I may be the worst blogger in the history of the universe...
That being said, here is a quick update.
The fibro is finally under control, for the most part. My cocktail is working, and I haven't felt this human in years! It's amazing what happens when the doctors find out what's really wrong with you. :)
I do, however, have a virus in my lymph nodes in my neck that has made me REALLY sick. I am actually blogging in my jammies! (And I just spilled my Diet Pepsi all over my shirt.)
I've moved out my management position at work and back to a regular technical position. The best thing about that is that it's less stressful. Less stress=less sickness (how ironic that I'm sick), so I should enjoy more healthy days.
Now that I'm healthier, I'm going to concentrate on getting my weight under control. GASP! I know, I just commented on my weight on my PUBLIC blog. Here's the thing, though. I don't think people talk about weight loss in a healthy way. We see people who get to be 200+ pounds overweight, they have surgery, they lose the 200+ pounds, they look great, they don't tell you about all the vomiting, diarrhea, nausea, etc., that they experience, and then they gain everything back. We see the EASY side of it. We don't see the risk that people take when they let a surgeon remove most of their stomachs, put a band around their stomach, etc., all in the name of either looking good or saving their lives.
That being said, the idea behind the surgery originally was to save lives. It was not to help people lose weight. The idea was that if someone was super morbidly obese, he or she would need to lose weight in order to continue living. Thus, this surgery would force said person to drastically cut the amount of calories consumed. This would thereby lower the weight dramatically and allow the person to begin exercising and lose weight normally in order to lower his/her risk factors for heart disease, stroke, diabetes, etc. It was not a permanent weight loss solution.
Anyway, I digress. I have never been a fan of this surgery. I have never wanted this surgery for myself. It has tempted me because it would be the easier road. But I, like Robert Frost, like to take the road less traveled.
This is where the g-free aspect comes into context. Gluten Free carbohydrates (the breads, etc.) are higher in Weight Watchers Points (my preferred method of weight loss) than are gluten containing carbs. One piece of g-free bread is 4 points and one piece of whole wheat bread is 2 points. The g-free store bought bread is TINY and the whole wheat bread is scrumptious, soft, HUGE, and obviously more delicious than the rice bread. :( This makes following a reduced-calorie, high fiber diet (yes, that's what WW is) harder when you are gluten free. You also have to ensure that you are getting enough grains, etc., and that you are getting all your vitamins.
When I first found out that I couldn't eat gluten, I ate plain chicken breasts for weeks on end. I can't do that anymore. As a matter of fact, I LOVE flavor, and I love tri-tip. So, I'm trying to find my happy medium, and I'm trying to fit chocolate into my diet. :)
The best thing is that since I've become gluten free I have not gained any more weight. Now, I just have to tweak it a bit more.
On other fronts, I made g-free flour tortillas on Sunday. I used Bob's Red Mill baking mix (the kind recommended for biscuits). I put in about 2 cups of the mix, about 2 TBSP of lime juice, 2 crushed red chiles for spice, a dash of salt, 4 TBSP of butter, and enough water to make the dough stick together. Then I used a tortilla press to make the tortillas. It was much more effective than the rolling pin. Put them in a hot pan for about 1 minute on each side, and TA DA! Tortillas! They were YUMMY! That's my g-free recipe for this time.
Happy Cooking.
