11 days...

Happy Thursday everyone!

Only 11 more days until my surgery! Last night the reality of that really hit me. I normally suffer from insomnia, but usually just listening to a movie on my laptop very quietly with the screen turned off keeps my mind focused on something and helps me fall asleep. Well The Aristocats was no help last night. 

List after list after list just kept running through my head! What do I need to do before my surgery? What do I need to get for post op? My mind would not stop making lists! It's safe to say that I'm very tired this morning, especially since I get up at 5:30 to be at work by 7. 

I'm so excited! I can't wait!

Let the final countdown begin!!!

Jenelle

Due to medical necessity...

Happy Monday everyone!

This is my first full week at my new job. So far it seems like it's going to be something I really like the people I work with are great, I love the commute, and the pay is great. Plus I can relocate to NorCal in the future if I so choose as they have branches down there. 

I got the call late last week that my insurance has approved my surgery! Today marks exactly 2 weeks until the day, but today is also the original surgery date. I also got a letter in the mail from my insurance approving my surgery "due to medical necessity." 

A few months ago I went on a tirade about how some insurance sees this surgery as elective still. It's refreshing to see that my insurance sees the medical necessity of it! I could not have this surgery if they didn't. 

Comparatively inexpensive (my two back surgeries last year were almost $150,000), this is still about a $15,000 surgery. 

I can't wait. I'm so excited to take my life back. I can't wait to hike and shop for normal clothes. I just can't wait to not be Hungry all the time! 

Have a great day everyone!

Jenelle

Changes

Happy Thursday/Seahawks game day everyone!

I feel so bad for not writing anything in forever! I had been working my butt off at Wyndham and hated it. I am excited to say that I am starting a new job today. I was excited last night that I couldn't sleep. I like the pay, I like the hours, I like the location. It's going to be a great day. 

I am currently getting over a cold, but I'm happy I got it now instead of getting sick around my surgery date. Due to the lateness of my Cobra insurance kicking in, my surgery date was rescheduled for November 9th. I got the call a few days ago that insurance approved everything, so I am good to go! 

I can hardly believe that the culmination of 8 months of hard work is finally coming to a close. In all reality, the hard work is just starting, but this is the tool that I need to make my journey successful. It's so nice to finally see my family coming on board with the surgery. They were not supportive at first, but having medical professional friends explain the successes of the surgery to them has really helped! 

I promise to write more, and the countdown to THE DAY stands at 18 days! 

Have a great day! Go HAWKS!! 

Jenelle

And So It Begins

Happy Sunday everyone! 

I know I've been awol for a while. I've  been working a lot and actively looking for a new job. My Uncle also recently lost his battle with cancer after nearly a decade of fighting as hard as he could. It's been a long few days. 

I've also been in this weird state of wanting to eat as much junk food as I can before my surgery. I know it's bad, but to me it was a way of saying goodbye to the old me. 

Last night we had a family dinner/rememberance for my Incle, and yesterday was my last day of normal eating before starting my pre-op diet. I had the perfect last meal of Mac and cheese with bacon and mushrooms, crab and lobster. It was amazing. 

Today I started my pre-op diet. 3-4 protein shakes a day and one lean cuisine meal a day until October 26, my official surgery date!! It's going to be a long few weeks, but I know that it's going to make my chances of success that much higher. 

Here's to the struggle ahead!

Jenelle

Countdown to PreOp Diet

Happy Monday everyone. 

I've been so busy with my new job. To be completely honest, I'm not really liking it that much, so in actively looking for something else. 

As September comes to an end, I come closer to the start of my pre-op dieting. My pre-op diet will consist of no more than 870 calories per day. This means that I will be drinking 3-4 protein shakes a day and then eating 1 lean cuisine type meal. I will be starting this October 1 as my surgery date is October 26. 

The reason that my surgeons want me doing this, and any surgical patient, is to lose as much liver weight as possible before the surgery. This is because they lift up your liver during the surgery, and the less it weighs, the better. 

For anyone interested, here is the link to a video of the surgery I will be having. It does contain graphic images that may not be suitable for everyone. If you are squeamish at all, I don't recommend watching.

http://youtu.be/X7lsUPsoUzY

Have a great day!

Jenelle

Final Pre-Op Weigh In

I Happy Monday everyone!

Today was my final pre-op nutrition appointment!!! I lost a total of 6 pounds this month, which is amazing considering I've been really struggling with eating right this month. I really think that I only lost weight because of this new job I started that requires me to be on my feet standing and walking for 7-8 hours a day.  The first day I was so sore, but it's gotten easier to do.

Today we went over post-op dietary phases. We start on a clear liquid diet for the first 4 days after surgery, then progress to full liquids for the next 2 weeks. Then for 2 more weeks we are on soft foods, and then we can slowly start integrating hard foods. We also went over the pre-op diet that our surgeons want us to be on in order to lose liver weight since they have to lift up our liver to get to our stomach. I think that will be the hardest because we are drinking 3-4 protein shakes a day and only eating 1 Lean Cuisine meal a day. That's going to be brutal. 

From here my surgeon will submit the request to my insurance company for the surgery, using all of the goals I've met and the weight I've lost to justify my case. Insurance will take about 15 days to get back to them, and then we can schedule the date! They think I'm looking at late October to early November. 

I wanted to share this picture with you all. 

This is a picture showing my progress so far! I can't believe I've ever been as big as I am on the left! It's weird, but I never had a connect between what I saw in my mind of how I look and what I actually look like. It's hard to explain, but when I picture myself in my mind I'm not overweight. My self image has always been kind of an out-of-body experience between my mind's eye and the mirror. 

I promise to keep posting, and will let everyone know once I schedule! 

Have a great week!

Jenelle

***Update: I just received a tentative surgery date! Let the countdown begin to October 26. 

This is why...

Happy Monday and happy Labor Day to you all. 

I am excited to be starting a new job tomorrow, one that's back in my field with better pay. I'm grateful to my last job for allowing me to take all of the time off I needed to take. They were always understanding of doctors appointments for this process. My last nutrition appointment is next Tuesday, and then hopefully I can set my surgery date. And believe me it can't come soon enough. 

People ask me all the time, if you're doing so well by just dieting, why do you want to have the surgery? This is why. For some reason, this month I have been plagued by a seemingly unquenchable hunger. It's not emotional hunger, because I know how to recognize those signs. This is different. This is the feeling that I am never full, and then once I get full, it's stuffed and uncomfortable. I am 99% sure that I have gained weight this month. 

This is why I need to have to have this surgery. I need to physically be unable to eat like this. I was talking to one of my skinny friends a while back about why I wanted to have this surgery, and she told me that she never realized that people who are overweight don't really get full. It might not be all overweight people, but I know that it's my case for sure. 

I am almost giddy with excitement of being able to actually schedule my surgery. It's finally happening. 

Happily yours,

Jenelle

Garlic Brown Sugar Chicken

Happy Wednesday everyone!

I've had quite the week! I accepted a new position as a Marketing Agent with a hotel in Downtown Seattle. My boss was less than cordial with accepting my notice, so my last day is Friday. It was more than a little upsetting having him tell me that it "wasn't working out anyways" and he felt like I hadn't done anything, when I built their new website, and completely organized a new sample area for them, among many other things. My supervisor is sad to see me go, and so are my coworkers, so that's enough for me. 

I tried an amazing new recipe this week, and had to share it with everyone. 

Brown Sugar Garlic Chicken! I used the recipe from 5 Boys Baker, but instead of cooking it in a slow cooker, I baked the chicken in my oven at 400F for an hour (mainly because I forgot to put it in the crockpot early enough) and paired it with Trader Joes Harvest Grain mix. It was a huge hit in my house. For the recipe, visit:

http://5boysbaker.com/slow-cooker-brown-sugar-garlic-chicken/

I hope you all have a good 3-Day weekend!

Jenelle

Jenelle's Peach Balsamic Salad

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I hope you all had a good weekend. I went and got my new tattoo on Saturday in memory of my Grandpa. A HUGE thank you to Blue Geisha Tattoo in West Seattle, and especially to Caitlin Stairs! Check them out at http://bluegeishatattoos.com/

September is closely approaching, and with it the weather is taking a turn and the temperatures are dropping. I have loved having such a hot summer after spending a year in Southern California, and I don't want this summer to end. One of my favorite summer fruits is the Peach! They can be so delicious. We happened to have some lying around the house and I wanted to feature them in a salad. I am a huge fan of fruit in salads to give a little bit of sweetness to it, especially if you use a harsher cheese like Feta. I made this delicious salad:

Jenelle's Peach Balsamic Salad:

 

Ingredients:

• Romaine Lettuce
• Peas
• Red Onion
• Peaches
• Sunflower Seeds
• Chicken Strips
• Feta Cheese
• Your Favorite Balsamic Dressing (mine is Paul Newman's)

Directions:
1. Slice up and prepare all of your vegetables
2. Toss all ingredients in a large bowl and enjoy!

You can also use a white balsamic for a lighter dressing.

Enjoy it!
Jenelle

 

Eat Slower App

Happy Friday Everyone!

I have been sick with a stomach bug all week, so food has not been my friend. On the positive side though, tonight is game 2 of Seahawks Preseason. Let's hope they do better tonight than they did last week!

As you all know by now, I am a Pinterest addict. Last night, while looking at Gastric Sleeve pins, I came across one that was quite interesting. It was for an app that helps you to eat slower.

Surprisingly, it's called Eat Slower, and it's available for free download from the app store. Basically, it's a timer set for 1 minute and 30 seconds that goes off when you should take a bite of what you are eating. This is great for people who have had Weight Loss Surgery, but also for people who are trying to lose weight. I know that slowing down while I eat has been a huge contributing factor to my decrease in hunger. With weight loss surgery of any kind, the amount of food that you eat at each meal drastically decreases, so they want you to eat slower. This is very helpful to begin regulating that.

Try it for yourself and see the difference.
Jenelle

Fitness Fridays - 30 Day Plank Challenge!

Happy Blue Friday Everyone! Go HAWKS!

I haven't done a Fitness Friday in a little bit, so I wanted to update you all on a challenge that I am taking this month. Like many people, I L.O.V.E Pinterest! It's great for everything, and I think is quickly becoming my new favorite search engine for all things creative, fitness, etc. One of the things that I like about Pinterest is that it gives you great ideas for beginner fitness, and I stumbled across this one...

I love this challenge, because it really starts out very basic and slowly increases as you go. Now, in full disclosure, I am not doing the plank pictured above. I am doing it on my knees and elbows, just because my core is not strong enough to start on my toes. But I am hoping that next month I will be able to do a regular plank, and even work up to different types of planks (side planks, etc).

I am on day 6 now, and I can tell already that my core is stronger. When I first started, my body would shake at about 10 seconds. Now my body starts shaking at about 30 seconds in, which is a huge improvement for me!

Try it yourself!
Jenelle

Pre-Op Testing Requirements

Happy Thursday Everyone!

I hope you are all having a good day! We are all excited in Seattle because pre-season football starts tomorrow! Go HAWKS!

Yesterday I had a doctors appointment that was a part of this whole process, and was thinking about how I have never really gone over just what testing hoops I have had to go through so far through this process. There are a lot of testing requirements that you have to go through when you are considering weight loss surgery of any kind:

1. Weight Requirements - You have to be considered obese on a BMI scale in order to have weight loss surgery.
2. Nutrition Requirements - This varies depending on your insurance plan, but most insurance companies will require either 1, 3, or 6 months of nutrition visits. Very few require no visits. Insurance companies want to see that you can lose weight. Realistically, you don't have to lose weight, just as long as you don't gain more than your start weight during this process.
3. Blood Work- Just like with any surgery, they require base level blood tests before a weight loss surgery. One reason is to compare where you started to where you finished, but another is to clear you for general surgery
4. EKG - The EKG is done before most surgeries to ensure that your heart is strong enough for a surgery.
5. Abdominal Ultrasound - This is done to make sure that your abdominal anatomy is what it should be, and that the doctors won't run in to any surprises during surgery.
6. EDG - An EDG is a test where you are put under general anesthesia and a camera is put down your throat and in to your stomach. This is to see if there are any abnormalities inside your stomach that could prevent you from the surgery. For example, when I had mine they found a hernia in the lining of my stomach called a hiatal hernia. This is common in most obese people.
7. Psychological Testing - This testing is done to make sure that you are psychologically ready for the extreme changes that you are about to go under. Since most obese people are emotional eaters, they want to make sure that you will be able to deal with those emotions when you aren't able to eat them away,
8. Sleep study - Most surgery centers will require you to take a sleep study to determine if you have Sleep Apnea or not, as people with Sleep Apnea require more oxygen during surgery. I found out from mine that I have double severe Sleep Apnea, where I stopped breathing 80 times per hour and my oxygen levels got down to 70, which is enough to turn your lips blue.

That is a LOT of hoops to jump through just to qualify for this surgery! But it's all worth it! It hit me yesterday that my last nutrition appointment is on September 14th, and I started sleeping with my new BiPap machine last night, so I potentially can schedule my surgery for 6 weeks from yesterday! The day is close, and I am getting so excited to start my new life!

Have a good weekend!
Jenelle

10 Songs To Keep You Motivated!

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

I hope that you all are having a great week so far. Today I want to talk about how music can be a huge motivator, especially during the weight loss process. Music has always been a huge part of my life. I have always been a part of a choir, going back earliest to the Seattle Girl's Choir when I was in Elementary school, choir in middle and high school, and most recently I have sung with the Seattle Women's Chorus. I find that listening to music can have such strong attributes to it. We listen to music when we're sad, or angry, or happy and just want to dance. Lately I have been listening to a lot of music with very motivational lyrics, and I wanted to share some of my favorites with you.

1. Human by Christina Perry. My favorite lyrics from this song are "I'm only human. I bleed when I fall down." This song talks about how no one is perfect, but we all try our hardest.
https://youtu.be/r5yaoMjaAmE

2. Try by Colbie Caillat. This song is all about how we, especially women, try so hard to make others like us, and how we really don't need to as long as we like ourselves. https://youtu.be/GXoZLPSw8U8

3.Weightless by Courtney Jones. This isn't your typical motivational song. You really have to listen to the lyrics to understand just how powerful it is. One of the most powerful phrases to me in this song is "frozen in the footsteps untaken." https://youtu.be/izjnZMjWZqk

4. You're So Beautiful from Fox's Empire. I love this song. Not only is it great to dance for, but they words are so empowering. https://youtu.be/JHhrPeaAir8

5. Centuries by Fall Out Boy. When I hear this song, I think of a prize fighter showing all of the haters that they could do it. That's how this song will make you feel too! https://youtu.be/LBr7kECsjcQ

6. Let It Go from Disney's Frozen. Okay, okay. I know what you're going to say. I've heard this song soooo many times! But if you really listen to the song, it is actually very empowering. True story, when Disney was in production for this movie, Elsa was supposed to be the villain, but after hearing this song, they decided against it. https://youtu.be/L0MK7qz13bU

7. Lady Gaga's Born This Way. This song really has become the generational anthem of acceptance. Even through weight loss, knowing that you are doing this for yourself and accepting that people like you the way you are is very important, and this song helps me do just that. https://youtu.be/wV1FrqwZyKw

8. Can't Hold Us by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (Feat. Ray Dalton). While alone this is a pretty motivational song, to me it has a whole other motivation behind it. I actually went to High School with Ray Dalton, and spent four years singing along-side him in choir. It's extremely motivational to me to hear him sing when I hear this song, and inspires me to go after my dreams as well. https://youtu.be/2zNSgSzhBfM

9. All About That Base by Meghan Trainor. This song is all about embracing who you are at any size. https://youtu.be/7PCkvCPvDXk

10. Fight Song by Rachel Platten. I absolutely love this song! My favorite part is "This is my fight song, take back my life song, prove I'm alright song." That is just what you are doing when you lose weight. Taking back your life. And just like the song says, I've got a lot of fight left in me. https://youtu.be/xo1VInw-SKc

Happy Listening!
Jenelle

Pre-Op Weigh In Month 5

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I had my monthly nutrition appointment/weigh in, and was really surprised at the fact that I really did not lose that much weight. I only lost 6 pounds, weighing in at 358.8. I was surprised because I really felt like I had lost a lot this month. I am noticing shrinkage in parts of my stomach the most. I am sure that I gained a pound or two after my Grandpa died, just from poor eating, and I am really proud of the fact that I didn't binge eat that much.

But, the important thing is that it's a loss. This month could easily have been a gain because of all of the emotional and stressful situations that I encountered, but it wasn't. I was able to stay on track, and I feel really good. That is what is truly important.

This month, we talked about the importance of a support system post-surgery. I have mentioned in posts that my immediate family is not all that supportive of me having this surgery, but I have so much support from my friends and other family members, as well as from my readers. I have almost reached 600 views since I started this blog in late May of this year! That is incredible to me! I really started this as a weight loss journal for myself to be able to look back on, and if I could inspire people in the process, all the better.

The other day, my Mom and I watched Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead 2 on Netflix. It's all about the aftermath of the juicing movement that the main person started around the world. I was extremely interested when they checked in with the other person in the first movie that had lost a ton of weight by juicing. He had gained all of that weight right back, and it was because of emotional eating and a lack of a support system. Support is so incredibly important when you lose weight, especially for us food junkies who use food to dull our senses. When we can't eat to dull those emotions, what do we do? That is where the support comes in.

For anyone in the Seattle area thinking of going through the same process as I am, I HIGHLY recommend the Northwest Weightloss Surgery Center in Everett. The surgeons have all been performing these surgeries for minimum 10 years, most of the staff has been through weightloss surgery themselves, so the help that they provide is first hand experience. The program includes support groups and chat rooms for patients that have gone through the process with the center. It truly is an all inclusive center.

I would love to hear from my readers, either via comments to these posts, or in emails to JenellesJourney@gmail.com. Also, check out my Pinterest account and Facebook page!

Have a great day!
Jenelle

Emotional Binging

Happy Friday Everyone!!!

This has been a very hard week for me. On Tuesday night, we got the call that my grandpa passed away. I was a lot closer to him than I was to my grandma. We used to go mushroom hunting about once a month while I was in middle and high school, and there were a lot of times where it would be just us. 

Ever since I got the news, all I've wanted to do is eat. And not just eat food. I have wanted to eat donuts, and French fries, and carbs upon carbs upon carbs. It has been so difficult to keep from eating these things!

But for the most part I'm staying strong. I had some ice cream today and had Tater Tots with my chicken Caesar wrap at lunch today. But I haven't binged on anything. 

I think one of the things that's keeping me on the right path is the tools that I've learned about emotional eating through this journey. I'm actively telling myself to feel what I need to feel instead of dulling the emotions with food, because after I have the surgery I will have to face my emotions head on. I won't physically be able to binge when I'm sad or lonely. 

One of the ways that I've processed my feelings is by writing his obituary. It forced me to feel the sadness that came along with remembering him. I know that his funeral is going to be really emotional, but I feel strong enough to sort through those emotions in a healthy way. 

Thank you so much for your continued support. Here is a link to my grandfathers obituary. 

http://m.legacy.com/dignity-memorial/obituary-preview.aspx?n=Donald-Melchior&lc=4173&pid=175400271&mid=6537106&locale=en_US

Thank you for your continued support. 

Jenelle

#GallonChallenge - Week 2

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

Warning: This post may contain TMI, but I find it very informative.

So a few posts ago we talked about the importance of drinking water, specifically when it comes to losing weight. I found myself so intrigued by what I learned during the research for those posts, that I decided to start drinking a gallon of water a day, otherwise known as the #GallonChallenge. During my weekly grocery trip, I bought a gallon bottle from Safeway (one that looked rather durable) to use as my water bottle for the foreseeable future.

The first days were very interesting. Before I started this challenge, I had never had more than a few bottles of water in a day, certainly never a gallon. What I experienced during the first few days I can only describe as extreme thirst! I found myself not only drinking the entire gallon of water, but drinking more water on top of that! It was an incredible phenomenon that I can only take as my body saying "FINALLY! WATER!"

Now, if you are anything like me, you only really like to drink water if it's cold. There's just something about warm water that is unappealing to me. So, in order to keep my gallon cool for a longer period of time, I fill it a quarter of the way each night before I go to bed and stick it in the freezer. That way it stays cold for hours while I'm at work or at home.

I'm now in to week 2 of the #GallonChallenge, and I have to say that I can really tell the difference. I feel like my body has more energy than it did before. I do have to pee a LOT more, but I see it as my body flushing out all of the toxins. Plus, whenever I have to go to the bathroom, I do 5 squats in the bathroom to get a little bit of exercise in throughout the day.

One thing that I noticed this week as well has to do with my period. Here's probably where the TMI is going to come in. I have always had heavy cramping during my periods, as well as heavy clotting. I live off of Ibuprophen for the 4 days that I am on my period. I am also always extremely tired during my period. I started my cycle yesterday, and have only had to take 2 Midol. I am experiencing far less cramps than usual, and have noticed that I don't have as many clots as usual either. I am also not as tired as I usually am during my period.

I highly recommend trying the #GallonChallenge to all of my readers. I also wanted to take a minute to say a HUGE thank you to all of my readers. This blog surpassed 450 views yesterday, and I have you all to thank for the support. I would love to hear from my readers, either via comment on these posts, or email at jenellesjourney@gmail.com.

Happy Hydration!
Jenelle

Food in Film

Happy Monday Everyone!

I hope you all had a good weekend! It was pretty rainy and cold this weekend in Seattle, but I still got a good workout (and a few scratches) picking blackberries by my sister's house on Saturday. There is nothing that I love better than fresh fruit straight from the plant, and if you can get a good workout in the process, it's even better.

Fueled by my fruit-filled adventure, I decided to watch a movie that has been on my Netflix queue forever, Fat Sick and Nearly Dead.

The movie is a documentary about an Australian man who goes on a 60 day Juice Fast and loses a ton of weight, but more than just losing weight, his health drastically improves as well. Along the way, he inspires another gentleman in a similar health condition to do the same thing and he also loses almost half of his body weight in less than 6 months.

While I parts of this movie highly relatable, and a lot of it incredibly inspiring, there are things that you need when your body loses weight that you really aren't getting that much of when you are drinking just fruit and vegetable juice.

When your body loses weight, it essentially runs off of the fat that it has already built up on your body, so your body is getting calories, fat, etc. What your body really isn't getting much of when you lose weight (from just eating itself) is protein. Protein isn't prevalent in high amounts in fruits and vegetables. Don't get me wrong, there are some fruits and veggies that do have protein in them. For example, Kale has 0.7 grams of protein per cup. That is, however, not a whole lot of protein.

Your body is getting a lot of other things from fruit and vegetables that are really great, like vitamins and "micronutrients" as the film calls them. But another thing that fruits and veggies are somewhat high in is sugar. It's not bad sugar because it's naturally occurring sugar, but it is still sugar.

I recommend the film, simply because it will show you the effect that eating healthy has on your body. Another film that I highly recommend is Food Inc.

Food Inc is a great documentary about the food industry in America and just what it processed foods, and agricultural business has done to our natural resources. It is an extremely scary movie. Not in a horror movie kind of way, but in a "What am I eating?!" kind of way. It will make you take a serious look at just the kind of foods you are putting in to your body.

Happy Screening!
Jenelle

Dear Insurance Companies...

 Happy Tuesday everyone!

This is a late post today. I usually write my posts at night and schedule them for release the next day, but this matter seemed pressing to me. 

I had a little scare today. As I mentioned a few posts ago, I just turned 26 on Saturday. Under Obamacare this meant that I was no longer eligible for my parents insurance. Luckily I just was able to get insurance through my new job. I called my surgeon which is also my nutritionist office to update my new insurance policy. They told me that they would look into my benefits under my new coverage and call me back to let me know what they found out.

Today while I was at lunch, I got a call from my surgeons office. They told me that unfortunately they have some bad news for me. My surgery was not covered by my new insurance. But not only was my surgery not covered, my nutrition appointments were not covered either.

I broke down. I had been working so hard towards a goal of surgery and it had all been for nothing. At the suggestion of my benefits coordinator through my surgeons office I contacted my old insurance provider to see if I was eligible for COBRA benefits. It turns out that I am eligible for COBRA and that for me to continue with the coverage that I had it will only cost $40 per month. Currently I am paying $20 a month for my new insurance through my workplace. So, I am still able to have the surgery.

After this little scare, a coworker and I were talking about insurance companies and their decisions to cover or not cover medical benefits. To me it seems a little bit ridiculous that any insurance company would not cover a weight-loss surgery. I understand that the surgery is technically elective, but in some cases like my own it isn't really all that elective. 

Let's take a look at a few of the side effects of the gastric sleeve weight-loss surgery:

After the sleeve surgery many comorbidities of morbidly obese patients resolve themselves. To name a few type two diabetes resolves itself and 83% of patients. Obstructive sleep apnea resolves itself and 74 to 98% of patients. Cardiovascular disease reduces in 80% of patients. The quality of life improves and 95% of patients and mortality is reduced by 89% in five your mortality of sleeve patients. 

To put it bluntly,  being morbidly obese's is unhealthy. There are a lot of medical complications that come with being severely overweight. To me it would make good business sense to want to reduce the amount of medical bills a company would have to pay. If an insurance company spend the $15,000 it costs to have the gastric sleeve weight-loss surgery, how much money are they saving in the long run on that patient?

It wasn't simply the fact that my new insurance would not cover the surgery that bothered me. It was the fact that they wouldn't even cover a nutrition appointments. The appointments with my nutritionist are not expensive, costing a mirror $25 per visit. That seems like money well spent to me.

In a country where insurance companies have no problems paying full price for Viagra, in the same hand they will not pay for potentially life-saving surgery or nutrition appointments that eventually will save the money in the long run. What part of this sounds OK? 

People have fought with insurance  companies for years and I'm sure will continue to do so. But for something like this that will cost said company less in the long run, doesn't it just seem like good business sense to cover a life-saving surgery?

I would love to hear from any of my readers. Feel free to post comments below any of the posts that I've written, or email me at jenellesjourney@Gmail.com. 

Food for thought, 

Jenelle

Mid Month Update

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Only 3 more days until my 26th birthday! It's so weird to me to be turning 26. Last year, when I turned 25, I was living in the Los Angeles area, but it didn't feel as weird to me then as this birthday does. Maybe it's because I am officially on the downswing toward my 30th birthday, and have been really thinking about the future the last few weeks, but I think it's also because I am so hopeful and excited about the fact that my 6 months Pre-Op dietary requirements are up in September, which means that I can schedule my surgery soon!

I don't know if I had mentioned this before, but I have been through this process before. About 2 years ago, I went through the dietary requirements and was planning on having the Lap Band surgery. Circumstances then prevented me from having it. It was a combination of my family not being supportive and actually talking me out of the surgery, as well as having to relocate to Anchorage, Alaska for work that made me decide against the surgery then. I had thought that it was one of the worst mistakes I had ever made, but looking back at it now, it was really a blessing in disguise.

This time feels different. Moving to another state and being away from home for 2 years forced me to live outside of my comfort zone. I have severe social anxiety and always have, and I know that my weight is a contributing factor to that. Living in a different state, somehow, made it easier for me to make friends and to go out of my comfort zone. I think I needed that mentally to be able to get past the fact that this time around, my family isn't supportive of me having this surgery. Last time I wanted and needed their approval and support. This time, I know that I have friends that support me and I know that I've done the research and am okay with the fact that my family may not be supportive of this surgery, because I'm doing this for me and no one else.

I find myself making plans for the future, and getting rid of old clothes that don't fit anymore because they're too big. I didn't do that the first time around. One of the best examples that I can think of is the fact that I won't buy a swim suit. I had a swim suit in California, but when I had to leave the place that I was living quickly, I literally packed what I could fit in my car and drove back to Seattle in 2 days. I ended up leaving my swim suit behind. It's been a really hot summer here, the hottest on record ever in fact, but I can't bring myself to pay money for a swim suit that I will maybe use once or twice, because I know that I will be too small to fit in to it next summer.

I find myself thinking about relationships as well. I've never really dated, because I've never really felt pretty or sexy enough to attract men, but I find myself thinking about the future of relationships that I may have put on hold because of my lack of self confidence, or because my weight was a factor keeping us apart. Don't misunderstand that I am not having this surgery for other people, or to make myself skinny so that other people in my life will like me. It's not a contributing factor at all. I know that the people in my life like me, but for one of the very first times in my life, I look forward to being comfortable as myself.

So here's to the future!
Jenelle

Drinking Water to Lose Weight

Happy Monday Everyone!
I apologize for the lack of posts last week. I have been taking an Algebra class and had a test on Saturday that I needed to focus on. I got 80%, which I am satisfied with, for those who are wondering.

I had an awesome weekend! I hope that you all did too. I celebrated my birthday a little bit early with friends by bowling and playing a pretty epic game of Cards Against Humanity. I was surprised at just how much my body felt the physical aspect of bowling. I hadn't bowled in several years, but my legs and arms feel like they got a great workout, which is always an added bonus.

So, continuing our talk about hydration from last week, today I want to look at a few reasons why you should be drinking water, specifically when if comes to trying to lose weight.

1. One of the many benefits of water, is that just drinking it fills you up. One of the things that my nutritionist told me about emotional hunger, and that I went over in an earlier post, is that often hunger can be confused with thirst. If you feel hungry, but just for a specific thing, or you just ate, try drinking 8 ounces of water first. Also, try drinking a glass of water right before you eat. This will significantly reduce your hunger, because your stomach will be full of water, causing you to eat less food.

2. Your metabolism needs water to function! Recent studies have shown that by just drinking an extra 17 ounces of water a day, men and women can increase their metabolism by up to 30%! That's huge, especially when you are trying to lose weight!

3. One of the best things about water, is its lack of any calories. By drinking water, you are not drinking your calories by drinking juice, or soda. Save your precious calories for things with substance!

These are just the benefits of water when it comes to weight loss. Forget the fact that staying hydrated keeps your body functioning like it should. Hydration is one of the many keys to a well rounded weight loss experience. Challenge yourself to drink more water by playing one of the "drinking games" we went over last week!

Stay Hydrated!
Jenelle

Drinking Games...

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

With summer officially in full swing and temperatures around the country on the rise, it's important to stay hydrated, and that is what I am going to dedicate this week to. Today we are going to go over some fun "drinking games" (fooled you with the post title didn't I?) that you can do to stay hydrated.

One of the most important things to think about when drinking water, is just how much water your body needs in order to be properly hydrated. While doing the research for this topic, I came across an astoundingly unbelievable statistic, and that is that 75% of Americans are chronically dehydrated! At first I couldn't believe that, with the number of drinks available to us at any convenience store, and even whole aisles of grocery stores dedicated to drinks, there is no reason for us to be dehydrated. But if you think about it, a lot of people drink throughout the day, but don't drink the right things. We will get in that later this week.

 

On a daily basis, use this chart to see just how much water you should be drinking. Now, for those of us who's weight is not on this chart, A simple way to find out just how much water you should be drinking a day is to take your weight (mine is 359.4 lbs as of yesterday) and divide it by two to get the number or ounces of water per day that you should be drinking. So for myself, I should be drinking 179.7 ounces of water per day, which equates to about 7.5 24oz bottles of water, or 1 gallon of water! I find it hard to drink 3 bottles a day!

Here are a few of my favorite ways to keep track of how much water I drink:

Time your water breaks. If you are like me and aren't a naturally thirsty person, it is important to remind yourself to drink water. One of the best ways to do this is with a visual reminder, like these two bottles.

I really like the one above, because it just makes it more fun to drink water, and if you start off with an actual gallon, it's easier to see just how much water you have had and how much you need to drink to finish.

Now, if a visual reminder isn't enough for you, you might want to set a reminder in your phone to go off every hour and match it with your bottle to make sure that you get all of the water you need.

Tomorrow we will talk a little bit about why hydration is so important, especially when you are trying to lose weight.

Stay hydrated!
Jenelle

Pre-Op Month 4 Weigh In

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

I hope that you all had a fun and healthy 4th of July weekend! I did the most walking that I have done since before my back surgery in October. We went to the Seattle Woodland Park Zoo on Friday. I had not been in about 7 years, and a lot of things had changed for the better. It was over 90 degrees, and by the end of the day I was exhausted, but in that great way that you feel after a really good workout.

Today I had my Month 4 Weigh In. I had mentioned in an earlier post, that this month has been a real struggle for me. I had hit that wall that we all hit where dieting isn't new and exciting anymore, and you really just want a donut. And if I am being completely honest, I made more than one trip to my local Krispie Kreme shop this month. So it surprised me that I managed to still lose 4 pounds this month. Now, granted that is not a lot, but I was really expecting to gain weight!

I feel like I have gotten back on track for the most part, and gotten over that hump. Now I am more excited at the fact that I am headed in to my 5th month of a 6 month nutrition requirement before I can have surgery. That means that I can schedule my surgery soon! I am hoping for September, but it will likely be October or November.

There are so many things that I find myself looking forward to, that it's hard to feel like the diet isn't worth it. People always ask me why I am having this surgery, and whether or not I am scared. But the honest truth of it is that I am more afraid of living my life the way I am now and dying at an early age from one of the many co-morbidities that comes with being morbidly obese than I am of not being able to drink soda again, or only being able to eat a cup of food at a time. To me, the many benefits of this surgery outweigh the few things that I will have to give up. And honestly, the things that I would have to give up like soda and alcohol and pasta, are really things that aren't the best for you anyways.

Have a great day!
Jenelle

Shrimp and Sausage Skillet

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

Here's to 300 views so far!!! I was telling a coworker yesterday that I feel more comfortable sharing this journey with complete strangers than I do with my own family and friends. I think in part it's because my family isn't completely supportive of me having this surgery. They think it's extreme, and it is, but I need extreme at this point. They haven't done as much research as I have, so they see it as an unnecessary surgery with a lot of potential risks. When I lived in California I was seeing a surgeon there and going through the same process, but had decided not to tell my family about it until I had scheduled the surgery, because I knew they would have a similar reaction to what they are having right now. I've just come to accept that they will be supportive once I have the surgery, but right now I have the support from all of you, and that means everything, so a huge THANK YOU to my readers!

I don't know what part of the US or Internationally my readers live in, but in Seattle it has been H.O.T. I lived in Southern California for over a year and we would go to Palm Springs where the desert would be 124F, but the 85 degree heat here feels hotter than that, and it's all because of the humidity. So, I have been trying to cook meals that either cook very quickly on the stove, or require no cooking at all.

One of the meals that I made is my healthy take on a Shrimp and Grits recipe, and my family loved it. In fact, I am making it again tonight for dinner.

Jenelle's Shrimp and Sausage Skillet

 

Ingredients:
-2-3 Zucchini, chopped
-2-3 Yellow Zucchini, chopped
-1 bag frozen shrimp, no tails
-1 package spicy brats/sausage, chopped
-Trader Joe's Harvest Grain Mix
-4 cups water
-1/4 cup sharp cheddar, shredded
-2 cloves minced garlic
-2 tbsp. Mrs. Dash No Salt Seasoning
-2 tbsp. olive oil
-Salt to taste

Directions:
1. In a medium pot, cook the Harvest Grain Mix and water over medium heat, stirring occasionally until the grains have soaked up all of the water.
2. In a large skillet/wok, add the sausage, zucchini, yellow zucchini, shrimp, oil and Mrs. Dash. Toss to coat, and cook on medium heat until sausage is cooked through, shrimp is bright pink, and zucchini is fork tender (10-15 minutes)
3. Add the garlic and sharp cheddar cheese to the harvest grains and mix well
4. Plate the grain mix first and the shrimp and sausage on top of the grains and serve hot.

Happy Eating!
Jenelle



The Struggle

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

I don't know about any of you, but I have been seriously struggling lately. I've hit that wall that we all do when we diet. That wall that tells you this isn't fun anymore. When you first start a diet, the first 3 or so months are somewhat of a honeymoon phase, where you are excited that you are losing weight and people are noticing how great you look. But similar to any other addiction, the cravings come back. This is where I am at right now.

I find that I reach this delusional state of mind after I have lost a little bit of weight, that I can suddenly eat whatever I want and the weight will continue to fall off. This, of course, is not true. It also doesn't help that for the last 3 weeks I have been on hormone overdrive because my cycles were affected by the infection that I had in my ear (for some very strange reason). PMS is no joke. I don't crave chocolate, like most cliché PMS cravings. I crave carbs. Pasta, and bread, and donuts, OH DONUTS! Krispy Kreme donuts are my weakness. I usually don't like sugary treats, but I will always make an exception for some Strawberry glazed with sprinkles.

So here's the thing. I can feel that I've gained weight back. I notice it most in my face. I feel more sluggish, and just that moving in general is more difficult. I don't own a scale, but I can tell that the weight has started to creep back. And so I feel like I'm starting all over again. Once you give in to those cravings, it's just as hard to wean yourself off of them as when you first began.

For those of you who follow my Pinterest account, I have a board of motivation that I pinned when I first started it, but have not looked at it for a while. This morning, I kind of gave myself the mental "snap out of it" slap and looked at the board for some support in essentially starting over again. I look it as falling off the wagon and giving in to my drug of choice. One of the inspirational sayings that I pinned really struck hard with me:

Chill. Let's be realistic here. You don't drop two jean sizes in one day. you won't lose fifty pounds in one month. You're going to binge every now and then. You will go a day or two without working out. Your weight is going to fluctuate here and there. You're going to try new techniques, and they're not going to work. You're human. You're going to fail. But nothing great is every accomplished without a few obstacles. Girl, you got this.

Update

Happy Monday Everyone!

I know that I've been MIA for a while. I have been sick for the last 3 weeks or so, being constantly dizzy with no relief. I finally broke down and went in to see my doctor and blood tests told us that I had an inner ear infection. Ever since my back infection in November after surgery, my immune system has been shot. I have been highly susceptible to infection. This was the weirdest infection ever though. It not only made me extremely dizzy all day long, but it made my vision blurrier than normal, and stopped my period (which was the weirdest of all of the symptoms). But, sure enough, as soon as I started taking my antibiotics, I started my period. I am feeling a little bit better, but I'm not done with the antibiotics yet, so hopefully I will continue to get better.

Stay cool everyone!
Jenelle

Fitness Fridays - Resistance Bands

TGIF Everyone!

I want to start a new segment of this blog called Fitness Fridays. Now I can't guarantee that it will come around every Friday, but as I start doing more and more activities, I want to share both my progress, as well as the activities that I am doing with you.

When I had my first back surgery 3 years ago, I went through physical therapy for about 2 months because of the nerve damage that occurred from the herniation. One of the things that we used a lot during physical therapy was resistance bands, and they are deceptively a very good work out for weight training beginners, and even for regular resistance training.

For someone like myself who has very rarely been active or worked out in their life, starting to do so is not only very difficult to do physically, but can be very intimidating mentally. Where do you start when you have so far to go? You start at the beginning, with very small steps, and slowly build as time goes on.

So, about a month ago I purchased some resistance bands and an activity workbook from Amazon.com.

This is precisely the kit that I purchased. Resistance bands get thicker with each level of difficulty, so the thinnest band is the beginner band with the least amount of resistance. I especially like resistance bands because you get a strength training work out without having to pay for a gym membership, and for someone like myself who is still under lifting restrictions, these are a gentle way to ease in to strength training.

Part of my insurance requirement for this surgery is that each month I have a fitness goal. Resistance training has been part of that goal for the last month.

Now don't get me wrong. Resistance training is a great way to start for beginners, but it can also be a great work out for people who are more physically fit as well. For a higher level of difficulty, simply look for a thicker band.

There are a lot of great workouts that you can do with resistance bands to strengthen your arms, legs, back, etc.

Here is an example of just one of the great arm work outs that you can do with resistance bands. The name of the workbook that I purchased is called Resistance Band Workbook: Illustrated Step-By-Step Guide to Stretching, Strengthening, and Rehabilitative Techniques by Karl Knopf M.D. It's very easy to use and comes complete with pictures and suggestions for stretches for knee pain, back pain, shoulder pain, etc. I highly suggest it.

Have a great weekend!
Jenelle

Diet-Friendly Father's Day Meals - Burgers and Fries..?

Happy Thursday Everyone!

This week is almost over, and Father's day is drawing near. I've been planning my own Father's Day meal, and trying to figure out what to get my Dad for Father's day. He's usually pretty easy to shop for. It it's beer, black licorice, or Seahawks he'll love it.

For today's Diet-Friendly Father's Day Meal, and in honor of International Picnic Day, I wanted to share one of my favorite summer time recipes - The Classic Burger and Fries. Who doesn't love a good burger? The only issue with burgers and fries, is that there are so many calories and carbs in the traditional meal. What I have done is lightened up this classic dish to make it more waist-band friendly.

Jenelle's Burgers

Ingredients:

-2 lbs. lean ground beef, grass fed and organic

-2 tbsp. garlic salt

-2 tbsp. Mrs. Dash seasoning

-1 head iceberg lettuce

-Desired toppings (cheese, ketchup, mustard, tomato, pickles, avocado, etc)

 

Directions:

1. Spray your BBQ grill with non-stick cooking spray and start at medium heat

2. In a medium bowl, mix the ground beef, garlic salt and Mrs. Dash together until well incorporated (you will need to use your hands). Form 6-8 patties from the beef (depending on your size preference)

3. Cook the burgers on the grill until your desired doneness. If you are adding cheese, I suggest putting it on about 1 minute before you take the burgers off the grill.

4. Take two leaves of the iceberg lettuce. Place one leaf down and put the patty and desired toppings on top of the leaf, then place the second leaf down. Fold the leaves until the burger is covered, much like a wrap.

 

 

I love this recipe because you get the satisfaction of holding a burger and eating one, but you save on all of the empty calories, sugar, and carbs that you find from the buns. Now for the fries. One of the foods that you are not supposed to eat after you have any kind of weight loss surgery is potatoes. This is because of the consistency of them, and the tendency that they have to cause blockages in the stomach, especially for Gastric Band patients. Not only this, but potatoes are full of starches and carbs that are not necessarily the best thing for you. What I have done is substituted the potatoes for Rutabagas.

 

Jenelle's Rutabaga Fries

 

Ingredients:
-3-4 large Rutabagas
-3 tbsp. olive oil
-3 tbsp. Mrs. Dash Seasoning
-Salt to taste

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 450F degrees. Line a cooking sheet with foil.
2. Skin the rutabagas, similarly to how you would skin a potato. Chop the rutabagas into thick sticks for your fries and lay out on the cooking sheet.
3. Sprinkle the oil, salt, and Mrs. Dash over the fries and toss well to coat. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes, or until fork tender and golden brown.

These fries are great, they are a little bit sweeter than potato fries, but for the most part you can't tell the difference.

Happy Eating!
Jenelle



 

Diet-Friendly Father's Day Meals - Meatloaf and Cauliflower "Pasta" Salad

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I hope you are all having a good day so far. I went to see Spy last night with one of my best friends. If you haven't seen it yet, I highly recommend it. It was absolutely hilarious!

Continuing my week long theme of Diet-Friendly Father's Day meals that Dads will enjoy, but that won't destroy your diet, today I will be sharing with you a delicious and healthy meatloaf recipe, as well as my recipe for Cauliflower "Pasta" Salad.

Healthy Meatloaf

Ingredients:
-2 tsp. Canola oil
-1 cup finely chopped white mushrooms
-1 onion, finely chopped
-1 carrot, finely chopped
-1 celery stalk, finely chopped
-1 lb. lean grass fed organic beef
-1/2 cup cook quacking oats (not instant)
-2 large egg whites
-2 tbsp. ketchup, plus more for brushing on top
-1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
-1/2 tsp. dried thyme
-1 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. black pepper
-3 garlic cloves, minced

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 4.5" x 8.5" loaf pan with cooking spray
2. In a large non stick skillet over medium heat, heat the oil. Add the mushrooms, carrot, and celery. Cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer this mixture to a large bowl.
3. Add the remaining ingredients to the vegetables in the bowl and mix well. Press the mixture into the prepared loaf pan.
4. Bake the meatloaf for 30 minutes. Remove and brush additional ketchup on top of loaf. Cook an additional 30-45 minutes, until done. Remove from the oven and slice into 8 slices.

My Dad loves this recipe, and I have to say so do I. The only draw back to this is that it does take so long to cook. I usually will make this on weekends when I have more time to cook. Now for the sides. I first made this recipe as a Tortellini Pasta Salad recipe that I had found and altered on Pinterest, and it is always a crowd pleaser. I usually make this dish for potlucks. Well, with the Gastric Sleeve, and really with any diet, you shouldn't eat pasta. As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, there are a few things that you can use to substitute for pasta, and in this case I use cauliflower.

Jenelle's Cauliflower "Pasta" Salad

Ingredients:

-1 head of cauliflower, broken down into florets

-2 bell peppers, medium dice (red, orange, or yellow)

-1 small can of sliced olives, drained

-1/4 cup powdered parmesan cheese

-1 1/2 cups balsamic vinaigrette (my favorite is Newman's Own)

 

Directions:

1. In a pot over medium heat, cook the cauliflower through (10-12 minutes). Drain all water and place the cooked cauliflower in a bowl.

2. Add all other ingredients to the cauliflower and toss to mix. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for a minimum of 4 hours to cool down. Serve cold

 

I hope your Dad enjoys this meal as much as mine does.

 

Happy Eating,

Jenelle

Pre-Op Month 3 Weigh In

Happy Tuesday Everyone!

I am taking a break from my Diet-Friendly Father's day meals this week to bring you my month 3 weigh in update!

Every month I visit the nutritionist that is overseeing my pre-op weight loss for 6 months, as is required by my insurance company before I can have the Gastric Sleeve surgery. I have really started to notice a huge difference not only in my face, but in my body as well. Clothes that were once too tight fit loosely now, and I have an easier time moving around.

The weigh in this morning told me one thing. To date I have lost 30 pounds, currently weighing in at 362.2 pounds. This puts me very close to the weight that I was before I moved to Alaska over 3 years ago. I gained 10 pounds a year, which doesn't seem like a lot, but when you think of the fact that it's 30 pounds in 3 years, it is a lot. That's how I gained all of my weight. 5 pounds here, 10 pounds there, all slowly and over my entire life, until it spiraled out of control.

I have 3 months of Pre-Op dietary requirements left, and then I can schedule my surgery in September. I get so excited thinking about the future, and all of the things I am going to be able to do once I am healthy. I can go hiking, I can ride a bike, I can be comfortable in my own skin.

Tonight I am going to a movie with a friend, so I can celebrate with a small popcorn.

Have a great day everyone!
Jenelle

Diet-Friendly Father's Day Meals - Grilled Salmon Kebabs

Happy Monday Everyone! I hope you all had a good weekend!

Since Father's day is this Sunday, I wanted to spend this week sharing some ideas for meals that you can cook for Dad that he will love, but that won't bust your diet. Now, my Dad is super easy to please, but I can always tell when he enjoys something more than usual, and these are a few of his favorite meals.

Grilled Salmon Kebabs

Source Skinnytaste.com

 

 

Nutrition Information:

Calories - 267

Protein - 35g

 

Ingredients:

-2 tsp. chopped fresh Oregano

-2 tsp. sesame seeds

-1 tsp. ground cumin

-1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

-1-1/2 pounds skinless wild salmon filet, cut into 1-inch pieces

-2 lemons, very thinly sliced into rounds

-olive oil cooking spray

-1 tsp. kosher salt

-16 bamboo skewers soaked in water 1 hour

 

Directions:

1. Heat the grill on medium heat and spray the grates with oil. Mix oregano, sesame seeds, cumin, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl to combine; set spice mixture aside.

2. Beginning and ending with salmon, thread salmon and folded lemon slices onto 8 pairs of parallel skewers to make 8 kebabs total. Spray the fish lightly with oil and season kosher salt and the reserved spice mixture.

3. Grill the fish, turning occasionally, until fish is opaque 8-10 minutes total

 

For the sides with this delicious salmon dish, I made up my Baked Asparagus, and a quinoa mushroom dish.

Baked Asparagus

Ingredients:

-1 bunch asparagus

-2 tbsp. olive oil

-2 cloves minced garlic

-1 tsp. kosher salt

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F degrees and line a cooking sheet with foil. Wash and trim the white ends off of the asparagus. Lay the asparagus out on the cooking sheet and spread out

2. Coat the asparagus in the olive oil and sprinkle the garlic and kosher salt over the top. Gently toss the asparagus to fully coat with the oil, garlic, and salt. Place in oven and cook for 15 minutes

 

 

I hope you all enjoy this delicious salmon dish, whether or not it is made this Sunday. It's one of my favorite salmon recipes and I make this asparagus all the time.

 

Happy eating,

Jenelle



Quinoa Stuffed Pepper Caserole

Happy Friday everyone!

I hope everyone has been having a good week. It has been so warm here in Seattle the past few days! It's hard to cook when it's so hot, but it's a lot easier to get out and be active in the nicer weather!

Tonight for dinner, I am cooking one of my personal favorites, Stuffed Pepper Casserole. This is a recipe that I came up with when I lived in Alaska, and I absolutely love it. Not only is it super easy to make, it's also a cheap meal that's healthy and makes a lot. When I first started making this, I used 2 packs of preseasoned Taco flavored rice. You know the ones that take 3 minutes to cook in the microwave. Once I started this journey, however, I switched to Quinoa for a healthier option.

Jenelle's Quinoa Stuffed Pepper Casserole

 

 

Ingredients:

-2 cups uncooked Quinoa

-4 cups low sodium chicken broth

-2 tbsp. taco seasoning

-1 lb ground turkey

-9 bell peppers (3 red, 3 yellow, 3 orange)

-14.5 oz can of enchilada sauce

-1/2 cup sour cream

-4 cups Mexican shredded cheese

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400F degrees.

2. In a medium sized pot on medium heat, combine the quinoa, chicken broth, and taco seasoning. Stir to incorporate the seasoning through the quinoa. Cook the quinoa, stirring every 3-5 minutes until the quinoa has soaked up all of the liquid (about 20 minutes)

3. In a medium skillet over medium heat, cook the ground turkey through until fully cooked

4. Dice all peppers, getting rid of the seeds and stems and place in a large mixing bowl.

5. Add the enchilada sauce, cooked turkey, sour cream, cooked quinoa, and 2 cups of the mexican shredded cheese. Stir well and pour the pepper mixture into n 8"x10" casserole dish. Top the dish with the rest of the shredded cheese and cook in oven for 25 minutes.

 

 

This dish holds up really well as left overs.

 

Happy eating

 

Jenelle

Eating Out Without Pigging Out

Happy Wednesday Everyone!

I hope everyone has been doing well and staying on track, if that is what you are trying to do. This week, I have been out a few times with friends for meals, and it is always a struggle to find healthy food at restaurants. Unless the restaurant you are at is awesome and has the calorie and nutrition content on their menus, or available to look at in a pamphlet, it can be very hard to find something healthy to eat that won't bust your diet.

There are a few things that I do to help myself keep on track when I eat out...

1. Read carefully, and know your foods. When you go out to eat, the first thing you might think of as "healthy" is anything on the salad menu. This is often very misleading, and salads can contain more calories than you might think. Let's take a look at one of my favorite restaurants, Red Robin:

If I were looking for a healthy choice, my first look would be a Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad.

Looks pretty healthy huh! For this salad alone, you are looking at 772 calories!!! Now, granted there are things you can do to lower that number, such as no avocado, no jalapeno coins, etc. But let's take a look at the Red's Tavern Double Burger...

Now that's what I want to eat. For this burger, with two patties and a side of steamed broccoli, you are looking at 695 calories. It's still a lot of calories, but much less than a salad. This is why it's important to know your foods. Dressings have a lot of calories in them, and unless you can eat a salad without dressing, go for something you will enjoy (within reason). My usual go to's on a menu are chicken breasts, or burgers without the bun wrapped in lettuce. These are more satisfying than a salad, and have more protein, so you will stay fuller longer after your meal.

2. There's an app for that. In this day of smart phones and apps, there is really no reason to not know the calorie content of what you are eating. Most chain restaurants list their nutrition facts on their sites, but let's say you are in an unfamiliar area and don't know what's around you.  When I worked as an insurance agent, I was on the road 12-14 hours a day, and it's very hard to eat healthy on the road, especially in unfamiliar areas. One of my very favorite apps was HealthyOut. This app lets you put in your current location, or an address, and will list for you the restaurants in that area and the dishes on that menu that fit within your tailored dietary restrictions.

This app is amazing not only for people on diets, but for people with any type of dietary restrictions as well! And, it's a free app!

I hope that these suggestions help you make better choices when you eat out with friends.

Happy eating!
Jenelle

Emotional Eating

Happy Monday Everyone!

I had a pretty good weekend. One of my friends from High School is leaving tomorrow for a year long bicycle tour of Europe, so we had a going away party for her at a local bar. It was a lot of fun.

On a less happy note, I found out this morning that I was not accepted to the University of Washington, as I had initially been told I was. To me, it is pretty devastating. I need a college degree to become a teacher, and had been going to University of Phoenix online, but that school is a joke! The teachers are not involved in their own classes, and the students suffer for it. I graduated High School with a 3.5 GPA, but just withdrew from University of Phoenix with a 1.78 GPA because of the lack of support from teachers, and the lack of communication. This prevented me from getting in to UW.

Now, my very first instinct when this happened, was that I wanted to eat. I wanted to eat pasta, and tons of it. How do you stop yourself from emotional eating? I know this is a huge problem for a lot of people, and it is incredibly difficult to not do once you have done it in the past.

One of the things that my nutritionist taught me about Emotional eating, is how to recognize the signs and how to act once you recognize them.

1. Think about it. One of the first things that my nutritionist taught me about recognizing emotional eating is to stop and think about what you want to eat. Usually, with emotional eating, you have to have a certain food right away, and no other food will satisfy that hunger. With regular hunger, you may have a preference, but you are willing to eat any type of food to satisfy that hunger. For example, when I found out about UW, I wanted PASTA, and only pasta, and it had to be that moment. That is how I knew that it was an emotional hunger.

2. Take a breather. Once you have asked yourself what kind of hunger you are feeling, you can treat that hunger accordingly. If it is in fact emotional hunger that you are feeling, drink a glass of water and wait for 30 minutes. Oftentimes thirst is miscommunicated by our brain as hunger, so taking a drink of water and waiting for a bit will let your body rehydrate, but it will also give your emotions a chance to cool down.

3. Rethink it. If after 30 minutes your body is still insatiably hungry for that one item, find the next best thing to satisfy it. For example, if you are craving chocolate, don't reach for the Snickers bar. The best way to satisfy a chocolate craving is with 1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips for 80 calories. For me, my emotional hunger food is pasta. What I do for emergencies, is keep a pack of Easy-Mac in my cabinet. One cup of easy mac is around 200 calories, so it's still a lot, but it's a lot better than two entire boxes of Macaroni, which is what I used to eat when I wanted pasta.

Eventually, you can train your body to replace those unhealthy eating habits with healthy ones, but in the mean time, it's all about moderation.

Here's to a better day tomorrow!
Jenelle

How Does She Do It?

TGIF Everyone!

I wanted to start by showing a picture of how small my body is getting. Now, for any of my readers who don't personally know me, you won't really be able to tell a difference, because I don't have a before picture. My nutritionist has one, but I would never have taken a full body picture before I started this. I was too embarrassed of how my body looked. While I still have a VERY long way to go, I am actually starting to see the results in my waist line, which is amazing.

I am getting so much support from my friends and family throughout my journey, it is incredible. I have still not told very many people about my plans to have surgery, not because I am unsure that I want to have it, but because it's very personal. It's weird to me, but I feel more comfortable sharing this experience with complete strangers than I do with my friends. Lately, some of my friends and family have been asking me how I am losing the weight. I thought I would share it with you as well.

In order to qualify for this surgery, many insurance companies will make you do a pre-op diet period of either 1, 3, or 6 months. During this period, you do not actually have to lose weight, you just can't gain it. This period is to show your insurance company that you CAN lose weight, and that their investment in this surgery is worth the money, since it is technically an elective surgery still.

The pre-op diet that my nutritionist has me on a low calorie, high protein diet. This diet constitutes of between 1200-1500 (900-1200 for the men) calorie per day diet, with a minimum of 3 meals a day, and 20 grams of protein at each meal. She also wants me to watch my sugar intake, not necessarily with a limit to the amount of sugar that I intake each day, but just to be mindful of the types of sugar that go in to my body, because refined sugars can slow down the weight loss process.

For those of you who have a hard time picturing what this looks like in terms of food, here are a few meal suggestions for you.

Breakfast:
-Protein coffee drink (3-4 shots of espresso over ice with a Premier Protein shake)
-Protein smoothie (Premier Protein Vanilla blended with frozen berries)
-Greek yogurt over Kashi Protein Plus cereal with fresh fruit
-2 eggs (however you like them, I like mine scrambled with cheese and pepper) and 2 slices of turkey bacon

Lunch:
-Trader Joes Turkey Meatballs (100 calories for 2) with marinara sauce
-Grilled Chicken strips and veggies
-Shrimp Caesar salad

Dinner:
-Oven baked chicken (my recipe) and green beans
-Taco Salad (My recipe)
-Trader Joes Brat (no bun) and Brussels sprouts

Snack ideas:
-String cheese
-Rice Cakes
-Air popped popcorn
-Frozen fruit
-Premier Protein shakes

One of the things that helps me keep track of my calories so that I don't go over, is keeping a food journal. I personally like to write things down in a small journal that I keep in my purse, but there are also plenty of aps for your phone for just this, my favorite being MyFitnessPal.

I hope this helps some of you move in the right direction to finding the best lifestyle change for your body. Let me know if you have any post suggestions or questions. I would love to hear from any of my readers! Email me at jenellesjourney@gmail.com or comment on any post.

Have a great weekend everyone!
Jenelle