I had a recent request for “A Day in My Tiny Tank” post. Today is no better than any other day. In fact it is a good day sense it is not a normal schedule for me. My son has no school since the teachers have conferences and so I took the day off. Mind you I am a very regimented eater on work days so today will be a real test. If you know
So it’s true I’m a numbers girl. In fact it was even made apparent to me at work today when the holiday gift tag on the bottle of wine from my manager said ”To Tracy “Data.” Yes, I loved numbers as a kid. Studied to achieve a math/science like degree. Married a man who loves numbers and even made a child who loves
As promised, I’m going to take you through my Thanksgiving menu. Yes it’s right I did not cook a turkey. By popular vote in my family, turkey was not the wanted beast for Thanksgiving. So what’s a girl to do? So for me food is not the draw of Thanksgiving. Now don’t get me wrong as a child Thanksgiving meant FOOD. And eating a lot of it. Now Thanksgiving means FOOD. And what I’m going to make for my family. I celebrate by cooking for my family exactly what they want!!
Wake up in the morning…. ok I have that song in my head! Twice a week I commute a long distance to my office. I leave way before the boys even think about waking up. I roll out of bed and into my running clothes, pack lunches/breakfasts, and jump in the car. Off to my office where I will run and work for the day. It won’t be at least 12 hours until I am home again. What does this mean? I NEED to plan my food!
So there was nothing all that exciting about this weekend. It was rainy and cold and I spent most of the weekend trying to get warm. Post weight loss surgery it’s hard to get warm once your cold. It almost feels as if your core gets cold and that’s it. The only thing I can do once I’m cold is take a hot shower or tub to get warmed up. Well I found something that helped keep me warm. I got it at the day spa last week. They gave me one during my treatment and I didn’t want to give it back.
Man was it hard to get out of bed this morning! It is so dark now when I wake up. Arghhhh! Lying in bed I thought I am due for writing up what A Day in My Tiny Tank blog post. Not sure if today will be a typical day but it’s random and I will show you what I ate throughout the day for a 12 year post op RNY Weight Loss Surgery girl. Here goes:
As some Mondays can be, it was hard to get out of bed this morning. See what I found in my bed today upon waking.
Like each morning my day begins with…..
One of the most powerful tools in managing your weight is preparing and eating your own foods. I bring my own food to the office. I haven’t always done this.
Here’s what I brought for myself today. See my pretty lunch bag. Today I brought…
I’m working from home today and the boys are home too. So this must mean Bacon for breakfast! Everyones happy. I had 1/2 cup of scrambled eggs and 2 strips of bacon. Yummo!
I’ve had tons of Iced Chai Tea Latte…..
Been having my breakfast when I get to work. Holds me better. I’ll have….
I wanted to share a few things from today: Couch to 5K update, a great article I came across, a new must have and my food journal…
I’ve mentioned before that I have mantra’s that I use throughout my days. These phrases help to drive me through the moments of my day whether I need some extra strength or a reminder or some motivation. I repeat them to myself and they give me strengthen and direction as I move forward. So basically I talk to myself. You may be thinking what’s a mantra?
I’m lumbering through the pile of laundry from our trip. It is my last official day of vacation. I had 3 goals,
And I’ve accomplished all.
Today I was a work-at-home Mom and while I worked I listened to the new album that I got this weekend. I needed some new music. Although this music can’t be considered new, it was new to my music library. Growing up my Dad listened to the Beatles a lot. I can actually sing each song of the Abby Road album in order. So I actually bought the Beatles 1 album. This album is on sale this week on itunes. Only $9.99 for 27 songs. I tend to be a bit stingy with my $$ so it was the price that got me to press the Buy button. I totally enjoyed it today and it was well worth it. I am nostalgically considering buying Abby Road too.
OK so blogging on the weekend has been a wash. But thought I’d post some pictures of my foods during the rest of the weekend as I tried to battle the weekend fat girl. Also I’ve posted some pictures from my walk today. I’ve been needing to add some before and after pictures to the site and I am working on that. I had my husband take a few shots of me today. Thought it would help me as I work on loosing my regain. Always good to see the changes.
So the Weekend Fat Girl (WFG) is something I have been fighting with since I have been refocusing my efforts towards loosing my regain. Not sure I had even been aware of it until I started back on the rules. I am very much on target during the week because I am on schedule and very regimented. Alas when the weekend comes I allow myself to break away from my regiment. Maybe it is because I am more relaxed, with my boys and we are just enjoying being together and eating. Yes we do use food as enjoyment. Let’s put that one on the “need to blog about this” list along with the “Candy Drawer.”
I’m in a good place today as I try to lose the regain I’ve been struggling with over that past 7 years. Well, in fact I’ve been plus or minus the same 10 pounds for the past 7 years. Since, my son was born I have been the “master maintainer.” Unfortunately I wasn’t maintaining my goal weight. As a new mother I lost all focus on my own needs. Thank God for my gastric bypass which blessed me with my tiny tank. With no help from me it prevented me from ballooning back to my previous self. I was living life with disregard for the rules.
So today my scale was at the lowest it’s been in a while. When I woke up I could tell. And so the scale was not a surprise. Now although I am very excited because my goal is weight loss right now, I was also nervous. I have a tendency to get a little cocky or should we say maverick when my weight moves lower. I think “well I could have a little of that.” Now if you are in a maintenance mode I think that is an ok thought pattern BUT I have a goal of losing. In fact I have a small goal to get to by mid September when we go to Disney World.
I do my grocery shopping once a week. Thursday is the day. I head directly to wholefoods after work. I love to grocery shop. I go by myself. And although I don’t wander, I always have a list and I know the store very well, but I do take my time. I plan our food for the week. I always have a meal plan. We do have a regular repertoire of meals but I do try to shake it up every once in a while. Many times I am inspired by the new foods I see each week. I try to plan dinners for the week and we use leftovers for lunches. This approach works for me.
From the very beginning I’ve had certain foods that worked for me and others that didn’t. That is not unusual for almost every weight lost surgery patient I have met. I am happy to say these foods have changed over the years. I was just thinking the other day while I was cutting up an apple that for almost the first 4 years after weight lost surgery I could not even think of eating an apple. I loved apples and I was missing them tremendously. I had tried but the fiber was way too much for me and it was very painful to digest. Today I can eat an apple. Sometimes the entire apple skin and all. It is a food I savor and eat slowly. I am thankful for apples.
So as I try to counter act my habit of grazing and unconscious snacking I’ve instituted some strategies. I’m definitely dealing with head hunger because when I am truly in need of food my body tells me, my head is just teasing me into eating.
You may have noticed that sometimes for lunch I will have a scoop of egg or chicken salad for lunch. In a recent post I talked about how the scoop I had on my plate from the cafeteria was way more then I intended on eating. Well it was. But in fact that day I ate the entire portion as the afternoon past by. My weakness is grazing.
Had a crazy day today. Work. Cleaning. Errands. And then off to Connecticut for a weekend visit with college roommates. We get together each summer with kids. Had a protein shake this morning. A great start to the day. Always holds me. An ice tea with milk. And that was pretty much it until we got to CT and had dinner. Needless to say my tiny tank was not happy with me. Although I ate salmon I ended up with a sour stomach.
“Who’s to say what’s impossible” is a line that I heard in a song this morning on the way to work. Song was Upside Down by Jack Johnson It hit home for me. Funny how songs get us thinking. The lyrics are very uplifting and they got me going today. As I continue to work on getting the scale to move downward I need to remind myself that nothing is impossible. I am in control and I have the tools to get to where I want to be. The music helps!
I know I will be eating out at lunch today for a coworkers farewell. So my breakfast was very liquid. I grabbed a Starbucks Chocolate Vivanno protein smoothie during my commute and an iced tea with half and half when I got to office.
Today for Breakfast I shared with my son a Chocolate Banana Smoothie made with Wellness Resources Daily Protein Powder. I’m trying to track what I am eating to keep a handle on my grazing. Taking a quick picture of what you are eating helps.
