Re-Commitment days 3 & 4

Hello all! Yesterday was day 3 of re-commitment week and so far so good! I managed to get to the gym for another 55 minutes yesterday. I have been working on a couch to 5k program and yesterday was supposed to be the day I moved on to the week 4 workouts, but I just wasn't feeling it. Instead I decided to do another timed mile and got a new PR & NSV! Last time my mile was a 13:37. yesterday it dropped to 12:45!!!! That's almost a minute closer to my new-years resolution goal of 10 minutes!

I didn't quite meet my nutritional goals yesterday, but I was pretty close. Still was a bit short on my protein and water but wasn't too far off. Today's focus is water! I WILL hit 8 cups. I have also decided to skip the the mushy foods diet because I realized that only thing it was keeping me from was healthy raw fruits and vegetables. Still haven't weighted myself but I am quite glad I added that goal to my list because I hadn't realized how much of a compulsion it had become. I cannot wait until Monday!

Day 4 results:

vitamin supplements: success! 

300 minutes of exercise: 175/300 for the week

64oz fluid:  60/64

No added sugar: success! 

No weighing: success! 

70g protein: 55/70  

In other news, I had my 3 month post-op doctors visit the other day! Looking forward to sharing the good news soon! 

Re-commitment week: Day 2

Today I didn't feel as good as yesterday but I pushed through. Officially finished my goal of going back to the liquid diet for two days. I really do feel 'cleared out' from the junk food. :-) This afternoon I was quite tired so had to pretty much drag myself to the gym. When I finally got there all the treadmills were taken so I hopped on the bike. It was a MUCH harder workout than I had anticipated. I really need to get those biking muscles stronger before summer comes along! A 6 mile bike ride and 30 minutes of lifting late I felt pretty good about myself! There really is something about pushing through those mid-day lulls! My day two goals weren't as perfect as day one, but I'm proud of them nonetheless

liquid diet: day 2/2 complete! On to soft foods tomorrow 

vitamin supplements: success! 

300 minutes of exercise: 120/300 for the week

64oz fluid:  64/64

No added sugar: success! 

No weighing: success! 

70g protein: 63/70  

Tomorrow is another day! <3 

Re-commitment week: Day 1

One day into my re-commitment week and things are going great! I reached out to my Facebook Support group and an incredible 22 people have decided to join me and re-commit to their programs. I am absolutely overwhelmed by the amount of support poured out by a group of individuals that have never even met each other! Here is an update on my goals after day 1!

1. liquid diet: day 1/2 complete! 
2. vitamin supplements: success! 
3. 300 minutes of exercise: 60/300 for the week
4. 64oz fluid:  64/64
5. No added sugar: success! 
6. No weighing: success! 
7. 70g protein: 73/70

I have also learned that my grazing and mindless eating have gotten out of control again. It becomes a lot more obvious on the liquid diet because I don't really have anything liquid I can graze on. I now know I need to pay a lot more attention to this and avoid eating in certain situations such as in front of the TV.

 I'm really looking forward to what the rest of the week has to bring! We got this!

Getting back on track

I have to admit I have been struggling lately with sticking to my program. Many people after weight loss surgery acquire a strong intolerance/aversion to high sugar foods. This was something that I had actually hoped to get because sweets have always been a huge struggle for me. Up until last week I hadn't really tested my limits with sweets because I had been doing so well at following my prescribed diet. Well last Wednesday night advertising finally got to me and I just had to try McDonald's chocolate covered strawberry frappe. I didn't check any nutrition facts because I thought after 3 months I deserved a treat.

So I drank ALL 570 calories of process sugar, fat, and chemicals...

It was wonderful. My body did feel crappy for about 10 minutes (At this point I hadn't allowed myself ANY added sugar) but I quickly faded into my blissful sugar high. No aversions, no nausea, and now I was sucked back in. Those 79 grams of sugar are still affecting me. I basically feel like I've fallen off the wagon. I am now having a much harder time staying on my diet, and have continued to indulge on a few sweets such as chocolate covered pretzels and some puppy chow. My cravings for unhealthy foods are back in full force and it's not just sweets. I literally will KILL for carbs! I have also noticed a change in my mood and energy now that my food choices haven't been the best. I haven't been killing it in gym as much as I should, and even my water consumption has decreased. Welp, it's time for me to commit to getting back on track. Monday is my 're-commitment' day! Here are the specific goals and benchmarks that I am going to commit to for next week! 

1. 2 days liquid diet, 3 days soft food diet, last two days on my current diet
2. Take ALL my vitamin supplements each day
3. 300 minutes of exercise
4. Hit 64 oz of fluid each day
5. No added sugar! 
6. No weighing myself until the end of the week (This is going to be HARD!) 
7. At lease 70g protein everyday! 

I plan to check in daily for one week to keep myself accountable! The hope is that after this week I will re-establish my good habits and get back on track toward health and fitness! With that, I have a few victories to share. 

NSV: I am no longer morbidly obese! This is HUGE for me!  I now also fit into some pants from high-school :-D 

SV: I have hit 50lbs lost! Half way to 100!

God Bless! 

WLS Friendly Flatbread Pizza

Pizza. What a wonderful food! I mean seriously, who doesn't like pizza! Since the beginning of my diet starting in early November this food had been torturous to me. It is often a go to food for any college hangout so I found myself in many situations where I had to practice some serious self-control. No matter how many times I tried I just couldn't justify the 19 grams of fat for one slice. (Like I'd only eat one slice...) Worried that this beloved food may be out of my diet forever, I was very intrigued when someone posted in a FB group about a skinny 'flatbread pizza' that was safe for WLS (weight loss surgery) post-ops. I experimented around the other day and was able to come up with something super delish and simple! The best part is that it only takes 14 minutes to make and contains a whopping 22 grams of protein!

WLS Friendly Flatbread Pizza 

Ingredients

1 flatbread - I used flatout multi-grain w/flax

1 TBS olive oil

1/4 cup mozzarella cheese

Turkey pepperoni

4 TBS natural pizza sauce


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Brush flatbread with olive oil and place directly on the oven rack for 7 minutes. At this point the flatbread gets crispy. Top with pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni and place back in the oven for another 7 minutes. Enjoy!

Per one pizza: 239cals, 13carbs, 22g protein,13g fat, 3g sugar 

Muscle Recovery & a Product Review

Lately I've been trying very hard to listen to my body, particularly in the areas of exercise and muscle recovery. It's really easy to get caught up in your goal of exercising 6X a week and forget to give your body some rest. I still haven't learned exactly what my body needs as far as recovery yet, but I am getting much closer to figuring it out. So far I've learned that I better plan on at least two easy days after a Jillian Michaels workout, and one for weight lifting. If I'm to sore to walk down my stairs I take that as a resting day. It's all about listening to your body. Once I've started doing this I've noticed a huge improvement in my workouts. I feel like I get much more out of them and they are much more enjoyable.

Many people who go through rapid weight loss have the unfortunate side effect of muscle atrophy. This is why protein is SO important in a weight loss diet. When your body is starved for protein it can start to breakdown your muscles as a last resort. I have been told to try to get in 75 grams of protein each day. It's a difficult task but I know that not only will it prevent atrophy, but it will help promote the rebuilding of muscles after exercise and strength training. The only way I come close to getting my recommended amount of protein in is by supplementing with protein shakes. I have been using UNJURY medical quality protein powders.

 They have a few flavors to choose from which include chocolate splendor, strawberry sorbet, vanilla, and unflavored. I have tried all the flavors and by far my favorite is chocolate splendor. When mixed with 8oz of milk it really tastes just like chocolate milk! It really doesn't have that proteiny taste and blends very well in my blenderball shaker. I try to get in at least one of these shakes a day, especially if I've had a good workout. The unflavored is actually pretty unflavored. I've added it to things like pudding, mashed potatoes, and milk for my cereal. You can tell it's there, but barely. The strawberry and vanilla are ok, but I love my chocolate. :-)

Here are some nutrition facts: One scoop + 8oz skim milk (IGA brand)

Calories: 190

Carbs: 17

Fat: 0

Protein: 29

Sodium: 185

Sugar: 15

Also here is the breakdown. You could cut down a lot of the sugar and calories by replacing the milk with something like unsweetened almond or soymilk. 

In other news, I'm seriously considering getting a Fitbit. I'm leaning toward the Fibit Flex but i'm not so sure. Does anybody have experience with one? Do you love it? Also are there any other fitness trackers that I should consider? 

Happy Monday! 

The 40lb difference

It's incredible what 40 lbs can do for your body. My resting heart rate has decreased about 10 bpm, my body has WAY less aches and pains, and I am less out of breath walking up flights of stairs. To be honest the best thing about the 40 lb difference is that I am so much more confident in myself. This confidence boost has perfectly coincided with the start of student teaching. I was able to go shopping for 'teacher clothes' and fit into sizes that I haven't been able to fit into for years!

If you're going through this journey with me, just keep pushing! It's amazing how your own body can motivate you once you start seeing results. 

~Ability is what you're capable of doing. Motivation determines what you do. Attitude determines how well you do it.

-Lou Holtz