Eating Better with Soy

Design by Anne Taintor

Not really. I'm not really one frozen entree away from a nervous breakdown but this was funny. We decided that we needed to make changes again. We had really strayed away from eating better. Back in September my husband started a vegetarian diet that he held on to until Thanksgiving when he received a free ham at work. After that we fell right back into our bad habits half the time. The other half of the time we tried to work on our diet by eating more soy products, like Morning Star Farms. Now we are trying to get back on that track. This morning I made soy bacon and sausage with eggs. This evening when we went to Target I bought some more soy "chicken" strips and I'm going to experiment with them tomorrow in an enchilada recipe. I'm going to substitute the soy chicken for the turkey.

The taste of these products is really impressive. My kids eat the chicken nuggets and enjoy them just as much as they enjoy those processed chicken Tyson kind. They have never blinked an eye since I changed us over to several Morning Star Farms products. They fully enjoyed the bacon and sausage this morning with their eggs and even asked for more. I even tested the chicken nuggets on my friends' kids the other night and they too ate them without a question or complaint about the taste.

I'm not getting paid by Morning Star Farms to talk about their products. I've tried them and I like them. I'd like to graduate to the point where I learn how to cook tofu myself but until then Morning Star Farms is my helping hand.

The best thing that has happened lately, besides my daughter getting straight As and my son finally getting it that good behavior = rewards, is that my son finally found a vegetable that he likes. Edamame! Hilarious, everything he likes is soy or tofu related. I'm so happy to finally see him eating something green!!

It's time for a fill. I still haven't had one. I don't know why. I know that I canceled that one a couple of months ago because I had too many activities scheduled that week, but I never went back. I asked my lap band buddy (my friend who was banded the same day) why she thinks I'm avoiding a fill. She said that it was probably for the same reason that she hasn't gone. It's that we want to learn, we need to learn, how to do it on our own. We don't want to always live a life of tightness in order to eat less. We also need to learn control and to eat the right foods on our own.

The truth is that we will never eat like we did before. I will never eat a hamburger again. I will never eat anything heavy or too much for lunch. I will never eat bread and rice again. Even at this level of tightness that's a fact. However I know that I can eat more, later in the day, and I do that. There. I said it. I know I need to stop doing that. I know I need to eat less chips and less liquid calories. If I can do that I can keep my weight down. But I still need to go in for a check-up and to have them tighten me up a notch for an extra kick in the butt.

Also, I need to stay committed to the gym. I need to keep going, even now that the kids are out of school. It used to be so convenient because it was down the street from my kids' after school care. Now that they aren't going there I don't drive right by that gym. So we just joined a newer 24 Hr Fitness gym closer to our house, so that should help make it more convenient. I'm committed to keep up the working out.
I continue on my journey of and goal to do what I should and not what I shouldn't. And I thank you for following me on this quest.

Cut Hair & Working Out Goals

Kind of small, but you get the idea. I cut my hair! I've always been self-conscious of not going too short because of my round face, but this is a cut that always works for me. This time the woman went a little too short. Hair stylists never realize how much my hair will curl up when it’s dry. But I figure it will grow. My hair grows pretty fast.

If I work out today it will be very ambitious of me. I always try to work out on Friday, but I’m always lured away by other things, like margaritas. But today I am going to make it a point to go for at least one hour after I pick up the kids. So I’m putting it out here to make myself accountable.

I’m looking forward to this weekend. I have a lot of writing to do and I’m writing a piece on Girl in a Coma and their new cover album, Adventures in Coverland. If all goes as planned I’ll be hearing them sing those songs Saturday night too.

Working Out and Not Blogging

Here is an updated photo of me, up close & personal.

I haven't been blogging but I have been working out. One week, week before last to be exact, I worked out four times in one week. That's a record!

I took this picture and used it as an updated profile photo on FB, instead of that six year old picture I was still using, and I got a lot of positive feedback. Friends said my face looked smaller. Last weekend I saw some girlfriends who said I looked like I'd lost more weight. I didn't think so but it was nice to hear that.

Maybe the working out is making a difference! I hope so. The bad thing about working out so much is that I blog even less. I know this is the longest I've gone without blogging on here. Almost 3 weeks! That never happens and I apologize!

Onward march!

What else is new? I was gong to blog about how challenging it is sometimes to decide whether or not to have a fill. I never did.

The story is this. I was planning on getting a fill on a Monday but I kept debating if I should because I was going to a big luncheon on Thursday for an organization and both my VPs were going to be there. Whenever I have a fill I have to follow it up with 2 days of liquids and 2 days of soft food. The luncheon was going to fall on one of my soft food days, which means that the only thing I could have on the plate would be the mashed potatoes IF they even served mashed potatoes. That makes a luncheon kind of an awkward situation.

So I was debating back and forth when I received an invitation to another luncheon with all the consulates of the Spanish speaking countries for Tuesday. That did it. I went ahead and rescheduled the fill for another day. Not something I wanted to do, but there was no possible way I was going to pull off two luncheons on the same week that I had a fill.

I thought that this would make an interesting topic for this blog, especially for other lap band patients who could relate. I wonder how they cope with this challenge and I’d love to hear some feedback. But only positive feedback please. I don’t want anyone saying that I didn’t get a fill so I could just eat more. Because technically yes, I guess that’s the reason. I didn’t want to choke on my food in front of hundreds of people. LOL!

My goal this week? Eat better, drink more water, and keep working out and blog more often.

Misery Loves Company, otherwise known as, It's Nice to Work out with a Partner

Image by Anne Taintor

Yesterday my husband joined me at the gym. There's something comforting about having someone join you in your suffering. I don't know what it is but it presses me on.  Of course he was working at around level 10 and I was at level 4 or something (maybe not even that high) and I was on there for 35 minutes and he was on for a whole hour. He glanced over at me at some point, around halfway there, and I was huffing and puffing away like I was the one working out on level 10. He smiled in amusement.

Today my arms were sore and I told him, "Hey, if I'm sore I got a work out."

Misery loves company, or so the saying goes. Usually my husband works out at another gym across town but yesterday he had his workout clothes with him at work so he decided to go to my gym. It was a nice treat to have him there working out next to me, even though we were both lost in our own music.

I also made an interesting observation about myself. I set my iPod to play on "shuffle" and I was not as motivated to pick up the pace as I was when I set it on my "Workout" play list. Around halfway through my work out I set it to that play list and it made a huge difference. The music made me want to move faster and it put a pep in my step. (OK, I know that sounds goofy)

So dear friends, I bid you adieu for the night. It's late and I worked out Tuesday and Wednesday, twice in a row, and my body is feeling it today. I need to get some rest so that I can get up tomorrow and hopefully work out again tomorrow night.

My New Torture Device

Precor elliptical machine similar or just like the one used at 24 Hr Fitness gyms.

I've decided to bite the bullet and start using the elliptical machine. I've been avoiding it all along and I've been trying to run. I even called it the torture device. I've actually made a lot of progress on the running but the reality is, I’m still very over weight and the running is putting a lot of strain on my joints. Someone advised me about this and I know he's right. :)

I think the reason I was so afraid of the elliptical was because I felt that it was harder. I know that it was, because it gives you more of a total body work-out and that was harder before I started running. Now that I've been running for a while and that I went back to try the elliptical it didn't feel as "hard" as before. However, I totally feel like I worked out more! I used it this week and I can feel it in my arms and where my back fat lies.

I took my husband's advice and I'm going to incorporate the elliptical into my work-out. I think the point that convinced me was when he pointed out how well I would work out my arms. After seeing those pictures of my fat arms a couple of weeks ago that was an easy sell.

Once I lose more weight and lose some of this all-over body fat then I will start running again. My husband believes that I will lose more in less time on the elliptical. I hope so!

I Just Forgot the Mammogram...How Convenient!

I turned 40 exactly 3 weeks ago and I conveniently forgot all about my mammogram. Just plain forgot!

Today I came home to find a little postcard with pink flower and a woman on it. I wondered what it was and I turned it over to find that it was a friendly reminder from my OBGYN. Same doctor I've been seeing for the past 17 years. The reminder was for my annual pap smear and then it hit me. "I'm forty now! Dr. Miro told me to schedule a mammogram around my birthday."

Yeah, well the thought of having my big ol'boob squashed up in that torture device just makes me cringe! No wonder I forgot! If you know me well you have to think about that one. Imagine my breasts squashed in that thing. I have a feeling it's going to be very painful. But none-the-less I believe in prevention and I know I have to do it. I know I do. So tomorrow I'm going to call Dr. Miro's nurse to schedule the inevitable.

Now that Odyssey of the Mind is over I hit the gym hard, three days in a row! I ran every day and I'm not even sore. It's amazing. I guess that's my body's way of telling me it's time to step it up! Next week I'm going to move up to the next step of running more than I walk. I will eventually get there!

The Perfect Fill!

I think I'm finally there! I'm pretty sure I have the perfect fill!

I've been really tight, meaning I can hardly get any food down during the day, and I've been really loose, where I was eating way more than usual. I wanted to be just right. I wanted to be tight enough to feel that sign that tells me, "Okay, stop. No need to eat anything else." At the same time I don't want to be so tight that I can only have soup for lunch.

Today was a perfect eating day. I had coffee and a protein shake for breakfast. Then I had some soup and a fish taco, sans the tortilla, for lunch. Dinner was a "chicken" tofu patty and a black bean patty. I had a few tortilla chips as a snack after lunch and I think I'll have a protein chocolate bar as a snack in a bit.

I have worked so hard over the last couple of months to get here. I'm serious! I mean that I have inched my way here .2 ccs at a time! I didn't want to overdo it. I wanted exactly the right about of restriction and I really think this is it this time. I've lost SIX whole pounds since my fill on December 29!

I feel pretty good. I was exhausted when I woke up this morning after two days in a row of running. I'm taking a break today and I'm running tomorrow.

Then there's the balance in my life. Due to all my working out my house is a MESS. I've been too tired to clean. Besides tired I have to get dinner and go over the kids' homework when I get home! I won't have a chance to clean until this weekend, unless I can have the house cleaned tomorrow. Balance between working out and keeping the house clean. That's next on my goal list!

Mama's on a Roll!

Design by Anne Taintor.

This past week I worked out three days at the gym and I walked in my neighborhood once! FOUR days of working out! I’m kicking butt and taking names!

I walked/ran on Monday and I did the elliptical machine on Tuesday. I went back on Friday even though I really wanted to go home. I ran and walked again for 30 minutes and burned 205 calories. Saturday my dad came by and we went walking for 30 minutes and that was my fourth work out day.

So I'm officially on a roll. I worked out two days last week and four days this week. I think I can call that a roll. It was a busy week too! With the kids starting a new after school program and everything else that went on.

I'm actually looking forward to a new week so I can go to the gym on Tuesday! It will be Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday this week. Provided everything goes as planned and I have that packed gym bag in my car.

Having a bag with me really makes a difference. Friday I even changed into my clothes at work so I could just go straight to the gym. No excuses.

This week I will concentrate on doing better logging my food on livestrong.com. I lagged behind in that area. So that’s my goal! Having a lap band doesn't mean that I don't have to watch what I eat and that I don't have to exercise.

One interesting thing I have found about the lap band versus other weight loss surgeries is that since it's more of a control, and not a forced starvation, the weight loss can be a lot slower. That may not work for everyone because everyone is different. Some people prefer that fast weight loss to get to their goal faster. On a good note, since the weight loss is slower my body has had time to go back into place. So sometimes people have seen me and have said that I lost more weight when I really didn't. What they are really seeing is my body reshaping itself.

That's why working out is so important. I need to help my body reshape itself by pushing and pulling it there. On to Week Three!

My Legs Are Killing Me!

Yesterday I went to the gym. My daughter usually has a program called Odyssey of the Mind after school for an hour and it makes it kind of tough to work out. I usually do my grocery shopping on that day. Odyssey of the Mind will be on Wednesday, so I went to the gym on Monday.

Yesterday was also the first day at a new after school program. We hit some bumps in the road at the other after school program with my son, so I decided to withdraw both of them. My daughter is eight and my son is five. They both have a lot of energy and I think this new program will work really great for all of us. They will be attending a gymnastics and cheerleading academy, so they will be using all of their energy. It will also give them 60 minutes of uninterrupted exercise per day. (the recommended exercise time for kids) They have snack time, computer time, homework time and tumbling time. If I really like the school I'm going to add more formal gymnastics classes to their schedule. They get to take the bus from the school to the gymastics academy so they are excited about that.

In addition to all of this, the school is literally down the street from my gym. What does that mean for me? NO EXCUSES! I'll be able to stop in and run for 30 minutes every day after I pick them up. Packing my gym bag every night should just be the norm.

I think I'm just as excited as the kids. On a sad note, I'm feeling my forty years! I ran two days last week and then I took a four day break. I ran yesterday and I am totally feeling it today. TOTALLY! Even my neck and lower back hurt! I feel it all over my body, which is how it should be. I feel like I worked out and that's good.

This week we've gotten away from our regular routine, but I think it will work. Today I'm going to the gym again because tomorrow we are attending a fund raiser for the amazing Maria Palacios, spoken word artist and disability activist. It's a fundraiser for a new wheelchair. If you are in the Houston area come check it out. It will be a night full of art. It will be this Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at Bohemeo's.

Every Thursday I have a bible meeting. I really want to get into the gym on Friday, regardless of anything that may happen. I'm making it a point to work out because I don't want such a large gap in my work out days. I feel it today!

On another note, I also had the lap band adjusted yesterday so I'm on liquids through tomorrow noon and then I have soft foods for the rest of Wednesday. We'll see if that gives me a little kick start on some much needed weight loss. When I weighed in at the lap band clinic I found out that I definitely gained 10 pounds. I can't deny it any longer. I used to say 5-10 lbs, now I have to say, "Yes, I have gained 10 pounds from the weight I averaged the longest." Bummer, but not something I can't fix by being more disciplined and exercising!!

So, what do you have planned for this week? How about trying the 60/90 running technique?