Needing and Sharing Comfort Food: It's Human. Dump the Guilt.

Well, it’s time to fix another body part. It’s like I’m in a “Surgery-of-the-Year” club. The dues are pretty high, but what can I do? I need functioning joints if I can get ‘em.
This year, it’s my left shoulder. I didn’t injure it, but due to my “loose ligaments” and arthritis, I tore the supraspinatus muscle, which is part of the rotator cuff, as well as the biceps tendon a few years ago. I was able to rehab with physical therapy and chiropractic (see “It’s All One Big Huge Freaking Circle”), but then in April, I mowed my lawn and made a mediocre problem a bigger problem. I literally tore the crap out of that supraspinatus.

Every night I sleep against a pillow fortress (BF calls it The Great Wall of China) which elevates my arm enough so I can sleep with minimal pain. However, the last few months I’ve been awake most nights at 3 a.m. with a burn in my shoulder so hot I could supply enough energy to keep my town in electricity for a week. (This, in addition to hot flashes, makes my nights really interesting.) I get up and take 2-4 Advil with a glass of soy milk or a piece of cheese because if I don’t, the Advil will eat my gut. Too bad NSAIDs aren’t a weight-loss aid…

In addition to the muscle/tendon tears, I found out today that my biceps tendon is not where it should be and needs to be “moved back into place.” Hmmm… Sounds like fun. Doc will also clean out the arthritis. Afterwards, he’ll stitch and patch me up, put me in a sling, and send me home where I won’t be able to shower or wear a bra for at least a week. Can’t wait. And I wasn’t even a bad girl this year! Santa better treat me well…LOL

Oh, I kid you. It’s not all that bad. It could be a lot worse, I know that. And I could also choose to drown my sorrows in food, which, for a moment, I thought about doing.

As I posted on Lynn’s Weigh on Facebook: “I saw my orthopedic surgeon today and I admit, my first thought after getting into my car after the appointment was, 'I want to eat.' Granted, I was hungry, but I wanted to eat something to console myself. I thought about it and was grateful that I recognized this feeling and met it head on. It didn't stop me from getting vegetarian dolmades at my favorite Greek restaurant, but I understood why I wanted them. And not only are they awesome comfort food, they're not horrible for me, either :)”

I took my dolmades and a Greek salad over to my daughter’s house, where she and the g-babies were eating lunch at the dining room table. I sat down next to Claire and opened the Styrofoam container of dolmades. We all chatted while they ate their chili and I my pieces of grape leaf heaven. Then I opened the container of Greek salad: lettuce, feta, red onions, tomatoes, olives and peperoncini.

“I done, Mama,” said Luca and he got down from his chair. I thought he was going to go play, but as I talked to Cassie, the little munchkin crawled under the table, climbed up on to my lap, grabbed a piece of lettuce and ate it. “Mmmm…” he said.
Claire then said she was done, too, and started eating my salad. Who knew salads were finger food? They also ate the pita that came with the dolmades (I’m still gluten-free! Three weeks in and I feel great!), dipping them in the Greek salad dressing that is so absolutely fantastic I wish Greek Stop bottled it. But the don’t. And they won’t. So sad.
Anyway, my salad was gone and they were still hungry, so Claire went to the fridge and dug out a bag of spinach and dumped a bunch into the Styrofoam container so she and Luca could continue to graze. It was wild watching them eat lettuce and spinach, leaf by leaf. When they were done, Luca was covered in dressing and very, very happy. Claire was a little more neat, but she still had olive-oil hands, and after she washed them, proceeded to dry her hands on my jeans, laughing so hard she almost peed herself. Who knew Greek salad could get you so high?

I did! That’s why it, and the dolmades, were my go-to food when I got the shoulder low-down from Doc today. Comfort food – when used in moderation, and particularly when it’s shared with people we love (Thanksgiving and mashed potatoes, anyone?) – is OK. Dump the guilt! God knows I spent years during my weight loss/maintenance feeling guilty for eating food that soothed my soul. I’m so over that.

I did a little search-a-roo on the Internet and found a few recipes for dolmades that I will attempt to perfect before my surgery in December so I can make them (with my one good arm and an assistant) when I need comfort food during rehab. I’m going to try a vegetarian version of this recipe from Food Network or this one from Living and Loving in LA or both!

How do you respond to your inner “You need comfort food NOW!” voice? And if you choose to eat a comfort food, which one or ones are your go-tos?

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Healthy <b>Weight Loss</b> Sharing » Blog Archive » Rapid <b>Weight Loss</b> <b>...</b>

{ Posted on Jan 24 2011 by Irene Maseko }

A rapid weight loss program will require significant changes in your life if it is to be successful. If you are not determined and willing to change your bad habits then it doesn’t matter what diet you’re on, it probably won’t work. Many factors are involved in how quickly an individual will lose weight; for instance:

* Family history * Psychological problems * Attitude

Excess weight can cause many health issues, including those of self image and worth. Whilst the number of physical and mental effects on an overweight person is great, it is amazing how these can be turned around when a person starts to lose weight. It must be said that most rapid weight loss programs will require some form of emotional support from close friends or relatives; anyone contemplating this type of program needs to start eating a healthy diet as well as taking part in daily physical activity. Start by learning a diet food plan that can easily be customized and incorporate an exercise plan that allows at least fifteen minutes a day of exercise such as brisk walking, running, swimming or dancing.

Do not worry if your rapid weight loss plan is not producing results as quickly as you would like; everyone has a different metabolism and some will see results faster than others; this is perfectly natural so do not become despondent. If you find that your exercise regime and diet aren’t providing the weight loss fast enough you may need to adjust your regime accordingly. Your body should tell you whether your program is working so you need to listen to it and if you find that the diet you have chosen is not the right one then change it.

Exercise programs must be suit each person so if walking is all that can be done, then walk; this is proven to be the best exercise and as muscles burn more calories than fat it’s also best to put on a little muscle which will make you look good too. Exercise often means a great deal of body fluids are lost and need to be replaced; rapid weight loss depends on flushing your system out so you must stay hydrated during the process, about 6 large glasses per day should be enough. Avoid fat drenched deep fried foods which can also mean fish and chicken if you are eating the wrong part of the animal.

It is recommended for those on a strict diet to opt for grilled food as this contains a smaller amount of fat after the food has been cooked. We all need energy to carry out daily tasks, and more if we perform physical activities, so do not stop eating carbohydrates otherwise you will find yourself tired all the time. If you follow this plan, you will be losing a little over a pound a day, but once you stop this routine of only 1000 to 1500 calories a day you are very likely to go right back to your normal size.

You welcome to check out: Low carb weight loss success and Instructions for a low carb diet for more reviewed accurate information.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 24th, 2011 at 8:30 am and is filed under Weight Loss. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Just Sharing My Weekend

We’ve had quite a weekend. Just craziness! I’m not even sure where to begin.

Let’s start with Saturday morning. Little Man came with me to boot camp (they are now involving kids for the first half of class, VERRY COOL) and then we raced thru Trader Joe’s picking up just a few supplies. We had to rush home to get ready for his first school concert!

His elementary school was having a winter jubilee where all the kindergardeners had to sing carols on stage. It was precious! And such a fun way to kick off the season. We had a blast getting ready for the event. Everyone was in a goofy mood…

As punishment for gloating about finishing the Christmas cards I took the most perfect family shot AFTER they were done. DARN IT…

Ahh well. We still have the picture at least. I think I print one for us. :)

The Christmas concert went off without a hitch, My Little Man looked so good up on stage! It was so fun watching him.

Afterwards we headed on the road to PA. It was my nieces 7th birthday and we decided to take the drive up and celebrate. After the long car ride I crashed around 10PM. It was the earliest I’ve gone to bed in months and I felt wonderful this morning. WHY don’t I go to bed early ALL the time? I mean really. You’d think I would have learned my lesson by this point. Anyway, we had a pretty lazy morning hanging out with my parents before heading to Chuck E. Cheese. The kids were great. Just look at these two goofballs…

We were there for 3 hours riding rides, playing games and eating pizza. Yea.. I ate more than my share. I don’t know what it is about bad pizza but I have a hard time stopping myself at 1, 2 or even 3 slices. I swear pizza in any form gets me every time.

Once we had our fill of pizza and cheap plastic toys we headed back on the road to head home. It’s a 3 and half hour drive but we made the best of it. Little Guy had a new flash light and a coloring book to help keep him busy while the Husband and I chatted the whole way.

It was a wonderful weekend but there’s something about the travel that just wipes us out. I did come home and make lunches for tomorrow but other than that, I have a lot of work to do to catch up for the week. Tomorrow with by my catchup day. But only AFTER my hit the gym. I’m having fun following my new pregnancy training plan. It’s just the shot of motivation I needed.

Well that’s all I got in me tonight. I hope you had a fabulous weekend!

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