Today marked a couple of NSVs for me. We went to the movies this afternoon and two things happened that have not happened in quite some time:
- I didn’t get popcorn. This is a very big deal for me, because popcorn is one of my absolute favorite snack foods of all time. I really had to fight Fat Girl on this one, because they were popping it fresh. And as I approached the concession stand to buy a bottle of water, I kept eying the popcorn cascading out of the popper, and smelling it…it smelled SO GOOD! But when asked if I could be helped, I simply asked for a large bottle of water, paid for it and WALKED AWAY. Also? I’d packed some jerky in my bag (shhh, don’t tell on me!) as a substitute so that made it slightly easier to walk away from the popcorn (but still difficult).
- My husband and I could both put the armrests on the seats down and were not sitting in each other’s space. This is also a big deal, because before, we always had to put the armrests up, and even then, it was still pretty uncomfortable. Not any more!
My husband made a comment as we sat down in the theater seats: “This will give us an idea of what it might be like on an airplane.” I thought about it, and then remembered that seats in coach are now even smaller than they were the last time either one of us flew, so I’m guessing that it might still be uncomfortable anyway. I most likely will not be flying anywhere any time soon to find this out.
When we got home, I sat down to make another playlist to listen to while I walk the treadmill tomorrow. I’m discovering that I can power through an hour on that friggin’ machine as long as I have the right music to match my pace. So when I make a playlist, it’s a challenge to find the right songs to match my pace at the time the song comes up. I build the list so it starts off kind of slow, then gets more intense, gets super intense and then backs down to something more calm. What I’ve put together so far has worked well. The list I’ve got to listen to for tomorrow looks and sounds pretty good so we’ll see how it goes when I’m actually working out. I build each list to be around an hour long so that I can try and get in at least 2 miles if not more during that time. Right now I’m averaging nearly 2.3 miles in an hour. I’d like to be at 2.5 miles an hour by January 1, pushing toward 3.1 miles an hour by March 1.
Today’s food was all eaten away from home as we were out and about all day long. It is the last weekday of our holiday break before returning to work Monday for the rest of the semester (for me, anyway). Protein consumed today: 104 grams. Carbs: 46 grams, and fat, 35 grams. Carbs were higher today since I am going to the gym in the morning to walk on the treadmill. Good thing, too since I will be sitting on my ass most of the day tomorrow grading student work, ugh…
Leftover smoked chicken and pork loin were eaten as a late dinner. Pintos and a hushpuppy will be eaten tomorrow morning in advance of my date with the treadmill.
Today’s food choices, from upper right: smoked chicken, smoked stuffed pork tenderloin, cauliflower and Brussels sprout gratin, pinto beans, jalapeno hushpuppy; multivitamin and calcium supplements x2, iron supplement; Trader Joe’s turkey jerky; snack mix sample from Spec’s (shared with hubby); seared sea scallops and shrimp on corn puree, sauteed asparagus (I ate 4 skinny stalks, and then all the tips, hahaha) and steamed broccoli and cauliflower (I only ate 3 tiny florets of broccoli and sent the rest of the cauliflower home with hubby).
La Guerra de La Gorda 
Hi there! I found you on OH. First of all, I want to say congratulations on your weight loss. You are obviously working hard and it’s paying off. I also want to tell you how much I enjoy your blog, especially the Daily Bites. I’m glad to see that eating post-sleeve doesn’t have to be boring.
May I ask when your new tummy was able to tolerate jerky? From what I’ve seen on the forums eating beef is something that apparently comes later in the healing process. I don’t want to fall prey to carby snacks when I’m out and about so I thought carrying some jerky would be a good solution.
Take care and I wish you continued success! 🙂
Hi there,
Thanks for the compliments! And you’re absolutely right…eating with a sleeve doesn’t have to be boring. I love to cook, and no kidding, I love to eat, and most of all, I don’t want my food to bore me. When I get bored with my food is when problems with eating things that aren’t beneficial to my eating plan sneak their way in.
I didn’t eat jerky until probably a little over 2 and a half post-op. At least I think that’s when I started eating it. I didn’t eat beef until a little over 2 months out, and even then, the beef I ate was thinly sliced house-roasted cap-off round roast that I got at the grocery store. It was cooked rare, so it went down very easy. I am fortunate in that there hasn’t been a meat that my tummy won’t tolerate. This is both a blessing and a curse because it means I can eat just about anything without issues. I keep turkey jerky around as a snack, and sometimes beef jerky too. I find that when I eat beef, it’s because I’m craving it, and not because I actively seek it out. The meats I usually eat are chicken, turkey and fish/shellfish due to them having more protein per ounce than beef or pork.
Thanks for the well-wishes. Have you had surgery yet?
I plan to have my surgery in February. The pre-op tests are all going well and then I have to get my approval from my PCP and of course, from my insurance company. My hospital is a Bariatric Center Of Excellence so I’m confident that I’m making the right decision. Trust me, the day can’t come fast enough! 🙂