I have a silly song running through my head, very Michael Jackson like, Nutritional Breakdown... Sorry, I guess some folks cannot hear the music, so just hum any old tune you like!

What do I do if I have my own recipe and want to know the calories & other nutritional facts, Brenda?  Lemme tell you one of the tools I use online, and it is cool, as it saves YOUR recipes for you!  Ready for it?  http://nutritiondata.self.com/ -- you have to register your email address, but I don't think I have ever been Spammed by them - so do not worry.

I have analyzed many a recipe - including my cookies for bariatrics recipes!  Putting in common names - like

CAMPBELL Soup Company, PACE, Picante Sauce 

will get you the entire lowdown for this ingredient.  So, say you are making a meatloaf with Pace Picante - which I have made - you can now put in the ingredients, whether they have a brand name of just "lean ground turkey", you will get the entire lowdown on your recipes, so you know where to tweak them!

One of my favorite tricks is using TVP - Textured Vegetable Protein - or soy protein that looks a lot like Grape Nuts (great in meatloaf!)  You are adding bulk, bumping up the protein, without a whole lot of fat - or gluten for that matter.  What is TVP and where can I find it?  I love cruising my bulk foods isle at my local store, and getting just what I need, at a great price (better than Amazon or Whole Foods).  It looks like Grape Nuts, that is what I tell people.  Think of this as a protein food extender - not just a filler!

Sorry, I got so into telling about my meatloaf, I got a little off track.  I am sure you good folks are willing to SHARE YOUR sites, so hit me with your comments!  Let others know your secrets -- it can still be your secret if you share, just think of us here on OH as your BFF's!  

Still got that music running through my head, so I better dance off to the kitchen & start getting my Thai Chicken Bites ready, which can be made with BP2 or Peanut Flour!

Brenda : )~

Hidee-Ho folks!  I am dealing with an overcast Monday, but still seeing a happy, shiny day here in Seattle!  We actually had temperatures over 80 this weekend, followed by 50% chance of rain come the work week... So, what's a girl to do for inspiration?  I go to my OH page & start corresponding with my Peeps.

Why the title?  I'll tell you!  I was chatting with a friend who just splurged on some cute shoes, which made me laugh and feel the need to warn her -- Losing weight will make your feet shrink, so don't splurge too much!  I love shoes.  No, really, I LOVE SHOES!  I got nicknamed Imelda Marcos when my boyfriend saw HOW MANY shoes I needed to donate, before moving in with him over five years ago. I had so many, I literally gave two truck transmission sized boxes to my local women's shelter, and still had a LOT left over.  What he failed to understand with this:  When you are fat, you may have a hard time finding clothing to buy - but SHOES always come in MY SIZE!

Everyone has their, "When I was little" story, so here is mine.  Growing up the only daughter with three older brothers and a divorced mother, I only got one new pair of shoes a year.  My mother would get so angry with me for wearing them out -- I walked everywhere back in those days.  But my mother actually took me to Stride Rite in those days, because I had a wide foot.  I adored getting fitted, "My Princess" was what the man always called me, so I LOVED getting my new shoes!  My mother also adored patten leather shoes on my feet -- the typical Mary Jane style.  When I was angry with my mother, I would go off to my room, put on my Mary Jane's, and get on my bed, butt against the way, and arc my feet back & forth against said wall.  I was mad, mom could hear me in my room destroying my heels, so two birds, one stone.  When I was a teen, I worked, so I could finally have as many shoes as I wanted.  I started amassing many shoes back in those days.

Being fat all my life, and having a mom trying to get by with four kids, I really didn't have a great wardrobe.  Clothing was a pain in the butt to find, but shoes, I could usually find shoes that fit - just get a longer shoe if I couldn't find a wide enough one, there is always a way to find shoes for me.  Maybe it is my way of dealing (in a negative way) with what I perceived as "not getting enough" when I was growing up.  I also figure that is why I like being the center of attention, there were four of us growing up in the same house.  I kind of got off topic, so let me bring it back!

When you lose weight, your feet really do shrink.  I know this, as I have BOXES of lovely high heeled shoes I bought because I could, and never wore while I was at my heaviest.  Having lost enough weight to be able to wear my cherished high heels, I did not factor in that my feet SHRANK!  Talk about cruel and inhumane treatment!  I lost all this weight, let me strut!!!  My friends have already started going through my spare bedroom, where I keep my stash.  Tears came when my boyfriend told me I needed to do something with all my shoes, so I agreed and allowed some of my pretty shoes go to new homes.  Shhh, don't tell him, but I still have two boxes in the spare room, under the bed!!!  I am slowly going through all my shoes, finding which ones can work, and trying to deal with the ones that don't.  The moral to my story, don't be like me & buy too many things if you are planning on losing weight -- WAIT until you have lost to buy all the pretty things you want right now!

Brenda : )~

I have been chatting with a lot of folks on Obesity Help and Facebook, and I keep coming down to the common denominator of most of my conversations: EAT BREAKFAST!

Having grown up a latch key child -- well, we didn't lock the door, but I don't want to admit I was more street urchin, ah heck, I just did -- back to my point.  I had to get myself up in the morning since Kindergarten, and truck myself off to school.  Never being an early riser, I used to sleep until the last possible moment before being forced to hurry off to school or face being late.  This left no time to have breakfast.  I actually remember my nutrition classes in second grade with Mrs. Paganini, and trying to have something in the morning, but I kept finding it made me HUNGRIER sooner.  Duh, I didn't know that is supposed to be how our body works.  I won't blame seven year old me for not knowing, but I hope to help other seven year olds out there (your kids) not go through being the fattest kid in class.

Mrs. Paganini had it going on!  She not only was my breakthrough teacher who got me reading like a lion devours meat, she also made sure her students ATE a snack at reading time.  She introduced me to grapefruit, which took some getting used to, but I used to pick the fruit off my neighbors tree - it hung over my back fence.  We had Early Birds & Late Birds, I was BOTH.  So, I took her reading classes TWICE a day, and learned about actually having food to fuel my brain and body.  I still didn't make breakfast my ritual that it is now, but many decades later, I have yet another thing to go back and thank her for!

Breakfast FUELS the body after a nights sleep, and it will make you want food sooner, but that is a good thing.  I make breakfast my second largest meal of the day, sorry, I still have dinner mentality that may never change.  Anyhow, I usually have a Meal Replacement Shake (anyone guess which brand?  Extra points if you said Chike), usually some fortified oatmeal (flax seed and added protein) and a piece of fruit.  You can also have cottage cheese, eggs, or whatever you enjoy for breakfast, but my point is have a HIGH protein breakfast - hence my double dipping with the meal replacement drink.

I eat about every two hours.  They aren't large meals, but I keep protein in my system so I can do my two hour swims without feeling like I want to collapse.  Okay, another thing, if you have NOT followed my journey, I started out swimming 20 - 30 minutes a day, three times a week -- it took me MONTHS to get to the point I can swim almost 3 miles in two hours.  I make sure my diet is well balanced, especially now with my plumbing rerouted!  I take multivitamins twice a day, various supplements at different times, but I make sure my nutrition comes from good sources.

My very own daughter, Kate, had a weight problem, and I kept trying to figure out ways to help her.  I finally came up with her solution: Meal Replacement Breakfast!  Yup, it was that simple.  I offered to drive her to school in the morning (we live over three miles from her High School), but she needed to walk home after school, getting exercise.  I would make her a meal replacement shake EVERY morning, and she would drink it on the way to school.  This was great for two reasons: She is NOT a morning person & is grumpy to EVERYONE; she never ate breakfast on her own.  Her weight at the start of this experiment was 286 - at 5' 10", she was wearing a size 26.  By the next year, she was down UNDER 200, and working toward 180 range.  She has KEPT OFF all the weight (five years later) and is wearing a size 12.  Before she heads off in the morning for school (she is now in college), she makes herself a morning meal replacement shake -- and I am proud of her for NOT following in mom's footsteps!

Yes, this is Kate, Mini Me, My Muffin to her Tuffin (what she called me as a little girl), and I am proud of my big little girl!

So, what am I trying to get across to all you folks?  PLEASE, make your kids eat breakfast!  It is easier to change habits now, before the weight gets so bad bariatrics needs to be considered.  If YOU don't eat breakfast - START!  It is just a little step in this long journey, so make it count.  Stay Positive!

Brenda : )~

Last Meal Mentality is something you need to banish before deciding to go the Bariatric route, and here is why: There is nothing so unnerving as to be sitting in bed, knowing there are Hershey's Kisses (with Macadamia Nuts) sitting in the closet, and all you have to do is stop listening to the bickering in your head, and go get them.  That was what I did last night around midnight.

The Hershey's Kisses I spoke of, have been in my boyfriend's closet since February of this year.  Who knows if they are even still good?  I won't, because I am trying to deal with my own head hunger issues and do not need to tempt myself into just having one.. two... or fourteen of them.  All of us are told in the seminars that sugar will make you dump, so don't eat it.  I am here to tell you NOT to tell yourself that, but to decide you should not eat them, because they aren't nutritionally necessary to live.

Trust me, after surgery, I tested all sorts of foods, just to SEE if I would get sick.  This is the wrong way to use your tool.  I get a mild dumping from some foods, I get jittery from coffee sometimes, but getting my head on straight is my goal.  If you tell yourself you can NEVER have something, ever again, how likely are you to test this theory?  Me, close to 80%, I think.  Don't get me wrong, I know right from wrong, but I also have an almost sick need to hear the phrase, "I told you so," or the other one, "Nu uh!"  When people ask me the hardest thing about my life since surgery, I tell them it is the voices in my head.

For those worried about whether I gave in and ate the Kisses, I actually woke up at 7:45am and in my head I said, "You made it!"  Oddly enough, I was happy.  My head hunger drives me wonky.  Today, I was busy, and forgot to eat lunch.  How many of you have had that happen?  Well, don't let it become a regular thing, as it messes with your tool.  I strive to have five small meals a day, so about every two hours I have protein.  Don't let having things get in your way, this is your new way to survive, so make time to have a quick meal.  It helps with head hunger - it really does!

I have tasted alcohol since surgery.  I have had sugar since surgery.  I have had caffeine since surgery.  Have I striven for a better diet?  Yes.  If you do not have the deprivation working against you, it is easier to just say, "No thank you" when foods you know aren't nutritionally necessary in your life.  Yup, I have said "No thanks" many times, and sometimes I smile just to myself, and give myself an "atta girl" for not just giving in.  You will find what you really do not need, and you may find things you cannot live without.  Just learn to balance the good with the bad.  If you slip, pick yourself up, and strive to improve your diet the rest of that day. 

One hundred and fifty-five pounds.  That is the amount of weight I was carrying around last year that I really do not miss.  I took small steps to get where I am, and I am enjoying the journey!  Stay positive!!!

I still have a long way to go, but I am getting closer.  When you think you NEED that Hershey's Kiss, just think, "Is this nutritionally necessary?"  If you change the way you think about food, it isn't so tempting.

Brenda : )~

You read the title, I know you are wondering what is going to come out of my mouth next.  Well hold onto your panties, I am gonna tell you!  My back has been a bit angry with me, lower right quadrant, so I brought it up to my primary doctor yesterday in my usual visit.  I laughed and asked her if it made sense that I am losing all my weight in my butt, but my belly isn't shrinking as fast, could it be throwing me off balance?  YUP.

For all who know my maniacal swimming routine, I am shrinking in such wonderful ways, I joke "I have swam my ass off - literally!"  Yup, my ass ledge is GONE.  No more will I have to worry someone would put their drink on my ass shelf, it's gone!  But losing my ledge has left my belly swinging & now my back hurts.  Any guesses to the possible fix?!  Can you say: Consult with Surgeon?! Panneculectomy.  Big word that means no more fat apron.

Yup, my doctor is such a great champion of mine, she yanked out FOUR referral sheets, she told me that one surgeon was great, but a bit of a "douche," HER words, so she left him out.  So, Brendita the Gordita may be seeing if she can get 30 pounds lopped off so she can exercise without stress, and relieve the new back pain.  Who ever thought having a big butt kept them from back pain?!  

For those lucky enough not to have a pannus, that would be that ugly fat apron hanging down onto my lap.  They aren't just ugly, they also weigh a LOT.  My concerns were if I am nowhere near a goal weight, am I jumping the gun?  She said it isn't an issue.  My pannus is so long & weighs so much, this is a serious issue that needs to be addressed sooner than later when I end up with a bad back.  To which I said, "Darn!  You want to cut the one thing off my body I like the least?!"  I will keep folks posted - it isn't a done deal yet, but I am hopeful!

My next question - if my boobs were bigger, would it help my back?  Just kidding, I am not going to ask for a boob job... yet!  The nitty gritty of my pannus is more than just weight pulling on my back.  I actually have to put a sanitary pad under mine, otherwise I get menstrual leakage all the way out to my hip - no kidding.  It mostly happens on my left side, it is embarrassing and just plain gross.  So, if you have similar issues, bring it up to your doc.  Be graphic, it may help you as long as it isn't just vanity.  I have documented (with photos) all my rashes, but my doc says mine is obvious, and will be covered.  Now, if I can just get a surgeon who will agree to make me more streamlined!!!

My panus makes clothing a real issue.  My belly is LARGER than my butt, how rude is that?  My first thought is, "OH MY GOD! I'll have swimsuits that finally FIT!"  My foot issue is also getting me another consult, as I am still in constant pain.  Again, my doc shook her head at the fact I have lost the equivalent of an adult woman, and I am still in pain.  I have mostly given up hope of getting the tendon repaired, I just want the bone spurs shaved down.  I told my doctor that I would be happy to give up my "Parking God, Odin" for pain relief (my Handicap Placard).  I only use it when I cannot find normal parking, anyway.  So, who knows, this may end up being the year I get all my complaints resolved, even the one where my neighbor's cat sneaks through my cat door... Well, maybe not all my complaints.

The moral to my story, if you are pushing through life and making as many changes as you can, others will notice and maybe even help you along the way!  Having a doctor who sees ME, not just my weight, has made me an ally in my struggles.  If you do everything you are asked to do, people will see your struggles.  Stay positive!

Brenda : )~