yup I'm a baseball mom

My oldest is 14, 6 feet tall, and thin -- not really gawky thin, but athletic thin and muscular - he weighs about 140 pounds. He wears a men's large.

Sometimes the moms on the team will wear their sons' jerseys to the games -- it's really cute. But not something I could do -- especially a year ago.

Yesterday was the play-offs for Jake's fall-ball league (which, by the way, they lost after the first game, even though they were seated second -- which goes to show you, anything can happen in baseball). I was wearing a sweater and jeans -- but Jake really really wanted me to wear one of his jerseys -- like the other moms.

I couldn't quite get it buttoned, but I could get it on (I'm rockin' an extra large right now -- which means I got to do some shopping at Eddie Bauer, my fave store and walk past Lane Bryant, it felt good, it really did). And since Jake really wanted me to wear it --  I did

And sadly (or gladly?) my pants are on the big side -- which is too bad because I really like the cut, the feel and the color.  I need to buy more jeans now that capri weather is leaving us.

It was a happy moment -- not because of the clothes -- obviously -- it's not like I want to go around wearing baseball jerseys. It's about the smile on my son's face because I was wearing his jersey to his play-off game.  He couldn't express what it was about this that he liked -- but he liked it. I know because I got a couple extra hugs, even a snuggle out of him yesterday.

Guest Post/new blogger/and not much else

So it's been super stressful lots going on and will settle myself down shortly and share it all, or what's appropriate to share to the WWW -- but for now this person asked if she could do a guest post and I thought, why not -- interesting information (if you can say interesting about insurance) and helpful (hopefully). Anyhow, she seemed nice and I like to help :D

Here it is:

There are a lot of reasons why people don't bother with a health coverage plan - rising cost of premiums, limited coverage, and impracticality even. But whether you will need coverage often or rarely, the fact that you will be able to afford medical services if and when you need them is reason enough to at least think about getting one. Depending on your plan, your coverage may include doctors' visits, emergency medical expenses, medicines, and physicals. Having health insurance will not only help you meet your immediate healthcare needs but help you live a healthier life too. Premiums can be expensive, yes. But good thing some plans now are flexible and will let you choose only the services you need making your premium affordable and cost-effective. 

With different types of insurance plans available out there, choosing the right one for you can be confusing. Compare plans and get free information on popular insurance providers, their contact information, advantages and disadvantages, even discounts all in one place at http://www.myclaimsource.com.

Okay -- back to me:

One of our patients started a blog! She's doing great -- I can't really give more details because I don't want to violate any HIPPA laws -- but you can read for yourself! Click here and give her some love!

Perfect Strangers Comment on Food -- Weird

This week I took an ACLS class(Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support -- basically CPR with meds and a lot of adrenaline for the nurse -- sometimes the patient too). So I was with a bunch of people who I do not know.

Went to lunch with some of them and this is what ensued.

I ordered a black bean burger, no bun, with tomatoes and onion.

And THAT generated a conversation about my lunch.

1. Are you a vegetarian?
2. Are you gluten free?
3 What diet are you on?
4. Is that really going to be enough food?

WOW!

One girl, who really had a great curvy body, but realistically not within 'range' had a huge plate of beef, gravy and green beans, the other girl had a chicken veggie quesadilla - with a lot of cheese, she was a little thing and only 6 weeks post baby -- I kind of wanted to hate her but she was super smart, helpful, and nice (ICU nurse, they're the best and if I were younger, I'd aspire to get to the ICU).

After being all jealous that these beautiful women with beautiful bodies (in different ways) could eat whatever the heck they wanted to (they both professed to never exercise too -- life is freakin' unfair), I realized, they may have food issues.

Because I don't think what I ate was that weird in the land of the non-bariatric-surgical population.

Day two of the class, the teacher told us to bring snacks so we could power through and get out early.  I brought some turkey jerky and blueberries.

You would have thought I was trying to kill myself or something equally horrid.

This coming from the woman (again, cute little thing -- who was able to rock the purple and green streaks, even in her 40's - I could not do that) who brought convenience store coffee and hoho's for breakfast.

REALLY?

Confession

I have to confess. I love Big Macs. As a person who loves to cook, who loves complicated recipes, who enjoys 'good' food, and sometimes claims to be a 'foodie' this is hard to confess.

But I do.

I'm not sure Big Macs are even food really

and one is like a million calories

But they are goooood.

And I haven't had one in 15 months.

And realized a couple days ago, I don't even miss them.

That's all.

one habit changed - 50 million more to go....

So the boys are going camping this weekend (I don't camp -- a cabin is even iffy).  A weekend all to myself, sounds great right now, but just a couple weeks ago I was moping around because the boys were gone at camp for a week....

anyhoo, this time it's all three boys (Jason and the kiddos)

Jason used to travel all the time, it's been years since he has (thank gawd).  In the past when he left town I would order pizza, buy some chips and a ton of chocolate and feel horribly sorry for myself....I found myself thinking of doing the same thing today

What DID I do?

I bought some seafood salad and an avocado, (ate half an avocado with a spoonful of the salad) cut up some cucumbers, had a couple cherry tomatoes and a tbsp of blueberries. Perfect dinner.

and later...for a treat...I got some of the dark chocolate covered Acai berries (YUM).

And here's the thing....I'm not even feeling sorry for myself...
or feeling lonely.

It's a good feeling.

Have a great Friday!

(update -- the rain washed out the trail head so they are on their way home...we're going to go see a movie instead)

Quinoa Breakfast

So my friend turned me on to this breakfast -- way yummy and not bad in calories.

1/2 cup of cooked quinoa
1/2 tbsp coconut oil
1 packet of pure via
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup of mixed berries

Mix all together and serve. 194 cals, 4.4 g protein, 25.8 g carbs, & 8.9 g fat. 5g of fiber. To up the protein content add half a scoop of plain protein powder

 These portions are for my family -- but super pretty with the colorful fruit! The hubsters and the older child liked it, the younger one, not so much but then his favorite meal is mac and cheese so his culinary opinion is not that respected around here.

I made a bunch of these to take to work...or for the kids (well at least the kid that likes it) and the husband...good grab and go breakfast and I'm thinking of doing this during school so the family has some quick healthy choices.

Speaking of Panties...

How about that, I've used the word panties in two titles in a row -- and even more strange -- I've now blogged three days in a row. Wow.

I amaze myself.

smiley face insert here

so back to speaking of panties I've had to buy some new ones.  I went with the old ones as long as I possibly could but it got to the point that they needed to go so I bought a whole bunch of new ones that fit. But there are a few stragglers and I happened to put a pair on the other day and they were like half way up my back. Of course I didn't take them off, I still wore them.

Rolling my eyes at myself right now.

I'm not what you'd call a glam girl. I'm not even really a tom boy either. I like looking at clothes, I like helping my friends pick out nice clothes, I like looking around at stores, and "pinning"  outfits. I actually have a good eye.

But when it comes to me and dressing myself...I am at a loss.

It's not that I don't care.

It's a little lazy, a little rebellion, a little unsure what to do, a little not sure what size I am, and a little bit of feeling I don't deserve to look nice.

I had dinner with a friend the other night and she was telling me I should really start wearing clothes that fit better, that I could wear shorter skirts and more importantly not just that I should but I could (I'm still not quite sure). Another friend today mentioned she and I were the same size and I argued with her, she just seemed so much smaller than I am. A couple weeks ago the Nurse Practitioner at work told me I need to go shopping with friends to give me guidance on if my clothes fit or not.  I was wearing a silky white blouse and pants that I could take off without unbuttoning -- so yeah, they were a little big.

It does feel strange wearing clothes that fit, I've always felt more comfortable if I could hide in my clothes. I don't like the feeling of confinement and, frankly I'm a little afraid. I'm afraid of gaining the weight back, I'm afraid that I will never get to my goal weight, I'm afraid of being noticed.

I'm just a big ol' scaredy cat.

Any how -- it's one of those things I need to work on. So one of my other goals for year two post-surgery is to dress in a way that fits...including my underwear.

okay now that I'm seeing the picture it is a little baggie -- and I was thinking how cute and well it fit -- THIS was actually going to be proof I wear clothes that fit.

Okay -- work in progress.

Here are a couple outfits I've "pinned" that I would some day love to wear

I guess I could so wear the top and the bottom now...but that middle outfit..not sure if I'll ever get there -- not enough spanx in the world..

I totally love Pinterest. If you aren't already on -- get on and follow me: I'd put a nifty follow me button here but can't find the place on pinterest with the nifty pin button ...and for some reason when I copied and pasted my old follow me button it went to another pinner's page.

weird


oh and speaking of following there's a blogger from Downunder who is about to get a sleeve. She also has some super recipes on her blog. check her out and say 'hi'.

Have a gerat Saturday all.

Hold on to your panties -- I'm actually blogging again!

Well looky-here I'm blogging the very day after I blogged.  I have a confession. I haven't been doing that great.  I'm a year and two months out getting this wonderful tool that I paid beaucoup bucks for and I'm taking it for granted.

ugh

I need to get that fire back!

A couple weeks ago I got down to 208 -- 208! most people would cringe but when your highest was 320  -- 208 feels great. It's not my goal though and I've been grazing, eating in front of the TV, and choosing jalapeno cheddar cheetos for meals.

ooooh so bad.

and a couple days ago I got back up to 212.

YIKES

Today I'm back down to 210 (phew)

I've been finding that now that I'm a year out when I lose weight 1. more slowly and 2. not as directly as before -- instead of just being a couple pounds down each week, I fluctuate between 3-4 pounds for a few weeks then boom I have a new 'range' with the lowest of my old range being the top of my new range.  Anyone else do this?

I'm not going to let this drive me crazy (I have plenty to drive me crazy -- and the term 'driving me crazy' implies I'm still sane and on my way to crazy -- when we all know I've pretty much arrived in crazyville already)

So goal weight? I talked to my doc (my actually doc, not the doc I work with -- who is awesome too, but I like to keep my life separate from my professional life) -- he asked what my goal weight was...my answer was: "do you want to know my actual goal weight, or do you want me to tell you what I think you want to hear"

and get this -- he said, "I could care less what you weigh, if you want to weigh what you do now, I'm good with that, you just need to be at a place where weight isn't getting in your way of not living your life"

WTH -- in my experiences with docs -- that is NOT the answer I expected.

So my goal weight is 180 -- I'm 5'7 (okay 5'6 and a half, but I round up) top of my optimal weight is like 150...at 180 would be 30 pounds overweight (overweight NOT obese whoot)...but whatever... when I was that weight (and upset about how fat I was and how I had to wear a size 12 wedding dress -- I so want to slap my 23 year old self) I felt good! so there it is, my goal is 180 -- that's 30 pounds -- sounds so much more doable than 140 pounds which is where I was 14 months ago! And my doc says I should lose that 30 pounds over the next year -- 7 pounds every three months.

I can do that!

Then he said, "you gotta be a good example for your patients now that you're a bariatric coordinator"

geeze! way to bring me back to the lectures I got from my parents since I was the oldest about being a good example for my siblings....

that's another therapy session.

I was talking to a friend last night about all this...we were talking about where we were before surgery and where we are now.  And I said, you know I had to pay for my surgery (around 20k OUCH) and I said, every time I look at a chip I should ask myself, "is this chip worth 20k?).

Of cours I had some M&Ms last night AFTER this conversation -- maybe it's not just chips I need to ask this question about.

My goals for this year two post surgery
7 pounds every three months
exercise
make good food choices
wear more make up and clothes that fit (I'll discuss this more in another post -- and this is for a friend of mine who gave me a lecture last night -- you know who you are)

Have a GREAT Friday everyone! I get to see my kids who have been in camp all week...so excited.

My idea of marketing -- is begging

Yeah, I know I have been HORRIBLE at blogging here. Work is crazy, life is crazy (how crazy is life? read about it here). Meanwhile I have been blogging for work here. I have to admit it's nice to blog for work, I feel like it's part of patient education which is one of the most favortist part of my position. I love talking to our patients about what to expect, how to take care of themselves and giving them encouragement.  The center's blog is an extension of that.  Our latest entry was about Mindful Eating. Have any of you thought of Mindful Eating? Our counselor talked about it at our support group and it makes so much sense. I think as over weight/obese people we sometimes feel like we aren't allowed to enjoy our food -- it's a guilty pleasure -- a lot of us (me included) call pictures of decadent desserts "food porn" porn....Mindful Eating gives us permission to enjoy our food, be in the presence of it and by doing so we end up eating less because we've used all our senses. So really more art than porn. Even before this subject came up I would notice our registered dietician would eat her lunch on a plate (a real one, not a paper one) in the kitchen.  I eat my lunch out of a baggie at my desk which is hardly a way to connect with food, enjoy it with my senses and get any kind of satisfaction. It can also be messy

Hmmmmm....

She's also got a great body and is super healthy.

Me, not so much.

Now, I know that's not the ONLY reason she looks the way she does, there's hard work and genetics involved -- but it's one of her tools.

I like how Mindful Eating helps establish a relationship with food, rather than trying to brush food under the rug and make it a dirty little secret.  We all need food, we should be allowed to enjoy it. If you want to read more about how it works...click here I also included other sites.

So, yeah, blogging for work = fun. Not blogging at home = big frowny-face.

We had a marketing meeting yesterday and I heard a lot of "Tracey needs to...." (ok, not a lot, maybe once or twice -- it's not really about me -- sigh, as much as I think it should be) -- so I said, "Tracey's a nurse, Tracey doesn't know much about marketing).  Looks like Tracey needs to get it together and figure out marketing really quickly.  I spent the wee hours of this morning trolling Facebook pages to "like" and now I'm going to try my version of marketing which is begging....please please like our center's FaceBook page. I do most of the updates and I post informative, inspirational and sometimes funny information so it won't be too painful to like us.

Okay -- August -- I will be better about blogging.

I promise...well sort of...

bariatric recipes - ground turkey tostadas

OH MY GOSH -- I SUCK at blogging...as an apology, here's a gift -- a recipe for tostadas. I even took the time to take a picture.

Serves 8
Pre-heat oven to 350
Spray a baking sheet with pam
Heat a can of vegetarian refried beans with some ro-tel tomatoes and then add
chopped zucchini (1), red pepper (1) and half a cup of diced onions to bean mixture and take off heat.
Layer on top of tostadas
Brown 1 lb ground turkey breast with taco seasoning
Layer on top of beans
Layer with 4 oz of shredded cheddar cheese
and top with 1 tbs of salsa

Bake for 15 minutes and serve
Calories for each tostada: 273
protein 20.9 g
Carbs 25.7 g
fat 9.4 g

I am a year out past my surgery -- more on that after my "official" one year appointment.

Hope ya'll are doing well!

squeezing another post in for May

Wow, two whole posts in May --- I'm on a roll!

Let me tell you, my schedule is freakin' crazy! One kid in competitive baseball and another starting swimming -- ack!

So I was looking in the mirror the other day -- which is a mistake because then I look at all my flaws (and I have a lot of them!)....and I notice I have darkening skin on my upper lip (gotta love those hormonal changes that effect skin pigment) and then I notice two deep creases coming down from my nose, below my cheeks and out -- and that pronounced my upper lip and mouth area even more -- then I realized.....

I look like a monkey.

I am monkey girl.

On a more positive note, Jason and I just had our 21st anniversary...look what he sent me at work:

Gotta love the pictures of the different bariatric surgeries behind the flowers -- what can I say I work in the bariatric department.

But back to the flowers...he did good didn't he.

What did I get him
Nothing
I suck as a wife -- but note schedule above.

Well, 21 years, I can't suck that much ;-)

It's Friday -- whoot. Have a wonderful weekend!

Has it been a month already? and Wednesday Weigh In a day late

Such a bad bad blogger.
It's been hard getting used to my new job...and baseball season is in full gear...and throw in karate with the other one...and trying to carve out time with my husband....leaves little time for..well ME.

such is life.

People say I'll miss these days.

I'm not convinced.

So, weight loss stats:
Starting Weight: 320
Last Recorded Weight: 219
Today's Weight 214
Weight lost in the last two months 5 pounds
Total Weight Lost: 106

Five pounds in two months -- oy. I'm going to go ahead and tell myself what I would tell other people...it's still down, it's not up.  Don't let this be discouraging.  You can do it. Rah Rah Rah.

I have my pom poms out and I'm doing a high kick right now...cheering myself on

Not really, I'm actually in my red with white polka dots pj bottoms, my nursing honor's society sweat shirt, which is white with purple greek lettering, and bright neon green socks.  I obviously don't feel the need to be super sexy or even color-coordinated when I go to bed.

So I really really like my job.  Love, love helping our patients. Love putting together nursing education around bariatrics. Although my first class was nursing self-care, because if nurses aren't caring for themselves they aren't able to take car of the patients.  I'm also revamping the bariatric online modules for the hospital...which is lots of fun. What I don't like? Data...I don't like collecting it, I don't like analyzing it and I don't like presenting it to the powers that be. ugh how do you number-people function -- bone-numbing boring! My other issue ....and you other moms who work outside the home will get this....I'm torn.  I really do love my job, I feel like I'm doing good---but I miss my kids.  It's hard right now because summer is about to begin and I'm going to be at work, my kiddos are going to be playing....this makes me a little sad that I'm not playing with them. And my poor husband...I'm so lucky he stays with me even though I've been barking orders at him about where we have to be and when, getting upset he's not the parent I am...he's a dad...just because I'm sad the boys aren't getting the attention from me doesn't mean he needs to parent like I do...I'm the snuggler, the make healthy meals with whole grains, lean proteins and vegetables and pack in the cooler...he's the rough-house play and stop at Taco Bell after a game and assume some wilted shredded lettuce is vegetable enough for growing boys....This is a guy who sent me flowers at work for Nurse's Week.  And even though I appreciate our differences, I am taking it out on him that I'm not the mom I want to be. And maybe since we've been married like forever and together an eon before that he just smiles and hugs me. Does he just not know he could have it so much better, or does he just love me?  I don't deserve him. But I'm sure glad he's mine.

sigh

So...even though I haven't been blogging here I have been blogging on our website here, here, and here.  Another fun part of my job....getting paid to blog...not so bad.

You'd think I'd have more to report given how long it's been since I've last blogged.

But no.

I could share with you baseball stats and the new karate moves of the smaller one -- but well that's boring.

Have a great Thursday! And Yay, three day weekend coming up-----so nice.

Random Stuff

Yesterday was hellish....it's TOM (is that TMI?), sometimes I get so tired during that time....I mean that can't think, it feels like you're walking through cotton, can barely move one foot in front of the other bone numbing tired.

And I wish I was exaggerating.

I still had to work.  Then take kid number 1 to PT.  Oh why? Because I basically suck as a mother and a nurse.  He twisted his ankle while I was at work so my mother-in-law drove him to the ED in the hospital where I work and I met them down there.  He was expressing 8/10 pain, while he was doing this I was behind his back shaking my head and rolling my eyes....she gave him some Advil and off to x-ray he went. No break (yay) but after a couple of hours he still insisted his pain was 8/10 -- which freakin' screams 'drug seeker' even if that drug is Advil....and given my family history with alcohol and drugs AND the experience I have with certain patients (jaded much?) I dismissed his pain and did a lot more eye rolling.

Well, it's not a sprain, it's freakin' nerve damage.

So yeah, 8/10 pain, totally appropriate.

Oh and my insistence on ice -- worst thing evah!

Yes, I am the mom/nurse that sent the same kid to school with Pneumonia and told him to suck it up -- this was after three days of keeping him out of school. The school nurse called and suggested I take him to the doc...he was out the rest of the week.

He's so going to need therapy....but all during PT last night he kept asking the PT to remind me I was wrong about the ice -- and he had that grin on his face -- I think he'll be alright.

Oh back to last night, before PT was Chipotle, because did I mention I was tired? I had chicken with fajita veggies and black bean bowl -- no rice, no cheese and mild salsa with a little bit of guac. -- another digression here -- what are your favorite diet/bariatric friendly meals when going out? This might be a future post :D -- okay then after PT we went to Dairy Queen since a percentage of the proceeds from last night go to the elementary school where the youngest goes.  I love those nights because it's fun to see other school families supporting the school and the local community. I did not order anything, but did take two bites of the younger's blizzard...chocolate covered pretzel blizzard um YUM.

Then got home about 8, crawled into bed of no less than three blankets and armed in a sweat shirt, pajama bottoms and thick warm socks -- when will it be Spring....my gosh it's been so cold! And promptly fell asleep.  I didn't even get to see how they finished the remodel on whatever was on HGTV at that time.

This post is totally random, because I'm also about to share with you something random and funny that happened to be the other day:

 random doc told me I looked like Susan Sarandon...which I don't -- but I'm wondering is this a compliment, because she's pretty or NOT because she's like older than my mother (she was born in '46 -- my mom would kill me if I told you when she was born, but it was after '46) here's how it went down...
doc: you look familiar
me: yeah, i have one of those faces
doc: no you really look familiar
me: I don't think we've met before
doc: (hmmm, starts to leave room, comes back) Susan Sarandon, you totally look like Susan Sarandon
me: wow, never heard that one before (my mistake, because now doc being a doc has to be RIGHT)
doc: (proceeds to ask all those around us) she looks like Susan Sarandon doesn't she
people around doc, who don't want to tell doc he's wrong: yeah, sure (look at me like he's nuts)
me: well, that's not a bad thing, I think
doc -- apparently satisfied and leaves so I can have my meeting

The celebrity I usually get described as is Ricki Lake (I have no idea how she spells her name) and not the skinny Ricki either.  But hey, I'll take Susan -- she's very pretty -- and I'm going to go with he meant a younger Susan Sarandon :D.

It's FRIDAY

woot
Have a great weekend blogland friends.

What? Two Posts in a week?

Another what did I eat in a day....it happens to be a good day -- well sort of! 

So I'm giving up my presweetened yummy goodness creamer and going for the fat-free half and half and sugar free hazelnut syrup.  It's good...it's not the same, but it's good.

I had to work until 8 pm last night so I had to pack everything with me.  I really do believe one of the keys to success in this weight loss journey is through planning.

Breakfast as I got in to work (well a little after since I forgot my lunch bag -- so much for being prepared -- thankfully I have an awesome husband and he brought it to me) -- two turkey sausage patties and blueberries and strawberries.

 The registered dietician gave me this idea, plain greek yogurt and your favorite dip mix which for me is a dill mix, sometimes I go with a ranch mix. Then some cut up vegetables.  I love veggies and dip but needed my protein with it and this was the way to do it.  It's also a way to get some of that yogurt in without going sweet.

 Has any one tried these yellow grape tomatoes...OMG they are so sweet and so yummy and I love these black bean burgers -- I try to a couple non meat meals in during the day - especially plant based ones with eating so much protein it's hard to get in those fruits and veggies and as any mother knows we need those fruits and veggies..

 Because part of my day was sitting in meetings, this was a good grab and go snack.

These are all my meals that I took to work with me.  I'm glad I work in an office with a fridge and a microwave, it does really make it easier to follow my mean plan....Because those 12 hour shifts on the floor would take much more planning....and definitely wouldn't be able to take time to eat my meals as it would be shoving nuts in my mouth between patients.

Confession -- even though I planned grab and go for my meeting, I stopped by the hospital cafeteria and bought a medium chai latte. It's a bit dangerous because you just have to swipe your badge and they take it out of your check.  I burned my tongue though so that was my penance.

What this day netted?
874 calories
122 g of carbs
63 g of protein
and
drum roll
82 whopping grams of sugar (damn chai latte -- it was really good though)

Wednesday Weigh In -- um not

Ugh, I've been off the reservation BAD about my eating and I'm afraid to get on the scale.

Today is another day!

And I woke up with the best of intentions of getting my flabby body on the elliptical and just.couldn't.do.it.

I'm in a funk and am having a bit of a hard time getting out of it.  Sometimes it just takes so much energy to work full time, be a mom of kids in activities, a wife, running the household, being a friend. Frankly, I've been sucking at all of these things.  Also sucking at taking care of myself.

My sister has fallen off the wagon and is drinking ... drinking a lot. This might have something to do about it?

A new job? I have no idea what I'm doing -- I hate that. Being smart is my thing.  Because it isn't being pretty or sexy (I'm not ugly, I'm just not, whoa, check her out awesome -- more bring home to your mother pretty and appropriate -- the kind of pretty where women and gay men find me pretty - Lesbians and straight men, not so much).

bleh
ugh
meh

Soooo, today I'm going to work hard in getting out of my funk. It's going to be a really long day at work -- which will give me an opportunity to NOT eat in front of the TV after work until bed time.

I did get my hair done yesterday -- I went short -- I love it. Here's a picture. Keep in mind, I really suck at those mirror shots -- not really a skill I'm feeling a need to perfect though.

Now that I have cheek bones and a jaw line again I feel good about going short.

Here's to restarting, getting back on that horse, starting over and getting it done!

A day of food in pictures

First off, update on my new position as a Bariatric Coordinator. I kind of love it, and I kind of think I'm good at it.  After meeting with some patients and going to support group there seems to be an overwhelming need for people to know how to organize their day of eating.  I know some of you out there in blogland have had posts where you do this (and I've pointed a couple of patients to your blogs to show them -- not to my blog, because well that would cross a professional line :D). Anyhow, since this seems to be a theme I'm going to do another post -- and encourage you to do the same.  

A couple of my choices are 'do what I say, not what I do' kind of choices. But I'm including it to show I'm not perfect, no one out there has to be perfect -- just mindful.

 So, let's just say I start my day out not perfect.  I'm not a eat in the morning kinda gal.  I know I have to get some calories in to 'rev' up my metabolism.  I also know I'm not supposed to have caffeine (two reasons, - it's a stimulant and it can cause ulcers, especially in people who've had the sleeve procedure). So I have one cup of regular and one cup of decaf, with some low fat flavored creamer.  Another no-no - no drinking your calories.  A little TMI here, the last three days I've been adding Miralax to my coffee...let's say one of the side affects of eating this way is having a bit of constipation -- I'm glad to say the Miralax-latte is working for me.

This is where I do well. I plan all my meals in the morning and pack them away and take them with me.  I think I would have more success during the weekend if I do this then too -- maybe I'll try this weekend.  Yesterday I had to pack extra because we had a support group (are you guys going to support groups? They're so helpful) and I had to take that into consideration.  So at 8am I had ham, string cheese, and half an orange, at 11am I had a stuffed pepper, at 2pm I had some more ham, string cheese, and orange cherry tomatoes and at 5 pm I had strawberries and a protein bar.  Oh, I also pack my calcium citrate and D.

Got home at 730 and I was spent. The family was at the older son's baseball game and I was alone and getting to watch Grey's Anatomy without interruption -- so I did a couple of no-no's here, I ate in front of the TV and I didn't make great choices...I had a bag of 100 calorie popcorn (that I shared with the dog -- another no no -- no feeding the dog from the coach - but I love to watch her catch popcorn in her mouth -- I'm easily entertained). I also had a spoon full of peanut butter and when Jason got home he made himself a snack of really yummy cheese and crackers so I had some too.

Then I went to bed.

My total intake:
1224 K-cals
103 g of carbs (should probably be lower)
86 g of protein (on target)

AND
IT'S FRIDAY! WOOT.

So if you're looking for a blog post idea, I encourage you let us know how you plan your day! I think the information would be greatly appreciated.

Wednesday Weigh In and Stuffed Mexican Peppers Recipe

Starting Weight: 320
Last Recorded Weight 221
Today's Weight 219
Last week, lost 2 lbs
Total weight loss, 101lbs (yeah baby)

Now the fun stuff....I make these yummy stuffed peppers and get this, only 112 k-cals a serving. The kids absolutely love them (they eat two though). I used to make these with rice and tons of cheese, so I scaled it back a lot and added some 'hidden' veggies making them much healthier.

Stuffed Mexican Peppers

1 pound low fat ground turkey (93% fat free)
1 15-oz can of black beans - drained
1 15-oz can diced tomatoes - not drained
1 4-oz can of green chilis
1 sweet onion, coarsely chopped
1 zucchini, finely chopped
1 cup of finely chopped muschrooms
1 package of taco seasoning
1/4 c of water
1/2 2% cheddar or mexican blend
8 red peppers, cut in half length-wise and cored

Ooops, forgot to add the onion to my picture above.... 

 Brown onion and turkey together

 Once browned add tomatoes, chilis, 1/4 c of water & taco seasoning, bring to boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer give minutes. Then add, chopped mushrooms, zucchini and beans. Slice peppers in half length-wise, core them and placed on Pam-sprayed baking sheet.

 Ooops, forgot to put the cheese in my picture ingredients...stuff peppers with turkey mixture and top with cheese.

 Place in preheated 350 oven and bake uncovered for 30 minutes....I kept trying but couldn't take the picture fast enough to see the oven read 30 minutes...so it's a second short of what it should be.

 There's enough meat to have two family meals, so we freeze half for another time

 Here's me -- the cook...you never see pictures of the cook and I love my apron.

I served the family two servings with some pineapple...I just had one, there were plenty of veggies so I didn't have a side. It was so filling! and did I mention only 112 calories.

Oh it makes 16 servings (or 8 for now, 8 for another time).

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 serving (197.9 g)

Amount Per Serving

Calories 112 Calories from Fat 26

% Daily Value*

Total Fat 2.9g 4%

Saturated Fat 1.0g 5%

Cholesterol 19mg 6%

Sodium 220mg 9%

Total Carbohydrates 12.8g 4%

Dietary Fiber 4.5g 18%

Sugars 5.1g

Protein 9.2g