I Did It My Way

If one more person says something to me like…..”Oh, I wish I could have that surgery. I wish I didn’t have to do it the hard way” or “Oh my, this dieting and exercise thing is so hard, you got it easy” I think I might just slap them. Well, maybe not but I’d want to. All in love of course. So I got to thinking. Maybe people just don’t know. Maybe they have no idea what is involved in having the lap band surgery and all of the drastic changes you must make afterwards. So I think I’ll just tell you. First of all, I had MAJOR surgery. I could have died. It’s a huge risk. Just that in itself is enough, but there’s more. I endured a full liquid diet for 14 days after surgery. Then for another 14 days, I could only eat soft foods…mashed potatoes, egg salad, sugar free pudding, sugar free jello, sugar free Popsicles, protein shakes and that’s about it. Now that I’m able to eat “regular” foods (there are still way too many restrictions) I only eat 1 ½ cups of food per day. Breakfast, lunch and dinner consist of ½ cup of “real” food. I may never be able to tolerate breads, pastas, red meat, and sweets. Some people can, some can’t. You never know which category of people your going to fall in. I can only drink 1 oz of water at a time. No gulping. Just sipping. I need to stop drinking all liquids 20 minutes before I eat anything and after I’m finished eating, I can’t drink anything for 1 hour. So in order to get the required minimum of fluids that I need in a day, I have to carry a water bottle with me at all times. You don’t realize how difficult that is until you try it. I’m used to waking up in the morning and gulping down a glass of water and drinking with my meals. Major change! I’m supposed to take between 15-20 minutes to eat my little ½ cup of food. You may or may not realize the magnitude of how impossibly difficult that is either. Well, unless you have 3 active little boys and are used to shoveling food in as quickly as you can before any of them try to wiggle out of their high chair or climb out of their booster seat, spilling an entire bowl of untouched spaghetti. Then and only then can you know how hard that is to do. I may never be able to tolerate pizza again. I could go on, but I won’t bore you.
And let me tell you another thing. I’ve worked hard for every single pound of the 29 pounds that I’ve lost. I work my butt off, literally at the gym. I work just as hard as those other skinny girls beside of me on the elliptical. I do just as many reps as anyone else on the inner and outer thigh machine, chest press machine, working my triceps and biceps. I do just as many sit ups as the next person.
Then there’s this constant fear. The fear of failure. Every time I talk with someone, they always seem to know of a friend or a relative or a friend of a friend who had the same surgery and it didn’t work for them or they want to tell you about how they lost all this weight and then gained it back. Yeah, not really what I want or need to hear, ya think?
I guess the point I’m trying to make is this. The band around my stomach is just a tool. Whether you want to admit it or not, we all need some kind of tool to lose weight, get healthier, etc. Your tool of choice might be an appetite suppressant pill, or an energy drink, or Weight Watchers, or whatever else is out there on the market. But you gotta know how to use your tool. And the lap band is no different. You have to work your tool. If I wanted to, I could cheat even with the band. I could still overeat. I can’t eat a lot in one sitting, but I could eat now, come back an hour later, eat again, and so on and so on. But I would only be hurting myself. Even with the band, you are required to exercise self restraint. And it takes work! So please, the next time you talk with someone who’s had some kind of weight loss surgery, don’t belittle their choice or their hard work by making a stupid comment. Think before you speak. And know that we’re all in this thing together. We all struggle with something. And most importantly, like your mother taught you…..If you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all!
That’s my story and I’m stickin to it!!!

Mama's Got Her Groove Back

Call me crazy if you want, but I had an idea. I had spent an entire week taking down Christmas decorations from each room and every nook and cranny of my home. All the while, I was feeling myself getting more and more down about putting those beautiful decorations away for another year. I just love how my home feels when all decorated up for Christmas....all warm and inviting. I love it! I had everything taken down except our largest tree in the living room. I removed all of the garland, ornaments, beads and various other decorations. Everything was off but the lights. Then it came to me. Why don't I make a Valentine's tree? Brilliant! I love doing crafts and projects especially with paper. So without asking permission from my husband, (who needs it anyway) I got down to business. I rummaged through all of my scrapbooking supplies, finding papers, trinkets, beads, glitter, pipe cleaners, ribbon and whatever else I thought might look good on the tree. I spread my loot all out on the dining room table where it remained for 4 days. My poor husband and children had to eat their meals on a little corner that I cleared off for them at meal times. Every spare second was spent gluing, taping, glittering, cutting, and inking. I was loving life! And best of all, because my hands were busy, I wasn't eating or even thinking about food. The tree was starting to come together.

My boys were even excited to see it finished! And now that it's complete, I think I like it more than I did when it was decorated for Christmas. It's beautiful. And when I look at it, I feel such a sense of accomplishment.

You see, this kind of thing is my passion. I love creating art.

I'm a creative person by nature and I'm happiest when doing just that.

But it's been awhile. A long while since I've done anything creative like this.

I'm not sure why exactly. Of course I've been busy with taking care of my family and my home. But I did somehow manage to do creative things before.







I guess I just kind of lost myself.

But now that I'm focusing on myself more, and not in a selfish way, but in the way that a wife and mother needs to take care of herself,

I'm rediscovering things that I love. I guess you could say I'm kind of like Stella.....

I GOT MY GROOVE BACK!

And it shows. I think my husband notices. Well I KNOW he does. But I'll talk about that another day.

And my boys notice too.

Their mama is happier.

Healthier.

And that makes all the difference in the world!

One Size Fits All

You know those tags that you sometimes see on clothes? One size fits all. Lies, lies, lies I tell ya, just a bunch of lies! Now in this age of political correctness I’ve noticed that the wording has changed. Now they say One size fits most. Thank you for that correction. But they still didn’t fit me. Last week I had a couple dollars to spare, and by that I do mean a COUPLE dollars. I was browsing through my favorite store The Christmas Tree Shoppe. I found a few good deals so I took my little basket to the register to pay. I was musing to the cashier that I could never work in that store. If I did, I would most likely blow my entire paycheck there. She then motioned to a little corner behind her piled with this and that. She said “That’s my pile.” She had slowly accumulated things from throughout the store to purchase for herself. I noticed peeking out from the pile something in my favorite shade of pink. It’s actually kind of a berry color. I asked her what it was. She got this look on her face like I imagine the cat who just ate the canary would have. She told me it was a robe. I mentioned that it was my favorite color. She then proceeded to tell me about the incredible deal the store was having that day on those robes. They were regularly $15.99 but just for one day they were on clearance for $1.00. I asked her what sizes they came in. She told me they were “one size fits all”. Oh man! What a bummer! And it was my favorite color too! I could hardly believe it. But still, I couldn’t pass up a deal like that. She had already begun to ring up my purchases so I looked behind me to see if there was anyone waiting. There was no one. I asked her to hold on for one second. I quickly made my way to the spot where she told me they were, grabbed one for my sister and started on my way back. I glanced down and saw the tag. I stopped in my tracks. One size fits all. Hmmm. I wonder…….I turned around, picked one up for myself and hurried to the register. I finished paying for my purchases and made my way home. I could not contain myself. I had to see if it fit. After all, I’d lost 25 pounds by now. That should make a difference, right? Well it did. It fit me! Hallelujah! I am loving my new robe! Every night after I put the boys to bed, I slip it on. It feels so good! Imagine that! Me wearing a “one size fits all” garment. Anything is possible!

Tip of the day.... When putting food on your plate at mealtime, try this. Divide your plate in half. One half of your plate should consist of lean protein such as chicken, fish, turkey, lean ground beef, eggs, etc. Now look at the other half and divide that into thirds. 2/3 of that side should consist of vegetables and fruits and that last 1/3 should be your starches like potatoes, rice, and pasta. Now when you start to eat, have the protein first. It fills you up quicker and you might not want all of the other food if you eat the protein first. It's important to get that protein. It keeps you full longer and gives you energy. If your still hungry, then you can move on to your vegetables then finally the starches. It's also very important to watch the portion sizes that your putting on your plate. The nutrition information given on the labels means nothing if you don't stick to the portion size. Get used to measuring and weighing the foods according to what the package says is the correct portion size. I have gotten in the habit of doing that. I use measuring cups for foods that can be measured that way and I bought a food scale for $4.50 at Wal Mart that weighs meats in ounces. When I started doing this, it really opened my eyes. What I thought was a serving size before was actually 2 or even 3 servings. It made sense to me then how I have gotten so overweight. But don't take my word for it, try it for yourself and see what you find.

Cindarella Needs A Night Out

I’m feeling a lot like Cinderella lately. Except I don’t have a Ball to go to and I definitely don’t have money for a new pair of shoes! I know, I know…my plight isn’t any different from every other American mom, but it’s MY life and this is MY blog so I’m just gonna go ahead and vent! My life is work, work, work and not enough play! Laundry, vacuuming, dishes, cooking meals, running errands, scrubbing toilets, and the list goes on. And the last bit of decadence that I rewarded myself with is gone. Food! I know I did this to myself. It was my decision to have the surgery. I just miss eating! It’s not that I’m feeling incredibly hungry because honestly the ½ cup of food that I can have 3 times a day does almost fill me up, it’s just that I still want to eat. The signals from my belly to my brain are just getting mixed up. My belly is saying “I’m full” but my brain is saying “I don’t care, I still want some chocolate!” I’m starting to feel like that proverbial baby whose just had their candy taken away and I just want to throw myself on the floor and throw a full blown tantrum complete with kicking and screaming! It’s so hard to shop at the grocery store and prepare meals for my family. It’s incredibly tempting walking through the snack food aisle and seeing those Gibbles cheese curls sitting on the shelf all lonely, just calling out to me to rescue them and take them home with me! Or the Smore's flavored Pop Tarts or the Texas Garlic Toast……I just miss eating like I used to. I love food and I feel like I’ve lost my best friend, my constant companion when my husband is at work and my boys are in bed at night. My only “friend” who was always there to comfort me when no one else was. I honestly feel like I’m going through stages of grief and only someone whose gone through this surgery could understand. It’s not like someone who’s just on a diet. You could be on a diet and still overeat and nothing happens. But if I overeat right now, I’ll get sick. I’ll vomit. I’ll feel incredibly uncomfortable. Always before if I was feeling down or if I accomplished something, I rewarded myself with food. You know, going out to dinner, ice cream, whatever I craved at the moment. But now, I can’t do that. I can’t even celebrate that I’ve lost 25 lbs in my normal way. I mean I’m happy, incredibly happy. I just miss eating.


Tip Of The Day....Here's another meal idea for breakfast. General Mills Fiber One Complete Pancake Mix is an excellent alternative to some of the other brands. When compared to the Great Value Buttermilk Complete Pancake and Waffle Mix that my family used before, the calories are reduced by 40g, the fiber increased by 4g, the carbohydrates reduced by 6g, and the sugar reduced by 5 g. The protein is the same. However, to give yourself a boost, my husband and I have come up with this idea. We add 1 scoop of Whey protein powder in the vanilla flavor and grind up some Grape Nuts cereal in the food processor to add to the mix as well and this increases your protein by as much as 25g and your fiber by 8g. When combined with sugar free syrup, your off to a pretty good start to your day. Don't forget to add some fruit like strawberries, blueberries, grapes or a banana and your bound to have a great day!

Toot Tooot!

Beans beans the healthy fruit
The more you eat, the more you toot
The more you toot ,the better you feel
So eat your beans with every meal!


I thought it ironic that I mentioned being forgetful in my last blog and then I forgot to give my Tip Of The Day. So today is devoted solely to a meal idea I came up with for either lunch or dinner. I guess I should make it clear up front especially for those that read my blog and are already very health conscious that I’ve come up with these tips on my own and some of them may not be the absolute best thing for you, but as I said before it’s the little changes that add up. So I’m just doing my best to give you some alternatives to some of the less healthy foods we sometimes find ourselves eating because we just don’t know what else to eat. With this in mind, here’s what I came up with for lunch yesterday…..

I began by sauteing one small chopped onion and one chopped celery stalk in just a little bit of butter. I drained and rinsed a can of Hanover black beans and added those when the celery and onions were tender. Separately in the microwave I prepared a pouch of Uncle Ben’s Ready Whole Grain Medley Brown and Wild Rice. When that was finished, I mixed everything together. I then added lots and lots of seasoning…salt, pepper, garlic powder, season all, and a few other things I can’t quite remember at the moment. To add just a little bit of moisture since it seemed a tad bit dry, I added some chicken broth which gave some additional flavor as well. I measured my ½ cup and added a few grapes to my plate and it was delicious! For a normal person without any restriction on their stomach like I have, the normal serving size is 1 ½ cup. Here is the nutritional breakdown….total calories-340, total fat-3.5g, total carbohydrates-64g, total fiber-9g, total protein-14g. The only downfall that I could find to this meal is the sodium content which was 1120mg. This is something to definitely be careful of, especially if you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol. This can easily be avoided by making a slight adjustment to the recipe. A bag of dried black beans has no sodium at all. So you could soak the beans overnight or use the quick cook method on the back of the bag and then follow all of the same steps to the recipe. This would obviously take longer, but it is the much healthier way of doing it.
One other thing I want to caution you about with this recipe is that beans, as you know cause gas. So be prepared for lots of “music” in your house when you eat this meal! Have fun, enjoy and most of all……HAPPY TOOTING!!!!!

Caught In A STINKY Situation

Never in my life have I ever been as forgetful as I am since having children. There is always so much going on and I'm constantly interrupted and never get to finish a sentence or a complete thought, so it's no wonder I'm forgetting things all of the time. You know, things like...forgetting to pay a bill, pick up a prescription, change the laundry over from the washer to the dryer, or pick up deodorant from the store because I ran out. It's always something. This morning my husband and I planned to go work out at the YMCA. I woke up on time, got the boys up, dressed and fed and was about to get myself together when I realized that I forgot to pick up deodorant when I went to the store a few days ago. So I went to my gym bag to get the travel size deodorant that I always keep in there. Oh yeah, I forgot to replace that one too! Now what was I to do? There are just some things you can't leave the house without and deodorant is one of those things, especially when going to the gym. My husband noticed me searching for something and asked what I was doing. I told him I didn't have any deodorant. He said "Well, I have lots of deodorant, why don't you use mine?" Hmm, there was an idea. I guess beggars can't be choosers, huh? So to his stash I went. I had two scents to choose from...Fresh Breeze and Icy Blast. I chose the Icy Blast. So with my armpits covered, we were off to the gym! I had made up my mind the night before that I was going to push myself harder than ever this time to see just how far I could go on the elliptical. I quickly fell into a rhythm and continued to press on through the pain. I wanted to stop so many times, but I kept pushing myself. I focused on my music blaring in my ear from my MP3 player, I closed my eyes and prayed, I did everything I could do to keep my mind off of the fatigue I was feeling. I finally stopped at 30 minutes and 315 calories. I've done 30 minutes before but never at such an intense pace. I finished up with some stretching and abdominal exercises. When we were finally in the car on the way home, I thought about how well I did and I wondered if somehow the deodorant made all the difference. I think I just may try it again tomorrow! But right now what I need more than Icy Blast Speed Stick deodorant is Icy Hot Pain Relieving Cream cause my hips are killing me!

I've Got Melons.......

…..on my toes! Well not really but sort of. I just polished my toenails for the first time in a month and the color my boys picked out for me is OPI’s MELON OF TROY! Had ya there for a minute, didn’t I? I used to polish my toenails every Saturday night even after I had the boys, but lately I’ve been neglecting that part of my body as I’ve been focusing on other areas. But I have to tell you that it felt so good! And not just because I was pampering myself. If anyone is reading this that would call yourself ummmm….well, let’s just say “voluptuous” in size, you know how difficult it can be to polish your own toenails. You know that belly just gets in the way sometimes! Yeah I’ve had to take a break in the middle of polishing a few times before, but not tonight! Losing 23 lbs has been great for my body in so many ways! I was actually comfortable tonight bending over to do my toenails! It’s the little things that make me smile! Now if I could just find a way to get comfortable bending over to pick up all these toys off the floor a thousand times a day, that would be awesome!!!!!

TIP OF THE DAY.....We've all heard the saying that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. There is some truth to this. Instead of grabbing a pop tart, sugar filled cereal, donut, or even a cereal bar for breakfast, try this....Quaker High Fiber Instant Oatmeal available in Maple and Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Swirl. The nutrition information is this.....Total fat 2g, carbohydrates 34g, fiber 10g, and protein 4g. When made with skim milk and by adding a small handful of blueberries, the fiber content increases by 4g and the protein by 5g. That's a great start to your day. I've already talked about the benefits of protein and we all know that fiber is essential for our bodies to function properly also. Both protein and fiber fill you up and give you energy. So by choosing this for your breakfast, you are giving your body what it needs to keep you going, in more ways than one!