| NYC |
[Nov. 25th, 2009|11:40 am] |
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Heading to NYC for Thanksgiving. Whee! |
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| Dream about surgery |
[Nov. 21st, 2009|03:17 pm] |
I guess if you think about something enough, you will dream about it.
I remember that it was right after the surgery, waking up, and feeling drifty. Then one of my friends from Boston (Linds) came by and we took a very slow walk around wherever it was that I was. I felt weird pulling feelings in my stomach, but not pain. Such a vague dream.
I'm starting to freak out about all the stuff I need to get, and how little time I have to get it in. If I'm going to stores by bike, it's one store per day, and I've got about 4 free evenings left in Boston. I need friend with car to take me shopping! I hate having such a small wardrobe, too. I have one pair of PJ pants, I really would like a few more. Also would like some non-jeans pants, and if I see something loose and comfy-looking, that too. |
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| Today... |
[Nov. 18th, 2009|11:21 pm] |
Today I made an appointment for the Brazilian wax.
And I ran about 8 miles. Woo, River street bridge. 1:40
I was getting some ankle pain in my right ankle that started at mile 4ish and persisted til mile 7ish, when my legs and calves just started to make a chorus of "are we there yet?" Towards the end I was uncoordinated and clumsy, tripped, and caught myself before I fell.
It was pretty cold out, maybe 45F when I started, but I was pretty warm until near the end. By the end I couldn't really feel my hands, and I'm sure my handwriting would have looked really awful if I tried to write. I went to the gym, sipped some water, weighed myself, and then headed into the sauna to warm up. Upon getting home, I ate some popcorn (salt, I know I lost a lot of it through sweating) and slowly drank water. No chugging 20 ounces this time, and I didn't feel nauseous.
I remember stopping at a water fountain and finding that the water had been turned off for the winter. =(! The water belt, I want it! I don't know if I'll be a M or an L after surgery though.
Right now, 4 hours after run, I feel good from the waist up, and somewhat sore in the calves, and a little in the thighs. I need to stretch more, and then get lots of sleep.
I think my next goal is the Western Ave bridge. I wonder if I'll be able to get in another long run before surgery? I hope I can run the day after the Brazilian. |
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| I have before pictures! |
[Nov. 16th, 2009|11:47 pm] |
They are totally uncensored! Woo, my privates are now public! I might want to make some censored ones to share with more people. If you want to see these nakey ones, ask me and I might share the password. (The obvious warnings of NSFW and omg dangly skin and stretch marks apply.)
I have a long post for 100pounds2lose that I'm planning to write about how I came to the point where I am now. A post, and hopefully followed by lots of followup posts, that I love seeing when other people do this.
I spent some time updating my profile and making a ticker on the makemeheal site. Yay for community!
I'm going to ask someone to take nicer (in focus) before pics before the surgery, but for these I wanted to capture the lines the surgeon drew on me.
I'm really glad that I'm not getting the muscle tightening part of the abdominoplasty. I haven't had kids or done anything to really stretch the muscles out, and my surgeon agrees that it will look great with just skin removal. The abdominal sutures are really what make the recovery very unpleasant. He says that I'll be able to jog in 4 weeks, and to walk a mileish in 1.5 to 2 weeks. In a binder for 6 weeks, still not sure whether to buy a spiffy binder or use the one that they give. I got my scripts for a wide variety of tasty pills. I hope they do their jobs well! |
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| Longest Run Evar! |
[Nov. 8th, 2009|09:11 pm] |
I've had a lot of those recently. Today's triumph was about 6.75 miles (I was hoping for 7, but map says not quite.) http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=3309353 in 1:30ish
Until today, I've never felt like throwing up after a run. I came in, drank a big cup of ice water and ate some easy carbs, and then took a shower. The shower ended early due to queasiness, and I spent time perched on the sink pondering whether barfing would happen. (It didn't.) I felt queasy for about half an hour, lay on the couch with book until I felt better. Then hungry, for easy to digest carbs. Once I got to the kitchen, I determined that perogies and pork and lentils would be just fine, and they were. Ice cream with sprinkles for dessert, ah, I love running! I feel pretty good now, about 3 hours after getting in. Probably will be a bit sore to stand up. I need to remember to stretch.
Last week I did 6.3 miles, and was so proud.
I didn't feel too bad, except for a bit in my left thigh.
Week before it was 6.1ish.
I had quite the calf cramp/pain after that one. |
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| Awesome website! |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|12:06 pm] |
www.tuckthattummy.com
There are so many useful pages on there with information from someone who has had it done. I am SO GLAD to know that it's normal to feel a bit hesitant about the surgery, and reading the articles about the potential for depression and all that was very helpful. Knowing that it's normal to be nervous is good.
I am so lucky to have Nick and Jeff coming to take care of me.
I can't imagine that I will be going through the things described on the webpages I've read... http://www.tuckthattummy.com/abdominoplasty_surgery.htm |
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| 5 weeks til surgery |
[Nov. 3rd, 2009|09:58 am] |
Eek!
It is constantly on the mind, wondering what the end result will look like, wondering if it'll look good. Worrying about what if things go wrong or don't heal right, or if it looks lopsided or if I'm left with some awkward and unnatural muffin top or something that looks worse than what I have now. Worried about the pain, I just can't conceive of what it will feel like, and I can't believe that I'm doing it. I can't imagine how I'll be able to sit in a chair and sleep in a chair for a long time. I can't believe that I'm doing this. I look at my arm skin and boobs and thighs and think that I should get those done too, to get at least one more thing done while I'm paying hospital fees and dealing with pain and all that. Part of me wants to back out, part of me is really excited to have a stomach without extra skin. Part of me thinks I'm still way too fat to be having the surgery and that I should be starving myself until surgery day so I could lose some more pounds. Another part of me is disappointed that I'm not losing more weight, even though I'm trying. (But I'm eating too much to lose weight, and that frustrates me.) Part of me wants to run every day, run lots and lots, and another part of me wants to sleep. I've been making an effort to get better sleep, and a full 8 hours a night, and it's been paying off. I've also been taking multivitamins with iron, and that's making me feel a lot better and more energetic. I think that I was having vitamin deficiency issues before.
There's a lot of stuff that I need to do before surgery. I've planned my BCP so that I will go off them the week before surgery, and should have 3ish weeks of period free time after the surgery, so I'll definitely be able to bathe then. I'm working on getting a hand held shower head so that I can sneak a shower in early. I plan on getting a brazilian wax so that I don't have to deal with shaved pubic hair. I plan on braiding my hair so brushing out 2 feet of frizz won't happen. Fortunately, my hair can go for 2 weeks easy without being washed or looking/feeling dirty, so I'm good on the hair front. Woo, dry curly hair! I need to make and freeze perogies for Jeff to eat while he's here. I need to get meats for the freezer so we can have food to eat. Feeding 3 people for 2 weeks is more food than I'm used to having. I need to write out my will and health care proxy. I need to switch comfychairs because mine is not ideal and Mike's is. I am considering going to see a chiropractor for my lower back pain before surgery. I need to duplicate my house key so Nick can have a copy. |
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| On Americans and indifference |
[Oct. 20th, 2009|01:52 pm] |
I was watching TV at the gym last night, and ugh, I haven't missed TV one bit.
Since it was near dinner time, all the advertisements were for fast food and cheap greasy restaurant food. "Only 9.99" "Get this cheap fast burger for dinner RIGHT NOW." "Put this pre-made meal into your oven and dinner will be as good as restaurant food." "Eat oatmeal, it's healthy and it comes in convenient instant single serving pouches!" "Feed your kids fruit loops, now it has FIBER!"
Anyone see the movie Wall-E? In the movie, humans of the future took the advice of advertisers and big corporate America to heart, and were totally helpless to the pulls of advertising. They had forgotten how to do everything for themselves.
I feel like America is heading in that direction, and it makes me sad. So few people know how to cook these days! I go to a "potluck" and people bring either processed foods, or food made by someone else. I look at my classmates, and see them buying $8 lunches, $3 coffees... what happened to the art of cooking? Am I so rare in that I cook everything that I eat? 50 years ago that wouldn't be rare at all, but with the pressure of advertising and the "busy modern life" we are moving away from self-sufficiency towards learned helplessness.
Get into the kitchen and fight back! |
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| Thoughts on surgery, more details |
[Sep. 29th, 2009|02:19 pm] |
(can you tell that I haven't had a computer in a while... so much to say!)
So my abdominoplasty is scheduled for December 7th. I had a chat with the surgeon two weeks ago. We decided that if we can get away with it, leaving the abdominal muscles alone will be great. I decided to just go for the abdomen now, and maybe later do arms/legs/back. There is the most loose skin on the abdomen, and that's what bugs me the most. If the arms and legs become a huge problem, they can get fixed at the end of med school.
Jeff and Nick are geared up to come to Boston, Jeff for a month or two, Nick for two weeks. They've talked on the phone together, I think they will get along decently. We've established that Nick knows more about the situation, and will be in charge. Jeff knows me and Boston better. I think spending 2 weeks off with those guys will actually be entertaining, other than the huge healing incision part. Good company makes everything better.
I realized that it's going to be Chanuka while I have company, so I must make sure we have supplies for dreidel, and hopefully nifty gifts for my caretakers.
My mom also wants to come to Boston, and I am working very hard to discourage her. She is very stressed out and worried about the surgery. I'm trying not to be, and I know that she will make it worse. She will hear the latest news, regardless of where she is, from the guys. (I like knowing that they'll be keeping each-other company while I'm in surgery. It would suck to have to wait that much alone.)
I'm working on a list of things to do before the surgery... I'll add to this when I think of things
-Brazilian wax
-Braid hair into lots of little braids
-Buy more soft loose clothing
-Make and freeze perogies for Jeff
-Stock house with food
-Write health care proxy
-Write will
-Clean house
I'm kinda starting to worry about clothing after surgery. I have no idea how much smaller I'm going to be, and whether that will change my clothing size. I know my waist is 1-2 sizes larger than the rest of my body, which means that I could maybe fit into size 10-12 after surgery. I imagine that after the surgery there will be a trip to get me some new pants... I suspect that it will take more than a month for me to feel comfortable with a waistband. And also, a trip to sexy lingerie store, oh, I can't wait! I will get black, lacy, and low cut! And a bikini. I am so excited about the idea of wearing a bikini.
I've also been thinking about body shape, in relation to surgery. I looked at several before and after pictures of surgery done by my surgeon. The ones that I liked most preserved the natural waist-hip curve... and the one I really disliked seemed to have added two waists. Eeps. The smoothness of the shape matters most to me here. I'm really excited, because he says that he'll be able to take off skin and some of the fat that I just haven't been able to lose, and do some liposuction in places that he won't be removing skin. |
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| Tag-team seduction! |
[Sep. 29th, 2009|02:09 pm] |
(also posted to ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) leafy_seduction )
Basil is OK. Eggplant is OK. Then I tried thai basil, sauteed with asian eggplant, and wow, tasty!
There are several types of eggplant. When we think about eggplant, we picture large pear-shaped purple veggies. There are, however, several different varieties, and I do believe that the standard purple one that we find most often in the grocery store is the least tasty. I obtained some asian eggplants from the farm, and decided to try and replicate the spicy eggplant with basil dish that I have ordered at Taiwan Cafe. The farm also just happened to also have an abundance of thai basil. Coincidence? Or conspiracy?
 
Eggplant is a very low calorie food. It does lose a lot of volume when cooked, so 1 cup pieces cooks down to maybe half a cup.
For 1 cup uncooked pieces, it has 20 calories and 2 grams of fiber. It has less than 5% of all the big vitamins/minerals.
The following recipe has been modified from ThaiTable.com. It's a great site, and it has made my cooking much tastier since I started reading!
1 tablespoon vegetable oil (canola or even toasted sesame) hot peppers to taste 4 cloves garlic, chopped 4 oriental eggplants or a bunch of fairy tale eggplants cut into irregular pieces 1/2 cup white wine 3/4 cup water 2 tablespoons fish sauce 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey thai basil leaves to taste (1/2-1 cup), coarsely chopped if needed Sautee garlic and hot peppers in oil over high or medium high heat. Stir until the garlic is golden. Add egglplant and stir. Add the water and wine, cover and sautee until eggplant is translucent (5-10 minutes). You might need to add more water if the eggplant isn't done and the water is gone. Add fish sauce, soy sauce, and sweetener. Stir. Turn off heat. Add basil, stir. I have added sliced bell peppers to this, also, very tasty!
Mmm, I love being seduced! Have you been seduced recently? Don't be afraid to post here if you have with the culprit and a recipe!
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| So busy! |
[Sep. 19th, 2009|12:27 pm] |
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List! -Spent a week doing my clinical refresher in the hospital, awesome. Learned lots, saw lots of patients, got a feel for what 3rd year of med school will be like. 6:30AM-5:30PM, every day, with call days 6:30-9+PM with one day off a week. Living as much as I can now because come July I will be too busy to do anything.
-Scheduled my abdominoplasty for December 7. Planning lots of social stuff before that.
-My laptop died on 9/8/09 (IE how I get online during the day when I have free time). No computer + not at the lab = not much posting or replying. I've ordered a new laptop, it is coming sometime at the end of next week or beginning of the week after. It comes without an operating system, so I have to spend quite a bit of time getting it running.
-Running Komen next weekend. Glorious running weather, I can't wait for my next run. Clear crisp fall days are the best! |
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| I'm doing science and I'm still alive... |
[Aug. 11th, 2009|03:43 pm] |
Life has been busy, I've been doing the usual with a bit more food and a bit less exercise than normal, and I'm noticing my weight has gone up maybe a pound or two. It is good to know how much I can get away with when maintaining, because I notice that I eat a little more at parties or a little more for dinner, or add a little extra chocolate to my dessert and think that I can get away with it. I see it, it's insidious, that portion distortion.
And also since when did I have a life? I've had fun things to do every night for the past few weeks. Obviously, if I'm going to continue having a life, I will have to run in the morning, or apologize to everyone and run before meeting up with them. (It's also hot and rainy, which dampens my desire to go out. Give me cool crisp sparkly days, and I will ditch plans to run.) On the plus side, I've been doing 100 situps almost every night, and of course cycling half an hour every day for my commute. I don't really think about that as exercise anymore though.
On the culinary front, it's squash and green beans ad infinitum. Steamed, mostly, but I've been getting tired of that. Tried them sauteed in long thin slices with green beans and carrots in a lemony peppery chivey sauce, and it was delicious. Made zucchini bread, but that doesn't count as "healthy". Even gave one away! I leave for Canada on Friday, and I have 8 squashes and 5 cucumbers to eat. I think some might end up getting grated and frozen.
And Canada! I'm going to Canada for 2 weeks. I won't be online, as I'll be spending much of my time at Jeff's cabin in the middle of nowhere with little electricity, and barely phone. Wild blueberries, curious foxes, and time to enjoy the glorious great outdoors. =) I can't wait! Leaving on Friday. =D |
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| For SCIENCE!!! |
[Jul. 30th, 2009|10:20 pm] |
Hey everyone, one of my former colleagues has a really awesome project that is in a contest to win 10K. The project is a lab-in-a-bus that brings the wonders of science and research to inner city kids. I've seen this project grow from a crazy idea to reality, and it would be so cool if we could help him get funded.
Here's a link to the contest:
http://www.ideablob.com/ideas/5658-BioBus-Moving-Science-Educatio
You have to register to vote, but you can give an e-mail that you don't care about, and it'll be happy.
The contest ends tomorrow, and he needs more than 400 votes to win! If we work together, we can make a difference. =) |
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| New Charles River Run Results |
[Jun. 28th, 2009|06:13 pm] |
I ran today, even though I still am not 100% better. It was a hard run for me, it was cool but very humid and I was sweaty. I was also coughing and my heart rate was way up. I wore the monitor and was up around 185 when I was running the last half of the race. I had to stop and walk, maybe walked 3-5 minutes.
This year:
600 177/207 F1829 38:23 36:52 28 F 2193 Boston
Last year:
484 141/191 F1829 34:35 11:08 Jane Rosen 27 F 1724 Boston MA (and that was a gun start, chip finish, so it's high)
Certainly no PR, but I finished the race and given that I've been sick for about a month and this is my first run in a while, I'm happy. I want my lungs back at 100%!!! If I didn't walk, I might have finished about the same as last year. This means that I'm a faster runner, and that I'll be able to do better in the future when I'm healthy.
It's good to know that I can run even though I don't feel perfect. I needed to prove that to myself, I think. I think I'm well enough to get back to running most nights. =) Enjoy the long summer evenings while they last!
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| Michael Pollan |
[Jun. 24th, 2009|02:27 pm] |
Bought In Defense of Food and Omnivore's Dilemma in addition to a certain new VNV nation album.
Everything I've read so far is very true, and I'm so happy that for the most part I don't eat the "western" diet.
There is so much of the supermarket that I avoid... having Jeff here and buying him food is interesting because I get to see some parts of the store that I have never been to. So many things in boxes, amazing how I don't mind living without them.
I cooked greens tastily last night, in peanut sauce with garlic scapes. There was napa cabbage, kale, chard, and tatsoi. They were big, now they are small and happily sitting in 1/4 of their volume in the fridge. I like how the cabbage adds a lighter green and crunch to even the most overcooked of leafies. I justify the overcookage because I put in cous cous to soak up some liquid and it cooked until that was hydrated.
I'm ready for the next round of farm share! I love having so many GOOD greens and promise of more every week... it's a challenge to finish the whole share and not waste any!
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| nooo race today for meee |
[Jun. 18th, 2009|06:59 pm] |
Because I got sick again, and running 5.2 miles wouldn't be so good. *sigh* That's two races I couldn't run that I was registered for. =(
I showed Jeff my lovely old coat that I adored in college, my first adult coat. We got it in Paris in 1998 or 1999 and I wore it and loved it for years. We tried it on, and it fit us perfectly!
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