Tag Archives: Photo Food Journal

WIAW-What I Ate Wednesday Post #VSG #WLS

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98 Days until my 1 Year Surgiversary!

 

6AM Protein Shake (w/ AM Vitamins)

Remembered it was Wednesday and I needed to snap pictures of my food AFTER drinking my protein shake, oops!

10AM Breakfast-Egg, Egg White, 1/4 cheese, 2 Tbsp Salsa

Lunch 12:30PM-3 oz Deli Turkey, 2 Slices Sharp Cheddar, 1/2 Tbsp Mayo, 2 Pickle Slices

Took about 30 minutes to eat this.

Afternoon Snack-1/2 Cup Raspberries with Stevia, 2 oz Fresh Mozzarella

Dinner 7:30PM-10 Crackers, 15 Carrots and Snap Peas, 1 Glass Champagne, 1 glass Red Wine

No dinner pictures, it was girls night!

Tata for now,

Scale Warfare

WIAW-What I Ate Wednesday Post #VSG #WLS

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Bella has started to post the foods that she eats on Wednesdays as part of Peas and Crayons WIAW postings.  I love the idea, so thought I’d play along!

I know that pre-op I was always wondering what people post op were eating on a daily basis, and what a great way to show people.  I am about 8 1/2 months post op, so here is what I ate on Wednesday.

6AM Protein Shake (w/ AM Vitamins)

10AM Breakfast (Egg, Egg White, 1/4 cheese, 1 Tbsp Salsa)

Lunch 12:30PM (1/4 cup wheat pasta, 2 oz ground turkey breast, 1/3 cup marinara, 1 tbsp parm)

Afternoon Snack-Grazed for about an hour on this.  (7 baby carrots, 10 snap peas, 1/2 cup raspberries, 2 Tbsp Bacon Ranch Dip)

Dinner 7:30PM (9 grilled shrimp from inside the tacos at Chilis)

Tata for now,

Scale Warfare

6 Month Check-Up w/ Nutritionist #WLS #VSG

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I was very, very eager to meet with the nutritionist last week.  I had encountered my first major stall since having had surgery, and I was ready to throttle the scale out the window.  I’m working out like a maniac, tracking food like a maniac, and the scale was just bouncing all over the place.

On any given day that I work out, I burn between 500 and 900 calories in the gym.  I had been averaging about 900 or so calories a day consumed.  So without taking into account BMR (basal metabolic rate) I was hitting a break even point on a lot of days.  Throw in my BMR, and the deficit is ridiculous.  While the math would make any sane person go HMMMMM lots of pounds falling off, the reality is, I was stuck.  I had a feeling that the nutritionist was going to suggest more calories, but I didnt realize how many.  She wants me to work towards:

1200-1500 calories a day

A DAY

Do ya’ll know how many that is for a post op person?  The hard part for me is that I spend too much time reading forums like Obesityhelp.com or Verticalsleevetalk.com where there are preachers of the 600-800 calories a day for the entire weight loss period and no more than 40 grams of carbs a day.  The nutrionist said she hears that a lot, but I need to really start putting more in to see the pounds come off.  Especially with how much I work out.  Guess what, day 1 of eating 1200 calories I FINALLY broken into Onderland!

She said to baby step it.  Dont immediately try to go to 1500 calories, but dont be scared of the calories either.  Also she said to not be scared of carbs.  HEALTHY CARBS that is.  Sweet potatoes, vegetables, fruits, whole grains, you know the healthy things.  So I am slowly incorporating those things back into my diet.  There are still going to be days when I’m closer to 1000, but for the next month, I’m going to give around 1200 a try.  By a year out, I should be at about 1500 a day.

So these are my new goals:

  • 1200-1500 calories a day
  • 35-40% Carbs
  • 25% Fat
  • 35-40% Protein

I already hit 100+ grams of protein a day, so I am already within those ranges for protein.  The carbs are going to have to go up though.  Thats something I’m going to have a little bit of a tougher time with.  Most of the things I need to consume to hit the protein goals fill me up and make it hard to get the carbs in.  So I am adding little things here and there:

  • Granola (no sugar) to yogurt
  • Greek yogurt (carbs from lactose)
  • Whole Grain crackers
  • Whole Wheat Lavash bread
  • Salads
  • Veggies
  • Fruits
  • You get the idea.

The goal is non sugary, non white carbohydrates.  It will be interesting to see how this all pans out.  I’m excited for the journey :)

If you are on MyFitnessPal, feel free to add me as a friend if you want ideas about what its like to eat 8 months post op.  My name on there is shockingly scalewarfare

Tata for now,

Scale Warfare

6 Month Check Up-2 Months Late #WLS #VSG

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Today I’ll focus on the Physicians side of the 6 month check-up, and do a follow up post on the nutritionists side.  I was almost two solid months late for my 6 month check up due to travel for work and then work requirements.

I went about two weeks before the appointment to have my blood drawn.  I learned interestingly that in the state of Virginia, you don’t own your blood work results, the physician ordering them does.  So now I have to remember to have the surgeons office put on the prescription for my blood work to send the results to me as well.  I dont get it.  My blood…me paying for the results…results arent technically mine?

Anyways, back to the appointment.  I hate their scale, it weighs a solid 10 pounds higher than any other scale out there.  This is awesome in the beginning, especially for insurance requirements, but now it just pisses me off.  I am down a total of 105 pounds on their scale also though, so it’s really a tomato or to-ma-toe thing. I asked the PA Tiffany about setting a goal weight, and she said that the surgeons goal weight for me it to be below 200 (on their scale) and have healthy blood work.  On my home scale I am officially below 200, but that means about 10 more pounds to make it on their scale.  My blood work is already healthy.  She said anything else is just a bonus in regards to weight loss.  I figured they’d want me in a healthy BMI range, which is how I picked the arbitrary number of 150-155 as my goal, but I might re-access as I get closer.  She said since I’m pretty muscular, getting that low might not be entirely realistic.  We shall see.

My blood work all came back great, I am within a healthy range for everything that the test for.  The results are 4 pages long, so I wont go into too many details.

  • Glucose: 80 (range 65-99)
  • Calcium: 9.2 (range 8.6-10.2)
  • Cholesterol: 174 (goal <200)
  • HDL Cholesterol (the healthy one): 53 (goal >46)
  • LDL Cholesterol (the bad one): 121 (goal <130)
  • Iron: 110 (range 40-175)
  • B12: 926 (range 200-1100)

So I’m doing well on the big ones!  I suppose all of those supplements are really doing their job.

Tata for now,

Scale Warfare

Photo Food Journal Thursdays #WLS

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I was a little hit or miss with taking food pictures this week, the ones I got are below!

Lunch Box 1.12.12

Coffee+ 1/2 & 1/2+Egg + Egg White + Cheese for Breakfast; Cheese Stick for Snack; Chili for Lunch; Protein Shake for Snack; Protein Bar if needed.

Lunch box 1.12.12

Dinner 1.12.12

Cod and Sautéed Yellow Pepper.  Salad Plate.

Dinner 1.12.12

Breakfast 1.13.12

Egg+1 Slice Bacon+Cheddar

Breakfast 1.13.12

Lunch 1.13.12

Morning Star Farms California Burger w/ Slice of Cheddar

Lunch 1.13.12

Dinner 1.15.12

Bacon wrapped filet w/ horseradish sauce.  This is an appetizer find from Costco, I love it!

Dinner 1.15.12

Lunch Box 1.16.12

Breakfast Egg+Egg White+Cheddar+coffee+1/2 & 1/2; Snack Babybel Lights; Protein Shake Lunch; Protein Shake Snack.

1.16.12 Lunch Box

Snack 1.16.12

Weak moment at Costco, but a delicious find.  These make an appearance almost daily from here on out.  A sweet treat with whole grains!

Snack 1.16.12

Dinner 1.16.12

I was JONESING for BBQ Chicken Pizza, but wanted to figure out a healthy way.  I used a half of a Whole Grain Roll Up, a Tbsp of BBQ Sauce, 1/3 of a roasted chicken breast, and 2 Tbsp of Cheese.  Seriously filling, I only ate 75% of it.

Dinner 1.16.12

Lunch Box 1.17.12

I have spent a lot of this week at a client site that has no microwave, so I’ve been doing shakes for breakfast.  Protein Shake Breakfast; Babybel Lights Snack; Chicken Salad and 1/4 Whole Grain Roll Out Lunch; Protein Shake+Granola Thin Snack (about 2 hours apart.)

Lunch box 1.17.12

Dinner 1.17.12

Another healthified pizza, this time with marinara and shrimp.  I wound up only being able to eat half of my serving.  This is my serving vs that husbands serving.

Dinner 1.17.12

Lunch Box 1.18.12

Breakfast Protein Shake+Coffee+1/2 and 1/2; Snack 2 Babybel Lights; Lunch Chicken Salad and 1/4 Whole Grain Roll Out; Snack Granola Thin and about two hours later another protein shake.

Lunch box 1.18.12

Photo Food Journal Thursdays! #WLS

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Something I should point out about my meals is that I only eat off of standard sized dinner plates if I am eating out.  Most of the time I either eat on an appetizer plate, or on a salad plate.  It helps me to make my portions feel more “normal.”

Friday Breakfast

I stopped at a Deli by my client site since I arrived early to a meeting.  I ate about 3/4 of the egg with cheese, and one slice of the Turkey Sausage.

Breakfast at the deli

Snack Friday

Friday is one of my double workout days, so I was a bit hungry before dinner.  2 Tbsp Whole Foods Treasure Hunt Trail Mix.

1.6.12 post workout snack

Friday Dinner

While I normally don’t eat pasta, my Dad made us a few frozen meals, and this was one of them.  Super yum!  3 oz of Lasagna. (Appetizer Plate)

Dinner 1.6.12

Saturday Breakfast

1 egg, 2 Tbsp sharp cheddar, 1 Turkey Sausage, 1 glass Emergen-C Lite (was feeling a cold coming on.)  I drank the Emergen-C before I ate breakfast.  I always follow the do not drink for 30 minutes after rule, but I rarely follow the do not drink for 30 minutes before eating rule. (Salad Plate)

Breakfast 1.7.12

Hiking Snack Saturday

I needed some sustenance during our 7 mile hike.  2 Tbsp Treasure Hunt Trail Mix, yum!

Snack on the trail

Saturday Night Dinner

I only ate the gyro meat, approximately 2oz. (Salad Plate)

Dinner 1.7.12

Snack Saturday Night

After doing the 30 Day Shred, walking the dog, and doing a 7 mile hike, I knew I needed to get more than 700 calories in for the day, so I had a Brownie Quest bar.  It hit the desire for dessert head on!

Snack 1.7.12Sunday Breakfast

1 egg, 2 slices of lean bacon, 2 Tbsp sharp cheddar.

Breakfast 1.8.12Sunday Dinner

2 hard boiled eggs, mayo, 1 slice bacon, mustard.  Started off being deviled eggs, but the whites fell apart and it turned into egg salad.

Dinner 1.8.12Monday Lunch Box

Coffee w/ Splenda  & 1/2 and 1/2, Egg, Turkey Sausage, 2 Tbsp Cheddar, 2 Deviled Eggs, 2 Babybel lights, 1 Premier Nutrition protein shake.

1.9.12 lunch boxMonday Dinner

3 Scallops and 1/4 cup zucchini slices sauteed in Olive Oil.

Dinner 1.9.12Tuesdays Breakfast

One egg, one turkey sausage, 2 Tbsp sharp cheddar.  This is the breakfast I make at work almost every single morning in the microwave.

Breakfast 1.10.12

Tata for now,

Scale Warfare

Photo Food Journal Thursdays! #WLS

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Since one of my 2012 goals is to post my photo food journal once per week, AND I got a new iPhone which makes snapping photos on the go much easier than with my previous phone, I am not going to limit myself to one day per week.  Instead, if you look up towards the right side of the page you will see pictures that I post to Flickr throughout the week.  On Thursday I will consolidate them here with a bit more information about what is in the pictures.  So it wont necessarily be complete days of photo food journals, but you’ll get a pretty good idea of what I eat throughout the week.  Please excuse me while I play with different photography Aps on the iPhone!

One of the pitfalls that I’ve always had with doing a photo food journal is that one meal a day I forget to capture pictures…now, no excuse!  Some-days I’ll grab more meals than others, it’s more free form.

Here are some eats from so far this week:

Lunch at Home Monday:

1/2 oz of Proscuitto; 3/4 oz of Swiss; 1.4 oz Deli Turkey
1.2.12 lunch, yum!

Lunch Box Tuesday:

1 Egg; 1 Turkey Sausage; 2 Tbsp Cheese; 1 Veggie Burger; 2 Babybel Light cheeses; 1 Premier Nutrition Protein Shake
Photo

Dinner Tuesday

1/2 Cup Chili, 2 Tbsp Sour Cream, 2 Tbsp Cheddar
Dinner

Snack at the Bar (Shared with the Table) Tuesday Night

I had two pieces of pita spread with hummus, yum!  WLS Friendly at a bar :)
Snacks for the table

Lunch Box Wednesday

I know this probably looks like a lot, but it’s a double workout day.  Protein Shake; 1/2 Cup Chili, 2 Tbsp Sour Cream, 2 Tbsp Cheddar, 1 Egg, 1 Turkey Sausage, 2 Babybel Lights, Coffee w/ 1/2 & 1/2, Quest Bar (Only to eat if I needed it, and I didn’t.)
1.4.12 Lunch Box

Dinner 1.4.12

2  oz Filet Mignon w/ horseradish sauce; 1/4 Cup Asparagus sauteed in Olive Oil.  For perspective purposes I also did a side by side of my plate and my husbands plate.  It was a “normal” aka reasonable portion for him, he’s 6’5″.

Dinner 1.4.12
Serving size perspective

As you can see, even post op (4 months) I am eating completely normal foods, and a good variety of them at that.  I just eat super small portions compared to what I used to eat.

Tata for now,

Scale Warfare

Decisions, Decisions. Part 3 of 3.

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Please read Part 1 HERE and Part 2 HERE.

I think what scares me most at this point in regards to making this decision about having the Lap Band surgery, is NOT being approved due to one of the insurance requirements, or finding out after meeting with the doctor that I have some unknown issue that would exclude me from being a candidate.

I feel very strongly that the Lap Band will be an excellent tool for me.  Notice I didn’t say solution or easy fix.  In no way shape or form is the Lap Band an easy fix.  It’s a tool to be used to help me reduce the amount of food that I can eat.  It’s a tool to help me reach a weight that is healthy for my body.  I know that I have to do the work.  Lap Band isn’t a malabsorptive surgery like so many of the bariatric surgeries that exist.  What I eat will be absorbed by my body.

I have gone back and forth over which type of bariatric surgery would be something that I would be willing to take on.  For a while I thought that the Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy would be ideal for me.  Basically they cut away a large portion of your stomach and you are left with a “sleeve” that holds 1-2 ounces of food initially.  They do not have to re-route your intestines, and that appealed to me.   I liked the results that they are having with the surgery, but it still scared the bejebus out of me to have things removed from my body, plus it appears to be fairly new.

The more and more I thought about it, and trust me, there has been a LOT of thinking (and discussing and reading and then reading more) about it, the more I realized is that what scares me the most, is having parts of me removed or re-routed.  Should there ever be an issue, I can have the Lap Band removed, should my body reject the Lap Band, it can come out.  When I get pregnant, the Lap Band will be cleared of fluid (how the band offers restriction) to ensure that I can have a healthy and safe pregnancy.

Every surgery out there comes with possible complications, and the Lap Band isn’t excluded.  There are possible complications with the Lap Band, but the complications are the ones that I am most comfortable with.  I can obtain all of my nutrients through my diet, I can have more control over the amount of restriction that my band gives me.  The Lap Band offers the fastest recovery time and is the least invasive.

The Lap Band does lead to slower weight loss than surgeries such as Gastric Bypass, but I am OK with that.  I have been battling my weight since I was 11 years old, I know that this is for life and isn’t a race.  I’d rather lose the weight slowly and retrain myself, than lose it quickly and potentially run into other complications due to not being able to absorb nutrients.

For anyone who thinks that Weight Loss surgery is the easy way out, you’re wrong.  Having major surgery isn’t easy, nor should it be taken lightly.  I will have to work on my weight for the rest of my life.  I will have a tool though, that will help me along the way.  I know it won’t be easy, I know it will be incredibly tough at times and feel unfair, but it’s worth it to me to be able to someday reach a healthy weight.

I am so happy to have such great readers that are so supportive!

Food from yesterday:

Decisions, Decisions. Part 2 of 3

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Read Part 1 HERE

So after yesterday’s big Cliff Hanger (at least one or two people wanted to know what the decision was right??) Here’s more information.

Here are some excerpts from an email that I sent to Bella September 15th of last year:

I had pretty much put weight loss surgery out of my mind for the last three years since my insurance didn’t cover it.  I still continued to read some of the WLS websites and a few blogs about WLS, but knew that it wasn’t really an option for me.  Now that it is covered on DH’s insurance, it sort of opened up the topic again for me.  I’ve been reading a lot of the various WLS boards (sleeve talk, lap band talk, etc) and spending a lot of time looking at the various options.  I registered for a seminar at one of the local hospitals that has amazing reviews for their bariatric center and then today I called the insurance company today to find out if I would be covered.  They said I wouldn’t get the pre-authorization requirements until I met with a doctor, but my BMI alone should make me eligible…

It feels so strange to actually start to look into this.  Almost surreal since it’s something that I’ve thought about for so many years.  I’ve always thought about it and said “no, I can do this on my own.”  But its so blasted hard, to work hard so much of the time and then to not show results because of a bad day here or a bad day there.  I don’t by any means see this as a quick fix, but sort of the ultimate tool to aid me in weight loss….

FYI-I never went to that seminar.  I chickened out.

And an excerpt from an email April 19th:

I seriously need to get my shit together or I will never lose this weight.  I’m thinking of signing up for an information session about lap band.  The issue we have right now is that DH is likely about to change jobs and while his current policy covers the surgery we have no idea if his next one will.  I’m doing some goggling to find out what I can on it.  I am just so sick of this helpless feeling (which I know in theory I have total control over, I’m the one that puts the food in my mouth.)

I have since found out that his new policy will in fact cover the surgery.  I am signed up for two seminars that will allow me to be introduced to several of the area doctors, so that I can get a sense of who I am most comfortable with.  I’ve researched the doctors, and there are two that really appeal to me based on their online reviews and because of the number of lap band surgeries that they’ve preformed.

The policy requires the following:

  • A minimum of 2 years being diagnosed at a morbidly obese rate. – Complete
  • Participation in a medically supervised weight loss program, including nutritional counseling for at least 3 months prior to the date of surgery. – Will be looking into this after the seminars.
  • Pre-operative nutritional assessment and nutrition counseling about pre- and post- operative nutrition, eating and exercise. – Will be looking into this after the seminars.
  • Evidence that attempts at weight loss in the 1 year period prior to surgery have been ineffective. – I wonder if my blog would be sufficient?  If not, I have Weight Watchers receipts and Sparkpeople.com food journals.
  • Psychological assessment of the member’s ability to understand and adhere to the pre- and post-operative program. – Will be looking into this after the seminars.
  • Patient has not smoked in the 6 months prior to surgery. – I’ve never been a smoker, socially did it for a period of time, but it has been a long time since then.
  • Patient has not been treated for substance abuse for 1 year prior to surgery. – I’ve never been treated for substance abuse.

More on this tomorrow!

Yesterdays food:

Photo Food Journal 4.13.2011

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As I mentioned in yesterdays post, I didnt pack my breakfast, lunch or snacks for yesterday.  I picked the completely wrong day to decide not to plan.  I had a meeting from 9:30-11, 11:30-1:30 and then 2-3:30.  That left no time for running out to pick something up.  I managed to do okay though!

First things first, the BodyMedia Fit stats from yesterday:


Breakfast: Atlanta Bread Company Bagel and Vegetable Cream Cheese

I had a snack between meeting one and meeting two of a Fiber Plus bar, no pictures of that.  For lunch I lucked out, another meeting was cateered by Corner Bakery and there were a bunch of leftover sandwich halves, so I grabbed a ham on pretzel roll sandwich.  Filling and super yummy!

Dinner: 3 oz pasta, Marinara Sauce, ground chicken breast, 1 Tbsp parmesan, and salad with 1 Tbsp of light ranch, yellow peppers and diced cucumbers.

When I got home I came to another delivery from Washington’s Green Grocer and could not have been more pleased.  The box was full of oranges, pears, bananas, a pineapple, apples, minelos, romaine lettuce, portabello mushrooms, broccoli, red potatoes, fingerling potatoes, etc.  Here are some of the items:

I added applewood smoked mozarella from a local dairy to my produce order, cant wait to dig into this!

I also received lots and lots of medjool dates, I have no idea what to do with them.  I tried one and they taste like candy.  I’m thinking about making a savory bread with them, maybe something with rye flour.

Does anyone have any recommendations of what I can do with these little guys?  There are too many to just eat.

One of my favorite things about the produce boxes is trying new things (like the dates) that I wouldnt typically pick up from the grocery store.  I love how fresh and colorful all of the items are.  Very excited for good eats this week!