January 18 Food & Reflections

Caribbean Cooler Nectar Supplement, 1 serving
90 - calories
0 - carbs
0 - fat
23 - protein


Vegetable Soup, 1 cup
145 - calories
24 - carbs
4 - fat
4 - protein


Kraft Free American Cheese Singles, 1 slice
31 - calories
2 - carbs
0 - fat
5 - protein


Sweetpotato, fresh, 0.15 sweetpotato, 5" long
20 - calories
5 - carbs
0 - fat
0 - protein


Green Beans French style, 0.25 cup
10 - calories
2 - carbs
0 - fat
1 - protein


Meatloaf, 0.75 serving
131 - calories
6 - carbs
9 - fat
6 - protein


Caribbean Cooler Nectar Supplement, 2 serving
180 - calories
0 - carbs
0 - fat
46 - protein


Kraft Free American Cheese Singles, 1 slice
31 - calories
2 - carbs
0 - fat
5 - protein


Cottage Cheese, Nonfat, 0.5 cup (not packed)
62 - calories
1 - carbs
0 - fat
13 - protein


Totals:
700 - calories (below goal of 800-900, but fine)
43 - carbs (below goal of 100-110 g., but fine)
14 - fat - (PERFECT!!!! -- goal is 15-18 g.)
102 - protein - (higher then goal but great! -- goal is minimum of 65

Vitamins & Meds:
Multi - 2x
B-Complex - 1x
B12- 1x
Calcium - 2x (FINALLY got them and they taste like candy!!!)
Lexapro - 1x
Geodon - 1x

Water: 6 cups

Reflections:
I was pleased at how my diet ended up. I added a total of 3 protein supplements for a couple reasons. One was to get an increased amount of protein in cuz I know that'll aid in weight loss and my overall health. Another is that it'll increase my fluid intake daily. I managed to get a total of 6 cups of fluid this time in the entire day. For me, this is improvement. It's taken me a long time to get to that. I'm 2 months out and I'm just finally reaching 6 cups. I'll try to reach another half cup tomorrow and keep that goal for a few days, and add another half cup every few days until I reach my total of 8 minimum. I think part of what helped me was advanced menu planning. I knew what I was eating all day ahead of time and could alter that and know exactly what my nutrition was for the day before I even ate it. I even ended up eating less of my supper then planned, but that's okay. I was comfortably full and I quit at that point. I got in enough protein and that was my main goal. I need to work on my menu for tomorrow so I have a rough idea of what I'll be eating. I alter as I wish in the day, but it helps with my impulsivity from my bipolar and borderline symptoms that I tend to get easily with food. It helps me keep my compulsive and binge eating under control as well. My energy level increased after I did 20 minutes of exercise. I started a new goal of 20 minutes of any kind of exercise daily, so I started that and it helped my energy levels for a couple hours at least. I know I didn't burn much in way of calories, but it's more then I would have had I sat in my chair debating what kind of exercise to do. I'm proud of myself for finally starting on that. I found an awesome site with medical ID bracelets that are pretty yet have a very visible ID plate with the info on it. It's probably gonna cost me like $75 in the end for it, but I'm okay with that cuz I'll enjoy wearing it. It'll have mood changing beads and those bring me right back to my childhood of the mood changing rings. And, with these bracelets, I can always order new bracelets to attach to the ID plate so they're interchangable and I love that quality about them as well. So while they're expensive, their quality is also high to go with it, so I don't mind. I don't get much for myself that is expensive and I view it as: if I am going to need to wear this for the rest of my life, then I might as well enjoy what I'm wearing so I keep wearing it. Right now I have a generic bracelet from Walmart. It has this black, rubber type band that has the ID plate on it, then a smaller red band for smaller wrists. Though, I think my wrist is as small as it might get. I was pinching it and there's hardly anything left to pinch now, so I am guessing I'm a large framed person as I always thought I was. Though, with this much weight on the body, it's always hard to know for sure, but I'm pretty sure I'm large framed with an hour glass figure, which I'll enjoy. I even had a semi hour glass figure before surgery. So it feels good to see the true me physically coming out now. I know I'm still heavy and I still feel heavy and I definitely think and act like a heavy person, but I'm 59 pounds slimmer and I can see it in my belly. It's actully flatter now. Before it was so rounded and tight. Now it's flatter and mushy. It's gross, but at least it's flatter. Now if I can figure out how to cope with the achy shins from my lymphedema, I'd be good. Since the weight loss started, the fat/skin hangs right over my lymph nodes going into my legs which causes my lymph nodes down in the legs to work overtime to keep the fluid down and while they're functioning enough to keep the fluid down, talk about this dull, annoying ache I get to live with! I called my lymphedema therapist finally to see if she has any ideas on how to cope. I hate to go back to my wraps. And I think they'll be gigantic on my legs anyhow. I'd only use them for pressure on the legs if I did anyhow. I dunno if that'd help. I know ice helps, but I have to put a hand towel on my leg, then the ice packs, then my leg wraps to keep them on. It's a hassel for me to wear that way and for Carl to have to do, but I might try it again to see if I can decrease that ache. It's not a painful ache, just this dull, ongoing ache that happens usually later in the day. I just got my calcium chewables. I LOVE them! They smell just like a bag of Red Hots, only they're not quite as hot. They have a much more mild flavor and they're like candy to me, so I'm really enjoying them! I refuse to by any form of candy, even sugar free, cuz then I'm scared I'll give myself permission to eat them all the time, so I just avoid that all together. So these are nice cuz I get to enjoy a candy flavor yet they're good for me. I'm so glad I decided to try them. So, for this day, I'm pleased overall. Still fatigued, but otherwise good.