Caloric Restriction = Success So Far

Last week's nutritionist appointment left me confused and disgruntled.   I sat down at my appointment and was asked for calorie tracking and also asked if I had significantly reduced my calories.    Umm...I had nothing like that written in my notes from my first appointment that told me to track calories and nothing to reduce my calorie intake.    So the appointment didn't go well because they had expected weight loss.  The good news is that I maintained, it's not like I gained.   I had some major changes to make after the appointment though.    They want me eating 1200-1400 calories a day.    That is a BIG change for me.   The good news?   It's actually been pretty easy the past five days.    Things that have made the process easier:

• V8 single serve cans
• Malt-o-Meal and Cream of Wheat (I can add protein powder to them)
• Turkey lunch meat (sandwiches are my saving grace)
• Protein shakes
• I have a chocolate type and some fruit flavored types
• Eggs
• Fresh veggies

I've been eating a lot of the same things so at some point I need to add some more variety.    

I went to the dealership on Saturday with the purpose of buying a Ford Escape.    It didn't happen on Saturday but may happen on Wednesday or Friday this week.    Turns out the model I really wanted was a 2017.    I cannot afford it.    They don't have many 2016 models.    They are supposed to be getting more later this week, hence the wait.   Needless to say I was rather bummed on Saturday evening.    It was a risk but Dan and I had a date night and went to Red Lobster.    There was a lot of self-talk going on as we drove to Ames.    I was bummed, slightly pissed, etc. and I was wanting to cope with food.    I was envisioning the cheddar biscuits, a large portion of food, etc.    Thankfully, I calmed down and talked some sense into myself before we arrived.    I got a meal off the 'lighter fare' menu which didn't screw up my calorie intake.    I only had two cheddar biscuits.   Only drank water. It was actually a really good test.   

Dan and I meet with the surgeon tomorrow.   I'm a smidge nervous and I expected it to be worse.    Maybe I'll feel different tomorrow.    I still haven't officially said 'yes' yet but I'm getting very close to a point where I need to make a choice.     

Gavin was tested at work this weekend (mystery shopper) and passed with flying colors.   He was awarded with a free lunch.   

I was actually fairly productive this weekend which is a good change.   Being that I thought I was trading in my Fusion, I cleaned it out completely.    I did a lot of grading and prep work for both institutions.    I planned to do some organizing with my ISU email today---lots of things I can delete or file properly.    I thought I'd spend an hour on the task and I ended up spending four hours on it.   And I barely made a dent.   The only thing I didn't accomplish was decorating for Halloween.   Oh well.

Updates!

Greetings:

Even though I should be grading some quizzes at the moment, I've decided to stop working for the day (It is almost 11pm already) and do a blog update.   

Here we go in no particular order:

• I had a recent physical for general health, updating birth control, and getting clearance for gastric sleeve surgery.    At the appointment earlier in September, we decided to start whittling down the amount of medication I am taking.   I am now only taking birth control and fluoxetine (generic Prozac) at the lowest dosage.   She removed buproprion from my regimen and I adjusted well.   Ideally, I'd like to be off the fluoxetine too so that may happen in the next year too.  
• In regards to clearance for surgery, I'm making good headway.    At this point, all of my medical tests are done (x-rays, bloodwork, digestive checks, etc.).   I also have received my psychological clearance too.    I have one more meeting with a dietician on Wednesday and meet with the surgeon on Monday.   We'll see when things get officially scheduled.
• I had another major meeting last week related to diet and exercise.    I learned a lot of great information about picking protein products whether for shakes or when picking out bars.   I've been incorporating a lot more protein in my diet and it's helped curb my hunger.   I keep pre-made shakes in my office fridge as well as Qwest protein bars.   I've been stocking up on yogurt too.  
• Gavin had the game of his life last Thursday.   He was basically running the offense the whole JV game and scored all the touchdowns.   Very nice to see him playing so well.  
• Work has been pretty overwhelming.   At first I was able to work ahead as the semester started but now that I have grading and other things popping up, yikes.   I'm already behind with grading especially with my Team Sports class.   I do admit things would be easier if I didn't have the extra, in-person DMACC class.   
• Furthermore, Swim & Gym has been difficult.   I had to rehire ALL positions this semester and it is a mess when everyone is brand new.    I only had one PE major step up and apply too so most employees are not in the PE program but have experience with kids in some capacity.   It still makes me uncomfortable to step away from things.   I also had a handful of life guards quit right before we started on September 13 so that threw off things in the pool.   Sigh.   
• We needed to take Dan's necklace in last week because the clasp kept opening.   He's almost lost it more than once and I bought a protection plan for it.   They replaced it for free.   While we were there, I re-pierced my second holes in my ears.   They actually only needed to re-pierce one because the other was still open so that made it cheaper.   I doubt I'm going to re-open my third set of holes or any of my cartilage piercings but I wanted to redo the second ones for awhile now.
• Our new crop of teaching assistants/grad students are so needy!!  Another reason I am often behind with my own work is because I'm constantly helping grad students with their classes.   If some of them would just READ emails I send out, they'd be fine.   There is so much hand-holding with the development of their classes and the policies they need to follow.   
• I was able to go see Bridget Jones' Baby with some pals on Friday.   One of my past students lives in Ankeny and we've been doing things together.   She was non-traditional.  She's actually older than me and from England.    She lives very close to me too.  It was nice to see that movie (it's good) and do something with ladies.   The previews for upcoming movies looked quite good too.    
• I also got good news today as my pal Nicole and her husband want to come down this way at the end of October for a visit.   Being it would be right before Halloween, I'm hoping we can hit up some haunted houses or mazes.    They just got back from their European honeymoon.    

I guess that's enough of an update for now!   Enjoy this hilarious video.    I didn't realize that playing your recorder while waiting for traffic was the "in" thing to do.  

Labor Day Weekend Done = Sadness

Greetings:

It's 10:23pm on Monday and I'm regretting my choice to not use my weekend more wisely.    I didn't get much cleaning done around the apartment.   I wanted to get that all done before people arrived at the end of the week for Gavin's football game.   Sigh.

We went to Adventureland on Saturday and the weather was fantastic.   I went with the expectation not to ride much assuming I wouldn't fit but I did ride on quite a few things.   I didn't bother riding the Outlaw and the Tornado because I remember the seats are tiny.   It worked out well because Jude didn't want to ride on everything or he wasn't big enough to ride on certain things.    I was more than happy to sit with him while the others went on rides.    I was anxious to ride the Monster but had a gut feeling I wouldn't fit.   Dan went on it and assured me I would fit because of the new style of seating on it.   However, when it came to time to getting on the coaster, reality kicked in and nope, I didn't fit.    I wasn't shocked but I was bummed.    Hopefully I can ride everything next year so that's a major goal for me.   I'm grateful I didn't try the Monster until the end of the day because it really ruined my mood.   Dan felt bad asking me to go on it so I got many apologies.    I should have put my foot down from the get-go and said no from the start.

Things with work are going well for both institutions.   My only worry is Swim & Gym.   I'm in this weird limbo area where students don't have to take it yet as a class.   By next fall, I should have at least ten students each semester that have to take it as a class.    No one signed up to take it this semester and when it came to hiring I had ONE PE major apply.   I had to open up hiring to the overall university to try and find enough staff.    Sigh.   I have the orientation for the program on Thursday.

Other random pieces of information:

• I bought a mattress pad for my bed and WOW.  It's like sleeping on a cloud.  I've always liked the one Mom put on the bed in my old bedroom at home.   My mattress isn't the best (it's gotten lumpy) so the addition of this mattress pad has really made the sleeping surface more even and comfy.   
• I need to start car/SUV shopping.   I should have done that this past weekend too to start test driving various models.    The vehicles I am looking at:
• Ford Edge
• Chevy Traverse
• Buick Enclave
• GMC Arcadia 
• Now that work is back in full force, I'm not reading for pleasure.   I'm usually so tired at the end of the day it's hard to grab a book to read.   I need to work on that.   
• I hope I'm not jinxing it but my leg feels better today.    I still don't fully understand what the issue is but the swelling is down significantly and I have a lot less pain.  Something had been very rigid in the back of my knee.   I never figured out if it was a blood vessel, ligament, or muscle tissue.   

I guess that's it for now!