Vee getting healthy

May 15: Dinner Last Night

Most families probably have the rule: "we are cooking only one meal. Eat it or you get nothing." Or... "every bite you leave on your dinner plate will be your breakfast in the morning." Or... "don't want what we cooked? Well, then YOU can start cooking dinner from now on, and it must be healthy and well-balanced." Or... what we grew up with ... "you WILL stay seated at the table until the last bit is gone."

Sooo hard to force me, a picky eater, to eat things I couldn't even stand to smell. I obviously never got over my love/hate relationship with food. It is complicated.

When my kid was born, some 25+ years ago, I didn't want him to obsess over food like I do. I decided to make what my picky eater likes to eat, and will grab something else for me.

For the most part it works.

These are pics from last night's dinner. I wasn't hungry (still with stomach pains so just a bar for me), and Weslee was planning on just having chips.

He doesn't normally get that many grapes, but they're starting to go bad so I washed them and told him to eat the ones that weren't too squishy. He also got six chicken rings, and yes tons of ketchup. And he had apple slices and little bag of carrots. That kept him well until today's first meal.

For lunch, I had half of a turkey sandwich with lettuce snd apple slices. For dinner, well, that sandwich / lunch put my stomach back in the ringer so I ate SOME of the bar and put the rest in the fridge.

It doesn't help that most bars taste like chalk so I washed it down with a bottle of water.

........

Weslee needs more brain surgery for his seizures. Please go to his Medical GoFundMe or to our Paypal ... Thank you.

May 13: Dinner Under Protest

I am so tired of being tired. Tired of headaches, sudden bruises, exhaustion, restless limbs, craving sweets, pain in former surgical spots ... ALL kinds of reasons / justifications (??) ... well, you get the point.

I can trace a large portion to:

Being very overweight
Stress eating
Stress

When I find something to eat that I actually like (such a picky eater), I stick with for a while. I know that within a few days or possibly a week, I will get bored of it. Whatever is left in the fridge or cupboard, I am sorry to say, will probably get tossed. (My son is even pickier that me!)

All this to get to tonight's late dinner. I really didn't want to eat, but knew I needed to.

I was in bed all day, pain throught my bod plus another migraine (5th day), severe stomach pain (3rd day), vomiting and nausea.

It was nearly 9 p.m. when I roused myself to get to the kitchen. I scrambled eggs with cheese for my 28-year-old (12-14 years mentally) with apple slices. (He won't choose decent foods unless I am there.)

Then for myself, I fried a couple of eggs and ate them with lettuce (forgot to take a pic). After, I had some sliced apples, then made another yogurt-and-fruit parfait with strawberries, bananas, and added blueberries to it ... help keep the monotony away.

I need to do better.

Who will take care of my son when I die?

........

Weslee needs more brain surgery for his seizures. Please go to his Medical GoFundMe or to our Paypal ... Thank you.

Apr 30: Midnight Snack

As you might know, I don't sleep much, especially at night (gotta listen for my kid to have a seizure). Consequently, despite keeping busy with painting, writing, etc., I eat a snack.

In this case, it was kinda like a parfait ... cottage cheese with peach preserves with frozen peaches and a single strawberry slice!

Maybe tomorrow, I will go for string cheese with peanut butter.

......

My 28 year old (but mentally and emotionally is about 12) son, Weslee, has intractable epilepsy, autism, OCD, ADHD and lots of side effects from lots of brain surgeries. After a week stay at the Cleveland Clinic in 2024, his team of doctors is suggesting more brain surgeries. We need help to get there and back plus with copays, etc. Please donate through the link below then share this link: https://gofund.me/085ca903 ..

...OR...

To donate directly through PayPal :

Click here to go to:

www.paypal.me/VIKKIWESLEELAWRENCE

Thank you.

Dinner For A Picky Person

Eating healthy is difficult when you consider how picky I am (WE are) about food.

Protein: bacon, cashews, cheese

Veg: carrots

Fruit: grapes, blueberries, strawberries

Apr 23: Bacon Dinner

As a diabetic cursed with many other health problems, I have to watch my protein intake. Unfortunately, my picky-eater-ness makes me want to give up. Sometimes.

And sometimes, I do.

Not this meal, though.

I added a side salad to both of our meals. My son will eat bagged salad (lettuce, carrot shreds and purple cabbage) often drenched in Ranch dressing. And he will eat Olive Garden salad if I take out the pepper, croutons and olives, and is ok with their house dressing. Those are the only salads he will eat.

To MY salad, I added peanuts, croutons, green onions and thousand island. I actually like salad when my stomach is cooperative, and add when I can, boiled eggs, sliced almonds, shredded cheese, small chunks of protein like ham or turkey. I wish I ate it more often.

Question: has anybody ever used scrambled eggs in a salad instead of boiled? If so, how did it go?

Thank you for your visit... Vee

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...OR...

To donate directly through PayPal :

Click here to go to:

www.paypal.me/VIKKIWESLEELAWRENCE

Thank you.

Apr 21: Yogurt Parfait

Sort of cliche, but I am kicking off my 'getting healthy' regimen with a yogurt parfait.

Parfait (vanilla greek yogurt with frozen mixed fruit [ peach, pineapple, mango, and strawberries ] on the bottom, and a crumbled granola bar on top).
A cutie mandarin orange.
A bottle of water.

Probably should have added chia seeds, ground flaxseeds and protein powder. Next time.

......

...OR...

To donate directly through PayPal :

Click here to go to:

www.paypal.me/VIKKIWESLEELAWRENCE

Thank you.

Apr 20: Try Try Try Again

I am back!

My health has deteriorated so badly, that I have troubles just moving around. I'm overweight again, my white blood cells platelets and iron are all low, massive migraines, my spine is out of alignment from compression, and a bunch of other things.

So I decided that I needed to make a change, and to get back to being healthy.

I really need to do it this time.

If I don't, and I die, who will take care of my son?

........

After a lot of starts and stops with blogging, I will keep updating only THREE blogs:

Epilepsy Awareness, my son's struggle with seizures ...and why I am called 'That Purple Mom" (and includes my storefront): ThatPurpleMom.com
Prepping / Survival Cooking / Living, and getting through these difficult times: www.survival-cooking.blogspot.com
My journey to get healthy: www.veegettinghealthy.blogspot.com

Thanks for stopping by.

Vikki

......

...OR...

To donate directly through PayPal :

Click here to go to:

www.paypal.me/VIKKIWESLEELAWRENCE

Thank you.

So Many Changes

I have so many balls up in the air that I am having a hard time keeping up with them all! Here's an update:

I had scope surgery on my right knee in June. It didn't help at all but the surgeon got a great look inside and found out my knees are pretty much beyond hope. Right knee replacement surgery scheduled for November. After I recover from that one, we'll do the left.
Intense pain in my back and legs led me to get more checked out. Turns out I have severe rheumatoid arthritis in my back, which means I will be in a wheelchair within 5-10 years.
Only way to delay that wheelchair is to lose weight and get healthy!
Every time I eat gluten, my back and legs hurt horribly. We're talking excrutiatingly mind-numbingly pain. So I've eliminated gluten as much as possible. Sometimes I notice it is in something I ate, but overall, I'm doing well.
I have published only one of my pieces of fiction, have written lots more AND some non-fiction, but all need another edit or two before I can release them. Since we really need the money, I gotta get busy!
Preparing for the wheelchair business means we really need a house closer to town, that we can convert to handicapped access. We still want chickens and turkeys, and hopefully goats, but I can't seem to find a decent neighborhood near Hubby's work where we can do this. Still, we're not moving for a year or so, giving us plenty of time to find a neighborhood AND for me to get through my knee operations.
We have already gotten rid of our goat herd. It was too much for Hubby to do in the mornings before work. We still have chickens and turkeys but most of them will be harvested before Thanksgiving. Yum...healthy home-grow turkey!
Weight loss isn't going great but it's going. Steady-like. I was hoping to be at 200 pounds by my November surgery but I don't think I'm going to make it. We'll see.

One more thing: one of the non-fiction books I'm writing is about making healthy homemade MREs (meals ready to eat) using dehydrated, freeze-dried and otherwise shelf-stable ingredients. As I wrote on that book this week, I realized that would be a perfect way to help my diet / getting healthy plan. All meals are portion controlled. No two meals would be alike, unless that's something I wanted. Variety...the spice of life! Low sodium. Low sugar. Gluten-free. Low carbs if I wanted that.

If you are interested in that part of my life, please go to the blog I set up specifically for my Meals In Jars (MIJ) / homemade healthy MREs diet at http://homemadehealthymres.blogspotcom

Thank you.

Tai Chi for the first time

I had always heard about Tai Chi, but never tried it. Never crossed my mind.

However, last week, I discovered my right leg is about two inches shorter than my left. Background: Because of my morbid obesity, something had to give. My legs volunteered.

Over the past several years, I have suffered from Bakers' cysts, meniscus tears, knee muscles/bones/cartilages crumbling and fraying. Disintegrating. I keep falling because my knees give out on me.

Started consulting with an orthopedic surgeon a couple of years ago. We have tried steroid shots, SynVisc shots, and this past June 26 (2014), I had a scope surgery done on my right knee. The doc told me it wasn't much of a help, telling me that I require a total knee replacement, and soon.

It is scheduled for November.

Meanwhile, I am working to lose weight.

As you may remember I went from 299 lbs in 2008 to 201 lbs in October 31 2010. Super-struggle, counting carbs and calories, but I did it. Then a certain family trip set me back, and the weight just molded back on my body. However, this time, my highest was 266 pounds.

As of yesterday, at the doctor's office, I was 255 pounds, fully-clothed with boots.

Back to Tai Chi. I started that last week, plus a few other exercises, to get my right leg back to the same length as my left. AND to lessen the volume of my body so that I can be healthy enough to recover from my knee surgery.

I would appreciate encouragement!

p.s. Writing is back on track! I am even writing a book on my "dieting" experience. www.vikki-lawrence-williams.blogspot.com

Back in the Saddle. Again. Hopefully.

Has it really been almost a year since I've written? Oh my. So sorry. I will do better.

It has been an eventful 12 months. My son had two brain surgeries May 2013 to try to get rid of his epilepsy. The surgeon took out his rt occipital lobe, rt hippocampus, part of the rt frontal lobe, and a tumor. While this did result in less seizures, he was left with 1/4 blindness in each eye, memory problems, and difficulties walking and talking. He also lost most of his memories, especially having to do with schoolwork.

It's been a struggle but he is walking and talking better. We are back to homeschooling because we had to start all over again.

As far as me... I can barely walk so am waiting for knee surgeries to happen in the Fall. Meanwhile, I try to move my upper body as much as possible. Not very succcessful.

And working to clean up my diet. Kind of a paleo but really can't imagine no legumes or dairy, so writing up my own diet. Assuming it works, I will publish a book about it.

Basics about it:
All kinds of veggies
All kinds of fruits
All kinds of legumes
All kinds of meats, seafood, poultry and eggs
Some dairy
Honey and stevia for sweeteners

NO GRAINS.

Instead, I am working up recipes for "bread" using nut flours, bean flours, coconut and sorghum flours, and crackers using soaked flax and chia seeds.

Trying trying trying.

So far, it is still SUCH a struggle to NOT eat cake, bread and pasta. Difficult to eat a BLT without the bread. Gotta figure this out. GOTTA.

My son needs me.

**I** need me.

Intake for Sat Apr 20

Grabbed a big frozen pkg of pork chops from the freezer yesterday so before I went to bed, divided them into 3 crockpots and cooked on low all night (mostly with just garlic). And then, because all of the water and tea I drank, I was up all night in the bathroom!

Yesterday's intake:

8 a.m.: 1/4 cup cooked pork, water

10:30 a.m.: chicken nuggets, pear, strawberry/banana smoothie, rice crackers

1:30 p.m.: leftover pizza (chicken, onion, mushrooms, green peppers), water.

Here's my downfall: I needed to make some sample cupcakes for a customer's graduation party. Yes, I ate a cupcake and some frosting (all homemade). I then drank tons of water to start flushing out the sugar again.

4:30 p.m.: boiled egg with spicy brown mustard, water

6:30 p.m.: Hubby brought home dinner from Panda Express: orange chicken, honey walnut shrimp, brown rice and 2 egg rolls. Oh well. He tried.

9:00: pecans and almonds, water, my evening pills

Not great but today's another day!

Intake for Apr 19 Fri

Let's see if I can keep a tally of what I eat. My goal is 6 small meals a day, very little processed foods, etc. Basically a mediterranean diet but even more so geared to my pre-diabetes/diabetic problem (see yesterday's post).

Friday, Apr 19

7 a.m. - last of a premade protein drink, handful of whole unsalted almonds, water. 10 min light exercise.

10 a.m. - tuna salad with egg & pickle relish, brown rice crackers, apple, water. Did chores.

1 p.m. - sandwich: whole grain bread with natural peanut butter and cream cheese, water

4 p.m. - had doc appt at 3:30 for eyes so took 100 cal guac snack pack with some cheapo triscuits, water

at doc. blood tested at 4:30 was 94 so I'm NOT diabetic! Woohoo! Took Kid (who'd napped in the exam room) and met Hubby at local pizzeria.

6 p.m. - pizza with chicken, mushrooms, red onion and green peppers, with a side salad and 4 glasses of tea

Now, just because the theory of my blurred vision is different (on-going migraine causing vision and hearing problems), it doesn't mean that I'm gonna eat cupcakes and stuff all the time again. Sure did scare me.

Back on the wagon. Again. Gotta. Poss Diabettes.

My knees have gotten so bad that I couldn't walk. But I need to. When my son has a seizure, I need to be able to catch him. I need to be able to feed the chickens and goats, walk the dog, clean the house, play with my ever-regressing son.

Last week I bit the bullet, called the ortho doc and made the appointment. A cortizone shot in each knee. Within 24 hours I could walk with about 50% less pain, BUT my legs had swollen so my shoes didn't fit, I've had a constant migraine, and my vision is blurry. Very blurry.

Good ole Google showed cortizone sometimes brings on a spike in blood sugar. As in could now be diabetic. Oh great.

I'd gone back to one of my comforts ... cakes and cupcakes ... and since I've been baking cupcakes and breads for 5 months now to raise money for my son's surgery, I've gotten really really good at it. the most delicious white cake and homemade buttercream frosting ... STOP IT!!!

I see the PCP doc today. Doubtful she'll take my blood but if she does, I'm sure it'll be high. Meanwhile, I weighed this morning: 233.2 lbs. Not as bad as I thought.

Starting today:
-lots of water - half my weight in ounces ... 116 ounces so slightly less than a gallon (128 oz)
-6 small meals a day
-following basically mediterranean diet
-no fruit juice / only low glycemic whole fruit with skin (fiber) like berries, cherries, apples, pears
-poultry and seafood, eggs and cheese
-whole grains, incl oats, buckwheat, millet, amaranth, quinoa
-avocado daily, with lots of veggies
-no processed foods / cook
-egg every day since our hens are laying lots now!
-moderate exercise, even if it's just waving my arms on the bed (still can't walk much)

Not doing it to lose weight, althought that would be great. Doing it to regain my eyesight. Because I'll need another cortizone shot or two or 5 since i can't the knee surgery until after my son's surgery.

Please keep us in your thoughts.

I WOULD LOVE TO SAY THAT ...

... I'm eating healthy, but still, sadly, no. I'm not.

Today's intake:

B: protein coffee drink, milk

L: milk, protein coffee drink

D: water with lime juice, water, multi-vitamins

See?

Not even the thought of a Fuddrucker Cheeseburger, my fresh baked cinnamon/walnut rolls or pizza made me want to eat. Nothing at all sounded good today.

I even took my kid to get a frozen yogurt at Gotcha Yogurt in Parker, CO. Love that place. I got a tiny portion of white chocolate mousse with lots of fresh strawberries and a few chopped pecans, but didn't even sample it or lick the spoon. It's now in the freezer awaiting my Hubby to finish the farm chores and eat his dinner (spaghetti).

He even brought me home some fresh chocolate chip cookies but ... I just don't want them.

The owner at Gotcha said I'd lost a lot of weight. I don't know. The scale shows only 6 pounds lost since mid-Nov so maybe it's just the worry wrinkles that's making me look old and less fat.

Oh well. Time to get the pills ready for my son to take in 2 hours. Then I'm gonna curl up in my pink polka dot fuzzy jammies, and veg out while finishing my water. Think I'll go to bed when my kid does. He had a big seizure this afternoon so he'll probably want to go to bed early.

MY NEW BREAKFAST

Love this ... here's my new breakfast:

decaf instant coffee
little pure vanilla extract
whey protein powder

Mix. Add boiling water and mix again. Add ice later when the cup is half full to get iced coffee.

Delicious! Got a little jolt of caffeine, tastes good, and is protein. IF I have time, I might add a piece of fruit but for now, it'll have to do.

Ooooh... gonna add a little cocoa powder next time for a mocha frappe.

Hmmm... wonder if I can mix the dry ingredients together and take to the hospital with a bottle of vanilla. Perhaps the nurses will lead me to some hot water? (Kid goes in the EEG ward in less than 2 weeks and we will be there for several days.)

p.s. I'm still dropping a tiny bit by tiny bit. Have lost 5 pounds since 11/19/12.

ANOTHER DROP

Lost another 4 pounds since last weigh-in. Being busy, depressed and almost in constant tears sure is NOT a weight-loss plan that I'd recommend.

Vee at Rosemary Ridge

NOT GOOD

I'm on the back burner again.

Three weeks or so ago, my son's epilepsy got worse. Grand mal/tonic clonic seizures increased to about 7-8 a week. He started regressing in maturity. Had to be pulled out of school after a big seizure there scared the teachers silly so no school for the rest of the year.

Finally have our diagnosis tho. PET/CAT/EEG on Mon Dec 3 showed the neurons in the right frontal lobe didn't form correctly in utero, plus he has lesions and a small tumor. Can't do much until seizures are under control so meds were upped, which did help (as shown on yesterday's EEG) but furthered his regression and also probably caused an odd-pattern swelling on his scalp. Decreased 1 med last night and will again tonight then will stop that med unless seizures come back. Am to keep a close eye on swelling.

SUDEP (sudden death in epilepsy) is a real possibility.

Meanwhile, yes, I'm dropping weight but not because I'm working at it. I'm taking my multi-vitamin, my meds, and trying to at least get a protein drink first thing in the morning. And a V8 at some point. The rest of the day is a crap-shoot. The fresh veggies and fruit are going for my kid ... he's back to eating just about anything I put in front of him, and I need to give him an edge somehow to fight all of this.

Please keep us in your thoughts.

Vee at Rosemary Ridge

DAY29: SAT: Warming Up

Boy what a week! So glad the weekend is here, not that it will be any less busy.

Thursday, my Kid was home from school because of inservice. Had him doing his schoolwork for homeschooling but his brain was a little fuzzy. After he finished his U.S.History, he ate lunch and laid down for a nap. I tried to do the same but robo call after robo call, and almost didn't answer one around 2 p.m. THAT one was the post office, wondering why I hadn't picked up my chicks yet! Apparently they had left a message at 6 a.m. (why didn't I hear the phone ring ... I was up!?!) that the chicks I had ordered had come in and I needed to pick them up. I hung up the phone woke up the Kid, and we raced out of the house.

I had ordered 15 black australorp chickens (got 17), 10 red star chickens (got 12 but one died) and got a free unknown chick. They are safely settled in two boxes in my kitchen, with 2 feeders, 2 waterers, and 1 red-bulb heat lamp. Today we're cleaning out the brooder coop in the garage, preparing it for the chicks, and will move them in there tomorrow morning once we're done with morning chores. Gotta get them out of my kitchen: feather dust does NOT go well with cheese!

BTW, made more cheese today. See, I have a potential cheese share owner coming over on Sunday, and I need samples of some of my flavored cheeses for them to try. So far I have made:

-plain, unsalted

-garlic herb
-southwest sweet and smoky (chipotle)
-pineapple walnut
-pumpkin spice (made today and tastes like pumpkin cheesecake!)

Tomorrow I'll make chocolate raspberry, which is absolutely heavenly. It's our favorite cheese. I like making cheese, and coming up with different flavors. Too bad we're drying up our goats starting in January, which means no more fresh cheese until June or so. Good thing I'm freezing some of every kind.

Friday nights we get pizza, and last night was no exception. The Kid got his usual GF pepperoni and ate the whole thing, Hubby got medium Supreme and ate half, and I got a medium ground beef, onion, mushroom and ate only 2 pieces. I was amazed that I didn't eat more.

As part of his Home Ec assignment, today he's making gluten-free chocolate chip cookies, some regular Halloween "whoopie pie cookies" from a box, and will make our Sunday morning oatmeal tonight (crockpot). Tomorrow we might make some (non-gf) chocolate cupcakes and decorate them for Halloween. He's making goodie plates to take to his teachers, we'll eat a few, and Hubby will take the rest with him to work. Might take a few to Hubby's mom when I drop off the Kid Wednesday for trick-or-treating.

So glad we are warming up. Yesterday didn't get above 30 degrees F. Today it might get into the 50's, and the sun is shining. Whew.

That's it for now. Have lots of chores and cleaning to do today. Gotta get this house ready for potential customer inspection on Sunday (the kitchen is fine, it's the front room and den that need help!). Plus a new friend is coming over on Sunday to show me how to "can" apples into applesauce! Woohoo!

Have a good weekend.

DAY27:Thurs: Wintery Blast

Unbelievable that we got about 6 inches of snow last night. Of course, I had extra chores to do this morning including shoveling snow and warming water.

Forgot to eat breakfast (drank protein drink and lots of decaf coffee), but lunch was a couple of fried eggs on whole grain toast, and sliced apples. Dinner is roast chicken, salad, and low-sodium V8.

Had to run out around 2. Got a call from the post office that our chicks were in ... a day early! Brought them home and hurredly fixed up some cardboard boxes for their home. On a count as I moved them into their temp home, we got 17 black australorp instead of 15, 12 red star instead of 10, and one unknown brown/reddish thing. One red star is crippled tho and probably won't make it through the night. I expected losses.

I didn't get much sleep last night (maybe an hour or two) because we didn't have electricity until about 1:20 a.m. and by then I realized I was in a lot of pain ... sprained my wrist gripping the seat last night during our harrowing drive home in the blinding blizzard. So ... I'm planning on hitting the hay directly at 10 tonight and sleeping IN ... Hubby will have to pack his own breakfast and lunch!

Have a good day, all.

DAY26: Wednesday: Hectic Life

Okay, I know it's been a while since I've written, but life is really hectic. My son's seizures increased to a ridiculous amount per week, so I contacted his epileptologist (neurologist who specializes in epilepsy). She ordered a new med, and he started it last Friday (Oct 19) in conjunction with the other two epilepsy/seizure medicines. His seizures have NOT decreased, and side effects have. Side effects include weight gain, dizziness, stomach upset, jaundice, eyes not tracking, and so forth. He's exhibiting drowsiness, stomach upset and weight gain but are watching it carefully.

BUT we are still eating healthy. We try to have V8 low sodium and vegetables at night, healthy fruit and fruit juice during the day, whole grains (mostly GF for son), and minimizing amount of milk drunk (son). Also still weighing once a week, and when I'm done with this posting, I'll update our weights on the page "Family Weight-Loss Tracking 2012", link found above. I've lost! Woohoo!

Expecting snow tonight, but we're not ready. AND we're expecting 25 baby day-old chicks in the mail on Friday so I hope they don't freeze during the trip. Still need to cover strawberries with straw, get more hay to the goats, some straw in the bottom of chicken coops, and bringing in the hoses so they don't freeze.

Made Pineapple Walnut goat milk cheese today that was soooo good, and yesterday made Chocolate Raspberry cheese that was unbelievably decadent but still healthy. Still trying to sell 1 more goat cheese share because our girls are producing lots of milk.

Indoor garden doing well: another week or two and we'll be picking yellow pear tomatoes! Squash and cucumbers will be another couple of months, and possibly 2 months before beans will be ready.Still have lots of pine and willows to get in the ground: guess we'll do it next week, weather permitting.

I'll only be typing on here sporadically. My priority is to get our home in order and provide a calm and secure homelife for my son (stress makes his epilepsy worse). He has the next 2 days off from school so we're going to do his homeschool projects, like home ec (sewing, cooking, and baking), career exploration and civics. He's excited about baking some Halloween goodies to give his teachers on Monday.