The shoulder has myofascial pain trigger points. Basically giant contractions in the muscle that won't release. The injections are supposed to help them release, and sometimes do, though they usually either come back or only go about halfway away. Typically, the pain just vanishes one day, when the muscles decide to unclench. Until then it's symptom management.

B - Egg beaters w/ broccoli and chicken sausage, orange
S - Apple
L - Leftover spaghetti squash bake
S - Popcorn
S - Greek yogurt w/ high fiber cereal
D - Grilled pork chop marinated in balsamic, curried pumpkin soup, sauteed cabbage
S - NSA Ice Cream

E - 45 min dogwalk this morning, 60 min incline trainer

On plan again, did 75 min of incline trainer instead of 60, and scale is still really, really, really high. The combination of cortisone injections, painkillers, and TOM is packing quite a punch (I think it may be a new record...6 lbs in one day!).

Planning for tomorrow:

B - Eggbeater french toast
S - Orange
L - Leftovers: Pork chop, pumpkin soup, sauteed cabbage
S - Popcorn
S - Greek yogurt w/ high fiber cereal
D - Homemade wonton soup (chicken-filled wontons, mustard greens, carrots, snow peas...comfort food!)
S - NSA Ice Cream

E - 45 min dogwalk, 60-75 min cardio

Amanda, ouch! I hope your shoulder and your scale are better soon.

Thursday:
B - oatmeal, raisins, apple butter, skim milk
L - leftover pasta and sauce
S - pear
D - mao pao tofu, rice, peas
S - ww toast w/apple butter and pumpkin butter
E - NRLW S6W5B

Phew, the scale is moving in the right direction again!

Friday:
B - oatmeal, raisins, apple butter, skim milk
L - @work, Panera - half mediterranean veggie sandwich, salad, piece of baguette, a mint
S - apple
D - pasta w/sauce, chicken, parmesan
E - none planned today, weather is too crappy

Yesterday was okay. Unfortunately there was another afternoon snacking experience, second day in a row. Kept it at about 400 calories both days, which didn't kill me on the calories but did kill me on the healthy calories. Yesterday at least had a granola bar with some protein. I am going to have some protein powder in milk this morning with breakfast to see if it keeps me from being so hungry after lunch.

E - 60 minutes of strength training, 10 miles on the stationary bike
B - kashi go lean w/ skim, berries & banana, coffee
S - 1/2 apple with 3 squares of laughing cow light swiss
L - grilled chicken salad
S - special K chocolate delight, afternoon snack binge of 1 palmers chocolate coin, 1 lindor truffle, 1 brach's chewy peppermint nougat, 1 serving of party mix, 1 thomas' mini bagel, 1 cascadian farms peanut pretzel granola bar
D - turkey sausage with pepper & onion over rice
S - popcorn, 2 hershey's kisses, 1 square lindor 85% dark chocolate, coffee

Today:
E - some quality treadmill time. Too cold and icy to go outside.
B - kashi go lean w/ skim, berries & banana, protein shake, coffee
S - string cheese
L - either one cup of leftover chinese food with no rice (broccoli & pepper with 2 shrimp) or a sandwich of some kind
S - yogurt w/ berries
D - vindaloo chicken over wild rice
S - peanut butter on english muffin or more yogurt

The scale will not be discussed. Temporary, temporary, temporary. And it would be ridiculous to avoid taking my pain meds so as scale would calm down, right? It's just so hard to watch it go up and up and up...

B - Protein shake
S - Orange
L - Leftover chicken wonton soup
S - Popcorn
S - Greek yogurt w/ high fiber cereal
D - Beef stew w/ carrots, potatoes, celery, onion
S - NSA Ice Cream

E - 80 min cardio, 30 min LB

Amanda - sorry to hear about the scales. Um, you've read your sig, haven't you?

A while ago you said you rotated the same basic meal types (pasta was one, I think). I'm thinking about implementing something similar here so would you mind listing them again? Thank you. And anyone else - please pile in!

(SO & DB have huge appetites ... )

Yes, I have read my signature. Easier in theory than in practice! Especially when you're in pain, exhausted, and bloated up like a blowfish.

My winter meal rotation looks a lot like this.
1 time per week - bean or lentil soup. Add sausage, chopped veggies, greens.

1 time per week - Pasta. Add chicken sausage or lean ground meat, tomato sauce, and eggplant, peppers, and zucchini...or add chunks of chicken, broccoli, bell pepper, other veggies, and a faux cream sauce (basically a skim milk gravy with lots of pepper, lemon) then top with bread crumbs and bake. Lately we've been using spaghetti squash instead of the spaghetti, tossing with a ground beef/TVP mix, adding marinara, topping with cheese, and baking for a baked spaghetti.

1 time per week - stirfry w/ veggies and meat, over brown rice. Veggie is broccoli, long beans, or asparagus, depending on season. Meat can be thinly sliced beef, chicken, or pork loin, marinated in soy, garlic, ginger, and orange juice. Cook it up, make a quick sauce from chicken broth, more soy/ginger/garlic/lemongrass/hoisin/a little cornstarch to thicken, and serve over the rice.

1 time per week - beef stew. We cannot get enough of it in the winter, though we do vary it a little, using white or sweet potatoes depending what sounds good that week. Some weeks we sub this for chili, also delicious.

1 time per week, another winter favorite - some kind of winter squash (acorn, pumpkin, butternut) roasted, spiced up with curry, and pureed with broth into a soup. We serve with a sauteed veggie (I am loving sauteed cabbage with a dash of nutmeg, as well as brussels sprouts with balsamic and a hint of bacon) and a grilled chicken or beef skewer, so the soup takes the place of whatever starch we might otherwise have had.

Weekends we are often out and about, but we usually cook at home at least one night...we break out the long-cooking stuff, like roast chickens with root vegetables.

In summer, of course, it's different...we replace most of the soups with salads, and the featured veggies are usually more of the squash/tomato/pepper variety. We do a lot more lighter dishes with side salads...a nice frittata filled with veggies with a side of sliced tomatoes and basil, grilled sandwiches, etc.

Thank you very much indeed for this, Amanda. We are working on getting a better plan in place which suits everyone's needs and likes.

:hug:for the pain, swelling and exhaustion. It doesn't seem fair at all. :hug:

POP yesterday, up another 2 lbs. Grand total is 8.5 now from tuesday, when I got the shots.

B - Protein shake
L - Big salad w/ grilled chicken, veggies, balsamic
D - Some manner of black eyed pea, rice, and sausage stew.

E - 60-80 min on the incline trainer, some Wii, abs

Amanda - :hug: it is the medicine, I know. Stopping the medicine to help the scale may sound appealing, but I think you would regret it later. :hug:

Yesterday came in fine for. Scale is coming down a little, though still higher than I want. May have to go to cutting calories for a few weeks.

Today:
E - some strength training in a fewminutes
B -Kashi go lean w/ berries, skim & banana, coffee
L - white turkey burger on whitewheat roll, one brach's peppermint nougat
S - protein shake I think, after exercise
D - going out with friends, no idea where we are going
S - depends on dinner

Silver, my technique for planning out meals is that every Sunday I sit down with my recipe box and pick out 3-4 recipes for the week, then go shopping and buy all the ingredients. Since there are only two of us and the recipes all make at least 4 servings, the combination of 3 recipes + leftovers + the occasional pasta night gets us through the week pretty well.

Time for weekend catch-up!

Saturday:
B - oatmeal, raisins, apple butter, skim milk
L - rice, leftover tofu and peas
D - @restaurant - cocktail, chicken tamale, 3 1/2 butternut squash enchiladas
S - half a scoop of amaretto gelato
E - walk with dog

Sunday:
B - oatmeal, raisins, apple butter, skim milk
L - rice, peas, teriyaki sauce
D - spicy black and red bean soup, garlic bread
S - raisin bran, skim milk
E - walk with dog

Monday:
B - oatmeal, raisins, apple butter, skim milk
L - leftover bean soup
S - apple
D - pasta w/sauce, frozen mixed veggies, and parmesan
S (after swim class) - half serving chilaquiles
E - swim class

Well, well well well well....
I am sooo back to this thread :)

for starters, Amanda, thank you for the specific listing of weekly meals. I love it! And I am thinking in addition to frustrated you are prob so uncomfortable! :( short term nonsense!!!

goal: lose the junk food and be consistent with both food and exercise.

breakfast 2 eggs, cheese, turkey bacon
lunch .5 lb. deli meat

will account when figure snacks and dinner out

exercise: spin class

Whoops! Just thinking aloud here ... rather than being accountable
 

Thanks, Jessica. It's all very helpful.

Our current system is a work of art in progress. We try to plan on Sat or Sun but this can depend on what we find during the early Saturday morning raid on the local supermarket and the Sunday morning raid on the local farm shop. There are two other main sorties in the week: to a health food shop and possibly to the supermarket again (mercy dash for cottage cheese or leafy green veg, that kind of thing).

We try to add in interesting or more complex stuff. For example, the DB cured some fabulous bacon last week using some belly pork. His own idea and you can't say no to ideas like that. It was unplanned and fantastic as rashers (in the oven, there were so many of them) and in split pea and veg soup. I want a son who knows about and revels in real food. He's on the right track so far (except perhaps for the meringue nests with whipped cream and berries :o - but you can emphasise the berries and minimise the cream, can't you?)

On the plus side, the shoulder is becoming more tolerable and I am now only up 3 lbs over redline, as TOM ended and the swelling decreased. Still dealing with a little water retention and digestive slowness from the meds, but it's way better than before.

On the negative, I caught my wife's cold. Sigh. I am still OK to exercise gently today, but it will definitely effect intensity.

Plan for today:

B - WW Tortilla, peanut butter, half an apple
S - Muscle milk
L - Black eyed pea and rice stew w/ turkey kielbasa, veggies, tomato sauce
S - Popcorn
S - Greek yogurt w/ strawberries and blueberries
D - Chicken and wild rice soup with leftover chicken from roast chicken last night (mostly dark meat) and homemade stock from the same chicken, plus lots of veggies and brown and wild rice.
S - NSA Ice cream

E - 75 min incline trainer, adjusted for effort as necessary given cold symptoms (it's presenting with a headache and a sore throat, which should be work-through-able).