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Hello everyone!
I've just joined the group, and I'm thrilled to find some folks in a similar situation to mine.
Hm. First, I suppose, a bit about myself. :)
I'm 38 years old (don't look it though. In fact, in Wal-Mart the other day, a woman mistook me for a teenager! Haven't been that flattered in years! *LOL* Usually people peg me in my 20's someplace!), and ... don't do a whole lot of anything at the moment. I've been "confined" to a wheelchair for just over 20 years now, since I was 18, and two years ago last February was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lympoma (aka Hodgkin's Disease). I was at Stage IV, type A (asymptomatic other than ever growing fatigue), and was actually diagnosed by accident! I was in the hospital for something else entirely, what, I don't remember, when they did a CT scan of my bowel to see if I had a blockage. I did have a partial blockage, but they also found a 10 centimeter lymph node in my left groin!! Normal ones are no bigger than 1 cm! Thus began the rounds of testing to figure out my stage, and if I'd metastasized (only to my bone marrow. I was incredibly lucky! If it e had jumped to my liver and spleen, it would have been so much worse!!), and all of that. Then... Chemo began. And wasn't that just fun? *LOL*
Actually, it wasn't that big a deal for me. I wasn't terribly nauseous (very likely due to the very good meds they had me on), and I "only" lost about half my hair. Evenly, all over, so I ended up with really thin, dry, brittle hair. It's since grown back to being nice and full, but still isn't very long. Just past my ears, so it's just now getting long enough to have a little fun with. I got some Flame Red demi-permanent hair color at Hot Topic (am I allowed to use store names? I'm not advertising, just saying where I got it!) hoping to turn my dark blond/light brown hair scarlet. *laughs* Nope! I got a very natural looking auburn! I used to pay over $40 to get my hair this color professionally!! When I got it dry, I just had to laugh. I wasn't too happy at first because it wasn't what I wanted... but it's okay!! Next time I'll bleach it first with the preparation product they carry. I figure as long as I look under 30, I may as well have fun, so I go around in black nail polish, and dress like an early 20-something. *giggle* Why not? I call my look "Celtic-Goth." *grin* I have fun with it, and that's what matters, right?
I've officially been in remission for a year last November. 
I just had a CT scan last week, and will see my Oncologist on the 16th for results, but I feel too good to be out of remission. I have energy now! It's really nice. *grin*
Anyway, I think what matters most in my life at this very moment is the combination of quitting smoking (If I do stop losing weight, or even gain a bit in the first month or so, I think I'm okay with that, as long as it's a short term thing.) and staying on my diet.
Because I don't do much of anything (I'm still recovering from being weak from a combination of chemo, recovering from chemo, and then recovering from the bed rest of recovering!) at the moment, my exercise levels are low. So, I try to keep my intake low on the calories, and keep my diet well balanced. Lots of veggies, with fruits next (due to the higher calories in fruit from the fructose), I'm trying to add in the whole grains, but they're so very high in calories compared to some of my other bread choices! Then of course the lean meats cooked in a more healthy matter. Baking (roasting) or broiling as opposed to frying, and not breading things that are fried. That sort of thing. So, if I'm unable to get up in any particular day to exercise, I try and keep my intake right around 1500 calories. If I get to go to the gym, or the mall, or just run errands in the car where I'm transferring in and out (which involves loading and unloading my wheelchair.) of course I have more calories, as I'm burning more.
Would someone be willing to comment on this calorie intake for me? My live-in caregiver is a nutritionist, but not a dietitian. So, I know I'm getting my nutrients (If I don't think I've had enough, I chuck my limit out the window and have an extra bottle of High Protein Boost.). But if a dietitian could help me out with a comment as to how to split things up and remain at a nice balance of calories vs. exercise, I'd be grateful!
At any rate, let's get to the real reason I started writing this post! *LOL* Ever since I've done the quit (the third was my Quit Date. I went through the Washington State Tobacco Quit Line, and they have you set a date, then figure out how to taper off before you get there.)... I've had, probably predictably enough... the munchies! *LOL* I measure out servings of cereal, primarily Cheerios, and Special K (I know, I know, it's not multi-grain, but I love it! *grin*) into baggies 1 cup at a time to nibble on, so that's helpful, but it's also around 100 calories (a bit more) per serving. I also somehow ended up with a resealable bag of Teddy Grahams, which are positively addictive. I sort those into servings (47 cookies) and will indulge in those. 130 calories for some lovely little snack cookies isn't horribly awful, is it? Also, I got some of those 100 calorie packages of popcorn. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm hoping that I'll get a decent sized serving of it.
Obviously, I'm still snacking on my celery, red peppers (sweet, not hot!), partial heads of iceberg lettuce (I never said I was normal. *giggle* I like to take 1/4 to 1/2 a head of lettuce and just eat it. Kind of like an apple!), and sliced apples and oranges. I'm a little low at the moment, since my food stamps don't come until the 9th, but, I'll start stocking up again once I get them. :) I don't really "do" carrots because my teeth aren't in great shape (a few years of depression after my accident... and I can't undo the damage now. I'm hoping that once I get a lower denture, I'll be able to eat them again), so carrots kind of hurt to chew.
Does anyone have any other ideas I might be able to snack on to keep the munchies at bay?
There's also the whole "rewarding myself" thing. I'm not having a cigarette, even though I really WANT one, so... I deserve a small piece of chocolate. Okay, so 11 grams of milk chocolate is only 59 calories... but those add up! *LOL* I've also ended up drinking more soda than my New Year's Resolution "allows" me to. I do have a reason for this... I had my bladder rebuilt and routed out my body wall (about two inches to the right of, and an inch below my belly button) years ago, because I was what I call "terminally incontinent." In other words, there was simply no catheter that would work anymore. I just leaked around it. And now... I'm having problems with my POUCH remaining continent. My pouch ruptured back in September, and, being an idiot, I let them put in a Foley catheter through my previously continent stoma. (the opening in my body wall.) I should have had them do a supra-pubic one. It would have had the same effect, without any damage to the valve in my pouch. I was told to never use a Foley catheter for any length of time... but I was SO sick from the peritonitis and going septic that I didn't think about it until it was far too late. So now, if I drink too much water and coffee and such... it fails during the night, instead of waking me up to drain it, and it's rather unpleasant! *she said, putting it mildly* I'm in the process of trying to track down a surgeon (of course they can't do it HERE, I have to go to Seattle for it.) to HOPEFULLY revise my pouch so that it holds. Since cola doesn't make you "go" as much as water and coffee do (I'm drinking the coffee as a sort of nicotine replacement... it helps. I'm also using lozenges, but I have to be really careful with them, or I get highly agitated, can't hold still, and worst of all, can't THINK in a straight line!), I'm letting myself have 3 cans a day instead of my resolution of no more than two cans daily. I'd rather stay plateaued and DRY while I work on getting this fixed.
I think that I pretty much just sort of babbled in this post. I'm going to read it over and see how it sounds... because I don't want to come across as being a whiner; I just want to let people know what's going on, and why I make some of the choices I'm making. Like more coffee as a nicotine replacement, and more soda to stay dry.
Basically, I could use advice on munchies... and hey, any pats on the back are welcome! I'm sure all of you in the group know just how hard what I'm doing is! Especially both at one time! As in, trying to lose weight, and quitting smoking at the same time!! (I'm not trying to quit smoking. I'm QUITTING, thankyouverymuch! *grin*)
And if you think you might like to be friends, feel free to add me to your list. I only have two so far, and I can use all the friends I can get. :) I hate asking people, "Hey, can I add you?" so I just let them add me, and then add them. *grin*
Everyone take care, and let's all stay strong on our journeys!! None of us have an easy task here... combining both stopping smoking with losing weight is a double whammy!! And I'm proud of each and every one of YOU!!!
*offering hugs all around!*
Shay
