Day 20

It's day 20. Except for a slight caffeine-withdrawel headache, I no longer have a desire to drink soda. One problem solved. 

Day 19

Finally finished going through everything from storage. Did my exercises, took my medicine, and drank my shakes. Went ahead and got my shakes and water ready for tomorrow... with Stuart's help. Yes, those are Wonder Woman shaky cups, because I've always wanted to be Lynda Carter. 

A friend shared this quote today, had to steal it. Hope you're having a blessed day. 

Day 18

Spent half the day going through more boxes and going over grocery list. 

Been looking for ideas for setting up and organizing my new pantry. 

Spent most of the afternoon requesting transportation for all of my appointments in October. There will be two in one day, but they are close in both time and distance. Had trouble putting it through on the app, so I called their customer service. I was transferred 3 times before I finally got a rep that knew how to process a multi-leg trip (meaning more than 1 destination & return), and even that one had problems. Finally got it all set. 

Have a blessed day, all. 

Day 17

Going through more stuff from the storage room, I've saved way too much crap over the years. Also kept up with my medicine, shakes, and exercises. Spent some time playing with the cats. Working on the week's meal planning and grocery list. Had crock pot steak bites with carrots for dinner and chocolate gluten-free Chex for my sweet treat. Good night, everybody. 

Day 16

Not a whole lot today. Still not used to having energy. Went through everything we had in storage, got rid of stuff. Did my exercises and kept up with my shakes and medicine, I also filled the med boxes for the week. There's I've been wanting to do around the house but never had the energy to do so. I'm driving my daughter crazy trying to do all this stuff. It's getting late. Going to relax in the shower and try to sleep. Good night, fam. 

Day 15

Drinking my second shake of the day, they are so boring. Such a blah flavor. It's cheaper to buy the powder mix, but the only choices are vanilla and chocolate. Neither one tastes like anything. I should never have let myself get this bad, but now is the time forward. Can't be looking back at the mistakes that got me here. Spending the day clearing out old clutter. Divided up old clothes according to size and packing them away, that way I won't have to keep buying new ones after losing every few pounds. Been wanting to get all this done for a while but never had the energy til now. Maybe I shouldn't complain about these flavorless shakes so much. 

Day 14

For the first time in ages, I had some energy. So I took advantage of that energy and cleaned out our storage room. Since it's cheaper to buy stuff in bulk (i.e. my shelf-stable almond milk), but my stock pile is taking over my frontroom. Also, my 18yo daughter Chloe had been following in my footsteps as far as eating is concerned. She's been looking at my stock pile like an all-you-can-eat buffet. Our bills are about to go up, we need our stuff to last as long as possible. I've decided to turn our storage room into our big pantry, this way I will have to take a walk everyday to get our food for the day (and only for the day). Our kitchen pantry will contain all of our meal prep stuff. Hope you all have a blessed day. 

Day 13

It was a crazy day. Had an appointment for a follow-up from my endoscopy. When scheduling this, I was told to go to their clinic. I'm thinking this will be a quick in/out, the only thing is the travel time (an hour one way). I request transport through my insurance, and they arrange it with the provider. I was told pick up was at 8:00. I went down at 7:45. They guy didn't show up until 8:45. It's not bad since my check-in time is at 10:10. I asked the guy if we can make a bathroom stop, because it would take a long time for my to go all the way up to my apartment and back. He said, "You just want to get something to eat." Seriously, was that a fat comment? I said, "No, I really need to go to the bathroom." He said, "No. You're already behind schedule." Me? I was on time. So I held it for the hour ride, luckily. Got to the clinic, and they said my appointment is at the main hospital. I told the lady, "I was told to come here." She said, "That's OK. You can go to the hospital." After a half hour trying to get through to my insurance company, they approved my transport to the main hospital. Luckily, my driver decided to wait. I get to the hospital, now an hour late for my appointment. Turns out, they were well over an hour behind anyways. 

Talked to my GI doc. He's impressed with my weight loss so far, he asked how am I dealing with having Celiac. I said I noticed a difference in the diet change, feeling better. He's signing me up with a nutritionist to help me more, which I appreciate. He also said he wants me to get more tests done, as well as labs and a pneumonia shot. I am so grateful for that. 

Finally took the long ride back. Walked into a delicious smelling home. Chloe has tonight's pork chop dinner in the crock pot. 

I am sore and tired. Going to have my belated noon shake and relax until I dinner. Have a blessed day. 

Day 12 part 2

If you haven't read my post from earlier today, I went to the doctor with some issues with my leg. I was really sore when I got home. My sweet 18yo daughter Chloe took one of my prepped crock pot meals out of the freezer (bourbon chicken, 388 calories), found my recipe for it, followed the directions, and paired it with a spinach salad for dinner. It was really. Hope you all have a good night. 

Day 12

Went see the doctor about my swollen leg. I know, good thing I'm not a horse 🐎🔫. They're going to call and schedule me for an X-ray and ultrasound. While I was there, I weighed in... It's day 12, and I'm down 20 pounds so far. It's still a huge adjustment for me, but I see the pay off. I know I will be so much healthier after all this. 

Day 11

After getting up to take my medicine, drink my shake, and do my exercises, I got up to do some laundry, do some cleaning, and prepped a few more crock pot meals. After my noon shake, I went to Ortho to see how my wrist is healing. The doctor says it's stabled, she said it should fully heal in 2-3 weeks. It's a little sore but only really hurts when I put pressure on it, so I'm careful. Came home, and a visiting nurse came to change my surgical wound dressing. It looks like it's almost healed. Then Chloe and I worked together to make dinner, Parmesan crusted tilapia and baked carrot fries. Not bad. Sharing the recipes. Have a good night. 

Day 10

Dealing with stomach issues today. Just drinking water and resting. 

Day 9 pt 2

Was getting really hungry, so I decided to save my shake for dinner and have the real meal now. Made an inside out spinach mushroom cheeseburger with oven fries (recipe below). 

The burger is just shredded Kraft Mozzarella (with a touch of Philadelphia), fresh spinach, and mushrooms mixed into the ground beef (or ground turkey) that's about 350 calories. My oven fries is an amazing alternative to one of my guilty pleasures. I cut up potatoes (size/shape of choice), place them on a pan (I like to sprinkle on seasoned salt). My cutting skills sick, please disregard. 

Bake at 400°F for 20-30 minutes (depending on size/shape), flip/mix half way through. Then switch to broiler for another 10-15, flip/mix half way through. I make my chips the same way, just slicing instead of cutting. Comes to 110 calories per serving. My daughter sometimes like to sprinkle a bit of shredded cheese on hers just before it finishes in the broiler. 

Today is what we cat parents lovingly call Caturday. My daughter (initials spells CAT) and I are spending it playing and chilling with my furry son Stuart and my grand-purry Silver. 

We're also watching "Catwoman" the movie. 

Day 9

Tomorrow, our church will be meeting in person for the first time since the pandemic began. I'm  their "transportation director" (as they lovingly call me). It's my job to call and see who needs the church bus then relay the list to the driver. I also relayed important information between the riders and driver. I enjoyed my little job. I'm not physically able to a lot for my church, so I'm happy to do something. Also, some of people I call either live in nursing homes or alone. So when I call, I ask them how they're doing and how their week's been. Since I last called my riders 2 have passed. It's sad. Thinking how we all felt so alone during this time. I just just hope they weren't alone when they left us. 

As much as I want to go back to church tomorrow, I won't be able to. One of my walker's has a broken ski, and the other has literally fallen apart. SMH. My legs are too bad right now to go that long without one. 

Today's Caturday. My daughter Chloe and I are spending the day enjoying my furry son Stuart and my grand-purry Silver. Have a good day. 

Day 8

Today started rough, but I don't want to talk about it. I do want to share some good news. Last week when I saw my weight loss doctor, I weighed in at 391. This morning I went in for my annual exam, and I weighed in at 378. I lost 13 in the first week. All the crap I've been feeling the past few days mean nothing now. This diet sucks, but it's working. I'm working it. What ever your obstacles, DON'T... GIVE... UP!!! 

Day 7

Well, I'm not as hangry as I have been the past couple of days. Last night I broke up my dinner. Had my teriyaki chicken by itself. Then later when watching movies, I munched on carrots. Still had my vegetables, but it felt more like a snack. Spacing it out like that helped a little bit. 

Today brings another obstacle... Pepsi/Mountain Dew withdrawals. Got a major headache right now. I know drinking one of my favorite sodas would feel so good right now, but then I'd have to start all over in trying to quit. I must push through. 

Seems like my furry son Stuart and my grand-purry Silver know how I've been feeling both physically and mentally. They've been staying by my side and seem have been comforting me. Since I have a lot of appointments scheduled over the next few weeks, I'm going to spend today relaxing. 

Lately, I've been craving breakfast. Since I can only have a shake for breakfast, I'm going to have breakfast for dinner tonight. I'll be making a tomato-spinach omelette. Then I'll have a half cup of gluten free cereal for snacking. Hope you all have a good day. 

Day 6 pt 2

The day's ending better than it began. For dinner, I made crock pot teriyaki chicken. Instead  of eating vegetables with it, I'll be munching on raw carrots while watching "Grease" and "Grease 2". 

I have a date with my handsome furry son Stuart. He knows I'm not myself, he hasn't left my side all day. Stuart, in his own way, let me know everything's going to be alright. 

Day 6

Pain kept me up all night. Fell asleep around 6 then had to get up at 7 for my meds, shake, and exercises. 

I was supposed to go back to my pain management doctor today for my second round of hip injections, but both he and my wound doctor are worried it may prevent my healing. For those of you who don't know, my legs bend outward. This causes me to have to twist my body to walk. Two weeks ago, pain doc put shots in the right side of my pelvis. Since then, that area's great. No shooting pain down my leg or anything, but my entire left side is still screaming. I have to get up and move around, but that's not helping. 

I'm seriously struggling with this diet already. Besides the meds, weight loss doc has me drink 2 shakes a day and eating 1 dinner at night. It's only day 6 of 365. 

I've been trying to keep busy to distract myself from food... it's not helping much. My 18yo daughter tells me, "I can't take out the trash, my foot fell asleep." Her funeral will be Friday. KIDDING!!! 

Today's plan is to prep more crock pot meals. I'm hoping with all dinners already together and frozen, it’ll deter me from eating what I shouldn't. Chloe has her own food for breakfast and lunch (lucky cow), I won't take from her. 

Even though I'm hurting, I'm still trying my best to keep up with the exercises PT gave me. 

Today is a bad day, but I know it'll give me a good future. So I'll make the best of it. 

Day 5 pt 2

My stomach has been screaming at me all day. I'm doing good so far, but now I'm struggling. Spent the day keeping myself busy. Now that it's over and I'm relaxing, my cravings are getting more noticeable. A few minutes ago, I started taking food out of the fridge. Then I stopped myself, took a breath, and put it all back. "I don't need it. I want it. I don't need it. I want it. There's a difference." I need to remind myself that I must "eat to live" not "live to eat". I drank a liter of regular water and a liter of sparkling water. If any of have advice on fighting cravings, please leave a comment. 

Day 5

I slept better than I have in a long time. Got up, did my exercises, took my medicine, and drank my shake. Then I noticed how hungry I was. Before I never really ate breakfast, but my stomach was putting in an order. It was asking for a full continental breakfast, but I can't have another shake til noon then dinner at 5. My stomach was seriously getting hungry. I told it to shut up and deal with the new norm. 

Made sure I was drinking lots of water. Not only do I drink my flavored sparkling water at meals, but I also drink at least a liter of regular water a day. 

Tried to distract myself by doing some cleaning and reorganizing, but it wasn't working. My stomach is still screaming at me. 

My helper came. We went to run errands. I was hoping getting away from the house, I wouldn't be able to eat. We went to get groceries, but I made sure only to get what's on my list. Most of my list was shelf-stable almond milk from Hy-Vee. Wanted to make sure I had enough for my shakes.

After getting home and putting away groceries, it's time for my noon shake. Now my stomach is demanding a big thick juicy cheeseburger and golden crisp fries... STOP ALREADY!!!!!!!? 

I'm going to find a project to work on. If my hands are busy, I can't grab food. It's Taco Tuesday. My daughter Chloe will be having a walking taco. I'll be having a salad with taco meat. Instead of adding cheese and sour cream, I'll be adding cottage cheese. Have a good day, everybody. 

Day 4 pt 2

Went to the wound clinic at the hospital. With all the COVID-19 precautions, there's practically an obstacle course I had to in order to prove I'm healthy enough to enter. My temperature was 96.5°. I think I'm good. Can't take the direct route anymore, there's separate waiting areas to sit until your room is ready. Gave me time to redo the paperwork. Even though medical transport picked me up early, I didn't have to wait long. Usually a "first visit" takes time, but I've been there before after my previous surgeries. We already know what works. The doctor ordered me supplies, and the nurse dressed my wound. 

Came home. Did my exercises. Ate some of last night's leftovers. Took my medicine. I'm laying on the couch playing on my cell. Stuart (my furry son) saw the wound dressing and laid down next to me on the ottoman. Iowa (and most people) don't count cats as therapy animals, but Stuart is always by my side when I'm hurting or sick. When my apnea was bad, he'd wake me up when I stopped breathing in my sleep. He's a keeper. Good night, all. 

Day 4

Had another painful, sleepless night. Still got up at 7am to take my meds, drink my shake, and do my first rounds of exercises.

Even though I'm still not sleeping well, I'm still trying to get up and move everyday. Got some chores done. Chloe said, "I got it." I replied, "I know, but I want to try and do at least half of them myself.

Today I am drinking Walmart's Clear American sparkling water peach flavor. It's one of my favorites. Love how it feels like I'm drinking soda but without the sugar and calories. 

This afternoon, I'm going back to the wound clinic. For some reason, I have trouble healing after each surgery. I jokingly refer to my wound doctor as a witch doctor, because the voodoo she preforms is amazing. (PSA: not really voodoo, she's just really good at her job) 

I'm allowed a little bit of carbs, but have to be careful with my Celiac. Chex has some really tasty gluten-free cereals. Currently, I'm enjoying their blueberry flavor. Everyday, I put half a cup in a little container for me to munch on. Delicious 

I need to start getting ready for my appointment now. Hope you all have a good day. 

#MotivationalMonday