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Archive of ‘Personal’ category

Veggie Trial 1, NYC Blogger Meetup, Subway Rant and Maternity Pants

I am trying a few vegetables, per my nutritionist. Each vegetable has a 3 day trial period, where I eat the same one for 3 days and see how I feel. After the 3 days is up, I can move on to the next vegetable on the list. The trickiest part is that I am not a cook and am clueless when it comes to cooking vegetables, particularly in the soft way the nutritionist wants. I started with sweet potato for a few reasons:

1. I LOVE them. Love love love.
2. I know how to cook them. More on this soon.
3. I can easily make it at work.

Okay, so that being said, I will tell you a little about my 3 days of sweet potato.

On day 1, I wasn’t very hungry and decided to have just half a sweet potato. I put it in the microwave as I always do, but set it for half the time since it wasn’t an entire sweet potato. Well after the 5 minutes, I go in to get in and the ENTIRE KITCHEN is filled with smoke. It starts spreading to the whole apartment and we are freaking out, trying to get the smoke away so the sprinklers don’t start going off! As you might have heard, Tracy Morgan’s apartment had a fire and the sprinklers turned on and ruined everything he owns. Well, the boy lives there too so we did NOT want this to happen. We frantically opened all the windows and the door. The neighbors complained and sent employees from the building to his apartment to see if there was a fire. There was SO much smoke — all from 5 minutes of microwaving a sweet potato!

I am now banned from using his microwave.

On day 1 postponed, I used Carrots ‘N’ Cake’s sweet potato fries recipe. The boy and I both love sweet potato fries, and these were incredible! I highly recommend everyone makes this on their own. It was very easy and so delicious. Because we shared them, I ate a pretty small amount and I think I felt fine.

Note: I also ate a meal with this that included cheese.

On day 2, I microwaved a sweet potato at work for lunch. I added some ricotta and applesauce and it was very delicious. And then the bloat began. And then I unbuttoned my pants. And then I unzipped my pants. I couldn’t close them back up and had to remain like this, and go home like this at the end of the day. Now, this wasn’t the worst I have been.  There have been a few occasions where I had to leave work, go to a store, and buy new clothes just to get me through the rest of the day. I have spent quite a bit of money this way, and it stresses me out to no end. I began to buy and wear pants to work that are a few sizes too big for me so they would fit my stomach. However, I look absolutely ridiculous on my legs and butt. I look like I am in clown pants — yet they are the only pants that fit my bloated belly

So after eating the sweet potato and feeling uncomfortable, I reached what I believe to be an all-time low. I ordered maternity pants from the internet.

This way, the stomach part will stretch while the rest of the pants will hopefully fit well.

It is hard for me to separate the idea of fat from the idea of bloat. My bloating  and other associated problems are messing with my head — which brings me to my question for you. As I mentioned, I met with the psychologist at my GI’s office. I am strongly considering a hypnosis program she does, designed especially for GI problems (particularly IBS which I don’t  have, but it is the same idea). I spoke to my doctor about it and he said it won’t help my symptoms, but it could be good for my mental health if I am particularly struggling with my situation. It is a 14 week program, with 7 sessions. I will go every other week for a session.

Because the doctor is out of network, there will be a cost to this. It won’t be full price because I do have some out of network coverage. My amazing mommy has offered to assist with this, as she just wants me to feel better! I am just debating with myself now on if it is worth it. I don’t want my mom to use her own money for something that I am not sure will do much, that will take up a bit of my time from work and won’t help my core symptoms.

But maybe it will be a great thing for me. Maybe it will help me get into a better mindset so that I will not be terrified of getting dressed in the morning, won’t decline invitations to events because the thought of getting dressed and being around food causes extreme anxiety, won’t feel gross and giant and hate myself all the time, won’t get stressed out about doing normal everyday activities.

Please comment with your thoughts on this. I’d love to hear what you think and will take everything under consideration.

On day 3 I made the sweet potato in the boy’s oven. It was frustrating because the microwave takes 10 minutes, and the same thing in the oven takes 45-60! But I am not allowed to use the microwave anymore! So I made the sweet potato and when it was ready mixed in some Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread and ricotta cheese. It was delicious, I devoured it. Then I felt awful.

Really, really awful. Like I had a brick in my stomach. I had to get up from the couch where we were watching TV and go lie down. It was an extremely unpleasant sensation, and after 2 unsuccessful attempts I think it is safe to say I cannot eat sweet potatoes. At least not whole ones – I think I might be okay if I eat half, which will be a future test.

Sweet potatoes

Here is the list of the foods the nutritionist gave me to try:

Vegetables
Sweet potato
Winter Squash: acorn and butternut
Zucchini/ Summer squash
String beans
Carrots
Beets
Asparagus tips

Fruits
Canned peaches, in fruit juice not syrup
Canned pears, in fruit juice not syrup
Mandarin oranges
Applesauce – all natural, no added sugar

Please comment with any suggestions on how to cook the above vegetables! Keep in mind they need to be cooked soft for my condition.

NYC Anger
I have a lot of anger and aggression when it comes to traveling in New York City, be it walking or subway travel. The other day I experienced something in the subway that has happened to me many times before, and it makes me SO angry.

I have an unlimited ride monthly metro card. This means I pay $81 every month and can get into the subway for the entire month. I pay for it ahead of time.

So the other day I swipe my card and the machine doesn’t let me in and the screen reads SWIPE AGAIN. Okay, no big deal, I swipe again. I still can’t get in and this time the screen reads JUST USED.

Just used?? JUST USED??! I TRIED to use it, and you said to SWIPE AGAIN! Obviously it wasn’t JUST USED or you wouldn’t have told me to swipe again! (Sometimes the message is SWIPE AGAIN AT THIS TURNSTILE).

This means I can’t use it to get on the subway now. It means I have to buy another one.

If this was a one time thing, I wouldn’t think much of it. But, it happens ALL THE TIME. And when it happens, the only way to get in to the subway is to buy a new MetroCard. Actually PURCHASE one when I already spent a lot of money for the entire month! Why should I have to give them more money when I already paid!

I have a theory, crazy as it sounds, that MTA has this in place on purpose, as a way of getting a little more money out of customers. I know it sounds ridiculous and you think it’s just a glitch — but it happens often enough that if it IS a glitch, it should have been fixed by now. It makes me really angry, and I just have a hard time believing it. Sometimes I get the SWIPE AGAIN message and then I get in fine with my next swipe. I believe that happens sometimes, no big deal. But when the machine says SWIPE AGAIN and then says JUST USED — well, I don’t believe it’s a mistake. I really don’t.

That is my New York City rant for the day.

NYC Blogger Meetup
Speaking of New York City, I am VERY excited about the blogger meetup being hosted by FitnessNYC. I’m really looking forward to March 14 to meet some very wonderful girls, including Sara from EatFabInNYC and Brynith of my new blog obsession, BEE Lifestyle.

NY bloggers who read this and are attending the March 14 meetup, please comment and introduce yourselves to me! I’d love to catch up on your blogs before we meet.

Why I can’t see House, my Nutritionist visit and the Baby-Sitters Club

As much as I’d like a visit to Dr. House, as I truly believe him to be the only person who could get to the bottom of what is wrong with me, there is one major reason I would not be eligible to see him — aside  from the fact that he is not real and there doesn’t seem to be a real diagnostician specialty.

My problem is only in one area.
If you’re going to see House, it is fine if your problem begins with one main symptom. However, a requirement of remaining his patient is that two or more of the following must happen IN ADDITION to your main cause of complaint:

 – Liver failure
 – Kidney failure
 – Heart failure
 - Other failure,  believed to be a result of a Sexually Transmitted Disease
 – Vomiting blood (preferably over the side of the bed)
 – Dark, itchy rash of which there is no relief aside from tearing your own skin off
 – Family member in attendance with something to hide
 – Suspicious turkey sandwich in home refrigerator

and, thanks to Danielle, who pointed out an important one I forgot:

– One of of the above symptoms MUST occur while you are in the MRI while 2 doctors discuss something completely unrelated to your case and then cause them to run in, look at you, and then stare at each other

And of course, the above must occur only once you already under his care.

And while I have possibly have a bit of a medical mystery, I have none of the required additional problems from this list. I will have none of the problems from this list. I don’t even like turkey sandwiches.

House

The Nutritionist
I am so happy I went to see her. She was very helpful — and specializes in GI problems. When I used to go to my old doctor with concerns about whether I was getting adequate nutrition, he would say “You’re fine, all you need is a multivitamin.” When I went to the nutritionist today, she said “You CANNOT go on eating like this! And you’d need at least 3 multivitamins to even come close to catching up.” So glad I did this. So we are on a little trial and error program. Even though I can’t eat most vegetables, I am going to start with some that might not bother me as much as the others. I will continue to eat one vegetable for 3 days, keep a chart of how I am feeling, and then move on to the next for 3 days, and so on through the list. I am also going to try applesauce (no added sugar) and canned fruit (in its own juice) as well as Mandarin oranges.

She and my doctor prescribed an enzyme that I will take before every meal. She also recommended trying Lactaid before I eat dairy, because even though dairy doesn’t bother me, it might be worth a try.

She also had me speak to the psychologist there. I liked this because she specializes in GI disorders. We talked about how my problems have affected my life and she told me about two programs she does and how she thinks they will be beneficial to me. They sound wonderful, but unfortunately she does not take my insurance. She said that I could see her and then submit a claim to my insurance and they might pay half, but this is something I would have to really think about because I am not in the ideal financial situation right now, working at a big bank and not having much stability at this time.

She did give me the information of the psychologist who created one of the programs she uses — he is with the UNC Center for Functional GI & Motility Disorders — and told me I can check his website for a provider that might take my insurance. I checked. None do. It is true that these problems have taken a life of their own and get in the way of my daily life constantly. I would love to get a better handle on this and manage this all better. She did tell me that writing is a great way to help!

The Baby-Sitters Club
I thought Claudia and Stacey were REALLY cool. I admired their sense of style, particularly Claudia who wore outfits not unlike this:

ballet slippers
one hot pink scrunchy sock over a hot orange one on right foot, reversed order on her left
floral paisley leggins
oversized men’s white dress shirt
high ponytail on left side of head with hot pink and orange scrunchies, to match the socks of course
one large black triangle earring in right ear
small silver stud in left ear

Now girls, tell me this isn’t the coolest outfit you have ever heard about. The thing was, we really did think it was at the time. Although I must admit I wanted to be like Stacey more. I even thought her diabetes was cool. Claudia was dumb. She  couldn’t spell a single word. It’s one thing not to be bright in school, not everyone is, but now when I look back on Claudia’s writing and spelling it is clear her problem went way beyond that. She couldn’t spell “how” correctly twice in the same paragraph. I remember laughing when she wrote “Who are you” when she obviously meant “how are you” in a letter to one of the other baby-sitters, but in the same letter she spelled it correctly. She couldn’t handle basic first grade words when she was supposed to be in eighth grade. Not good. Stacey, on the other hand, had REALLY cool handwriting. I also loved Mary Anne’s handwriting, and based my own script on hers.

I also joined the official fan club and still use the stationary they gave me. My roommate thought it was hilarious the first time I put up a note to the mailman on our building’s front door using it.

Baby Sitters Club

I also was enthralled with the secret passage in Dawn and Mary Anne’s house. I thought that was insanely cool and on many occassions would tap the walls in my apartment trying to find my own secret passageway. To a barn. In Queens.

Maybe I wasn’t much brighter than Claudia after all.

Which baby sitter did you want to be?

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