Let's talk bread

I was once a lover of bread.

Crusty Italian bread,
Tender French bread,
Spinach dipping bowls made out of bread,
Warm fresh Ciabatta bread,
Chunks of bread dipped in Italian oils.

In other words if it was made with flour I was in love.

Then I had my surgery.....

A lover of bread I am no more.  

By choice really.  

I know plenty of WLSers who hunt for their perfect loaf that will not cause gas or bloating just to enjoy a slice.  Honestly, that gets expensive.  I've seen loaves of bread that are advertised as carb friendly for as high as $13.00 (no that's not a typo).

If and when I do crave bread now, I eat a bite.  

A bite.  

No more, no less.  

It satisfies my craving and it's enough for me to move on from it.  I hope I'm able to continue this although I know this might not always be true.  I don't crave bread the way I used to, so right now it's not too hard for me.

My family is full of bread lovers, mostly my son.  I find myself scouting out the best and cheapest varieties for him.  His diet is simple, no artificial flavors, colors, preservatives or additives, no MSG or nitrates either.  Because of health and food needs we are a label reading family.  Because of this I ran into something amazing I couldn't help but share.

This has everything we look for in a bread at only $2.00 a loaf!  My favorite part?  Should I want to indulge in a few bites there is only 11.5 net carbs a slice (label reads as a 2 slice serving, minus the fiber), and to top it off the kid loves it!  It also doesn't bother my tummy one bit.  After one slice I have had no gas, no anything.

I couldn't help but share this!  Finding a bread that is easy for our tummies to handle and doesn't push us over the carb limit is so hard.  Just please remember, sometimes my tummy decides to play "made of steel", just because it isn't a bother to me doesn't mean it won't bother you.  This is true for every food and every WLSer in every stage.  We vary in tastes, capacity, and mileage.  

This loaf was given to me from a friend who noticed the carb count and thought I would enjoy it, but I vow that on tomorrows grocery trip I will be hunting this down. 

Arnold Soft Family Honey Wheat (No Artificial Colors, Flavors or High Fructose Corn Syrup)!
(Sorry about the quality of the pictures, I was trying to hurry)

I know the label is hard to read so check out what I grabbed from their site below

List of ingredients from their site Arnold Bakery:

Ingredients: UNBLEACHED ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR [FLOUR, MALTED BARLEY FLOUR, REDUCED IRON, NIACIN, THIAMIN MONONITRATE (VITAMIN B1), RIBOFLAVIN (VITAMIN B2), FOLIC ACID], WATER, WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, YEAST, HONEY, SUGAR, WHEAT GLUTEN,SOYBEAN OIL, SALT, CULTURED WHEAT STARCH, ENRICHMENT (CALCIUM SULFATE, VITAMIN E ACETATE, VITAMIN A PALMITATE, VITAMIN D3), MONO- AND DIGLYCERIDES, DATEM, CITRIC ACID, GRAIN VINEGAR, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SOY LECITHIN.

I gained some and I lost some

I'm almost 10 months post-op.  I've learned a lot in these past few months.  I've also lost a lot.

I've learned that friends come and go but family (blood or bond) will stick with you forever.
I've learned that I know nothing close to what I thought I knew.  Each and every day is a learning experience whether it's about Weight Loss Surgery or life in general.
I've learned to love my body no matter what misshapen form it may take on.  Right now I look like a deflated Macys balloon, but put on some clothes and I look like a million bucks!
I've learned that love knows no bounds.

I've lost a few friends along this journey and I miss them dearly but sticking up for myself and my beliefs are something that is easier to do now.  No matter what the circumstance I have finally learned that it is not ok to be trampled on or under appreciated.

My biggest accomplishment?  I've lost 175lbs!

My hair is finally starting to grow back!  See:

What you can't see is my "new growth" that takes me about half an hour to tame.  But it finally looks a bit fuller :)

Here is my most recent before and after for those keeping track :
Yellow shirt June, 2011 @ 379lbs / Purple shirt April, 2012 @205lbs

Speaking Out

We finally were able to find a decent car at a decent price.  That meant a whole lot of running around and doing errands yesterday. It also meant seeing a lot of people some of which I've never met and some of whom by chance got to see my old ID.  These stories are worth sharing and this was the first place I thought of.

For me speaking out about my weight loss is easy.  I don't think twice about it.  Some of the "vetts" who have had this surgery far longer than I taught me that speaking out and paying it forward is the best thing I can do.  Because of them I've even gone as far as print up full color business cards as my "before" picture for moments just like the ones below.  As soon as I can snap a good picture of them I'll post them on my Facebook Fan Page for you to see.

My first trip yesterday was to the insurance company to give them a copy of the title for my new car so I could head to DMV and get it registered.  I love my insurance company.  They are sweet, always remember who I am and probably the chattiest bunch of kind women I have ever met.  One of them in particular always remembers who I am and it never fails to make me feel special.  She always remembers who I was until yesterday that is.  I haven't seen them since August, and even then I think she had off for the day, so I haven't seen her in probably a year.  Yesterday she had a full conversation with me and had no clue who I was until she heard my name and her jaw dropped to the floor.  I spent the next half hour with some of the women from the insurance company crowded around to hear all about my surgery and I even passed on my "before and during" card.  I don't know that I made a difference with any of them per say but even if in passing they mention it to a friend who contemplates it or what I had to say simply lowered the stigma of WLS in general than I did my job.    Not to mention the flattery that comes along with someone being so shocked to see the new you.  I absolutely love it and I'm finally starting to get used to the compliments.


Next, I stopped by my dads house to grab him so he could keep me company on my all day adventure and while I was there he had an old family friend there who hasn't seen me in ages although has been following my updates on Facebook.  The look on her face when I walked in is what I live for!  I wanted to squeeze her and never let go.  My favorite comment?  "You look like you're already at 150lbs" Bless her heart! Thank you "S" for making my day!

My last and final trip of amazement believe it or not was the Department of Motor Vehicles.  They wanted to confiscate my license because I was over due for a new picture!  This of course led to a whole conversation with the picture ladies who I also ended up passing my card onto.  I love when I leave a place such as a store or office and as I'm leaving, after the conversation of my weightloss is over I still here on the way out "Keep it up girl!" and "Congratulations!".  By the time I made it home last night I was on cloud 9.

My lesson in all of this is, don't be afraid to be open about you're surgery.  You never could imagine the way a few compliments from a stranger or a conversation with an old friend will make you feel but better yet how great it will make them feel.  You don't have to take it to the lengths I have by blogging.  Sometimes just a little info for someone who has never heard of your surgery or met someone with WLS can be the encouragement someone needs to start taking control of their own life.  I wish I would of met someone who had WLS years ago, maybe I wouldn't of waited so long.