KitchenAid Blender Giveaway

Oct 26, 2010

Yoplait sent me a super freaking awesome gift pack recently, including a wicked fantastic Kitchenaid Blender and coupons for Yoplait Smoothie Mixes.   They apparently know that I break blenders.  A lot.

Now, isn't it ironic that the two times I have been to the grocery store, they have been sold out of the mixes?  :x  MUST. BE. GOOD.

Yoplait_frozen_logo-1

Truth is, I already tried the Yoplait Smoothie mixes, and they are delicious. I grabbed these from the frozen aisle the SECOND I saw them in the store months ago.  In fact, it's one of the first ways I have enjoyed a typical yogurt product.  In moderation, as a gastric bypass post op, I had to cut-down on the serving size of this product due to it's sugar content, from natural and real sugar, however... 'sgoooooood.

Serving Size: 1/2 pouch/107g - 8 fl oz. PREPARED
Calories: 110
Calories from Fat: 15
 
Total Fat - Grams 1.5
% DV Fat 3
Saturated Fat - grams 1
% DV Saturated Fat 4
Trans Fat - grams 0
Cholesterol - mg 5
% DV Cholesterol 2
Sodium - mg 80
% DV Sodium 3
Total Carbohydrate - grams 19
%DV Carbohydrate 6
Dietary Fiber - grams 2
% DV Dietary Fiber 8
Sugars - grams 15
Protein - grams 5
% DV Vitamin A 4
% DV Vitamin C 30
% DV Calcium 15
% DV Iron 0
 
 

I just needed a couple new bags to SHARE WITH YOU how lovely they work in my new blender from Kitchenaid, My Blog Spark and Yoplait!  Grocery stores?  Would you please restock?  Because, new blenders?  Rock!  And, this is the first thing that's GOING in it!

Yoplait tells us -

Yoplait® Frozen Smoothies are a quick and easy solution to help you get those important nutrients, plus a whole lot more, and now they“re available in a new, delicious Blueberry Pomegranate flavor!

Each package of Yoplait Frozen Smoothies contains one full serving of fruit (1/2 cup) and only 110 to 120 calories per serving. In addition to containing live and active cultures provided by Yoplait® yogurt, when prepared with skim milk and made according to package directions, Yoplait Frozen Smoothies are also a good source of calcium.

Would you like to TRY some while you wait ever-so-patiently for me to GET SOME and photograph my protein shake-making? 

Taking into account my bypassed belly, and maybe yours --

  • 1/2 serving of the Yoplait Smoothie Mix,
  • 1 scoop of protein powder, to KICK IT UP a notch and give it staying power in my system (likely vanilla)
  • Unsweetened soy or almond milk to blend. 

Mmmmmmmm! 

Found in the frozen fruit aisle of your local grocery store, Yoplait Frozen Smoothies come in four delicious flavors, including: Blueberry Pomegranate, Triple Berry, Strawberry Banana, and Strawberry Mango Pineapple.

Don“t forget to visit Yoplait on Facebook and Yoplait on Twitter and "Like" or "Follow" the brand to keep up with their latest and greatest products. While you“re there, take a minute to link to your blog post on Yoplait's Facebook Page!

Oh, wait, the best part?  DO YOU WANT A PRIZE PACK from My Blog Spark, KitchenAid and Yoplait, too?  Do you want a lovely new blender with a kick-ass Smoothie button?

Leave a comment at THE FOLLOWING LINK to be considered!  Thanks.
6 comments

Doh.

Oct 22, 2010

 I had a 1000 word post written here.  And, poof.  Gone.

That was fun.


3 comments

Rachael Ray WANTS YOU.

Oct 20, 2010

Rachael Ray wants YOU, REGAINERS!

Beth Astic via The Rachael Ray Show:
"Did you or someone you know have gastric bypass surgery and gain the weight back, or even put on more pounds? Have you not followed the doctor's orders...and continued to eat large quantities of food even though it's dangerous to your health? If you or someone you know had gastric bypass and you're still overweight, tell us about it!"

I reposted this via Facebook on my wall, and it's taking off into whirlwind of replies. 

The original poster asked us to post to Rachael Ray's page to ask that we make sure that the show would show both sides of the equation:  both regainers and those who have successfully maintained weight loss.  The topic ticked her off enough because it seems so obviously negative, and BY GOD don't we already get enough of THAT?  (That was my inflection, BTW, she didn't say this.)

I got ticked for a different reason.  I immediately felt stabby because of the implications of the statements.  That those who regain weight after weight loss surgery were obviously doing it on purpose. Breaking rules, I guess you could say. 

"Have you not followed doctors orders?!"  LOOK AT YOU!  YOU FAILURE.  YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED OF YOURSELF.

"...continued to eat large quantities of food even though it's dangerous to your health?"  YOU.  HOW DARE YOU?

The accusatory tone of this simple update makes me want to punch.

I am a regainer.  I have regained.  I will regain again.  It is normal to regain a certain amount of weight.  It is also within normal limits to regain a lot of weight.  I am not stupid enough to assume that it will not happen to me.  It already has.

However, do not tell me that my weight gain after weight loss surgery comes from "disobeying doctor's orders" or intentionally stuffing myself with junk food.  I am aware that some post ops do regain weight from behaviors such as binging, but it's not typically something ANYONE plans to do.

"I think I might be bulimic after my gastric bypass!  That sounds like fun!"  "Binging is wicked awesome!"

Regain after surgery can be triggered medically, physically or for emotional and psychological issues.  Usually, it comes from all of the above, all at once, and the answer is NEVER SIMPLE.

Weight loss surgery does nothing to fix what is broken inside of the morbidly obese person that triggered weight gain to begin with.  The surgery gives the patient a one year get-out-of-meals-free pass, and that is pretty much IT.  After that, weight loss and maintenance is a head game, played by ME, MYSELF, and I.  If the patient hasn't dealt with the triggers of their obesity (such as childhood trauma, abuse, addictions, or other issues) they COME BACK WITH A VENEGANCE.

Do not assume anything about a person's regain until you understand WHAT is going on with them. 

There could be an actual physical problem.  Surgeries do fail.  Complications do arise.  A common issue with roux en y gastric bypass patients is low blood sugar or hypoglycemia.  A common fix to this problem:  EATING ALL DAY LONG.  The result?  Weight gain.  The choice?  Don't eat!  Risk worse hypoglycemia, seizures, coma and death.  (Waves from that camp!)

Most of what goes on internally with a person after surgery and massive weight loss is never discussed, and it's got nothing to do with how many Big Macs they've taken to chewing and spitting in a cup in a McDonald's parking lot.

Others only want to see the New, Improved and Thin and Healthy! versions of a formerly morbidly obese person. 

Post ops who are Before + After Commercial-worthy are typically what the media, potential patients and others WANT to see, so I applaud the RR Show for actually GOING THERE about weight loss surgery and regain. 

Most people who haven't already been down the regain route don't want to hear it, they don't want to know that it is even a possibilty.  Many are quick to point a blame finger at us.  Do not assume it's because "we" are stuffing ourselves with junk.

6 comments

Gastric Bypass - An Apple A Day?

Oct 17, 2010

Gastric Bypass - An Apple A Day?

McIntosh72dpil
Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement.

MM is eating fruit.

I have eaten about a dozen fresh apples since my family went apple-picking a few weeks ago. 

This would not be a big deal for anyone, really, but considering I have had about TWO apples in the last seven years?  It's a BIG. FREAKING. DEAL.

What?  Why haven't you been eating apples?

First and most honest reason is, that since having roux en y gastric bypass surgery in 2004, I was trained to believe that carbohydrates were evil.  Carbohydrates include, fruit.  Fruit was not my friend.  I was extraordinarily cautious of eating any food that was "high" in carbohydrates, regardless of the form.  Fruit = evil.  This was/is drilled into my brain. 

(In fact, one apple put me over the carb limit for the day, on my pre-op diet.) 

Now, here's the thing: fruit sometimes is a problem. 

For people like me with gastric bypass, food like a simple apple can cause discomfort in the gut. 

My first recommendation would be to PEEL AN APPLE and cut it into teeny-tiny pieces when you're first stepping back into the raw fruit world.  I have spent many hours in intestinal discomfort from a non-well chewed RAW fibrous fruit or vegetable.  UN-PLEASANT.  But, as soon as you can handle it, eat the peel:  two-thirds of the fiber, and many of the antioxidants, are found in apple's peel.

Also, sometimes fruits can trigger a blood sugar issue, and we should be of that possibility.  However, eating enough fruit to trigger a late dumping and hypoglycemic event might be physically difficult.

If you eat a half serving or one serving of fruit, you may not have any reaction at all.

Some fruits are more triggering to a roux en y patient than others, for example, raisins, dates, pineapple, fig, dried fruits, melon, FRUIT JUICE and more. 

I suggest checking out the Glycemic Index for Low Glycemic fruit choices, to choose the best fruits for your system. 

Some lower GI choices are, but beware:

Low GI  
Cherries 22
Plums 24
Grapefruit 25
Peaches 28
Peach, canned in natural juice 30
Apples 34
Pears 41
Prunes     29
Grapes 43
   
Coconut Milk 41
Kiwi Fruit 47
Oranges 40
Strawberries 40
   

I now know, watermelon is NO GOOD for my system.  I love it, but, it triggers my blood sugar to react and fall drastically.

International table of glycemic index and glycemic load values

Am J Clin Nutr Foster-Powell et al. 76 (1): 5. (334K)

[Begin manual download]

Some foods can be sneaky!  Like, that watermelon, because we can eat a TON of it before we realize how full we are and then, BOOM!  Watch out for those fruits. 

Here's another resource for learning about GI levels in ALL sorts of foods.

As for me? I'm officially eating LOW GI APPLES. This is a big deal. I have conquered a fruit phobia.

Yes, I see YOU over there saying, "But, you eat lots of simple carbs and you were afraid of an APPLE?" Yes. Because? Apples to me were "sugar" plus potential discomfort.

We all know how EASY it is to eat most non-fruit or non-veggie AND non-fibrous foods after gastric bypass surgery, right?

  • Crackers EASY.
  • Apple with skin? Not always so easy.

This is seven years in the making.  Next?  I don't know.  I will make a valiant effort at keeping up this nightly apple habit for now.

9 comments

Ooh, SPICY! Cinnamon Protein Powders! And, a recipe.

Oct 15, 2010

 

Ooh, SPICY! Cinnamon Protein Powders! And, a recipe.

It's that SEASON! Apples and cinnamon baked to perfection! We went apple picking a couple weeks ago, and I admit, I made a huge pan of buttery apple crisp.   When it's available, I totally pick at the topping, which isn't exactly a good plan.  Butter + sugar + carbs?  Yeah.

DSC_5693

I got to thinking, I had cinnamon... apples.... let's make something healthier?

DSC_5698

Cinnamon-y protein powders?  SURE.  We got that.

Picture 8
IDS Multi Pro Whey Isolate - Vanilla-Cinnamon

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About Time - Cinnamon Swirl

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Apple Cinnamon Shake

Ingredients:

 

  • Directions:  Place all ingredients in the blender and mix thoroughly until the ice cubes are completely crushed.  Spinkle with cinnamon if you'd like.  :)
1 comment

Weight Loss Surgery May Improve Memory

Oct 11, 2010

 

Melting Mama 

 

Weight Loss Surgery May Improve Memory

Posted: 11 Oct 2010 05:12 PM PDT

Memory2 
Weight Loss Surgery May Improve Memory 
- From WebMD, via the annual meeting of the Obesity Society in San Diego. 

This is interesting stuff, even if I can't remember what I just read. 

Oct. 11, 2010 (San Diego) -- Bariatric or weight loss surgery may improve memory, according to new research, which also found no adverse effects on other cognitive skills such as attention or language.

"Just three months after surgery, there was a significant improvement in memory function," says researcher Gladys Strain, PhD, director of research for laparoscopic and bariatric surgery at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, who presented her findings at Obesity 2010, the annual meeting of the Obesity Society in San Diego.

Obesity is linked with a host of health problems, including a higher risk of stroke and Alzheimer's disease, Strain says. Growing evidence also suggests that obesity is associated with problems in cognition.

While bariatric surgery, such as gastric bypass has been shown to be effective as an obesity treatment, its effects on cognition have not been well studied, she says.

All major surgery, including bariatric procedures, includes some risk of cognitive problems, Strain says. Patients may worry about the effects anesthesia has on their thinking skills. Nutritional deficiencies after surgery may boost the risk of cognitive performance problems, she says.

Some previous research by others found that bariatric patients who become vitamin deficient can suffer memory loss and other cognitive problems. 

Bariatric Surgery and Cognition

Strain compared 120 patients who had bariatric surgery as participants in the Longitudinal Assessment of Bariatric Surgery study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, with 60 obese patients who did not have the surgery.

While the groups were similar in age, Strain says their BMI differed, with the non-surgery group having lower, or healthier, BMIs. Most surgery patients had gastric bypass, while a handful had the banding procedure.

Both groups took a battery of computerized cognitive tests at the start of the study and then 12 weeks later, after the surgery had been done.

Strain tested four skills: attention, executive function, memory, and language. Executive function refers to a set of abilities that regulate other abilities, such as being able to think abstractly.

For attention, executive function, and language, "there were no changes during that three months," she says of the patients. But the surprise was the improvement in memory among the surgery patients, an improvement not found in the comparison group.

Memory skills tested including learning, short-term recall, long-term recall, and recognition.

"Postoperative changes may be associated with cognitive benefit," Strain says. A patient may or may not notice the memory improvement, she tells WebMD, as it may be modest.

Exactly why the surgery improved memory isn't clear, she says. One possibility is the resolution of depression.  "Bariatric patients have an increased incidence of depressive disorders and anxiety nd sedentary lifestyles," she says. As they lose weight, that depression may lift, perhaps explaining the improvement in cognitive skills, she says.

She says more research is needed to focus on the exact mechanisms. Ideally, she would like to test patients for longer intervals after surgery.

Second Opinion

The findings are not surprising to Julie Schwartz, RD, a dietitian in Suwanee, Ga., who reviewed the findings for WebMD. She often counsels patients with weight issues.

"Before surgery, people are depressed and anxious, and often their self-confidence and self-esteem are low," she tells WebMD. "Post-surgery, by three months, there is usually significant weight loss."

She notices improvement in patients' confidence and image at that point, as well. Other improvements, such as a decline in insulin resistance, are known to occur, too, she says.

It makes sense that those improvements could improve memory, Schwartz says.

This study was presented at a medical conference. The findings should be considered preliminary as they have not yet undergone the "peer review" process, in which outside experts scrutinize the data prior to publication in a medical journal.

3 comments

marie claire + fit blogs

Oct 05, 2010

 

marie claire + fit blogs

The women's magazine marie claire published an article:  

The Hunger Diaries: How Health Writers Could Be Putting You at Risk 

  • Six popular bloggers advocate healthier living, but are they putting readers — and themselves — in danger?

This article has blown up on Twitter, as the healthy blogging community has lashed out, saying that the article has taken the bloggers out of context and twisted their words around.  

"Then there's the effect on readers. "The sheer number of food images and intense exercise descriptions can be particularly triggering to eating-disorder-prone followers," says Dr. Robyn Silverman, a developmental psychologist in Mount Freedom, New Jersey, whose book, Good Girls Don't Get Fat (published in October), addresses influences on female body image. Silverman worries readers could log on and "push their bodies to the extreme to match the workouts or eating habits of their idols, when it may be inappropriate."

Now, I have to admit, I am not a faithful reader of any of the six blogs they mention in the article, however, I do follow some of the bloggers on Twitter, and will read bits and pieces of what they post.

I find it difficult to read most typical health and fitness blogs, especially those high in "what I ate today" and "I ran ten miles today" posts because I cannot relate.  Simple as that.

If a mom of four, who was formerly 300+ lbs, with dietary restrictions, health concerns, and with a neurological condition started blogging about her fitness regimen, I might take notice.  But, for now, typical "healthy" blogs make me tired.

I live in a different world at the moment.  I may, someday, write more posts about "what I ate today," and about "the miles I ran," but right now?  Health blog posts are so foreign to me, although blogging about health issues, is what I do, and I make a living from it.

This was clear to me, that I did not fit in the healthy-blog community, when I attended a health blogging conference last year and felt entirely out of place.  I went, knowing this, but wanted to do it anyway.  My friend and I called ourselves fatbloggers, because... we were surrounded by young, very thin women.  Our not-so-taut former 320 bodies were a little different than 95% of the attendees at the conference.

Watching women gather around bowls of oatmeal and brown sugar like it was an ice cream sundae?  Sort of turned me inside out.  Partly because I couldn't eat any of what was offered for the breakfast meal, and partly because they were all over it like it was the most amazing food that EVER was, and photos were blogged and uploaded all over the conference room.

I suppose, as a former super morbidly obese woman, my sense of "healthy" or "fit" is much more ... loose?  

I can see how the magazine could identify some eating disordered behaviors from the "healthy" blogs. It's partially the same reason I can't read them:  they are often very regimented, bound by eating rules, calorie counts, numbers, and all sorts of things that I cannot possibly concern myself with.  

And, I eat too much butter, and have an unhealthy love of all things naughty, even though I don't eat them.

I see the food photography, the suggestions, rules, ideas, etc. from typical diet and health blogs and think: "Wait, what if someone tried to emulate this to get the same results?  What if my daughter tried to copy this blogger?" She might, and honestly, there is a lot of bad information out there. 

And then I remember, that in our WLS community, it's much much worse.

Consider what we post.  

Consider our next-to-nothing calorie counts in the first few weeks and months of a weight loss surgical journey. Think about the dieters who stumble on a early post op blog -- just by accident -- and stay. 

Think about how many non-ops read WLS blogs for "thinspiration."  I have non-ops that read THIS blog, not for "diet tips," because, um... I don't really share things like that, but more as a "How Not To Be 320 lbs," or "How To Avoid Having WLS By Watching Other People Live With It."  

But, there are readers that come through, looking SPECIFICALLY FOR "how to eat like a person that has had a gastric bypass,"  "how to chew and spit," + "how to binge and purge," etc.  I get a huge influx of eating disorder-like searches to my blog.  

Considering that many WLS patients deal with eating disordered behavior before surgery, it's obvious that many have issues after surgery with different eating disorder behaviors cropping up.  Compulsive eating, binge eating, and bulimic behaviors are very common in WLS pre and post ops. 

What if a young girl is looking for weight loss advice and stumbles on an early WLS patients blog, or a WLS post op with serious disordered eating, and they are posting about it?  

"OMG, I ate 500 calories today!  I'm such a pig!"  (I've seen it posted.  I could have written it myself about five years ago.)

Very often someone will ask, "What do you eat to maintain your weight?" in our WLS community, and if that person happens to be eating 500 calories?  

Or, "I'm drinking nothing but protein shakes and walking ten miles a day!"

OTHERS WILL and DO FOLLOW.  

If you look "thin," or start posting before and afters, or your weight from the scale, people will ask.  "You must be doing it right."  No.  Not always. There are long term post-ops who will openly state that they eat veryfewcalories a day, and I cringe knowing that some will absolutely try to follow.

On the flip-side, as soon as you don't "look thin," the comments stop.  This is a WEIRD place to be in, just so you know.  If you haven't been public with a weight loss, it's bizarre.  It's got to screw with your head.  Me?  Meh.  I've been up and down, but I am floating in the same range, I think I am just destined to be average sized, so long as I do not exercise hard.  ;)  But, I wonder about really fit health bloggers, and their image... with blogging.  I do.  I'm just not there.  I have no fit...ness.

I bet you that if I, as "MM" announced a fresh weight loss, I would have several people in my email begging for details of my diet plan.  Regardless of what I was doing to GET to goal.  If I told you that I was eating 500 calories a day?  That's a scary thought, a very scary thought.  I realize how malleable the "internet" is, on the heels of being blamed for people making bad choices based on things I post.  If I told you I was on a "liquid diet," you might do it!  And, I will see the searches:  "what kind of protein shake is melting mama taking to loose her weights?"  

When we blog, we usually blog for "ourselves," right?  For our journey?  Right?  Sure, but there comes a point when we have an audience!  To be honest, there are a lot of things I stop myself from posting here on my personal blog, because I remember:  there IS actually someone reading this, besides myself. (Although I do feel like I am talking to a black hole most of the time, which is why most of the Should I Post This stuff gets through.) There are plenty of things I feel like I should go back and delete!

This is what happens with blogs.  While I am all for honesty and the ability to post MY complete truth, I am aware that I am a little bit responsible for what goes out there.  I also feel that adults can make adult choices, and shouldn't make decisions based on what bloggers post, but I know they do.

If it happens in our quite small community -- it's GOT happen in the typical healthy-blogging community on a MUCH larger scale.  People want someone to emulate -- and if you look "good" -- someone is going to try to look like you by doing what you do. 

I don't think the article was very fair... however... I believe it's smack dab in the middle of a magazine filled with anorexic models, which is ironic.

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3 comments

The UPS Man is my savior, Amen. And, I love my broken NIKON

Oct 04, 2010

  The UPS Man is my savior, Amen. And, I love my broken NIKON.  http://bit.ly/ammMbp
0 comments

About Me
24.7
BMI
RNY
Surgery
04/05/2004
Surgery Date
Mar 08, 2007
Member Since

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