Gwennaford's Journal

[crickadoodle]

Oh, Gwen, I love your chart!  I just saw it today, though you did it a while back.  You really can do it.  I know that many experience plateaus, but I really didn't, unless I ate popcorn.  I was really focused to stick to the plan and didn't cheat.  I ate fruit for breakfast and dinner and a big lunch of lean meat, veggies and bean soup.  This really got the weight off at the rate of 2-3 lbs. a week.  Even as I approached my goal weight I continued to lose each week, though maybe only a lb. some weeks.  I also was walking daily and doing some weight resistance exercises, which I know you can't do quite yet.  Yet, from all I read, the exercise doesn't help you lose the lbs. so much as help in other ways like toning and also reducing stress and encouraging better sleep.  (I'm all for increasing my metabolism by increasing my muscle mass.)  Those things are impt. to good health and weight loss -- because you don't stress eat.  The actual calories burned from exercise itself is minimal, though. 

We are all pulling for you and I know you know that.  I'm hoping I can go to the Fla. convention so that I can meet the new you!  What a celebration we will have then!  Bless you!

[Gwennaford]

I didn't do what I planned for Wednesday. Joe & Michelle surprised me with a visit so I took them out to our fave Thai restaurant to celebrate Joe's college graduation. I ordered Kani Su (cucumber rolls) & a large sashimi tray. That's all I was going to eat as I had filled up on watermelon before going.   


All went well until I saw on the menu a spicy green curry that the server guaranteed would be made with nothing but chicken broth, vegetables & your choice of protein. She promosed NO coconut or peanut sauce. Must have been a translation problem cause it was swimming in the most delicious sweetened coconut milk sauce like only the Thai can make. I picked out the solids with chopsticks and skipped the basmati rice, but that kinda opened the floodgate of several more poor food choices that day. I had 5 pieces of different flavors sushi nigiri, and a a glass of sake.   


THEN we went across the street to an ice cream stand & I HAD A BANANA SPLIT. Not really - it was a tiny sundae made with sliced banana, lowfat frozen yogurt, & strawberry sauce with NO whipped cream or nuts.   


Not completely terrible choices in the big picture, but ones I probably wouldn't have made if the meals in the two weeks leading up to this point had consisted of something more substantial than Spartan vegetarian cabbage soup. The least fattening version that still tastes good to you, right?    


Today I'm back on the wagon. I made defatted chicken stock from the rotisserie chicken carcass, then used it to make White Beans and Greens three ways: 

Hearty Butterbean & Kale Soup; Roasted Chicken Breast w/Wasabi Mash, Spicy Garlic Kale w/Hot Red Peppers, & Corn on the Cob. Third, I blended together kale & butterbeans to make a kind of hummus dip.   

[Gwennaford]

A friend stopped in yesterday and goofed around with the wireless router until he got it working.  YAY!

I tried another exciting Publix Apron's recipe today.  Having a person doing a live cooking & tasting demo for eight hours a day (their poor feet!) AND having all the ingredients needed to cook the recipes, available for sale at the demo site, must increase sales dramatically.  I have boxes full of recipes I have picked up through the years from different places and have never tried.  But I have prepared every Apron's recipe I have tasted that could be easily adapted to Let's Do Lunch.  It is a brilliant marketing strategy.  Most of the time I don't buy their packaged fruit salads and herb pastes, etc. because I prefer to use the fresh ingredients I have on hand.  But it is handy having them preshop for unusual or exotic ingredients that I would never think to purchase otherwise.  This is what I enjoyed today, adapted slightly for LDL . . .

Hearts of Palm and Watercress Salad

Ingredients
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Cilantro herb paste [substitute 1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro and a pinch of Stevia, for a slightly sweeter taste]
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 oz. watercress (or 1 bunch) 
1 (14-oz) Salad-cut Hearts of Palm, canned in water (drained)  [May substitute drained and sliced artichoke hearts]
1 1/2 cups Seedless Red Grapes [May substitute grape or sliced cherry tomatoes]
3 tablespoons crumbled [lowfat] Feta Cheese


Steps
1.  Whisk together in salad bowl, lemon juice, cilantro, and olive oil.
2.  Cut watercress, if pre-washed and trimmed, into approx. 2" pieces. (If using bunch, trim stems, rinse well and dry before snipping to length.)
3.  Add remaining ingredients; toss and serve.

That's it.  Simple but bursting with flavor, I ate the whole batch for lunch with a can of white tuna and a slice of WASA crispbread.  YUM-O!

[Gwennaford]

Gwen,
Do you have a recipe for the red cabbage vinegar slaw?
Thanks,
Ollie

Hi Ollie!  Transferred your question over here from my food diary page.

I just made a generic Stevia-sweetened red wine vinegar dressing using ideas I found in the coleslaw recipes that popped up when I searched for "vinegar slaw".  I tend to use the the "sprinkle-sprinkle-dump-dump" method of cooking, so I don't remember exactly what I put in it.  It was fairly straightforward.  I was surprised it stayed a bright purple color and didn't fade to that gross-looking bluish-gray color that cooked cabbage can get.  It looked DY-NO-MITE on the plate with pan fried catfish, corn on the cob and salad.  So colorful!

Gwen

[barrypaxton]

Thanks Gwen. I make a "sweet and sour" red cabbage dish. You dice the red cabbage and cook it and drain it. Then you make a broth to put over it. The broth consists of vinegar, water, and splenda. I am like you. I don't measure. I dump and taste to see what it needs more of in order to get the flavor that I want.

Take care,
Ollie

[Gwennaford]

Back online again.  YAY!  Joe & Michelle stayed with me for a week before permanently moving to Dallas. 

Joe bought a new wireless router and upgraded my system so I can now surf effortlessly!  Another YAY!  Only problem is, I cannot afford to spend much time sittig at the computer because it makes my feet & legs swell very badly.

I have been having a pretty bad arthritis flare that has lasted about a month.  Extremely painful joints, and didn't want to take the time off to nurse my poor body.  Drs. think it is a delayed reaction to the stress and grief of the past several months/years.  The Dr. put me on a prednesone pak that blew me up like a giant toad.  I went up 15 pounds of body fluid and didn't take the time to stay in bed with my legs elevated to drain it off.  I have too much to do to lay around in bed all day and night.  So I've stayed bloated no matter how much cabbage soup and watermelon I eat.  I finally succumbed to the Dr's. insistence that I start taking diuretics because she was afraid of the effects of all that fluid load on my heart.  So now I'm forcing myself to stay in bed, with trips to the bathroom every 15 minutes, around the clock.  Now I REALLY don't get anything else done. 

To be safe, I saw my cardiologist who detected an irregular heartbeat (atrial fibrulation) and started me on Coumadin.  grrr    That means I have to go to the lab 2-3 times a week for a couple of months until my blood thinners are stabilized.  And THAT means I have to be careful eating dark leafy greens, and all the other great healthy LDL foods.  I can eat them, but I have to make sure I eat EXACTLY the same things every day.  BOOOOO ! ! !    Who can stick to that?  I but I have to find a way to do it.  I've come too far to die of a blood clot because I was too stubborn to follow the Dr's orders.  I know the Lord will either make a way for this to work out for me, or heal me completely.  This is my only hope to succeed at this for the rest of my life.

[cameron]

Gwen, I am so sorry this happened to you on top of everything else. You are in my thoughts and prayers every day.            ck

[Gwennaford]

It's okay, really. I have prayed about this and learned that this is God's way of slowing me down and forcing me to take care of myself now. I spent years killing myself for others and it has taken this to make me stop and evaluate my life.   

Until now I have been using every  excuse for not taking time for my own health and wellness. Eating right was only the first step. Now it is time for some deferred personal maintenance.

[crickadoodle]

Oh, man, Gwen -- coumadin? and prednezone?  Well, girl, you get those legs up and pump your feet. That'll get the fluid out of your legs. The physical therapist taught us to do that with Mom -- and it worked so well.  I wondered why the people at the hospital didn't tell her that when her legs were so swollen!  Well, you gather all kinds of info from all kinds of sources.  I'm thankful we found out.

There is nothing more important or more pressing than taking care of yourself.  All that other stuff can wait and will never get done, if you aren't healthy and able to do it. 

I'm pulling for you.  You'll see that weight going down again.  So sorry about the increase in meds, though.  I'm so resistant to new meds with Mom.  I just wonder if the side effects are worth the "help" they are supposed to do.  Often, the side effects are worse, we've found. 

[Gwennaford]

I resisted as long as possible. I delayed, I argued, I reasoned, tried different dietary remedies, and tried every way at my disposal to avoid having more meds. The prednisone is over now, thank God, so the diuretics will only be temporary, too.   


The Coumadin will be permanent unless the Lord heals me.  The EKG showed history of an undetected infarction, and with a-fib, if I don't take the blood thinners I have a 20% chance of dying from a stroke within 5 years. I've come too far to risk dying just because I don't want to take a pill. There is another pill undergoing medical trials that better balances the INR so the blood is not as easily affected by high vitamin K foods. I will check it out once it has been approved. 


I got a big play ball that I'm using to exercise my arms & legs, both sitting up in the chair and lying on the bed.  I learned some of these exercises on the "Sit & Be Fit" TV show.  Some of them are from physical therapy and some I ised to do in the pool. Wish I could get in the water now. Strange thing -- After just a few minutes in the pool my feet & legs get chilled and start to cramp violently. I'm not supposed to get into the hot tub 'til they figure out what's going on with my heart.     

[southernyankee]

Dear Gwen,
I am keeping you in my prayers....asking the Lord to keep your spirits strong and that you'll keep on keeping on! I have the feeling you are an incredibly strong woman....have been through so much yet you persevere. That is so admirable! I can speak only for myself but I'm sure so many other LDL'ers, like me, see you as such an inspiration and as someone to emulate when times get tough.

Please get well SOON!
     
Love,
southernyankee

[LINDA RN]

I am praying that the Lord will completely heal your heart so you don't have to take coumadin anymore. I know with LDL the arthritis will go, along with the steroids.

[niki]

And THAT means I have to be careful eating dark leafy greens, and all the other great healthy LDL foods.  I can eat them, but I have to make sure I eat EXACTLY the same things every day.  BOOOOO ! ! !    Who can stick to that?  I but I have to find a way to do it.  

hi gwennie...
hey,it's easy to do that....you just can't eat 2 or 3 salads one day and no salad the next........it doesn't have to be EXACTLY the same thing every day.....and green leafy vegetables are one of the most alkaline things you could eat which is SO healthy....
this'll be a piece of cake(haha)for you........YOU'RE tough AND holy spirit empowered.....with what you've been through?....this is a tiny pebble in a rutted road....  

[Gwennaford]

hey,it's easy to do that....you just can't eat 2 or 3 salads one day and no salad the next........it doesn't have to be EXACTLY the same thing every day....

Unfortunately, that's exactly how I DO eat.  Some weeks I can't get enough salads and raw veggies.  I'll buy bushels of them and eat on them until they're gone.  Then I won't want them again for a while -- switching over to some kind of bean soups, casseroles and grilled, baked or roasted vegetable dishes.  I make gargantuan batches of THAT and eat on them until they are gone, then I'm ready for some meat & steamed veg for a while.  All this pretty much depends on what's seasonal, what's in the pantry, how often I can get to the store, what's on sale.  I can't guarantee I'm always going to have some variation of dark leafy greens available on hand to substitute every day or week, etc. etc. etc.  

I know, I know -- quitcherwhinin', right?  No whining!  There's no whining in LDL!  

[niki]

hey,it's easy to do that....you just can't eat 2 or 3 salads one day and no salad the next........it doesn't have to be EXACTLY the same thing every day....

Unfortunately, that's exactly how I DO eat.  Some weeks I can't get enough salads and raw veggies.  I'll buy bushels of them and eat on them until they're gone.  Then I won't want them again for a while -- switching over to some kind of bean soups, casseroles and grilled, baked or roasted vegetable dishes.  I make gargantuan batches of THAT and eat on them until they are gone, then I'm ready for some meat & steamed veg for a while.  All this pretty much depends on what's seasonal, what's in the pantry, how often I can get to the store, what's on sale.  I can't guarantee I'm always going to have some variation of dark leafy greens available on hand to substitute every day or week, etc. etc. etc.  

I know, I know -- quitcherwhinin', right?  No whining!  There's no whining in LDL!  

just remember that 100, even 50 years ago, coumadin didn't exist...there are a lot of things about modern technology that i don't like, but when it comes to certain things that REALLY save lives, i'm glad of it...COUMADIN is one of them.....for you, without coumadin, you have a really high risk of developing blood clots....AND, what i know is that God's not ready for you to leave planet earth QUITE yet....i KNOW you've really been through the mill in the last few years but i KNOW that you're one of God's soldiers with lots of work left to do for Him.........while you're here on earth, YOU stand in the gap for your children..............and, i KNOW that's where you want to be.......

gwen...take a look online and on these boards at the concept of acid/alkaline foods.......

[LovinLDL]

Hey Gwen,

My hero friend, I never read whining in your posts.  Often I whine for you...or maybe just cry out to the Lord.

Hang in there...praying right now.  Hearts CAN be healed...then you and the other GG will have two things in common:-)

Trusting Jesus (to wrap His healing arms around Gwennie right now),
Julie

[LovinLDL]

"Other GG"= Marcie Grace (AKA "Marcie Grape"...what Daddy calls her because she LOVES grapes)...Pediatric Cardiologist said she would need another heart procedure, but she didn't...the Lord opened up that little valve:-)

[crickadoodle]

Gwen, we are all pulling for you.  You've come so far and are an inspiration to all. 

Julie, I didn't know Little Marcie was sick.  She is such a cutie.  I'm glad the Lord intervened.

[Gwennaford]

Trying to stay cool and dry.  Temps in the mid-90's with humidity in the high 70's make a heat index in the low 100's.  Add daily thunderstorm deluges . . .  It's not fit outside for man nor beast!  I'm staying inside more than I would like, but it's not possible to get out for more than a few minutes without getting fried or drowned!

Physically recovering from the recent arthritis flare, but wondering when my brain is going to kick back in.  I've lost most of the fluid load, but still about three pounds above the last low number reported on the caboose.  RT says the lowest number is what counts, but for how long?  Getting impatient for the numbers to start dropping again.  My weight loss chart countdown to Key West is busted, as I'm above the line. 

(Heavenly Father, I would love some encouragement in the form of a significant weight loss!  Thank You for Your faithfulness to me.  Please help me learn to be faithful to YOU!)

Almost forgot --- here is a funny:

THE BEST USE FOR BREAD

[Gwennaford]

My weight loss is still above the line (countdown to Key West), but just barely.  I am back down to my pre-flare weight of 304.  I am discouraged by the 8-week setback.  Still battling fluid retention so it fluctuates 10 to 15 pounds a week.  Good news is last month's tight jeans are getting baggy.

Loves to everyone --
Gwen