Photo by synes

I’m still on the path on changing my food around a bit. The food sensitivity list showed no or low sensitivity to fish and shellfish. Actually I showed the most sensitivity to shrimp, which I’m not really fussy about anyway.

But, the thing is I don’t really like to cook with fish. I like tinned sardines, and do consume tinned tuna and salmon. That’s all good. I think cooking a bit more of it, with a bit more variety would be helpful.

Then, of course, there’s the fear about which fish to cook. Is it healthy? Might it be contaminated? Might it be overfished? To help me with those questions, I found this great site run by the Environmental Defense Fund in the US with a seafood selector guide. They even have a PDF to make a pocket guide.

The guide helps by showing which fish are caught or farmed in environmentally friendly way. Which fish are good for your heart, and even some cooking tips. Additionally, there’s a list of fish oil supplements showing which are acceptable based on their own research and analysis of the manufacturer’s responses to a questionnaire.

I loved this site. I think it’ll give me just the push I need, because now I feel a bit more informed, to cook more frequently with fish.

Being the curious sort, I decided to find out if I was sensitive to any foods. There are foods I don’t like because of smell or taste or texture, but I don’t think I’ve ever had an allergic reaction to any food item. The test involves having a test tube of blood drawn and then sent to a lab in the US that tests for more than 100 items. They test for antibodies in your blood that show sensitivity to these items, e.g., dairy, or nuts, or spices. Pretty much any kind of food is tested.

I got my results yesterday, and I’m still trying to digest them. It showed that I should avoid these foods totally:

• dairy
• egg
• beef
• lamb
• almonds
• ginger
• mustard

And to moderate the consumption of these foods:

• sunflower seeds
• gluten
• garlic (especially raw)
• kidney beans
• navy beans
• poppy seed
• brewer’s yeast

Who knew? I have to say that the only one that is really throwing me for a loop is egg – both whites and yolks. It’s easy enough to avoid eggs in omelets, or hard-boiled, or scrambled. Or in mayonnaise. But I know there are tons of items with a bit of egg in it. Wow! I just can’t get my mind around it.

I have to decide how much, or perhaps more rightly, how orthodox I’m going to be in changing my diet.

I know I’m going to try. Gradually winnowing out the bad stuff, beginning with dairy. And then working on eliminating egg products. The other stuff – beef, lamb – no problem, as I rarely eat these items anyway. Mustard? No problem. Ginger? I’ll be wary of it in the Chinese/Vietnamese/Thai food I order when eating out. Almonds? Again, no problem.

I’ll think about the “moderate” list later. Though getting rid of gluten is pretty big – lots of stuff has gluten in it.

I know that I don’t have it in me right now to be a vegan. I just don’t. But I know I can do some enhancing of my diet, so I’ll give it a go.

Damn. No ice cream.

Photo by bL

Not resolutions. Just looking ahead.

I’m going to lose the last 20 lbs once and and for all. Or decide that I weigh what I weigh, and move on.

Walk two half-marathons – the Chilly Half in March and the Toronto Women’s at the end of May. And then retire from half-marathon walking.

Find another activity to keep me exercising. Or determine that I need to go to the gym and workout regularly.

Read more novels.

Spend less time in the car.

Spend more time with my family.

Make more home-cooked meals.

Try to be in the moment.

Spend less.

Consume less.

Declutter my home.

Focus. Focus on the conversation I’m having. Focus on the task I’m doing. Focus on what I’m reading. Focus on the person I’m with. s.e., be in the moment.

Word for 2011. Focus.

Photo by lemonfridge

I’m a counter.

I’m training to walk the half-marathon, and in that process I count lots of different things. Here’s a small sampling:

• how often do I have to train each week
• how far do I have to walk each time I train
• how long does my walk take
• what was my pace
• what pace do I need to complete the half-marathon walk in 3hr 40min

Then if I’m watching what I eat, I count:

• have I had enough protein for today
• how much chicken should I eat
• did I have enough water
• how much milk should I drink
• did I have enough fruit
• how many servings of vegetables did I have
• is that too much rice
• can I fit that cookie in today (editor’s note: the answer to this is almost always yes, and more than one cookie will fit, also)
• did I have enough fibre

On my driving trips, it’s:

• how far is my destination
• when should I start from home to get through the border at a non-peak time
• how much money will I need for gas
• how much money for food

You get the idea. My life seems to be a numbers game. I think it provides comfort, stability, and order.

I believe this number stuff is true for everybody, I’m just dwelling on it. Probably because I’m in the count-down to the half-marathon walk.

• four more sleeps
• two more short training walks
• one trip to pick up the race day stuff

And then 21.0975 km (or 13.1093787 miles) to the finish line.

I had gum surgery the week before last and took antibiotics for a week afterwards to stave off infection. It’s been a while since I’ve taken antibiotics and I wonder whether these pills affected my mood. Maybe. Maybe not. Taking the meds was definitely something different in my daily routine, and therefore could have been a source of my change in mood.

I was also feeling too regimented with my exercise routine. Jackie was right-on when she said I need to have – well, let’s put it this way, an assertive exercise routine if I want to have results. But, I also felt a little physically burned out from the three-a-week schedule and the three aquafits and the one bodyflow and the walking and the rowing, etc.

So last week I had one session with Jackie on Monday, missed Wednesday, and had a very abbreviated session on Friday. I also completely missed aquafit.

I’m happy to report that by Friday afternoon I was definitely feeling the cloud lifting from my head, and today I’m feeling pretty fine. Knock wood.

I’m ready to do week six, the final week in this set. Then I’ll have two weeks away – I’ll do one week on my own at the gym, and I’m considering what to do while I’m in Disneyworld the last week of February.

I should also comment on the diet. Not only was I tired of the exercise regimen, I was getting tired of the food, too. I had to change up my breakfast meal without losing out on the huge boost in fibre I get from it. I think I did that successfully. I could have done better on meal planning, but I didn’t feel too out of control. I am going to make a concerted effort this week to cut back on my soy milk intake; it feels like I’m drinking my calories, rather than chewing them.

Saying I’m recharged is an overstatement. I am on track.

I’m also still peeved my weight has stagnated, stalled, stopped moving, hung, stuck, plateaued. Peeved. Frustrated. Pissed off.

BUT, I’m not giving up. My exercise plan is still ongoing. I’m still active. My clothes still fit. And I’m still feeling good.

And, of course, with a few end-of-year celebrations already under my belt (pun intended), and a few more to go in the next week, I’ll just keep my activity level up and not worry too much about what I’m consuming.

I plan on making my goal weight in year two, and to increase my fitness level through exercise while I’m doing that.

I’m looking forward to it.

Best of the season my happy readers, and hope you get want you need if you’re exchanging gifts and in the new year.

Happy-Together

Photo by *iFatma

It’s been one year since I was banded.

I’m pleased with my weight loss and my health improvements.

I’m pleased with being able to by clothes in “regular” stores.

I’m pleased with my increased level of activity.

I’m confident I can continue and meet my goal.

Yeah me!

I definitely have a love/hate relationship with that darn scale. I haven’t lost any weight in way too long.

On the other hand I admit that I had to buy smaller pants, and I do feel pretty darn good. Jackie says not to focus on the weight loss, but rather on the inches lost. And I suppose that’s especially important currently as I’m doing more exercises moving weight around, and not just my own.

It’s just effin’ frustrating.

I had a great time in NYC. Walked and walked and walked. Ate. Saw a couple of plays. Just enjoyed being there. I didn’t worry about the food. By that I mean I didn’t worry about whether I was eating too much or not enough of the right stuff. I just ate what I wanted, and I didn’t feel I made too many bad choices. I definitely didn’t eat in the same volume as I would have in the past.

I’m coming up to my one-year anniversary of getting the band installed. I had hoped to lose 100 pounds in the first year and I’ve done that. So there. Be happy with that I say to myself. But, darn it all … I want more!

Patience.

I’ve been pondering doing a half-marathon walk. I know I can do the walk, but whether I can do it in a quasi-competitive way is another thing. Also, I wonder how you train for that, and then which marathon would I do? I think I’ll percolate on this for a bit. One of my first thoughts about this is that I’d need to train by walking – no duh! – but winter is just about to begin for us and I seriously dislilke winter weather and walking on the icy, snowy, slushy, yucky streets. Treadmill? That kinda invokes the soul-sucking analogy for me.

Anyway, as I say, I’ll percolate on this for a bit.

The weight loss is trickling along, just about what’s to be expected. I have about 29 pounds to go ’til goal. I really hope that it won’t take 29 weeks to do that, but it’s feeling like it might. Now THAT feels soul-sucking.

Carrying on.

So when I visit my relatives in Budapest I look forward to a lot of home cooking. And they never disappoint. My aunt, a cousin, and a cousin’s daughter-in-law are all great cooks. I don’t crave fancy meals, just everyday cooking. My cousin likes to prepare more elaborate meals, but there’s always an “everyday” course even there.

I’m quite satisfied that I had pretty much all the food that I wanted with two small exceptions. I had fried chicken, chicken soup, dumplings, and fish meals. All y-u-m-m-y. I had a couple pieces of pastry, and some Hungarian crepes.  I didn’t get to langos, which is a fried bread dough that can be enjoyed savory or sweet. And I didn’t have any strudel.

My relatives were very helpful in that they asked me what I could eat – to which I answered EVERYTHING. I was also very conscious that I was being observed for signs of, well I don’t know why exactly but I think they weren’t sure in the first few days that I wouldn’t start gagging at every meal. When they realized the lapband wasn’t a thing to worry about, they all relaxed.

I didn’t do as much exercise as I wanted to, but I did the best I could. I had two good walking days, and one so-so walking day. Jackie gave me an exercise routine to do in my hotel room which I did every second day. And my room was on the seventh floor so I took the stairs up and down at least once a day, and sometimes twice.

I had only one day that was uncharacteristically hungry and that was the day coming home. I ate every single bit of airline food available, and happily it was relatively plentiful. Breakfast, lunch, one small salty snack, and one heated veggie snack.

If I have one complaint it’s this – I had a lot of problems staying regular, and I’m still in that place. I don’t know what exactly is going wrong, and I’m going to concentrate on fibre, veggies and fruit this week to see if I can get back to normal.

So, in the end I lost weight. Not a lot, but enough to have reached my second last milestone – I am now overweight. My BMI says I am no longer obese.

I have 30 pounds to go to goal. It still feels a long, long way away.