Julie/Julia project for WLS peeps on its way!!!

I made two dishes today from the Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery cookbook: Smoked Porkchops with Pineapple and Creamed Spinach. Reviews, pictures, and general thoughts to come, but it was a good first introduction to cooking with the cookbook, and wanted to quickly share!!!

Since I will be cooking (and eating) from this book in the next coming months, I have to say that it needs a better name... Its long and awkward. I feel like it needs to be shortens to something a bit more catchy, especially if I will by typing the title over and over and over again. Maybe just call it: Eating Well? Or do I shorten it like they do for the How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) television show? Maybe I go all Rachel-Ray on it, like how she calls extra virgin olive oil, EVOO.

The acronym (funny I'm even talking about this after my previous post! ha!) of EWAWLS seems a bit lame. And doesn't flow whatsoever! Maybe just call it Eating Well After WLS? A mix of both?! Ideas?

I will be noshing on leftovers tomorrow, and putting together a blog of the first two recipes!

NSV? Huh? Um, a whaaatttt.....

Its been driving me batty seeing people say 'NSV' on weight loss surgery blogs/sites/forums/etc... because for the life of me, I couldn't guess what the acronym stood for!

And since it seems everyone throws around NSV-this and NSV-that, I was feeling a bit silly putting myself out there to ask what it meant. In my head I was imagining someone responding: 'Duh, Alissa... you had an RNY and you don't know what NSV stands for?!!'

Thank god for Google... Sort of. It kind of left me bewildered until I realized I should try searching under 'NSV+weight'. Lesson learned, haha!

The first search result stated NSV stood for: Nullsoft Streaming Video. Another result a few links down: Net Sales Value. As I recall, that was a topic I studied in one of my business classes at WAZZU. And the one below that link?

No-Scapel Vasectomy.

Nope, that is definitely not what everyone is talking about when announcing their personal NSV's!!!

Wrong type of surgery. And I'm sure for those of you fellow RNY'ers with Y-chromosomes, you would be pret-ty upset with that type of NSV.

And for those of you who were in the same boat as me, wondering what a 'NSV' is:

It stands for a Non-Scale Victory!

p.s. If you are curious about another acronym I used in this post (WAZZU), it stands for Washington State University... One of the most amazing universities in our lovely country. Go Cougs!

And.... I'm hovering!

I know, I know...

My pouch isn't broken, its still working, but I have to say I'm incredibly frustrated. I've been reading the OH boards a lot over the last few months, and it seems that every other post was about someone who stopped losing weight. Then I observe that everyone complains about that/those person(s) and say that its a natural part of this process, and to get over it. I understand that, I get it. And I swore to myself that I wouldn't post on the same topic, but here I am (begrudgingly) complaining about it. Granted its my blog, so I can say what I want! :)

My last doctors appointment I weight in at was January 26th, and I haven't lost a single pound for coming up on three weeks. I'm hovering right about the 233lbs range.

Its frustrating.

Maddening.

Yet, I know my body will do what my body needs to do.

And that it will break out of this.

That being said, I think its okay to whine and pout... Even a little bit. I didn't mention anything in my other posts since I was feeling optimistic... but its getting me down a little. And I'm sure it has something to do with my body maybe in starvation mode after weeks of clear liquids and then the past two plus weeks of me introducing soft foods.

Before the surgery, I lived my life without a scale (and subsequently, without any real way to keep me in check!) and now that I feel after this surgery, all I do is live life with the scale. All. The. Time. And since my WLS is pretty much in the open, I have people commenting: How much have you lost? Ohmigod! You look great! I'm really proud of you. Blah. Blah. Blah. Right now all I can focus on is this scale not moving!

Anyway, I just had to vent. Surely I'm not the only one???

Introducing my very own 'protein station'

I live in an adorable and urban apartment in downtown Olympia. I love everything about our home... minus the kitchen counterspace. This proves a daunting task as protein powder containers are the size of small pets. Our kitchen real estate is a premium, so having giant tubs of the stuff hanging out on the counter tops isn't an option. Especially considering I hate clutter... It drives me nuts! My lovely boyfriend installed a 'protein station' for me, and I wanted to share pictures of this. I think its a pretty awesome set-up... shelves from Ikea and glass containers found at Target... my Blender bottles... its perfect!!!

One thing that drives me batty is having the same thing to eat (or in this case... drink) over and over again, so I'm amassing a collection of protein powders. This allows me to have mulitple mixes, so that I can focus on getting my protein in. I'll admit it, I'm having a hard time getting it all in everyday. Drinking all this protein is a hard task... I feel like its a full time job, and I'm overwhelmed by it! But my goal is to improve each and every day, and having my very own protein bar is a step in the right direction!

In rotation: Syntrax Nectars (in Cappuccino, Natural Fruit Punch, Twisted Cherry, and Lemonade), Unjury's Chicken Soup, and 4EverFit's CranRazz

Fourty days.

I thought that eating my first food after surgery would have more fanfare, more excitment, almost a celebratory experience to it. Like when they bring a cake with a candle in it, to your birthday dinner at a restaurant.

Instead, it was more of a thud. Granted, a tasty thud, but still, bittersweet.

Two weeks prior to surgery, I started a clear liquid diet... As you all know, each surgeon's program is diffirent and I swear that my doctor is the most super-strict of them all! Its not until four weeks following surgery that we start our soft foods/pureed foods stage (for me, this coming Tuesday), so I've been on clear liquids... this.... entire... time...

Well after my less than stellar performance at work, and my dizzy spells and faintness (I'm sure due to lack of not eating anything since December 19th), I made the decision that I needed to try a little something to give me a bit more energy. Water, protein shakes, huge amounts of vitamins, and sugar-free popcicles just weren't cutting it. Fourty days, my friends, nothing of substance had passed my lips for fourty days!

After coming home from work five hours early yesterday, I pureed 1/4 cup of Split Pea Soup and warmed it up. Slowly I ate each bite and it was the most delicious thing that I have ever tasted!!!

Needless to say, I felt guilty not waiting until Tuesday. I'll admit it. But I'm not going to let this get me down, I know I need to listen to my body. But I still feel horrible by not following the exact instructions of my WLS program. Thankfully, today at work, I did not have any dizzy spells or feeling of faintness, and I trully think its because I had another 1/4 cup of Split Pea Soup about 2 hours before working today. It sat well in my new pouch, with I was so excited for!

After work, I went to my moms house... that four hours of work felt like fourteen!!! Exhausted, I made myself 'dinner': another 1/4 cup serving, but this time of cottage cheese.

Best cottage cheese I've ever tasted! Delish! Yum-o! Bon appetit!

So, there you go... These are first things ever in my pouch. And my pouch liked 'em!!!

Back to the daily grind...

Yesterday was my first day back at work (I'm a shift supervisor/barista at Starbucks). And it may seem strange, but it is one of the hardest jobs I've every had: you are always doing on-the-spot problem solving, on your feet and constantly moving (kind of difficult with a 5lb weight restriction), managing partners with varying personalities, and last but not least, hand-crafting yummy SBux beverages for those on the go, go, go...!

I woke up in the morning a little bit nervous, but I felt good... Took my vitamins, made a protein shake, and started my twenty minute drive in for a shift starting at 7am. At Starbucks our 'peak' time of business is anywhere from 6-9am, so business was steady when I got on the floor. At first I felt great, but not long after getting on the floor, I started to feel weak. Looking at the clock, I thought that I had been there for 2 hours, but it had only been an hour.

The people I work with are amazing... I am more thankful for them now, moreso, than I ever have been! The partners are so helpful and supportive, which is a god-send, and they were able to get me off the floor for five minutes to catch my breath and drink some water. My hands were shakey, and I started to feel faint, but it passed with some rest. I was crying because I'm so frustrated that my body isn't cooperating with me, and I felt so overwhelmed.

Back working, I started to feel faint within 15 minutes. This time, the 'tunnel vision' set in, and I couldn't concentrate when ringing up customers... It felt like they were millions of miles away from me, yet just a foot from me. Again, a break. This cycle was repeated several times.

I felt so bad, because it was our peak time of business and it is difficult to be down a person. It is felt by the customers and partners when a store is down a person. Especially with businesses streamlining, like other companies experience too, each employee is expected to do more with less resources, AKA, people. But I had too, my body was screaming: You have to slow down!!!

Out of my 8 hour shift, I wasn't even able to last 3 hours.

Uhhhg.

I decided that todays shift needed to be cut too, that working 8 hours and during peak would be too much so came late and worked 4 hours. Today I lasted nearly the full 4 hours, but that was, in part, because I decided to 'jump the shark' and eat a small bit of pureed foods to give me energy... I will explain more in my next post.

The Julie/Julia Project... for WLS peeps

Last night I watched one of my favorite movies: Julie & Julia.

And it got me thinking... What if I cooked my way thru a weight loss surgery cookbook? Has anyone in our community done this? Has anyone blogged this? Granted, I'm kind of ripping off the idea from the movie based on Julie's experience... but its kind of a cool twist!

Back in October I picked up 'Eating Well After Weight Loss Surgery' because after flipping thru it at Borders, I liked how the recipes were taylored to our itty bitty pouches, and many of them looked pretty tasty. Another plus? It has a whole section on sauces - and I've never met a sauce I didn't like! I have yet to cook anything from it, and for that matter, I'm still on a clear liquid diet. (Only 7 days left, but who's keeping track anyway, ha!)

Needless to say, I'm a bit premature in the undertaking of it... but the more I think of it, the more I want to do it. Once I get out my soft foods stage, and advance to something a bit more stable, its going to be my next project... Well, that, and canning. That project is another blog for another day tho!

p.s. Today marks 3 weeks since surgery and two more days until I return to work. I am dog-sitting for my mom, watching Guiliana & Bill (I'm a reality t.v. show addict, but hey, we all have our vices), and doing laundry. A nice, relaxing Tuesday.