Make the change...

This may be a touchy post for many and I usually try not to do things like this cause its kind of against my " rules " so to speak.

I decided to go ahead with releasing this because after going to group the other night I realized something. People can't change if they don't know!

Mike is down 90+ lbs in a year, and I am of course post RNY right now and down myself, but his weight loss is purely natural. No additives and no suppliments. He is eating right by learning to curve and cut out some of the things he assumed to be " ok ". The nutritionist is a great book of knowledge and we have both learned so much. Mike is tyring to drop quickly so he is consuming around 1700 calories a day - Everyone will be different, so this is only an ideal.

How many times have you heard from ANYONE about how " They don't like how big they are ", " They don't think they eat wrong " " They don't get why they are STILL not loosing "
We all hear it from many people, and usually the answer back for most is " If you are happy then be happy " or something like " no your fine ! ".

The cold hard truth is many of " us " even if thin are extremely unhealthy and most are overweight if not the O word ( which you all know I hate ).

The truth : 9 in 10 americans are overeating at EVERY MEAL! Are you?

I talked to my NUT about this and she said I should share the wealth of knoweledge and just maybe 1 or 2 may learn something and use it. My PhYs. Agreed and this has since become my " homework. "

This can help anyone wanting to drop as little as 1 lb, maintain their current weight or even loose more...

no one has asked for anything in particular if you dont think you have a problem, I urge you to think again, and then read....
If you can't or don't want to hear about HEALTH and WEIGHT and NUTRITION then here is your warning to not go forward!


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First there's a ton of info out there on healthy life style changes. I hate the word DIET, always have and always will. I have had to make major chances not a diet, and this will be in place forever. Google simple healthy low -fat recipes and soak it all up. ( I also have a ton if your interested ) Try www.Nutritiondata.com

Second use a calorie counter of some sort. I use and LOVE www.dailyplate.com because you can put in what you have had for that day and it computes it for you. It also will tell you what you SHOULD be eating calorie wise for your weight goals and help you customize this - this can come in handy for printing shopping list, family meal plans etc! There are several other methods too ( weight watchers points, spark people, AOL health, etc... ).

Third for 3 days before you start making any changes take time to write down on a peice of paper EVERYTHING AND HOW MUCH goes into your mouth. Be sure to count liquid too because many don't realize how many empty calories they are consuming! ( I.e. Lattae @ approx 500kcal, 1 glass milk at 120kcal, soup can exceed 400kcal per normal consumption )

now when you have decided to make some simple changes lets get down to this : There are hidden issues in EVERYTHING! You think your doing something healthy but are you?

Keep Journaling all your doing! It helps keep you accountable and makes you see what your REALLY doing.

1. Pay close attention to serving sizes & labels
Did you know that 1 box of " pasta roni " ( this based on white cheddar shells FOR REFFERENCE ONLY ) should serve about 2 and 1/2 people!? Sounds like alot but not really when considering that label is assuming to be part of a 2000 calorie diet. Really it should be feeding about double what it says if used as a side dish!
So lets use that label as listed assuming this is your MEAL ( no other food or drink ). Prepared as directed would be 380 calories per person x 2.5 = 950 calories in the whole box! If a person was to eat this it would be 1/2 the days allowance really and thats just calories that AREN'T being used. Yes there are ways to modify the calories but still in all be sure to pay attention to the pasta and sauce itself. In reality the milk and butter are just adding that much more, theres alot hidden as is! Read more...
On that same label for one serving ( remember this is a 2000 cal plan ) its saying you will have received 40% of your daily allowance for SATURATED FAT! and 22% of your allow for FAT.
Skip the extras.

2. Do not consume calorie laden beverages. If you do make sure your counting them and DO NOT DRINK WITH A MEAL!
These beverages ( and ANY others ) go right through you and DO count for calorie intake and does NOT COUNT for nutrition ( or count minimally )

* our bodies do not know the difference as to where the calories are coming from. So if your drinking the calories your body still counts it as food.

For example :

White Chocolate Mocha from Starbucks® 16 oz Grande
16 fl. oz. Calories 470 Fat Calories170 Total Fat (g)18
Saturated Fat (g)12 Trans Fat (g)0Cholesterol (mg)50Sodium (mg)240
Total Carbohydrates (g)63Fiber (g)0Sugars (g)59
Protein (g)15 Vitamin A15% Vitamin C0% Calcium50%Iron0% Caffeine (mg)150

Whole Milk : 1 cup (8oz) Whole Milk
Amount per Serving Calories 150Calories from Fat 70%
Daily Value *Total Fat 8g12%Saturated Fat 5g 25%Cholesterol 35mg 12%
Sodium 120mg Potassium 380mg 11% Total Carbohydrate 12g 4% Sugars 11g
Protein 8g

Stick to water, tea ( with no sugar or sugar free sweetner ), coffee ( no cream or sugar ) etc.

3. Cut out the " snacking " " grazing " and " just - one's ".
For example : Just one palm full of peanuts/nuts can be 220cal 1/2 of which from fat.
1 yogurt min. is 100 cal, 1 tsp of sauce, gravy etc 30 cal.

Even if its " veggies " don't graze they still count!

4. Eat dense healthy foods and proteins first.
Pay attention to serving sized when dishing, but make sure your eating your meat, veggies and whole grains firts. Avoid the sliding foods like yogurt, cottage cheese, jello, salads etc that can go through you too quickly and aren't that nutritious. Use those foods as your mid-meal replacements.

5. Avoid using oils, fats, butter and sauces to cook.
You may think 1tbs of Extra Virgin Olive Oil is healthy, or that only 1tsp of butter is ok.. but LOOK at what your adding to your foods. EVOO can have 100 cal all from fat in 1 table spoon! Yikes right?! Yes, you need some fat, but make sure your getting it from proper places so that your body stores it in proper places and not our naughty zones!

Ok so theres a short list of simple things you can do.

Theres many tips ANYONE can use. All the of the above are for full stomachs no WLS patients so please becautioned if you have had WLS this is not right, our plans are modified considerably.

If any of you are serious about wanting to change and need help or inspiration please email us. I would be happy to help. We are great at modifing recipe's and looking at over all intake as well.

We love each of you and support you!

Do it for your health!

* I wanted to note, after a nasty email ( thanks butt face! ) that I AM THIN, BUT THAT DOES NOT MEAN I AM HEALTHY , NOR DO I THINK I KNOW IT ALL. I havn't spent these thousands of dollars and counteless hours to not let things sink in. I am working hard to gain and maintain weight while increasing my health. Even with that I am way healthier than I was 100lbs ago. They say a 10% loss for anyone is a huge improvement in health! I challenge you do try it!

And to answer you -Yes, I have had a blizzard and even a bannana split. This doesn't mean I have 3 a week or need them. It was a treat. I am glad you were so quick to judge me though from another state even! IMPRESSIVE!!

WLS : Faced my fears...

... And won!

Mike and I attended Epicurean Delight lastnight.

My fear : A room full of high end foods, deserts and the best wine this city has to offer.... and me wanting to have it all.
My reality : I am better than that and I CAN AND DID MAKE GREAT CHOICES!!! ( and looked fabulous doing so ;) ).

It's an emotional thing for me, so I won't detail much right now that I know some of you cannot understand but I want to talk about it in depth I just need a minute. I wan't to be honest and say that it IS JUST NOW I am coming into the mind that THIS IS WHAT I AM!

( Sad - BUT TRUE ).

These pics will say alot I think! Please remember I am only 7 months post op!

I promise to blog more about it later but I know some of you curious cats wanted to know ( thanks for the text this morning to check on me K! )

Happy Halloween!

Madaya hasn't been herself lately, and has been pretty sick. Some cold stuff, but mostly tummy issues and in general poor health. Much like any other halloween so far, we were wondering if she would even get to enjoy it - this year she did - barely, but she did.

We had a great day by going to Toys R Us for a parade and trick or treating with the giraffe, and then chucky cheese to play and have lunch and then mobius kids to have a halloween party. Madaya enjoyed it and it allowed us to not be swarmed with many people - every where we went was pretty quiet and dead. At the end of the day ( 8pm ) she was ready for bed as were we and we had alot of smiles to be shared :)

Madaya was a peacock and even was on the news tonight. She won a costume contest at mobius and will be enjoying her prizes for months to come ( free skating, ice cream, gift certificates and more! )

This was one of the best halloweens fun wise - but we didnt get much trick or treating in wich is ok since she is allergic to the corn syrup and dies, she doesnt get candy much anyways!

We didnt even get to see many family or friends - but hope you all had fun!

Here's a glimps at some of it though ( and the news cast is to be coming to us! )

Cake walk ( only no candy here - just fun and stickers! )

A peacock CAN FLY!

Checking out some prizes from her winning bag

Daddy and Daya love MOBIUS!

Daddy and Daya playing at CEC

Momma looking annoyed... tired... or just curious?



Check out the moves... and the tail

SMILE

Daya goes to the dentist

Mommy and Daya with Dr. Molly!

Attempting to let the asst see in her mouth..

Trying out the posistion ( those are TV's in the roof! )

Maybe this chair will work - the big kids like it its gel filled!

Before it all started...

... And hates it :(

Do you blame her? She has a tiny mouth ( thanks to momma!) and a horrible gag reflex ( gain momma )

Today we took Madaya to meet her dentist for the first time. She hasn't been before and we wanted to wait until she could comprehend what was going on... Oy! Bad plan? I dunno but it was a mess. I ended up having to hold her down to get her to be ok with them cleaning - she tried every chair in the office to no avail. and the only thing we accomplished was tears - But hey she got a rubber ducky and a tooth brush LOL! Go daya!

She hated them touching her, cleaning her teeth, trying to take Xrays and in general the idea of it all. She did however LOVE dr. Molly and the office staff, along with the office. So we will be going back soon for a hands on orientation so to speak. We will work her in slowly!

They did say her bottom teeth are much too crowded ( we knew this as some are sideways ) and that shes been grinding her teeth, and that her bite however is perfect!

Yeah!! Heres some of the cuteness!

WLS update : 7 months

Today marks 7 months since my WLS post op began.

I am below goal and working hard on staying in the 135 range - not as easy as it sounds.

I promise I am done loosing for the most part ( until I have my skin/reconstruction done )

So whats new?! Well, besides the obvious changes I am going through alot inside my body too. It has stopped making thyroid at all now ( or again, I should say ), I am retaining water like its never going to see fluid again, my joints are killing me ( most likely from the arthritus ) my lupus is flaring often, and my iron levels and blood counts are not very good at all...

No need to worry though - these are all very normal for someone who has been through so much and lost so much weight so rapidly.

I am being taken care of very well, and am working hard on replenishing my system.

I am too lazy to measure myself right now - but the only thing I think thats changed is just more in the belly area.

I am wearing a S/M on top, and 4/6 in most jeans, pants. Scale today says 134.5lbs.

Daya is a mini me :)

Someone asked ( and thank you its a GREAT question! ) " What DO you eat?! " and my answer is this :
I am not limited to what I can eat, only as to how much of it I can eat. I choose not not eat many carbs, sugars, fats and starches simply because MY system does not handle them at all. Some of my favorite foods are yogurt, salad, chicken, and I really enjoy PIZZA as my treat!
I still dont drink/eat much dairy and high protein because MY kidneys don't handle it - however many post op'ers do just fine with some of those things.

My goals: To continue to improve my over all health, and maintain my new life style.

It took me 6 1/2 months to reach my goal. To date I have lost 96lbs.

Who let the dorks loose?!

I don't know but I am glad they did!

Today Mike and I took Madaya to see Cloudy with a chance of meatballs - We didn't know what to expect or think really, but we were going to see it in 3D - None of us have ever seen anything in 3d before like this...

WOW is all I have to say. It was incredible! We can't wait to see A CHRISTMAS CAROL when it comes next month because its so life like.

EVERYONE SHOULD GO SEE A 3D movie right now! :).

Here's a glimps of the dork-o family having fun!

Getting ready...

Now thats style!

The binky fairy: An answer to our prayers!

As I posted last night we have been working hard on getting rid of the paci, we have turned to the idea of the " binky fairy" and so far so good.

I wanted to share with you the videos of her getting ready for bed/giving paci's to the binky fairy and also the morning after...

It's 5pm the day after now and she hasn't asked of it much, but when she does I have been re-directing her to the new toy she received!

The binky fairy left madaya a gift bag with a nice little note in it ( see video ) and a barbie with a dog. The barbie kills me and I am sure the " binky fairy" had no idea, but the dog that came with the barbie eats and poops! Seriously! I am sure there will be some blogging to do on that subject alone!

For now -

a paci free family!

Binky Fairy

I cannot believe I of all people am about to post something to strange, silly and just so make believe! This is so not my cup of tea .... but when it comes to Madaya, as most of you know, it makes all the difference in the world.

Mike and I have tried just about every trick in the book to get Madaya to stop the " paci " habbit. We have cut the nipples, dipped the nipples in sour things, tried " cold turkey " , tossed one in the trash, " left one behind " and just honestly anything to try to get her to stop. We should get awards for the patence we have shown ( or maybe not?! )

So here we are 3 years 3 weeks after the day I NEVER wanted her to get the darn addiction in the first place chasing our lively lil miss all over the house while she giggles through this blue colored peice of plastic hanging loosely in her mouth - cute right?! NOT!
Earlier this week I posted on facebook for advice to help her stop, and one of my friends ;) so nicely shared the info on the " Binky Fairy ".

Honestly ( she is gonna kill me ) I rolled my eyes at first and said what a bunch of crap! I kept reading, following the links I was finding, reveling in the videos parents had posted claiming great succsess and just gonna say Ha - whatever people... when daya heard me listening to a video. Luckily the video was of a child opening a gift left behind for her giving her paci away and daya was very courious!
I followed her lead and answered all her questions as to what I was watching etc, and then the light bulb in my head went off.

Madaya was so full of smiles and her eyes literally glistened when I was talking of the " binky fairy " so maybe these other parents had it right - MAYBE this was my answer too - I needed a fairy!

I sat daya down and told her the story. " In 5 days the binky fairy will be here to check our trees to see if we have any binkies to give away to new babies. She works hard at her job, like daddy does ( cause daya totally gets that! ) and she needs to bring some binkies to the new babies because they dont have any. She likes it when big girls don't need them anymore because they are full of love and will make the babies really happy! " Daya LOVED it ... she wanted to give the new babies her binky right away. Now, right away wasn't going to happen because a 3 year old doesnt really get it all right then - so we embarked on our 5 day mission!

Tuesday night I gave her the paci before bed ( in its poor shape, nipple half off from the previous atempts ) and told her " love your binky tonight because you only have 4 more sleeps with it... "
and so on the next few nights!

Friday night ( night #4 ) we were at my SIL's house and Daya had already gone all day without the paci or even asking, so I just followed the natural flow. She fell asleep on the couch around 10pm and stayed asleep until we got home and then through the night...
( GUESS WHO HAD TO MAKE AN EMERGENCY LANDING ?! )
Daya awoke in the morning to ask " Did the binky fairy come? I can't find my paci ? " to which this momma happily replied ... " LETS SEE ... "
She did. She left a small toy for daya to unwrap with a note that said to remember to put all the paci's out Saturday night because she knows how big she is and how great shes doing!

Daya soaked it up and loved every bit of it.

Today ( Saturday ) we went all day, including nap, again without the paci. Although she asked for it often we stayed strong and I reminded her that the binky fairy is coming for them and the babies really need them more! Shes been ok and knows that she should have something in the morning to look forward to.

I video tapped tonights paci packing and we took them to the porch to put outside for the binky fairy to come get. As I type this she is fast asleep in her bed and only had a fit for about 5 minutes over not having it at all...


This mommy is REALLY hoping the binky fairy comes tonight!
( and you can bet I will update! )

The infertile mertile in me...

is making sure we wait, will, and wish to get pregnant!

So here we are a new month, and like we were waiting for we decided it would be time to begin our new journey in life to become parents of a second blessing if God deems it right!
Althought our timing is never right - it will never be right and this is the choice we have made for our family it works for now and thats the plan - we wait.

Anxiously we spoke with all the dr's as we knew the risks, the benefits and are fully aware of what pregnancy means to me, my body and my health. All 4 doctors agreed that this may be scarier than the first time, but at the same time we know so much more. All have agreed to proceed with caution and great care - we will.

I had to take hormones to make me cycle, its thought I had a chemical pregnancy about 3 months ago and I never bled or anything after that ( too much going on with my body to know why ) one thing is clear though PCOS is still very much an issue in my life, and that means unfortunately my body is not working properly for reproduction. I took the hormones, started to bleed and am now mid way through a week of fertility pills. The Dr's let us try Femara this month and we will see if its enough to jump start ovulation. So far its been pretty easy on my kidneys ( clomid before wasnt - it raised estrogen levels too high ) and we will have to just wait and see now for a couple of weeks to see if I will ovulate. Were only trying the basics at this time and we are keeping our fingers crossed - we wish.

There is a ticker on the side of the blog to help some of you who care to, follow along!

Here we go on our journey to make madaya and big sister!

Momma No- No #999... or something along those lines.

If I had a dollar for every mommy no-no I have made - well I would be rich. I really should have started counting from birth!

So here you go --
This mommy has a no-no to share!

Today I was trying to talk to roo. We were standing near the trash can in the kitchen, discussing lunch options.
Ever had a discussion with a 3 year old about why we MUST eat vegitables? I was quickly getting frustrated because shes yelling at me about how she doesnt want beans, or broccoli and she will not do this and will not do that, and told me to SHUT MY MOUTH! when I 1/2 out of my mind reached out, snag'ed the blue peice of plastic and silicolon that she lovingly sucks on way too much, out of her mouth and through it into the nearby trash can. With all my gusto I said " and that paci can be done too! " after I scolded her for yelling at me in such a way.

it gets worse...

She threw herself on the ground, started crying uncontrollably about how she loves paci and she needs paci and mommy is mean! shes sorry for paci etc!
My heart melts, I'm mad at her for her attitude and even more mad at me for mine!

Needless to say later I did appologize and gave her the beloved ( and freshly sanitized ( thankfully the can was empty ) ) back with the warning that we were still going to work really hard this week on getting rid of the paci because she is a big girl now...

We have a new idea that was just sent to me, and we will be working on that ( Stay tuned for what and how it goes ) but this was not the way to handle it.

Bad mommy - no no.