Hey Troops, This is a challenging time of year for us with finicky livers so I thought I would post daily to show what I am doing to maintain a good state. The transplant doctor that has been monitoring me says I am nothing short of the poster girl for adherence to instruction as nobody ever does what the doctor tells them. Maybe it's the OCD 
Don't have it but I take my future very seriously.
So where to start: Okay, so you're with family, they are driving you nuts but it's Christmas and you have to play nice. So what do you do to blow off steam--two options: you either stress graze your way down the length of the dinner table and lash it with an unholy flood of gravy or you hit the booze cabinet and join pickled Aunt Martha that swears she's just had a thimbleful and numb the pain. Well don't!!! To every gathering take Aunt Lizzie's No Fail Success Weapons.
The basis of my artillery is protecting myself against invaders. By making great healthy choices I am valuing myself and investing in my future. Sure cake tastes better than a piece of fresh fruit but by eating your fruit you are banking on your future. See your body as a savings account. Eating crap is making a withdrawal.
Breakfast: Steelcut oats with cocoa powder (I do them in a mason jar overnight in the fridge then just nuke them in the morning easy!!! with skim milk/banana, walnuts a splodge of 0% fat Greek plain yoghurt on top of the oats and a vat of coffee with 0% fat. We call it skim but not sure about the UK.
Lunch is a turkey breast sandwich. Choose your bread carefully and aim for fibre and low sodium. I blow my sodium load at lunch. Now, try and aim for 3x the potassium as sodium so I clock in at 3000mg daily of Potassium as it is the key to metabolizing the sodium. My typical go to is a baked potato (in the UK you call them jacket potatoes which I think is so cute). I might add no sodium tuna and 0% fat sour cream or any other topping you like that has low to no sodium. There you are getting your potassium (not all but a good chunk) and top it with protein. Today it is turkey as I did a breast in the oven last night and it is a great choice for low fat and tasty protein. Don't ever eat prepared luncheon meats!!! They are just loaded with sodium. To make it easy just whip on the oven and toss in a turkey breast or a chicken. How hard is that??!!!! Then slice it up or pick the chicken from the bone, put in a container in the fridge and that is your meals sorted for a couple of days. While you have the oven on stick in a couple of jacket spuds and BAMMO! there is lunch for two days just nuke them when you want.
Potassium rich foods include:
Bananas, oranges, cantaloupe, honeydew, apricots, grapefruit (some dried fruits, such as prunes, raisins, and dates, are also high in potassium)
Cooked spinach
Cooked broccoli
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Mushrooms
Peas
Cucumbers
Zucchini
Eggplant
Pumpkins
Leafy greens
Juice from potassium-rich fruit is also a good choice:
Orange juice
Tomato juice
Prune juice
Apricot juice
Grapefruit juice (mind this as it can interfere with medication absorption.
Dinner (I can never keep your terms for the evening meal straight--supper?) anyway, the meal I eat when the sun is down tonight will be cod loin and veg with brown rice. Again, I make 3 days worth of brown rice and keep in a container in the fridge. I always tart it up with sautéed onion and mushrooms. Frozen assorted organic veg couldn't be simpler. Boil water, reach into freezer and scoop out a bowl of frozen veg. drop in boiling water, cover, wait a few mins, set the table, come back, drain and put on plate. But you have just boiled up a key investment in your future! Frozen organic is often more nutritious as it is flash frozen when picked thus preserving the nutrients. As for the fish, I'll get a baking dish, lay in the cod, pour a tin of no salt tomatoes over it but will drain 1/2 the juice out as we're not making soup right? chop an onion and maybe a pepper over it. Sprinkle Greek herb blend (NO SALT!!) Salt hides in many prepared blends. Then bake it at 350 for about 20 mins to 1/2 hour.
Before bed it will be whole grain toast and peanut butter and a glass of skim milk. We need the LNS (late night snack to keep our sugar stable and fuel our bodies.) If you haven't yet, Google the importance of a LNS.
Throughout the day drink your tea, water, coffee and any no sugar beverage. Stay hydrated but don't over do it. I aim for 2 litres which is 8 cups. Follow your doctor's advise if you have fluid restrictions.
And exercise!! No you don't have to go to the gym but keep moving. Do chores and take pride in the result. Cancer taught me that I have now. I don't know about tomorrow but I will use my body to the best of my ability and live in the now. I am investing in the moments I know I have in the hope that they will strengthen my future. LIVE NOW AND DO IT WELL.
Right Troops! Go out and conquer. Choose you! Fight for you! Defend you! Invest in you!!
Cheers, The Determined General
