Where I am at.....

Well I don't seem to be at a really good space at the moment, I have been really slack with watching my carbs and the weight has crept back up to around 104 kgs....this morning it was 103.9 kgs, although this past week I have had some health issues.

I also have some other issues going on, which I don't really want to talk about here, so I have started another blog for my own private thoughts - ones that I do no censor as much and it will be a place where I can just let it hang out so to speak and not wonder who the sometimes 100 hits per day are coming from. If you want to be part of my thought processes and if you think that you might be able to offer some constructive and positive advise then send me and email to janine.hallewell@gmail.com for an invite to the private blog.

The organising for the National Meet & Greet for WLS patients, supporters or those interested in having the surgery is going fantastically.

Highlights of the program so far -
- Pre-Surgery information from different surgeons covering different surgeries.
- Dealing with the Head & Heart Stuff - we have a therapist on board as well as a psychiatrist who himself has had WLS
- Getting the food right - a segment on post op food ideas and ways to make the most of our tool.
- LISA O'NEILL from Good Morning is also very excited to be able to provide a 2 hour session on how to look good through the different phases of losing and also finding your style post op. We are hoping that one of the local stores will also allow us and exclusive shopping hour on the Sunday morning so we can shop in piece & quiet....but that will depend on how many are interested and if the shop thinks it will be worthwhile....still working on this.
- A WLS friendly lunch
- Vendor stands - from Supplements companies, home gym gear, support clothing, plastic surgeon, medical finance company, protein powder companies, gym memberships, sports shoe providers. - All hopefully offering conference specials or discounts.
- Information stands - such as the Real women's Du-athlon and the Special K Tri series. Things that are not for profit goal related ideas that we want to be able to try when we get to goal and get healthy.
- A Clothing swap/sale
- Giveaways and prizes from WLS supportive companies from both here in NZ and overseas.
- Testimonies from people who are at different stages of the journey who may or may not have had it plain sailing
- Dinner & Dancing

That's it from me so far....back ontrack with the lower carbs......not ruling them out all together, just being a little bit more sensible than I have been this past couple of weeks. I see my surgeon and his team again in 6 weeks and I want to make sure I am in the best place I can be, both health wise and head wise.

The Phoenix Foundation - Buffalo

My Nephew is the "lead" actor in this video. He is just starting out in his acting career and this is his second job, although the first to be released. I am just amazed at how cool this is!!!

My Nephew

One of my nephews is keen on becoming and actor, so he has set himself up a profile page and he has had two gigs recently, one a short film for the film school where he played the lead and another which was just released on nightline tonight is this music video for Wellington band "The Pheonix Foundation"

First look at Phoenix Foundation's 'Buffalo' music vid - Nightline - Video - 3 News

Posted using ShareThis

He is the main "actor" in it, and he spent two days shooting it a few weekends ago. am very very proud of him

Funky Friday.....

First things, I am really excited over a couple of developments this week.....the first being that I have been to Curves 3 times this week and had forward progression on the machines each time. So that means that I am getting stronger and working my muscles more each time. I was a bit worried about being on steroids and doing this program, but the specialist has said it will be fine as the dose I am on is low. Anyway, that is the first thing I am excited about.

The second is this National WLS Meet & Greet that I am hoping to get off the ground in November this year. It has been raised before and no one has done anything about it, well I am going to........I have already spoken to a few companies who are considering lending their support and I know that I will be able to get some speakers etc organised. It is a bit of a mission but I am sure that we could pull off an event that will be beneficial to both pre op and post op people regardless of what surgery or what surgeon they have had or are considering. So my question to you guys is if you were to go to an event and were either considering having Weight Loss Surgery or had already undergone WLS, what things would you want to see/do/hear about at the event? Is it just about meeting other people? Is it trying out new and exciting products that are WLS friendly? Give me some ideas please.

The other interesting development this week for me was my visit to my liver specialist. Although I mentioned last week that my nutritionist was really happy with my blood test results, I didn;t mention that my liver function test results were heading in the wrong direction even with the medication that I am on......(as I remember to take today's dose). I was thinking that he might increase my steroid again as since we took it down it has been going in the wrong direction, however he has decided to double the dose of my immune suppressant and leave the steroid at the lower dose.......so it will be interesting to see how things go. He said that even if he can get my liver results to a normal level it will be likely that I will be on these drugs for at least another 2 years.

We are going to have the house to ourselves for a couple of weeks.....well sort of. My Dad and his wife Val are going away for 2 weeks and Si's parents are going over to Dad's to house sit and look after the pets. They will be popping back to our house almost daily as they continue to work on the construction of their house, but we will have the evenings to ourselves.......will be weird after all this time.

Weight is sitting stable at around 102kgs, Had the odd carb creep in when I have not planned well, but still overall am not missing them. In fact when we have had carbs we both feel bloated and yucky afterwards. The specialist was happy that my weight had come back down and he said that the steroids would definitely still be having an effect on my weightloss.....I must just remember not to use that as an excuse to eat crap and not to exercise.

Burn Baby Burn

No, I am not talking about a "disco inferno" I am talking about the muscles that I made move yesterday!!! I did my curves workout yesterday with 'Curves Smart' and it was fantastic!!!!!!! I improved on all 13 machines, which means that I achieved or exceeded what was set for me, so they move the stake in the ground and make it that little harder to do. It was brilliant, I was sweating and definitely had the heart rate up there. I obviously stretched well as nothing is as sore as I was expecting today, but I will still take my day's rest and let my muscles recover, but now I am really looking forward to Wednesday morning when I can do it all over.

The weekend went well, really went by in a blur as I work Saturday mornings so it always feels like I am trying to cram all our family/relaxation time into one day. Saturday night we got a couple of action movies out on DVD and was disappointed with both of them, so much so we didn't finish them and took them back and got a kid-ult movie instead (all generations friendly). On Sunday I decided Si and I needed a treat and we went to the morning screening of Alice in Wonderland. I had heard mixed reviews and was not 100% sure I would like it. But overall I did, and as it is directed by Tim Burton I was expecting it to be a lot darker than it is.

After that we had our weight loss surgery support group meeting and although it was small it was a powerful little meeting. We had a new person who is struggling and we offered some advise and we think have pointed her into the right direction to get some professional help locally. We also talked a heap about recipes as I took the 110 recipes that I had researched and printed out and I took a bunch of post it notes so people could write down if they wanted me to email them with copies.

Three of us stayed back and talked for the need to have a longer meeting or a social meeting where we really get to know each other, and the idea of having an overnight trip or something sounded like a plan. I raised the idea of the Womens Weekend that Jo has mentioned but it is not quite what we were thinking of. But then we also thought having a national "meet and greet" would be fantastic, and I think that we have a good team to organize it. Although not sure how many people would like to come to Palmerston North.

I was thinking that we could actually make it an almsot 3 day thing, so Friday night registrations, and set up and Saturday have the event, with clothing swap and maybe talks from the surgeons/dietitians and maybe evena cooking demonstration of some great ideas for post op eating. We could also get companies like supplements people and the protein shakes to be able to have stands so we could get great specials and be able to try their products. Just a thought.

Oh - I got my blood test results back and Zola (the nutritionist) is very happy with where things are at, and I have made an appointment to have a follow up with David in Wellington on May 7th. So If anyone wants to catch up I will be staying in Wellington on the night of the 7th.

Oopsie Rolls....

Well so many of you have asked what oopsie rolls are......they are rolls made out of egg and cream cheese.....I know it sounds weird, but it works. There are heaps of oopsie recipes out there, just Google it or even look up you tube for video's of how to make it.

Things are going well with the no/low carb although my weight is not dropping. I am not stressing about it, as I know I am doing what is best for my body long term and at least when I go and see my surgeon's team in May I will be able to honestly say that I have been following the program.

I was trying to explain to someone the other day that even though I have lost 75 kgs I still feel like a bit of a failure in some respects.....I know I am not, but sometimes that self doubt falls into my head and it takes a few days to shake it.

Anyway, my recipe for Oopsie Rolls

This recipe is a must for any new or longtime low carber. Bread is one of those high carb foods we are or in my case was used too and can be quite difficult to replace.

The Oopsie Roll is really simple to make and doesn't take long to whip a batch.

Ingredients

3 large eggs

1 teaspoon of sweetener of your choice (this is optional), especially for savory dishes.

A dash of salt

A pinch of cream of tartar

3oz or 85g Cream Cheese (full fat) Do not soften!

Directions

Preheat oven to 300F or 150C degrees.

Separate the eggs.

To the yolks add sweetener (optional), salt, and cream cheese to the yolks.

Use a blender or mixer to combine the ingredients together.

In a separate bowl, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff (if you're using the same mixer, mix the whites first and then the yolk mixture). Using a spatula, gently fold the egg yolk mixture into the white mixture, being careful not to break down the whites.

Spray a baking tray with non-stick spray or use a silicon mat and spoon the mixture onto the sheet, making 6 mounds. Flatten each mound slightly or for a pizza base spread entire mixture evenly over sheet.

Bake for about 20-25 minutes in the upper part of the oven, keep an eye on the time because they will go dry and crumbly if baked too long.

For the Buns:- let cool on the sheet for a few minutes, and then remove to a rack and allow them to cool. Store them in a bread sack or a ziplock bag to keep them from drying out.

For the Pizza Base:- Leave on the tray and apply your pizza sauce and toppings just before you put it back in the oven to grill.

Makes 6 at about 85 calories a piece, >1 carb per (depending on sweetener used)

1st March

Wow- already two months down......that is quite amazing. Well I had a fabulous weekend, and still recovering from it and I forgot to take my camera so I didn't get any shots or shoot any video for my you tube page.

So here's what happened!!!! Friday night was nothing special, apart from I made pizza!!! Yes low carb pizza, made from Oopsie Rolls.......they are amazing things and I was not sure that it would work, especially as our oven is so temperamental and usually is hotter than it says......anyway they came out fine, although not quite as crispy as i thought, but still got the feeling that I had pizza, but without the carbs....

My eating after that went completely downhill as I headed to Wellington for a girls night out with Tania at her cousins bar watching "Bodyheat Australia". It certainly turned out to be a very interesting night. Anyway, I caught up with a friend who had her surgery the day after me and we got a bite to eat at a local bar before the show. I made good choices there but no where else.....lol.

So the show itself was pretty useless, but it was fun watching other very drunk i might add, women throw themselves at these not very good looking , very short Australian men!!!!
There were several people from my old workplace there so it was nice to catch up with them, and one of them missed the train back to Wellington and since I was the sober driver and always take care of my friends we piled him into the car (yes him- he came along too and I paid for him to get a lap dance from the boys.......which he was thrilled to bits with, but the one he thought was cute only sat on his knee for about 15 seconds....)

So here we are at 3am in the morning coming back from town and decided to get some Mc'D's for my passengers......and it took 40 mins to get through the drive-thru....we really felt sorry for the guy in front of us who was in a taxi!!!!!! That had to be the most expensive combo ever!!!

So home to Tarnz and then me and Tamsin, her niece spent till about 4:30 am gas bagging.......man, what a weekend!!! Still made bad choices food wise, and that coupled with TOM my weight is up to 103.4 kgs.......oops, oh well, back to low carb today, and just chip away at it. Si is doing well, he has lost 7 kgs in about 4 weeks, and is for the most part feeling better for it, although had an upset tummy this morning.

As I said, can't believe it is March already......must buy some firewood in preparation for winter.