Monthly Archives January 2012

It’s been a pretty junky week food wise; some fast food stuff, some Mexican food and snacking.  But I’ve felt pretty good and my energy level seems to coming back.

The Grand Canyon

Our travels took us to the Grand Canyon-the most amazing place in North America in my opinion. I had never been before and was simply blown away by the grandeur of this magnificent natural wonder. The skies were clear blue, the temperature was fine and the snow around just added to the beauty. Once again we lucked out with the weather and had a great time walking the rim trail. I got a little tired but I think it was because of the altitude, not the walking.

6 states in one week!

Six states in one week which translates into 21 meals either at friends, in the hotel, or out. We have now been on the road for almost 3 weeks and I am longing to be in a place where I can cook something healthy or at least blend a protein drink.

Don’t forget to squeeze limes on the papayas!

I did do one smart thing; since we’re from Hawaii, I sent some fresh papayas ahead to one friend we were staying with as a hostess gift; but I knew they would be there when we arrived so I was guaranteed fresh papayas for breakfast for the two days we were there.  YUM YUM YUM.  I order them from www.papayas.net which is a local company (very small) from the area we lived in when we were on the Big Island.  Not cheap, but completely worth it. And that made it easy to ward off anything else our host was offering.

I’M OFFICIALLY OVERWEIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!   YEA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Now how many people would be excited to say that???  According to the site: BMI Calculator  as of today, I am officially OVERWEIGHT and NOT OBESE!!!!  My BMI is 29.9 (down from 39.5!).  Wow, this makes me SO happy!  It also means that I have less than 30 lbs to lose to be a normal weight.

So, even though we are in the land of lotsoffood….and large portions and we are continuing on our journey back to the West Coast seeing many friends who are cooking for us; I am still losing weight because I eat such small portions.  This works for me!  My biggest challenge is trying to deflect attention away from my well-intentioned hosts about how little I am eating and that “yes, I do love what you cooked, honest!”  So far, I’ve been able to pull it off and in fact, I don’t think I’ve even thrown up since we’ve been back in the U.S. so I’m feeling quite normal these days.  (Except for my BM’s….I’m still on the 4 or 5 day poop plan….).

Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson

This past week we drove from DC to Charlottesville, Jamestown and then down into Savannah, GA.  We had lunch with an old friend we hadn’t seen in a while who lives in Charlottesville (where we toured Thomas Jefferson’s home, Monticello).  When I walked in the door she immediately showered me with compliments, and followed up with this email:

Just got home and I was going to write to you to say I couldn’t let another moment of this crazy day go by without telling you I really meant it when I said you looked drop dead gorgeous. To that, I would add: beautiful, sexy, warm (as always) luscious, and delicious! Whatever you are doing is good for you; you looked about 30 to me…. I hope you feel as good as you look.

I wrote back and told her that was the nicest compliment I have EVER received in my life….in fact, I may frame it!!!!

Boston-Andover-New York-New Jersey-Virginia!

BOSTON TO DC…..

I know I just posted a few days ago but I’m trying to get back on my regular Sunday posting.  We landed in Boston on Wednesday afternoon, checked into our hotel about 6pm and although it was almost midnight European time, we went down to have some dinner in the hotel restaurant.  WOW!!!  An American menu, with food we know and love and so many choices!!!  Hmmmmm, my weight loss progress could seriously be derailed now that we are back in the US.

I ordered a bowl (not a cup) of clam chowder; it came with those little oyster crackers and it was heaven!!!  Of course I could barely eat half of it and wondered why I didn’t order a cup instead but I was just excited.

The next day I went into a Rite-Aid and had a bit of culture shock at all of the choices of stuff!!!  Not just food but so many things.  I tried to fill my European prescription for Nexium but they were having none of it; but they told me that Prilosec OTC would work as well.  I bought it, came back and Googled Prilosec vs Nexium and was comforted in knowing they are both so similar.  The reason I didn’t get it fully filled in Europe was because it was almost $100 for one month!  (Vs. $13 here for the Prilosec, so I’m glad I waited).

But the snack food options were amazing and I ended up buying stuff I probably shouldn’t have; I think I need to be more diligent here.

Our walk outside of Zurich with the view of the Alps

View outside our apartment near Zurich

Happy New Year everyone!  Whew….the holidays are over so now we can stop be tempted (tortured?) by all the goodies that are within arm’s reach of us during this time of decadent consumption and get down to the business of healthy eating!

All in all, it really wasn’t all that bad for me I have to admit.  I am now 9 weeks post op and still eating so little that having a sweet once in a while seems so minor; I know I can’t overeat anything; my tummy won’t let me.  Plus, I’m just not interested in all that stuff anymore.  My mind thinks I am for a moment, but as soon as I taste a soft cookie, bread, or cake, I realize it’s not as good as I remembered, so one bite is enough.  YEAH!  I think this is a good thing.  So even though I had gained 3 lbs somehow; that 3 lbs is now gone.

But my weighing is just not consistent; my scale is possessed; (it doesn’t help that I pack and upack it in my suit case).  We went to the gym twice and had a beautiful walk with the Alps as a backdrop (photo above).  The scale at the gym showed me at 170 lbs but I’m not going to obsess about it; I feel I am going in the right direction.  The point is, I made it through the holidays for the first time in my life and did not gain weight!!!!  Wow.