Fast Food Choices!

Everyones on the go. Always. Theres no denying it. So you cant help but go through a drive thru or grab smoothies with friends to catch up.. Believe it or not, there are easier ways to manage what you eat.. You have a right to know whats in your food, and what it can do to you. For a basic meal there certain carb/calorie guidelines some people follow.. Standard for me most my life was less than 60 carbs at a meal and less than 20 carbs at a snack. I used to count calories, but I kinda stopped that and just mainly focused on carbs. They seem to be more of an issue for me, aswell as getting in more protein. Here are some on the go suggestions for different places, that are probably better choices than other foods.. Some may surprise you. All meals are less than 60 carbs and all snacks are less than 20.

Breakfast:  Croissan’wich(any kind) and small hashbrown, and small orange juice from Burger King. Or 1 6inch breakfast omlette sandwich from subway(any kind), and milk. Or 1 bacon egg and cheese muffin, hashbrown, and small orange juice from mcdonalds.

Lunch: 1 snackbox of popcorn shrimp with cocktail sauce, 1 bowl of broccoli cheese soup, and a diet soda from long john silvers. Large popcorn chicken, Honey BBQ Sauce, and Macaroni and Cheese with water or diet soda from KFC. 1Chicken Quesadilla, or 2 crunchy supreme tacos from tacobell with diet drink or water.

Dinner: BLT Cobb  or Spicy Chicken Caesar salad and large Chili with diet drink or water from Wendy’s,  2 slices of any Pizza Hutt pizza, and diet drink or water from pizza hut. Or 1 medium beef and cheddar sandwich, and one small potato cakes with diet drink or water, from arbys.

Snacks: Grande Café Latte from starbucks. Cup of Chicken noodle, vegetable, cream of broccoli, or chili from tim hortons.  A low fat smoothie from Tropical smoothie, made with splenda! (my favorite is sunrise sunset :D) 6piece chicken rings with ketchup randh or barbeque sauce from white castle.

^^^

So I hope this helps you out a bit! You can go to resturaunts websites and a lot of times they’ll have the nutrition facts for you. If they don’t, they should. You cold send an email and request nutrition information if you want.

I got all the numbers from my carb counter book by TheCalorieKing. You can look at www.CalorieKing.com for more information.

Talk to you all later (: Bye. <3

~Ashley.

ashleyellen1637@aol.com

www.obesityhelp.org/member/ashleyellen1637

Check this out?

A friend I met on Obesityhelp.org, saw my blog and she put a post of mine on her website. Check it out? (:

http://www.formerlyfluffy.com/

Thanks Maria! (: --- http://www.obesityhelp.com/member/cupcake256/

<3 Ashley.

How I got to this point.

Alright, so basically this is just a post about how I got to this point. My journey so far.

When I was three, my Mom started noticing my yearly weight gains were larger than they should be.. She’s a nurse, so she got kind of worried and asked my doctor what she thought.. Every doctor she asked just pushed it off as if she was stupid. “Oh, just give her skim milk, instead of whole.” Or “Don’t feed her as much.” .. Which really got old after awhile. My mom fed me right, always made home cooked meals and knew what I was being fed. That wasn’t it. After years of arguing with doctors and such, finally Dr. Preudhomme came around.. He worked in a clinic at a local childrens hospital.. We got a refferall there when I was 5, and got tested for insulin resistance.. Sure enough, I had insulin resistance. And that’s where it all started. I’ve practically grown up at that hospital.. Although Dr. Preudhomme doesn’t work there anymore, he certainly changed my life with that diagnosis and working with me and my family for years.. I would be much worse off if it wasn’t for him.

Constantly growing up I had dieted and done different exersize schedules and tapes and such.. all Physician supervised.. I could kind of manage my weight.. but could never lose more than 5 or 10 pounds without gaining it back. My mom has thyroid issues, so she constantly got me tested for thyroid issues.. But I don’t have hypothyroidism.

I was the most active little kid.. I played soccer from the time I was 5 till iw as 13. Tennis for 3 years, basketball for 3, volleyball one year, I swam from the time I was 7-12. I danced from the time I was 3-12. I had lots of neighborhood friends I would play with. Riding my bike, skateboarding,  things like street football or catch the flag.. I have all of these great memories of it all.. But then it got ruined when I had to go in for an hour each day, because none of that counted.. on top of how active I was, ih ad to do an hour of aerobics each day. I was the only 7 year old I have ever known, that had to do Richard simmons tapes.. Sweatin’ to the oldies. It was terrible. But I sucked it up and did what I had to do.

I went to a private elementary school.. In 6^th grade I started switching schools.. I had been bullied all my life because of my weight. No one cared the medical reason behind it. And I got fed up.. so I started running from my problems.. And at the same time my family went into financial difficulties and we moved a few times.. I started losing friends.. And my parents separated.. All of middle school was spent in a deep depression with parents fighting, separated, me babysitting my 3 little brothers constantly. I was like a mom to them. I even retook a grade one year because I was always home with them.. it was messed up.. But let me ask you something. When you’re depressed, do you feel like working out? No. I just gained.. and gained.. and gained.  Lots of drugs and therapy has helped me get back on my feet again. I still have my moments.. But I’m mentally more stable than I was. But I let myself go..

Back in the fall in 2010, my mom came back after a three month ‘trip’ (I use that term lightly), and was shocked.. my body had changed.. I had no chin. My face was what I guess some doctors call ‘moon face’.. it was all round and flat and puffy.. I had a ‘buffalo bump’ behind my neck, inbetween my shoulder blades.. my body had just shifted.. I had a gap between my teeth when I was little that closed up on its own when I was like 12.. it was back.. (my dentist just said because of the weight my bone structure of my face shifted.. so now my teeth are messed up again.).. She talked to some doctors and found out about Cushings Syndrome, PCOS, and a few other things.. We talked to some doctors and got a referral to an endocrinologist.. Got some blood work done and saw a gyno.. Turned out it was pcos aswell.. And not long after that I was put on Blood pressure medicine. Things were snowballing at me. Now it wasn’t just the insulin resistance. Now pcos, and hypertension were involved aswell.

So now my kitchen has accumulated more medicine bottles, I see more doctors, and I’m just flat out more miserable..

By February this year (2011) I saw something on the news about teen weight loss surgery.. I just looked it up, not even considering surgery.. I had never even thought about it before.. I knew people that had had it, but they’re all adults… I came across Cincinnati Children’s Research Hospital, and their Teen-LABS study with teen weight loss surgery.. I looked at other websites, youtube videos, all of that.. and did my research before even mentioning it to anyone so I wouldn’t look stupid.. I knew I was young. I still know that. But I wanted to know what I was getting myself into beforehand.

I mentioned it to my mom first.. I just said ‘hey, did you know they do weight loss surgery on teenagers now?’ and she didn’t believe it.. I showed her. Not even saying I wanted it.. then the next day I remember asking her about it and showing her hwo I met all of the qualifications.. she agreed to ask my doctor about it.. then my dad is kinda a quiet guy.. I asked him,  but he never has much to say. He just goes along with whatever. But he seemed alright with it all..

My family doctor wasn’t very sure because of my emotional state the past few years.. She wanted my psychologist that I was seeing at the time to be on board, and the endocrinologist we started seeing.. So once we talked to my counselor and I went to my endocrine appointment.. My endocrine went ahead and sent a referral to Cincinnati Children’s.

It wasn’t too long after I got a packet in the mail for information to fill out to send back.. Copies of insurance cards, some forms, essay questions.. I filled it all out.. Being me, I didn’t bother asking my mom at first about the forms.. I knew my SS number, I know all the names of the medicines im  on, all of that. And my mom hates paperwork. So I was excited and did it all, then showed her to make sure it was all right.. And we mailed it back.

In that packet, was a bunch of information on the different surgeries. I looked over it all.. My mom didn’t like the idea of the VSG at first.. My endocrine liked the idea of the Lap-Band, and the RNY has the most research done on it.. It’s been around the longest. So that’s what my mom was for.. I was for it at first too.. But keep in mind, we hadn’t even met the people at first yet.. So we all just kept our opinions to ourselves for awhile.

At the initial consultation, They did some bloodwork and I met with a team of experts.. nurse, dietitian, psychologist, a medical doctor, and the surgeon.. I actually met another guy  and a girl that day that were there for consultations aswell. I didn’t feel so alone. It was great. Things went well, and we got back home ( I live about an hour from Cincinnati), at like 3 oclock. It was certainly an all day thing.

I got a call the enxt week saying they approved me.. I was so excited. They set up the next appointment, and I had to wait a month.. Anxiously.

From the beginning of that year when I started looking at WLS, to now, I have lost about 25 pounds. Weathers been getting better, ive been digging myself out of the hole I put myself in, and was able to do that.. But my bmi is still around 44 something at the moment.. (as of 6/13/2011).. I’ve been gaining/losing the same 3 pounsd back and forth the past couple weeks..

Anyway, from there I had my second appointment.. I met with the nurse practitioner, dietitian, and social worker.. Talked about things.. I got a binder with more information about surgery and pre-op and post-op things.. And got invited to a support group meeting with other teenagers that have already been through, or are going through the same thing I am. Unfortunatley we didn’t get to go to that, we got lost.. My moms gps broke.. /: But there wasn’t anything I could do about that.

At that appointment though, we talked about the different surgeries.. and My mom got sold on the VSG.. I already had beens old on it, thanks to my own research. So that decision was kind of made there.

We also talked about insurance things.. I have two insurances.. Medicaid(Caresource), and UHC (united health care). UHC won’t cover it.. But caresource is covering it in full, which I was so happy about. The nurse had mentioned to me how quick caresource usually responds, and that they require 3 months in the program before surgery.. which my 3^rd month will be july.. my appointment in july will be it. After that they send off a final letter to insurance, and once they reply, they set the surgery date.. Which they estimated to be sometime in august.

And that’s where I am now. My next appointment with them is this coming week.. I’m not quite sure what that will entail. I’ll update more about it after the actual appointment. But this is where I stand.

I was sick of the bullying.. I hate getting out of breath when just simply changing my clothes, or drying off from the shower.. I hate getting picked on by perverts.. Who like me because im fat. (trust me.. that’s happened too many times to count.. it doesn’t help that I look a lot older than I actually am.. and when they find out how old I am, apparently that just makes it ‘better’.. ew.)

I hate when I eat a salad (which I love.. I love salads!), that people look at me like im trying to starve myself.. because ‘fat chicks’ are supposed to eat burgers and fries and icecream and twinkies, apparently.

Its gotten so hard.. Ive gotten to the point extensive exersize hurts.. my bloodpressure goes up my joints hurt my chest starts to hurt.. so I get exhausted.

I have tried everything. Absolutely everything. Every possible diet and exersize plan.. My mom was never into commercial things, like jenny craig or weight watchers.. but everything I have tried has been watched over by a doctor closely.. and I just cant seep to keep weight off..

Surgery is honestly my last resort, but I’m so glad I have it as an option. I’m so glad I’m going to be able to have it. I’m so happy I’m going to get a second chance.. A second chance I never thought I would have.

Some of my family members think I’m crazy.. That I’m too young or wont be able to handle it.. These are the same family members that never thought twice about insulin resistance or depression.. they thought I was just a hypochondriac. So they’re opinions don’t matter to me. My parents and little brothers, and my 2 close friends are happy for me. I’m happy for myself. And that’s all that matters to me.

I know I can do this. I know with the help of this tool, the surgery, I will be able to get myself to a healthier place.. That is all I want. I want to be healthier.

-------------
Sorry, I know that was kind of long.. But there wasn't really a way to shorten it up. So i hope that helped anyone who was wondering, understand how i got to this point.. How i got to making the decisions i have and where I'm at now.

Thanks for reading, and i'll keep updating as things keep happening.

<3 Ashley.

Glucose Tolerance Test.

I had a glucose tolerance test the other day. Its probably like my 9th one. at least. My first one i was like 6 years old.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/justashley1637/sets/72157626814179903/

^^^
That album pretty much shows you what the test includes..  (read the captions on the pictures. it explains alot more. ) Its pretty simple.. Its not bad. i dnot mind the test. i hate the stupid drink but i get over it. the only painful part is getting the iv removed, and its tolerable.

I had my kit on me, ive never actually known what my bloodsugars were during it, so i took my blood sugar a few times while just laying in the hospital bed.. an hour after i drank the nasty syrup stuff, it was like 378 i think.. I had already passed feeling nausious and sick and sweats and stuff.. i just felt completely delerious. I can feel the fluctuations in my blood sugar.. i feel shitty even if its higher than 170. or lower than 70 or so. its annoying.

But yeah.. just to give people the idea of what it is.. bEcause its a pretty common test, to test for diabetes, insulin resistance, and just to see where your levels are and such.

timeline:

6:00am - wake up & start to get ready.
6:40am - leave house.
7:00am - go to admissions, then the lab for 'finger prick'.
7:30am - go up to the unit where the test is, go to the desk and get admitted and get a bracelet.
7:40am - take you back to the room.
7:50am - take vitals. Blood pressure, temperature, pulse, etc...
8:00am - start the IV, and take first bit of blood.
8:20am - drink the glucose drink.
8:50am - first blood drawing, after the drink.
9:20am - second blood drawing.
10:20am - third blood drawing.
11:20am - fourth blood drawing.
11:30am - order food and eat.
11:50am - Remove IV
12:00pm - get discharged, and go home.

^^^^^ Thats for a 3 hour. if your having a 5 our 7 hour, add 2 more or 4 more hours and blood drawings. that was pretty much my day, and i got home by 12:30pm.

So yeah. thats about it. not much to it. (:

Hope this helps if you were getting anxious about the test or just curiuos to what it includes. so yeah. thats it. (:

<3 Ashley.

random happy note (:

ahhh. im finally not super white anymore. i got sunburnt the other day, and its fading away leaving me tann-ish. i love it. and i got a super cute swimsuit this year. the top was expensive, but well worth it. <3 anddandandandand im under 250 now (: i'm at 247. super happy.

http://flic.kr/p/9RYxHS (:

Eating Healthy 101. Tips and Tricks for the overweight teen.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/justashley1637/sets/72157626799848979/
^^^
Does your kitchen look like this?

Pretty much everyones ive seen does... lots of carbs, things people think are good for them but really arent, blahblahblahblahblah.

I've been seeing dieticians since i was like 4 or 5.. I know what im talking about.. not to sound big headed or anything, lol. just trust me, aight? (: I know im overweight and you're probably thinking 'oh, well this will get me no where.. look where it got her' buttt if your that quick to judge, get off my blog. kay? if youve read any of my other blogs, you and i both know theres more to it.

Anywho, tips and tricks. anything in moderation! Theres nothign wrong with having a popsicle at the pool or a scoop of icecream out with your friends.. Nothing at all! Just keep it down to only a couple times a week.

the biggest problem i see people have is portion controll.. When you pick up a bag of chips or a powerade bottle, do you look at the nutrition label? most people don't... its become a habit of mine.

say you take what you think would be a serving of chips.. even if you read the nutritian label, the amount on there is only for a certain number of chips.. if you have more chips than what it suggests, you need to multiply the carbs/calories/etc..

Drinks, heres somthing I want people to look at. I created an album specifically for food/drink related ideas and notes and stuff on my flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/justashley1637/sets/72157626800060747/  check out the descriptions on all the pictures...

(this is making me crave a smoothie at the moment.. im going to get onein a little bit. hehe xD)
anywhoo.

yeah. just goes to show, almost everything has sugar in it.. acceptions being water and flavored water.. even some flavored water has sugar in it though..

when i was little and hadnt found a diet soda i liked yet (im in love with diet pepsi now, but ive had to stop it for the surgery), i would always have carbonated fruit water.. they ahd it at the store. it was just like flavred water.. but carbonated. its a good alternative to regular soda.

okay, drink rant over. next:
EAT!
at least 3 meals a day.
Not eating can actually make you gain weight.

I'm gonna be honest, i've gone thorugh a  phase where i just wouldnt eat.. i was fed up with my weight and actually over the few months where i was struggling with an eating disorder, i gained weight... more than 10 pounds. i think it was close to like 16 or 17 lbs.. and that put me at 270 somthing.

Reason being? If you dont eat enough, your body wants to hold on to fat.. think of it as 'starvation mode'. your body clings on to every ounce of anything that goes into your body thinkingit may not get it for awhile and will need it to keep your organs up and runing and your body functioning normally.

ive since gotten back on a normal routine with my eating, 2 small meals a day, and a couple snacks... example:
breakfast: 2 pieces of whole grain wheat toast with peanut butter, and a glass of skim milk.
snack: protein water and granola bar.
lunch: small lean cuisine, usually under 400 calories and under 40 carbs.. and a flavored water or water. maybe a few chips.
dinner: 1 grilled/bbq chicken breast and a 1 cup of macaroni salad, a piece of water mellon and glass of water.
snack: yoplait light strawberry yogurt with granola.

^^^^ yum. <3 haha.
whenever i go out to dinner i usually get a salad bar or somthing like that.. soup/salad. by out to dinner of choice is panera, theres i deal i forget the name of where you get a cup of soup and half a sandwich for like 6 dollars.. i usually get 1/2 smoked turkeys andwich, cup of broccoli cheddar soup and an apple or the chips. amazing. <3

another tip:
when you get fast food, the salad isnt healthier than a burger, half the time.. look at what all is loaded on it, the amount of dressing and toppings and the portion!

its a myth that chicken is healthier than the beef. that is only true if you get grilled chicken! cripsy chicken is a big no no.



Basically: cut out sugary drinks, learn portion sizes, eat protein, and when you go out to eat watch what you eat! things can fool you.

i got a carb counters book from my endocrin.. id suggest trying to find one. it has names of lots of fast food places and shows the carbs/calories/fat for everything on most menues, along with regular store bought items. its taught me alot!


-------------------------------------------------

I'll do a more updated version of this later, that is hopefully more organized and well thought-out. this aws kinda just on the spot.

peaceee~~.
snack:

Self Esteem, and random other thoughts.

Self Esteem.. Somthing I lack very much of, and I know lots of other people, regardless of their size, have issues with.. It really makes you think.

Personally, my self esteem has been knocked down my whole life. not just because of my weight, but just stupid kid things.. 'oh your hair looks stupid' or 'why dont you get a life, you loser?' And at the time i just kinda brush the stuipd comments off, but after awhiel they add up..

I've always been kind of a 'loner' i guess you could say. Ive always had health issues i had to deal with.. I remember in 3rd grade, my mom had my teacher keep a bag of these sugar free low carb biscotti cookie things.. so whenever a kid had a birthday and brought in a treat, i would have one of those instead of the treat.. and kids would make fun of me for it.. Then in 5th grade when a type 1 diabetic joined, i got made fun of more.. Cause they're like 'oh well your the fat one, hes not! you obviously just overeat' and stuipd things like that.. they didnt yet understand the difference betwen type 1 and type 2, and i never bothered to try to explain.

Lately I've done better with things.. I dont get made fun of as much because the people i hang out with (if any, im kindof an introvert), all have their own issues.. Everyone has their own issues, but some are more publicly known than others, i guess. People will say 'oh i love your hair' or 'your makeup looks so nice!' or things iek that, but ive mentally trained myself not to believe it from the time i started middle school, just because people usted to make fun of me and say those kind of things. I'm almost always down on myself. I mean sure, i can look in the mirror sometimes and say 'oh wow. i look halfway decent today' but when i get around a group of people im just automatically insecure.

I have this one friend, I'm not gonna mention names cause well, obvious reasons.. But i seriouslya dmire her. shes likea  year or so younger than me.. Shes also a bigger girl. She posted a picture on her facebook of her from about her mid-stomach, up, and she was wearing a bikini. and her caption on the picture was:  "I don't care what other people think; I'm just wearing a bikini with a tank top over it to swim this year♥ I don't care if I'm too fat for it; if you don't wanna see me in it, don't go swimming with me ~"

^^^^^ I wish i could say the same. I'm working on it. I'm not afraid to wear nicer clothes or stand out a little bit.. Seriously though, more people should accept the fact that a lot of america is obese. not just america, but the world. and we shouldnt be ridiculed cause of it. You dont know the reason behind why someone is overweight, or why someone has a stupid haircut or why someones a clutz or whatever someone gets made fun of for.. you dont know them!

Im speaking to myself as well, when i say we all need to accept ourselves. I realize i'm having this surgery. But i am having it for my health. Sure, theres the benefit of looking better losing the weight. But if that aws the only benefit of the surgery.. If i had no health problems, i wouldnt be having the surgery. i wouldnt have qualified and quite frankly i wouldnt have even thought of it if i wasnt so cared for my health. Weight isnt my only insecurity.. I'm short, i think i have a weird voice, my nose looks weird, i hate my bigger chest and my skin.. i hate my skin. but guess what? its who i am! i cant complain. I could have it a lot worse, img reatful id ont. and you should too! everyone has somthing to be greatful for. everyone has somthing they liek about them. Embrace it!

^^^^^^
Alright, enough on self esteem. just a random update on the doctor stuff:

I have a 3hr.Glucose Tollerance Test, tomorrow morning. I hate drinking the stupid stuff -.- Im so glad they got more than th eorange flavor now though.. i cant even come near sunkist without  getting sick, since i had that one time.. the lemon lime is a little more tolerable.. But still, terrible aftertaste and bleh D: i dont mind the needle or fasting or getting up early or even being int he hospital.. but the drink is the one thing i HATE about it. it seriously makes me sick. and i've been off metformin the past week.. My endocrin wanted me off of it a week prior to the test, so she coudl see my levels without the metformin affecting anything.. So thats been miserable. My sugars have been all over the place. /:

Uhm next week i believe is my next meeting with the doctors and nurses and dieticians and stuff involved with my surgery.. that same day im getting an ekg, ecocardiogram, and have a meeting with a pulmonary doc to schedule a sleep study for osa (obstructive sleep apnea). Thats going to be a long day..

Then later this month i have an appt. with my endocrin to see results of the glucose tolerance tset, andd discuss meds and such.. and then in july i have another pcyhiatrist appt. and other appts. with different doctors. So yeah.. my summer is full.

Not to mention i started volunteering at my local childrens hospital. I love it! i work mondays from 12-4. its the perfect place for me. the girl i volunteer with is really cool, too. i get to do research and clerical stuff, and take a video cart around to the kids in the hospital. <3 perfect place for me. lol.
anddd im in summerschool. 9-12 tuesday-friday. which sucks. But i just have to finish up two classes. and then i dont have to go anymore. since its all done on computers, i can work through it at my own pace, which isnt too slow. (: haha.

so yeahhh. just a random filler update and rant about self esteem.  i have no life this summer other than volunteering summer school and drs.. so if im not at the pool i'll probably be updating here (: so yup.

peace<3