ObesityHelp

I hate to admit this, but I am sleeping like a rock now and woke up this morning feeling refreshed and non-cranky. It's clearly because I'm not drinking coffee. I am so mad! Last night, made black bean/banana tacos from bakingbites.com and they were such a winner. I modified it by adding squeezed lime and swapping feta cheese for cheddar, and even my 4-year old nephew Emmett loved it! Here's the recipe:

Banana-Black Bean Tacos
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium banana, firm, but ripe
1 15-ounce can black beans, drained
3/4 cup onions (1 small)
1/4 cup cilantro or 1/2 tsp coriander
3/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper, to taste
8 6-inch Corn tortillas
fresh-squeezed lime, for serving
monterey jack cheese, for serving (I prefer feta cheese)
salsa, for serving 

 

Heat vegetable oil over high heat, dice banana while heating. Add banana to skillet and cook for about 2 minutes, until golden.
While banana cooks, dice onion. Remove banana from skillet and set on a paper towel to drain. Add onion to skillet and reduce heat to medium. Cook onion until tender, about 3 minutes. Add beans, cilantro, cumin and cayenne and cook until heated through. Mash beans with back of fork and add salt and pepper to taste.
Place about 1/4 cup beans in each tortilla and top with caramelised bananas, as well as cheese and salsa, if using.

 

 

I am writing about this as a document in case I get addicted to coffee again. Reading back to this post will help remind me why I quit. Today is my 2nd day without coffee, and I hate to say it, but I am feeling better than I have in ages. I woke up this morning with much less arthritis pain! I lost 4 lbs in one day, which must be water weight? I didn't feel as cranky as I usually am in the morning. I feel lighter and more optimistic. This is nuts! Don't get me wrong-I am pining for, longing for a latte, but drinking good-quality tea (Tao of Tea Golden Monkey) is helping.

For the first few months after surgery, I didn't have any coffee at all, but gradually it snuck back into my life. It started with the occasional single latte, which then became a double, which then increased to every day, until finally I was having 2-3 a day just to function, and the doubles were even sometimes triples. I always have my coffee with milk, either skim or 1%, but on the weekends I tend to go nuts and put half and half in it. I am very determined to break my stall, so I finally decided that I need to quit this coffee. It's putting way too many calories into my day, and is too acidic, and I'm too addicted, and it's probably stimulating my appetite. Today my friend Julie said  "(quitting coffee) is torture at first, but then you do feel better without the acidity. And finally you convince yourself that the main thing is just having a hot cup. But you secretly know that it's a load of crap and that there's nothing like the first few sips of a fresh americano. That's really the thing: going too far. All day you're chasing that first-sip feeling, but you just keep feeling worse and it's no use but you do it anyway. Then you get to a point where you can't even sit upright unless you're taking in caffeine all day long."

I bring breakfast and lunch to work every day and it's been a great way to stick to my nutrition plan and save money. Here are some of my breakfast ideas:
Cook up a batch of steel-cut oats and then portion it out for the week. Microwave a serving when ready, and add chopped apple and cinnamon or berries and milk. 
Make a 3-egg omelette, take to work, then microwave individual servings for 3 days. Some of my favorite toppings or fillings are:
-sauteed spinach with feta and cream cheese
-chopped tomato sauteed with a little broth until it's like a sauce, with diced cream cheese
-taco meat and cheddar cheese
Crustless quiche cooked in a pan and cut into individual squares. Some favorites are:
-bacon/swiss (Emmentaler)
-spinach/feta
-leeks sauteed in butter for a long time until they melt, with swiss cheese
Refried beans mixed with salsa, with a little cheddar cheese and a Tbl. of Greek yogurt
1 packet Weight Control oatmeal mixed with chopped up banana

For lunches, I bring either dinner leftovers or soup. I usually make soup on Sundays and portion it out for the week. I try to stick to high protein soups, and usually find a way to sneak in a bunch of spinach for the iron.
Soups I enjoy:
Red lentil/bacon/onion/spinach. Red lentils cook in 20 minutes and are very healthy. 
Black bean or lentils/sausage/kale. 
Borscht, with beets, cabbage, potato, and a dollop of Greek yogurt. Adding sausage or some other meat would help boost the protein.
Pasta e fagiole, with chicken sausage and a handful of spinach. Not much pasta and lots of beans in a rich tomato base
Chicken. One whole chicken plus carrots, onion, and celery. I make it thick like a stew. Sometimes I add whole wheat noodles.  
Green (French) lentil and sweet potato. So flavorful, especially if I carmelize some onions in it. 
Corn/bacon/red pepper chowder. Made with evaporated 2% milk and it's quite creamy.
Here are some cheap/easy dinners I enjoy:
-Buy a roast chicken from the supermarket and serve it with a microwaved sweet potato and/or salad
-Fajitas with either leftover roast chicken or tender steak and lots of peppers and onions. I eat mine without a tortilla. You can really stretch out one steak this way.
-Chicken drumsticks that have marinated overnight in teriyaki. Cook at 450 for 45-50 minutes. They are delicious. Serve with a veggie or salad. Most chicken makes me sick, except for wings or drumsticks. 
-Tofu is my friend. It's high in protein and soft on my pouch. I like Ma Po tofu, which has a bit of ground pork in it  and a spicy sauce. Serve with sauteed kale or collard greens and brown rice. 
-Salmon cooked in a hot skillet on a bed of kosher salt and finished in the oven. The skin sticks to the salt and you peel the salmon off of it. It's juicy and tasty. Serve with sauteed spinach, or cabbage sauteed with a bit of bacon.
-Tuna casserole made with Shirataki Noodles. Have you tried these noodles? They are extremely low calorie/low carb and miraculous. I make a white sauce with skim or 1% milk and add tuna, peas, and 2% cheese, then bake in the oven. Amazingly good.

I'll post more food ideas as I think of them.

I've been bouncing between 183 and 189 for several weeks now and it's starting to depress me. I am diligently tracking my calories/protein and usually get around 1200-1300/day. I am a medical success because my comorbidities are gone and I've lost 69% of my excess weight. I look great, especially considering how I looked last year at this time. I love being able to wear size 10 pants-it feels fantastic. However, I don't want to "settle" for being slightly obese. I want to get to goal no matter what, and I know that the rest is up to me. I am now realizing that this means that I will be on a very low calorie diet for the rest of my life, and that I need to cut way back on the carbs. I know there is controversy on the boards about this NOT being a diet, but honestly, it really does feel like one. Of course, it's much easier to follow now because of the restriction and lack of hunger from WLS, but the fact is, I am on a restricted eating plan, which to me IS a diet.