Two of my sister-in-law Rochelle's friends from work also had my surgery and have been really successful with it. The other day Glen's dad came by to drop off some stuff, and one of the things he gave me was a decorated box. It was from these two sweet women, and it was filled with some of their favorite things that helped them to be successful - a journal for logging calories (which I have not been doing since I generally just watch to make sure I am having four 200 calorie meals a day), small spoons, drink powders, gas strips, protein bars, tuna packet, almonds, and a fat/carb counter book. I was overwhelmed with gratitude at their kindness, when we haven't even met before.
We are still having crockpot days. We have had the stuffed cabbage soup, chicken in creamy sauce, spaghetti, and tortilla soup. It's great to make two a week, then set out the leftovers and everyone can choose what they want (and microwave it) on some other day. Also, the girls have been really getting into salad, which is great. Sometimes we just have a salad bar, and I cut up lunchmeat, and we also have garbanzo beans, lowfat cheese, and sunflower seeds, for good protein.
I am on the search for a good protein bar. I am going to try to get as picky as I can. This is everything that I want from it. I would like it to be around 200 calories or less. I would like it to be high protein (perhaps > 15 g?), and I would like the protein source to NOT be soy. I have read from different sources a lot of bad things about soy , especially the soy that we use here in the US. I would like it to be low or moderate in fat. I would like it to have a couple of grams of fiber (not the super high fiber bars). I would like it to have real sugar and/or stevia as the sweetener source, not splenda (sucralose) or high-fructose corn syrup. Then of course I would love for it to taste good, and if there are a couple of different flavors, even better. I do love almonds and peanut butter. I do not like marshmallow-flavored bars. I would not mind if it costs a little more, since it would be one of my four meals, maybe up to $3 per bar. If anyone reading this has any ideas of a great bar, let me know. I have done some internet searching, but it's hard to do a search with all the components that I want so it takes some investigation time. I found one on Mercola's website with high-quality ingredients, but it's 300 calories per bar, and is super high in fat (although it is coconut oil, one of the best fats for you). AND you have to buy a case for $65. It works out to less than $2 per bar, but I would want to see if they'd send me a sample because I don't want to buy a whole case and discover that I do not like them. Oh, and I don't want to make my own homemade bars.
Exercise is still my struggle. And I am eating fast. I hate cold food. I am also not supposed to be drinking while I eat, but that is really difficult to comply with. I am doing well with eating low fat and high protein. The other day, I ate a protein bar on my break, got busy at lunch so I didn't eat. Stayed at work till 4:30 and was really hungry. So I tried a plain cheeseburger at McDonald's, minus one bun. It was nasty. I ate about a third of it. It was so greasy. I don't ever get sick, but it took the whole ride home just to feel normal again. If there is a next time, I am going to try the grilled snack wrap, no sauce, and rip off some tortilla. I didn't get that this time because it doesn't seem to have much chicken on it, and I felt like I needed more protein.
We went to the Outback last night after Cami's Nutcracker tryouts (she didn't make it into the production, but we are SO proud of her for trying, and being willing to try again next year). I did have a small piece of bread, and two small pieces of the bloomin' onion. I had half of a salad, but then after all that, I only had room for 2-3 small bites of grilled chicken (from the kids' menu) and a bite of broccoli. Not a lot of protein, but I felt okay, and it was kind of fun having a little of several things.
Oh! And another first...I picked the girls up from school at 1:00, and I ordered Domino's Pizza (new by the dance studio). I ordered a medium, thin-crust ham and pineapple pizza for me, and a usual large for everyone else. I told the guy that I had the surgery, and I don't know if he did it special for me, but he cut my pizza into smaller squares. Anyway, I tried it with great success. I had two small pieces, which would probably not even equal to a regular piece of pizza, especially with the thin crust, but it was really good. It's great being able to have some modified lower-fat and lower-carb versions of regular foods, in small amounts. I hear of people who tried to find ways to be able to eat MORE by eating "slippery" foods and I know that I do not fall into that category. I do not want to be that person who is always saying "Whoa is me, I can't have that because I had surgery." The Bible talks about if you are going to do acts of service, do them cheerfully, not always making a face, and that's kind of how I feel about this. So I just try to have small amounts or modified versions so that it fits well within my plan.
No comments:
Post a Comment