04/22/10: Progress

So I was particularly interested in seeing how long food would hold me over yesterday.  I am still particularly interested in that and will be watching things today as well.  But I was shocked.  Absolutely shocked!

Breakfast - 12oz of my smoothie (Greek yogurt, protein powder, 6oz water, 8oz frozen strawberries and bananas and 1 fresh banana) = held me over for 4 hours. (230 calories, 33g protein)

Lunch - 4oz turkey salad with cranberries = held me over for 3 hours (183 calories, 15g protein)

Afternoon snack - 2oz cottage cheese = held me over for 1.5 hours (50 calories, 8g protein)

Afternoon snack - 4oz apple sauce = held me over until dinner or about an hour (50 calories, no protein)

Dinner - 6oz chicken tenders in ranch dip and 4oz steamed veggies = held me over the entire evening  (307 calories, 40g protein)

That's 820 calories for the day and 96g of protein for the day.

For comparison, for breakfast, I used to have the same smoothie but easily twice as much.  For lunch, I would eat lunch at the same time I had my first afternoon snack yesterday and it would be a half turkey sandwich with muenster on wheat bread and I would have ~6oz of cottage cheese with that, too.  I do not normally eat two afternoon snacks, though, and don't like this trend but think it will stop as my body calms down.  And dinner, I would eat more chicken tenders and have another side with that as well.  Another side being a carb/starch thing.

Today will be relatively similar to yesterday although I am backing down on the smoothie.  I am trying 8oz today and I want to see how long it holds me over.  I want to find my sweet spot, if you will, for just enough smoothie to last me the morning.  I do also drink coffee in the morning and I know that changes my appetite as well.

As you can see, yesterday was predominantly mushy foods except for dinner.  My chicken tenders were not mushies.  I did chew chew chew and I did feel each bite sitting there before it went down.  It was not the most pleasant experience.  I'm probably pushing it by eating so normally....but that's me. 

I am down 1.5 pounds this morning, so that was exciting.  I'd love to see the scale get back to what it was telling me on Saturday.  But I'm not actively trying to lose weight right now, I am actively trying to feel better.

And today, I definitely feel better.  I feel better than I have so far.  Yesterday I managed to make it through the work day alright but I know that the last half hour to forty five minutes were brutal.  I was ready to go!  But I didn't want to drive so my sweet hubby came to me.  And because of that, I was here for the whole day.

I slept better last night than I have since surgery, too.  I was able to sleep on any and all sides and to tuck my knee up to my chin, as I like to do, as well.

Last little tidbit on my progress - I have yet to take any Tylenol today.  I have it and will take it if there starts to be a twinge of need...basically, I won't wait until it's too late.  But I'm enjoying "cleaning out".  My liver is tired of all the Tylenol.  I know that because it told me.  :)

Yes, I'm nuts.  Thanks for noticing.

In other news, we've  (yes, WE) had a change in plans for the Chicago trip.

Original plan was for me to fly up on Friday and spend the weekend in Chicago returning home on Sunday, pretty late in the evening.  After a few things I read yesterday I decided I needed to fly out on Thursday after work and have all day in Chicago on Friday.  I love that you can change flights so easily with Southwest!  So I changed the ticket.

On the way home last night, my sweet hubby and I started talking.

Yes, that's the first "uh-oh".  :)

We are two professional schemers.  Nothing good comes from us "talking".  :)

Ok, it's not that bad...hehehe.

So I threw a statement out there that he should fly up with me and go to his mom's house and then come get me on Sunday.  Or...we could stay in a room Thursday night and then his mom could get him on Friday and I'd switch over to the roomie room on Friday once the sweet hubby cleared out.  Or...his idea, his mom could get him Thurs night and I could get a rental car to drive up to his mom's on Sunday after our conference is over.

So where's this all come from?  His mom lives in Austin, afterall, eh?  Yeah.  His mom and step-dad bought a house in Wisconsin last year and spend the "summer" up there where it's cooler and way more beautiful.  "Summer" to them is March through November.  I think they're nuts.  This year it's turning into May through November, though - and that seems way more reasonable.  Anywho.  Last year we were supposed to go up there to see their place and wander the area with them over Labor Day weekend.  But two days before departure my boss decided I couldn't have the approved vacation time afterall.  Rather than risk losing my job, we canceled the trip.  So this year, we really need to get up there.  There is way more vacation time on the books so we thought we'd take a whole week this time.

We were planning to go up the last days of Aug-first days of Sept getting back to Texas over Labor Day weekend.  But while I was out last week, my boss, not knowing my plans as I hadn't asked for the time off yet, rescheduled one of my courses.  And that course now falls over those days.  So then we thought, well, I'll go to the course and we'll head up to WI over Labor Day weekend - move the trip back by a week.

But that would be quick turn around for a drive to WI...then drive home...then fly to Chicago.

So why not make the WI trip be the Chicago trip?  My sweetheart gets some time with his mom while I'm with all y'all.  And the airfare is just amazingly super cheap right now.  So even with me spending money that weekend, I think this trip will actually cost us far less by combining them.

So we bought a ticket for my sweet hubby.  We will get in on Thurs.  We may stay at the hotel together that night or he may go straight to his mom's.  His mom is about 3 hours from Chicago, she says.  We get in late, though, after 9pm, so I think, realistically, we'll stay there in Chicago Thurs night.  His mom will get him on Friday and I'll join up with the conference.  And then either he will come get me Sunday night...or...if anyone lives in Wisconsin and can get me to someplace where they can get me....  Hmmm...see...my little scheming brain?  Even if someone got me to Kenosha, for example, and my sweet hubby and in-laws could get me from there...just sayin.  :)

So I'm feelin all charged up and all ready to go.  I really feel better than I have since surgery.  Now, I know that even though I feel like I'm ready to get out there and walk 5 miles...that I shouldn't.  That I'm probably still pretty close to the edge of being knocked back down if I over-do it.  So I'm not going to walk 5.  Just 2.  And we'll see how it goes.

Kidding!

I'm just gonna take it easy.  And hopefully it just gets better from here!  Next week...now next week I'll start hittin those miles!  :)

Have a great day, y'all!