New Year - New Life!

I had the best winter vacation ever - it was amazing to have energy to have fun, instead of just falling apart from exhaustion. The "food issues" of the holidays were not issues. I still felt as if I nurtured my loved ones - I told each to pick one favorite cookie - and baked four batches - it was amazingly, enough. (Guess I must have eaten waaay too many cookies all by myself in years past! :) I took a breather from the gym in the three weeks before the holiday vacation and discovered that I fell out of my swim suit when I went back! I donated five huge bags of clothes to Good Will. And this morning I woke up to a nice surprise - six months to the day after surgery I hit a milestone - exactly 100 pounds lost! Who-whooo! Feeling terrific.

Christmas Day

Happy. Warm. Laughter. Family. All of the above are what make this day precious to me. Skyping with Rob and Katie. Cooking and eating a big family breakfast with Ryan and Lisa. Cooking a big beef roast with Jim. Cuddling in a quiet house with the animals. Have I mentioned how blessed my life is? Does it show how much happier I look than a year ago? Five months out - 89 pounds gone.

All I Want for Christmas

I think I already have it. Peace in my life. Love. Laughter. My one wish for myself is that my health continues to improve. It is not at all connected to the size of my clothes, but the ease that I have gotten in getting through my days and feeling as if I have something left at the end of it. Food is not worth giving up that feeling. My wishes for others? Rob and Katie: Happiness in the new house and all the "firsts" that are coming their way. Randy: Patience and love. Ryan and Lisa: Patience and hope. Jim: Knowing how much you are loved. Relaxation and good times each and every day. Susan and Glenn: Good health and happiness. Jan: Good days with family. I am five months our from surgery and 86 pounds lighter. Good times!

I'm Thankful for . . .

I have so many, many things in my life that make it good - a week off from work, enough energy to enjoy it, my family, Jim, my sweet pets, my friends - real-life AND cyber, my warm home, my job (most days I love it), a wonderfully sweet class this year, AND 81 pounds gone!!!

Eating Out

Well, I survived a weekend away. I went to Los Angeles for the weekend to see my son and daughter-in-law and see USC get bushwacked by Stanford. It meant eating in restaurants all weekend. Actually it went well. I ordered some soup and a side of spinach the first night, and shared a few bites of Jim's steak. Breakfast was cottage cheese and chicken sausage one morning and a scrambled egg and bacon and fruit the other. Lunch on game day was the trickiest - but I prepared by bringing a string cheese and a protein bar with me. Saturday's dinner was two appetizers - 3 meatballs and a small salad (perfect for a tiny tummy!) I was pleased at my choices. I was even more pleased at how well I coped with all the walking and the steep climb into the coliseum - that alone would have killed me pre-surgery. 73 pounds = big difference!

The Incredible Shrinking Woman

Most mornings lately, I stand in front of my closet and try to decide what might fit today. Many mornings, I change clothes at least twice. A nice problem, to find that you are shrinking! I am rediscovering some old favorites. It would be nice if the weight came off in all areas equally, but I will take any loss that comes my way - no complaints here. Feeling great - down 62 pounds.

Esther (Williams) Hart

Well - I'm closing in on three months past and I have a real victory to report. As some of you know, moving my body (by choice) has never been my strong suit. I own and use (very begrudgingly) a treadmill. Let's just say that I am still waiting for the endorphin rush. Anyhow, two weeks ago I (re)joined a local woman's gym. I have been going to a water cardio class - an hour of fun that lets me forget how hard it is. I hope that my enthusiasm stays afloat. (pun intended) 57 pounds (who-whoo!)

Gone country.

God is great. Life (beer) is good. People are crazy. Don't worry about my sobriety - I'm just another country music fan. My daddy would laugh. 8 weeks tomorrow - 41 pounds. (Hey, life IS good!)

Busy, busy

School has been incredibly time consuming lately. Thursday night was the first time I walked out of the classroom with just my purse. (Granted, I left at 6:00) The paperwork is just awful lately. The next person who I hear making a smart comment about how easy teachers have it is going to get duked out by me. The incredible thing is that I have the energy to keep up with the pace. I am again on my feet much of the day, my knees feel 100% better. I feel like a new person. And I know it is just going to get better. 7 weeks --> 35 pounds.

One month surgeversary

I am finally getting my mojo back. I started school last week, and felt better than I had in a long while. Meals are becoming just part of my day. No more important than going to bed or brushing my teeth. I have been craving vegetables. Cherry tomatoes,spinach, broccoli, romaine. My doc gets you into "real food" at a faster pace than some, but it seems to be suiting me just fine. I am loving the way I stretch out my food dollar - thank God for Gladware and freezers. 32 pounds

Three Weeks Out

I had a great visit to the coast last week. Food was pretty much a non-issue. Jim and I usually carefully consider where we are going to eat. We like to make it seem special. This time I just wanted the peacefullness of being there before the onslaught of school hits. I brought my cooler with emergency food, but actually found good choices to eat most meals out. I can live with this change in my life - just need to make the choice.

I've already "retired" one pair of pants that I wore to work last year to only wear at home status. Three weeks, 20 pounds.

Back to Work (sort of)

Today made my two weeks surgeversary. I am feeling better every day. This week I got to add several new and exciting foods to my diet. Ground meat or turkey, some vegetables, peaches or pears, cheese. My very first meal on this new phase is a dish I've been making for over 20 years. I found it in a newspaper, but lightened it up.

Spinach Casserole
by Marilyn (My all-time favorite lunch for taking to work!)

1/2 c egg substitute
4 T flour
10 oz chopped spinach, frozen, thawed
1 1/2 c. (12 oz) low-fat cottage cheese
1 1/2 c reduced fat cheddar cheese. shredded


Preheat oven to 350.

Mix all ingredients well. Pour into 8 in square pan sprayed w/ Pam. Bake one hour. Makes 4 servings (or 12 if you just had WLS) LOL
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Comfort food. I went to a training for school today. Hence the title. Back for real next week. My principal remarked how good my face looked. I thought it was looking much thinner myself! Very astute lady!

Slow it down

One of the biggest things that I have had to be mindful of this week with experimenting with solid foods is to eat sloowwly. It is very important to take small bites and chew, chew, chew. It can take you 1/2 hour to eat a couple of tablespoons of cottage cheese and 3 or 4 slices of banana. Which should make it really interesting when I go back to work in a week and a half and get a 35 minute lunch. Let's see - do I use the bathroom or check my mailbox? Oh, wait, at the start of first grade, half of your lunch is spent walking them all the way into the cafeteria, showing them how to carry their tray, dealing with the cryer who wants to go home (trust me, there's always at least one.) Then maybe having time to eat yourself. Whew, maybe I need to start eating while I'm walking my kids out.

Wow, and I was trying really hard to block that all out! Anyways, I learned the hard way when I ate a little bit of egg salad a little too fast. It felt like it was stuck and just was like a brick in my new tiny stomach - a very uncomfortable feeling. So - I am really taking this slow food thing seriously. The upside is that the slower you eat, the better things taste. You really notice how sweet and creamy those banana slices are. Cream of wheat is really good - very creamy, a little gritty. Yogurt has a sweet taste followed by that tangy aftertaste. Maybe adding a few new foods a week and eating them slowly will give me the gift of rediscovering how good some of them taste. What a gift!

With apologies to Kraft Foods

I never want to eat plain, sf jello again - but wait .... I don't have to! I went to my doctor today for my 1st week post-op visit and got some exciting new food choices. I'm officially on "soft foods" which includes such things as cottage cheese, yogurt, applesauce, banana, real soup (yahoo!!) such as split pea and lentil (for protein), cream of wheat - there just aren't enough meals in the week to honor them all. Especially when you are eating 1/4 to 1/3 cup at a meal. But amazingly - that's enough.

Other than tiring easily, you'd never know that I had major surgery a week ago. I feel great - my body is moving so much easier - my stiffness and arthritis seem to have taken a giant step back.

So - curious to know what I had for lunch? Cottage cheese and a few banana slices mushed up with a drizzle of sf Toriani coconut syrup. Wonderful!

There's always room for Jello

3 days post-op. Jello is just not my favorite food - I've gotta remind myself to eat. According to my nutritionist, it's extremely important to get three meals. When you are not particularly hungry, you kind of have to remind yourself that it is time for sf jello, vegetable broth and a sf popsicle (my lunch) Oh, well, I always wanted to be that girl who had to remind herself to eat!

I've been surfing the net and have found a few people who have worked on getting WLS meals that are appealing and fun. (after the clear liquid stage, of course!

Here is one of the best. She is 2 1/2 yrs out from surgery and is quite the cook. It is great to know that I can still enjoy food - after all, it has been a big part of my life!

I am feeling terrific. A little sore, but not in pain. I figured out how to get into a sleeping position that I could live with last night. Can't do pressure on my stomach, and I hate sleeping on my back. I discovered that a pillow against my abdomen helps a lot. I am walking on the treadmill every couple of hours - not burning it up, but moving. I'm getting there