What I Eat!

I get a lot of questions about my daily diet so I thought this would be a great venue to share with ya’ll my consumption habits.

• I drink 3 liters of water a day at a minimum. Anything beyond that is just a bonus bathroom break. Oh, and NO SODA!

• Generally speaking I don’t eat carbs, those who know me will deny this fact because of my affinity for potato chips, but usually I lead a low carb lifestyle: No Bread, No Pasta, & No Rice. (Except Ramen, I love Ramen so that doesn’t count. See recipes)

• I am a Pescaterian, or a vegetarian that will still eat seafood. Ever since my surgery red meat, pork, and poultry don’t agree with my stomach. I am not an animal rights activist or anything; I just prefer not to hug the toilet after every blood laden meal.

• I eat breakfast. So important!!! A half a grapefruit with salt, a small orange, or a half a cup of blue berries is all you need to get yourself going. Citrus in particular helps to stimulate your metabolism helping to burn fat all day long. (http://caloriecount.about.com/tag/food/fruits)

• Gluten Free Baked Goods: They rock my world, gluten free granola as well. A lot of times companies will compensate for the lack of gluten in there products by loading them up with tons of sugar and saturated fats so be cautious of that. I highly recommend this snack for between meal and late night munchies: Bakery on Main Nutty Cranberry Maple Gluten Free Granola or Trader Joes carries an awesome line of Gluten Free Cookies.

• TV Dinners: Hey, I am a single female with no stove do you expect me to starve? Well that’s preposterous! I love TV dinners, I look for ones that are vegetarian/vegan, and usually steer clear of ones with obvious carbs like frozen pasta or a rice pilaf. Two of my favorite brands to eat are:
• Amy’s Kitchen (http://www.amyskitchen.com/)
• Here are some I live off of:
• Mexican Casserole Bowl
• Santa Fe Enchilada Bowl
• Tortilla Casserole & Black Beans Bowl
• Mexican Tamale Pie
• Shepherd's Pie-Meatless
• Tandoor Chef. (http://www.tandoorchef.com/Tandoor-Chef.asp)
• Here are some I live off of:
• Palak Paneer
• Samosa With Chutney
• Pad Thai

• Eat Raw: Whenever I can I choose to eat raw vegetables, fruits, and fish. I am a sushi fanatic so that one is easy; a plate of sashimi and a carafe of hot sake I am a happy girl. Work lunches are when I consume most of my raw (organic) vegetables (See Recipes) and I find that it sustains my energy level for the rest of the day.

• Portion: The most important part of my diet. When I sit down for a meal I only consume about 1/3 the normal portion for an adult. Lap Band aside this has been the key to my success. I eat small meals multiple times a day with a little practice it becomes habit!

Now, I am by no means perfect. I have my cheat days; I am a sucker for sweets, movie popcorn, and good Mexican food. For the most part though, I follow these simple guidelines to help maintain my weight and have derived great success from this! Please keep in mind I am not a doctor, so please don’t take this information as fact, merely a suggestion!

The Plan

A few days ago I got a notification that the Susan G. Koman Race for the Cure was coming up here in Tucson. A light bulb went off in my head and I thought to myself: "Self, why don't you try and run that damn thing? I mean your in pretty good shape, you have the drive to do it, but there is one thing; you hate to run. Actually you loath running, granted yes you play soccer, but I have yet to see your happy ass enjoy a evening jog... EVER!" (that is how I talk to myself)
Being a glutton for punishment here is my plan: My goal is to run the 5k in under 25 minutes, while raising $300+ for the Susan G. Koman Foundation. More info on the race to come, but for now enjoy reading my struggles of a fat girl stuck in a athletes body :)

Just a little something silly...

Dr.Monash was nice enough to ask me to do a video testimonial for him. Man I was nervous!
http://www.drmonash.com/patient-testimonials.php

So it began....

Just a little back story for ya; I had been a big, beautiful, confident, empowered woman my whole life. I was never vain or ever really concerned about that people thought of me, I was just unhealthy. When I was little I remember making a promise to myself that when I turned 21 I would be skinny. Being the eternal procrastinator that I am, right around my 21st birthday I started looking into medical weight loss procedures. With a BMI clearly over 40, and such co-morbidities as: sore hips, approaching pre-diabetic status, and sleep issues my insurance decided to cover the procedure! YAY!!! I had originally opted for the Gastric Bypass procedure, but after a miserable tonsillectomy I decided to go for the less invasive Lap-Band Procedure. Best decision of my life I recovered in 5 days, had NO post op complications, and with the band; I have been better able to control the speed and intensity of the weight loss. Here is some information about the lap-band:

Adjustable Gastric Banding (Lap-Band®)

The first gastric band was placed in 1982. An evolution of innovative design concepts and modified surgical techniques have led to impressive standards of success with very low risk. The band of today is made from non-allergenic material, and most importantly, is adjustable at the bedside.

The band induces and maintains weight loss by restricting how much food you are able to eat at each sitting. The band is connected to a port that lies beneath your skin. The port can be felt, but not seen. Saline is placed into the port with a fine needle to adjust the diameter of the band, thereby adjusting how much food is restricted. Fine adjustments over time lead to slow, but sustained, weight loss." (http://www.drmonash.com/lap-band-tucson.php)

In October of 2008 I asked my wonderful doctor: Dr. Jeffery Monash (http://www.drmonash.com) to remove some of the saline to make my band less restrictive thus making me have to work harder to achieve the results I wanted. Well, like any woman in my family I was up to the challenge, continued eating right, exercised regularly, and changed my relationship with food.

Long story short: I have gone from a woman's size 26 to a 4-6 in less then 2 years, but regardless of how I look the most important thing is: i am finally healthy!