Spiralizing

Has anything in this world ever become as awesome as spiralizing? in my opinion, no.  Now I cannot eat pasta, bread, toast (boohoo :(), or rice, I have had to come up with an alternative.  For me this is spiralizing.  I love my veggie noodles, and feel so healthy because of it.  Last night, I was getting after myself for not losing weight, blah, blah, blah, but really, I am still eating small portion, and am eating healthy portions.  What more could I ask for. I have finally adopted the lifestyle that I have always wanted, and come heck or high water, I am changing these bad habits once and for all.

So back on track, as I always seem to deviate from the original topic... music.. huh what?, right spiralizing.....

This is absolutely amazing.  I bought a spiralizer this week on amazon, and lets just say I was soo excited to get it that, I bought a JumBL spiralizer. Believe me, I wanted a Paderno spiralizer, but on amazon.ca I had to wait 1-2 months.... heck no!!  I am too excited to get it, so I decided to go with JumBL and take my chances (same price), and if it doesnt work out, then I will buy the Paderno.

So yesterday it was due to arrive at my house via UPS (I dislike UPS because I am never home to sign for it lol), so yesterday I waited around all day for it, and had to go out for about an hour... Yup UPS arrived when I was not home.  BUMMER!!!!  So when I got home, I was grumpy.  I really wanted to spiralize last night.  So what did I do? I called UPS and asked if they had my package, and if I could come pick it up. haha!!  Unfortunately they did not have it, followed by me experiencing an onset of new grumpiness.

5 minutes later UPS called me back, YAY!!!! they have my package, and I have 20 minutes to pick it up.  Sorry M, I am leaving, must.... have.... spiralizer!!!!

So when I came home, right to the kitchen, washed it up and began spiralizing.  AMAZING!!! I made a beet spiralized noodle, with Quinoa-beef stuffed green peppers for dinner.  what an amazing combination.

So today I will continue to to spiralize and feel like the world is my spiralized oyster!  Tonight I am having spiralized zucchini beet saute with angus meatballs and tomato sauce.... so stoked

If you want to know more, check out http://www.inspiralized.com/
It is by far the best website I have seen on spiralizing!

Ciao~  If I had a bigger grin, I would be a Cheshire cat!

Getting better but having a down day

Today it's getting to be a little bit better I'm on the journey. There are times when I feel like I'm not doing enough. Some days are better than others and today feels like it's one of those not so good days. Don't get me wrong I am having a great day but I seem to be a little bit more down on myself than normal. In the past week I have been experimenting with my foods have discovered that I really need to focus on not eating complex carbohydrates such as breads pasta and rice.
I have no difficulties in eating these foods but I feel like I am very stuffed and bloated when I eat these foods. To compensate I have been trying almost like a raw food diet or a paleo diet.  I don't follow these diets to a t, more of a reference guide.
My favorite recently has been to use zucchini as a substitute for pasta. I now own a contraption called a spiralizer, which takes a normal vegetable and makes noodles from it. This has been a staple in my diet lately.
I now incorporates confidence and my daily life for example Yoga and walking. Yesterday I was able to walk four kilometers without any difficulties.
Although I still have a long journey ahead of me knowing that I only have 65 to 70 pounds left to lose makes me feel absolutely amazing. My current weight as of today is 209 pounds I recently bought an extra large set of clothing which I had to replace all of my previous wardrobe and a few large pieces of clothing.  Sometimes I feel like we get so fixated on the numbers that we tend to forget where we came from and where we're going previously at three hundred and thirty three pounds I was completely miserable and looking back to where I am now and to where I was and where I come from I realize that I have made such an amazing journey. Sometimes we have to just sit back and realize that we have come so far and just appreciate the changes that have happened.
For the future I'm hoping to just continue to focus on my nutrition getting in on my values such as water protein and calories and just doing the best that I can.  I am proud of my accomplishments and I just hope I can remember this so I don't go back to where I was.
It is my goal once I get low 200 pounds preferably down towards goal to 140 to 150 pounds that I don't ever let myself get about 160 pounds ever again.  I like to think that I'm in this for the long term by changing my habits because I need to be healthy for both my husband and for myself.
This is me signing off ciao.

Doing a little better

so today I am a little better. I am really trying to get more fluids in.  I have to say, thank heavens for peppermint tea.  I would not be able to get the extra 4 glasses in, if I didn't have it.  I drink it twice a day, at 16oz each time.  So although this is not a long post, it is an improvement!

Also, my gallbladder seems to be settling down for now!

Still struggling

I wanted to write today about my experience with my "easy way out". First of all, this has been far from being the easy way out. I am regretting my decision to have had this surgery.
Last Thursday I was admitted again into emergency as I had another gall bladder attack. I am feeling so lonely right now. My M. Is amazing and is always there for me, but I feel a little lonely in the journey today. 
Recently I went to a bariatric support meeting with locals and did not feel very supported. I had intentions to discuss my troubles but found I was defending myself more. I am not sure if I will go again to another. I am extremely grateful I had a good friend there to help defend me because I was feeling frustrated. Ok so back to the topic at hand.
So I am still not getting in my protein or water, and am finding that my body is acting nasty towards me lately. I am getting nauseated and my stomach doesn't "like" the food I give it.
I admit I have fallen off the bandwagon of logging my food, but in part I felt like it was depressing me. I was not getting enough protein or water and felt like it was something else that my nutritionist would harp on. I feel like they just want to hear everything is going well, and when it isn't it seems like I get the response of "well you know you should do x" where x is the thing I am deficient in. 
So recently I have been considering my trend and most days I am still getting under 600 calories. In my research this is not what others are experiencing at my stage. When I asked about the group, they basically stated that I am early and I shouldn't be concerned.
I appreciate their insight, but I felt that I was not hearing what I wanted to hear. To be honest I did not know what I wanted to hear, but I think I wanted some sympathy and reassurance. I felt like my feeling were not validated and what I was thinking/feeling was redundant. Since said meeting, I have been wondering and even being more fearful about my future. 
I am afraid of losing too mich weight, I went on the scale today and lost 2.5lbs since yesterday. I don't think I am in the right state of kind to address these issues. If I cannot wrap my head around these issues, I will definitely seek out help.
One thing I am serious about this time is my dedication to do this right. I want to be healthy forever. I did not go through this radical surgery to end up healthy thin to only regain this all again.  I know people say this early out, but I am dead serious. I even stood my ground with my nutritionist when she tried to get me to do something I clearly would not want to do forever. I am not sure if I was not ready for that addition or the thought was so unappealing that I immediately dismissed it.  I am realizing however that what she recommends is always in my mind.
The big things here, are that I know I am struggling with intake.  This has nothing to do with time or with lack of energy. I have time and I set time aside for my food and water. I am struggling with the physical restriction and side effects. I am able to drink 64oz of water a day, but it makes my stomach feel crappy.  I don't want to do something that makes me feel horrible. Does that make sense?
So my goal for now is to speak with guru jon, my mentor and trainer, and seek his advice. I trust Jon and never feel judged by him.
So until then, rant over.
~ciao

Where I am at

Lately I have been battling some of my inner demons. As always, struggling to get in enough food, and water, this is not something new.  Between full time school and clinical, I am quite tired and am not wanting to spend too much time on preparation.

I am still trying, to get more protein in, as always, but hey, this is really much harder than it looks.

I was recently on one of my bariatric forums, and most people at my stage are eating 600-800 calories, all their protein and water..... I have a little catching up to do.  But this is my journey, not theirs, so lets say I have some work to do.

Awesome though, my bloodwork has come back great.  My cholesterol is really low now, and my live is no longer fatty.  I am so grateful for that. The only deficiency I have right now is, well iron, and Vitamin D.

I swear if a person could not use Vitamin D, I am one of them. I take 3000 IU per day, and it never goes up.  WTF wit dat?!?!? haha!

I am pleased with my bloodwork, as I thought I would be so sick.  Turns out, I am a-ok!

So, time to get back drinking water!!!
~Ciao~

Oh, I updated measurements and photos ;)

Quinoa and Fish

I love this recipe, another quick meal, because well, our lives are like that:

So the ingredients are pretty simple, Quinoa, and Tilapia

Quinoa is a staple of mine lately as it is a great source of added protein, and it does not expand as much in my stomach.  Therefore, it is less uncomfortable and more nutrient abundant.

For quinoa, I use a mixed blend because it had more protein in it.  I do not care if it is organic or not, that is negligible for me.  That is an argument (organic vs. not) for another time

I have tried red, black and golden quinoa, and I currently do not find a difference between them.  I enjoy the different colors, as my dishes look more colorful and appealing that way.

So to cook the quinoa, I always stick to the 1:2 ration. With 1 part quinoa to 2 parts water.  So for my husband and I, I cook 1/2c of quinoa to 1c of water.  I bring it to a boil and then let it simmer until cooked, usually about 15-20 minutes.  I like my quinoa well cooked, so about 20 minutes for me, but really just play with it until you find something you like.

I am not a big fish eater. At all!, but I do try to eat some fish once in awhile.  I really like this tilapia:

It is not too fish tasting and is rather enjoyable.

So here is the finished dish:

Nutritional Information:
Calories: 155
Fat: 3.5g
Carbs: 15g
Fiber: 1.5g
Protein: 15g

As a  side I added fat free tar tar sauce.

Eggs and Meatballs

So today I wanted something quick.  I have to admit, these meatballs are by far the best.  They are delectable, and you will see them in a fair few of my meals recently.  It is rare that I can find something that is high in protein and delicious. 

Nutritional Information for dish

Calories: 148

Fat: 8g

Carbs: 4g

Fiber: 1g

Protein: 16g

So for dinner, or breakfast I suppose, I had egg creations, and 5 meatballs.  On average I can eat 5 small meatballs, and very little of anything else.  There is 1/4c of egg creations with this dinner.  I ate about half of it.

I just put the meatballs in the oven, as per their directions, and scrambled some eggs.  It was a little dry, even with ketchup, but overall it tasted really good.