What's on the menu today, RNYers?

Hello Everyone!

Em, good luck on your trip and when you come back I would love any tips/tricks you learn.  In a month, I have to take a business trip to China and instead of preparing myself for all the things I need to be ready to discuss, I'm worrying about my menu planning :)  I totally get your pain on this.  Still, it sounds like an awesome trip and my advice would be to enjoy it.  One thing I know I'm guilty of is that I get so focused on losing weight, I forget why I had this surgery in the first place, to reclaim my life and take more joy in my daily activities.  You've lost over 100 lbs, think how much more fun touring England & Ireland will be without that weight!  I'm really working on trying to see the silver lining every day, so that the scale battles don't define this process for me.  Some days I do better than others (and I'll get off my pedestal now :)

Have a great trip!

Time since surgery: 3 months

B - Yoplait greek yogurt

L - Premier Protein

S - Bonbell

D - Not sure yet, going out with friends, I'm hoping to talk them into sushi!

E - None

V - On track

W - On track

Thanks for the reminder, Dodgergirl!  I am for sure super excited about how comfy the plane seat will be, how easy walking will be, etc.  I am just in such a good routine at home (gym, measuring food, no secret sauces on food that may have carbs, etc.) so that's my only worry.  But you are right - I have to go and enjoy every minute!

You should PM tdbull - I recall that she recently had a trip to Asia (maybe Hong Kong and China?) for 2 weeks and I know she did well!  It's the stuff that's in the food that adds up.  If I cook chicken at home, I know what is in it.  At a thai restaurant, it may have 100 extra calories in a simple spicy brown sauce, you know?  I wish I liked jerky but I can't tolerate the consistency and everything requires refrigeration :( 

Go for sushi!  Yum...yellowtail sashimi and avocado is my FAVE!

You are so right about secret sauces!  They really do add up in crazy ways.  It's tough in Ireland too b/c outside of the delicious guiness, it seems like its all about carbs there.  At least that's how I remember it from last time I was there (which was over 10 years ago).  I do remember having the opportunity to go on some of the most amazing hikes of my life though (I was in much better shape then), if you get a chance to take a drive to the country side I highly recommend it (a little town called Glendalough sp?) in particular.

Thanks for the tips on tdbull, I will PM her.

Sushi is my fave too!  It's funny how much I could eat pre surgery and how little I eat now.  I think the place I normally go to is feeling the financial impact of my surgery the most :)

And here we go....

Breakfast                            Calories                                Carbs                     Fat                          Protein

Yoplait - Greek, 5.3 oz                  100                                11                           0                              13                                          

Lunch

Black Bean Salad, 1 serving(s)     90                           15                           3                              4                             

Hard-boiled egg 1 large                78                           1                              5                              6                                             

Dinner

Chicken Leg -, 2 drumstick            180                         0                              13                           36                          

Snacks

Click Espresso -                                 120                         12                           2                              15          

               

                 

Totals                                                    568                         39                           23                           74      

W&V: never a problem

E: ALWAYS a problem lol   

I am cracking up at "E: Always a problem"!!!

I never thought I would love the gym, but I do.  Crazy, for sure.  Sometimes (a lot of times) I don't recognize myself.

Crazy morning here in Philadelphia - but wow, it is beautiful outside today! 

I had my second follow-up appointment at my clinic this morning and everything is looking good. The PA said my incisions all look good and are sealed, so when I hit 6 weeks on Tuesday she's comfortable with me slowly trying more than walking for exercise and I can do water aerobics! The clinic has two NUTs and the one I had to see today is...a nut. She's so effusive about everything, she makes me crazy. She did tell me I'm doing well, which you always like to hear, and we discussed what I should do to make getting kidney stones less likely (since I'm "prone" to them and this surgery has now upped the chances of getting more). She loved my protein numbers, wouldn't give me a carb number, and told me I could eat 1,000 calories a day, WHAT?! I told her I'm typically getting 600-700 and she said "Good, you can stay there."

I then had to make two stops for a fundraiser I'm running tomorrow night for the Library - 1. a bakery, 2. Nuts to You, a shop that sells...nuts and all manor of bulk candy - I was there for the popcorn. So I then had to drive 45 minutes back to the Library with the entire car smelling of sugar and buttery popcorn. It smelled good, but it actually wasn't the torture I thought it might be.

Time since surgery: 5 weeks

B: 2oz LF cottage cheese, 2oz cream of wheat

S: 12oz Nectar protein shake

L: egg salad made from 1 hardboiled egg and LF mayo, light string cheese

S: 12oz Nectar protein shake

D: 3oz Crock pot chicken (Em and Pam, I had it last night and it was great! Not spicy and my pouch liked it too), 1oz unsweetened applesauce

S: 12oz Nectar protein shake

TOTALS: Calories 673, Fat 13, Carbs 30.1, Protein 107.6

V: on track

E: a walk tonight?

W: working on it - I've been getting up to 64oz the last few days so I'm going to keep sipping!

The NUT did encourage me to try some veggies - since none have passed my lips since my pre-surgery liquid diet. What were your go-to veggies early on?

Yay Anny - for resisting a carful of buttery popcorn and for working on a fundraiser!  That's awesome :)

I am SO glad the chicken in a crockpot recipe was good.  Isn't it insanely tender?  It seems like cooking chicken for 7 hours would make it tough but it's just the opposite!

My NUT won't give carb totals and also advocates 1000 calories.  Um, no.  Yes, they are a licensed professional but as long as I can keep my calories around 600 I will do so.  I do know they will keep increasing but I'm gonna rock 700 as long as possible.  

Hmmm my go to veggies - cooked onions, green and red peppers, asparagus, brussels sprouts (but like 2 of them, and I get gassy lol), a bite of salad here and there. I do sometimes think about how sheltered my diet is and really just protein, with no fruits, and very few veggies, but then I see the scale move and I say eff it!  LOL

Hi Anny,

My go to veggies are tomato's (although I know technically a fruit), asparagus, onions, mushrooms and bell peppers.  I generally cook all of them, although I've started to eat the bell peppers raw with greek yogurt "ranch dip" or "tofu egg salad" to make sure I"m getting lots of protein while I eat them.  I haven't had any issues and I've had a really sensitive pouch early on.  I read somewhere that cucumbers are really hard on our pouches (well the skin in cucumbers) not sure if that's true, but I've avoided them just in case.  Good Luck.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought 1000 calories right now sounded INSANE! Again, I know my calorie goal will go up as I get further out from surgery and I might even need to up it to keep losing, but right now? 1000 calories?! No thank you!

As for the fundraiser, it's my job! I'm the Children's Librarian, but also various other things including the chair of our Development Committee. The fundraiser tomorrow is a Quizzo and Karaoke night that I've been trying to talk the committee into for like 5 years - so I'm super excited it's finally happening. We've officially sold 100 tickets, so I'm pretty excited, now hopefully people will actually sing karaoke and won't think my quizzo questions are lame...

I'm with you on the calories. 1000 calories sounds like WAY too much food! As long as I'm losing well, feel energetic enough and have no nutritional problems, I'll stick with my 600 to 800 cals a day.