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 You can read all about it here. Nikki's blog rocks!

Over the weekend I tried a different grocery store (you can read about the adventure here), and did something I never do anymore: grabbed a package without reading the ingredients (insert creepy "Oh No!" music here).

Aldi has a brand called Bremer. I stumbled across their "Homestyle Beef" blah-blah in the freezer section just as I was finishing my shopping. I grabbed the package, glanced at the calories and whatnot, thought I could split this thing into four meals, and tossed it into the buggy.

Tonight I decided to cook up the bag. So I open said bag. Inside contained smaller bags: one with green beans, sliced carrots, onion pieces and diced white potatoes. The second: beef pot roast "dices". The third: a "homestyle savory sauce". On the beef bag the ingredients were listed. Words like sodium phosphate, modified food starch, caramel color stood out like the neon signs that blink on and off in the middle of the night (in a horror movie). I was completely disturbed over "caramel color". Then I looked at the packaging itself, which is what is pictured with this blog post.

OMG! Do you SEE the list?

Seriously. I can't even pronounce half those ingredients. And the length. Holy crap. I saw a recipe for Oreo Cookie Balls that had less in it than I had toes. I just knew none of that stuff would be good for me (in the Bremer bag...I don't know about the Oreo's :P). What I do know is this:

Never, ever, EVER buy anything that has more ingredients than you have digits!

 

Today I tried two new things (well, three, if you include my resistance to the urge to buy a large Breve Latte' with an extra expresso shot).

First, I tried a new grocery store (new to me). I wrapped up at the laundry mat and was going to head over to Meijer and stock up on a few items since I was only a couple of miles away. I also had to swing by Staples to pick up ink cartridges for my printer while heading over there. In the Staples shopping center there's a sign for Aldi. So I figured why not?

The buggies are all chained together and require the buggy pusher to deposit a quarter into the box on the right of the handle to said buggy. I made a face. I was going to have to use that quarter to pay for the parking meter later, I didn't want to to stick a quarter into the stupid box (not that I had a choice). I sighed and stuffed a quarter in the slot, freed the stupid buggy and went into the store.

Immediately upon entering I noticed as a whole it was smaller than your typical grocery store. Maybe a little bigger than 7-11? The entire place was filled with off-brand foods. From kettle chips to milk. I saw Uncle Ben's rice stuff, a Lysol cleaner, but nothing else really stood out. So I thought I'd give it a shot and see what the benefit would be. I picked a 1/2 gallon of milk, egg substitute, a few off brand greek yogurts (I think I know where those will end up), cheese (they did have Baby Bel's, really excited I was!), some crackers to go with my cream cheese, half and half, decaf coffee, couple of frozen food items, kettle chips (they were in front of the door and called my name), lunch meat, blah blah blah. I had  meals at home, this was just a run for fillers and mild munchies (okay..TWO munchies...sue me).

At the checkout I noticed there were only two lanes, customers had to pay for bags (paper or plastic), and the cashiers only put the items back into the buggies after scanning them. Similar to Sams Club. The end of the lanes aren't user friendly, they get clogged up with recycling buggies (again, like Sams). Also, there's no display to indicate how much you're spending, which kind of bugged me because I am watching my wallet.

When the cashier finished with me, I bagged up my stuff and loaded up my car. Then put the buggy away to get my stinking quarter back. Side note: there wasn't a single solitary buggy in the parking lot.

Then I went to Staples. When did they get so cluttered? It's like walking into Micro Center, crap everywhere. I won't be going back there. I like clean, obstacle free shopping. I enjoy displays which get my attention and force me to touch the items in the basket. Cluttering up the entrance and the area in front of the cash registers is, as far as I'm concerned, a marketing nightmare. When I was trying to check out, the guy had me go to another lane. You know, they couldn't even be bothered to remove the crap off the counter so I could finish my transaction. This duded wanted me to fill out a rewards application. Looking back, what I should have said was, "NO, I don't want to complete your application. I don't want two rewards points for recycling my old cartridges. You're wasting my time and I can't see where the hell I'm going!"

Finally, I went to the Salvation Army over on 4th Street here in Royal Oak. I just asked my mom, "When did they get so expensive?" I found three t-shirts which cost me $21 bucks, and I also looked for a winter coat. However, I'm not spending 80 bucks on a wool coat with holes in the pockets and tears in the inner lining. I'm struggling with the whole coat thing because whatever I get, I am not going to be able to wear in a couple of months due to the rate I'm losing weight. In other words, spending all that money on something I will not be able to wear in 60 days doesn't make sense. I might hook up with my cousin and look into hitting the DAV she and her husband go to. Might get lucky there.

Oh, so this picture is from the lot where I parked. Some fool stuffed a nickel into the meter with glue on it. It was wedged in the slot. If you look, you can see the substance on the bottom portion of the coin, on the right. Nice, huh?

That's what they call it on the boards I frequent...a surgiversary. Today marks six months since I had gastric bypass surgery. For the most part, I believe everyone who knows me has been supportive. I also get the feeling a small handful think I took the easy way out. It's unspoken, but the feeling is still there.

Coming to the decision to have gastric bypass was not easy. I spent a year looking into the procedures. At the time there were only two available: lap-band and Roux-en-Y (RNY). I wasn't too keen on foreign objects in my person. Plus, I have read about a lot of revisions (from band to RNY). I certainly didn't want to do this twice. Mom had the RNY, she was successful. November of last year I met with my weight loss doctor for the first time, weighing in at a hefty 354 pounds.

Go to the grocery store and stack up 16 - 25 pound bags of dog food into a shopping buggy. Now, push the buggy. Pretty tough. Now, imagine carrying that around. That was a reality check. I was just over 40 and weighed almost 400 pounds. I didn't clue into it at the time. I was more or less feeling a little desperate I needed to make some serious changes or my health was going to decline very quickly. I was suffering from recurring skin infections, stomach issues, had my gallbladder removed, two attacks of pancreatitis, back trouble, knee problems. One of my doctors also promised me if I did not make an honest effort to make some serious changes regarding my weight, he could all but assure me I would develop diabetes within 5 years. I believed him. At the time my blood pressure had started showing signs of going high.

So, six months of office visits, a half-assed/lame attempt at the gym (it really was lame...I was so lazy), and May 17th rolls around. Day of my surgery. Life just wouldn't be the same.

Everyone looses weight differently. I look like I've lost more than I have because I'm stricken with the curse of being super tall. I'm also not framed like an average woman, something my doctor tells me will always be in my favor. I've lost a total of 101 pounds to date (I wanted to lose 100 by December), and over the last month 11.5 inches all over (see yesterday's blog post). I'm hopeful to have met my goal of loosing 200 pounds by my one year surgiversary date.

I follow a strict diet, get my water in, have my coffee every day, eat my vitamins (providing I'm not in a hurry and running out the front door), I don't go after the things I used to (in other words, I've learned Moose Tracks is NOT a food group all by itself). My back rare bothers me. My knees do, but that's an ongoing situation and with help need to do strengthening to keep from having a knee replacement earlier than I need to. I sleep better, don't gasp for air climbing the stairs to my flat, constantly adjust the seat in my Jeep because my belly is no longer the primary driver, and this next week I'll be buying two more pairs of pants because the three I just bought a few weeks ago are now too big. I have someone to ship them to, so they will get used.

I'm pretty stoked. I cannot wait to see what I look like in May. How fun is this!!

Bad-Ass: so exceptional as to be intimidating.   That's me.   Mark tells me at least twice a week that's what I am while I'm staggering around the training room trying to hit him four times in a row after slipping, weaving...and this week...getting myself punched in the eye.   Lobbing punches doesn't make the bad-ass I am.   This week will be six months since I had my weight loss surgery. Mark had me get on the scale and he took measurements:   I've lost 17 pounds since we did this a month ago...officially 101 pounds since I started this little adventure of mine.   Since last month I've also lost:   4 inches off my abs. 2 inches off my waist. 3 inches off my arms. half inch off my hips (WHAT..ev...ER). 2 inches off my thighs.   Quick: ADD!   Oh. Em. Gee.   Eleven and a half inches in a month.   So with that I humbly admit...   I. Am. A. Bad-Ass!   Woot!!