Stop Throwing Rocks at Me!

I have a kidney stone. Booooo. A 3mm stone has been stuck in my ureter for a couple weeks now and doesn't seem to want to come out! 3mm's isn't THAT big but unfortunately it's stuck on scar tissue. Bottom line- I'm having a basket extraction surgery today to have it removed. Now you're probably wondering how I'm able to sit here and write a blog post when I have a kidney stone! Well let's back up 14 years... I got my first kidney stone when I was 12 years old. Fun, I know! The doctors wouldn't give me pain meds for hours because they didn't even consider a stone because of my age. They were sure it had to be my appendix. Of course, it was a stone, and several test/hours later they finally figured it out. Anyway, since then I've had probably over 400 stones (hence the scar tissue). Most of them pass, but a couple times I've had to have them removed either by extraction or lithotripsy. So basically I'm just used to it now...which is kinda sad, but what can ya do! The stones I get are calcium oxalate. I'm supposed to be on a low oxalate, 3 L water, no caffeine diet. The low oxalate thing is something the urologist recently told me,so I obviously haven't seen if it has produced any positive results yet.

Have you guys ever had a kidney stone before or have friends or family that have? Are you on any type of special diet and does it work???

Rising Food Costs

I read this article on yahoo this morning titled, 4 Rising Food Costs That Will Hurt Your Wallet. Basically it was about the increased cost of wheat and corn; and we all know everything is made with wheat...and corn, hence the rising food costs. They say the increased costs of these 4 items will be the most obvious:

1. Cereals, Breads and Pasta Products
2. Sweets
3. Beef, Pork and Chicken
4. Cat and Dog Food

Their solution?

"You might not be able to do anything directly about rising grain prices, but you can shop smarter. Look for loss leader sales on those groceries that you purchase regularly. Make more of your own food directly from raw ingredients, such as cookies and rolls. Pet food can be stored for six months to a year so stock up when you can find a good price. Paying more attention to prices in the grocery store will help you stretch your food budget the farthest."


Blah- here is my solution

How about stop eating all that crap you don't need anyway. ;) We would all continue to live just fine, if not a lot better, without wheat and corn. Now, with all that money you're saving you can buy grass fed meat. And for the love of God- stop feeding your animals ground wheat flour, corn, and soybean meal.

1,690 calories of nasty

I'm not even sure where these ideas come from. It's almost as if they have people sitting in a cubicle somewhere going..."ok, so there is an obesity epidemic, how can we contribute?"

Mac n' Cheese Big Daddy Patty Melt: A burger patty layered with slices of cheese, macaroni and cheese, another layer of cheese, some kind of tomato-based "frisco" sauce and two pieces of buttered-up potato bread. Still hungry? It comes with a side of fries.

This sandwich is basically breakfast, lunch, and dinner all piled on top of each other. Maybe you can get it for breakfast and take small bites of it throughout the day....or not.

I took this quote from the yahoo article:
Denny's joined Burger King and more than a dozen chains on a health initiative recently, offering more veggie and fruit options for kids. Adults? They can go to you know where...by way of the cheese menu. Direct quote from the company's press release: “With America consuming around 8.8 billion pounds of cheese annually, Denny’s is answering to the appetites of the nation by introducing a dedicated menu that celebrates all things cheesy." Other items on their new cheese menu include a strawberry cheesecake milkshake and a cheese-filled omelette drizzled in cheese sauce.

Gross.

I'm an RD!!!!!!!!!

OOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I passed my boards today and am officially a Registered Dietitian!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This is the best day of my LIIIIIIFFFFFEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

LIFE- something I will now have back! Thankyouverymuch

Starting a New Life

I've decided to make the biggest change I have ever made in my entire life, (besides marriage..possibly...but maybe not!) I don't want to say what it is yet, but I am so excited I can hardly contain myself. Also, really nervous. I can't wait to share with everyone once I know where it's going to take me! Nutrition is my passion and my life and I'm going to get everything out of it that I can!

Have you ever made a life-altering change that turned your world upside down, for the better?

I'm a (dedicated) slacker

So I've been extremely MIA recently. I just realized I haven't even posted on my blog since August first. AND I missed WIAW last week which I never do. :( But I do have good reason. I've been studying like a crazy woman for the RD exam. I basically get up at 6, work from 8-5, get home 5:30ish, have dinner with the hubby around 6, then study until 11. This has been my life everyday for the past month. Hopefully it will all be over soon and I can have a life again (blog and otherwise) :) I'll try my very hardest to post something semi-interesting tomorrow ;)

New Approach To Weight Loss?

I don't know what it is about parents these days, but they ALL seem to think their baby has reflux. And not just reflux, GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). Babies spit up, that's what they do..well that and eat and poop.

This mom tried to tell me her 2 1/2 month old 17 POUND BABY, wholy crap, has reflux. Uhhh.. if your 2 1/2 month old baby has tripled it's birth weight, pretty sure he's keeping something down. Then she actually says to me, "I think he weighs too much, maybe I should start giving him food since he is so hungry."

 I can't fathom how this woman went from my baby is fat to I should feed him more... Maybe I've had this weight loss thing wrong all along and what I really need to do is just eat some extra ding dongs...

*Just to clarify, I do not advocate weight loss for babies, nor have I ever eaten a ding dong