Enough is Enough’s Posts
on 8/27/15 2:16 pm
My newest favorite is a Gingerbread flavor that I've been adding to ricotta for a high protein treat, and also added to Vanilla shakes. I'll probably get sick of it soon, but it's delish!
on 8/26/15 2:16 pm
I think you handled it well. You pointed out how the post looked from your perspective, but you were not confrontational. And unfollowing is smart, if you think you'd have this feeling repeated. You can always send her a private message later to tell her that you understand she didn't mean for it to be hurtful, but explain why it was.
At my surgeons office we have a common waiting room for the weightloss office and an endochronolgy office. Last time I was there there was an elderly gentleman there with his wife. He started really loudly making fun of the large bench seats. There was a pre-op patient who was there, taking up a full bench herself, and I just wanted to reach out and hug her so hard for having to listen to it.
In this case, the man was 85 years old (he told us that, too) and he was clearly not at a place in his life to be learning new life lessons about kindness, so I didn't choose to acknowledge it...but I have thought if it a lot this week, and wonder if I should have.
on 8/26/15 8:05 am
Yes, I will have to do COBRA for a month :(
I actually pleaded and convinced them to extend my health insurance for a few extra days, just until the 31st (it was supposed to end yesterday). I reminded them of the MAJOR surgery I just had and asked for a few days of grace period to get in some appointments before I start having a major deductible while unemployed.
I am wishing you a tremendous amount of luck and hope that you find something before the inevitable lay off happens. This is NO fun!
on 8/25/15 4:52 pm
Yes, a great app that makes it fool-proof to track everything that gors in your mouth, and also creates graphs to show how your nutrients break down. There is a premium version that does more, but I think the free version is just great for the info I need...
My nutritionist (who is the BOMB, btw) is my "friend" on MFP and she checks in on my diary every few days and makes comments. :)
on 8/25/15 4:30 pm
I would never suggest going against a nutritionist's advice, but I think it would be worth making an appointment and asking some questions. I have a hard time imagining that they would feel more strongly about the 3 meals, than they would about the protein and calories...I mean, that is the part that is "nutrition", right!?!
My breakfasts are not terribly breakfast-y. I have either 2 turkey meatballs, 2 chicken sausage patties, or a veggie burger. With all of them, I usually add plain Greek yogurt mixed with salsa as a high protein "garnish".
If I have breakfast at 8am-ish, I spend the next few hours drinking water, then eat cottage cheese or yogurt at noon. I drink some more and have another few bites of meat or a protein shake at 3pm, then a few more bites of meat/cheese/and veggies at 6:30pm, then drink drink drink for the rest of the night. Maybe I'll have a few bites of SF pudding or ricotta to end the night--but only if I am lacking in protein and need to up the total for the day. I'm really never actually hungry at that point.
Again, don't listen to people on the Internet (me!) over a trained professional, but I can't imagine it would hurt to ask and see how they came to that conclusion and if they are willing to work with you to try some new eating plans to see what works...?
on 8/25/15 4:04 pm
We have this cute little old movie theater nearby that plays classic movies every Monday night. We go almost every week, unless it's something awful :)
The theater has a concession stand right IN the theater, with nachos, onion rings, chicken tenders and other fried food (and beer). Honestly, I didn't eat it most of the time I went pre-surgery (probably because the lines are ridiculous), but post op, I find that I'm really really really bothered by the smell, which I never even noticed before! When I get home, I have to strip off my clothes and shower because the smell of fried food lingers on me in a very noticeable and yucky way. It's the same smell I had on me at the end of a shift when I worked at McDonalds when I was 16!
However, that is not to say that if I ate one of these foods I don't think I would enjoy them. A lot. I'm sure I would! But I think that after 5+ weeks of completely detoxing from sugar and fried foods, I am going to have a different relationship to them, now. It's one of the reasons I don't want to test the theories of moderation. I'm going to count on myself to stick with abstinence and hope the feeling of revulsion gets stronger with each sniff of fried food.
I'm really impressed with your ability to take a few bites and be done. Great work! But next time, maybe you should offer to bring carrots and hummus, just in case! ;-)
on 8/25/15 3:32 pm
I am really sure this is going to be a learning and growing moment for me and definitely an opportunity to reevaluate how much stress I allow in, and where my new healthy habits will fit into whatever new path I choose. No doubt it will be a blessing in the long run :) ...but in the short run, I've got a mortgage that needs paying so...yikes!
on 8/25/15 3:28 pm
OMG! Haha, exact same thing--I "efficiencied" myself out of my position, too! It was a new job created for me specifically last year, and they said I did all of the infrastructure work to make the department successful, so I'm no longer needed. Gee, thanks, right!?
I hope you ended up finding something even better :) I'm starting to daydream of a mid-life career shift into something completely and totally new. Hmm, wonder if I will be brave enough?
on 8/25/15 3:23 pm
Great advice, thanks. I do qualify for unemployment because the job was "eliminated" so first thing tomorrow I am going to figure all of that out. I think I am most scared of the health insurance piece. Being 5 weeks out from surgery feels a little soon to have a gap in insurance but COBRA is SO DAMN EXPENSIVE! But I already found out that signing up for the Insurance Exchange will have a month wait. Yikes.
As for the job hunting, luckily (or not) I was a lay-off of 1--small educational non profit...so no crazy competition, and a good time to be looking for jobs in education. But I'm still scared and kind of speechless.
on 8/25/15 2:29 pm
I've spent a few posts dedicated to talking about my stressful job and how I wasn't sure how I'd handle coming back. I took a full month off and just went back last week. It was stressful, but I was just getting a handle on it. Boy I wished I could have more time, though.
Then today...surprise...laid off! OMG. I've never been laid off before! I have no idea what to do next. Eek.
But in the trend of the good decisions I've been making this month, I came home and went for a 2 mile fast walk that got me sweating. Didn't even occur to me to eat my way through it :)
Let's hope I can keep that up, as I go through the process of reinventing myself through the job search process...
on 8/25/15 2:20 pm
I'm 5 weeks out, too and that's definitely more than I'm eating. How does it add up for protein, calories, carbs and fat?
I get in about 70-90g protein and 600 calories. I'm still figuring out the right balance of carbs and fat for me.
I'd also try to cut out the oatmeal, fruit, and potato and add more lean meats. If it's not high protein, get rid of it!
And try 6 teeny high protein meals--I'm not hungry when I schedule that appropriately!
on 8/23/15 7:06 am
Yep. I hit a stall last week, 1lb before I move from obese to overweight. Thanks, body!
But I still think you should announce your goal, anyway. What's an ounce in comparison to the proud feeling you'd get from telling people?
Have fun and hopefully it will show up on the scale tomorrow!
on 8/21/15 7:45 pm
Great post, Felicity. I like to use the same strategy to work through tough decisons and I think you are exactly right in your analysis :)
on 8/21/15 12:56 pm, edited 8/21/15 8:24 pm
Hi Karen, I know you have seen me post about how happy I am for my revision, but really...so happy!!
I wondered, too, if I was just setting myself up for more drama. I couldn't wrap my head around how RNY would work without making me sick, like the band did. Everytime I would go to a support group meeting I'd ask an RNY post-op "What does it feel like when you are full?" and they'd look at me like I had three heads and say, "I don't know...I just feel full." But for me feeling full never happened--I just threw up and felt miserable all the time.
So, I'm here tonight feeling very full and satisfied after a few bites of chicken. Here is what I know: a.) I could never have eaten this with the band in and b.) if I had the band removed and no revision, I would not be feeling satisfied and full.
You know your body better than anyone else, so this is entirely your own decision to make, but I just wanted to make sure that I tell you how happy I am that I made the choice to revise to the RNY, for myself.
on 8/21/15 5:22 am
Hello, I am just under 5 weeks out from my revision surgery from Band to Bypass and I couldn't be happier. My complications were typical--frequent vomiting, dysphasia, and severe reflux. It was so very hard to eat those dense proteins and follow the rules to lose weight. I managed to keep off the majority of the weight I lost, but it was hard, and not a very healthy way to live.
I felt the difference between the two surgeries within hours. I could swallow without pain and discomfort, immediately! And now that I am meeting more solid foods, I am finding how much easier it is to eat healthy. I did a serious happy dance yesterday morning when I ate eggs and shredded chicken for breakfast with NO issues. Felt like a miracle. Now when I am full I know because I feel full, not because I start filling with phlegm and vomit for hours.
Those are the pros! Cons...? Can't think of one, yet!
I can't say anything about insurance. My surgeon was a rock-star and managed to get it approved--one denial, but got it through pretty quickly. But every insurance company is very different and has different rules.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you...
on 8/20/15 5:57 pm
Hi all, I posted a few weeks ago that I was worried about what seemed like an unusually rapid heart rate right after surgery. I called my doctor and they said to wait, and not to worry...it was probably my body's reaction to pain/healing, and to make sure I was getting in my fluids.
But it's gotten worse, and today at my follow up appointments everyone got really concerned. So they made me an emergency appointment with a cardiologist tomorrow.
I'm only 41 but I have a family history of hearts giving out early and without warning, so I'm scared. I never had even an inkling of a heart problem before surgery, though.
Did anyone else develop tachycardia after surgery? Any questions you think I should ask the cardiologist? Thanks.
on 8/18/15 11:02 am
Woot, woot!
As of the morning I am 2 stinking pounds away from overweight, and I can't wait to join you!
on 8/18/15 10:01 am
Sounds like you should get a bag of fluids, no matter what. Do you have a walk-in clinic you can go to, to avoid the ER?
Hopefully getting rehydrated could at least stop the vomiting--you are so early out for risk of hurting your insides when throwing up--I'm very surprised that with these symptoms they aren't seeing you ASAP :(
Hang in there and be well!
on 8/17/15 4:28 pm
Today was my first day back to work. Boy was that tough. I'm totally exhausted, could barely eat and found that I barely got in any steps, even though I made a lot of efforts to get up from the desk and walk around. I'm not usually at my desk--I'm usually out on the road visiting school sites, so this was unusual, but still surprising how sedentary those desk days really are...
I barely choked down my food today, but I forced it:
B: 1 scrambled egg
L: 1 turkey meatball with plain Greek yogurt and salsa
D: 1/4 c shredded turkey with refried beans
S: 1/2 c plain Greek yogurt with 1/2 scoop Unjury chocolate
8 cups water
on 8/17/15 3:00 pm
I'm week 4 and still on mushies...although the sample diet that came home with still has protein shakes on it, I'm mostly off them. I found that I was losing faster on "real" food, and I'm not having any problems getting all my protein in, with 6 teeny meals of eggs, tuna, salmon, shredded chicken, yogurt and Greek yogurt. I also noticed that carbs and calories were higher with shakes.
Like you, I'm a revision and my weight loss is going slow, which is why I'm doing whatever it takes to get it going faster!
on 8/17/15 3:22 am
When I had my LapBand in 2009, I was really annoyed at first when no one said anything, at work, but once someone noticed, the comments wouldn't stop and I really wished we could go back to SHUTTING UP about my appearance every day!
Here is how it started: one day day a coworker came up and was talking to me, when in mid-sentence she stopped a looked at me like she was really seeing me for the first time. She practically shouted, "OMG, you lost SO much weight! Really, like a TON of weight!" I was 1/2 flattered because it was finally the acknowledgement I was waiting for, and 1/2 mortified because of her indelicacy in announcing it so rudely.
I guess that gave permission for the others to comment, because after a few minutes I was holding court with a large group who were asking all sorts of invasive questions. It never stopped, either. Lunch in the break room was miserable, because suddenly what I was eating was the main topic of conversation every day... I wanted to hide under a rock.
This morning I am returning back to another job, after a month off for revision to RNY. I've lost less weight, but I started at a much lower BMI, this time, so I think it's pretty noticeable. Plus I work in a very nosy, all female office... So this time, instead of looking forward to people noticing, I'm kind of bracing myself for the attention and practicing my snarky "thanks but shut-up" responses in my head.
Good luck--I hope it goes well and you are faced with all the right amount of attention!
