Jun 9 2010

We All Need a Bit of Random, Right?

I don’t really have organized thoughts right now, but I feel like I need to blog. So here we go!

I was amazed at some of the emailed responses I got to my food post the other day! I will admit that I do need a fill (and I have one scheduled, but it takes three or more weeks to get in at my surgeon’s office), but I don’t think my portions are out of control. More than some of you eat? Sure. Want to teach me a thing or two? Take pictures of your food for two days and send me the URL. I would love to see how the rest of you are eating! I don’t really know many bandsters in real life so I don’t know how others eat. I’m seriously interested.

I read a lot of weight loss blogs and communities. Sometimes I see posts from people whose significant others have told them how much sexier they are now than before weight loss. I am so grateful that the Boy has never given me any indication that he feels that way. Do I feel more attractive now? Some days. Has weight loss helped increased my…erm…flexibility? Absolutely (and it’s fun)! But the Boy looks at me the same way and has said that I just look different now than I did 70 pounds ago, not better. Maybe he’s making it up, but I would be absolutely devastated if he’d said that he likes me better now.

I really hate it when people compare themselves to me. “You’ve lost 70 pounds in a year? I didn’t lose that much!” That’s totally okay, guys!! Especially if you only had 70 pounds to lose overall instead of 140 like me. My body was more willing to release that weight because it had so much extra. Yours will come off, too. Just stick with it, even when you’re discouraged!

I really hate it when I compare myself to others. “SHE (you know who you are, Amy W.) lost 120 pounds her first year, why didn’t I?” Because, Girl, her journey was her journey. This is yours. Enjoy the ride! (I pick on Amy because she’s easygoing and awesome.)

I’d really like to start my exercise routine with yoga instead of cardio. I have my orthotics back and am breaking them in, per my doctor, before I try the gym again…. I don’t know. I’d just really like to start with yoga to help my incessantly hurting back feel better and to help decrease my morning stiffness. I’d really like to do it at a studio, though, where there is structure and guidance. I fear injuring myself (yes, you can incur injuries from stretching) and like the idea of having scheduled classes. The least expensive studio I’ve found is $60 every month (it even has great reviews online). While that’s a far cry from the $150 most studios charge, it’s still well beyond what I can afford. Maybe the limited offer will still be valid after I get my credit card paid off in a few months. So. Cardio it is!

How are you all doing? Have any random thoughts to share?

Jun 6 2010

Two Days of Food – Friday, June 4 & Saturday, June 5

I had a friend who wanted me to take pictures of everything I ate in two consecutive days. Here is what I ate!

Friday:

Morning - Chocolate Acai Smoothie

12:45 - Madras Lentils

Afternoon - Multivitamin Drink (Calorie Free!)

2:40 - UTZ Cheese Balls (Half Serving)

4:15 - Super Dark Chocolate (Half Serving)

6:40 - Pei Wei Kids' Honey Seared (No Rice, Before and After)

11:00 - Edamame (Half Cup)

Saturday:

1:00 - Coffee, Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Protein Pancake, and Turkey Sausage

Remnants of Pancake and Sausage

5:50 - Naan Pizza (Canadian Bacon, Pepperoni, Mozzarella)

9:00 - Peanut Butter Cup Blizzard (Ate a Third)

Observations:

I had a multivitamin drink on Saturday, too!
UTZ Cheese Balls are not something I eat frequently.
I do have a food scale at work. If I want to partake of some of the community food that less than stellar (such as Cheese Balls), I make sure to weigh it so I don’t eat too much.
I need to incorporate more veggies into my diet! This is actually pretty representative of what I eat (except as noted above!). Saturday and Sunday aren’t very structured at all, as you can see.
Sometimes I think I eat way too much.

How do you all typically eat?

I’m easing back into blogging. Still working on the podcast (I promise!).

Jun 3 2010

Food Finds – The Real Video

Here it is! Keep in mind that most, if not all, of these foods are made with easily pronouncable ingredients and generally short ingredients lists. No fillers, preservatives, etc.

Do you have awesome food finds? Leave a comment or, better yet, post a video response on YouTube!

Jun 3 2010

Food Finds – Outtake

I made a food finds video tonight.

Four times.

Here’s the first take. I know that five minutes is a long time for a first take, but I think it’s worth seeing. YouTube is “processing” the actual video still; hopefully it’ll be ready to go tomorrow!

May 13 2010

Meal Ideas Needed

Because I *really* need to get better about taking lunch to work and because one of my best Twitter friends needs ideas, I ask you all:

What are your favorite band-friendly lunches and snacks to nom while you’re at work? Assume both refrigerator and microwave access. Feel free to post make-ahead recipes (for things that are good cold or room temperature or things that are good reheated).

My favorite thing recently is Trader Joe’s steamed lentils (from the refrigerator section) and Trader Joe’s teriyaki tofu mixed together. It’s much better cold than heated, I must warn you!

Comment away!

Mar 31 2010

What Don’t I Eat?

I promised one of my Twitter friends that I would blog about what I can and can’t eat, since it varies so much from person to person. She also asked me how many ccs I have in my band–I’m not really sure, but I think it’s sitting at around 6.25.

But the food!

I cannot eat in the morning. I used to do a pre-workout banana, but I can’t get them down now. Greek yogurt is too thick. I usually do a protein drink of some kind. I’ve been experimenting with smoothies using various combinations of fruit, juice, and protein powder I have left from my pre-op days or CLICK on days when I want something warm or I’m running behind or I just NEED CAFFEINE PLEASE! I have yet to concoct a smoothie I’m truly in love with, but I still promise that I’ll post a video demonstrating it when I come up with something.

(As an aside, some doctors forbid liquid meals for their patients and say to have something solid in the morning. My doc says protein shakes are okay first thing because of the swelling many of us experience. Check with your doctor, blah, blah, blah.)

I have few restrictions the rest of the time. While I’ve never had a problem with it, I avoid rice because of horror stories I’ve heard from bandsters who have consumed it post-op. I have an occasional grain here and there (like when I forget to ask for a burrito sans rice and I can’t pick all of the grains off) but I’ve never been a big rice eater anyway. It’s been pretty easy for me to stay away from the grain.

Bread can be hit or miss. I eat thin bread pretty easily (tortillas, Sandwich Thins, and flatbread/pitas/naan if I’m careful), but doughy bread is something I’ve mostly avoided for quite a while now. If I pay a lot of attention I can have a dinner roll from time to time, but I usually don’t think it’s worth the effort. If I go to a sandwich shop like Subway or Quizno’s, I get flatbread sandwiches or just pick the toppings off.

Hamburger patties are right out. I stopped eating their buns some time ago and ordered burgers with a lettuce wrap instead. Then, I started ordering them cooked medium-well or medium instead of well done. Now, however, I just can’t chew them well enough no matter how they’re cooked.

Dry meat in general is hard to chew well enough for me to eat nowadays. Moist meat (aka “not overdone”) is perfectly fine. Unless it’s shredded. I only eat shredded meat if I’m feeling brave, which is pretty much never.

Eggs are difficult for me, which sucks because I LOVE THEM. On days when I really want an egg, I have to make sure that I have both time and patience because the meal doesn’t end well otherwise.

I haven’t tried raw veggies in quite some time, but steamed vegetables are still awesome. As far as I know, raw fruit is still okay as long as it doesn’t have membranes (so no citrus). I really don’t ingest a lot of fruit in non-smoothie form, though.

What about the rest of you? Are there any foods you have to avoid at all costs? Have you found an food product you’d like to recommend? Do you have a favorite smoothie recipe for your favorite Banded Girl? Leave a comment! If you blog about your food restrictions, I’d love it if you provided a link for everyone, as well!

Mar 22 2010

High-Fructose Corn Syrup is Bad

I hear things about high-fructose corn syrup all the time. “It’s bad!” some people proclaim. “It’s just the same as sugar!” others yell. In researching I’ve found that studies tend to be pretty divided about how much, if any, harm is done by the ingestion of HFCS.

A recent study preformed at Princeton University might turn the tables. From an article posted today:

Rats with access to high-fructose corn syrup gained significantly more weight than those with access to table sugar, even when their overall caloric intake was the same.

In addition to causing significant weight gain in lab animals, long-term consumption of high-fructose corn syrup also led to abnormal increases in body fat, especially in the abdomen, and a rise in circulating blood fats called triglycerides. The researchers say the work sheds light on the factors contributing to obesity trends in the United States.

This makes sense to me. Since manufacturers started putting more and more corn syrup in their foods in the 1980s, obesity rates in the United States have increased dramatically. I honestly think that HFCS is to blame for this “obesity epidemic,” in addition to large portion sizes, highly processed goods, and people becoming further and further removed from their food.

I’ve been cutting the sweetener out of my diet for a while. I can’t say that I’m completely HFCS free, but my intake has decreased dramatically. I recommend reading labels to find out if the food you’re thinking about purchasing has HFCS in it. If it does? Put it back on the shelf.

Mar 22 2010

Happy Meal!

When I was very little, I used to love to go to McDonald’s to eat. When I got a little older, I realized how disgusting the food was there; I’ve rarely been back, even in the days when I knew little about nutrition and calories. Although, I must admit, I’ve been known to make an exception for an Egg McMuffin.

Not any more. Have you ever wondered what a Happy Meal looks like after a year? Click here to see.

How can we even begin to justify calling that food?

Mar 18 2010

Binge Binge Binge Binge Binge

I’ve never identified as a binge eater. My weight, I’ve always thought, is because I consume once-in-a-while food more frequently than once-in-a-while. And that’s true.

But I think I need to rethink my “non-binge eater” assessment of myself after tonight.

I’ve had a frustrating few days, including slight gain this morning. I vowed that today and tomorrow would be liquid-only days. I was determined. For all of three hours. I tried a breakfast burrito for lunch, which didn’t work out to well. I had a latte and pea soup instead. I was doing okay, as far as calories go.

And then dinner happened. Pizza Hut. Seven quepapas, two boneless wings, and a slice and a half of thin crust pizza. With ranch dressing. Followed by frozen yogurt with sour gummy worms.

What the hell am I doing? I gained a pound, I was upset because of the gain and a few other factors, so I ate? How does it make sense?

The more I think about it, the more I realize that this isn’t uncommon for me. I am a binge eater. On emotional days, I want comfort food. Comfort food usually translates to highly-refined, fatty, salty (or sugary), calorie-dense items like macaroni and cheese, pizza, ice cream, cheesecake…. And, while I doubt I ever consumed 10,000 calories in a single sitting, I eat to the point of being overfull.

At least now I can only eat a third of what I was able to pre-band. Still. I feel a little hopeless and helpless and sad. Why do I do this to myself?

Feb 14 2010

Breakfast

One of my lovely Twitter friends asked me what I do for breakfast nowadays. I haven’t been able to eat solid foods in the mornings for quite a while, so I’ve been drinking a lot of CLICK. That becomes boring after a time, so I’ve also been playing around with fruit smoothies. I haven’t figured out a recipe I love yet, but I’ll make a video and post it here when something works out for me.

I wanted to show you all the video that I’m using as a basic guideline for my fruit smoothies. Maybe you guys can figure something awesome out and let us all know about it!

(I don’t use four ounces of each ingredient. Three of each is too much; I’m going to try two next time!)

Banded Girl

One Girl's Journey With the LAP-BAND AP®

Tag Archives: food