Hello all! Some protein stuff I found this week! :)

I felt like it was time for another post! :)
 UPDATE: And this is big for me...I have found a protein bar that I like!! They are called "Think Thin" bars from Hannaford, and they are SOO good. I usually find that once I begin eating a protein bar, I automatically can taste the protein that has been pumped into it. Since I get the lower sugar protein bars, I usually have to deal with the sugar alcohols or bust. These "Think Thin" bars, only have about 4g of sugar alcohols, along with 3 g of sugar. They also have a lot of fiber, and depending on which kind you get, the calories are MUCH lower than a regular protein meal bar. The 10g protein bar that I like the best tastes more like candy to me...but it's a bar with nuts in it, and it only have 190 calories...which is about as much as a tablespoon of peanut butter, but OH so much more enjoyable! :) OH! And they are Gluten Free! :)

I also found these Quinoa bars from local co-ops that are yummy and gluten free!! They are about 200 calories and 8 grams of protein, and they are more of a treat at 14 g of sugar ( natural, as it's from honey), they are SO good! :) I also found these Sesame nut bars at Hannaford as well, that have around 6g of protein, but I find them to be more of a post/pre workout snack than anything really substantial.

Things I have found are gluten free this week: popcorn ( most brands), Lays "Baked" Potato chips, Greek Yogurt ( Thank the Good Lord, or else I would be eating zilch...), and a lot of vegetarian stuff :)

Two more things :)
I downloaded a couple of apps that may be helpful in your weight loss journey! One is called " Drinking Water" and reminds you to drink water, and also allows you to track your water consumption. It's pretty cool, because it will create a chart of all of your days, and you can visually see how you are doing. But I like the app mostly for the notifications, and accountability to myself to drink. I set my goal high, so if I don't reach it, then I will know that I drank enough to sustain myself....

I also downloaded "iMapmyRun", which is a GPS tracking app for runners. There is also a similar app called
"iMapmyWalk", which is for walkers. I enjoy it, because I can post my routes to Facebook, and also keep track of my exercise for the days past, and keep myself accountable every day by posting my routes publicly.

Anyway, I think that's enough for tonight! Goodnight all!

I will include some pics with this blog so you can see what all of these bars look like!

<------------Think Thin



<------------Sesame Bar



<-------------Quinoa Bar


Have a good week! And look for my video on youtube this week!

Moe

No meat, low gluten diet!

Hello all,
Just a bit of an update on my diet! I feel so good about this right now. 4 weeks without meat, and 1 week watching my gluten intake. I find myself making better food choices, and feeling less anxious about food choices. My body likes it too!

<3 Moe

Natural Food section?

So, I am embarking on my Gluten free life, without meat, and I am looking around at stores to figure out what to buy, where to buy etc. And what I realized, is that Americans are not led to success by their supermarkets...what I mean by that, is that I think that supermarkets are perpetuating American obesity by not offering the freshest, most natural ingredients to everyone. There is usually only one "natural food" section in every store, where you can find the organic produce, bulk items, organically made products and so on. The prices are outrageous and therefore, not easily accessible to the middle class family who, although they want to feed their family good things,  can't because the refined foods with high calories are cheaper and more accessible. I would like to live in a world that made the best food available to everyone, no matter how much money they make...because the  health of the human race is important to me, and should be important to all. That's it, done ranting.

Moe

We sometimes forget...

So, I have been thinking about this a lot, and I guess sharing it couldn't hurt, because maybe some people feel the same way that I do.

I think that after you have weight loss surgery, or any kind of life-altering event comes your way; the whole process becomes more about the end, and not about the process.

I think at the beginning of this journey, and I say journey, because that is the best word to describe what the process is; I thought only about the end. I thought what it was going to be like to be "normal", to be "skinny". I think over the past 18 months, I have realized that it was not just the physical alteration of my insides that changed me; it was my willingness to give up a lifestyle that was making me unhealthy, unhappy and was bringing so much negativity into my life.

I think that the people who don't succeed in this process are the people who see this surgery as a means to an end. There is never an end. I wish there was, but there isn't. It's always going to be a struggle. It's always going to be hard to resist temptation when it's sitting right there in front of you. We are human beings and we are flawed and no matter how much you try to be, or how much you think you are, you will never be perfect.

That last statement is what really brought me to write this entry, because I think going into this, I thought everything was going to be perfect, and after I lost the weight that everything was just going to fall into place.
It was actually quite the opposite. Losing weight opened so many more doors to me that had been closed before because of physical barriers, and having those doors opened confused the hell out of me, to be perfectly honest. I thought I knew what I wanted to do, but when the world has more to offer, and you have more to give, what are you SUPPOSED to do?

Perfection is something that we all strive for, but I think what we have to realize is that perfection, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder. What may be perfect to one person, may be critically and fatally flawed to the next. We can never know. That's why life is so confusing. I want my physical body to be perfect, or at least normal, but the chances of that happening in the near future are pretty slim, so I have to use the skills that I have used while in the PROCESS to cope. If I didn't have the process, how would I be able to cope?

I just thought it was important to get that out. It's the process that matters, not the endpoints. There is no end, sorry.

Adios mis amigos! Happy Spring Break!

Living Meat Free!

Just an update on living meat free:

I am having virtually no trouble living without meat. In fact, I am finding out that I am trying new foods as I go along. Chickpeas, which I had never tried before outside of hummus, have become one of my favorite foods! Beans, quinoa and other protein sources of course have been staples, but trying new foods has been the best part. I think this experiment might last a whole lot longer than lent....

I think my next phase of my diet is going to be phasing out gluten. I am beginning to chose the gluten free option when I can at the dining center, beginning to check things for gluten and such.

I am still on the never ending journey to find the source of my stomach troubles and pain, so phasing things out of my diet seems to be the best option at this point, since a lot of other things have failed. This is all just part of this new adventure! :)

NO Meat! :)

So as many of you may know, Lent is coming up! Some of you may choose to give up things like ice cream, candy, chocolate, soda etc...well, since I don't really partake in any of those things, I decided to do a little bit of research and go for another food that might be beneficial to skip out on for a while. After hearing about the documentary "Forks Over Knives", which promotes a "plant based diet" ( basically nothing coming from an animal), I decided a would try it with some stipulations. I am going to allow myself nonfat dairy products including yogurt and some cheeses, and an occasional milk. I am also going to allow myself fish if I feel myself REALLY dragging...I feel as though this is a very attainable and realistic goal for lent, and a very sustainable goal for the future. Who knows, maybe I will continue it after the 40 days is over! Wish me luck! :)

What the heck...

What the heck....

I'm gonna start writing here again.

I don't really know why I stopped. Maybe I thought it was too time consuming. Truth is, most of the day, I walk around thinking of my life like a blog. I like to think of my life as a series of Facebook statuses...I know..geeky right? But isn't that what social networking has trained us into doing? Thinking of our lives as a bunch of witty updates on our lives? It's certainly got me trained...anyway, I am going to try to keep this blog more focused on my weight loss journey and my progress, and maybe it will help more people in the future! I am going to change it up a bit, make it a little bit more informative, there will be some stories, some tips, some failures, some trials....a little bit of everything! Stay tuned I know I am excited! Until tomorrow!