Staples, Six

I love that six is the same in both French and English!

Speaking of love...

Has anyone out there tried any form of almond milk? Well I have, and it is now a worthy contributor to the contents of my fridge. I tried the Silk brand, but it was so...Silk-y. While it didn't taste nearly as much as Play-Doh as Vanilla Silk, it ran a close second.

Enter Blue Diamond's brand. Heaven. Nirvana. The original flavor has only the slightest aftertaste. But oh how the vanilla flavor had me at hello! It's like dessert in a cup. It is decadent. If I could get cereal through my lap band, I'd be eating bowls upon bowls using vanilla almond milk. Check it out here: http://store.bluediamond.com/Almond-Breeze_c_4.html .

Next on the list is my favorite protein shake mix. The prepackaged ones are not too bueno for you. I must say that I usually am able to stomach just about anything I try to eat. In other words, I'm not too picky to eat interesting stuff. But I simply cannot get whey protein past my esophagus. It smells disgusting; it tastes even worse. Soy protein can taste kind of icky, but at least I can get it down. But there's the little matter of phytoestrogens to contend with. So in my quest for a palatable protein shake, I ran the idea of an egg protein shake past my nutritionist. She approved. Here's the one I'm using: http://www.vitaminshoppe.com/store/en/browse/sku_detail.jsp?id=HL-1090 . Healthy n Fit 100% Egg Protein, and I do get it at the Vitamin Shoppe. I get the 1 lb size for about $16, and it lasts a long time. I highly recommend the chocolate and strawberry. The good thing about this stuff is that it isn't loaded with sugar, but is sweetened by Stevia. Drinking a shake made with this powder mix gives you approximately 22 grams of protein for just 8 oz. If you mix it with skim milk or Silk, you get even more protein in. I'm not averse to adding a teaspoon of low fat peanut butter in with the chocolate mix, which is reminiscent of a peanut butter cup. Bananas are also pretty tasty in both the chocolate and strawberry flavors. This stuff isn't perfect, but it's pretty close for me. (In all fairness, I haven't tried Muscle Milk yet. I probably will, just for giggles.)

Hitting The Wall

Just an update on my adventures in lap band land. The band has been a true blessing. It really has. What I don't understand is why my head won't accept the blessing. Since I had my surgery I have lost just about 55 lbs. It has been a wondrous thing, watching my body change. I've even been exercising, albeit with room for further frequency. I'm trying to make good food choices, and I can do pretty well, but I still have a propensity toward both sweet and salty, which leads to a slip or ten every now and again. The only problem with these slips is that they lead to prolonged periods of plateau.

So I had to write today in order to try and get this train back on the track, which means I have to dedicate myself to no more sugar, no more Goldfish crackers, no more ice cream (not even sugar free), decaf, and a concerted effort to consume my 60 grams of protein a day. It's not so damned easy. However, I've found that when I actually get the protein in, as I did last week with the barest of slip ups, the scale actually will move a pound or two.

Back to the basics, I guess. If my dearest husband is reading this, please stop buying granola and cereal bars and putting them in the cabinet. Or at least please hide them for a while, huh? I need to get back into the swing of things, and I'd rather the swing not be in the form of a crane that must lift me through the side of the house, thank you very much.

I'm going to come up with a few more Staples posts soon.

TTFN

Big Changes

I haven't written in over a year. Plus, I've avoided even visiting my own blog. This is sort of an apropos metaphor for my attitude toward weight loss, too. I am gung ho about it. I go at it full force. I begin to see results. I immediately roll back downhill.

Since I abandoned my little project here, I made a major move in my battle of the bulge(s). On July 9th I underwent lap band surgery. I thought about it for a long time and I studied it. I even visited a very supportive website with forum upon forum of people discussing their own lap band experiences in lurid detail. After a six-month battle with my insurance company I emerged victorious, and my little plastic friend was installed amongst my innards.

I approached this surgery with caution. I did not have a last meal where I ate so much that I needed to upchuck, as some "bandsters" do before they start their mandatory liquid pre-underthekinfe diet. I set out to make smarter decisions with a goal toward changing my mindset slowly rather than suddenly (meaning, the day after my surgery). So I lost a few pounds before I had my pre-op appointment with the surgeon. Not too many, but just enough I guess. My surgeon informed me that instead of doing the 10 - 14 day liquid diet so many are doomed to do, I only had to do 5 days. WOOHOO! And it started 4th of July weekend. Not so WOOHOO! I did my 5 days happily, however, and as a result lost 8 lbs. The only time I really wanted to claw my eyes out during that process was when my DH brought home KFC and ate it in the next room. Seriously, does anything smell more appetizing than fried chicken???!!!

I got to the hospital, went into surgery, and slept for a long time. When I finally woke up my first thought was, "What in the hell did I do to myself???" I was in pain. The more well-known term for it is "port pain", where the little port is sewn into a muscle or something. It hurt for a few days, then it became discomfort. As of yesterday I hardly notice it at all. My incisions healed nicely, even if the larger ones will remain ugly for sometime.

The first few days, you're not that into eating. You're more concerned about sneezing and blowing the port out the side of your body. You gradually start eating regularly with liquids, soft foods, somewhat normal foods, then normal foods in stages. Then you realize that you can eat a lot more than you expect, so it's crucial to remain dedicated to the process and make good decisions that will benefit you in the long run. Do not let others sway you with their foodly wares. Do not assume that you can eat the same thing as them. You can't. Well, you shouldn't. This is the true test of your relationship with food right here. I think if you can overcome this particular time, you can soldier on forever. I'm doing really, really well. But I am waiting for the other shoe to drop, which is uncool. I've got to get over being in that frame of mind all the time, especially since I don't have any restriction right now.

I get my first band fill on 9/3. Exactly one week before I go on vacation. Hopefully it will give me a slight restriction and keep me fuller longer. And hopefully that will change my frame of mind. So far I'm down 20 lbs total. I'm looking into the distance for more.

Oh, and that sneezing thing goes away.

Nordic Track Update!

Just as I had hoped when I originally started this blog, writing my post about the Nordic Track yesterday spurred me into action -- I made it ten minutes last night without a hitch! I guess I need to try for fifteen beginning this weekend.

Also, why is my cat not afraid of this machine? I'm seriously afraid she's going to be decapitated by a wooden ski. I can't decide if she's really brave or just plain dumb.

Nordic Track

Hi to anyone who's out there.

Here's the deal: I hate the outdoors unless I'm sitting on a beach or frolicking in the ocean. I hate exercising outdoors even more. I always feel self-conscious walking around the neighborhood while I'm huffing, puffing, and sweating. I don't want to run into other people while I'm exercising. Also I can't wear shorts in public because my inner thighs always catch one leg of them and drive it up toward my crotch, forcing me to shake my leg to straighten it out.

I had been thinking about buying a used treadmill from someone and mentioned it to a co-worker. He asked me if I would be interested in a Nordic Track, and then he proceeded to give it to me for free! How awesome is that?

So I cart this thing home, though not up the stairs because that's the hubby's job. My husband unloaded it and set it up for me. The Nordic Track is very bare bones looking and is all manual -- no electricity powering this baby. For anyone who has ever thought about owning one and has never actually climbed onto it, it is truly one of the most death defying machines I've encountered. And there's no emergency stop like on a treadmill. The skis don't lock into place, so you have to mount it carefully. Once you're on you have to be extremely careful lest the skis fly out from under you. I read a ton about this thing on the Internet before I actually brought it home, thank goodness. The consensus among the active folk was that if you are just starting your Nordic Track career you should definitely get the leg movement down pat before incorporating the arm thingie. Then to confuse me further, the doctor who gave me the machine specified on numerous occasions that proper form includes opposite feet and arms being in the same position, meaning when your right foot is forward, your left arm should be, too. This is a movement that should come naturally as most people tend to walk this way, but let me tell you that it's not so easy when you start having to think about the motion. I can start out OK, but inevitably I lose my footing and have to consciously start again, making sure that my feet and hands are properly placed.

This thing is great exercise! It's working your arms and legs and giving you a cardio workout all at once! How do I know? Because I've made it up to ten minutes on it...twice. I've challenged my husband to do ten minutes a day with me for a week, after which we'd work our way up. I haven't exactly kept up my part of the bargain for the week, but then again neither has he, although he has been on the Nordic Track more times than I have at this point. Hopefully I can start dragging myself out of my afterwork funk and climb aboard again sometime soon.

So now I can exercise in the privacy of my own space, blasting my iTunes on the computer, shorts riding up toward my nether regions all I want without the need for a leg shake. Which is awesome, because when I'm done the couch is just a few feet away and ready for me to drop onto it for the remainder of my daily free time.

Wish me luck!

Long Time No Write!

It's been a while since my last post. But I've been off discovering some very interesting things. I met up with my high school friends for a mini-reunion back in February and it was wonderful. And I'll tell you something...I didn't crave food once. I didn't want junk food, I didn't eat a lot and I actually lost weight! When I finally sat down to think about it, I realized that with those people I didn't feel like anything was missing. These people are true friends. After all, we lived overseas together during our formative years which brings us close together now, even if we weren't necessarily friends in high school. We are what people call "Global Nomads." (Trust me, this is going to tie in with the general weight loss and healthy choices theme of my blog later. Please just keep reading.)

Here is some information from http://www.globalnomads-dc.org/ :

"A global nomad is anyone of any nationality who has lived outside their parents’ country of origin (or their “passport country”) before adulthood because of a parent’s occupation.

"Where am I from? and Where do I belong? are basic questions of human identity. Because global nomads have been crossing boundaries and borders of personal, social, national and cultural identity since childhood, it is no wonder many of us have felt and may still feel a sense of restlessness, conflicting loyalties, and the sense that we never completely fit in anywhere. As each of us defines, and redefines at various stages of our lives, the answers to such questions of identity in the context of the societal norms we function in, we can draw from the experiences of other GNs.

"According to David Pollock, founding director of Interaction and one of the foremost educators and advocates for this population, a Third-Culture Kid (TCK)--a term used synonymously with global nomad--is:

'an individual who, having spent a significant part of the developmental years in a culture other
than the parents' culture, develops a sense of relationship to all of the cultures while not having full ownership in any. Elements from each culture are incorporated into the life experience, but the sense of belonging is in relationship to others of similar experience.'

"In other words, our roots are not in a place but in each other. "

This last line is perhaps the most important. Most of my high school friends and I feel this way. So much so, that when we go back to our "normal lives" we feel a huge disconnect and have a hard time adapting for a significant period.

Realizing that I find my roots in these other people has been huge for me. That feeling I had when I was at the reunion...I've tried to carry it over. The feeling has filled a hole in me that I had previously been filling with cake, cookies, chips, grease, fat, sugar, salt. If I can hold onto these people, and reach out to them when I need them, I believe I can break this cycle. The challenge is not letting go, because, you see, letting go is a specialty of the Global Nomad. It's something we had to do constantly in our lives, changing countries, changing schools, saying goodbye to friends we would never let get too close. So, it's the letting go I actually have to overcome, not the food. Food's easy compared to that!

Staples, Cinq

Pardon my French, folks. :)

Another of my favorites: I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! Spray.

Here are the nutritional values http://www.tasteyoulove.com/product_detail.asp?pid=5 .

I really can't imagine life without butter. Seriously. But this stuff comes really close. You can put it on toast, use it in recipes, spray it on a potato -- anything you want! In fact, I just used it last night to make a grilled cheese sandwich (OK, so the cheese isn't good for me, nor is the white bread, but I saved myself some fat, cholesterol and calories by using the spray, didn't I?).

I sure hope other stuff starts coming out in a spray. I'm sensing a trend here!

Bon appetit.