But The Quest for Beauty is a Beast. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Victoria's update for Gwen. This is Victoria. Gwen gave me permission to update for her. I just got a couple of very sweet, kind, thoughtful letters from her, so here's the news: She's working hard on her therapy assignments. She recently had a writing assignment to write her autobiography, which was a long and draining project. They eat 6 times a day to boost their metabolism. She's still in a wheelchair, which means she's still underweight, but she reports that she is gaining weight (she knows this because they are not increasing her calories). She says she's having night sweats that make her wake up in the middle of the night as soaked as if she'd taken a shower with her clothes on. However, she says "my vision is better. Go me!" [I didn't know she was having trouble with her vision.] This is a direct quote: "I can't explain how much better I feel. I am just so scared I might relapse when I leave. I was so ill. When I got here they didn't wake me up, even though there is a no sleeping policy." She says that she's been cleared to go to a restaurant, which means that they trust her. She's going to TGI Friday's, and she's psyched about that. She seems really, really happy about her meal plan. It's called "All Foods Fit." There are "exchanges" for starch, meat, vegetables, fruit, milk, and fat. She can eat whatever she wants as long as it totals her exchanges for the day. Her exchanges (on her weight gain plan) are 12 starches 6 meats 2 vegetables 3 fruits 4 milks 6 fats. Weight maintenance for a woman who doesn't exercise: 8 starches 5 meats 3 fruits 3 milks 2 vegetables 4 fats. She told me about this plan in detail, and she recommends it: Examples of a starch: 1/8 cup M&Ms, 1 cup Honey Nut Cheerios, 1 1/4 cup Rice Krispies, 2 Graham crackers, 2 Tbsp Hershey's syrup, 1 tortilla, 2 taco shells, 1/2 large bagel, 1 bun, 1 slice bread, 2 Tbsp jelly. Examples of a meat: 1 Morningstar veggie dog, 1 string cheese, 1 oz. fish (except tuna, which is 2 oz), 1 oz. chicken, 1/2 cup beans, 1 oz. cheese. Examples of a fat: 8 black olives, 1 tsp butter, 1 tsp mayonnaise, 2 Tbsp hummus, 2 tsp peanut butter, 2 tsp Nutella, 1 Tbsp cream cheese, 2 Tbsp sour cream, 1 Tbsp guacomole. Examples of a vegetable: 1 cup raw, or 1/2 cup cookes, except carrots, which are always 1 cup. Fruits: 17 grapes, 12 cherries, 1 small banana, 1 orange, 1 apple, 1 cup cubed melon, 1 peach, 2 Tbsp raisins, 4 oz. juice. Examples of a milk: 1 Dannon Light, 8 oz. 2% milk, 1 cup soy milk, 8 oz. chocolate soy, 8 oz. vanilla soy. Combo foods: 11 Graham Flips = 1 starch, 1 fat. 9 pretzel flips = 1 starch, 1 fat. 24 Teddy Grahams = 1 starch. 3 Chewy Chips Ahoy = 1 starch, 1 fat. 1 Morningstar burger= 2 meats. 1 Morningstar corn dog = 1 starch, 1 meat. 4 Morningstar chicken nuggets = 1 starch, 1 meat. 1 Boca burger = 1 meat. 1/2 cup Breyer's ice cream = 1 starch, 1 fat. 1 Tollhouse sugar cookie = 1 starch, 1 fat. 9 regular Rolled Gold pretzels = 1 starch. 9 saltines = 1 starch. 7 Ritz crackers = 1 starch. 1/2 cup pasta = 1 starch. 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce = 1 starch. 1/4 cup yogurt covered raisins = 1 starch, 1 fat. Free foods: 1 Tbsp ketchup. 2 Tbsp mustard. unlimited hot sauce. 1/4 cup salsa. She said that for breakfast she had a banana, 2Tbsp peanut butter, 1/8 cup M&Ms, 1 cup chocolate soy, 1 cup Honey Nut Cheerios, & 1/2 cup cookies & cream frozen yogurt. That's all for now. I'll update for her again if I get another letter. 2:50 p.m. - 2003-06-15 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------- |
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