I'm mourning the loss of my weekend and yet looking foward to the week ahead.
Aaron's birthday celebration yesterday was fantastic! Dolores and Sue took him out for dinner at Johnny's Chop House in Antioch, IL and, of course, I tagged along too. He ordered some raw oysters and the prime rib with a blue cheese crust. The wait staff sang happy birthday to him as they brought him a piece of bread pudding with a lit candle. After dinner we came back to the house and he opened his presents then we watched a movie and settled in for the boxing match between Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. It was a great fight and Manny made history winning his 7th title!
Oh, by the way, Dolores looked "hot" in her new outfit!
My mom and I went shopping today as I've caught the decorating bug. We walked all around JC Penney, Pier 1 and World Market for almost 4 hours. I ended up buying some new chocolate brown curtains for the living room, a new chocolate curtain rod and my mom bought me some tie backs to match. Beautiful! Our new La-Z-Boys are coming on Wednesday so we're all excited to see the new changes.
Speaking of changes, my back feels better tonight after Aaron massaged it and cracked my back for me. I think he put some ribs back into place. He's an excellent healer. I had a chicken sandwich with lettuce and tomato along with a garden salad for dinner and a glass of white wine. I'm going to resume my walking again tomorrow (although I did a tremendous amount of walking today as we shopped).
Food For Thought:
Thank you everyone for all the support. It's helpful to know my friends and family are pulling for me. Writing about all of my successes and my struggles helps to keep me on track. I look forward to making some more healthy choices this week.
(11:02 pm)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Friday, November 13, 2009
2nd Weigh In
Good Morning,
I stepped on the scale this morning and found myself at 197 pounds. So I gained 1.5 pounds back. I think mostly due to water retention. I thought it would be worse, so I'm not all bent out of shape.
Aaron and I have discovered Brown Cow natural yogurt that we ordered from Peapod.com. This yogurt is the best we've ever tasted - thick, creamy, all natural ingredients. It's sweetened with honey for some flavors and evaporated cane juice and pure maple syrup for some other flavors. It ranges from 170 to 180 calories per 6oz container. It does have saturated fat - about 3 to 4 grams. I highly recommend it for flavor, texture and all natural ingredients.
Have a wonderful day today. I sure will be enjoying this great weather!
I stepped on the scale this morning and found myself at 197 pounds. So I gained 1.5 pounds back. I think mostly due to water retention. I thought it would be worse, so I'm not all bent out of shape.
Aaron and I have discovered Brown Cow natural yogurt that we ordered from Peapod.com. This yogurt is the best we've ever tasted - thick, creamy, all natural ingredients. It's sweetened with honey for some flavors and evaporated cane juice and pure maple syrup for some other flavors. It ranges from 170 to 180 calories per 6oz container. It does have saturated fat - about 3 to 4 grams. I highly recommend it for flavor, texture and all natural ingredients.
Have a wonderful day today. I sure will be enjoying this great weather!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Anticipating the Weekend
We stopped at Subway for turkey sandwiches. They are 280 calories for a 6" sub. Healthy and delicious!
Aaron's 47th birthday is the 17th so our moms are taking him (and me) out to Johnny's Chop House for dinner on Saturday. He's been talking about it all week in anticipation of the perfect birthday meal. I am really having a taste for a steak, but I think that may be overdoing it, so I will have a few bites of Aaron's and that should satisfy my craving. I will most likely order the Mahi Mahi and their broccoli which is steamed with lemon juice - yum!
Tomorrow I weigh in. I must say I'm a little nervous but I did exercise and try hard this week to eat well, even though I believe I overate somewhat on Tuesday night. With the water retention from the Ibuprofen, the results should be very interesting.
Food For Thought:
Tomorrow is also Friday night - a Food Trigger night for me. Instead of mindlessly munching on junk food while watching TV, I am planning to make an egg frittata with vegetables and some fat free lunch meat and low fat cheese. With all the protein and fiber in the veggies, I should stay fuller longer. If I get hungry (or think I am hungry) later, then I have some fat free popcorn that I will make. I can make it through Friday nights eating well and still have alot of fun. I keep telling myself this and I know it will work.
Now I'm going to get some much needed beauty sleep!
(9:40 pm)
Aaron's 47th birthday is the 17th so our moms are taking him (and me) out to Johnny's Chop House for dinner on Saturday. He's been talking about it all week in anticipation of the perfect birthday meal. I am really having a taste for a steak, but I think that may be overdoing it, so I will have a few bites of Aaron's and that should satisfy my craving. I will most likely order the Mahi Mahi and their broccoli which is steamed with lemon juice - yum!
Tomorrow I weigh in. I must say I'm a little nervous but I did exercise and try hard this week to eat well, even though I believe I overate somewhat on Tuesday night. With the water retention from the Ibuprofen, the results should be very interesting.
Food For Thought:
Tomorrow is also Friday night - a Food Trigger night for me. Instead of mindlessly munching on junk food while watching TV, I am planning to make an egg frittata with vegetables and some fat free lunch meat and low fat cheese. With all the protein and fiber in the veggies, I should stay fuller longer. If I get hungry (or think I am hungry) later, then I have some fat free popcorn that I will make. I can make it through Friday nights eating well and still have alot of fun. I keep telling myself this and I know it will work.
Now I'm going to get some much needed beauty sleep!
(9:40 pm)
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Veterans Day
I had a taste of a Mediterranean side dish today that I thought was really good. A co-worker shared a bite of her lunch which she purchased at Trader Joe's. It consisted of chickpeas, dried mint, parsley, red onion and some other seasonings. It was in an 8-oz plastic container and was 2 Weight Watchers points for the entire container. Low fat, high fiber, no sugar or substitute or any additives. I think I'll be planning a trip to Trader Joe's pretty soon.
I'm doing great with the back pain and have resumed walking a mile each morning. I think I might back off of the Ibuprofen and see what happens. I'm only taking the lowest dose once in the morning and of course celery every day. I like the heart the best.
For dinner tonight we had 1 large boneless skinless chicken breast cut into pieces and 1 pound of shrimp that I sauteed in olive oil with red, yellow and green peppers and green onions. I added 6 oz of fat free sour cream and a little teriyaki sauce to make a gravy. I served it over 1/2 piece of multigrain bread. I enjoyed that with 5 oz of wine.
I'm also adding Benefiber to the diet after dinner each night to help in getting rid of everything I no longer need in my body.
I'm so proud of myself. Even if I don't lose weight this week, I'm already making healthy changes and forming new habits. And my family loves me even though I'm not always perfect!
Food For Thought:
Veterans Day brings a few thoughts to mind. I think about all of the food that soldiers both can't enjoy and are forced to have to eat because of where they are stationed. It makes me grateful for what I have available to me on a constant basis. It also makes me want to send a care package of homemade cookies or warm bread or a hot juicy steak just to make someone happy. There are so many things we take for granted - including our freedom. Many thanks to all of the people now serving our country and for those who have gone before us and helped shape American into what it is today. Even though we may not fully agree with everything that is happening in our country, it's still the best country to live in and I wouldn't trade it for anywhere else!
I also think about my cousin on my adopted Dad's side of the family - Rick Miller. He was a Viet Nam vet who went through Hell while in the war and had many problems when he returned. He was able to work them out, get married and have a wonderful family. While he was in Viet Nam he bought a doll for both me and my other cousin. I still have it proudly displayed in my home and on days like today I wonder what he was thinking all the way around the world at 21 buying those dolls for us. He must have been so lonely and scared and needed a connection to his family. He passed away a few years ago and left behind a legacy as a deeply devoted, loving, kind husband, father, son, brother, uncle, cousin and new grandfather. Rick, I miss you. I will always love you...
(8:47 pm)
I'm doing great with the back pain and have resumed walking a mile each morning. I think I might back off of the Ibuprofen and see what happens. I'm only taking the lowest dose once in the morning and of course celery every day. I like the heart the best.
For dinner tonight we had 1 large boneless skinless chicken breast cut into pieces and 1 pound of shrimp that I sauteed in olive oil with red, yellow and green peppers and green onions. I added 6 oz of fat free sour cream and a little teriyaki sauce to make a gravy. I served it over 1/2 piece of multigrain bread. I enjoyed that with 5 oz of wine.
I'm also adding Benefiber to the diet after dinner each night to help in getting rid of everything I no longer need in my body.
I'm so proud of myself. Even if I don't lose weight this week, I'm already making healthy changes and forming new habits. And my family loves me even though I'm not always perfect!
Food For Thought:
Veterans Day brings a few thoughts to mind. I think about all of the food that soldiers both can't enjoy and are forced to have to eat because of where they are stationed. It makes me grateful for what I have available to me on a constant basis. It also makes me want to send a care package of homemade cookies or warm bread or a hot juicy steak just to make someone happy. There are so many things we take for granted - including our freedom. Many thanks to all of the people now serving our country and for those who have gone before us and helped shape American into what it is today. Even though we may not fully agree with everything that is happening in our country, it's still the best country to live in and I wouldn't trade it for anywhere else!
I also think about my cousin on my adopted Dad's side of the family - Rick Miller. He was a Viet Nam vet who went through Hell while in the war and had many problems when he returned. He was able to work them out, get married and have a wonderful family. While he was in Viet Nam he bought a doll for both me and my other cousin. I still have it proudly displayed in my home and on days like today I wonder what he was thinking all the way around the world at 21 buying those dolls for us. He must have been so lonely and scared and needed a connection to his family. He passed away a few years ago and left behind a legacy as a deeply devoted, loving, kind husband, father, son, brother, uncle, cousin and new grandfather. Rick, I miss you. I will always love you...
(8:47 pm)
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Exercise and Therapy
This topic is not what you think it's going to be about! I want to tell you about all the exercise I did today and the fact that I'm writing about it is my mental therapy. I just want to laugh instead of feeling so frustrated.
One of the physicians that I work for ordered 21 posters of sports related themes and had them shipped to me at the office. Unfortunately, none of them were standard size. I measured each poster and found a comparable frame for each online knowing that I would have to cut and matt each one. When I went to check out and saw the cost for freight (not shipping because at this heavy weight, it's called freight!) was more than the cost of the frames, I had to cancel the order. What to do, what to do? I went to Michael's yesterday and bought 12 frames in all different sizes. I could only handle 12 at a time. Luckily they were on sale 40% off. The sizes ranged from 24 x 36 to 18 x 24. 12 frames are heavy! I put each one in the cart, then had to take each one out to be scanned and put each one back in the cart to take to my trunk in the parking lot. I had to take each one out of the cart and put them in my trunk. I got back to the office, went upstairs and got a medical records cart, came downstairs and loaded each one from the trunk to the cart and went back upstairs. I took each one off the cart, unwrapped them all and found that 4 were damaged and 2 were completely the wrong size. Today I framed 6 posters and put all of them in my trunk again. The good 6 went to the clinic across the street. So, you get the idea, I put each one in the cart to bring downstairs to put in my trunk to drive to the clinic to take them out and bring them in the clinic...then I drove back to Michael's, went inside to get a cart, brought the cart out and put the bad 6 in the cart to get a refund. I had to take each one out to get scanned for the refund. Then I had to replace the 6 and I bought 7 more in addition. Ok, I won't go through the cart to scan to cart to trunk to office to cart to upstairs routine this time. However, it took me until 2:30pm to frame all of the posters (cutting and matting, etc) and then to find out that I needed 2 more. So I had to go back to Michael's for the last 2, come back and frame the last 2. At this point, one of my co-workers felt sorry for me and offered to take the rest of them over to the clinic across the street after I framed them all. I told him about the cart to trunk to office routine so he would know how to do it....
Whew! Ok, I'm exhausted physically and now I'm laughing so I guess that gives me another "belly" workout. So all in all it was a good day of exercise for me. The point is that sometimes despite your best intentions, things just don't go as planned. It's important to keep a sense of humor and to be flexible.
Food For Thought:
The bad news is that because I had such a frustrating day I think I ate a little too much for dinner, which was 10 small potstickers and 2 small breaded fish squares. It doesn't sound like much but my belly is full! In examining my relationship with food, I have to get rid of this sense of entitlement. I'm entitled to eat/drink whatever I want because I had a frustrating day or situation or I deserve it, or whatever the excuse. What I deserve is to be healthy. That's what we all deserve. I'll be examining why I think of food as an award. It's an award while I'm eating it and then afterwards I feel guilty. An all too familiar routine that I have to break. I must pray about this and ask for help.
(8:48pm)
One of the physicians that I work for ordered 21 posters of sports related themes and had them shipped to me at the office. Unfortunately, none of them were standard size. I measured each poster and found a comparable frame for each online knowing that I would have to cut and matt each one. When I went to check out and saw the cost for freight (not shipping because at this heavy weight, it's called freight!) was more than the cost of the frames, I had to cancel the order. What to do, what to do? I went to Michael's yesterday and bought 12 frames in all different sizes. I could only handle 12 at a time. Luckily they were on sale 40% off. The sizes ranged from 24 x 36 to 18 x 24. 12 frames are heavy! I put each one in the cart, then had to take each one out to be scanned and put each one back in the cart to take to my trunk in the parking lot. I had to take each one out of the cart and put them in my trunk. I got back to the office, went upstairs and got a medical records cart, came downstairs and loaded each one from the trunk to the cart and went back upstairs. I took each one off the cart, unwrapped them all and found that 4 were damaged and 2 were completely the wrong size. Today I framed 6 posters and put all of them in my trunk again. The good 6 went to the clinic across the street. So, you get the idea, I put each one in the cart to bring downstairs to put in my trunk to drive to the clinic to take them out and bring them in the clinic...then I drove back to Michael's, went inside to get a cart, brought the cart out and put the bad 6 in the cart to get a refund. I had to take each one out to get scanned for the refund. Then I had to replace the 6 and I bought 7 more in addition. Ok, I won't go through the cart to scan to cart to trunk to office to cart to upstairs routine this time. However, it took me until 2:30pm to frame all of the posters (cutting and matting, etc) and then to find out that I needed 2 more. So I had to go back to Michael's for the last 2, come back and frame the last 2. At this point, one of my co-workers felt sorry for me and offered to take the rest of them over to the clinic across the street after I framed them all. I told him about the cart to trunk to office routine so he would know how to do it....
Whew! Ok, I'm exhausted physically and now I'm laughing so I guess that gives me another "belly" workout. So all in all it was a good day of exercise for me. The point is that sometimes despite your best intentions, things just don't go as planned. It's important to keep a sense of humor and to be flexible.
Food For Thought:
The bad news is that because I had such a frustrating day I think I ate a little too much for dinner, which was 10 small potstickers and 2 small breaded fish squares. It doesn't sound like much but my belly is full! In examining my relationship with food, I have to get rid of this sense of entitlement. I'm entitled to eat/drink whatever I want because I had a frustrating day or situation or I deserve it, or whatever the excuse. What I deserve is to be healthy. That's what we all deserve. I'll be examining why I think of food as an award. It's an award while I'm eating it and then afterwards I feel guilty. An all too familiar routine that I have to break. I must pray about this and ask for help.
(8:48pm)
Monday, November 9, 2009
Hypoglycemia alert
I was able to resume walking my mile in place this morning with just some slight back pain. Ibuprofen is a wonderful creation! Now for some celery...
I hope I'm on the right track. I guess we'll find out on Friday morning.
I'm so afraid that I'll gain weight that I'm probably not eating enough. I had a hypoglycemic episode today right before lunch. The panic that sets in when this occurs is very scarey. My hands start shaking and I can't think straight. Luckily I had some red grapes in my lunch bag. I grabbed 5 of them and waited. My endocrinologist says it takes 15 minutes to correct low blood sugar so I should try hard not to panic during that time. It's hard but I'm getting better at it. If you have never experienced a hypoglycemic attack, it's hard to explain but I'll try. It's like suddenly all of your energy starts going down a drain and you begin to feel very drunk and confused. Your hands shake and your mouth becomes dry and you think you're going to pass out and can't do anything about it. If you wait too long to start correcting it with sugar or Glucose tabs, you could pass out, luckily that's never happened to me. I get scared and tend to overcorrect it with candy or juice or grapes and my blood sugar is then high. I'm learning to only eat a little sugar or Glucose and wait the 15 minutes. Today just the 5 grapes did the trick.
Dinner tonight was lemon chicken stew. I roasted a whole chicken with lemon halves, onions, red potatoes, mushrooms, chicken broth, garlic, rosemary and black pepper. I served this with a 1/2 pc of whole grain bread and some sauteed asparagus, red pepper, mushrooms in a spicey mustard sauce. I also had 5 ounces of pinot noir.
I enjoyed a Diet Rite cola earlier today and learned it is sweetened with Splenda. I like the taste of Splenda better than Aspartame. I also like the taste of Stevia better than Aspartame. They both are not as sweet to my taste.
Food For Thought:
Over the weekend Aaron bought me a new book entitled "Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. The Wall Street Journal's remarks about this book are: "Pollan wants us at least to know what it is we are eating, where it came from and how it got to our table. He also wants us to be aware of the choices we make and to take responsibility for them...." This is a book about the natural history of food and how the food industry has changed how we look at food and what is available for us to eat. Apparently, there is a promise within this book that I may never see the Chicken McNugget the same way again!
(9:58 pm)
I hope I'm on the right track. I guess we'll find out on Friday morning.
I'm so afraid that I'll gain weight that I'm probably not eating enough. I had a hypoglycemic episode today right before lunch. The panic that sets in when this occurs is very scarey. My hands start shaking and I can't think straight. Luckily I had some red grapes in my lunch bag. I grabbed 5 of them and waited. My endocrinologist says it takes 15 minutes to correct low blood sugar so I should try hard not to panic during that time. It's hard but I'm getting better at it. If you have never experienced a hypoglycemic attack, it's hard to explain but I'll try. It's like suddenly all of your energy starts going down a drain and you begin to feel very drunk and confused. Your hands shake and your mouth becomes dry and you think you're going to pass out and can't do anything about it. If you wait too long to start correcting it with sugar or Glucose tabs, you could pass out, luckily that's never happened to me. I get scared and tend to overcorrect it with candy or juice or grapes and my blood sugar is then high. I'm learning to only eat a little sugar or Glucose and wait the 15 minutes. Today just the 5 grapes did the trick.
Dinner tonight was lemon chicken stew. I roasted a whole chicken with lemon halves, onions, red potatoes, mushrooms, chicken broth, garlic, rosemary and black pepper. I served this with a 1/2 pc of whole grain bread and some sauteed asparagus, red pepper, mushrooms in a spicey mustard sauce. I also had 5 ounces of pinot noir.
I enjoyed a Diet Rite cola earlier today and learned it is sweetened with Splenda. I like the taste of Splenda better than Aspartame. I also like the taste of Stevia better than Aspartame. They both are not as sweet to my taste.
Food For Thought:
Over the weekend Aaron bought me a new book entitled "Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan. The Wall Street Journal's remarks about this book are: "Pollan wants us at least to know what it is we are eating, where it came from and how it got to our table. He also wants us to be aware of the choices we make and to take responsibility for them...." This is a book about the natural history of food and how the food industry has changed how we look at food and what is available for us to eat. Apparently, there is a promise within this book that I may never see the Chicken McNugget the same way again!
(9:58 pm)
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Ibuprofen vs. Celery
Another beautiful day in Northern Illinois. The cool breeze blew the falling leaves all around our yard and deck. Just beautiful! I don't want this fine weather to end.
For breakfast I made scrambled eggs with roasted red peppers, mushrooms, a small amount of Fontina cheese and I folded in some avacado. I served that with a natural yogurt and 1/2 piece of whole grain bread.
Aaron and I shopped for awhile looking for a new entertainment center to go with our 2 new recliners. No luck so will keep searching.
For dinner I made low fat hotdogs, whole grain buns and I topped them with green onions and yellow mustard. I ate 5 tortilla chips and some fat free salsa, a pickle wedge and a small bowl of tomato soup.
I've been afraid of taking Ibuprofen for my back pain because of the water retention and weight gain, but I had to break down today and take one. I will take one tablet daily until my back pain is resolved. I hope it won't increase my weight. I have to be extra careful with my eating plan and increase exercise to the degree that I can stand it with my back pain.
Food For Thought:
Celery is known for it's colon cleansing attributes. A very natural and inexpensive way to clean out some of the bad! Now that I may be retaining water, I am going to increase my celery consumption to see if that will counteract it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I remember as a little girl spreading Cheese Whiz into the celery stalks that my Mom (June) and I were preparing for a family party. Not the best of cheese products for your health, but they sure tasted great. If you don't like the taste of celery, try spreading a little natural peanut butter or low fat cream cheese in the stalks. That's a great way to eat healthier.
(5:51 pm)
For breakfast I made scrambled eggs with roasted red peppers, mushrooms, a small amount of Fontina cheese and I folded in some avacado. I served that with a natural yogurt and 1/2 piece of whole grain bread.
Aaron and I shopped for awhile looking for a new entertainment center to go with our 2 new recliners. No luck so will keep searching.
For dinner I made low fat hotdogs, whole grain buns and I topped them with green onions and yellow mustard. I ate 5 tortilla chips and some fat free salsa, a pickle wedge and a small bowl of tomato soup.
I've been afraid of taking Ibuprofen for my back pain because of the water retention and weight gain, but I had to break down today and take one. I will take one tablet daily until my back pain is resolved. I hope it won't increase my weight. I have to be extra careful with my eating plan and increase exercise to the degree that I can stand it with my back pain.
Food For Thought:
Celery is known for it's colon cleansing attributes. A very natural and inexpensive way to clean out some of the bad! Now that I may be retaining water, I am going to increase my celery consumption to see if that will counteract it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
I remember as a little girl spreading Cheese Whiz into the celery stalks that my Mom (June) and I were preparing for a family party. Not the best of cheese products for your health, but they sure tasted great. If you don't like the taste of celery, try spreading a little natural peanut butter or low fat cream cheese in the stalks. That's a great way to eat healthier.
(5:51 pm)
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