Who’s Counting!

This 4th of July was very special to me this year.  It marked a very special birthday, although my birthday is actually on the 7th.  When I was little, my folks did not stop work in the summer to celebrate birthdays.  We waited till the weekend or, if a holiday was around the corner, we celebrated on that day.  In July, of course we celebrated the 4th, but my Uncle J. K. Webb and his little sister, my Aunt Charlotte Kelly also celebrated July birthdays.  So our family chose to celebrate for all of us at our annual family reunion.  This was held the third Sunday in July every year for 49 years.  We almost made 50 years of celebrating together.

Of course there was the spread of all spreads, every kind of delectable food imaginable.  I remember a cousin bringing a cherry cream pie that was out of this world and if she didn't have it there she might as well not show up.  She always had to make several as there were some times 75 to 100 people in attendance.

Family reunions have gotten less frequent.  Time, travel, and so many family members that have passed on that we are down to third and fourth generations that are scattered.  Facebook and Email have helped us stay in contact, but less that in time passed.

I remember when I started school, there were only a few of us that had summer birthdays. It was disappointing when other kids got to bring cupcakes or treats on their birthdays, and everyone got to sing to them and have a little party.  But as I got older it didn't really matter because we always had fireworks and ice cream and most of the time a carnival came to town for the 4th of July, and that made my birthday extra special.  I, in fact, thought my birthday was on the 4th till I was a pretty big kid.  So, we still celebrate beginning with the 4th all the way through the month.

My best friend Melba Barnett was born a month to the day after me on August 7th.  We annually prank each other with signs on our gates, or silly surprises, or even sunflowers from the side of the road.  She always calls me an “old lady” for a month then I get to call her “old lady” for the rest of the year!!!   We celebrated our birthdays together from age 2 through elementary school and 2 years of college!  Now what is a friendship!...We raised our families and when Doug and I moved back to the farm  that first summer the pranks began just like we had never stopped.

This year is a milestone for both of us as Medicare kicks in and we both have our AARP cards and Medicare ID cards.  Yep 65 long hot summers ago I was born in far western Oklahoma in a hospital owned by my Aunt’s family.  My grandparents lived on a farm and Mother went home to have me.  We came home to Texas and I've been here ever since.

But who’s counting!  I feel like 25, hope I don’t look 65 or act 65.  I’m too busy living life to count years!  I like being where I am in body, mind and spirit.  I hope that the next 65 years are just as much fun and hey, folks, with medical science, 65 more years is not an impossibility!!!

It's My Surgiversary! Where I Am 2 Years Later

By Jennifer DeMoss

Oh my goodness, has it REALLY been two years?? TWO YEARS!!
It's gone by so fast!

It's odd, because I really can't remember what life was like 100 lbs. ago. I look in the mirror and I really feel this is how I've always looked. Then I look back at old pictures and videos .. WOAH.

So I think I need to do a re-wind! What did the last two years look like for me? What have I learned?

First off, the first six months went exactly as I thought. I lost weight fast and couldn't eat much.
Honestly, I loved it

The second six months, the weight-loss started tapering off.
I was told I could have carbonated beverages again (this started a cycle back into bad habits for me!)

At one year I was almost exactly 100 lbs lighter!

I then realized there were things I could eat that I couldn't eat before: rice, bread, pasta, sugar ... Oopsie. See where I'm going with this?
So I succumbed and allowed myself to fall back into bad habits and started putting trash back into my body!

Then 7Bites came along!
The next year has been spent writing, researching, learning.
I have learned so much about nutrition and health and well-being!

So, here I sit 2 years later. Where am I at now?

• I am still 100 lbs lighter, which puts me just under 200 lbs. (and yes, I'm totally okay with this).
• I have lost 74% of my excess body weight. 74%!!! Considering the average is 50-60% I think I'm doing pretty well! 
• I can still eat junk. I'm trying to get off that wagon.
• I am taking a health and nutrition course by my friend Audra Baker on mind-body nutrition. This is good stuff people. I'm blogging about this later.
• I've learned that while I CAN eat things like carbs and sugar and junk, my body responds to it in a totally different way than it did before. Well ... Maybe not. Maybe it's that I'm just now noticing my body's response to it. Either way ... I notice now how I feel after I eat a handful of Doritos rather than a cucumber. Trust me. The cucumber makes you feel WAAY better.
• I have actually gotten some food sensitivities. I am wheat and gluten sensitive (yes, I still eat them in moderation.) I am also now lactose intolerant (I can eat small amounts of cheese and cultured dairy). And I still can't tolerate high fructose corn syrup. 
• I can eat more now than I could before. Whereas in the beginning I could only eat about 1/4-1/2 a cup of food, now I can eat up to a cup on some days. This does NOT mean my sleeve has stretched. It means that it's no longer swollen and has relaxed into the size and shape that it's going to be from now on (this is normal and will happen to everyone!).
• Sometimes I still eat more than I should, and yes I still slime (if you don't know what that is, Google it. Not pleasant). I am learning that it's okay to eat off of other people's plates instead of ordering my own food to prevent this phenomenon. Most of the people I hang out with are okay with this.
• I still have issues with reflux and indigestion. I have pills for it that I don't take that I really need to ... I should go do that now. Hang on. Be right back ...
• B12 is your friend. Trust me on this.
• So is coconut oil.
• I have some loose skin, but it's not terrible. Plastic surgery is not in my immediate future.
• GROSS ALERT (but I've been asked to reveal this so here goes ...) I have alternating IBS and Constipation, depending on what I eat.

Wow ... that's really all I can think of! Of course, if you have any questions, you can always come visit our Facebook page and our Facebook group! We're always happy to help.And check out my update video as well! I dive into a little more personal reflection there (link coming up as soon as YouTube's trained monkeys fix it!)

If you haven't undergone bariatric surgery yet, and are just in the research process, I encourage you to check out our new book the 7Bites Pre-Bariatric Surgery Guide. It will walk you through all the steps including:
Figuring out what surgery is right for you, finding your doctor, getting insurance approval, and recovering from the first few days after surgery. Check it out and let us know what you think!

Revelations

This morning was a typical summer morning on the farm. I head out on the tractor to run the brush hog over the pasture to keep the crop of weeds from getting too high, and my husband Doug heads out to build fence. (This is the fence that never ends)

My mind wanders back to before my weight loss surgery and how uncomfortable I was in the heat and especially on the tractors. A tractor generates a lot of heat and ours has a glass cab on it that holds that heat in. Even with the air conditioner (ours doesn’t work right now) it stays very warm and blows directly into the drivers face so is really miserable for long hours on the machine. I really don’t know how my Dad a farmer of 65 years stood the heat but he loved it and was always out in it. ME not so much! I do some of the mowing just because I enjoy it but when the temp rises….I head for the barn!!

Losing a huge amount of weight has made a definite change in not only my size but my mind set. I think in lighter thoughts…..how so? I feel lighter because I can climb on the equipment without my knees screaming!!! I can work longer because I don’t melt as fast!! and most of all my attitude is I can do it a little every day and bounce around and I’m not as beat up as I was at 285 pounds!!

Now I don’t suggest that you go out and get a big tractor or even a little one to bounce around on, but since I have one, I use what I got!! I don’t walk on the days I have to wrestle with the steering wheel on the big tractor, I definitely get a workout. And I can ride it for 3-4 hours for the same workout I would do on a normal day. 1 hour walking…..vs 3-4 on a piece of big equipment….I call it cross training!!

Exercise doesn’t have to be going to the gym, or breaking a sweat doing some mind numbing exercise, it can be riding a tractor or pushing a mower or digging in the flower bed. It just has to be movement that your body is not accustomed to doing...does that make sense. May be for a change instead of moping with a mop, just get down on all fours and mop with your hand….different movement to surprise your muscles.

Thinking lighter about food is a way to keep my mind from going back to old habits. It is summer, summer veg abound, I can’t eat much but I can chose to partake of the bounty of the fresh vegetables and fruit in every bite I can take. I love salads, sliced fresh tomatoes, squash baked till tender and fresh green beans or black eyed peas…..we think low carb and fresh vegetables are the best place to get the best punch for the fresh carbs we do eat. And eating fresh fruit and vegetables seems to cut the craving for the bread, chips, potatoes and rice.

As I come back to the house after a morning on the tractor or in the garden I realize that 2 years ago I would have been miserable. The heat, the physical discomfort and dealing with health problems like the hiatal hernia I would have crashed for the afternoon, got up cooked supper then crashed again. Now, I don’t do that as often and I look forward to having a new adventure everyday. The afternoon adventure is to ride with my husband to feed our cows!! Yippy Ki Yea!!!

*Suzette*

Healthy VS Healthy

I just watched Guy Fieri make his version of "healthy" lasagna and zucchini chips. First of all he added a white flour bechamel, which is traditional. The “healthy” component was turkey italian sausage. Then he made zucchini chips that were fried! Where's the healthy if the lasagna is heavy in processed flour in the bechamel sauce and the sheets of pasta, and those poor zucchini chips dipped in flour and fried! There are much more “healthy” ways of doing the same recipes and I bet that your family would not taste the difference unless you spelled out the differences!

Why, when there are real healthy options wouldn't this professional show real, healthy options that would make a difference. Yes, I suppose his was a little better because of the small changes he showed. BUT, knowing now what I do about Healthy VS Healthy, I want the better choice, not the sudo, quasi, maybe, almost healthy !

I think this show is exactly why we Bariatric patients have so much trouble with making good choices. We are sold “healthy” when in reality the "healthy" title has become as useless as "natural" and "organic".

In reality these titles have not lived up to their responsibility and as consumers we have been sold a bill of goods so that we spend more money, thinking we are getting good food for our families.

True that we know real organic farmers and I will buy directly from them, but I’m not so forgiving to the large grocers that label packaged foods natural or organic. To me "natural" and "organic" should mean “not touched by human hands before harvesting”. But now, loosely, everything is natural. Items that are processed in any way therefore are not still natural, but that is just my perspective.

Organic should always mean that a product has no chemical fertilizer or pesticides, and I do love getting these produce items fresh and locally grown. Again I am not sure producers on a large scale can truly stick to these guidelines, especially when food passes through several different hands before it reaches the shelves in major food outlets.

Now back to Healthy VS Healthy, should we call any food in the large portions sold in restaurants and shown in TV as “normal” portions healthy?

Why do we “think” a quarter pounder is better than a smaller “kid’s” burger that is the same in every way. It is all marketing and our unrestrained pocket books and appetites are our own downfall! As bariatric patients we should be not only looking at our exercise and diet programs, we need to change our whole thinking about what food we buy and what we get for our money.

Europeans eat portions one half or more smaller than Americans on a regular basis. So thinking smaller in not only portions size but in spending less on food and having better food for what we spend.

I hope that when purchasing the next frozen dinner that everyone reads the ingredients and truly make better choices. When ordering at a restaurant double check the ingredients on My Fitness Pal. Sometimes what is advertised is not what you get. Though most places are getting more diligent on their calorie counts, just check for hidden carbs.

One instance recently I ordered grilled salmon with grilled veg. It came with rice pilaf under the salmon, I did not order it, the cook wanted the plate to be full when delivered, go figure that one out!

My whole point is that if it says "healthy" on the label make sure the "healthy" it represents meets your criteria for healthy!

Our Healthy Lasagna (Video HERE!)

For zucchini chips, slice thin, dip in milk or egg wash, dip in parmesan cheese, place on a baking pan covered with foil or parchment, bake at 350 degrees until cheese is brown...NOW THESE are Really Healthy choices.

I will give more complete recipes later but you get the idea. It is not the recipe, it is what goes in the recipe! Quality over quantity!
~**Suzette**~

Reflections ...

I am a month away from my two year surgiversity.
I will do something on that date - kind of a "before and after" spread, but tonight as I'm sitting here on my computer, mind whirring away I am in deep thought about the last two years. I realize things now are not quite what I expected nor what I'd hoped, but at the same time so much better than I was or I could be.

When I went into surgery, I had a gung-ho outlook. I was certain that I was going to do everything right, exactly the way I was supposed to, forever and ever and I'd never have another issue with food for the rest of my life. I knew that the surgery wasn't a "magic pill" and I still had some work to do, but I never imagined I'd fall back into old habits so easily or that I'd start new bad habits. I thought my food addiction would be taken care of in itself - that since I couldn't eat, I wouldn't. I seriously went into this thinking all my food problems were going to be solved.

If only I knew then what I know now ...

I would still go through with surgery, there's no doubt in my mind that I did the right thing for myself. In a nutshell, the gastric sleeve saved my life. But I would go in with a different outlook and a completely different viewpoint.

• I would have found a good counselor that specialized in food addiction and visited them once or twice a month (or more often, if needed). 
• I would have stuck with a good support group, or started one of my own close to home (I may still do this).
• I would have never asked about carbonated beverages (my doctor allows them at 6 months out).
• I would have forced myself to keep walking - no matter how much I didn't want to.
• I would have started using the phrase "I don't eat that" in reference to rice, sugar, and slider foods.
• "I can eat that and not get sick now!" would have never entered my vocabulary.
• I would have stopped looking for the magic diet that would cause the last of the weight to slide off my body. 
• I would have learned to accept my body the way it was in whatever shape it was at whatever stage it was in.
• I would have thrown away my scale and my tape measure. Or at least I would have hidden them for months at a time.
• I would have prayed more through the process and allowed God to take control of the situation. 
• I would have stopped reading up on every single diet fad that was going on (gluten free, anyone?).
• I would have allowed myself to live rather than worrying all the time.
• I would have eaten more salad and allowed myself to eat vegetarian meals once in a while.
• I would have eaten less potatoes and more whole wheat crackers.
• I would have run away from the sugar substitutes.

This journey has had some amazing things come out of it, however. For everything I've done wrong, I've also had so many things go right.

• I can cross my legs and touch my toes to the floor.
• I can walk up a flight of stairs and not get winded.
• I can jog.
• I can fit in almost any chair I come across.
• I only have to buy one airline seat.
• I can ride a roller coaster and not be worried that the harness is not attached properly.
• My shirt size no longer resembles a porn rating.
• My husband can wrap his arms all the way around my waist. 
• My children can touch their fingers when they hug me.
• I've been known to look in the mirror and say something like, "Well, hello there you curvaceous beauty you!" when I feel especially good about myself. 

I am not where I want to be yet. But not because of size or weight. For me, it's become more mentality thing. There is a certain mindset I need to be in. A certain place I need to go, emotionally. There are things that I need to deal with spiritually and psychologically. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is not through with me yet. My body is already a testimony, and I know that testimony will continue to grow and shift.

Will I continue to lose weight? I don't know. I hope so, but that is no longer my focus. My focus is to be healthy and to be a role model and spokesperson. To be an encourager and a supporter. I want to be someone that people look up to, that inspires people, and that makes people feel good about themselves and loved and accepted. I want God to look down on me and smile, and when my time comes to go Home, I want my Lord to look at me and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant".

Thank you all for joining me on this journey. I know some of you have been with me since my very first video before I had surgery. I love you all and appreciate you beyond words. I promise to continue to strive to be the best I can be at helping other attain their goals. I promise to continue to keep up with research and trends in the bariatric community and to continue to pass them on to you all. I promise to, with my mom, continue to make cooking videos and write recipes that are bariatric friendly, and family pleasers all at once. And I promise to keep God first and to let Him remain my focus.

God's blessings to you all!
<3 Jen <3

Eating Well When You're Not Feeling Well

Oh the joys of being sick.
I've been dealing with it for a month straight.
O N E  M O N T H
First, I had some upper respiratory stuff that held on for dear life.
Then a stomach bug.
Then food poisoning.
Then another stomach bug ...
Needless to say, the past month has been MISERABLE in the DeMoss house ...

Something that I noticed about myself is that when I'm sick, I crave BAD food.
Not just things I'm not supposed to eat.
I mean BAAAAAD FOOOOOOD.
Fast food.
The WORST fast food.
And I'm noticing that this is a trend - for everyone!!

Why is it when our bodies need healthy food the worst, we end up craving the bad stuff?

But take heart, friends! There is a way to survive being sick and still stay away from the icky things that will make us sicker than we started out with.

For colds, flues, and any other upper respiratory junk:

Bone Broth - This stuff is AWESOME. It is seriously like antibiotics in a bowl. And is so easy to make. You take a whole chicken and toss it in your slow cooker along with some carrots, onions, garlic, kale, celery, and whatever other veggie you want to toss in (peeled and cut into hunks), then you add a handful of fresh parsley, some rosemary, and any other herb you want. Season it with salt and pepper to taste (or do what I do and use a tablespoon or two of seasoning blend - I love Montreal Chicken). Cover it with water, turn on the cooker and let it go for about 12 hours. Then you turn off the heat and let it sit for about 30 minutes before straining it. Let me tell you, this stuff is flavorful, delicious, and will make you feel better pretty darn quick!

Juicing - There is no quicker way to get the vitamins and minerals you need than by juicing. Seriously. You can get so much bang for your buck here. A great juice for illness is an apple, a rib of celery, a handful of kale, and a lemon. So much vitamin C and natural antibiotics going on in there!!

Protein Smoothies - Okay, yes, I know. We tell you to avoid these things like the plague. But in reality, when you're feeling sick, you need your nutrition from SOMEWHERE and this is a great place for that. You can add fruits and veggies to your smoothie to to bump up the vitamins. One that we really like is from my friend Audra Baker:

1 Scoop Protein Powder
½ banana
½ avocado
½ cucumber
Handful kale
½-1cup frozen fruit (I like blueberries)
Enough coconut water or unsweetened almond milk to blend.

Sounds weird, but is delicious and will knock out any oogie stuff out of your system!!

Spicy Food - If you can tolerate it, the spicier the better! Mexican food, Thai food, Indian food ... It's all so delicious and will help you feel better!! I love chips and salsa when I've got a cold or the flu. The natural antioxidents, vitamin C, and antibiotics are flowing through the stuff, plus the heat will help clear your sinuses! One of my favorite Salsa recipes:

2 plum or Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, seeds removed and minced

Juice and zest of 1 lime

couple tablespoons chopped cilantro

Mix it all together in a bowl and let it chill for at least an hour.

For Tummy Junk

I hate having stomach virus. It's the PITS. The number 1 key with this is to KEEP HYDRATED! It's SO easy to get dehydrated when you have a tummy bug! Here are some great ways to keep hydrated:

Water - of course, this is the simplest solution. Keep it by your side at all times!! Just like when we first had our surgeries - SIP SIP SIP!

Bone Broth - Remember from the first section? This stuff is great for stomach bugs too. When you're sick, sometimes all you can stomach is chicken broth. This is a step up from that!

Ginger ale or lemon-lime drinks - The old stand-by from childhood. Now, most doctors don't want you having carbonation, so serve it over ice and let it sit for about five minutes to go a little flat before you sip it. 

Sports Drinks - Again, something that we don't necessarily recommend on an every day basis, but when you're sick, you need SOMETHING. And if this is all you can keep down, go for it!

I hope that this helps you all a bit in wondering how you can still eat well when you're not feeling well!
<3 Jen <3

Suzette on Smoothies

I had to drink protein drinks after the Lap-band, I could not eat enough protein without throwing up or getting something stuck. I became addicted to the protein drink and would not start the day without one and if I threw up during the day, I drank another one to make sure I got my protein.

Not a good plan!!!

Before the sleeve surgery I drank the medical mix that the Doctor required that we drink for a few weeks prior to the surgery and after the surgery. I added extracts and lots of ice to get through the time. After the surgery to my surprise I could not drink the protein….Period!! it just would not work for me. Literally making me ill…..

So I have a serious aversion to smoothies!! I think that if I had paid attention to my body when it said “You can’t eat food, You will throw up” I should have noticed there was a serious problem brewing inside me.

I want to know what my body is doing at all times so NO I don’t drink smoothies on a daily basis.

I think they should be used sparingly, if I need to get back on track sometimes I do soup broth, pureed soup, or drink fortified water for a day or two, but I just can’t stomach a smoothie!! Sorry, I know a lot of people take one a day, and I did for 8 years. But, I just can’t!!

I feel that I need the “Chew” factor to satisfy my dietary needs. I need to feel the food move from my mouth to my stomach, and yes I do feel it!! I think it is something to do with having had the band, I was so afraid to swallow lumps, bumps and stringy stuff that I now feel it and know if it is chewed enough.

Recently Jennifer and I joined a 21 day fitness challenge, just to get moving again and up my activity in my exercise activity I joined. I am glad I did, I am walking 4 miles a day and my husband Doug is walking with me. He is the reason I wanted to get back into walking and lifting light weights. The leader of the group talked about smoothies, and I shut down immediately. Yep, my experience told me that I did not want to go there!! Just like Pavlov's Dog I did not want to go back and try smoothies because of the bad experience.

Will I ever try a smoothie again? Probably, will it be filled with vegetables, protein powder and other things? I don’t know, I just know that right now I don’t want to upset the apple cart and go back to something that became a crutch and had such drastic effect on my health. I just know that for some people it is fine. It helps them reach weight loss control and keep up with the nutrition that most of us need to achieve good health. But obviously we have addiction issues and can become addicted to things that are supposed to be good as well as bad things. My jury vote is still out on smoothies, Jen loves the things and is going to try some. I wish her well and all the others in the challenge, but for me NO SMOOTHIES for right now!

**Note from Jennifer: I don't LOVE the smoothies - I haven't been able to tolerate them for a while, and tried one with almond milk for a change and it wasn't bad. It's not something I want to consume on a regular basis by any means! That being said, there are some wonderful products on the market that are insanely healthy and really delicious. I recommend that if you do decide to go the smoothie or protein-drink route that you do so as a dietary supplement rather than a meal replacement! <3 **