Month: December 2019

2019: A year in review

2019 was quite a year for me. As the year comes to an end, I want to reflect on my journey. This week I hit 85 pounds lost! I’m still amazed everyday. I went shopping this morning to buy some items for a terrarium I’m making. I walked past a store and saw my reflection. I almost didn’t recognize myself. I keep expecting to look at my reflection and see my old self. My primary goal in losing weight was for my health although I have to say shopping for regular sized clothes does feel good. The health benefits though have been amazing.

A year ago I was still working my way through my pre-surgical requirements. I met with my dietician and surgical team a few times before surgery. I had two sleep studies and got diagnosed with sleep apnea. I got a CPAP in February of 2019 and was required to use it for 30 days to qualify for surgery. Of all of the things I had to do, that one was my least favorite. It almost kept me from getting my surgery because I was so opposed to it. Every night I put it on I talked myself into wearing it the four hours so I could move forward. What didn’t kill me made me stronger! A few days before surgery my pulmonologist told me I would never get the surgery because of my sleep apnea. Thank goodness he was wrong and that I had an amazing surgeon.

I had two interviews with my psychologist because bariatric surgery changes your life in so many ways. The team does not make any false promises that weight loss surgery is easy! Those first few weeks were really challenging trying to survive on broth. Then the soft food phase and re-learning to eat with all of the nausea. Some days I barely ate 200 calories. I remember the first few days I hit 600 calories and was thrilled. Going back to work after three weeks felt right although was no easy task.

I was always worried I would eat and get ill before a big meeting. I learned to survive though and even master my new lifestyle at work. One trick that got me through was relying on tried and true foods that I mostly did well with. Now, that can change day to day even now 7 months out. I can eat fish one day and the next day it makes me sick. Overall though I was satisfied that in 7 months I only had to go home early twice from work due to nausea and vomiting. I learned new ways to eat, get more protein, stop early if nauseated, and master water intake.

I started swimming twice a week and doing other exercises in between. I am off of four medications including no more insulin. My blood sugars are well controlled on oral medication.

I have taken the good with the bad and in the end still feel it is all worth it. The hardest part for me though is losing my hair. I started losing a huge quantity of hair a few months ago. It has finally slowed down and slowly growing back. It is part of the GI surgery process.

Looking back at this year I have decided it was all worth it. I did this for my health and have accomplished that goal. I reduced my medications, improved my blood sugar which in turn reduces my chances of diabetic complications, I took excess weight off my Charcot foot, reduced my blood pressure, and I have so much energy. It all feels right.

Yesterday I turned 46 years old. This is a year that has haunted me for me for years. My mom died at 46 years old from diabetic complications. For some reason I always saw this in my future and maybe so much so that I almost let it come to pass. Then, I decided I was going to change that path and I did. I had the help of an amazing weight loss team, my husband and son, my sister, and the rest of my family. I will write more about my mom soon. I really believe in bariatric surgery for people like me.

Even if bariatric surgery is not right for you and you want to lose a few pounds or even learn to eat healthier, we can do this together. I still have to make choices each day to stay on the right path. Some days I do better than others. On the days I try though I feel good knowing I am moving in the right direction. I encourage you all to take time to reflect on 2019 and make small attainable goals for 2020. I am working on my goals now. I also think it’s important to focus on non weight loss accomplishments.

My non weight loss accomplishments for 2019 are all of the strides I’ve made in getting our finances and retirement accounts headed in the right direction. I’ve continued to be on work groups and lead committees at work. I’ve been able to support my teams much more than ever with my added energy. In my personal life, I continue to work on maintaining a good relationship with my family, my husband, and son. My son is turning out to be an amazing young man which is the best I could hope for. I love being a mom, wife, sister, daughter, and auntie!

I will write more soon and until then, all my best wishes as you reflect on this year and work towards goals for next year.

Mandy

Hamburger Gravy

My mom taught me this recipe when I was younger. It was a recipe I went on to share with my husband and son. Truth be told, my husband does a better job with it and I cannot quite figure out his secret. It is very tasty, fairly low in fat, and you can use it on top of rice, noodles, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, or even eat it plain. You could also serve it on top of vegetables such as green beans or broccoli. When I first had bariatric surgery, my new stomach no longer tolerated it. I was so disappointed as this was a favorite. I’m at a place now where it tastes as good as it always did. Hope you enjoy!

  • 2 pounds lean ground beef (I use extra lean ground chuck)
  • large yellow sweet onion
  • Seasonings such as salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, garlic seasoning
  • 2-4 tbsp. cooking oil
  • 2 Large cans of Cream of Mushroom Soup (Family Size)
  • 1% or 2% milk to taste

Instructions: Dice onion and sauté in cooking oil until onions are tender, but not overdone. I like them semi-soft and add the ground beef on top of the onion and brown ground beef. My husband likes to sauté the onion and then remove it from the pan, then brown the ground beef. Maybe I really do know his secret after all! Either way it does taste great when the onions are quite tender. I add my seasonings to the ground beef while cooking such as salt, pepper, and Mrs. Dash. I also like to add a little garlic salt or seasoning. If you use really lean beef, you will not need to drain it before adding the soup. If you use higher fat meat, go ahead and drain and then place back in the pan before adding the soup. I then add the two large family size cans of cream of mushroom soup and stir well. I then add 1% milk until desired consistency. We like it sort of thick so I do not add much milk to it. I do not use much salt when cooking. I do add a little fresh ground pepper to my final product before serving. If you like a thinner consistency you can add more milk and even reduce the ground beef to one pound.

Usually I make this the first night and make rice to go with it and then with the leftovers I make noodles or a vegetable. You can use it in a variety of ways though. My mom’s favorite was over mashed potatoes. Whatever you decide though this one is a good one in my opinion and is a quick week night fix. Take care everyone and happy Holidays!

Mandy

Handling Holiday Stress & Eating

Happy Thursday and Happy Holidays to all of you! The Holidays can be an enjoyable time of year for many. It will always remain one of my favorite times of year. It is stressful though trying to get everything done in time and feeling satisfied with purchases and food choices.

Today I want to focus on both pieces of Holiday stress. I am sure most of your are finished or close to being finished with your Holiday shopping. This year we’ve taken a much more practical and frugal approach to Christmas. We try to focus on what people truly need. This year we are also throwing in some homemade gifts. To handle Holiday stress, I decide what my budget will be. I then make a list of family or friends that I buy for. I also include Holiday parties and gatherings where I must bring either food and/or gift. I then assign a number/portion of my budget next to the name of the person or event. I write some ideas out and then start my shopping.

In the past I’ve done a lot of on line shopping. I did a little this year, but admit I went to a few different stores this year to pick up my goods. I honestly checked online prices before purchasing in store this year and found the in store prices with the coupons were better in most cases. Some items I had to order online though because I could not find it in the store. For example, I needed some spices and freeze dried items for a homemade gift and found those much cheaper and readily available online.

Once I start shopping I start crossing off my list. I did not take my own advise this year so I’m going to try for this next year. My suggestion is to take your list and budget and if you get an item on sale, subtract the difference and stick that money in a savings account. This is a whole different subject, however recently I have been researching apps that link to your checking account. It rounds purchases up to the next dollar, pulls it into an automated investing account. I have plans to sign up for this very soon and will let you know how it goes.

This plan really helps with the Holiday stress around sticking to a budget and getting gifts that truly mean something. Other stress relieving ideas include getting a massage, trying an audio book, soothing music, or trying some yoga or other relaxation. Find a counselor or someone to talk to if the Holiday’s present bigger challenges. The key for me is feeling prepared and knowing if I stick to the budget, I’m going to feel better all around. If you really don’t have a budget for gifts, then give family and friends a card for a service you can provide them. As long as it comes from your heart that is all that matters.

Around the eating stress, I say this time of year try all kinds of things. If you really want that chocolate cake or cookie, give it a try. Maybe try a smaller portion of it or accommodate for it in your daily plan. I’ve been sampling cheesecake and cookies and still slowly losing weight or maintaining pretty closely. I have increased my protein quite a bit the last several days and just like at Thanksgiving have my Christmas meal planned.

Some great sources of protein include tuna, eggs, tofu, chicken, pork, turkey, low fat lean meats, cottage cheese, low fat cheeses, protein bars and shakes, and low fat luncheon meats. I made a pumpkin cheesecake and had a very small portion and it was so tasty. And because it had eggs and cream cheese, I got some protein in my dessert. You can’t beat that!

Lastly, planning the Holiday meal can be stressful. This year I started buying ingredients several weeks ago and by the time this week has rolled around I am more than ready. I have one or two items left to purchase. I overheard a great idea the other night and want to share with you. I heard a couple telling a friend that the Holiday meal planning was so stressful, they simply invite each guest coming to bring an appetizer and dessert to share. Instead of the big feast on Christmas, they share in appetizers and desserts. It works for them and decreases the stress of planning. Consider an idea like this one if the Holiday is getting closer and the idea of cooking a large meal is overwhelming. I do feel the years have helped me fine tune what I call my Christmas dance in the kitchen. I enjoy cooking the large meal, but if you find it stressful take comfort in knowing you could try something new!

Enjoy the Holiday season and I’m wishing you all the best.

Mandy

83 pounds and counting

A person asked me last week what it’s like to be thin? I had to pause for a moment because she was asking me. She has watched my transformation and was curious what it is like to change especially so quickly.

First, I really do not think of myself as thin. True I have lost a lot of weight and am at 83 pounds down now. I am very proud of my accomplishment and do not regret bariatric surgery as a tool to lose weight. The weight loss has improved my health greatly. This is the first time that I really remember being 176 pounds. I weighed in at 178 pounds on my wedding day. I literally only weighed that for the day:) I ordered my wedding dress by accident in a teen size instead of adult and had to lose 40 pounds to get in it. After the ceremony and I took the gown off, I went out to dinner with my new husband and saw the last of 178. I do not have a goal weight yet and figured I will know when I get there. I purposely slowed down my weight loss and am happy with this.

Sure, I had always imagined when I was younger what it would be like to have a better figure. I won’t lie about that. However, the truth is that I did learn to love myself the way I was and accepted myself. I am in a size 12 now which stuns me every day. I still believe when I go to put on something new it’s not going to fit and then I’m surprised when it does.

So, I told the woman who asked me that it does feel good to fit in smaller clothes. I said though I stand by loving yourself no matter what your size. If you want to make a change then go for it. I say do it for the right reasons although I read a book once about a woman who lost a ton of weight and she said do it for any reason even if it is for looks. I do say don’t get stuck there though. If you need to make changes quickly, I don’t mind telling people to consider bariatric surgery. The initial stages though do go slow, but working with the dietitian and team, I started losing weight and making changes right away.

Some days go by and I’ve eaten well, got my protein in and had no nausea or vomiting. Other days are different. I am six months out from surgery and doing better each day. Even today though my lunch did not go down well and I got sick. When that happens, I pause, drink water when I can and avoid food for a few hours. It’s a new lifestyle.

I appreciate all of the positive feedback I’ve had. One thing I promised myself though is that I would not change my philosophy. Love myself no matter what. I still look in the mirror and know I could use a lot more firming after that weight loss, but it’s still me. I will always be a woman who stands by loving ourselves at any weight! Beauty is so much more than that. Plus curves really are beautiful! I got stuck with the body shape of an egg and had to deal with that. I also might have lost 83 pounds, but like I said my body needs some serious firming now.

If you look in the mirror and don’t like what you see, consider talking to someone whether it be a counselor or someone you trust. I honestly feel it is important to love and appreciate yourself at any size or shape. Then, when you want to make a change it’s all for the right reasons.

Please leave me a comment if you have something you want me to share or you want to share with me. Best wishes,

Mandy

Meal Planning & Grocery Shopping

Happy Thursday! I am starting to finally feel a little better. I’ve had a cold the past two weeks that was certainly no fun. Just a reminder as a public service announcement to have good hand-washing practices. Experts state this is the number one illness prevention technique. Also this time of year it is especially important to wipe down door handles to decrease the germ load. I wish you all a healthy Holiday season!

My focus today is on meal planning and grocery shopping. The last several months I have been doing large grocery shopping every two weeks and then on the in between weekend just picking up fresh fruit and vegetables. This has really helped my budget and made it easier to plan meals. Studies have shown the more times you stop at the grocery store, the more money one spends. It also saves time. I’m sure like many of you, both my husband and I work full time and we have a busy teenage son. When I had bariatric surgery I also made a commitment to eating much less fast food and eating out less in general.

I sit down and take a few moments to cruise through my cookbooks. I found we were eating the same meals over and over, so I’ve also been incorporating new recipes into our grocery lists. I cook two or three meals on Sunday so that I do no have to prepare meals the first few nights of the week. This has worked with moderate success. I say that because on night two or three I do see frowns when they ask what’s for dinner and I say leftovers! We all agree though it has cut down on fast food which saves money, calories, and fat.

Cooking on one day for several days takes time and energy. I plan to continue this during the school year because of our busy schedules. When I cook for the week I try to go for variety but incorporate some of the same ingredients. I do this so if I’m chopping veggies I can use them for multiple meals. I used to buy the pre-chopped veggies but found them to be not as fresh and way more expensive. I also read an article from a blogger mom who makes meals ahead of time and stores the dry ingredients in meal jars so she can throw it together quick. I’m going to try this in the coming weeks myself.

I text myself my grocery list and this has worked well. I was thinking last night though back when I was in Weight Watchers, they shared a printable grocery list. Here is a link to that grocery list if you would like to give it a try: https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/blog/food/smartpoints-grocery-guide

I hope these ideas I’m sharing will help you all as well. I’m not always the most organized person. In fact, I used to go shopping with no list or anything and just by food. I’m being more mindfully organized which does take some time and patience to learn. I am being truthful when I say this has saved us money, time, and we are eating much healthier. Please feel free to leave me comments about your ideas or ways you’ve been successful. You can also reach me on Facebook at my attached link. Best wishes,

Mandy