I demand it, and thus it is so. The nights are chilly and the days are warm. The leaves on the trees are finally starting to show yellow and orange tips.
*sigh*
FINALLY!
I can COOK again. Beef barley soup for dinner, and a giant pot of chicken stock for later in the week. Also on the list today is pumpkin banana bread [edit: link added by request 
]
I am fortifying myself for tomorrow, when I will probably be achy and icky. Flu shot today. I always get a little sicky the day after. Nothing better for faux-flu than soup and sweet hearty bread. Right? Right. After my physical at the doctor’s office (last week was just a how-do-you-do appointment), in which I was EKG’d and x-rayed and poked and bloodied and pronounced more or less healthy but, well, fat (gasp! they acted like maybe I didn’t know) - “please take these brochures about gastric bypass surgery. they have free seminars over at the wellness clinic, you should go and get educated” yay! - I decided to go to my happy place where I purchased chicken backs and necks and also oxtails to make my soups. Mmmm…the soups. And lots of veggies. Because I’m going to give myself a year to see if I can adopt a healthier lifestyle before I let any surgeon go poking around my innards.
Also, guess who will be buying all her shoes online from now on?
perfecto!
Gastric Bypass surgery is REAAAALLLLY invasive. If you feel that surgery is a good choice for you, I would suggest looking into the less invasive adjustable gastric banding surgery, or the Duodenal Switch procedure.
Just Sayin’…
Glad the shoes worked out ok!
ummmm…I wouldn’t have thought that you were even close to needing Gastric Bypass. I mean you are a bigger gal, but I didn’t think you were OMGMORBIDLYOBESEMUSTCUTYOUOPENANDRIPYOURSTOMACHOUT!!!! fat.
Wow, are they pushing it or what? No matter what method you choose, it’s a lifestyle change. And if you don’t change your lifestyle, your stomach can still grow around, and you can gain back all you’ve lost.
And, even if you do decide to do it, a lot of those programs are more about your diet and exercise plans, even MONTHS before they will consent to doing the surgery.
And there are risks to all of them. Even the banding, it can slip. Infections, the scarring. And you’ve never seemed like a person that was all that concerned with your weight, and you’ve always been active, right?
I don’t know, I see a lot of people doing it, thinking it’s the easy way, and in no way is it easy. One of my OTHER coworkers who got it once told me of how she sucked the cheese off a bag of doritos, and left all these little white puffs in the bag afterwards. Ew. And the vit’s you have to take, the vomiting, the measuring cups, the shot glass sized meals, and not the double shot glasses either. The amount of times you have to eat so your hair doesn’t fall out…
You have to be well educated and VERY determined. I’ve seen it work, and I’ve seen it fail. Sorry to go on about it, but I’m amazed they were so suggestive of it. It’s almost surgery induced anorexia/bulimia.
Anyhow… Nurse Jamie is shutting up, and SHOE lover Jamie is going, LOVE the SNEAKERS! I DO LOVE THEM SO! And anything baby doll is cute, but cute shoes notoriously hurt my delicate feet. I get blisters just looking at most shoes.
Jamie - since you are a nurse, I appreciate any advice you can give me. I know there are risks and it’s a major lifestyle change. This is why it’s a last ditch effort. I have to make a major lifestyle change anyway, just to see if I can lose weight on my own. I have been on diet and exercise and diets before that never resulted in any significant weight loss, which has been nothing but frustrating for me. If I overhaul my life towards the healthier, and STILL don’t lose significant weight, then bypass or similar is a real alternative.
And as far as the shoes go: see previous post. Mary janes are comfy walking shoes (click on picture link in that post). They are pretty and COMFY all at the same time. I know. I think hell just froze over.
Aimee - actually, I kind of am. Any bigger, and the surgery is actually too much of a risk. And I’ve steadily gained weight every year since high school. If I can’t buck that trend, the surgery will actually become TOO risky. I think the doctor recommended I look into it because right now, I’m still healthy. I don’t have diabetes, I don’t have high blood pressure or heart problems…YET. That could change. In fact, given my family history, that WILL change. Unless I lose alot of weight. Soon.
Scoot - yes yes, I watch discovery channel too. I’ve already done research on the different surgeries, long before I even met this doctor. And just so you know, nobody needs weight loss surgery advice from a skinny person, unless you didn’t start out that way.
Janice - thanks! the real test will be SAFF
It sounds like all your cooking veggie and lean protien goodness are the right start towards a healthier lifestyle. I wish you the best!
And would love if you could post that banana-pumpkin bread recipe.
Also, I’m a size 11 and love the shoes!
done! link added to post - to cut down on the calories, you can substitute splenda for the sugar.
New Balance sneakers are some of the most comfortable I’ve found - I love mine. And what kind are those Mary Jane’s, they are too cute! As for your weight, you know you have to do what you think best for yourself. Dieting is difficult because all you can think about all day is food and eating. The surgery is scary, and the stuff you have to do afterwards may be much more difficult than diet and exercise. There is just no easy way to lose weight and keep it off (as I know firsthand!) But whatever you chose, I wish you the very best result.
mmmmm soup. My Scottish grandmother would approve, soup and a roll (must be said in a Scottish accent) is an important tradition in my family.
The shoes are lovely too, I’m terrified of buying shoes online because of my awkward feet but maybe I’ll consider it now.
As for the bypass thingy it sounds like a huge step to me but I’m sure you will think about it carefully.
Ok Noodle, you know when I was diagnosed as diabetic I had to change my eating patterns. If you want suggestions, advice, recipes, or just someone to gripe to/with, you know where to find me.
I love fall for those kinds of dishes as well. Of course, it’s still like 80 degrees in New York with all this freaky weather so I have to wait a little longer.
Shoes look great, especially the Mary Janes!