Week 21 Update

So I have really not been good at keeping up with weekly updates in quite some time. I am going to try to get back to that, now!! Since I was weighing a lot more than once a week, I usually forgot to do an official weigh in each Thursday. Definitely want to get back to that so I can look at my weekly progress overall :) Also thank you to the commenter who said they missed my more frequent updates... I do want to blog more!
As far as this past week... well I was kind of down and out because I found myself struck with Strep AND an ear infection!!! Yep, at the same time. Fun huh? I've been on an antibiotic for a couple of days now and I'm feeling MUCH better. Even went for a walk tonight with the hubby to ease back into working out.

Today my weight is...

222.0 lbs... finally down a little bit after being stuck in the 224-225 range for two weeks. However... I don't know if I trust it yet because of the fact that I've been sick!! It could just be loss from not eating much and it might bounce back on me. I guess only time will tell but it sure felt good to see a different number finally. Hope it does stick around.

Also to update on my last post... I am back on the pill again with a new pill pack and, fingers crossed, I think my period FINALLY STOPPED. I haven't had it for 3 days now. However, being sick could be affecting that too so jury's still out. The doctor I saw about my strep throat is also my obgyn and so I asked her about everything. She said her gut instinct is to wait it out a little longer and if in another month or two things still aren't right she'll have me try a different pill.

She confirmed something that I heard in the Vertical Sleeve Talk forums.... Estrogen IS IN FACT stored in fat cells, so when you lose weight rapidly and your fat cells shrink, large amounts of hormones are released into your body which can really mess with a lot of things... not just period wise but emotionally and energy levels and just all kinds of things. I was surprised she confirmed this as it sounded wacky to me. But it's good to know!!! Hopefully I've found the end of the crazy times.

In other news... I cooked twice this week! Real recipes!! I hate cooking and I haven't made any REAL recipes since surgery. Everything has just been grab this, grab that and we have a meal. It's been good, but it was time to start cooking again.

I tried one of these new McCormick Recipe Inspirations for Garlic Lime Fajitas. All the spices you need come in the package, and it has a detachable (reusable) recipe card on the back that is perforated and you punch it out of the package.

In addition to the seasonings in the packet we had to buy the chicken breast, a bell pepper, an onion, orange juice, lime juice and tortillas. We also used a little shredded cheese and sour cream. Soooo... it's not exactly all inclusive, but definitely did jump start me into cooking something. Probably a good way to try a recipe, but then in the future I can use the recipe card and just buy the ingredients and whatnot.

I don't have any pics of this dish.. but it turned out very yummy. I'd make it again for sure, but I would double the amount of marinade. There wasn't really enough to cover the chicken well.

Tonight I made this recipe I came across called Hot Chicken Salad. It turned out REALLY yummy. I didn't have enough celery, but it was still totally fine. It actually made a pretty small casserole... which for us as post-ops is great, but if you were cooking to also feed your family, there probably would be no leftovers.

Why I think this casserole is great for post ops is it is mainly chicken. There is no rice or potatoes. It's mostly protein and a little veggie. I did use light mayo and 2% cheese to help with the fat & calorie content a bit.

Here's my photos of how it turned out:

Very tasty and I definitely recommend.

That's about it for my week! We have dinner plans tomorrow night with some friends to go to the Spaghetti Factory. I have not eaten pasta since surgery so that will be interesting. I will probably order one of their famous meatballs and only eat a bite or two of pasta noodles. Their meatballs and marinara sauce are supposed to be excellent.

Will be back soon with another update :)