What's on your Tuesday Menu?

Well, I guess I will just keep the blind jokes coming because...yeah. I went to the follow up appointment yesterday and they acted like I was insane for expecting to be able to see clearly right now. I literally have a peace of paper saying that I would be able to drive to the appointment yesterday independently. but when I said I was worried that I couldn't focus on near or far, she said, "well what did you expect? You just has surgery on Friday"? Then when I told her I was worried about not being able to work this week, she LITERALLY called me "hysterical". It's funny because Grim and I are always joking about the stereotypes of hysterical women and here we are... he has one in his own house! Lucky him.

Anyway, I guess my vision did improve slightly throughout the day. My distance and close reading is better but still not great. I definitely cannot drive yet. Reading on the computer is currently the thing the most difficult task for me. I am using assistive tech to make the screen huge to do this :) At least that technology exists in case I am not better by Friday when I have to go back to the office.

I have my booster shot scheduled in the mid-morning, and that's my only solid plan for the day! Grim and I are thinking about following the trend of putting up our Christmas Tree super early, so we might go up to the attic and pull it all down and get going. Why not? We are super trendy :)

QOTD: What is the last creative thing you did? My blind-ass tried doing some small Christmas crafts yesterday... Lol, not my best work, but it was fun to play in the craft room. I also consider cooking to be a creative activity, and it was fun to make some new recipes yesterday by using up my pantry staples before things expire.

I ate so much yesterday! I have no idea where I even put it--I must have had a hollow leg. I just had so many bites, licked and tastes while cooking, then also ate full meals of my creations.

B: Click Protein Coffee

S: Egg & Goat Cheese

L: Chicken Sausage & Roasted Root Veggies

S: Balanced Break

D: Fish Tacos

Good Morning!

glad to hear things are improving JB! Fingers crossed it'll be good by Friday.

This journey is sometimes exhausting - navigating maintenance has proven to be more difficult then I anticipated. I definitely can eat more then I was able to - which is scary in and of itself. I still don't feel typical 'hunger' however, I become very irritated if it's been too long between meals. It's a fine line between finding food that keeps me fuller longer, but still sticking within my protein goals. I feel kind of left behind by my Bariatric clinic on what to expect in this phase.. so I muddle through and hope I'm doing what I'm supposed to be doing!

QOTD: I've been working 6 days a week + going to the Gym regularly.. there's been no time for anything creative. I currently have a beautiful afghan on the go and I'm cross stitching an anatomical skull still.. I'm not working as much going forward (by my own choice) so I hope to be able to pick them up again shortly.

b: fairlife latte, egg whites, salsa, cheddar & 1/2 English muffin

S: Greek yogurt w chia seed

l: salad w ground beef

s: babybel & some lunch meat

d: undecided as of right now

Maintenance is hard work! Figuring out what your body needs, how to control the brain, not easy stuff.

I can relate to how you feel. Sometimes it feels like a moving target.

Maintenance is 1000000% times harder than the weight loss phase and I don't think there are too many programs that do a good job preparing people for it. That's why I am glad we have each other here!

my 6 year anniv is next month and its still a struggle.

I struggle everyday. I find my snacking gets away from me in the evenings and I find Alcohol really packs on the pounds. Right now I am up over 10lbs from my lowest and I can not seem to get a grasp on it. I do fine all week then when the weekend hits it goes to hell in a handbasket. I wish weekends didn't count. Fortunately I find solace in my fellow Menuers to keep me positive and continuing to be conscience of what goes in my mouth. My hope is that we all find it deep within us to stay on track and not give up.

Does your bariatric clinic have a dietician that you can access? At my clinic I can also use "MyChart" to send direct messages to the clinic provider, dietician, other for specific questions. You should also look at the binder that the clinic gave you pre-op for guidance. You should not feel left alone. I am also wary of the maintenance phase (not there yet), I am trying to setup new habits, but on occaison I note that I am eating to a fuller sensation. I recognize this and put more conscious effort to stopping immediately. Does anyone else have any supportive advise?

My clinic discharges you after one year - the information provided in my book isn't helpful.. it is still 'ensure you get 60-80g of protein a day' followed by really sad sample meal plan. The dietitian at my final apt told me to keep on doing what I'm doing.. which wasn't helpful haha!

Happy Tuesday! I cannot believe how your eye doctor behaved but I'm glad you feel like things are starting to improve. On this Tuesday morning I put the half and half in my water vs in my coffee....and I'm not having vision issues so there's that.

Good news yesterday we finally got the all clear and the rules for traveling through Chile for the trip to Antarctica in February, I am so excited! I've been trying to not get over excited just in case it didn't reopen. There are a few hoops to jump through and right now there's a two day mandatory isolation in Santiago for up to 48 hours for a PCR test on landing but I'm good with that, I will jump through all the hoops to see the penguins.

QOTD - I am most creative in the kitchen and was pretty happy with my modifications to develop the chicken green chili.

I have pilates today before work, a whole day of 20 minute presentations from our various leadership teams and so it will be a long one. I took so many pictures at Immersive Van Gogh that I might be able to have a new Van Gogh backdrop for every session. There are two different Van Gogh exhibits traveling right now, this one was where you went into a giant room and they projected changing images from the various paintings, it was full of movement and many times felt you were in an elevator going up or down into the painting. Very cool!

menu today

pumpkin yogurt

meatball and burrata leftovers

dinner tbd

Have a terrific tuesday!