  This post nearly brought me to tears as I do consider these two ladies very close and special friends.  We may not text, e-mail or call but we communicate through facebook and our blogs and sometimes even twitter.  I know that when times are rough these two ladies are always there to pick me up and dust me off.  These two ladies have been some of my biggest cheerleaders on this WLS journey and I owe a lot of my success to them!  I love you both like sisters!

In other news… As you may recall in my previous post I indicated that I was going to start using MFP again.  I started the other day but then got busy and completely forgot!  Yesterday however I made a point to log everything that went into my mouth and here are the results:

I ended the day with 947 Calories and 73 grams of Protein.  I was actually shocked to see that I only took in 947 calories, I was full and satisfied throughout the day so I thought I was ingesting more calories than I was.  Guess it goes to show when you feed yourself healthy foods it keeps you full longer.  Please note that this screen shot does not show the calories earned by exercise!  Also, I didn’t have thousand island dressing but rather a homemade dressing which we figured would equal about the same in calories and fat.

One thing that cracked me up from reporting on MFP yesterday was this:

Me, not eat enough calories?!  LOL!

I definitely need to work on my numbers though.  I’d like to be closer to the 1200 calories/day and see my protein closer to 100g/day also.  In addition, I’d like to see the carbs and sugar come down a bit.  Sugar may be tough though as the majority of it comes from my milk and protein shake which I cannot eliminate from my diet.  And before you go rattling off protein shakes that have a lower sugar content I will state that after two years plus of protein shakes I’ve tried just about every single one on the market and Click is the only one (excluding a Whole Foods one) that I can stomach.  And since I drink a protein shake daily and have to sip it rather than down it in one gulp, I’m going to drink one that I enjoy.

Anyway, one observation from yesterday and the weekend that helped me feel fuller longer was not drinking with my meals.  As a RNY WLS post-op drinking with our meals is a big no-no!  I knew exactly what it does but yet, I still did it.  Not sure why, maybe because it was a habit pre-op (always had to have a big glass of milk with dinner) or maybe because I hate when my mouth is hot from food or for those times when I forget to chew properly and I get that stuck feeling.  For whatever reason I would always have a small sip with my meals.  It wasn’t until last week when I stumbled across this video by Rob that it made perfect sense as to why I should not be drinking with my meals.  I’m a visual person so seeing this made complete sense and opened my eyes!

If you’re a WLS post-op and you drink with your meals I highly recommend that you watch this video:

That’s it for today!  It’s pouring here so I’m going to try to stay focused and not let boredom take over and allow me to mindlessly stuff my face.  I’m thinking as long as I keep water nearby I should be good!

Have a FANTASTIC day everyone!

Sore

I’m sore.. VERY sore but a good sore!  You see, instead of just talking about it I finally got off my rump and worked out yesterday!  I did the 30 Day Shred and Jillian kicked my behind!  It was a great workout made a little harder with three dogs who thought I was trying to play with them.  Today, they will be put behind the gate!

 

I wanted to go for a run today as well BUT it’s pouring out and quite frankly since I’m not training for any type of race I’m not running in the cold rain!  Instead I think the hubs and I might try out one of the Kettlebell exercise DVD’s I have from Bob Harper:

Also, if the rain clears up this afternoon the hubs and I may go for a long walk.

For those that follow me on MyFitnessPal you may have seen me update some of my information this morning.  I haven’t used MFP in months but I figured I’d start again to see where I stand calorie and protein wise.  I have a feeling I’m consuming more calories than needed and not nearly enough protein.  This will also allow me to look at my day and see what I’m eating and what I can change.  I’m hopeful by doing this and moving again that I can jumpstart my weight loss again.  If you’re on MFP and want to be friends send me a request to:  Geegs27587

In other news.. it’s official!  We booked our rail passes and plane tickets for our trip!  We will be starting our trip in Poland, flying to Bucharest, Romania and then making our way by train up to Amsterdam for our flight home.  55 Days to go!

That’s it for now!  Hope y’all have a fantastic weekend!

58 DAYS!

58 days until the hubs and I embark on another European Backpacking/Rail trip!

I am so excited and can hardly contain my excitement!

This means I have 58 days to get my behind in gear.  As mentioned in my previous post I’d like to lose a few pounds and firm up.  I keep mentioning what I’m going to do but have yet to do them!  If I want that new fleece from North Face to fit well on this trip I need to tone up a bit!

I’ve been doing well in the food department for the last week and a half.  Monday and Tuesday were flops but I recovered well yesterday and hope to keep on track.  Minor slips are ok as long as I get back on track immediately!

I’ve stocked our freezer, fridge and pantry with lots of fruits, veggies and protein and most of the crap is out!

 

 

I was able to determine why I fell off the wagon on Monday and Tuesday and it’s because I was missing the crunch factor.  My solution, baby carrots and hummus and homemade Protein Trail Mix Cookies

 

 

 

 

 

These cookies are so filling that all you need is one!

Anyway, so back to the trip!  My days and nights have been consumed with research!  I almost feel like I’m back in school researching a big project.  LOL  I was frustrated because people on the travel boards kept asking me why we were traveling in and out of the same place rather than an “open jaw” flight.  My answer was always price, the way I was searching, into one destination out of another via individual flights was crazy expensive.  It wasn’t until someone mentioned using the “multi-city” option that I realized I had been looking at flights all wrong!  Using that little “multi-city” option has not only made it easier and cheaper to plan but it is also allowing us extra time to go back to Brugge and Amsterdam which we originally had to scratch due to time.

My research is about to begin in the food department.  Last year I struggled with eating on our trip.  I made poor choices and paid for it.  This year I plan to make sure I eat many greens, of course lots of cheeses and want to focus on protein based meals.  I’d like to have an idea of a few local/traditional meals in each location so I can be somewhat prepared.  And as always I’ll be traveling with Click protein powder packets to start each day off on the right foot!

Anyway, that’s all for now.  Hope y’all have a fantastic day!

Trip Planning

Good Morning!  First I want to welcome all of my new followers, thank you for visiting!

Not much going on here.. I’ve stayed on track all week and treated myself last night to a few girl scout cookies.  I quickly realized they weren’t as good as I remembered and the remaining were thrown in the sink and down the disposal.  This is HUGE because two years ago I would have still eaten them and probably polished off the box in one sitting.  I consider this progress, I’m not perfect and I never will be.. I will always be tempted by sweets but how I handle that temptation is key.

I will say that staying on track this week has paid off.  I’m down almost another pound and my clothes are starting to fit better again!  And no surprise I feel SO.MUCH.BETTER!  Amazing how you feel when you are properly hydrating and feeding yourself!  Who knew?! LOL

In other news, the hubs and I have decided to do another backpacking/train trip through Eastern Europe this Spring.  You may recall we did a similar trip last year but did Eastern and Western Europe.  This year we are being smart about it so that we are not wasting as much time traveling and rushing to each destination.  We are not going to have a set schedule so that if we want to stay some place longer we can or we can bounce if we’re not liking our current destination.  This time we are also doing a lot more research of the main areas we want to visit and areas surrounding it, last year we spent way to much time trying to figure out what to do and where to go and the hope is this year we can avoid that.

I’m looking forward to the trip.  I know what to expect this time around and also know that I need to pack much lighter!  Carrying all the crap I brought with me last year was hell!

Our plan is to fly into Prague, Czech Republic and then take the night train to Krakow, Poland.  From there we’d like to visit the following:  Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Slovenia, Croatia, Austria (excluding Vienna) and Eastern Germany.  If you have any recommendations on things to see/do in these countries please let me know.

With this trip in mind the hubs and I are kicking up our walking like we did last year.  I also want to firm up a bit and lose another 4-5 lbs before the trip so the 30 Day Shred and Kettle Bell exercises will be thrown in with a few days of running.  I have a beginners yoga DVD which I may attempt also.

Other than focusing on getting back on track nutrition wise and planning for this trip (which seems like a full time job!) I’ve been working on my Etsy store.  Here is my latest item:

 

Anyway, that’s all for now.  Hope y’all have a great Friday!