Wednesday, August 26, 2015

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
 

Friday, August 21, 2015

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

Friday, August 14, 2015

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

Thursday, August 13, 2015

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

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

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

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

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