Just What Do I Eat, Anyway?

This has become the $1 million question!

Just what can and does Sheri eat now?

So I thought for the benefit of those who don't live with me on a daily basis, I 'd give you an idea...

This is a pretty typical day:

Breakfast:  Protein shake
180 calories and 25-30 grams of protein
Current favorite is designer whey chocolate powder (100 calories) with 8 oz skim milk and 1/4 cup of coffee to give it some warmth and mocha taste.  And it MUST be drunk from a travel mug with a lid.  The protein shakes tends to froth up and have this icky foam on the top which I don't like.  The travel mug allows the liquid to come through so you don't get a huge gulp of froth.  And it's really best to use a mini-blender.  I tried the shake cup things and the powder stays grainy and is gross.

Lunch:  Soup and Greek Yogurt
300 calories and 15-20 grams of protein
I will usually have some sort of soup or chili for lunch.  Chili is the current favorite (homemade with kidney beans, ground beef, beef stock and crushed tomatoes).  The more beef/meat, the higher the protein content.  After I let that settle for a bit, I can have a container of Greek yogurt for another 18-20 grams of protein and 140 calories.  My yogurt of choice this month is Chobani apple cinnamon or honey with cut up bananas added to it.

Have I mentioned that it's all about the protein?  At least 60-80 grams of protein a day is my goal.  Try doing that with less than 1200 calories... it's not easy without at least one shake and some greek yogurt.  What did people do before greek yogurt, I wonder?

Afternoon Snack:  Chex Mix, Fruit
Less than 100 calories and no protein
This is a hard one for me to remember if I'm not at home.  I get engrossed at work and forget to eat, drink or take my vitamins.

Oh yeah, I haven't mentioned the vitamins.  Ideally, 3 doses of 500 mg calcium each day (with eat meal).  Calcium can't be taken with Iron, or it won't absorb correctly.  After going off the chewable calcium, I have opted to do the caplets that you can swallow and I seem to be getting more in that way.  Then at night I take a double dose of a multi-vitamin with Iron.  I should be taking a separate Iron supplement but that causes.... ummm... side effects... that I don't like.  (and tastes bad all night!)  So right now I'm waiting to see what my blood work looks like to see if I need to continue the Iron pill every day.  Currently, I'm getting Iron with my mulit-vitamin.

Dinner:  Fish or other protein and a bite of a side dish
300 calories and 10-15 grams of protein
Dinner continues to be a challenge, especially since I refuse to stop eating out.  I just can't NOT have girls night with the friends or if we do something after work like grocery shopping, make Beth skip dinner because I have a hard time eating out.

And truthfully, there has been really no place we've gone where I couldn't find something to eat on a menu.  Grilled chicken.  Chili.  French onion soup.  Even salad with fish or chicken added.  Good thing I don't have an issue with wasted food because I'll never finish something.  I can eat 1/4 or an omlette.   But can usually finish a bowl or cup of soup without a problem.

Evening Snack:  Popcorn, Frozen Yogurt
100-150 calories and no protein
By now, I've gotten my protein in for the day (hopefully) and I'm trying to add water to keep my liquids as near 8 cups a day as I can (this is where protein shakes and soup help, too!).  So I can indulge in something like popcorn (small bowl with salt and a little butter oil flavoring, but  not the pre-seasoned microwave kind) or my current favorite lite ice cream or frozen yogurt.  I can only have 1/2 a cup, so I let myself indulge.

Luckily I do not have any issues with sugar.  Sweet tooth rejoice!  Even tonight I allowed myself 2 mini Wegman's cupcakes - only 75 calories each and I could never eat more than 2!

So that's a typical day.  Less than 1200 calories (myfitnesspal.com which I use to track food every day always yells at me that I'm not eating enough calories... I just laugh) and I never feel weak or very hungry.  It's a bizarre feeling.

I will say for the millionth time... you do NOT do this if you never want to think about food again.  Because it really is your every waking thought.  But in a good way.  In a positive way.  In a "I'm no longer berating myself every day" way.

Some things that I will probably never be able to eat in any type of normal quantity again:  rice, pasta, bread.

All those things expand when you eat them, so I have to be very careful.  Because the difference between full and FULL is a bite.  I did that with bread once... and not again!  It's not a pleasant feeling.

I know that as time goes on, these quantities will change.  My stomach will stretch some and I will probably learn to eat more.  But I hope that I'm developing better eating habits now that I will be able to deal with it down the road.  This isn't a diet.  It isn't a quick fix.  It's a new way of living... thanks for your interest in my journey.

First 5K Around the Corner

Because I was feeling overly optimistic a few months ago post-surgery, I signed up for the Phillies 5K.  I'll admit I never really thought I could do it.  But it made me feel good to have a goal.  Even if I couldn't achieve it right off the bat, I could try...

So Sunday, Beth and I go out for a training walk.  We'll see how far I can go towards the 5K goal.  She downloads a little app onto the iPhone that tracks how far we walk and our time using GPS.  It's a nifty program and before we know it, we've gone 1K.  I have no idea what this means in "american" measurements - less than a mile?  I know a 5K is about 3 miles (maybe a little more).

We get down to Schuykill (you know that I mean, I'm not looking it up to spell it right!) River Park where there are lovely houses and a dog park.  We walk around and then realize that people are going over railroad tracks...

This is how people walk along the river!

I've lived in Philadelphia for over 15 years and I've never walked along the river.  Never knew how.  Never cared to figure it out.

But it was a bright, sunny spring day (yes, in March!) and we walked right over to the run/bike/walk path like we were people who did this regularly and we walked.... and walked... and walked...

I look up and see 30th Street station not that far in the distance and I felt like I could cry.

If anyone had told me 3 months ago that I could WALK from my house to 30th Street Station, I would have thought they were insane.

My back would have been hurting at 4 blocks.

I would have been a sweaty mess and uncomfortable at another 4 blocks.

In need of a break to sit and have some water at 10.

But no... in the end, we walked from our house, nearly to 30th Street Station and back.  In a little over an hour.  We walked 7K... longer that I need to walk next weekend to complete the Phillies 5K!

I can't even tell you how happy this makes me.  

As I stared at 30th Street Station and tried not to cry, I turned to Beth, 'this is the best decision i ever made in my entire life.'

And I so mean that.  

I guess I never knew how much being overweight was affecting me on a daily basis.  I know I'm still overweight (wii still cheerily will tell me "you're obese!" when I step on), but I feel like I have so much more control over my life today than I did a few short months ago. 

And there's no way I am going back to that person I was.  I'm starting to feel like I might make it - if not to my goal - at least to under 200 pounds (which really is my personal goal).  And that is just amazing for me.  I haven't been there since I was in high school.

I know only my friends are reading this... so I'll say to you now.  Thank you for your support.  Not just now as I'm the misfit who can't eat much at birthday dinners.  But for loving me no matter how much I weighed or how far I could walk.  I know you don't care what I weigh... but it's nice to start to feel more normal (even if I didn't know how not-normal I was feeling myself!).