Orange chicken with rice and broccoli

There's a Chinese/American restaurant on the corner of our street and the highway. My two favorite things there are halibut with a delicious, delicate egg breading thing on it and orange chicken. Yuummmm. My whole family *except the teenaged girl, who likes NOTHING I make* likes the orange chicken. Since we are doing gluten free again, you don't buy breaded chicken and who-knows-what in the sauce from the Chinese place. :( It's disappointing, but health is paramount, right? And what you do is focus on what you CAN eat--which is almost anything, if you get a decent recipe for it!

I told my son at the store yesterday--when I saw how down he was because there was so much he couldn't have--that I understood. Because I do, now that I'm working toward weight loss. And I was on his diet for 2 years while I was nursing him, so I really DO get it. And he knows it.

This was magnificent! *hyperlink to the source of recipe* It needs a bit of tinkering. It's made with orange juice concentrate, and I found it a bit TOO concentrated. Also I put red pepper flakes in it, and it was a bit too hot. And it cooked down too quickly in the crockpot, too. I had it on high for one hour, and the sauce was already crisping. Turned it to low for 2 hours, and it was really bordering on burned. I think adding a little bit of water would fix both the burning problem and the concentrated orange problem. My kids liked it but wanted it a little bit cooler.

Add some Uncle Ben's Ready Rice in roasted chicken flavor (which to the best of my knowledge is gluten free) and some broccoli, and it's another tasty restaurant-quality dinner to enjoy without getting sick! Cheap, too. I think I paid about $5 for the whole dinner.

Drawback: After cooking a labor-intensive dinner three days in a row and doing the clean up, I'm exhausted. Ridiculous, but that's fibro for you.

Please take me seriously

As fibro/CFS patients, I think we have all been there at least once, probably multiple times. It's not just our family/friends/significant others who don't take us seriously. "Just do more. Be active. That's the only way to get un-tired." Sorry. Will power won't make me well. It just won't.

But I digress. It's not just the support group who thinks we should snap out of it. It's the doctors, too.

I tried to explain my post-exertional malaise to my doc, who told me that going to bed if I hurt was the worst thing I could do. What part of "I couldn't move for 4 days or wake up" did I not clarify?

Just stretch more--NO, that made my muscles feel like they were ripping. No matter how careful I was. After the 4 days, Yes, I started stretching again.

I didn't work out again for 1-1/2 weeks after the session that started the malaise. But I did start again. And that's what matters.

To the doc's credit, I haven't tried to talk to her about the fibro before, so now it's getting mixed in with the weight loss effort, and she's militant about that having to happen as a priority above everything else.

I am not exercising or dieting for her. I am doing it for me. So I can be strong again. My WHY hasn't changed, and it won't change, no matter how angry or disillusioned I may get.

Living strong with fibromyalgia and obesity

I am working hard to make healthier choices and strengthen my resolve to exercise and lose weight. When I saw that number at the doctor--282 lbs--that was my "aha" moment.

My body is already changing--down to 272 pounds as of today!

So far yoga is the most fibro-friendly exercise I have tried. Low impact, still making my muscles tighter and my weight go down!

I have also hired a nutrition coach to help me monitor my intake. I am an emotional eater, so this is HARD for me. But I am finding new foods to enjoy and cooking more for myself. My nutrition coach.

Recent meal made from scratch: chicken parmigiana! Here's a recipe for it I plan to try next time. I didn't know about the baking part of the process. I just made my own gluten-free breading with cornmeal and Italian seasoning and fried/browned the breasts on the stovetop in a little tiny bit of olive oil.