Day 152: Pouch's first Thanksgiving

It may seem crazy, but Canadian Thanksgiving is next week! Since my parents are going on vacation, my dad's side of the family got together tonight. I loooooooove Thanksgiving food. Best food ever, right? I knew I'd face some sort of food dilemma...but I am happy to say that I did pretty darn good!

I had a small slice of turkey, a couple of bites of stuffing, a couple of bites of mashed potatoes, a baby carrot (or two), an asparagus, and some of my grandmother's famous broccoli casserole. I took my time eating it because I wanted to enjoy every bite. It seems like a lot of food, but alas it wasn't! I didn't over eat or feel like I was ready to die after dinner, I was very comfortable and satisfied. Very different from other Thanksgiving dinners. After dinner my grandmother took out the 4 (YES, 4, F-O-U-R) pies she had baked for the 8 of us. Now I wasn't anticipating having desert and I was full, no need to eat. I waited maybe 20 or 25 minutes and then decided to have a bit of fruit salad and 2 bites of apple crisp. Definitely worth every bite. Of course here we are 3 hours later, almost 11pm and I feel like my pouch is begging for food. Weird how it works sometimes.

Also, I bought a new iPod today since they were on sale and I desperately need music to work out. I'm hoping to start this "Couch to 5k" podcast this week. I don't have/can't afford the superstar running shoes I need right now, but it'll have to do! This week I also need to start checking out some gyms...or hope to at least.

That's it for tonight, happy Thanksgiving!

Day 150

Warning: This is one of those "talking to myself" entries and completely boring and pointless.

Bah! Nothing really to update. I'm feeling better than yesterday, just a stuffy nose and a headache. I felt so lazy today...I did not like it one bit! I don't have class on Fridays and haven't started the job I sort of got yet, so I've basically been sitting at home doing nothing. Not eating or drinking very much in the past couple of days, I barely had energy to get up and do dishes.
Eating today was atrocious. My mom made the evil banana-chocolate muffins. I should really figure out how bad they actually are. They're low in fat, low in sugar, but probably loaded with carbs. I only eat 1 at a time, but they really add up at the end of the day. When there's nothing to eat in the house (like now) I just can't stay on track. I need choices! Grocery shopping after being unemployed for a month, after going on 2 mini-vacations within a month of each other = impossible. Hopefully the weekend goes better.

Day 149

After 2 1/2 days of miserableness, I'm alive! Yesterday was brutal, I thought my brain was going to explode out of my head, I had a horrible cough, nose was running like crazy, I was sick twice, my ears hurt...and the hot flashes, oh the hot flashes! I almost went to the hospital because I was having trouble breathing and had to use my puffer 4 times. And this was after not using it in over a year.
Anywhoo, I had 0 appetite yesterday and the 1 thing I did eat made me sick. I did have a bit of soup last night which stayed down. Today so far I've had 1 small waffle with SF syrup, 3/4 cup whole wheat penne with tomato sauce, and 1 SF hot chocolate/mocha.

I have a big assignment due tomorrow and it's the return of Grey's tonight so that's what I'll be doing this evening.

Day 147

Urgh...I woke up feeling like crap. Sore throat, fever, runny nose, pulsating sinuses. I went to school anyways, not sure why. I'm gonna load up on the nyquil and hope for the best because I don't feel like heading back out and I need some relief!

Breakfast - Rasberry yogurt
Snack - Venti SF vanilla latte, stupid starbucks ran out of skim milk...but I ordered a grande and got a venti, woohoo!
Lunch - 1/2 to 3/4 cup whole wheat fusilli, 2 tblsp. pesto, 1oz feta cheese
Snack - South Beach diet 100 calorie bars (chocolate & peanut)
Supper - Maybe whip up a soup or something

Good night!

Day 146

Home sweet home! I'm home after a crazy weekend in Toronto. It was a looong drive on Friday morning and a looooong drive last night but we made it.
Eating on vacation once again was good. I brought a couple of snacks for the drive on Friday and had some leftover pizza. The friends we stayed with took us to Swiss Chalet for supper. I ended up having a veggie burger with a baked potato. I was starving but I guess I ate too fast because I had a bit of foamies and gave it up pretty quickly. I only had 1/2 the patty and a bite or 2 of the potato.
Saturday - Cereal for breakfast. Just over 1/2 a cup, it made me dump a bit which sucked. We went downtown for the day and had lunch in the CN tower. I had a beautiful Caprese salad with pesto. YUM. Then I had some fruit for supper...followed by a cocktail, or two.
Sunday - 1/2 an egg for breakfast, 1/2 whole wheat toast. 3 chicken nuggets for lunch, a few french fries. Then 3/4 of a bbq rib subway sub, on whole wheat bread.

So that was my super exciting weekend...back to reality today. It was hard to get back into the swing of things and the homework I have this week is scary so here this goes:

B - Cafe latte
L - 1 cup lettuce, 1.5oz feta cheese, 3 tblsp. sugar-free dijon dressing
S - No idea yet, maybe some whole wheat pasta with pesto

I need to add a snack or something in there, my day is looking empty.

Day 142

In the words of Rachael Ray, YUMM-O!

I found these whole wheat thin pizza crusts in the supermarket today and decided to give them a try. I thought they were worth a try. I was going to try a meat crust pizza tonight, but opted for this whole wheat version! I added some olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper to the crust, and then on top of that: 1 cup of arugula, 1 1/2 roma tomatoes, 2oz extra-lean ground beef, 1 slice of bacon, and some cubed feta cheese. Delicious! I only had a 1/4 of it, but at least I can take some for the car ride tomorrow.

In other news, I finally got a job today. It isn't exactly what I wanted but I was getting desperate. I'll see how it goes, but I'll probably continue my hunt. Ok, now for the important stuff:

Breakfast - 1/2 banana, 2 mini chocolate-banana muffins

Lunch - Grilled chicken patty, 1 tblsp cesaer dressing

Snack - 1 mini chocolate-banana muffin

Supper - 1/4 slice of my pizza

Late night snack - I know I'll be hungry later tonight, I may go for yogurt or cereal.

The good - I'm doing good on water today! I bought a few groceries to get me through next week which will be great.

The bad - Stupid mini choco-banana muffins! My mom makes them every so often and they are so, so good. They are low in fat, but not a good choice.

I went for another great walk last night, not sure about tonight since I have some packing to do. I leave for Toronto tomorrow morning, until Sunday evening, so no journal posts until then. I hope to keep up this good week though!

Day 141

Having a lazy day today. I've been hungry all day too and someone needs to get to the grocery store!

Breakfast - Tried having oatmeal (made with milk, instead of water) but it came out so dry, I only had a couple of bites.

Snack - Banana

Lunch - Earlier I had about 1/2 a cup of yacamein noodles with soy sauce. And then later grilled chicken patty with some (1 tblsp) cesar dressing

Snack - 1 cadbury dark chocolate thin

Supper - Not too sure yet.

The good - I don't know. I ate the entire chicken patty I had for lunch in 15 minutes and I didn't feel overly full or anything. Scary!

The bad - A BANANA HAS 28G OF CARBS? WHAAAAAAT?

Yesterday I took an hour and 20 minute walk! I dragged the dog along and it was actually very nice. We went all the way up by the bike path and came all the way back, stopping a few times to admire the scenery! I was in a horrible mood when I got home yesterday so this was my way to chill. I'm going to try and get out for another walk today. I babysit later and have mountains upon mountains of homework and catching up to do. I'll be out of town Friday through the weekend too.

Day 140

20 weeks in and here is what I ate:

Breakfast - Nothing. I was running late, grabbed yogurt and left it in the car on my way to class. Needless to say I would have died eating it 6hrs later.

Snack - Grande SF non-fat caramel latte from Starbucks

Lunch - 1 slice white bread (gah!), 1 tblsp mayo (full fat, gah!), 2 eggs, 1 slice mozzarella, 1 slice salami.

Snack - South beach peanut butter/chocolate protein bar

Supper - No idea yet

The good - I'm eating in a more predictable pattern. As opposed to just randomly snacking throughout the day.

The bad - My horrible planning skills. I was hoping to have oatmeal for breakfast but there was just no time. I'm not doing very good on protein so far, I've counted just under 30g :(

I didn't get the chance to walk the dog last night, the paper I had to write took way longer than I expected. Tonight should go more smoothly so hopefully I can do that later.

On the weight-loss front, this week's loss was of 2.4. Bringing my total up to 77.6!

Day 139

So I've had a much better day today. I have tons and tons of homework to do so this will be a fast entry.

Breakfast - 1/2 SF Carnation instant breakfast with 1% milk

Snack - South Beach Diet oatmeal chip cookie pack, 3/4 small SF vanilla latte

Late lunch/Supper - 1/2 veggie burger, 1 onion slice, 1 pickle, 1 slice of mozzarella, 1 tsp. ketchup, 1 tsp. mustard. with 1/4 cup of white rice.

Snack - Not sure what I will be eating tonight, I'm going to the coffee shop later to study, so I may end up having a latte. I need some fruits in me too.

The good - No mindless eating, made an effort to have something breakfast. I also parked faaaaaaar from school so had a good walk there and back. I will also try and walk the dog tonight. I've also done pretty good with my water today.

The bad - I didn't have lunch/real food until 5pm when I got home from school, so I was starving. Also, the white rice I could have avoided, but I had less than I would have had yesterday which is good.

Weigh-in tomorrow!!!!!!!!

Day 138

I have a lot to say tonight, so I better get crackin'.

When I made the decision (back in January!) to start blogging about my journey it was so that I could keep myself accountable. Well folks, I feel like I haven't been honest lately, so here it goes. I've been feeling crappy, physically and emotionally. It's just been really tough for some reason. I'm blaming my hormones, and my eating habits as of late. It's hard to put into words. I guess you could say I've taken my weight loss for granted. I've had it really easy so I've just been floating around, mindlessly for the past few weeks. It's almost like I've lost my identity. I used to hide behind my weight and I was very 'comfortable' doing that apparently. I feel down and I feel incredibly guilty about feeling down. I'm starting to think that it's this guilt I've been feeling that has been sabotaging me in a way.

That was a lot of rambling but I realized a lot today at support group. I definitely have issues I need to work through. That's what this surgery is about, right? Such an emotional roller-coaster. I will get past this though!

At support group today, Jean-Loup Sylvestre (nurse coordinator of the bariatric clinic) came and talked about the "golden rules" of gastric bypass. Most of them were no-brainers (ie no drinking with food, exercise, proteinproteinprotein etc) but one rule which was different was the snacking rule. I was always been told to have 3 meals, and 2-3 snacks. The first few months were easy, there was no way I could have had all those snacks. Now on the other hand, I feel hungry a lot more of the time and I've been counting on those snacks to get me through certain days. Lately I've been snacking on crap not because I've been hungry, just because I've felt I had to be eating more. Anyhoo, apparently my clinic is now telling patients not to snack, unless we're starving of course. That changes things a bit, I don't know if I could go a day without snacking. This week will be a test.

This week will be different from other weeks.

• Journaling every BLT (bite, lick, taste)
• Exercise, just move whenever I can. I've gotten into a nasty habit of plotting my butt on the couch and not moving at inch.
• No more sweets. Yesterday I had a biscotti. Well, 2 halves, about 5hrs apart. I've been pushing my sugar boundaries way too much. It has to stop.
• Less carbs. My pouch can tolerate bread again which is a mixed blessing.
• Diet coke. Enough said.

That's my plan for the week :)

Day 137

Well readers, I have no updates for you really. Same old, same old. The infection is completely cleared up (yay!), and my eating this week can be summed up in one word: horrendous.
I need to find some new inspiration because this all is getting out of hand. I did go through my pantry and dug up up things I had bought during my last shopping spree in the States. Hopefully that will help me through this week. I'm also going to go to the Running Room tomorrow and see what they can tell me about real running shoes. My shoes just aren't supporting my feet/ankles like I think they should, making running kind of awkward for the moment. Speaking of running, I neeeeeed to get it going again.

That's it for a blah Saturday, I need a push!

Day 134

It's day 134 and I am happy to report that I am feeling better. The antibiotics are still making me nauseous, the morning pill is the worst, but at least I get to go to bed after the nightly one.

Nothing much else to report, I'm trying to get in some water, I've slacked off in that department lately. Here's my updated chart:

Day 132

Well folks, I'm having troubles! This is one of those embarrassing TMI entries, so brace yourselves.
Late last week I started having UTI symptoms. It wasn't so bad and I knew I had a doctor appointment this morning so I toughed it out through the weekend. I actually woke up during the night from the pain/discomfort, I told all this to my doctor and of course she figured out right away what it was. She gave me a prescription for Macrobid, which I've taken in the past with no complications or side effects.
Anyhoo, I was to take them with food, which I did. Within 20 minutes of having breakfast, I started feeling nauseous. I was about to leave for class so I tried not to let it get to me, but after a while, I just couldn't take it anymore. I tried throwing up and nothing was coming up, it was just dry heaves. I felt really tired after that whole ordeal so I went to bed and slept for 4hrs.

I'll try the 2nd pill tonight, see how it goes. Hopefully it was a fluke and I can get rid of this infection.

Day 130

I. Hate. Eggs.

Explanation? I took my brothers out for brunch this morning, figure I'd order a small plate which had 2 eggs, bacon, potatoes. Now maybe I ate too fast, or maybe it was just the eggs but holy cow I thought I was going to die right there in the restaurant. I've only had eggs maybe 3 or 4 times but each time something different has happened. I held it in the whole ride home and I guess I did a good job of it, I couldn't even throw it up when I got home. Yucky! I do feel much better now, but that was weird and hasn't happened in weeks!

Today is officially 'job hunting' day. I need a job, and I need it soon!

Day 128: A picture worth one thousand words...

It didn't come out very clearly and I had to crop out my scale because I didn't realise how dirty it was! But I made it to Onderland yesterday officially, just 1 day after I had planned to. VERY EXCITED!

School is kicking my butt, I've just been so tired and work is piling up already. Crazy! Eating is definitely proving to be a challenge. Today and yesterday I've been able to come home and make a salad (with protein) to take the edge off until supper. I've also gotten into a bad habit of eating my mom's banana-chocolate mini muffins. I had 2 last night (over the course of 2 or so hours) and then another this morning. At least I can somewhat stop myself.

Here are some hair pictures, I didn't have that much to choose from, hope these are detailed enough!

Day 126

Just leaving for my first day of school....just updating my week 18 weigh-in. My scale is torturing me: 200.8! I did a lot better this month than I expected. I didn't meet my goal of getting to Onderland by September 4th, but I came pretty darn close, so I'm happy! This week's loss also brings my total to 72 lbs exactly.

That's all for today :)

ps. Amber I'll try and take some better pictures for you!

Day 124: I'm baaaaaaaack

Ouf, I made it through my first post-op vacation in one piece! I have a bunch of unpacking to do, and I'm exhausted, but here are some highlights:

• It was the most comfortable flight ever. I actually had like 7" of extra belt left, when in the past, I had to squeeze on the most I had. I could cross my legs on the plane. I could go to the bathroom without the other passengers getting out of their seats. I could fit in the airplane bathroom, comfortably.
• I could walk without having asthma attacks. I could get up and down the stairs in the subway without a problem.
• I bought some shirts and pants in large!

And now...here is what I ate, well, 5 meals, the rest can't be added right now:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

1. We went to this panini place, and I had a cheese panini, I ate maybe less than half, it was really good though.

2. We were too tired to leave the hotel, so we bought some veggies and dip, with cheese and crackers for supper.

3. Broadway Deli...had 1 potato piece with lots, and lots, and lots of fruit. It kept me full the entire day.

4. Tao...oh my gosh it was so nice! I ordered the Pad Thai noodles with chicken. Not the best of choices just because the more I ate, the more I seemed to have in my plate. I took the rest home but never touched it.

5. Dos Caminos SoHo...ate the refried beans, 3/4 of one taco and most of the chicken in the others.

6. Not pictured, but when we went to Hairspray, I ate 3 peanut m&m's.