The first thing I did was look up the menu online. Even their salads had a lot of honey-bbq flavorings that I am avoiding on the Whole30 plan. But, one salad stood out. It's called the Watermelon wedge salad. It has wedges of ripe watermelon, goat cheese, sliced red onion, carrot, arugula, chili oil and drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette. Sticking to the Whole30 plan, I ordered it without the goat cheese.
I went out to dinner with my fiance and friends last night. I was a little nervous because they wanted to go to a BBQ place that no doubt had plenty of sugar-filled sauces on their meats. The first thing I did was look up the menu online. Even their salads had a lot of honey-bbq flavorings that I am avoiding on the Whole30 plan. But, one salad stood out. It's called the Watermelon wedge salad. It has wedges of ripe watermelon, goat cheese, sliced red onion, carrot, arugula, chili oil and drizzled with a balsamic vinaigrette. Sticking to the Whole30 plan, I ordered it without the goat cheese. It was so delicious! It came with 4 large wedges of fresh watermelon. On top of that was the arugula, onions and carrots. Then it was drizzled with a chili oil and balsamic vinaigrette. I also had a bite of Brisket sans BBQ sauce. My Lap-Band kicked-in after only one wedge, so I brought the rest home for lunch today. This is a dish that I would actually like to make at home!
0 Comments
I am only going to update my weight once a week. I am happy to report I lost 3 pounds this week. Last Thursday I got my fourth Lap-Band fill - bringing me to 6.25cc. At the surgeon's office, I weighed 197. Today, I weigh 194. Yay! I have been really good all week. I mostly have had protein shakes during the day and really small portions of meat or salad for dinner.
I even went on a business trip to San Francisco area. For lunch, I got a cup of tomato bisque soup with a side of some roasted cauliflower that was really tasty. I still struggle with head hunger, especially at night watching TV. That struggle is real, folks! I guess the only winning move is to not watch TV. Today, I went to a day-long augmented reality convention. My flight was at 6:45, so it was an early morning rushing to the airport. I didn't have time for a proper "egg" breakfast, so I decided to eat at the airport. By the time I got through security, I only had 15 minutes till boarding. What to eat? What to eat? I opted for a Greek Yogurt for $2 and a bottle of water. I needed to get some work done before boarding, so I actually only ate 1/2 the yogurt before getting on the plane.
During the flight, peanuts were passed out. Since I only had 1/2 a "just in case" protein bar stashed in my purse, I saved these for my "lunch". The convention was packed with so much to do in the short day I was there. I talked to various people working in the AR industry and felt really comfortable in my skin. Having lost almost half the weight I want to lose, I had a renewed sense of confidence. The day went by so fast. I didn't notice that I skipped lunch. At about 2pm I finally realized I should eat something. So out came the 1/2 protein bar and the peanuts. I didn't get really truly hungry (where you feel it in your gut) until about 5 when I had to head back to the airport. Once there, I looked around for something small, but filling. Finally, I opted for one taco from a Mexican Restaurant. The server clarified, "Just one taco?" Yes! I ordered a chicken, bean and cheese taco with salsa and it was just the perfect size and tasted so delicious. And it was only $3. So not only did I get to spend my time interacting with interesting developers and making connections without spending precious time chowing down, I only spent $5 "eating out" on my trip. It was a hot weekend. Russ suggested we go get some ice cream. Yes it's a slider food, but sounded delicious! We went to Cold Stone. I used to avoid Cold Stone like the plague because of what ever diet I was on at the time. I knew that type of ice cream full of sugar and fat and calories was just trouble! But with my band working well, I ordered a small vanilla and strawberries. I ate about 5-6 bites and felt satisfied. I ended up throwing out the rest feeling really good that I got a little treat. I also was super happy that I didn't feel guilty or longing for my trashed ice cream.
Last night, Russ and I went out for Cinco de Mayo. We went to our favorite mexican restaurant, Don Jose's. I love Don Jose's. In my liquid phase I would suck the broth out of a Chicken Tortilla Soup. In my mushies, I ordered their refried beans. Even on solids now, I opt for a side of beans with some lettuce. They have a delicious skinny pomegranate margarita. It's a great place to go for good food, and good conversation. It was crowded because of Cinco de Mayo. There was also an Angels' baseball game AND a Ducks' hockey game - so the place was very active. I found myself staring at all the large portions and people stuffing their faces. I chatted with Russ and he said, "Well, I'm getting the big burrito, so don't judge." That's when I realized I am becoming a "portion snob". I don't mean to judge, it's just that when you eat so little, these large plate portions seem so unreal to me. I just can't imagine all that food fitting in ANYONE's stomach, let alone mine. I am happy to see people enjoying food, but WOW people eat A LOT! Woo Hoo! 40lbs down from when I started this journey almost eleven weeks ago! I've lost 16lbs pre-surgery and 24lbs post-surgery. I am happy to continue to make progress. This week I learned that even though food is so delicious, and I haven't gotten stuck so far (knock on wood), I still have to stay true to my portion sizes. Twice this week I went to bed extremely full. It's almost painful when I'm full. It feels like pressure at the top of my stomach. Last night we went to the Angels baseball game. And NSV: I wore a tank top!!! Rad! I decided I would not have a traditional hot-dog to eat. I have heard that having to chew the hot-dog so much makes them not as tasty as they were pre-band. So I opted for nachos. Even the small nachos was huge to me. I ate 4 chips with some cheese and that was enough. I didn't over eat. I didn't keep eating just because it was there and it was baseball. My goal was to not feel that uncomfortable pressure in my band. And it worked. Believe me, it was hard to be at a baseball game and not snack. But I did it. And I was happy to sleep well and wake up ready for breakfast. Today was an interesting day. I tried yoga for the first time. Some of my friends are really into practicing yoga, and I have been curious about it. Since there are a lot of abdominal exercises, I needed to wait till my incisions were not as sore to start. My friend, Raquel, was going to an intro class at Core Power Yoga. So I decided to tag along.
It was very relaxing. I didn't have many problems with the movements, except for those that focused on the right side of my torso. Some of the stretches made my port area feel sore. The great thing about yoga, is that you can just go into an easier pose until the class switches to something else. It was actually very relaxing. I also felt good to be able to do some light abdominal work. Later in the day, a bunch of us went out to dinner. I split dinner with Russ. And by split, I mean I ate a few bites of his food. Here was my dinner: 1/2 grilled shrimp (cut into pieces) 1 1/2 regular bites of steak (cut into pieces) 3 bites of salad 6 bites of cooked zucchini And by the end of my "dinner", I was FULL! It was a little hard because it was really good food, and I loved the taste. I just wanted to suck the juice out of all the meat, but not eat it. That would not be proper etiquette to spit out pieces of food, but it was so tasty! This past week, I traveled to Boston for work. I was living out of a suitcase in a sophisticated West End hotel. Still on mushies, I brought 2oz packages of Tuna and some Premier Protein bars for mid-day eating. I figured that for breakfast, I could order a side of egg. You may have read my previous blog post about ordering an egg in the airport. It turns out, the idea of ordering "one" egg, is a very foreign concept. I decided to take some pictures of this challenge. The first place I ordered "one" egg was at the hotel restaurant. The platter was full of egg and I ate maybe 10%. The waitress was very concerned that I didn't like it. No matter how much I said I did and that I could not eat all of it. She decided that she would not charge me. I think she still believed I didn't like it, and that was why I wasn't eating it. One my flight home, I grabbed a bite at the airport. Since I have had bad luck with the quantity of egg (I hate wasting food), I told the waitress that I had just had surgery and could only eat soft foods. I said would it be ok to order just "one" scrambled egg. She said no problem! The portion here was better than the other places, but still a lot more than "one" egg. She charged me $1. Fabulous!
My boyfriend and I have started joking about creating a restaurant that caters to the bariatric surgery patient with better portions. We would have a "Broth Bar" (like a salad bar), smaller plates, and lots of "side-size" options. Normal restaurants just can't seem to want to put out small portions. It's always too much. And when one is traveling, it is impossible to save it for later. Alas, I'm home now, and can make my "one" egg- the perfect portion for me. Guess where I am? I am 35,000 feet in the air flying from earthquake-ridden Southern California to cold and wet Boston, Mass. I was nervous to fly. It's my first time flying after being banded. I did not know what to expect. I have heard that the restriction can increase based on altitude. I took the advice of forum bloggers and will not attempt to eat on the plane. I have my water, which is going down fine. I just finished a Calcium Citrate chewable vitamin (looks like a Starburst). I ate it little by little, chewing it well. That went down fine. I don't feel anything weird with the band. In other words, I don't feel it being tight or strange. I can't feel it at all.
Perks of a Traveling with a Bandster a.k.a. The "Back-Up Eater" I am traveling with colleagues for a week. I am still only on mushies, so I have to be selective about what I eat. At our lay over in Phoenix, we were hungry. We went to a cafe that was serving breakfast platters. I asked if I could order just one scrambled egg. "Sure! Thanks for making it easy" the guy said. He disappeared to make my egg. He came back quickly handing me a closed take-out container saying, "Here you go!" As soon as I felt the heaviness of it, I knew this was way more than one egg. As I moved down the line to pay, I opened it. I swear there must have been 7 scrambled eggs in there! I turned to my friend, Mari, and said, "Um, you want to help me eat this?" She said "Yes!" It worked out because she couldn't make up her mind as to what she wanted. She bought a banana to go with it and I had my back-up eater. The best part is that the "egg" only cost $2.00! We sat down and I partitioned off 1/4 cup of egg for myself, leaving Mari a large plate of scrambled goodness. She was feeling bad at the seemingly unfair division of food, saying "Take more". I told her that I was really going to be full off of what I already took. It was really cool to be able to get cheap food and share it with her. 28 Days of Glory Since it is four weeks post-surgery, let's look at my stats: 1. Weight Loss: 29lbs including pre- and post surgery diets (6 weeks). Starting weight: 237lbs. Current weight: 208lbs. 2. Energy: Off the charts! Feeling really good and inspired. 3. Incisions/Scars: Still reddish around them, but healing well. No more rash that I had week 2. Not sore. 4. Sleeping: I have been sleeping on my stomach (my fave position) for 2-3 nights now 5. Food: Eating my protein mushies. Added on Premier Protein bar (like one or two bites at a time). Chewing, Chewing, Chewing. Feeling full for 3-4 hours after 1/4 cup. Still supplementing protein with a daily shake. 6. Exercise: I try for 30 min a day. Not doing 100% on that. Need to amp that up in the next 4 weeks. 7. NSV: Colleague told me I have a nice "glow" today. Friends are noticing weight loss. Went to one of my favorite stores, New York and Company, and bought size 18 pants. They are a bit loose, but 16 is still too tight. Still, I couldn't shop there a month ago! Love it! 8. Bonus NSV! This airplane seat is not as tight as I remember. Yay! - Kristi |
About meCurrent Stats: Archives
February 2016
Categories
All
|