Wednesday, March 6th, Cardio & Cafe

Oh a Spring break trip to Italy sounds like a great adventure. I'm a little jealous. I hope he takes lots and lots of pictures.

It's a BLUSTREY day here on the East Coast.  It was in the 50's when I let the dog out early this morning. Now the wind has picked up and it's just barely 40 degrees. And it's supposed to drop some more. It looks like we dodged "Saturn" the most recent winter storm. My oldest son was not as lucky. He's had nearly a foot already thsi morning and it's still snowing heavy in the mountains of VA.

Commute:     Coffee

Breakfast:      Protein Bar and some more coffee

Lunch:           Salad & Tuna

snack:           Protein Bar

Dinner:          Crock Pot Chicken with wild rice

Got some vitamins in and working on the decaf iced tea.

I love your quote.  That is a beatitude I hadn't read in my Bible.

I am a lot jealous!!!  I told a friend of mine that my 30th anniversary is coming up and my son is going to Italy and I am going to Tupelo, MS.  What's up with that!  I bought him lots of batteries to go with the camera and told him to make sure that it feels like I am there with him!  It will be a once in a lifetime trip and I am glad that my husband and I are able to give this to him.

Good evening BOTT friends,

This is really early posting for me, as I usually post late nights.  I"m a night person, and will forever be.  Tess, I notice you do Miralax daily.  I should've taken that advice last week while on the pouch test....it did a real number with my plumbing.  But I'm BOT there too after a horrible night on the throne :)  Needless to say, Miralax is now added to my daily med regime.

I also wanted to ask everyone about the Quest bars.  I checked out Netrition.com which is where I buy my powdered protein, and they have them at, I think, 24.99 for a box of 12.  They show regular Quest bars and All Natural Quest bars, but I don't see the chocolate brownie flavor under the All Natural.  I just wanted to know which ones taste best, if there is a taste difference in the reg or A/N?  

Shipping is a flat 4.95, but if they're available at GNC or someplace for a comparable price, I would be happy to know.  I was not a fan of protein bars, but if it can give me a semblance of a "candy or dessert taste", and benefit me nutritionally, I would love to get some.

I will say that whoever devised the pouch test knew what they were doing.  I hadn't visited OH in yrs, and had never heard of it.  It worked absolutely grand for me, and I think the bars would help because I tend to wait too long between meals, then I find myself having to "catch up" with my eating in the evening.

I wasn't feeling well at all this morning....last night with the "plumbing" problem, lack of sleep (I average 3-4 hrs a day and that has been for years. My body is used to it, but it may all be catching up to me now).  I know my sodium level was low at my docs visit last wk, and probably  lower since I cut out the junk, so I ate a whole dill pickle and some pintos and cheese from Taco Bell for my meals today.  My lips were cracked and I was definitely dehydrated, even though I have no trouble getting in my daily 64 ozs water.

But I feel much better this evening....working on my fluids and dinner after 5 hrs of unbroken sleep which is almost a record for me.

Today I ate:

B:  6 ozs lite Greek yogurt with 1 oz chopped almonds  (ate approx. 1/3 before I gave up and went to sleep)

S:  whole dill pickle

L:  none

S:  2 ozs round steak strips 

S:  protein shake

D:  KFC grilled chicken breast and 1/2 c green beans

I might have another protein shake later tonight.  This is where the bars would come in handy.  Hope everyone has a great evening!

I also have had a sleep problem for years.  Doctors just shrugged it off.  Nothing helped.  Finally a doctor said she thought I had sleep apnea.  I agreed to have the sleep study but argued that I knew the symptoms of sleep apnea and I DID NOT have it.  I didn't wake up unable to breathe and I didn't snore.  I just couldn't stay asleep.  I would wake up every two or three hours. She told me that waking up with headaches each morning was a red flag, a major symptom of sleep apnea.  Well I had to eat crow.  I do have sleep apnea and since I have been sleeping with a c-pap I do much better.  I would urge you to talk to a doctor and see if he/she thinks a sleep study would benefit you.  I felt awful all the time.  Sleep is very important.  I still don't get a full 8 hours, and she wants me to, but my sleep is much improved.

Thanks for the suggestion Linda.  I was diagnosed with sleep apnea in 1999, a yr prior to my gastric bypass.  After my wt loss, a second sleep study ruled it out and I haven't used my CPAP since.  I've regained some wt, hence my being here, but I don't feel the way I did then.

My problem isn't not being ABLE to sleep, nor is it a lack of quality sleep.  It's just not sleeping...period.  I have survived on as little as 20 hrs sleep in a week!  Sometimes, I'm awake for 48 or more hrs at a stretch.  Everyone who knows me knows that I am not a sleeper, and you can call me at ANY hour because I'm probably awake.  My paternal grandmother was the same way...lived to be 89, so I don't worry that it's going to shorten my life, but it could very well happen because like you stated, sleep IS very important.

I have been this way since I was a teen, and a "night person" since pre-puberty.  It's also the reason I work nights (7pm -7am).  I come alive when the sun goes down, kinda like a vampire (used to be my nickname, lol).  I don't bother with sleeping pills, etc. because I just don't feel the need to sleep.  Yes, it's very strange, but then so is a lot of human nature :)

But I'm much better tonight, and I think dehydration was the culprit.  Well I'd better sign off for the night...time for "Golden Girls" and I'll probably give up and go to sleep around 3 a.m. (then my boyfriend will call at 5:30 am for our daily chat on his commute to work)

Goodnight to all, and sweet dreamzzzz! 

Hi Shelia:

The quest bars are at GNC now and you can buy them there.  Also, you can go to Questproteinbars.com and buy individual bar there or a sample box too.  $4.95 is their flat rate also.  The all natural bars or slightly softer than the original bars but I microwave mine anyway so they are just as soft.  I usually get my brownie bars from Netrition just for the fact that I order other items besides them.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.  I will tell you though, I did not like the first couple of brownie bars I ate until I found out about heating them up.  And, you are so right about the sodium, we all watch it to make sure we don't get to much but we will also have issues if we get to little.  Have a great Thursday.

Hi Tess,

Thanks for the info on the Quest bars.  I'm about to order them right now.  I'm glad they're at GNC, but I also get other items from Netrition just like you mentioned, so I thought I'd kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

I read reviews at the Quest site, and I did see a couple ppl mention that they didn't like the brownie bars, then someone mentioned microwaving them for about 15 secs first.

I'm going to get a few of the individual bars to try the different flavors.  I think they're 2.08 per bar there, but I didn't see any sample boxes listed so I'm gonna check out the Quest site before I order.  

Have a wonderful day

Everyone's menu looks good...I'm not going to list my menu today.  I'm still here

Glad you are still here.  You don't have to post, just come daily and lurk.  That is what a lot of folks do.