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Thankful Thursday: Google & Granola

It's thankful Thursday time! We all have so much to be thankful for and we love to take this opportunity just to write down each and everything that comes to mind. Please take this time to share with us what you're thankful for as well. If you have a blog expressing your thankfulness, please share the link! Without further ado, here's what we're thankful for:

Mandi's List:

I'm thankful for a loving baby. Mckenna isn't a snuggler, for the most part. She's a mover and a shaker. But she is a little lover. She picks up her baby and hugs and kisses her. She plants one on us at random times during the day. She rubs her dad's arm so gently as she whispers, "da da" when she wakes him up in the morning. I love that she's a lover. I hope she stays that way!!

I'm thankful for Google. Anyone who knows me knows I am a googling queen. When we did IVF with Mckenna, I googled EVERYTHING. When I was pregnant, I googled everything! When we look for good recipes, I google. When I have a strange symptom or ache or pain, I google. When Mckenna has a problem, google is there. When Mckenna had tummy issues while nursing, I actually found the issue, before the lactation consultant. I LOVE GOOGLE. That said, most would tell you I need to lay off the Google reading because half the time a headache looks like a brain tumor on Google :)

I'm thankful for our core class. Our core class is awesome. It has transformed our stomachs in just a few months time. I certainly don't have abs like a body building ninja, but with some more time, maybe I'll get there with our core class - HA! A girl can dream, right?

Ronnie's List:

I'm thankful for a bright and shiny sun! Here it is late November, and the high here in Chandler today is 79 degrees. There's not a cloud in the sky and no wind of note. Running errands is a joy in this weather and exercise is absolutely perfect. To be honest, I don't know why people live anywhere that there's snow (Spoken like a guy who has only lived in Arizona :) ).

I'm thankful for granola. I recently added a granola parfait to my nutrition plan and I love it! I put 1/2 cup of Quaker Natural Granola on top of 1 container of Yoplait yogurt. It tastes super yummy and it provides just the right balance of satisfied but not stuffed.

I'm thankful for additional computer monitors. I've been using a small TV that I use as a second monitor while working on my laptop and it has done wonders. I feel much more efficient and it seems like I'm able to work faster. It could also all be in my head!

So, what are you thankful for today?

My Nutrition Plan

Many people have e-mailed and asked about my nutrition plan and what exactly it is that I eat, so I thought it would be a good idea to write it out in a blog so others could take a look. I just finished this new nutrition plan (since I'm now focusing on lean muscle building) so I'll have to let you guys know what I think about it in a month or so!

You'll see that it is split up into two different plans - weight lifting days and cardio days. I will have 4 weight lifting days a week, 2 cardio days a week and one rest day. They don't have to be the same day every week, but whichever day I'm on (weight, cardio or rest) will dictate what I'm eating that day.

Note: This is not intended to replace any nutrition plan that your CF dietician has prescribed to you. I've never had an issue with weight gain, and therefore, can adjust my diet based on how I feel/look/trying to accomplish. For peeps with CF that need to gain weight, these plans will not be the best, especially the cardio days. However, you can modify these plans to work for you, and if you'd like some help in doing so, please let me know!

If you have any questions, please let me know!

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Cardio Days

Breakfast 1 @6:15am

1/2 cup Quaker Natural Granola
1 Yoplait Light Yogurt
1 Whole Egg
2 Egg Whites
2 Flaxseed Oil Pills

Total Calories: 437
Total Grams of Protein: 23
Total Grams of Carbohydrates: 55
Total Grams of Fat: 12

Breakfast 2 @9:00am

1 cup Skim Milk

1 Yoplait Light Yogurt

1 Medium Banana

3/4 cup of Blueberries

2 tbs Dextrose

1/2 tsp Beta-Alanine

Total Calories: 450

Total Grams of Protein: 15

Total Grams of Carbohydrates: 94

Total Grams of Fat: 0

Lunch 1 @11:30am

4oz 93/7 Ground Turkey

1 Multigrain Tortilla

2/3 cup Sante Fe Veggies

4 tbs Salsa

1 scoop CytoSport Whey Protein

2 tbs Dextrose

1/2 tsp Beta-Alanine

Total Calories: 580

Total Grams of Protein: 57

Total Grams of Carbohydrates: 59

Total Grams of Fat: 14

Lunch 2 @2:30pm

4 oz Mahi Mahi

3/4 cup Steamed Broccoli

1/2 cup Cooked Brown Rice

Total Calories: 220

Total Grams of Protein: 23

Total Grams of Carbohydrates: 25

Total Grams of Fat: 2

Dinner @6:00pm

4 oz Chicken Breast

3/4 cup Steamed Broccoli

2 oz Cooked Yam/Sweet Potato 

Total Calories: 214

Total Grams of Protein: 23

Total Grams of Carbohydrates: 23

Total Grams of Fat: 2

Grand Totals for Day

Total Calories: 1901

Total Grams of Protein: 142

Total Grams of Carbohydrates: 257

Total Grams of Fat: 30

Weight Lifting Days

Breakfast 1 @6:15am

1/2 cup Quaker Natural Granola

1 Yoplait Light Yogurt

1 Whole Egg

2 Egg Whites

2 Flaxseed Oil Pills

1 cup Skim Milk

Total Calories: 527

Total Grams of Protein: 31

Total Grams of Carbohydrates: 67

Total Grams of Fat: 12

Breakfast 2 @9:00am

1/3 cup Coach's Oatmeal

3/4 cup of Blueberries

6 tbs Egg Whites

2 scoops Monster Milk

1/2 tsp Beta-Alanine

Total Calories: 640

Total Grams of Protein: 67

Total Grams of Carbohydrates: 64

Total Grams of Fat: 12

Lunch 1 @11:30am

4oz 93/7 Ground Turkey

1 Multigrain Tortilla

4 tbs Salsa

2 scoops Monster Milk

2 tbs Dextrose

1/2 tsp Beta-Alanine

Total Calories: 700

Total Grams of Protein: 75

Total Grams of Carbohydrates: 59

Total Grams of Fat: 20

Lunch 2 @2:30pm

4 oz Mahi Mahi

3/4 cup Steamed Broccoli

1/2 cup Cooked Brown Rice

Total Calories: 220

Total Grams of Protein: 23

Total Grams of Carbohydrates: 25

Total Grams of Fat: 2

Dinner @6:00pm

4 oz Chicken Breast

3/4 cup Steamed Broccoli

2 oz Cooked Yam/Sweet Potato 

Total Calories: 214

Total Grams of Protein: 23

Total Grams of Carbohydrates: 23

Total Grams of Fat: 2

Snack Before Bed

1 cup Skim Milk

1 rounded scoop of Casein Protein

1/2 tsp Beta-Alanine

Total Calories: 220

Total Grams of Protein: 32

Total Grams of Carbohydrates: 19

Total Grams of Fat: 1

Grand Totals for Day

Total Calories: 2606

Total Grams of Protein: 253

Total Grams of Carbohydrates: 278

Total Grams of Fat: 49

**On weight lifting days I will also give myself some cheat calories (up to 400 or so) to indulge on some candy, desserts, etc

Rest Day

My rest day will consist of a mix and match of the two nutrition plan. If I'm happy with my weight gain, I'll eat lighter, if I'm not, I'll eat more

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So, there you have it! Like I said, I'm just starting this, so we will see how it works out. My goal is to build lean muscle and not pack on fat. I used a similar nutrition plan as the cardio days every day for the past 12 weeks and lost 20 pounds and 8% body fat! Proper nutrition and exercise can work wonders my friends.

My Thoughts Kalydeco

Ran onto this old post I wrote about my thoughts on Kalydeco. Updated it with some current information. Hope you enjoy.

I am sure you are aware of this.  What does the CF population in general think about this?  Does it help you?

The CF community is in one of two camps concerning this: uber excited or feeling that its bitter-sweet.

This particular drug will only work for those in the community that have the G551D mutation. It's estimated that in America, that number stands at somewhere between 2000 - 3000. So, obviously those patients and their families are over the moon right now. There are also many (me included) that are super excited for them and know that this is a potential step forward for the CF community at large.

Then there is a portion of the community that feel happy for "them" but sad for themselves or their kids. Most of this camp has the most common mutation, DF508 (I have two copies). So far, a drug for our specific mutation hasn't yielded great results. We're all hopeful, but I'm not holding my breath for anything ground-breaking for at least 5-10 years.

(Update: The results weren't a slam dunk, but they weren't terrible either. I may have to go with 3-7 years instead :) )

So in short, it was an amazing day for many of my friends and a huge step forward for all in the CF community. I'm pumped over here!!

I guess my view is that they figured out a delivery system for genetic modification, right?  That seems HUGE to me.  This drug, when taken, will correct the genetic mutation in certain cells, yes?

Are there any other drugs that actually correct gene mutations on the market, CF or otherwise?  Just seems like a huge thing to me.

It's big, but we're still a ways away.

The real issue with CF, and ultimately the effectiveness of these drugs, is that there are over 1600 mutations affecting the cell and CFTR in different ways (thankfully not over 1600 different ways, however). This new drug works for those with G551D, because it actually gets the "door" (CFTR) on their cell wall to open up and exchange sodium, potassium, water, etc to a level within "normal range". The key here is that their CFTR is actually on the cell surface to begin with.

The challenge for those of us with the DF508 mutation, is that our CFTR is "stuck" on the nucleus of our cell. They are currently trying to get the CFTR away from the nucleus and to it's proper place on the cell wall. If they can do that, they will in theory be able give this new drug to us as sort of a one-two punch.

I'm not sure whether or not there are other drugs on the market that are similar. This drug doesn't correct the mutation, it's correcting the result of the mutation.

Looks like there are between 2000-3000 WORLDWIDE that can benefit from this drug, not just America.

They have said lately that it will eventually be able to benefit others outside of the G551D mutation, but even then, the majority of people with CF will not see the benefit.

So in short, we're closer than we were yesterday, but not as far as we'd like to be tomorrow.

'Tis the Season

I love this time of year. We are finally in the mist of the holidays. For me, the holiday season starts on Thanksgiving day, and I LOVE the feeling of the holidays.

For Thanksgiving we went down to Ronnie's mom's house, and enjoyed Thanksgiving with his entire extended family. There were all the traditional dishes: turkey, potatoes, stuffing, casseroles (my whole reason for eating on turkey day is casseroles), and every dessert you can think of...YUMMY! As always (and as we should) we totally over-indulged. I felt sick by the time we got in the car to head home...but it was so worth it. The best and worse part about Thanksgiving at someone else's house is that you don't have leftovers to eat the next day. You miss out on another day of deliciousness, but you also avoid the calories.

Starting the day after Thanksgiving I think it can be "Christmas time". So we did all of our Christmas decorations (lights, tree, home decor, etc) Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. We blasted Christmas music and really got into the spirit. I LOVE when the house is all decorated for Christmas. It gives the whole house of feeling of excitement and warmth. I'm so happy Thanksgiving was a early this year so I could enjoy the decor an extra week!

We also did a little shopping this weekend. We aren't Black Friday shoppers. I love a good deal, but I hate chaos. I hate the feeling of being frenzied. And therefore the craziness of Black Friday isn't for me. That being said, we did venture out on Friday morning just to people watch. We headed to an outdoor shopping mall near us and just strolled after Mckenna got up, before her first nap. The air was crisp. Christmas music was playing. It felt like fall. Thankfully it was tame, so I didn't feel anxious with crazy deal freaks sprinting about. We did pick up some clothes for Mckenna for a steal...so maybe next year I will morph into a crazy deal freak myself and push down my anxiety for the day!

Welp, that was the start of our holiday season. I cannot wait for it to cool off even more so we can enjoy some hot chocolate all day long. The Christmas music is a permanent fixture in our lives now. The excitement for Christmas is building. It's the most wonderful time of the year! (Said in sing-songy voice to the tune of the song).

When do the holidays start for you? When do the Christmas tunes start blaring and the decorations go up?