The scale finally moved a smidge down to 220.5 ~ It has been creeping up to 221.8-222 so thank goodness it seems to be going in the right direction now. It could just be today though, who knows. At least it is encouraging.. and now I won't weigh myself again until Thursday for my weekly weigh in. I also think I might start doing weekly videos... not sure though. I just feel like I forget so much by the time I hit my month mark... maybe I would be able to share more along the way by doing weekly videos. :)
As I mentioned in my last video, I went ahead and started tracking my food again for the past few days. I downloaded two apps to my iPhone - SparkPeople and DailyBurn. I also checked out their website versions. I used to use SparkPeople for quite a while after I moved out here and started a weight loss program, and it had worked really well for me, so I assumed I would use that one. However with my current eating habits of eating 6 small meals a day, it doesn't really work for me anymore. It does allow you to add custom meals, but not put them in any order you want. So when I look at my page for the day, it says "Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack, Breakfast #2, Lunch #2, Dinner #2. While this can certainly work, and it doesn't affect your calorie total at the end of the day... it just isn't convenient for me.
On DailyBurn, it is set up like this. "Breakfast, Morning Snack, Lunch, Afternoon Snack, Dinner, Evening Snack." This works perfectly for me. It also has two of the features I used to enjoy on SparkPeople - a tracker for glasses of water, and a pie graph of your daily calorie intake that shows you your percentages of fat, protein and carbs for the day. The downside, however, is that these two features are on the website but NOT the iPhone app. Not a HUGE deal, because I am on my computer a lot every day. But if I were away from home, it would be nice to have those on the app. Of course, I can use the web on my phone too and log into the site that way, so I guess it's not a huge deal.
Other things I like about Daily Burn... the food database has been great so far... many foods have pictures, and when you look at your day you can see what you've eaten in pictures. When you add a new food yourself, or your own recipe, you can upload a picture of your own, too. There is also an additional app which costs $2.99 (the regular daily burn app is free) called FoodScanner. You can add this on, and it allows you to scan the bar code on any packaged food, and it will bring up the nutrition info if the food is in their database. So far I haven't encountered a food that was not in their database. If you do, again you can add it yourself including the bar code number, then it will show up for other people who search for it.
I've decided to stick with Daily Burn. It works well for me. I have no idea if I will track ALL the time or not. It might be something I do just when I'm going through rough patches like this plateau, or maybe do 1 week a month so I can check in with myself... we shall see. For now I'll just do it til I don't feel like doing it anymore.
I've already learned something important, which is I wasn't staying as low-carb as I had been in the past. The pie graph really helped me out with that. Yesterday I cut back to less carbs, more protein, and the scale dropped today. Most likely NOT a coincidence, since I haven't changed anything else. Same amount of exercise, same calorie range, still on my period. But it's the first time in a week that the scale went down. So I think I'm on to something here.
I thought since I was surpassing my protein requirements (getting over 100g per day) that it was okay to have a few more carbs. But that obviously was slowing things down. Maybe I'm jumping the gun here, though... one day isn't enough to know for sure. I'll have more to say at my weekly weigh in on Thurs. I'm going to stay low carb and see if things get moving again :)
Showing posts with label helpful products. Show all posts
Showing posts with label helpful products. Show all posts
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Protein Products and Supplements Review
Protein products from the gym, drink tabs, celebrate supplements
These are some goodies we purchased from the cafe at the gym (more about the cafe in the next post)... they looked good to try out!
We got some Muscle Brownies and Think Thin Bars (both high protein) and some drink tabs you can drop into water to turn it into a sports drink.
First let's discuss the Muscle Brownies.
We got two flavors to try - peanut butter and cookies & cream. Ian had the cookies & cream ones, and I didn't get a chance to try them. He said they were a little too sweet for him. I thought the PB one was great, and wasn't too sweet.
It's a little smaller than palm-sized, and I split it in half for two snacks throughout my day. I really think it tasted great. Because of the carb content I would not do these daily, but they are great for on-the-go and travel. I think I'll get some to take on my trip next week.
Here is the nutrition info on the peanut butter one:
Now for the Think Thin Bars...
We bought 3 flavors to try. All I have to say is... BLAH!!!!! They taste so blah!!!!! I would not choose to eat these unless I REALLY needed protein and had no other choice. I like the protein bars I normally buy, or even the brownies, a heck of a lot better. So far I only tried the chocolate one, so in the spirit of experimentation I will still taste the other flavors, and I'll let you know if one of them happens to taste better. But... chocolate is definitely yuck. The outside tastes chocolatey, but the inside tastes like nothing. Blech.
Drink tabs...
Haven't actually tried these yet, but how great!! Turn a bottle of water into a hydrating, balancing, sugar-free sports drink filled with electrolytes and goodness. I will definitely report back on the taste as soon as I try these - but just wanted to share that these exist in case it is a helpful product for anyone. Deifnitely convenient! We bought the two flavors "tri-berry" and "citrus fruit"... they also had lemon-lime.
Now for CELEBRATE SUPPLEMENTS!!!! I went on their website and ordered samples... and samples I got!
I told them the specific things I was interested in and I received all of them. So don't be afraid to be specific in your request!
So far I like almost everything. I tried a TANGERINE flavored iron supplement that a friend shared with me, and that was REALLY good. I have also tried the iron supplement in grape:
Grape was good, but I prefer Tangerine. These do not taste metallic or iron-like in any way. I tried tangerine in 18mg and I tried grape in 30mg, still tasted nothing bad. I still have a 60mg one to try before I decide to place my order. I think I will probably order the 30mg in Tangerine and take it 2x per day, since I tend to be iron deficient. IT DID NOT UPSET MY STOMACH as ALL iron supplements have in the past for me.
The hubs and I split this multivitamin to try:
In our opinions, this one was YUCK. It tasted like vitamins, plain and simple. I'd rather stick to the gummies we have for my multi, and just chew the iron which actually tastes good.
That's my review for now!! I will be sure to review more of the supplements as I try them!
These are some goodies we purchased from the cafe at the gym (more about the cafe in the next post)... they looked good to try out!
We got some Muscle Brownies and Think Thin Bars (both high protein) and some drink tabs you can drop into water to turn it into a sports drink.
First let's discuss the Muscle Brownies.
We got two flavors to try - peanut butter and cookies & cream. Ian had the cookies & cream ones, and I didn't get a chance to try them. He said they were a little too sweet for him. I thought the PB one was great, and wasn't too sweet.
It's a little smaller than palm-sized, and I split it in half for two snacks throughout my day. I really think it tasted great. Because of the carb content I would not do these daily, but they are great for on-the-go and travel. I think I'll get some to take on my trip next week.
Here is the nutrition info on the peanut butter one:
Now for the Think Thin Bars...
We bought 3 flavors to try. All I have to say is... BLAH!!!!! They taste so blah!!!!! I would not choose to eat these unless I REALLY needed protein and had no other choice. I like the protein bars I normally buy, or even the brownies, a heck of a lot better. So far I only tried the chocolate one, so in the spirit of experimentation I will still taste the other flavors, and I'll let you know if one of them happens to taste better. But... chocolate is definitely yuck. The outside tastes chocolatey, but the inside tastes like nothing. Blech.
Drink tabs...
Haven't actually tried these yet, but how great!! Turn a bottle of water into a hydrating, balancing, sugar-free sports drink filled with electrolytes and goodness. I will definitely report back on the taste as soon as I try these - but just wanted to share that these exist in case it is a helpful product for anyone. Deifnitely convenient! We bought the two flavors "tri-berry" and "citrus fruit"... they also had lemon-lime.
Now for CELEBRATE SUPPLEMENTS!!!! I went on their website and ordered samples... and samples I got!
I told them the specific things I was interested in and I received all of them. So don't be afraid to be specific in your request!
So far I like almost everything. I tried a TANGERINE flavored iron supplement that a friend shared with me, and that was REALLY good. I have also tried the iron supplement in grape:
Grape was good, but I prefer Tangerine. These do not taste metallic or iron-like in any way. I tried tangerine in 18mg and I tried grape in 30mg, still tasted nothing bad. I still have a 60mg one to try before I decide to place my order. I think I will probably order the 30mg in Tangerine and take it 2x per day, since I tend to be iron deficient. IT DID NOT UPSET MY STOMACH as ALL iron supplements have in the past for me.
The hubs and I split this multivitamin to try:
In our opinions, this one was YUCK. It tasted like vitamins, plain and simple. I'd rather stick to the gummies we have for my multi, and just chew the iron which actually tastes good.
That's my review for now!! I will be sure to review more of the supplements as I try them!
New Products to Share
Not that long ago I wrote about the new scale we purchased. Well my review on that one is... it sucked. Haha. It was consistent in the store but at home, absolutely not. We couldn't get consistent readings and it was really frustrating.
We returned it and Ian did extensive research on Amazon reading reviews, and we selected a new one to try. Since we are VERY happy with it, it is worth sharing :)
This one is giving us consistent readings. I can step on it 3 times in a row and get within .2 of the same number, usually it stays completely the same. It's working that well for Ian too.
As an extra bonus - it seems to weigh us almost exactly the same as Dr Snyder's office!! We used it at home before our appointment with him and got the same number. Maybe not to the tenth, because we ignored anything after the decimal... but definitely the same whole number. So not only can I be happy that it is being consistent, I can also know it is an "official" weigh in meaning it's the same as my Dr's office :) So this one is working out awesome for us.
It allows you to set up 2 profiles. I am #2 so I hit the #2 button at the bottom right to turn it on and it knows I am 5'5", female, and 27 years old. It uses this to calculate my body fat percentage. What it tells me runs a little higher than the BMI chart. No worries there for me.
I highly recommend this scale if you are looking for a new one!
Now for the best sports bra, ever!!!!!
This is the sports bra I held up in my fashion show video and I hadn't tried it on yet. Not only did it fit me like a glove (in size 16)... it is the MOST comfortable sports bra I have EVER had. Soft, comfy, hit in all the right places, LOVE the low cut neck since I wear v-neck shirts mostly... the venting in the back is nice and cool. Also it has very very slight padding but it's just enough to keep nipples covered well AND it prevents that "smashed-down" look most sports bras give me. Since I'm only a B cup, usually they smash me flat. LOL. I would highly recommend this to anyone!!! The 'removable' pads come out easy in the wash so you might want to remove them yourself.
We returned it and Ian did extensive research on Amazon reading reviews, and we selected a new one to try. Since we are VERY happy with it, it is worth sharing :)
Tanita BF679W Duo Scale Plus Body Fat Monitor with Body Water
This one is giving us consistent readings. I can step on it 3 times in a row and get within .2 of the same number, usually it stays completely the same. It's working that well for Ian too.
As an extra bonus - it seems to weigh us almost exactly the same as Dr Snyder's office!! We used it at home before our appointment with him and got the same number. Maybe not to the tenth, because we ignored anything after the decimal... but definitely the same whole number. So not only can I be happy that it is being consistent, I can also know it is an "official" weigh in meaning it's the same as my Dr's office :) So this one is working out awesome for us.
It allows you to set up 2 profiles. I am #2 so I hit the #2 button at the bottom right to turn it on and it knows I am 5'5", female, and 27 years old. It uses this to calculate my body fat percentage. What it tells me runs a little higher than the BMI chart. No worries there for me.
I highly recommend this scale if you are looking for a new one!
Now for the best sports bra, ever!!!!!
This is the sports bra I held up in my fashion show video and I hadn't tried it on yet. Not only did it fit me like a glove (in size 16)... it is the MOST comfortable sports bra I have EVER had. Soft, comfy, hit in all the right places, LOVE the low cut neck since I wear v-neck shirts mostly... the venting in the back is nice and cool. Also it has very very slight padding but it's just enough to keep nipples covered well AND it prevents that "smashed-down" look most sports bras give me. Since I'm only a B cup, usually they smash me flat. LOL. I would highly recommend this to anyone!!! The 'removable' pads come out easy in the wash so you might want to remove them yourself.
New Products to Share
Not that long ago I wrote about the new scale we purchased. Well my review on that one is... it sucked. Haha. It was consistent in the store but at home, absolutely not. We couldn't get consistent readings and it was really frustrating.
We returned it and Ian did extensive research on Amazon reading reviews, and we selected a new one to try. Since we are VERY happy with it, it is worth sharing :)
This one is giving us consistent readings. I can step on it 3 times in a row and get within .2 of the same number, usually it stays completely the same. It's working that well for Ian too.
As an extra bonus - it seems to weigh us almost exactly the same as Dr Snyder's office!! We used it at home before our appointment with him and got the same number. Maybe not to the tenth, because we ignored anything after the decimal... but definitely the same whole number. So not only can I be happy that it is being consistent, I can also know it is an "official" weigh in meaning it's the same as my Dr's office :) So this one is working out awesome for us.
It allows you to set up 2 profiles. I am #2 so I hit the #2 button at the bottom right to turn it on and it knows I am 5'5", female, and 27 years old. It uses this to calculate my body fat percentage. What it tells me runs a little higher than the BMI chart. No worries there for me.
I highly recommend this scale if you are looking for a new one!
Now for the best sports bra, ever!!!!!
This is the sports bra I held up in my fashion show video and I hadn't tried it on yet. Not only did it fit me like a glove (in size 16)... it is the MOST comfortable sports bra I have EVER had. Soft, comfy, hit in all the right places, LOVE the low cut neck since I wear v-neck shirts mostly... the venting in the back is nice and cool. Also it has very very slight padding but it's just enough to keep nipples covered well AND it prevents that "smashed-down" look most sports bras give me. Since I'm only a B cup, usually they smash me flat. LOL. I would highly recommend this to anyone!!! The 'removable' pads come out easy in the wash so you might want to remove them yourself.
We returned it and Ian did extensive research on Amazon reading reviews, and we selected a new one to try. Since we are VERY happy with it, it is worth sharing :)
Tanita BF679W Duo Scale Plus Body Fat Monitor with Body Water
This one is giving us consistent readings. I can step on it 3 times in a row and get within .2 of the same number, usually it stays completely the same. It's working that well for Ian too.
As an extra bonus - it seems to weigh us almost exactly the same as Dr Snyder's office!! We used it at home before our appointment with him and got the same number. Maybe not to the tenth, because we ignored anything after the decimal... but definitely the same whole number. So not only can I be happy that it is being consistent, I can also know it is an "official" weigh in meaning it's the same as my Dr's office :) So this one is working out awesome for us.
It allows you to set up 2 profiles. I am #2 so I hit the #2 button at the bottom right to turn it on and it knows I am 5'5", female, and 27 years old. It uses this to calculate my body fat percentage. What it tells me runs a little higher than the BMI chart. No worries there for me.
I highly recommend this scale if you are looking for a new one!
Now for the best sports bra, ever!!!!!
This is the sports bra I held up in my fashion show video and I hadn't tried it on yet. Not only did it fit me like a glove (in size 16)... it is the MOST comfortable sports bra I have EVER had. Soft, comfy, hit in all the right places, LOVE the low cut neck since I wear v-neck shirts mostly... the venting in the back is nice and cool. Also it has very very slight padding but it's just enough to keep nipples covered well AND it prevents that "smashed-down" look most sports bras give me. Since I'm only a B cup, usually they smash me flat. LOL. I would highly recommend this to anyone!!! The 'removable' pads come out easy in the wash so you might want to remove them yourself.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
A New Love Hate Relationship
We decided to break up with our old analog bathroom scale. It was not accurate and not very readable. Simply changing how you stand can make it fluctuate 5 pounds or more. I was getting along okay because I was doing all of my official weigh-ins at the gym... but my poor husband was getting pretty frustrated not having any clue where he was at in his progress.
Yesterday we went out and purchased this baby:
We all know that during this process we can hit stalls and get frustrated when we don't see a change. I was particularly interested in having a scale that would show more than just our weight. This calculates body fat percentage and weight of fat, body water and bone mass. How cool! I've never had a scale that did this before. It also has 4 user settings so we can each set up a profile with our height, age, and gender... and it stores our weigh-ins under our user profile. Here was my very first reading this morning:
I did this with clothes on and my phone in my hand (to take the picture after)... this should be close to what I would weigh at the gym except I didn't have my gym shoes on. But sometimes I weigh at the gym barefoot if I am about to go swimming. I will be going back to the gym tomorrow so I plan to weigh at home first in my whole outfit and then at the gym to see how close they are to each other.
At the moment I am a bit frustrated. My issue with home scales has always been consistency - if I get on it 3 times in a row, I expect it to give me somewhat close to the same number all 3 times. When we were trying scales in the store, we did this... and this scale gave me the same # 3 times in a row. However this morning, it's a different story. I got anywhere from 248 to 251. I know in the grand scheme of things 3 lbs is not a big deal, but when you want to know if you lost weight this week, it CAN be a big deal. I think I will just plan on taking the average of 3 times on the scale, but this time I just took the heaviest weight result since it is still a loss from last weigh-in on Wednesday.... I think the biggest problem is our bathroom floor just isn't quite level enough. Maybe I'll try it downstairs in the kitchen and see if that does any better.
Yesterday we went out and purchased this baby:
We all know that during this process we can hit stalls and get frustrated when we don't see a change. I was particularly interested in having a scale that would show more than just our weight. This calculates body fat percentage and weight of fat, body water and bone mass. How cool! I've never had a scale that did this before. It also has 4 user settings so we can each set up a profile with our height, age, and gender... and it stores our weigh-ins under our user profile. Here was my very first reading this morning:
I did this with clothes on and my phone in my hand (to take the picture after)... this should be close to what I would weigh at the gym except I didn't have my gym shoes on. But sometimes I weigh at the gym barefoot if I am about to go swimming. I will be going back to the gym tomorrow so I plan to weigh at home first in my whole outfit and then at the gym to see how close they are to each other.
At the moment I am a bit frustrated. My issue with home scales has always been consistency - if I get on it 3 times in a row, I expect it to give me somewhat close to the same number all 3 times. When we were trying scales in the store, we did this... and this scale gave me the same # 3 times in a row. However this morning, it's a different story. I got anywhere from 248 to 251. I know in the grand scheme of things 3 lbs is not a big deal, but when you want to know if you lost weight this week, it CAN be a big deal. I think I will just plan on taking the average of 3 times on the scale, but this time I just took the heaviest weight result since it is still a loss from last weigh-in on Wednesday.... I think the biggest problem is our bathroom floor just isn't quite level enough. Maybe I'll try it downstairs in the kitchen and see if that does any better.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
New At Starbucks: Artisian Snack Plates
Pulled through Starbucks the other day for my free ice water and saw these advertised. What a great thing! Healthy snacks on the go. Our society could use a lot more of these!! They are called Artisian Snack Plates and (at least here at my sbux) come in three varieties: Fruit, Nut & Cheese Plate, Protein Plate, and Chicken on Flatbread with Hummus Plate.
Any of these would be fine for me to eat, but since I'm still eating such small amounts I went for the Protein Plate. Wanted to give it a try so I would know if it was a good on-the-go option for me. I picked it up when it wasn't really meal time so I actually ended up eating it at home. :)
I thought this was a great option for a (relatively) healthy meal on the go. At 8 weeks post op, this still made two full meals for me. At the first sitting I had one of the 2 cheese slices, 1/2 the hard boiled egg, 1 apple slice and some grapes. At the 2nd meal I had the other piece of cheese, the rest of the egg, the rest of the apple and grapes, and about 1/4 of the bread with the peanut butter & honey spread on it. Threw the rest of the bread away. It is nice to know options like these are out there - along with ALWAYS FREE ICE WATER - great options for road trips, travel, on-the-go, etc since you can find Starbucks almost everywhere now.
I plan to eventually try the other two snack plates also. This one was right in the middle as far as calories. The fruit, nut, cheese is higher (but would also pack more protein) and the chicken and hummus one is lower in cals (also with more protein!)... I'm excited to try them sometime.
If you are interested you can read about the content and nutrition of all three offerings here:
Any of these would be fine for me to eat, but since I'm still eating such small amounts I went for the Protein Plate. Wanted to give it a try so I would know if it was a good on-the-go option for me. I picked it up when it wasn't really meal time so I actually ended up eating it at home. :)
I thought this was a great option for a (relatively) healthy meal on the go. At 8 weeks post op, this still made two full meals for me. At the first sitting I had one of the 2 cheese slices, 1/2 the hard boiled egg, 1 apple slice and some grapes. At the 2nd meal I had the other piece of cheese, the rest of the egg, the rest of the apple and grapes, and about 1/4 of the bread with the peanut butter & honey spread on it. Threw the rest of the bread away. It is nice to know options like these are out there - along with ALWAYS FREE ICE WATER - great options for road trips, travel, on-the-go, etc since you can find Starbucks almost everywhere now.
Full Nutrition Info Available Here
They do make this look so much prettier on their website, don't they?
I plan to eventually try the other two snack plates also. This one was right in the middle as far as calories. The fruit, nut, cheese is higher (but would also pack more protein) and the chicken and hummus one is lower in cals (also with more protein!)... I'm excited to try them sometime.
If you are interested you can read about the content and nutrition of all three offerings here:
Interestingly enough, the Protein Plate has less protein than the other two. Lesson learned.
Hope this has been helpful! I was so delighted to find out about these!
Hope this has been helpful! I was so delighted to find out about these!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
More Things I've Been Eating
I've still been eating a lot of the same things featured in previous "Things I've Been Eating" posts, but I've tried a lot of new things as well.
Hormel White Chicken Chili
This stuff is seriously, SERIOUSLY yummy. Seriously. So tasty. Ian loves it too. Try it. So good! I eat about 2oz with about 1oz shredded cheese.
Wheat Thins Flatbread Crackers
Ignore the tuna salad in this pic - it was horrible and super fattening/oily - yuck yuck yuck. I bought it because the chicken salad was good and reasonable, but this was awful. However the Wheat Thins flatbread crackers are AWESOME. Very thin, and one cracker is enough for my meal with chicken or tuna salad on it (which I am now making at home!) I really love these crackers. I have usually one each day.
Archer Farms Shrimp Skewers
These come frozen, already seasoned and already on a skewer. You just toss them on the grill (in our case the George Forman) for a few minutes until cooked. We have had these garlic ones a couple of times now - really delicious. I do add a little garlic pepper.
They also come in other flavors. We purchased this teriyaki one but haven't tried it yet:
Here is a time when I cooked one skewer, with a small chicken tenderloin on the grill:
It was awesome! I purchased these chicken tenderloins in a big bag. They are frozen and they are small pieces which is perfect for us. I was also happy that when cooked on the george forman grill it stayed moist and tender (a must for WLS patients!)
Kraft 100 Calorie Cheese Bites
These are really handy for grabbing something quick for on-the-go, and for tossing into Ian's lunch box for work. They come in 2 flavor varieties - the 3rd one which I didn't buy is mozzarella with herbs.
Speaking of Ian's lunches, I have been packing his lunch box most days. I usually have to pack 4 meals for him for his 9 hour day at work. This is usually about how it looks:
Small containers of food and an ice pack. Anything that doesn't need to be cold gets put in the separate compartment on top of his lunch box. Another good thing for the lunch box that is very convenient is...
Planters Go-Paks
Ian really likes these and they make a great snack. Also a great grab-and-go.
Peppridge Farm Mini-Bagels
Even with as small as these are, we can only eat half of one, either with some cream cheese or peanut butter on it. Not the most high protein meal, but sometimes you just need something different, and we don't have them every day.
Homemade Flatbread Pepperoni Pizza
This is the very first one we made :) We use the flat-out fold-it breads that I have mentioned in a previous post. This one had Archer Farms marinara pizza sauce but I didn't really like it that much. We used a finely shredded cheese mix (later on started using 2% to cut down on the fat) and Hormel turkey pepperoni, which is actually really yummy. Here's that:
Hormel Turkey Pepperoni
Besides using this on pizza as pictured above (they are under the cheese of the pizza), we also eat them plain along with a string cheese or something. They are pretty low cal and low fat, high proten, so they make a good snack or meal.
Roasted Soy Nuts
These have been a good stand by for me. Higher in protein and lower in fat & cals than a lot of other nuts. They taste good and are nice and crunchy.
Mini Oreos
This is another thing I don't have very often... but when I crave chocolate or am feeling that sweet tooth, I grab just one (and they are really small!) It does wonders. I've had these at least a week and I've maybe had 3 tiny oreos... just knowing they are there makes me need them less, if that makes sense.
First Eating Out Experiences
Now for some eating out!! When we went to Steamboat Springs weekend before last, we tried some new things out for the first time. The very first thing was a stop at Subway on our way up there.
Firstly - they have flatbread now. Score! So we ordered a 6" meatball sub on flatbread. It had provolone cheese as well. It was strange to say no to chips, drinks, and cookies. Not to mention to be splitting a 6" (I remember eating footlongs by myself at one point, although not in the last couple years.)
We opened it up planning to eat 2 meatballs each and when we saw how small they were, we didn't think it would be enough. But it WAS. We each at the two cheesy meatballs and just the tiniest bit of the flatbread.
Also on that trip we tried Wendy's. We split a 5 piece nugget and had 2 1/2 each. We also bought jr size frostys but couldn't eat them because the nuggets made us too full! So we took the frostys back to our condo and had them at a later time.
The jr frosty is small, no doubt. But I can't express to you how BIG they look to me now!! I have to eat it in 2 sittings.
Speaking of the jr frosty, we have pretty much decided that is our ice cream choice for whenever we are out and about and really craving ice cream. It has the lowest cals and fat of any ice cream stuff available fast-food wise.
JR FROSTY NUTRITION INFO
Chocolate - Calories: 150 // Fat: 4g // Carbs: 26 // Protein: 4g
Vanilla - Calories: 160 // Fat: 4g // Carbs: 26 // Protein: 4g
Now with those carbs, I can't have them all the time. But as far as ice cream goes, that is really reasonable. Plus it's available basically everywhere when we get that ice cream craving. So far we have had these twice.
Can I also mention how CHEAP this stuff is?!?! A 5 piece nugget is 99 cents and that was a meal for two. A jr frosty is 49 cents so we can each get one for under a dollar.
Now onto a different kind of eating out - a BBQ at my parents house! Going to BBQ's and summer parties is something we all do. I wasn't sure how it would be. But Ian and I each ate 1/2 a bratwurst with no bun.
For size reference, here it is next to my thumb:
Pretty small - but big satisfaction :) I wanted to have fruit - they had cantaloupe, pineapple, and watermelon.. all of my faves!! All I managed was a tiny 1/2 cube of fresh pineapple and I was done. This sure is different. In the past I would have eaten 2 whole bratwurst with buns (or 1 bratwurst and 1 burger), corn on the cob, chips, fruit, and dessert.
That's it for this edition of Things I've Been Eating :) I have another pizza to share but I will do a whole post on it since I took pics of making it and I guess you could call it a recipe!
Monday, June 7, 2010
Walkmeter iPhone App
I don't know if I would call this a review, as I haven't really gotten into all of the features or anything. But I did want to share this app because I tried it out today and I really really like it. I wish I had been using it since my first walk, especially since I already had it on my phone... but I just didn't think about it and I'm kicking myself now! I wish I could compare and see how much progress I've made in the last two weeks.
Anyway so here it is - Walkmeter for iPhone and iPod Touch.
When I start my walk I just hit "start." It paused when I stopped to take a picture, and then I just had to hit start again, and it kept it all as one walk. When I was finished with my walk I clicked "done", and this is what I saw:
How awesome! I see the length of my walk, my average pace, the distance I covered, and the calories burned (based on my weight which I input in the settings.) If you look at the bottom of the picture you can see I'm on the "stopwatch" screen. Then I clicked over to the "map" screen.
Now how awesome is this. My walk - on a map. It even shows my starting point (the green bubble), and the points where I hit 1 mile and 2 miles. Mile markers! This for some reason amazed me lol.
I then saved this route, calling it Fox Run Figure 8... it makes me think of a figure 8 because I start in the middle, loop to one side, returning and then looping the other side and coming back to my starting point. Next is the calendar screen...
This is another one of my favorite features. It will keep all of your walks on a calendar. You can store a year's worth of walks (or runs!) and look back at every single walk you have done. As you can see above this shows the recap of pace, time, distance, and the name of the route. If I click the arrow for that walk, I get to see all of the stats:
I love that I can look back on all of this stuff for any walk, not to mention that I will automatically have a calendar of all the days I have walked. I also think the graphs are so much fun, seeing my elevation changes and my pace fluctuations. The huge spike at the end was the last couple of minutes when I slowed way down to cool down. I realized I should probably stop the clock before I do that because it probably drags down my 'average pace'. My usual pace was more like 18 min/mile but at that end part was 33 min/mile so it gave me an average of 21 min/mile. It is just going to be so much fun to see how I progress in my walking. I have already gotten so much better in just two weeks. The first day it took me 30 minutes to walk just one tiny portion of this walk and now look at me :) whoo hooo.
I think this app is really neat and I have lots more playing around to do with it but I wanted to share in case anyone else has an iPhone and could benefit from this! I believe it is $4.99 in the app store.
Anyway so here it is - Walkmeter for iPhone and iPod Touch.
When I start my walk I just hit "start." It paused when I stopped to take a picture, and then I just had to hit start again, and it kept it all as one walk. When I was finished with my walk I clicked "done", and this is what I saw:
How awesome! I see the length of my walk, my average pace, the distance I covered, and the calories burned (based on my weight which I input in the settings.) If you look at the bottom of the picture you can see I'm on the "stopwatch" screen. Then I clicked over to the "map" screen.
Now how awesome is this. My walk - on a map. It even shows my starting point (the green bubble), and the points where I hit 1 mile and 2 miles. Mile markers! This for some reason amazed me lol.
I then saved this route, calling it Fox Run Figure 8... it makes me think of a figure 8 because I start in the middle, loop to one side, returning and then looping the other side and coming back to my starting point. Next is the calendar screen...
This is another one of my favorite features. It will keep all of your walks on a calendar. You can store a year's worth of walks (or runs!) and look back at every single walk you have done. As you can see above this shows the recap of pace, time, distance, and the name of the route. If I click the arrow for that walk, I get to see all of the stats:
I love that I can look back on all of this stuff for any walk, not to mention that I will automatically have a calendar of all the days I have walked. I also think the graphs are so much fun, seeing my elevation changes and my pace fluctuations. The huge spike at the end was the last couple of minutes when I slowed way down to cool down. I realized I should probably stop the clock before I do that because it probably drags down my 'average pace'. My usual pace was more like 18 min/mile but at that end part was 33 min/mile so it gave me an average of 21 min/mile. It is just going to be so much fun to see how I progress in my walking. I have already gotten so much better in just two weeks. The first day it took me 30 minutes to walk just one tiny portion of this walk and now look at me :) whoo hooo.
I think this app is really neat and I have lots more playing around to do with it but I wanted to share in case anyone else has an iPhone and could benefit from this! I believe it is $4.99 in the app store.
Sunday, May 30, 2010
Oh Wait... I Had Surgery!
Wow, I think it just hit me that I actually HAD weight loss surgery. I was browsing amazon for books of interest to a post-WLS patient... some are cookbooks, some are dealing with the changes I'll go through, things like that. This strange feeling came over me... now I'm not looking at these things like "oh this will be helpful later on after surgery"... I HAVE had surgery!! I've spent so long (between my first research 7 years ago, and now) researching as a potential weight loss surgery candidate, I don't think it truly hit me until now even though I've been through the pain, I have incisions all over my tummy, etc. I guess it's all flown by so fast that it just hadn't really sunk in.
Part of the problem for me right now is that I am still experiencing quite a bit of hunger. It's a manageable type of hunger, but I'm sad because so many people who have had the VSG say they woke up from surgery not being hungry and never felt hunger until several months out from surgery. I had EXTREME hunger the first several days after surgery... it has calmed down now, but I still feel hungry all day. Maybe my body can take more than the 1 oz of food every 2 hours, I don't know... but I am trying to hang in there because it is at least manageable, and I am hoping when I get to the next phase of eating at 3 weeks, it will get better.
Anyway, so here I am realizing that I AM one of these people who HAD weight loss surgery! This is my life now. It's done. I really couldn't be happier that I've actually gone through with it. I just know this is going to help me change my life forever. I have always been a planner, a researcher... I like to have lots of "stuff" to support whatever I'm doing (like all the small dishes and things I bought)... now I'm moving onto books :)
The other day Sarah and I went to B&N and I looked at lots of cookbooks. I settled on two diabetic cookbooks because they fit the requirements - high protein, low carb, contains all the nutrition info for each recipe. I looked at many and chose the two with the most recipes that appealed to me (the picky eater who hates mushrooms and tomatoes, which people seem to want to put in everything.) I also looked at the various "Biggest Loser" cookbooks and I liked the Family one (if it's kid-friendly, it's me-friendly LOL).
Even though I can't eat solid food for more than another month (boo) I am really excited about these :)
Also, I didn't think I would need the toddler spoons, but a regular spoon just does not fit into a 1oz shot glass (which I'm eating out of right now), so I went back and got the toddler spoons and now life is much easier!!!
In my research on Amazon now, I'm finding there are cookbooks specifically for bariatric patients (didn't see any at B&N)... so I'll have to read all the reviews and try to choose some. It's so hard for me to choose a cookbook from the internet because I like to look through it and see if the recipes appeal to me. But, when I get it all figured out, I'll be sure to post about what books I ended up with and what I'm happy with... I'm also looking at books about dealing with all the physical and emotional changes after surgery. Because hey - I had surgery! And this stuff could really help me! Wow. :)
Today, at 10 days post-op, I am already noticing some changes:
- Going up the stairs is easier than it used to be
- My wedding rings are so loose I can't safely wear them (they might fall right off)
- I'm not getting headaches (used to have them almost daily, have not had one since surgery)
- Smelling food can be almost as good as eating it if you have the right mindset :)
- Eating for hunger and not for taste cravings is a whole new thing, but I like it
- It is possible to have a life that does not revolve around food.
Part of the problem for me right now is that I am still experiencing quite a bit of hunger. It's a manageable type of hunger, but I'm sad because so many people who have had the VSG say they woke up from surgery not being hungry and never felt hunger until several months out from surgery. I had EXTREME hunger the first several days after surgery... it has calmed down now, but I still feel hungry all day. Maybe my body can take more than the 1 oz of food every 2 hours, I don't know... but I am trying to hang in there because it is at least manageable, and I am hoping when I get to the next phase of eating at 3 weeks, it will get better.
Anyway, so here I am realizing that I AM one of these people who HAD weight loss surgery! This is my life now. It's done. I really couldn't be happier that I've actually gone through with it. I just know this is going to help me change my life forever. I have always been a planner, a researcher... I like to have lots of "stuff" to support whatever I'm doing (like all the small dishes and things I bought)... now I'm moving onto books :)
The other day Sarah and I went to B&N and I looked at lots of cookbooks. I settled on two diabetic cookbooks because they fit the requirements - high protein, low carb, contains all the nutrition info for each recipe. I looked at many and chose the two with the most recipes that appealed to me (the picky eater who hates mushrooms and tomatoes, which people seem to want to put in everything.) I also looked at the various "Biggest Loser" cookbooks and I liked the Family one (if it's kid-friendly, it's me-friendly LOL).
Even though I can't eat solid food for more than another month (boo) I am really excited about these :)
Also, I didn't think I would need the toddler spoons, but a regular spoon just does not fit into a 1oz shot glass (which I'm eating out of right now), so I went back and got the toddler spoons and now life is much easier!!!
In my research on Amazon now, I'm finding there are cookbooks specifically for bariatric patients (didn't see any at B&N)... so I'll have to read all the reviews and try to choose some. It's so hard for me to choose a cookbook from the internet because I like to look through it and see if the recipes appeal to me. But, when I get it all figured out, I'll be sure to post about what books I ended up with and what I'm happy with... I'm also looking at books about dealing with all the physical and emotional changes after surgery. Because hey - I had surgery! And this stuff could really help me! Wow. :)
Today, at 10 days post-op, I am already noticing some changes:
- Going up the stairs is easier than it used to be
- My wedding rings are so loose I can't safely wear them (they might fall right off)
- I'm not getting headaches (used to have them almost daily, have not had one since surgery)
- Smelling food can be almost as good as eating it if you have the right mindset :)
- Eating for hunger and not for taste cravings is a whole new thing, but I like it
- It is possible to have a life that does not revolve around food.
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