A Gift to Myself

Spring is around the corner! 6 days to go and boy am I yearning for it! We barely got snow this Winter and I know the temps didn't dip nearly as cold as last year, pero el mono chiflo more than once! I tell you that I have been making a variation of my bean stew at least once per week! Thankfully, it seems like the worst is over. We've had relatively warm days this past week, even hitting the 70s on Monday.  I know I have an extra Spring (pun totally intended) to my step!

I decided when I began my weight loss journey to give myself little goals and reward myself once I reached them. In the past, if I had a goal to lose weight, the prize would be food of some sort.  It's sounds absolutely crazy to me now, but even nine months ago I rewarded a hike with ice-cream. I've rewired this old noodle and I gift myself in other ways. I've rewarded myself with a pixie haircut once my face had thinned out. I've also bought some jewelry & good make-up and excellent bath & body products to show myself some love!  On the day of surgery, I told Mi Gringito that once I reached my goal of getting to under 200 pounds, I'd go for something substantial.  It was between a handbag, a pair of aviator sunglasses or a pair of shoes.

I can happily announced that I met my goal last month!

So what to choose? I own at least a dozen handbags, mostly all COACH. I have two perfectly good pairs of sunglasses, COACH and Ray Ban.  Shoes? Well, since I got a new job and am back in school, I had been in the market for a pair I could wear all day and hope to not have blisters or achy feet. It was decided and I began the shoe hunt.  My work uniform is a black top and blue jeans, so I wanted something that could stand out -- I was searching for something with some color, style and of course, comfort.  I got these:

Yes, I'm very loyal to my brands so I did not hesitate when these came on sale.  I've had them for two days and have not taken them off, except to shower and sleep.  They have a great fit and my feet don't hurt in them.  The true test will be at work this weekend, though.

You know what's another test? Making sure I get all my water and protein in by the end of the day. It seems like its a full-time job. I have to get a minimum of 48oz of water and 60g of protein. I have no problem with the liquid - since decaffeinated coffee counts as a liquid, I'm drinking the stuff almost exclusively.  Yes, I said decaf.  I haven't had anything caffeinated since October.  I'm a much calmer person and sleep like a baby, but I digress...

Protein is a bit harder to get.  In the beginning, I used to drink a protein shake daily which would give me 42g in a serving.  I soon got very disgusted with it and just shudder when I even think about it.  Pero que pasa? I forgot to inform La Suegra that protein shakes saben a rayo to me and she bought me an entire case the day after I completely swore them off. They have sat there now for over three months and I feel so bad.  I decided I needed to do something with them and came up with a recipe.  I figured that if the recipe came out decent, I'd be able to use up the shakes and get some protein in; if it came out bad, no one was drinking the shakes anyway so it wasn't a total loss.

D's Cake Batter Protein Pops
Ingredients:
1 17oz container of Myoplex French Vanilla Protein Shake (or any other pre-made protein shake)
1 box of Sugar-Free Butterscotch Instant Pudding

Directions

• Pour protein shake into a large mixing bowl

• Add instant pudding

• With an electric hand mixer, mix on Low for approximately 2 minutes or until well blended

• Pour mix into ice-cube trays and place in freezer until set (about 2 hours)

• Pop them out and keep in a freezer bag for storage

Makes approximately 24-28 depending how much you fill the trays. I tell you, as I mixed this it gave out an aroma like vanilla cake batter and I hoped it would taste like that once they were done...Yep! I don't know about you, but I used to love to lick the bowl clean when I was younger so this is an awesome treat for me. The nutritional stats will depend on how many pops you end up with.  This batch yielded 27 pops which came out to 15 cal and 1.5g of protein each. I also think you can also play with other flavors of pudding, but bear in mind that the vanilla flavor is very strong in this protein shake so you will always have it lingering.

I can't wait until the pretty flowers of Spring start popping everywhere! How about you? Did you feel Winter's sadness and welcome the joy of Spring?

Hasta la proxima!

The Rest of the Family Has To Eat...

At the moment, I only have room in my new tummy for 1/2C of food and I can only eat pureed foods...Gerber & Beechnut stock just went up!  Even though I can't eat, it doesn't mean I am going to neglect Mi Gringito. I mean, I'm sure he wouldn't mind eating D'Angelo's every night...pero then he'd grow to be as large as I am and we'd go broke quicker than we already are!

Tonight's supper was adapted from a recipe that I got from one of Lisa Lillien's cookbook's Hungry Girl 1-2-3: The Easiest, Most Delicious, Guilt-Free Recipes on the Planet. I wouldn't say that her recipes single-handedly helped me lose my pre-op weight -- but she was an enormous part! Reader's, if you are interested in low-calorie yet yummy food, I totally recommend ANY of her cookbooks, her website, as well as watching her show on Cooking Channel!

Itty-Bitty Turkey & Veggie Loaves
Recipe adapted from Hungry Girl

Ingredients

• 1.25 lbs Raw Ground Turkey (I used Italian Seasoned)
• 1 12oz Bag Broccoli Cole Slaw
• 1 Tsp Dried Onion Flakes
• 2 Tsp Garlic Powder
• 1 Tsp Salt
• 1/4C Ketchup (also a bit more for garnish)
• 1/2C Fat-Free Liquid Egg Substitute (or 2 eggs)
• 1/2C Quick Cooking Oats

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray (I use a 12 cup brownie pan -- I like the shape!)
• Roughly chop the broccoli slaw and place in a large bowl

• Add the onion flakes, garlic powder, salt, ketchup, egg substitute and quick cooking oats

• Mix well

• Add the turkey and mix well

• Using a large spoon, fill the cups with the mixture

• Add a small dollop of ketchup on all of the mini loaves

• Place in the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let it stand for five minutes.

I almost stuck a loaf in the blender so I could eat it too!

Depending on your appetite, this recipe can serve from three to six people...Los Suegros eat two a piece, I used to eat three and Mi Gringito has eaten anywhere between three and five of these! I like this recipe because once I can have real food, I will be able to have one of the loaves as a meal! Score for me!!

I baked sweet potato fries as a side dish, but I've also been known to make this with more steamed veggies, mashed potatoes or basically anything you would have with regular meat-loaf.

And for dessert...I've scoured high and low for this since I first heard of it and FINALLY found it...

Buen Provecho, Mis Amigos! Let me know if you try it out!

Ch-ch-changes! - A Brave New World and Appreciating Your Loved Ones

It's been a while reader's, hasn't it?

I sit here at 4 in the afternoon, sipping on some ice-water as the sun sets.  Whoa, what? Sun setting at 4? Yes...like everyone (except Hawaii & Arizona) in the US, we "fell backwards" this Sunday...days are getting shorter and Christmas music is blaring at the stores.  Did you hear that we got snow? In OCTOBER? Just in time for a visit from Mami...la pobre. I was so worried that once the white stuff started falling from the sky she was going to cut her visit short and never visit me again.  Apparently she liked it, though.  I told her I was glad porque cuando ella este vieja y decrepita, it's either a home or living with me up here!

Mami didn't come for leisure this time, though.  She came to nurse me back to health.

Readers, I made the ultimate decision with my life and body. I have been considered overweight since I was a toddler and have been obese my entire adult life.  

On October 25, 2011, I underwent Gastric Bypass Surgery.

This was not an easy nor quick decision.  No way, no how.  The first time I considered surgery, I was 24 and already taking medicine to control my blood pressure. I didn't even research it at all because the company I worked for switched insurances and the representative said flat-out that the procedure was not a covered benefit. I considered it again when I was 27. I was now at least 50lbs heavier than the first time. I went to an information session with Mami and began the initial process. I then got the phone call: the procedure was not a covered benefit. I tried to finance it on my own and was not approved.  Ever since then, I still tried on my own to lose weight and would be able to drop 15 or 20lbs on any given try and then gain it all right back up again. I think I had come to terms with the fact that I was going to be heavy my whole life and that I might possibly never be healthy enough to bear a child for Mi Gringito.  That killed me inside.

Fast forward to living here. After six months of torture, I decided to quit my job. Mi Gringito was making a decent wage so I knew I could at least take a month or two off and look for a job closer to home and possibly less stressful. I still needed insurance coverage, so Mi Gringito added me to his insurance policy and what do I find as I am reading the Certificate of Coverage? Yes. Bariatric Surgery was a covered benefit. I hooted & hollered and danced a jig. I spoke with my PCP and he was all for it. I did my research and found a great program only about a half hour's drive away. 

I attended their information session and was totally excited.  That was in early February. I met with the staff at the Obesity Treatment Center and that's when I was given the whammy.  This was NOT going to be a walk in the park. Due to my insurance, I would have to undergo six months of medical appointments not including the initial appointment. I also had to lose 8% of my current body weight, attend at least two pre-operative information sessions at the hospital, attend a six week behavioral course, see an exercise physiologist, a nutritionist, pass a psychological evaluation, so a sleep study and whatever other loop they deemed necessary BEFORE I got an appointment to meet with the surgeon. I felt deflated, but I stuck to it.  Six months later, I surpassed my 8% goal by a whole 5lbs and was able to schedule with the surgeon.

Being the internet freak that I am, I set to research online and came across a web forum for bariatric patients. Thinner Times was made by a surgeon to help people pre & post-op. This site helped me more than I can express.  I also read a book titled The Emotional First Aid Kit: A Practical Guide To Life After Bariatric Surgery. Being informed is the greatest tool anyone can have!

The rest happened so quickly it seems. I met with her in September and she scheduled me for October. I met with the nutritionist two weeks before surgery and was put on a 1000 calorie diet until surgery. The day before I was on clear liquids only (possibly the most miserable day of my life so far).

I was in the hospital for less than 48 hours. Mami arrived the day after I got home and I swear, dear readers, if it weren't for her & Mi Gringito, I would've gone nuts. Don't get me wrong. I was rarely in pain. I was hurting more because I was forced to sleep on my back and ended up pinching a nerve on my shoulder.  Poor Mami had to massage my shoulders almost every night.  She never once complained. Mi Gringito would have to get out of bed in the middle of the night to walk me to the bathroom.  He never once complained. I would cry about the most absurd things such as not being able to load the dishwasher or do my laundry. All Mami would say is, "That's what I'm here for, Babygirl..." Then I would cry because I knew she was leaving soon.  I think I begged her to quit her job and stay with me - Le dije que Papi could come and visit her periodically. No go. I've always loved my mother and I always knew she would take a bullet for me but the reality is much more impacting than theory. Her selflessness means more to me than I can possibly ever express to her. Same goes for Mi Gringito. They are, after all, two of my favorite people in the whole wide world!

She's been gone for a few days now and I'm still standing! I can now sleep on my stomach (PRAISE JESUS!) and I am very independent. I tire quickly, but that is to be expected and I am trying to not over do it. I've been to the mall three times since my surgery and they seem to frown down on that sort of activity. The surgeon's office reprimanded me and told me to cool it. So, I went to Macy's after that appointment.

Life goes on. 

I will eventually be able to eat normal food again (I was just promoted to pureed foods today). Let me tell you, after two weeks of strained cream soup and yogurt, those jars of baby food tasted like heaven!

I happily cooked Mi Gringito his supper tonight, baked him a batch of Christmas cookies and I feel like a million bucks.

I also feel inspired.  Now that I have to eat smaller portions, focus on protein before anything and still watch what I eat, I have decided to tackle the task of converting my favorite dishes into bariatric friendly foods. 

Oh the possibilities!

Traiga La Camilla Que No Aguanto Mas...

I've never been outdoorsy...not in the least.  I don't like to be hot, I don't like to sweat and I'd be much happier if bugs did not exist.  In reality, though -- there will be times when the temperature will rise above fifty degrees in New England (for a minute in May, I was skeptical!).  With rising temperatures, you will inevitably sweat (or just swell up like a giant tomato, like me!) -- and those pesky bugs will buzz all around you.

So, why on God's green Earth would I even contemplate a walk, let alone a HIKE, in this wilderness? Exercise. Plain and simple.

Not pesky, but I don't consider a butterfly a bug!

My friends, I've been blessed like many Cubans to be "big boned" and I've realized that I'm not getting any younger nor am I ever going to get any thinner just sitting like a Buddha in from of my computer. It's not for lack of equipment...I have it all!  Treadmill, workout video's, Wii Fit, Zumba for the Wii, Dance Dance Revolution.  Just because I have the tools doesn't mean I will utilize them. As my thirtieth birthday looms in a little over a month, I know that I have to step up my game if I want to ever give Mi Gringito the little guajiro's he wants!

You think I will look like her if I do this daily?

So how does one vaga get off her butt and exercise?  I find some sort of motivation and trick myself into doing something.  Now I will be honest -- the motivation isn't always the best, but I look on the bright side that it got me moving.

I decided sometime in late winter/early spring (was there even a difference this year???) that what I wanted to do for exercise this spring and summer was to hike. I am in no way conditioned to scale Mt. Washington, or anything, but I figured that if I started small and slow I could eventually take on more advanced trails and maybe someday I could take on a mountain.

The first thing I did was buy a good pair of hiking boots and hiking socks. I then did some research on local trails as well as hiking tips and tricks.  I don't want to end up being supper for a rabid squirrel or chipmunk out there! Mi Gringito and I planned to drive all around New Hampshire starting with the easy trails and maybe working up to moderate one's by summer's end.

Fashion & function! 

All this planning got me hungry, sad to say, and I mentioned to Mi Gringito that what I really wanted more than a good walk was a huge scoop of ice-cream. I then asked him if he thought it was too ambitious of me to want to walk to the Beech Hill Farm & Ice Cream Barn. He said not at all; that it was about three miles round trip if we cut across our yard onto a hiking trail. So...yesterday afternoon, we put on our hiking boots, sprayed bug spray and sunscreen, filled a backpack with some water, an umbrella and my camera and decided to hike all the way to the barn and back.

The way there was pretty easy and uneventful except when I asked Mi Gringito if he new what poison ivy looked like and he said no. We must have been a sight trying to avoid EVERY leaf in our path. We survived so I guess we didn't run into any. That, or we've got some really tough skin.

EVERY set of leaves looked like these!

It took us about 45 minutes to get there and I don't think that chocolate ice-cream ever tasted so good to me. We sat in the air-conditioned room for a good half-hour and I wondered if Mi Gringito was dreading the hike back as much as I was! But alas, what other choice did we have? Los Suegros were in Massachusetts for the day so we really didn't have a Plan B on getting home.

Pay no attention to the hot pink blob in the middle of your screen!

Has anyone ever noticed that walking downhill is much, much easier than uphill? Oh that trek back was killer! It could have been because of the pint of chocolate brownie ice-cream that now sat like a lead weight in my stomach combined with the hill -- all I know was that we hadn't reached the trees yet and I was severely out of breath.  We made it home in one piece and actually took less time on the walk back (I think its because I was leading the retreat).  After a long and cold shower, I was aching but it felt good.  So what if all the calories I burned washed out with the ice-cream? The fact is that I voluntarily walked almost 3 miles! That's big!

4 minutes by car; 45 minutes by foot...

I hope to be able to chronicle other hikes that we decide to take this summer -- I didn't pull out the camera even once on this hike and now I regret it because it was very pretty and the butterflies were everywhere!

Stay cool, my friends! Hasta la proxima!