(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please go to my blog - cheapeasylowcarb.blogspot.com - to see my whole post. I don't make my points in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page :).)
I guess because tomorrow is Christmas and the grocery stores will be closed, and because they are closing early this evening, the merchants didn't want certain items to just sit around for 2 days, so there were a lot of markdowns today that we were able to take advantage of! Here are some samples:
1# smoked turkey ends and pieces: $1.19 (Many of the packages had a single chunk, which I can use in so many ways!)
33 oz. Maxwell House decaf - $6.99 (WOW!)
These aren't something I would normally buy but I do have a use for them: 6 oz. thin-sliced honey ham from the deli that is usually $4.99 but were on sale for $2.00
5# Budgie seed mix (a CLEAN mix of millet and oat groats that I will mix with the usual mix I feed my cockatiel and lovebirds to "stretch" it) for $2.99
Walden Farms bacon dressing for $1.99 (half price); I can't eat salads now but it will be great as a dip or spread!
Chicken legs for 65c/lb
10# Idaho Russets $2.99 (I'm eating small amounts of potato - not a low carb food but have incorporated them once or twice a week into my eating plan; plus the fam loves them!)
Havarti cheese - just about my favorite! - sliced, 25% off, or $2.79/pkg
So I did buy some things that I still consider expensive. Take for example the Havarti cheese. I don't pay $5.58/lb for anything, typically. But as little as I'm eating right now, and as much as I love Havarti* I consider it a worthy splurge.
[*I told my husband, "If we ever get into an argument and you want to apologize because you know you were wrong, a package of Havarti cheese will work well." He said, "So what will you get me when you're wrong?" and I told him, "I never am!"]
For Christmas I made a couple of other splurges: They had a pound of lovely saucy BBQ ribs, already cooked, for $5.49, marked down from $6.99; I got those for Pete's Christmas Eve dinner. (I can't eat them but I'm happy with smoked turkey and havarti!) And we splurged on some English muffin bread for tomorrow's Christmas dinner. Since my mother developed Lewy Body Disease we have had a new Christmas dinner tradition: grilled cheese sandwiches and homemade creamy tomato soup. I can't eat the sandwiches anyway, but the english muffin bread will be marvelous for them I think! And I got the ingredients for my soup also, but it is inexpensive to make anyway. (I will post the recipe tomorrow, if I remember.) Instead of a sandwich I will make my cheesy pita points for myself, even though I'll just eat one triangle at least it will be in the spirit of a grilled cheese sandwich!
Overall we spent about $130 today. Considering this is my first grocery shopping of the month, and that we (well, I wasn't here the first 2 weeks of December) have been eating almost 100% from our stocked foods - and eating well! - I'm pretty proud of this month's food budget.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
It's Still All About The Food
(NOTE: If you are seeing this on Facebook, please click below to see the entire post or go to my blog itself. I don't always make my point in the first paragraph, which is all that shows up on my Facebook page. I mean, if you actually want to see it all :).)
I'm posting this to both of my blogs, and those who only follow ChiaChatter will have to go to yesterday's post to see details of my recent surgery, if you want to get up to speed.
Thinking of how I am now eating, food is still my passion. The big difference is, how can I make my miniscule (2-3 Tbsp) meals a little more interesting, especially given my current limitations? Especially since I have to eat so freakin' many of them to get even a minimum of nutrition into my system...
My doctor has said that I can eat anything except bread, raw veggies, and - oh, I can't think of the other thing, but I won't be eating it anyway. Because he instructed me only to avoid those 3 areas, and chew well.
But before I had the surgery I did ALL kinds of research, from pdf instructions sheets of other docs who do the procedure, to medical sites, to a forum especially for fundoplication patients. And the vast majority, in talking about getting back to regular food, have much more specific instructions or experience. So, because the failure rate of this surgery is so high, and because the side effects can be disastrous, I am electing to collect all of the knowledge I gained, and create my own plan based upon the most conservative and logical of them all. I want to have the best possible outcome with the fewest possible post-surgical issues, and feel I need to be my own best "meal planner". It seems to me that most of those who are living with awful lifetime side effects or have had to repeat the surgery didn't go the most conservative route. I may be wrong, but this is how I am proceeding.
24 hours after surgery I was put on clear liquids. 48 hours post op I was put on full liquids. This includes things like yogurt and custard. The first day I ate only yogurt. I could only eat a couple of bites at a time without feeling uncomfortable, so I nibbled at it all day. The next day I included a few bites of cream of wheat with butter (yeah, they consider that liquid), and my doctor said that if I wanted to try soft food, he would change the order. So Saturday I tried some tilapia. The kitchen sent up rice with it though, and I put a few grains on the tip of my fork. Big mistake, lots of pain. I walked as far as I could to help things pass.
I think I need to insert here that my esophagus is considerably smaller than it was where it empties into my stomach. Stuff can get stuck. I have to eat taking tiny (1/2 tsp) bites, and chewing my food to a liquid consistency. I cannot drink more than a few tiny sips while eating (google "dumping syndrome"), or for 30 minutes before or after. Any foods that are hard to digest (including fiber), have skins, or seeds, or nuts, or cause gas, or could swell after swallowing or are carbonated - all off limits for now. So I need to get the maximum nutrition into the minimum intake, and the maximum hydration into the minimal time I have between the tiny meals - while observing the above cautions. Should something get stuck, I can take small sips of very warm (can't have anything very hot or very cold either) water and try to walk it off.
The problem on Saturday evening was that I was in the throes of pneumonia, weak as a kitten, and could only walk a short distance before becoming wobbly and winded. But it did pass, and I decided I would wait a few more days before trying soft or softened solid foods again.
Sunday I continued with yogurt, and added custard. Monday morning before my discharge I ate half of a scrambled egg. Introducing only 1-2 "new" foods a day is part of my conservative dietary after-care per one of the instructions sheets I'd read.
I was still living with a lot of pain when I was discharged, and no appetite to speak of. The hour+ ride to my sister's left me very weak; liquid lortab helped with the pain. I added both applesauce and cottage cheese to my diet that evening without a bad result.
Yesterday I got a little experimental, and discovered that 2 spoons of plain full fat yogurt with 1 spoon of applesauce, sprinkled with cinnamon, and stir in a drop of liquid sucralose - creamy apple pie in a dish! This was my first really enjoyable dish. And for supper, a small piece of leftover potato, put through the chopper with some milk and butter until creamy and smooth, and heated. Who would have thought that a leftover potato could taste so amazing??
Today I had some SF jello with a scoop of cottage cheese that lasted me for several hours (about 1/2c total). Just now I took some of my broth that I'd saved up from my pre-surgical meals (frozen), and heated it with a chunk of butter, then mixed in a few mashed potato flakes to thicken. I let it sit for quite a while to make sure the flakes were fully "inflated" before I ate it. In fact I am still eating it, and it will last throughout the evening most likely. It was delightful to taste my own seasonings again.
So it is all about baby steps - and baby bites! - and patience and listening to my own body. If my stomach starts sending out the "full" message, one more bite will cause pain. And today is the first day I have really felt hunger. To me this is a good thing, a sign of healing. So many people are unable to burp or vomit after this procedure that these issues are to be almost expected, although I have been able to burp a few times. And life of flatulence will also be a result. Lots and lots of flatulence...
Whereas before I took great satisfaction in a delicious plate full of food, in creating an entire glorious meal, now it is much more simple - just blending a couple of flavors to keep the boredom at bay, and the anticipation and even excitement of adding in a new food every now and again.
Everything will be different from now on. But given what I have suffered the last 19 years, progressing to what it became the last few (my husband, daughter, and sister are really the only ones who know the extent of that), this is a small price to pay to get my life back. As time goes on it will become natural, and I will also be able to eat more normally. Doc says a year to heal completely, the first 100 days will be critical. And it is these 100 days that I don't want to do anything to mess it all up. Baby steps, slow and steady...and simple pleasures like apple pie in a bowl where I can find them :).
I'm posting this to both of my blogs, and those who only follow ChiaChatter will have to go to yesterday's post to see details of my recent surgery, if you want to get up to speed.
Thinking of how I am now eating, food is still my passion. The big difference is, how can I make my miniscule (2-3 Tbsp) meals a little more interesting, especially given my current limitations? Especially since I have to eat so freakin' many of them to get even a minimum of nutrition into my system...
My doctor has said that I can eat anything except bread, raw veggies, and - oh, I can't think of the other thing, but I won't be eating it anyway. Because he instructed me only to avoid those 3 areas, and chew well.
But before I had the surgery I did ALL kinds of research, from pdf instructions sheets of other docs who do the procedure, to medical sites, to a forum especially for fundoplication patients. And the vast majority, in talking about getting back to regular food, have much more specific instructions or experience. So, because the failure rate of this surgery is so high, and because the side effects can be disastrous, I am electing to collect all of the knowledge I gained, and create my own plan based upon the most conservative and logical of them all. I want to have the best possible outcome with the fewest possible post-surgical issues, and feel I need to be my own best "meal planner". It seems to me that most of those who are living with awful lifetime side effects or have had to repeat the surgery didn't go the most conservative route. I may be wrong, but this is how I am proceeding.
24 hours after surgery I was put on clear liquids. 48 hours post op I was put on full liquids. This includes things like yogurt and custard. The first day I ate only yogurt. I could only eat a couple of bites at a time without feeling uncomfortable, so I nibbled at it all day. The next day I included a few bites of cream of wheat with butter (yeah, they consider that liquid), and my doctor said that if I wanted to try soft food, he would change the order. So Saturday I tried some tilapia. The kitchen sent up rice with it though, and I put a few grains on the tip of my fork. Big mistake, lots of pain. I walked as far as I could to help things pass.
I think I need to insert here that my esophagus is considerably smaller than it was where it empties into my stomach. Stuff can get stuck. I have to eat taking tiny (1/2 tsp) bites, and chewing my food to a liquid consistency. I cannot drink more than a few tiny sips while eating (google "dumping syndrome"), or for 30 minutes before or after. Any foods that are hard to digest (including fiber), have skins, or seeds, or nuts, or cause gas, or could swell after swallowing or are carbonated - all off limits for now. So I need to get the maximum nutrition into the minimum intake, and the maximum hydration into the minimal time I have between the tiny meals - while observing the above cautions. Should something get stuck, I can take small sips of very warm (can't have anything very hot or very cold either) water and try to walk it off.
The problem on Saturday evening was that I was in the throes of pneumonia, weak as a kitten, and could only walk a short distance before becoming wobbly and winded. But it did pass, and I decided I would wait a few more days before trying soft or softened solid foods again.
Sunday I continued with yogurt, and added custard. Monday morning before my discharge I ate half of a scrambled egg. Introducing only 1-2 "new" foods a day is part of my conservative dietary after-care per one of the instructions sheets I'd read.
I was still living with a lot of pain when I was discharged, and no appetite to speak of. The hour+ ride to my sister's left me very weak; liquid lortab helped with the pain. I added both applesauce and cottage cheese to my diet that evening without a bad result.
Yesterday I got a little experimental, and discovered that 2 spoons of plain full fat yogurt with 1 spoon of applesauce, sprinkled with cinnamon, and stir in a drop of liquid sucralose - creamy apple pie in a dish! This was my first really enjoyable dish. And for supper, a small piece of leftover potato, put through the chopper with some milk and butter until creamy and smooth, and heated. Who would have thought that a leftover potato could taste so amazing??
Today I had some SF jello with a scoop of cottage cheese that lasted me for several hours (about 1/2c total). Just now I took some of my broth that I'd saved up from my pre-surgical meals (frozen), and heated it with a chunk of butter, then mixed in a few mashed potato flakes to thicken. I let it sit for quite a while to make sure the flakes were fully "inflated" before I ate it. In fact I am still eating it, and it will last throughout the evening most likely. It was delightful to taste my own seasonings again.
So it is all about baby steps - and baby bites! - and patience and listening to my own body. If my stomach starts sending out the "full" message, one more bite will cause pain. And today is the first day I have really felt hunger. To me this is a good thing, a sign of healing. So many people are unable to burp or vomit after this procedure that these issues are to be almost expected, although I have been able to burp a few times. And life of flatulence will also be a result. Lots and lots of flatulence...
Whereas before I took great satisfaction in a delicious plate full of food, in creating an entire glorious meal, now it is much more simple - just blending a couple of flavors to keep the boredom at bay, and the anticipation and even excitement of adding in a new food every now and again.
Everything will be different from now on. But given what I have suffered the last 19 years, progressing to what it became the last few (my husband, daughter, and sister are really the only ones who know the extent of that), this is a small price to pay to get my life back. As time goes on it will become natural, and I will also be able to eat more normally. Doc says a year to heal completely, the first 100 days will be critical. And it is these 100 days that I don't want to do anything to mess it all up. Baby steps, slow and steady...and simple pleasures like apple pie in a bowl where I can find them :).
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Easy Custard Recipe
Click the title to go to my amplify page where I put the recipe. It will be easy to sub the sugar to make it low carb. We love custard here, I might make this tomorrow.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Planning for Thanksgiving
I don't know who will be here for Thanksgiving this year. It may be just Pete and I and my mom, or my daughter and her toddler son (who live with us) may spend it here this year. Or who knows? If I find out about someone who will be alone, I'll invite them also.
Thanksgiving has become known as a holiday of excess to many but to us it is still a day that we concentrate on giving thanks to God - even more than every other day - for His blessings and provision in our lives. And we also celebrate the traditions that make our lives so rich.
We are dark meat eaters here, and a whole turkey is too much for just a few of us, so I will be trying to find turkey thighs. I have done a breast in the past but we ate it out of duty rather than enjoyment, so we'll do the thigh thing if I can find them. We'll have mashed potatoes, which will be mostly fauxtatoes but I'll throw in one or two of the real thing so there will be bits of skin and a more potato-y flavor. Green bean casserole hasn't been one of our traditions, but we will have other vegetables - the more colorful the better! Foregoing sweet potatoes, I'll do a winter squash dish, probably roasted chunks, and butter spinach. And also Pete's favorite, brussels sprouts, cooked with bacon and onions. Gravy will be of the creamed variety, with real cream. And dessert will be a whipped pumpkin dish using SF pudding mix, cream, diabetisweet brown sugar sub, cinnamon, and plenty of nutmeg.
And I want to mention this blog as a source for ideas, suggestions, and links to recipes for a lowcarb Thanksgiving meal too!
Thanksgiving has become known as a holiday of excess to many but to us it is still a day that we concentrate on giving thanks to God - even more than every other day - for His blessings and provision in our lives. And we also celebrate the traditions that make our lives so rich.
We are dark meat eaters here, and a whole turkey is too much for just a few of us, so I will be trying to find turkey thighs. I have done a breast in the past but we ate it out of duty rather than enjoyment, so we'll do the thigh thing if I can find them. We'll have mashed potatoes, which will be mostly fauxtatoes but I'll throw in one or two of the real thing so there will be bits of skin and a more potato-y flavor. Green bean casserole hasn't been one of our traditions, but we will have other vegetables - the more colorful the better! Foregoing sweet potatoes, I'll do a winter squash dish, probably roasted chunks, and butter spinach. And also Pete's favorite, brussels sprouts, cooked with bacon and onions. Gravy will be of the creamed variety, with real cream. And dessert will be a whipped pumpkin dish using SF pudding mix, cream, diabetisweet brown sugar sub, cinnamon, and plenty of nutmeg.
And I want to mention this blog as a source for ideas, suggestions, and links to recipes for a lowcarb Thanksgiving meal too!
Monday, November 15, 2010
Low Carb Eating and Priorities
I find I am not worrying about carbs as much as I am concerned with comfort at this point. Whatever doesn't cause pain is what I eat. And trying to reduce any inflammation in my gut before the surgery (the reason for the liquid diet suggestion by my primary doc) is a priority as well. The two should go hand in hand. I have been sticking with soft foods though, rather than liquids. I am not getting a whole lot of pain eating this way - along with my digestive enzyme supplements to help break things down - and I am guessing/hoping that the levels of pain and inflammation are connected...
At any rate, this is about carbs and not about pain or surgery :). And I have introduced some carby foods that I wouldn't normally eat, for the sake of the above. Low carb foods that I am eating are eggs/heavy cream scrambled with cheese...cottage cheese...chicken...cream soups (homemade)...string cheese...SF jello/whipped cream (sweetened with sweetzfree)...SF ice cream...yogurt...
What I have eaten that is comfortable to my gut but not low carb: potatoes (baked or mashed) and rice, both well-buttered, and both eaten minimally (only made rice once in fact).
I'm finding that more things bother me than I thought. Most vegetables are all but out of the question, as are many meats - although I do a pot roast the other day, cooked until very very tender - falling apart in fact - and could eat small amounts of that, very well-chewed. But only very small amounts.
This is only temporary, but I miss my cooking and the types of meals that I am so used to eating. I will get past this in a few months, and be able to get back to my beloved and precious low carb eating. I think I will pick up a good protein shake mix to add from now until the surgery, because I know I'm not getting enough protein. I also need a liquid vitamin supplement since the big pills are just too much...
Anyway, just an update on how I'm doing with my soft-foods and my eating. Nothing earth-shattering. Which is probably a good thing :).
At any rate, this is about carbs and not about pain or surgery :). And I have introduced some carby foods that I wouldn't normally eat, for the sake of the above. Low carb foods that I am eating are eggs/heavy cream scrambled with cheese...cottage cheese...chicken...cream soups (homemade)...string cheese...SF jello/whipped cream (sweetened with sweetzfree)...SF ice cream...yogurt...
What I have eaten that is comfortable to my gut but not low carb: potatoes (baked or mashed) and rice, both well-buttered, and both eaten minimally (only made rice once in fact).
I'm finding that more things bother me than I thought. Most vegetables are all but out of the question, as are many meats - although I do a pot roast the other day, cooked until very very tender - falling apart in fact - and could eat small amounts of that, very well-chewed. But only very small amounts.
This is only temporary, but I miss my cooking and the types of meals that I am so used to eating. I will get past this in a few months, and be able to get back to my beloved and precious low carb eating. I think I will pick up a good protein shake mix to add from now until the surgery, because I know I'm not getting enough protein. I also need a liquid vitamin supplement since the big pills are just too much...
Anyway, just an update on how I'm doing with my soft-foods and my eating. Nothing earth-shattering. Which is probably a good thing :).
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Request for Ideas Please?
As I wrote in my ChiaChatter blog this morning, my doctor has strongly suggested that I go on a liquid diet from now until my surgery on December 1st. While I'm not on a CLEAR liquid diet, and while it is "just" a suggestion, I believe it to be a good one. I have had such pain and such bloating every time I eat (I may as well be flat-chested as my double-DDs are smaller than my bloated belly!) that it has become hardly worth it anyway. I've been eating one meal - a small meal - per day for over a week, and then suffering terribly the rest of the day. It doesn't matter what the food is, only that I ate it.
Today I had some leftover mushroom soup from the other day. It still tasted AMAZING! But now I am in agony again. I can't believe that just those few bits of mushroom could hurt that much...but maybe it is just that I ate at all. Doc also told me to drink a can of Ensure every day - BLECH!!! Maybe some protein powder mixed into my eggnog? I need to figure out my
Speaking of which, I'm trying to think of things I will enjoy, that will go through a straw. I like eggnog, and eggs are such nutritional powerhouses! I'll make soups, both creamy and clear, but avoid my favorites of broccoli and cauliflower because I can't afford "gassy" vegetables right now. Cheese soup might be good. Jello of course...home-made whipped topping is a rare treat. Pudding? I don't know if that is really a liquid...but it isn't hard to digest, and should move right through, shouldn't it? I will have to try...soft-boiled eggs? I guess not really a liquid...what else? No carbonated beverages but I drink my diet Vernors flat anyway; hubby keeps an open bottle on the counter for me so it is warm and flat just like I like it. And tea of course. I don't care for fruit juices but maybe just a little, mixed with yogurt to make a smoothie...
I am not going to worry overly much about carbs during this time; however I don't like sugary sweet things much anyway. To sweeten my eggnog I will use a drop of sweetzfree and that will be enough for the little bit of "sweet" that I like, just by way of example. So I doubt that I'll be getting too many carbs in my "diet" anyway.
So. 3+ weeks of liquids (and of course afterward, although at first probably clear liquids?) until the Big Day...I need ideas, if you have any please :).
Today I had some leftover mushroom soup from the other day. It still tasted AMAZING! But now I am in agony again. I can't believe that just those few bits of mushroom could hurt that much...but maybe it is just that I ate at all. Doc also told me to drink a can of Ensure every day - BLECH!!! Maybe some protein powder mixed into my eggnog? I need to figure out my
Speaking of which, I'm trying to think of things I will enjoy, that will go through a straw. I like eggnog, and eggs are such nutritional powerhouses! I'll make soups, both creamy and clear, but avoid my favorites of broccoli and cauliflower because I can't afford "gassy" vegetables right now. Cheese soup might be good. Jello of course...home-made whipped topping is a rare treat. Pudding? I don't know if that is really a liquid...but it isn't hard to digest, and should move right through, shouldn't it? I will have to try...soft-boiled eggs? I guess not really a liquid...what else? No carbonated beverages but I drink my diet Vernors flat anyway; hubby keeps an open bottle on the counter for me so it is warm and flat just like I like it. And tea of course. I don't care for fruit juices but maybe just a little, mixed with yogurt to make a smoothie...
I am not going to worry overly much about carbs during this time; however I don't like sugary sweet things much anyway. To sweeten my eggnog I will use a drop of sweetzfree and that will be enough for the little bit of "sweet" that I like, just by way of example. So I doubt that I'll be getting too many carbs in my "diet" anyway.
So. 3+ weeks of liquids (and of course afterward, although at first probably clear liquids?) until the Big Day...I need ideas, if you have any please :).
Saturday, November 6, 2010
Cream of Mushroom Soup and "Crackers"
Today's soup was AMAZING! I should really make soup more often, it is time-consuming but simple. Anyway, yesterday while we were shopping* we picked up a big package of sliced mushrooms - just your plain white, semi-flavorless mushrooms - on the sale rack. I had a couple of cans of shitake mushrooms here though, which have more flavor. All out of dried unfortunately...but gave it a shot anyway. Ahhh, the miracle of reduction to increase flavor...
Chopped half of a HUGE onion into small pieces, then sweated it in a couple of Tbsp of bacon fat in the bottom of a heavy dutch oven. When they were translucent I added all of the sliced mushrooms (they filled the pot), lowered the heat, and covered it. After about 20 minutes on medium low there was enough room in the pot to stir the mushrooms and onions together; then I added S&P, covered it and let it cook another half hour or so.
Once the mushrooms were cooked way down, I added a quart can of beef broth. After stirring, I increased the heat to medium-high and let it reduce bay about 1/3, seasoned it with more more sea salt and a couple of squirts of worchestershire sauce, added both small cans of shitake mushrooms (which I had drained), and stirred in a quart of heavy cream. I reduced the heat to medium and stirred until I saw the steam starting, turned off the burner, and it was ready.
This soup is WAY too good to put crackers into (even if they weren't too carby!) but I wanted something with a little crunch. So I split some low carb oat/flax pitas (4gN each) and put them on the oven rack, sprinkled them with about 2T of shredded cheese each (I had colby/jack so used that), and left them in a 400-degree oven until the cheese was melted, the edges were browning, and they were crisp. I only used 2 pitas (so 4 halves) but they were so filling we couldn't eat them both with the soup. We did each have 2 bowls of soup though...but the pitas with cheese will make great snacks in the future as well, dipped in salsa and/or sour cream...or just plain.
What a great meal, we'll have the same thing for supper later, although I'm about to fire up the bread machine, so we'll have a slice of bread with our soup instead of the cheesy pitas.
As for the cost: it may be a pricier meal than I typically make; including the cheesy pitas my best guestimate would be $13. But it is easily 8 generous bowls of soup (with half of a half-pita with each - 2 shown above) so really, I suppose it isn't really that pricey after all, not when you consider how filling it is!
*Speaking of shopping...if anyone is interested I will post my receipts. But since I've never gotten any feedback on my grocery receipts I stopped posting them...not that I've had a whole lot lately. We have spent most of the summer eating the stockpile of meats and frozen veggies that I had stockpiled in the chest freezer, having bought it on sale previously. So mostly I've just bought fresh produce, dairy, and a few things here and there that were needed for a dish or to satisfy a craving :). But as all good things come to an end, we got to the bottom of the freezer recently, so yesterday I started the process of restocking it...anyway if no requests, I will toss my receipts that are cluttering up my space :).
Monday, November 1, 2010
Things Are Changing...
...for the better I hope.
First, my gut surgery, which I have mentioned previously, is scheduled for December 1st. This is NOT weight-loss surgery. And I don't completely understand all of it but will probably mention it later either here or in my personal blog.
Meanwhile, I have a month and will work on losing some weight before that time. Actually I have already started. Don't plan to weigh myself, will just eat right and go from there.
As I've had so many health issues, and as my independence and entire life has become more and more limited, I believe depression had started to set in. I'm pretty familiar with the signs, having been hospitalized twice for it in the past (the WAY past, the last time was over 30 years ago), and have been fighting it with the help of God's grace. But when so many other things were taking priority in my life - like trying to manage just getting through each day - how and what I ate weren't at the top of the list anymore. I knew it but also knew that it was ok and had peace about it.
As I'd written before, I've been maintaining well for several years. During the periods when I've been unable to do the shopping and cooking and my wonderfully nurturing husband has stepped in, we've eaten carbier. And when we have had to resort to restaurants or carry-out, we've eaten carbier. It is only that I have shopped and cooked as much of the time as I have that I didn't regain all of my weight.
Anyway, I still don't want to lose so much weight that I have all of the hanging skin issues (yes, people keep telling me this will resolve in time - it's been well over 5 years and frankly folks, it ain't happening!) but I know that even if I lose another 10# this month it will help for the surgery and also afterward.
Speaking of afterward...I guess I'll be on liquids for some 2-3 (or more? don't remember) weeks, then on mushy (oatmeal consistency) foods, then gradually onto real foods. He mentioned something about not being able to eat raw vegetables (a staple to me!) but I don't know if that's temporary - I hope not. And I don't know if the dietary regimen after surgery is the same as after WLS (and it doesn't matter), but I do know that eating a liquid diet will probably cause me to lose even more weight.
I did tell Dr.F that my diet consists of 90% vegetables, meats, and dairy - in that order - and he said that will be fine, with the exception of raw veggies. So I guess that's something that I will need to clarify somehow...he also said something about not eating bread but that won't be an issue for me either, I do ok with my modified version of oopsies.
So. The whole point is that I'm back off maintaining my weight, and back to losing, at least for this month. Then after I get back to "normal" (either my old normal or a new normal) eating I will re-evaluate if I want to stay with my new weight, whatever that might be, or will continue losing until the loose skin issue approaches the intolerable level...but I am already doing self-talk with the latter option as the goal.
Things change, minds change, bodies change. Here we go!
First, my gut surgery, which I have mentioned previously, is scheduled for December 1st. This is NOT weight-loss surgery. And I don't completely understand all of it but will probably mention it later either here or in my personal blog.
Meanwhile, I have a month and will work on losing some weight before that time. Actually I have already started. Don't plan to weigh myself, will just eat right and go from there.
As I've had so many health issues, and as my independence and entire life has become more and more limited, I believe depression had started to set in. I'm pretty familiar with the signs, having been hospitalized twice for it in the past (the WAY past, the last time was over 30 years ago), and have been fighting it with the help of God's grace. But when so many other things were taking priority in my life - like trying to manage just getting through each day - how and what I ate weren't at the top of the list anymore. I knew it but also knew that it was ok and had peace about it.
As I'd written before, I've been maintaining well for several years. During the periods when I've been unable to do the shopping and cooking and my wonderfully nurturing husband has stepped in, we've eaten carbier. And when we have had to resort to restaurants or carry-out, we've eaten carbier. It is only that I have shopped and cooked as much of the time as I have that I didn't regain all of my weight.
Anyway, I still don't want to lose so much weight that I have all of the hanging skin issues (yes, people keep telling me this will resolve in time - it's been well over 5 years and frankly folks, it ain't happening!) but I know that even if I lose another 10# this month it will help for the surgery and also afterward.
Speaking of afterward...I guess I'll be on liquids for some 2-3 (or more? don't remember) weeks, then on mushy (oatmeal consistency) foods, then gradually onto real foods. He mentioned something about not being able to eat raw vegetables (a staple to me!) but I don't know if that's temporary - I hope not. And I don't know if the dietary regimen after surgery is the same as after WLS (and it doesn't matter), but I do know that eating a liquid diet will probably cause me to lose even more weight.
I did tell Dr.F that my diet consists of 90% vegetables, meats, and dairy - in that order - and he said that will be fine, with the exception of raw veggies. So I guess that's something that I will need to clarify somehow...he also said something about not eating bread but that won't be an issue for me either, I do ok with my modified version of oopsies.
So. The whole point is that I'm back off maintaining my weight, and back to losing, at least for this month. Then after I get back to "normal" (either my old normal or a new normal) eating I will re-evaluate if I want to stay with my new weight, whatever that might be, or will continue losing until the loose skin issue approaches the intolerable level...but I am already doing self-talk with the latter option as the goal.
Things change, minds change, bodies change. Here we go!
Thursday, October 28, 2010
More than 40,000 still without power in mid-Michigan
This lists, by county, the number of people without power yet. I live in Roscommon County, the one with the highest number of "powerless" people...
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/e4eh
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
