“I used to snort coke, but I had to stop. The bubbles tickled my nose too much.”
Ok, forgive the bad joke, but tomorrow is my 2-month “anniversary” being coke free. And no, not that kind of coke… coca-cola.
But in some ways, I suppose I was just as addicted.
I’ve gone the “no pop” route before… went about 4 months or so back about 5 years ago. Then allowed myself one on my birthday. It tasted weird. And before long, I was back to drinking as much as a six-pack a day.
Could Coca-Cola be a gateway drug? Cause then there was the Monster (energy drink).
I’ve never cared for Red Bull, tried a couple other energy drinks, most I didn’t care for. But Monster… that I liked. The slight fizz… the tang that was like a mild can of Squirt. I didn’t slam the stuff, but would sip it over the course of the morning. It was a taste I didn’t mind, even as it got warm. Started out with the 16oz cans, then moved up to the 24’s. I was drinking one a day… sometimes two. In addition to a Coke here and there.
Coke Zero came out, and I liked the taste. It was pretty dang close to real Coke… though yea, you could tell the difference. I was drinking that about 60-70% of the time compared to regular Coke. I figured it was “better for me”. Maybe… probably not.
But, as part of looking in to WLS, I realized, pop… no matter what kind… was gonna have to go. The carbonation, the caffeine, even if it was diet was not gonna be a good thing. So on November 2nd, I took the last bottle of Coke Zero I had with me to my sisters when going over there for dinner… drank it… and haven’t drank any since. (I don’t think the sparkling grape juice at Christmas would count as pop…?)
Do I miss it?
You bet I do. I believe I always will.
A nice cold Coke on a hot day is going to be one of those things I know I will miss after surgery. Big time. The longest Even when “New” Coke came out, as bad as it was, I would drink it once in awhile. And the Monster… I miss that too, though not as much.
Yea, there are worse things to be addicted to… I have friends and family that struggle with those every day, so I know there isn’t a “cure”. But I know such things can be beat, I know I can beat this. After all… it’s a means to an end. I know that. I’m dealing with that.
The year is almost to a close… and the last couple months have been… a heck of a ride.
I figured I’d jot a few notes on where things are at with the whole losing weight/considering surgery thing.
On the balance scale at the gym today I was 349, in shorts, socks, t-shirt. The fact that I could use the scale is a milestone… the thing only goes up to 350. The scale at home here has me at 344. Let’s be optimistic and use that one… which means I’m down 25 pounds since the day before Thanksgiving and 30 from my highest. And I’m starving.
So actually, today I was likely fairly close, maybe even under. But last Friday I broke. I went to a pizza place for their lunch buffet. About 5 slices of thin crust pizza and a large salad with plenty of French dressing. I’m sure that put me over the top in one sitting. But I left full.
Don’t get me wrong… it’s not all doom and gloom or anything. Last night I baked up a northern pike fillet that I baked with a crust of soy nut crumbs with a lil parmesan cheese, topped with a cucumber dill sauce, a side of cooked apples and some of my peppered green beans. I seem to have those about once a week…
Years ago… before Atkins was the thing to do when it came to low/no-carb diets, there was this… The Mayo Clinic Diet. I titled this “So Called”, because this never had anything to do with the Mayo Clinic, and the Clinic has done a lot to make sure people know that, in fact they now have their own actual “Mayo Clinic Diet“. The stuff below is basically a no-carb, high protein diet that promises you will loose 50-55 pounds in 10 weeks.
I followed this plan about 10 years ago, and I did lose weight.. 40 pounds in about three months, and then I stalled out for the next 2-3 months and decided if I wasn’t going to lose weight I wanted my potatoes back.
This appealed to me at the time because I could eat as much as I want, until I was full. Yea, I’m losing weight on this 1500 calorie a day thing… but I’m never full (unless I cheat… which I have a few times). And the two days off thing… that was kind of appealing as well. Though after no potatoes for over a month, I had some McDonald fries… and they just tasted… off. Anyways, there’s a variation of this out there too called the 12-Day-Diet or sometimes the Grapefruit Diet. Same basic premise, but it’s about eating like this for the long term, not just for 10 weeks.
So… even with Thanksgiving tossed in to the mix, since November 26th, depending on the scale, I have lost between 10 and 14 pounds. Yea… that’s close to a pound a day. Checked in with the Doc today… on their scale it was 10# from when I stopped in on the 26th for some blood work. But I was about 3-4# heavier on the scale at the Dietitian on the 25th… so I dunno… but it’s progress.
It isn’t easy. I finished dinner an hour ago and I’m hungry. And no, I did not eat Chinese. But I have to keep remembering, it hasn’t even been two weeks yet.
Doctor seemed a bit surprised at the 1500 calorie a day thing. He thinks if I stay around 2000 I’ll be just fine. And I probably have been closer to 2000 than 1500. Yesterday I was out running around a bit… and had Subway for lunch. Turkey breast and cheddar on wheat, lettuce, onion, green pepper, cucumbers, black olives, pepper and a bit of the chipotle sauce. Didn’t really need the sauce, but honestly.. Subway food is so bland. Then I went to a movie with a friend… (Punisher… great flick if yer just looking for guns and blood and nothing too deep) and I ate popcorn. Quite a bit of popcorn.
And today… on the way home from the doctor… we were getting major snow, it was rush hour, I knew it was going to take me an hour to get home (ended up being hour and ten minutes) so I swung through Arby’s and got a regular roast beast. They’re on special for 99 cents. They’re good. I am a carnivore… I like my meat, and I especially like beef. That one sandwich, bout 320 calories. So yea, I’m definitely pushing 2000 today.
But overall, I’m doing good. One egge, two toast, (and I’m using maybe a teaspoon of butter per slice), 1/2 banana and some yogurt for breakfast. Lunch was salad with spinach, carrots, onion, green peppers and a tortilla wrap of chicken, lettuce, onion cheddar and a bit of Miracle Whip. Dinner… a 1/3# burger patty - broiled, two slices of wheat bread, cooked carrots, some yogurt, and I sauteed some green beans in a tiny bit of olive oit with some chopped garlic and red pepper flakes. They were the “fries” to go with my burgers.
Has just the thought of surgery given me the push to change? Still too early to know. Yea… the slip ups with the popcorn, and the Arby’s aren’t huge. But will they continue? Will they snow-ball? Can I get to the point where 2000 calories a day will fill me up?
Right now… WLS is “Plan A”. All this I’m doing right now is what I “have to do” in order to have that surgery… so I can feel full. And I have to do this another 60+ days… by then will WLS become “Plan B”?
So many… “I don’t know’s”.
Just have to keep pluggin’ away I guess… see what happens.
I’ve gone to the gym every day since Saturday. They have a walking track, that’s all I did Saturday was walk. Four laps around the track, bout 150 steps each lap, took about 10 minutes. Then I had to take a break, my lower back would start to hurt. Five minutes off, then another four laps… another break… four more laps. Bout 30 minutes total. It’s a start, right?
The scale in the locker room only goes to 350. Does me no good. I was hoping to use the scale there to track my weight… but that’s what I need to get to .. and yea, I could keep checking till I get under that, but that doesn’t help me check my progress. Feh, got home and ordered a 440# scale off Amazon. Guess it won’t hurt to have one here at home. I don’t think I’ve ever owned a scale before… other than my 5# kitchen one.
Sunday… first 10 minutes on the track, then decided to do the treadmill. Two 10 minute sessions, half-mile each. So that puts me at walking a mile and a half each of those two days.
I was going to skip Monday… but decided not to, so had to go home and grab my bag and then go. Good thing it’s only bout a mile and a half from my house. Went back, decided to jump on the treadmill, made it five minutes and started feeling sore. The grab bars are just a bit too low for me, and for some reason I’m not quite coordinated enough to walk on there without holding on. Moved over to the recumbent bike and did two, ten minute rides on there. Couple miles each time I think.
Been doing pretty good on the meals. I don’t know if I’m keeping under 1500… according to what I put in the meal tracker at sparkpeople.com I am… but it just seems like … I dunno. The watered down Gatorade I drink probably adds a few calories, but less than 100 I would think. And I did have a treat the other day. I was cleaning out a cooler in the garage and found a Snickers bar in the lid compartment. Kinda frozen. I cut it in to four pieces (was a regular size bar), put three in a baggie in the freezer and ate one.
It was good.
It was really good.
But I only ate that one bit, the rest is still in the freezer. And I’ve been eating some snacks here and there. 100 Calorie packs of pretzels, fat-free pudding cups, LOTS of dill pickles. (hey… it’s only bout 15 calories!) And I’ve been trying to be creative with my meals. Tonight I marinated a portabella mushroom cap in some italian dressing, then broiled it. Then flipped it over, put a thin slice of onion, some feta crumbles, and some seasoning and broiled it some more. Yea, I probably shouldn’t have had the feta.. but it’s been in my fridge for over a month.. and I keep the portions to the 1oz, but since I was havint 3oz of steak… I kinda went over on my protein portions for today. Sliced up the left over steak I used and put it on a piece of “Not So Wheaty Bread” and did the same bit of feta and seasonings before broiling that too. Both were very good.
Oh yea… Monday I was with one of the sales guys at the gym (paid the first month and set up fees for my dad to join the gym) and decided to suck it up and ask someone at the gym if they had a larger scale. He showed me one in the personal trainer office. 364.8 - yea… if that’s in tune with the one I stepped on at the doctors last Wed, I’m down nearly five pounds… in as many days.
So…. if I can stick to eating 1500-2000 calories a day will I lose weight? Of course. Will I keep it off? I… don’t think so. I wouldn’t say I’m starving… but I am going hungry each day. I’m snacking at times of the day I wouldn’t normally… which may not be bad… but I’m not getting FULL with my meals. I think what’s going to keep me going for the next few months is that I have to put up with this as part of getting the surgery. The point of having such a surgery is so that when you eat these tiny amounts, you feel full and you stay feeling full until the next meal. I think I had two dill pickles and a sugar free fudgecicle on Sunday… cause I wasn’t feeling full ever. Yesterday wasn’t as bad… cause I was more distracted and busy at work.
Sure, it has been less than a week, but already I think I’m seeing better than just last week how WLS will help. Cause I am eating right… but I’m still hungry. So I know I can eat right, I’ve always known I can… but I am going to need help to eat less. Not sure there is any other way of getting around that. And it’s not like I am not drinking enough water. I drank about 10 cups just at work today. Another cup at the gym, cup of V8 before breakfast, and I’m sure I’ll go through another 2-3 cups before bed yet. And yes.. even tho it doesn’t effect me like it would post-op, I’ve stopped drinking with and for awhile after meals.
So to keep this working long haul, I think I need the right tool.
I don’t know the last time I tried cottage cheese, before yesterday. But, it’s on the list of foods that is good to have both as part of my pre-op weight loss, and one of the first foods I can have post-op.
My aversion to it has been mostly phychological. When I was a kid, maybe 4th grade or so… we took a weekend trip down to see my mom’s friend in Albert Lea area… “Aunt Betty & Uncle Jim”. When we got back we discovered a bowl of mostly eaten cerel had been left out… and what was now left in the bowl looked like cottage cheese. After that, I couldn’t look at the stuff without that memory coming back to me.
Yesterday I had some cottage cheese with breakfast, mixed in a spoon full of lingonberry preserves I had picked up at Ikea. Afterwards, I couldn’t help but think of the deer hunting scene from the movie Red Dawn - “It wasn’t so bad.”
Years ago… before Atkins was the thing to do when it came to low/no-carb diets, there was this… The Mayo Clinic Diet. I titled this “So Called”, because this never had anything to do with the Mayo Clinic, and the Clinic has done a lot to make sure people know that, in fact they now have their own actual “
