About Moi

About Moi
My Name is Brittany, and I'm 23yrs old. I was diagnosed with Lupus when I was 15, and then diagnosed with RA, when I was 18. I also got married when I was 18, and I'm enjoying my happily ever after with my hubby! When I got married, I was slim and trim...But not for long. After getting married, I started to gain a LOT of weight! In 1yr, I gained 50lbs! Finally, I went to the Doctor, where I discovered I have low thyroid. After being put on medicine, my weight gain slowed down, although over the next 3yrs, I gained an additional 26lbs. When I was 20yrs old, I got yet another diagnoses of Poly Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. That's 4 diagnoses in a 5yr period, if you lost count. They all effect my weight, in one way or another. Add on top of that, my love affair with food, and every 1 of those 76lbs gained was accounted for. Being 76lbs over weight is unhealthy for anyone, but it was especially unhealthy for me, and my health issues. Since starting this blog, in Jan-2010, I have lost 40lbs! I'm a new, slimmer, and healthier me! Before losing weight, I was told I needed knee replacements. Losing weight was the ONLY tool I had to help me hold off on that life changing surgery. Since losing 40lbs, my knees have never felt better! My husband and I are also trying to start a family, but my PCOS was not going to make it as easy as 1,2,3, as I didn't have periods on my own. My doctor had told me if I wanted a baby, I HAD to lose weight. Since losing 40lbs, I've had regular cycles for the first time in my life! Which is very important when trying to have a baby ;) This journey of mine is more than me simply wanting to wear skinny jeans. It has been a quest to becoming :Deliciously Healthy, so ALL of my dreams can come true! I'm almost half way there! With each new day, I get closer and closer to my goal of 120lbs, and becoming :Deliciously Healthy!

Monday, August 9, 2010

I Need Me Some Iron!

Last week I had a good old doctors appointment. At my previous appointment I had mentioned to my doc, that I was pretty tired all the time. If you hung out with me in person, you would see that I yawn like every 5 minutes. Any who, so he did some blood work, and called me back in, to have a chat with him. He said that your "iron levels can range from anywhere between 20 and 250, and mine are at like, 22." I don't know if he was using those numbers as an example, or if that's really what it is, but he told be I was borderline anemic. Figures. Now I have lupus, PCOS, low thyroid, rheumatoid arthritis, blood clotting, and "borderline anemia".
Sweet.

Since I'm pretty tired of being tired (hehe) all the time, I'm excited to take action, and get those iron levels up! My doctor told me to take an iron supplement, and to eat more
iron rich foods:
  • Clams (eww)
  • Pork Liver (eww)
  • Oysters (eww)
  • Chicken Liver (eww)
  • Mussles (eww)
  • Beef Liver (eww)
  • Beef (not a big fan)
  • Shrimp (eh)
  • Sardines (eww)
  • Turkey (finally something I can eat!)
  • Cooked beans
  • Lentils
  • Spinach (so that's why Popeye eats it!;)
  • Almonds
  • Dark green leafy vegetables
  • Dried fruit
  • Iron-enriched cereals (eh)
  • Chickpeas
  • Soybeans
  • Artichokes
  • Broccoli (dang!)
In an effort to eat all my iron ;) I'm trying to incorporate more of these foods into my diet. Except the ones that have "eww" next to them. Those foods go against my deliciously healthy beliefs (not that there's anything wrong with them. They just don't get along with my taste buds, and that's a must for me;).

My friend told me about a yummy recipe she got from the Cancer Project, that I had to try! It seemed like an iron rich recipe, so tonight I gave it a go!

Easy 3 Bean Salad:
It was delish! Plus it was very quick and easy to make!
And you know how I love that ;)

Aside from being deliciously healthy, it's really quite pretty, wouldn't you say?
Here's what you need:
  • light Italian salad dressing
  • 1-2 10 ounce bags of spinach
  • 1 15-ounce can kidney beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cups cooked kidney beans
  • 1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cups cooked pinto beans
  • 1 15-ounce can black-eyed peas, drained and rinsed, or 1 1/2 cups cooked peas
  • 1 10-ounce package frozen lima beans, thawed. or 1 1/2 cups cooked lima beans, or 1 1/2 cups cooked green soybeans (shelled edamame)
  • 1 cup frozen corn, thawed, or chilled cooked fresh corn.
  • 1 large diced red bell pepper
  • 1/2 medium diced red onion
  • salt and pepper to taste
This is what you do:
  • In a bowl, mix kidney beans and next 7 ingredients.
  • Serve 1 cup of bean mixture onto individual beds of spinach.
  • Drizzle Italian dressing over top.
Here's what I'm thinking:
  • Serving size: 10
  • Calories per serving: 210
Love it!

***

Today's weigh in had me at 167. That's a 0 pound loss this week. Of course my body is going to play games with me, and stop 1 pound short of me losing 40 pounds! Just to drive me crazy of course. Hopefully next week I can say that I'm 40 pounds lighter!

11 comments:

Scarlett said...

Hi! I have low iron too, and it's a pain! The food isn't the greatest, and I find it hard to get my iron up because I don't like most of the food either.

I find being creative with the foods are helpful: vegetarian chilli with beans (so good) and casserole with slices of venison (YUM!). It takes some practice and frustration (And, yes, in my case sometimes medication), but it's worth it to have some energy!

Anonymous said...

Pork liver doesn't fit your tastebuds?? I can't imagine why!!! That salad is beautiful, I love eating colorful things!

Corletta said...

Thanks for your sweet comment! By the way, your blogs always make me wanna cook!! One more thing. Your 167 is killing me...just a few weeks and I BETTER be back there with ya :)

Jessica said...

I make this quite a bit...and love it :) Hope your feeling better soon!

Meg said...

I found out a few weeks ago that I am anemic. The iron pills aren't too bad at least. I'm with you on the liver though...nasty! That salad looks really good though!

Hannah said...

Mmmm I made something like this once but had forgotten all about it! Perfect for hot summer nights too.
Hope you get some energy here soon!

Anna said...

I love colourful foods! :) I had the same problem with iron lack when I was vegetarian. I had to give up and start to eat meat because beans weren't helping enough! :(

Bella said...

That bean salad looks so beautiful, and what a good source of protein, too. (Besides iron). I might try it sometime soon. It would be great for lunch.

Anonymous said...

Just found your blog. The bean salad does look so good. Copied the recipe and will def try it. My husband would love it too.

On the bright side of your weight loss efforts, you didn't gain. That's what I tell myself when I don't lose but don't gain. I know it's frustrating. I am telling myself, "One pound at a time."

Tiff said...

Wow- you are like a collector of medical issues! :( poor thing! Well, one thing that I can not pity you for is how well you are doing with your weight loss! You are going to be even MORE ravishing than the pic you have posted of you at 120lbs this time around! Keep it up- you will be able to say that you've lost 40 lbs this time next week!

Jenn@slim-shoppin said...

Last year I tried to give blood and my iron was low. My Dr. told me to eat the same things you are but also take an iron pill. I tried to give blood this year and I was fine!!

You'll get to that 40 pound mark soon!!